It’s turning out to be a banner year for Cliff Martinez, complete with some serious recognition.
The 57-year-old film composer has not only worked on three high-profile films—Lincoln Lawyer, Drive and Contagion—but he’s just been nominated for a Satellite Award by the International Press Academy for his exceptional composing work.
Martinez—a former drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers who has scored more than 20 films, including the Oscar-winning film Traffic,
which earned Martinez a Grammy nod— received the Satellite Award nomination for his outstanding score for the drama Drive, which stars Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan.
“Sometimes I approach scoring like a method actor and will meticulously research any similar, relevant films I can get my hands on,” Martinez told FilmSchoolRejects.com in a recent interview. “I simply didn’t have time for that with Drive. It was a total first impulse,
fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants adventure.”
It’s an adventure that seems to have paid off in spades! The Drive soundtrack has struck a real chord with the public. Not only has it been one of the most talked about releases in 2011; it’s one of the year’s best-selling soundtracks in the United States and throughout the world.
And now that “awards season” is underway, expect Martinez—who began his composing career by working on Steven Soderbergh’s
Sex, Lies and Videotape—to receive even more attention for his goose bump-inducing score.
“I’d like to think that I’ve written some good scores before, so the fact that it’s getting all this attention is new and unexpected,” says Martinez, whose background as a rock musician has set him apart from composers who take a more classical approach to their craft. “It’s welcome, but
still, mysterious and unusual for me.”
Selected by a group of journalists representing domestic and international markets, the Satellite Award nominations cover 19 film categories and 12 television categories.
The 16th annual Satellite Awards will be held on December 18 at Los Angeles’ Beverly Hilton Hotel.