Music From The Heart In “The Book Of Life”
GUSTAVO
SANTAOLALLA, FATHER OF LATIN ALTERNATIVE MUSIC SUPERVISES, FEATURING “US THE
DUO”
One of the world’s most influential
personalities, Oprah Winfrey, was recently enthralled by the upcoming animated feature
“The Book of Life” from 20th Century Fox directed by Mexican
filmmaker Jorge R. Gutierrez whose unique visual and storytelling flair were
enjoyed by many in his television works such as “Mucho Lucho,” MAD” and “El
Tigre, The Adventures of Manny Rivera.”
Another new song, “No Matter Where
You Are,” is performed by a real-life married couple known as Us the Duo, who
introduced the tune as their marriage vows – and then landed a record deal. The song is performed by Diego Luna
and Zoë Saldana. “Us the Duo” is the
first musical (artist) act to have been established via Vine and had become
Vine’s first major-label signing. Oprah
became so enthralled by the end-credits song entitled “No Matter Where You Are”
that she had the real-life married artists “Us The Duo” included in her U.S.
tour of “The Life You Want Weekend.” The
couple introduced the tune of the song as their marriage vows that landed them
a record deal.
In a recent interview with
Billboard, “Oprah fell in love with the movie and she heard about us,” says
Michael Alvarado, married to Carissa. “We are super jazzed about what’s being
spoken about and just trying to inspire the listeners there,” says Alvarado
further who shared that their mission is to “inspire people through music, encouraging
people to pursue the passion they have in life and showing that love still
exists, that relationships are important.”
In the “Book of Life,” Gutierrez
presents yet another unique, vibrant and visually spectacular world and
characters with a stellar voice cast that includes Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana,
Diego Luna, Christina Applegate, Ron Perlman, Ice Cube and Kate Del Castillo.
“The Book of Life” tells the legend
of Manolo (Luna), a conflicted hero and dreamer who sets off on an epic quest
through magical, mythical and wondrous worlds in order to reunite with his one
true love and defend his village. Manolo, Maria (Saldana) and Joaquin (Tatum) –
three best friends – have been close since childhood. Their bond was interrupted when Maria, who
was a bit too rebellious for her father’s taste, was sent to Europe to become a
proper lady. Joaquin joined the military
academy and became a legendary bandit-fighter.
But Manolo didn’t go anywhere – he stayed in San Angel and practiced to
become a bullfighter, as his father did before him, and his father before him.
CARISSA AND MICHAEL: US THE DUO, THE BOOK OF LIFE |
Music is a big part of the magic of
“The Book of Life,” and the production was lucky to land the formidable talents
of two-time Oscar® winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, the father of Latin alternative
music, making his animated feature film debut.
Under his supervision, the filmmakers landed rights to cover, with a
Latin twist, beloved songs from Mumford and Sons (“I Will Wait”), Elvis Presley
(“Can’t Help Falling in Love”), Radiohead (“Creep”), Biz Markie (“Just a
Friend”), Rod Stewart (“Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”).
Additionally, there are beautiful, original songs written by Santaolalla
and the award-winning Paul Williams.
“The music hails from all cultures
and eras,” says Gutierrez. “The story is
set in the past but the music is current.
And the idea behind the characters singing these familiar songs is that
mariachis don’t compose music; they sing familiar songs. So that’s what Manolo does; he grabs music
from the culture.”
“Gustavo is known to mix the sound
of Latin America with Northern influences, including electronic, punk and
rock,” del Toro elaborates. “That became
the sound of “The Book of Life” – the idea that these songs from all over the
world, and from different eras would go through the film’s ‘sound machine’ to
sound authentically Mexican, but at the same time have a global reach.”
For example, Manolo’s soulful
singing of Radiohead’s “Creep” emanates from what he thinks is a quiet moment
of solitude – though Maria is listening.
He then embarks on the time-honored tradition of serenading the girl of
one’s dreams. Accompanied by his rotund
mariachi friends, the Rodriguez brothers (voiced by Cheech Marin, Gabriel
Iglesias and Ricardo Sanchez “Mandril”), they try fun, though hardly romantic
versions of Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and Biz Markie’s “Just a
Friend” – the latter to the accompaniment of a toy piano.
These are great songs, to be sure,
but Maria is unimpressed. That is, until
Manolo, absent his three pals, warbles a new song, “I Love You Too Much” (music
by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyric by Paul Williams), which touches Maria’s heart. “Manolo realizes he has to sing from the heart
and not use someone else’s song,” the director explains. “‘I Love You Too Much’ is a love song that
pours out of his heart and soul, and it works!”
“The
Book of Life” is set in Mexico, but its music, heart, humor and themes are
universal – as are its talented cast and crew.
“We have people from all over the world who worked on this movie,” says
Booker. Above all, the film is about the importance of shaping one’s own
destiny. As The Candle Maker (voiced by
Ice Cube) tells us, “Write your own story.”
“The
Book of Life” opens October 16 in cinemas (2D and 3D) from 20th
Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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