Pemberton (a best song Oscar nominee for Sorkin’s last film, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”) wrote music for a 70-piece orchestra evocative of the era, and based primarily on a single theme, “with a bittersweet melancholia to it, but also an element of aspiration and dream.”
“A big overarching theme has become relatively unfashionable,” Pemberton says, referring to the fact that many contemporary directors shy away from strong melodies and big orchestras. “I felt this was a beautiful canvas to reintroduce that idea.”
Daniel Pemberton’s score for Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” is unlike anything he’s written to date — a surprising choice for this think-outside-the-box composer, but one that would fit comfortably in the 1950s milieu of the film itself.
Pemberton toiled on what eventually became more than 65 minutes of music for the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz battling bad press, relationship issues and troublesome network executives, all while continuing to produce TV’s popular “I Love Lucy.”
“I wanted to find a different way to represent the energy of that world, the writers, the pace, the tension of the show,” Pemberton says.
His biggest challenge turned out to be the flashback sequences. “It took a long time to get that tone right,” he says, as Sorkin didn’t want to play any of that for laughs or nostalgia. “We have to see Lucy thinking, working things out, letting the audience understand the process she goes through. I re-scored that scene about 20 times.”
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