Babylon composer Justin Hurwitz is ready to step into new territory, perhaps in the form of an action movie, as revealed in an interview with Screen Rant he did in support of Damien Chazelle's latest film. Hurwitz is one of the most exciting modern film composers, with Golden Globes, Grammy Awards, and Oscars under his belt thanks to his work on La La Land, First Man, and Babylon. A college bandmate and roommate of writer/director Damien Chazelle's, Hurwitz broke into the mainstream with his jazz-centric score for Whiplash, which cemented both Hurwitz and Chazelle as ones to watch when it was released in 2014. Two years later, La La Land became one of the most Oscar-nominated films of all time, and is now being adapted into a Broadway musical, with Hurwitz (alongside original songwriting partners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) returning to pen more music.
As thrilling as the rise of Chazelle and Hurwitz has been, Hurwitz expressed recently that he wished to be viewed as more than a "jazz composer". Whiplash and La La Land both heavily feature jazz in their stories and music, and one of Babylon's central characters is a jazz musician. While Hurwitz's score for Babylon utilizes pop music elements and draws plenty of inspiration from rock and roll, it is likely to be considered by many another entry into the Hurwitz "jazz score" canon. When discussing getting away from jazz in his (underappreciated) score for Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, Hurwitz expressed his desire to work in different styles of music for new projects, specifically his desire to score an action movie. See his words below:
I do hope to get to explore new things. I'm waiting to hear what Damien wants to do next; I think he's thinking about what he wants to write next. I love learning new things. On First Man, it was good to get away from jazz, and it was good to learn. I'd never used anything electronic, really, so to get to use the theremin, to get to use some modular synthesizers, [and] to get to play around with plugins and other production ideas was really fun. There are people who have spent their whole life learning that stuff, and I want to get better at it, so hopefully, I'll get to explore more production and electronic things; I would love to get better at that stuff.
Genre-wise, maybe an action movie or an adventure movie or something like that would be fun. I'm just committed to whatever Damien does, so whatever he wants to do, I'll do it. But I do love exploring new things, and learning new genres, and new ways of writing music, so hopefully with each movie, there'll be something new to explore.
What Genre Could Damien Chazelle Tackle Next?
Due to the close nature of the collaboration between Justin Hurwitz and Damien Chazelle, it seems as if the most likely way for Hurwitz to score an action movie would be for Chazelle to write one. Whether or not that is a realistic possibility, however, is an interesting question. In an interview with Screen Rant for Babylon, Damien Chazelle stated that he does find himself drawn toward "stories of people living in their dreams", and mentions he finds it easier to relate with characters who, like him, are engaged in creative pursuits. This suggests that Chazelle may find himself working next on another movie about artists - which, at face value, does not necessarily lend itself to action.
While First Man isn't considered Damien Chazelle's best movie, it is clearly evidence that the director can succeed - and thrive - beyond the bounds of artistic endeavor. The action sequences in Babylon are stunning, and the director has a true gift for camera movement and true spectacle. It would undoubtedly be a treat to see a Damien Chazelle action movie, propelled (of course) by a Justin Hurwitz score.
Babylon is available on digital platforms now.