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THE EARLY YEARS - ". . . and that's how I backed into movies."

  • Juilliard at 7 ". . . I was never going to be Horowitz"
  • "Music 101 is High Noon"
  • What music adds, or doesn't
  • The Big Break - The Swimmer

COMPOSING FOR FILM - "If Chopin were in the business of movies, he says to the producer, 'Listen, I've got this great Minute Waltz.' And the producer says, 'But I only need 57 seconds, so Freddy, do another one.'"

  • Timing is everything
  • To see or not to see dailies
  • What the director wants
  • Writing for Barbra Streisand

A CHORUS LINE - "When he wrote this line, I went, 'we're going somewhere.'"

  • Stage to film: What works and what doesn’t
  • Favorite song from A Chorus Line
  • The special lyric that can shape a show

DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS - "My wife said to me, 'Marvin, the clock is ticking and you haven't written one note.' And I said, 'Well, that's not true exactly. I've decided what notes I'm NOT writing.'"

  • From Moviola to DVD
  • Write it, then sleep on it
  • Keeping it fresh: The Informant!
  • Comedy is hard (but fun)

THE WAY WE WERE AND OTHER GREATS - "I gave back most of the money that I made on The Way We Were, and to this day, I'm happy about it. Because now I can sleep."

  • Changing the last cue of The Way We Were:
  • Cinema Paradiso: "The ultimate home run"
  • Filmmakers I'd love to work with

CHANGING TIMES, TECHNOLOGY, AND MUSIC - "Writing for film is still 60% hoping God will be good to you that day and you'll get some inspiration, and 40% mathematics."

  • Music packaged in film
  • Hit songs, stories and Broadway
  • Technology makes the math easier, but you still need inspiration
  • Advice for young filmmakers