‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Composer Daniel Pemberton: ‘I Was Trying to Capture Nostalgia for a Time That Feels Very Distant Now in America’
variety.comJon Burlingame A cool 1960s vibe, an old-fashioned love theme, dramatic music befitting a lunar landing: Daniel Pemberton‘s score for “Fly Me to the Moon” needed to accomplish all these and more.
Greg Berlanti’s rom-com with Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones, a Madison Avenue marketing genius hired to sell the moon to the American public and Channing Tatum as Cole, the NASA director in charge of the Apollo 11 launch behind America’s first moon landing meant Pemberton could incorporate different musical strands “from the fun aspect to the romantic couple element, and then NASA and a kind of Americana nostalgia,” says the English composer whose credits include “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” “I was trying to capture this beautiful, melancholic nostalgia for a time that feels very distant now in America,” Pemberton adds. “One of my favorite pieces in the film is when Apollo 11 takes off and everyone is looking up at it, that sense of wonder but also a sense of loss for a time that feels long gone. “This story is set at such a powerful moment in history, a time when everyone was on the same side, trying to pull together to achieve something for the good of humanity.” Pemberton’s score combines traditional orchestral sounds with vintage synthesizers and a jazz combo for a particular ’60s sound that features Fender Rhodes and Hammond B3 keyboards plus bongos, electric guitars and bass. “The synths often represent the technology of the NASA control center; then there is an epic element that has to do with NASA and the launch.
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