Hans Zimmer on ‘cut-throat’ Hollywood, Brexit ‘bureaucracy’ and protecting the planet
Prolific film composer Hans Zimmer has spoken of his Brexit frustrations, the “grim” state of the world and says he fears the consequences of what’s happening in Number 10 “are going to be dreadful”.
The 12-time Oscar nominee – who is the subject of a new BBC documentary, Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel – told Sky News: “The world is really grim so we need music, we need the arts, more than we ever did.”
Born in Germany, Zimmer was 14 when he moved to England. Now one of the most sought-after men in Hollywood, having produced hundreds of film scores during his 40-year career, he now divides his time between LA and London.
“There are so many wonderful, horrible things you can say about Hollywood, you know, and they are all true,” he teases, “cut-throat is like the best thing you can say… but the thing is, it does commission orchestral music on an hourly basis.
“If the symphony orchestras go, such a large chunk of our culture would go,” he explains before letting out a big sigh.
“I mean, how political do we want to get? Brexit was sort of a surprise to me as a foreigner, especially because, you know, I kept bringing movies back to England and employing orchestras all the time.
Zimmer says he experienced the “bureaucracy” first hand as he toured across Europe for a series of live performances of his work earlier this year.
“My orchestra came from Odessa, Ukraine. The war had started so we only managed to get 10 people out and it was really difficult. But for all of Europe – no problem. Going across borders everybody was welcoming them with open arms….
“[then] Trying to get across the Channel it was a different thing. I had to leave seven behind. They just couldn’t get visas.
“They weren’t going to stay here,” Zimmer explains incredulously, “they didn’t want to!”
Sir David Attenborough
As a country, for Zimmer, Britain seems to have lost sight of the importance of what the arts can offer.
“If you’re too literal about these things, you know, you are going to come up with a disaster of just scrapping the arts. Yes, the symphony orchestra is a very, very expensive hobby but if you think about what it means to humanity, to human culture… if the symphony orchestras go, such a large chunk of our culture would go.
“The other thing that’s very important to me, is the operative word in music is ‘play’,” he explains.
Referring to Liz Truss, he teases: “If people were just a little bit more playful, they might stay a little longer as premier of the United Kingdom, no never mind, I didn’t mean to say that.
“I mean, either we weep or let’s be a little bit playful about the whole thing because the consequences are going to be dreadful,” he adds.
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
While Zimmer has written scores for movie classics like the Lion King, Gladiator, even The Dark Knight, he’s also written music for the natural world, working on a number of projects with veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, including Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II.
“That’s actually the most important work I’m doing because, I don’t know if you noticed, it was quite warm this summer.
“We desperately need a voice in this world that speaks to us about how we are just a small part of this planet, and that maybe – despite of what we did in Interstellar – it might not be such a good idea to leave this planet, it might be better to be a little bit more mindful about who we share this planet with.”
Hans Zimmer – Hollywood Rebel is available now on BBC iPlayer.
A woman who saw a man falling from an upper tier at Wembley Stadium says a similar incident at an Oasis concert over the weekend in which a fan died makes her wonder whether lessons have been learned.
Stephanie Good, 39, said a man fell during a Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia at Wembley in June 2021.
He landed “right next to where we were” on the “stairwell between rows of seats”, she said.
Named as Jon, he reportedly survived but suffered two broken ankles, a fractured femur and fractured pelvis just before kick-off.
Ms Good said she tried to give feedback but was unable to and felt the “emergency response was really lacking”.
Oasis, meanwhile, said they were “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley concert on Saturday.
The man reportedly fell from the stadium’s upper tier.
In his 40s, he was found with “injuries consistent with a fall” and pronounced dead at the scene, the Met Police said.
Ms Good, an NHS manager from east London, said what happened at the Oasis gig was “so similar” to what she witnessed that it made her wonder “were lessons learned”?
Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans
During that incident, among stadium staff “nobody seemed to know what to do”, she told the Press Association.
She thinks the man may have been trying to attach a flag to the front of a stand and “somehow managed to fall straight over”.
She said: “They (staff) didn’t seem well-trained in terms of how to respond to a really big emergency.
“Their stewards were kind of paralysed a little bit by fear, or they just weren’t well trained and didn’t know how to call for paramedics.
“It was us who were sort of shouting at them that they needed to get some paramedics.
“The first person on the scene wasn’t a stadium paramedic or St John Ambulance. It was an off-duty firefighter who had seen the guy fall and ran down to just try and offer some help.”
Read more:
Tommy Robinson bailed after arrest over alleged assault
Police should be ‘more transparent’ over suspects, home sec says
Regarding the follow-up, Ms Good said staff moved spectators to other seats but did not ask for witness statements.
She added: “They didn’t seek any input from people who’d seen the incident or the aftermath of it. They didn’t seem interested in speaking to anybody about it.
“I was a bit concerned, because I felt that the emergency response was really lacking.”
She then tried to get in touch to give feedback, but was unable to do so and did not receive a response to a message on social media, she said.
A Wembley spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.
“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges.
Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial.
Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year.
During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them.
Diddy fell to his knees after the verdict was delivered last month. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.
The rapper’s legal team hailed this a “victory” and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges.
After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again.
In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: “Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn’t change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears.”
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Judge Arun Subramanian heard Diddy’s trial and will also sentence the rapper
He also found that an argument by the music star’s legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release.
“The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners,” the judge wrote. “But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate.”
As well as Combs’s bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only.
The judge has not yet responded to this application.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How the Diddy trial unfolded
How long could Diddy be jailed for?
Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury’s verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served.
However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper’s punishment.
On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue.
The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was “very hostile” during his presidential campaign.
Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture – a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
As well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike