Los Angeles Times - 02.08.2019

E1 0 FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019 LATIMES.COM/CALENDAR

AT THE MOVIES

Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
in October.
For those used to the
dreamy New Age music that
populates so many Cirque
shows, the addition of Bates
may come as a surprise. After
all, the former lead guitarist
for Marilyn Manson-turned-
composer for film and TV ac-
tion thrillers, at first glance,
doesn’t seem to fit the bill.
His powerful scores, ranging
from the epic, apocalyptic
score for “300” to the haunt-
ing, pulsating rhythms of
“Watchmen,” come from a
world on the opposite side of
the music universe from
Cirque.
Even he was surprised
when the call came from
“R.U.N.”
“I never expected to work
on a Cirque show — it was
something that never oc-
curred to me,” he says, set-
tling into an Aeron chair in
his expansive home studio in
the hills of the San Fernando
Valley, with state-of-the-art
sound equipment, key-
boards, side-by-side moni-
tors, stacks of amplifiers and
an array of pedals. On the
wall and on stands through-
out the room are no fewer
than 20 guitars (many cus-
tom-made for Bates) and one
banjo.
Sure, he’s attended sev-
eral Cirque shows, he says,
“but this is not like any of
them.”
With “R.U.N,” Cirque is
entering an entirely new
space. Forget the acrobats,
trapeze artists and clowns.
Instead, stuntmen and wom-
en, motorcycle daredevils,
pyrotechnic performers and
freak show artists will occupy
the stage, a futuristic set en-
hanced with computer
graphics and live-video pro-
jections. And unlike any of
the nearly 40 productions
Cirque has mounted, this one
will be the first to have a nar-
rative story line — written by
Robert Rodriguez of “Sin
City” and “El Mariachi” fame.

And that’s where Bates

comes in.

“When we decided we

wanted to do an action show,

it was very important that we

surround ourselves with peo-

ple who had experience in

that field,” said Daniel

Lamarre, CEO of Cirque.

“We’re talking about two ex-

perts in action movies.”

Set in the dark underbelly

of a fictional Las Vegas,

“R.U.N” is grittier than tradi-

tional Cirque shows, drawing

its inspiration from graphic

novels and action films. The

75-minute story revolves

around two rival gangs that

face off after a wedding is in-

terrupted and a bride goes on

the run. It unfolds in chap-

ters, all requiring a different

style of music.

“Each of those chapters

have their own look, and the

music needs to evolve with

the progression of the show,”

Bates says. “It’s like a modern

amalgam of musical styles

from the past 30 years.

There’s an ’80s inspiration for

a little bit of it. There’s a met-

al inspiration for part of it.

There’s definitely electro in-

fluence on what I’m doing.”

Familiar notes

“R.U.N” director Michael

Schwandt, a co-creator of the

TV series “The Masked

Singer”who has worked with

a variety of figures from Lady

Gaga to former First Lady

Michelle Obama to NBA star

Kevin Durant, wasn’t famil-

iar with Bates or his work as

discussions began about pos-

sible composers for the show.

“When I started looking, I

kept seeing his name pop

up,” Schwandt says, “and I

said, ‘OK, we just need to call

this guy and see.’ ”

If Bates’ name is not fa-

miliar to many, his work more

than likely is. The music he’s

written can be heard in hun-

dreds of films, including the

“John Wick” and “Guardians

of the Galaxy” movies, televi-

sion shows ranging from

“Californication” to “The

Punisher,” and video games

like “God of War: Ascension”

and “Killzone: Shadow Fall.”

Hard-rock fans know him for

his work with Manson, Gavin

Rossdale and Bush, Rob

Zombie and even David Has-

selhoff. And if you happen to

be a fan of the Tennessee Ti-

tans, you’ve heard the theme

song Bates wrote for his fa-

vorite NFL team.

“I work under tremen-

dous stress, but my life is in-

teresting every day. There’s

always something new hap-

pening, especially since I’ve

worked hard to diversify,” he

says. “I work on movies and

TV and video games, com-

mercials and records and

help directors put together

pitches for movies and what-

ever it is that needs to hap-

pen. I’m constantly looking

to see what kind of a new

challenge or experience I can

have.”

Anyone who has worked

on a Cirque show can attest

to the challenges ahead.

Since it made its debut in Las

Vegas 25 years ago with Mys-

tère, the Montreal-based

company has been pushing

the limits and boundaries of

theatrical stage productions

in the city. Lamarre says the

company is putting about $35

million into the new show —

Cirque’s seventh on the Strip

—making it one of Cirque’s

most expensive productions.

The goal is to appeal to a

younger audience raised on

fast-paced, video-infused en-

tertainment.

Fluid beginnings

Unlike many theatrical

shows that begin with a

script and then other el-

ements are added, “R.U.N”

has been more fluid from the

start.

“It’s always been a matter

of details being revealed a lit-

tle bit here and there,” Bates

says. “As soon as I have any

information, I’ll start making

something that spawns a dia-

logue and a response to it. It’s

never been like, here’s the

show, now write the music.”

He mentions there are

songs — “famous songs” —

that he is adapting for the

show, and that it will feature

several “known vocalists,”

but “I’m not at liberty to dis-

close what we’re doing.”

Pushed to share, he grins and

says, “I can’t. ... I can’t. Some-

one will kill me.”

Typical Cirque. Many de-

tails of the show have been

kept under wraps — even

from members of the cast or

creative team. And though

Bates has been privy to many

of the “secrets,” at times he’s

still had to work from con-

cept rather than concrete

plans.

“I didn’t know until this

spring that Robert was writ-

ing the dialogue,” Bates says.

“Sowhen samples of the dia-

logue started to appear and

we started placing them in

our initial rough sketches of

music for the show, it defi-

nitely informed us about the

function of music throughout

the show in a way that is dif-

ferent from what we under-

stood it to be before that dia-

logue.”

And that meant rework-

ing the music. But after years

in the film and television in-

dustry, Bates is used to

adapting to changes that

come as scripts are adjusted

or scenes are edited.

“The thing about Tyler is

that I push him out of his

comfort zone and he does the

same to me,” Schwandt says.

“I give him references and

give him a direction that is

out of the wheelhouse of what

he typically does, and he

keeps rising to the challenge

with grace instead of saying,

that’s not what I do, or giving

me something that’s the way

hewants to do it.”

Bates smiles when he

hears that assessment. Then

he pauses, pondering that

thought, and his expression

turns serious.

“I’ll never meet what I

think their expectations are,”

he says, modestly. “But it’s

not like I chisel these sculp-

tures together, and there you

go. This is a work in progress.

And even when the show

opens, I’m going to be avail-

able and willing to continue

to hone this. We’ll see how the

show starts playing. There

may be a more optimal way of

expressing an idea that mu-

sic can help with. I’m open to

it if it’s required.”

In the next few weeks, he’ll

be heading to Las Vegas,

where renovations to the the-

ater are wrapping up and the

cast is already rehearsing.

There, he says, he plans to

continue to tweak his score.

“Doing a show like this,”

he says, “no matter what your

station is in your life, in your

career, it’s rare air.”

After “R.U.N” opens,

Bates will take a break for the

first time in years. With all the

projects he’s been juggling,

he rarely takes a day off. He’d

like to spend more time with

his kids before he launches

into a new round of projects.

“I’ve already rented a

house in a place not in this

country for a month. I will

have a burner phone, so

there’s going to be only a few

people who will be able track

me down,” he says. “I haven’t

slept a hell of a lot in the last

decade. I would like to just

recharge ...”

Before he can finish his

sentence, his phone rings.

The caller ID flashes

“Michael Schwandt.” Time to

get back to work on “R.U.N.”

PERFORMERS from the upcoming Cirque du Soleil show make a stop at a Comic-Con gathering last month.

Daniel BoczarskiGetty Images for Fandom

Composer

shifts action

to the Strip

[B ates,from E1]

history working in British in-

telligence.

Both characters are rein-

troduced via a split-screen

montage that serves as an

amusing study in contrasts:

Guess which one cooks eggs

for breakfast and which one

downs them raw, Rocky-

style. The two men are called

in to help neutralize a major

international threat, namely

a deadly bioengineered virus

that has fallen into the wrong

hands. The virus apparently

liquefies your organs, a

prospect that Hobbs and

Shaw view as only slightly

more painful than having to

work together. Much testos-

terone-drenched trash talk-

ing ensues: There are many

jokes about physical size

(Shaw mocks Hobbs’ endow-

ment, Hobbs compares Shaw

to Frodo Baggins) and a lot of

macho posturing about

who’s going to get the job

done. It’s only a matter of

time before one of them

threatens to sleep with the

other’s sister.

That would be Shaw’s es-

tranged younger sibling, Hat-

tie (a superb Vanessa Kirby),

a skilled MI6 agent who is re-

ported to have double-

crossed her team and made

off with the virus. But before

long she reveals herself to be

the pawn of a nefarious global

techno-conspiracy (yawn),

one that will soon ensnare

Hobbs and Shaw, branding

them as dangerous fugitives

in the media and sending

them skittering from the

chilly streets of Moscow to

the sunny shores of Samoa.

Family has become a key

mantra in the “Fast & Furi-

ous” movies, generally used

in reference to Vin Diesel’s

big, sprawling cult of auto en-

thusiasts. The definitions of

family here are more conven-

tional but no less heartfelt,

extending to Hobbs’ Samoan

relatives, whom he hasn’t

seen in years, as well as

Shaw’s incarcerated mother

(Helen Mirren) and fugitive

sister. Kirby, looking beauti-

fully coiffed and made up

even at her most bruised and

battered, is the obvious cast

standout, stealing scene af-

ter scene from Johnson and

Statham in what amounts to

a kind of cinematic grand lar-

ceny.

You might remember

Kirby as the femme fatale in

“Mission: Impossible — Fall-

out,” a comparison that is not

particularly flattering to

“Hobbs & Shaw.” There’s no

shame, of course, in not

measuring up to one of the

better Hollywood spy capers

of recent years. There is still a

great deal to see here — and,

from the whirring of car en-

gines to the relentless drop-

ping of needles on the sound-

track, just as much to listen

to. The globe-trotting esca-

pades are as eye-popping as

the stunt choreography: To

watch Statham deftly ma-

neuver his sports car under-

neath a moving truck, or

Johnson swing a helicopter

on a chain as if it were a recal-

citrant pit bull, is to witness

feats of action-movie engi-

neering at their most daz-

zlingly gratuitous.

The mix of impossibly

high stakes and seamless vis-

ual coherence is one of

Leitch’s signatures, as evi-

denced by the directing

chops he showed off with

“John Wick” and “Atomic

Blonde.” His most salient

credit, however, may be

“Deadpool 2,” and not just be-

cause he’s granted an overly

generous supporting role to a

wisecracking Ryan Reynolds.

From the snarky, self-regard-

ing quality of much of the

banter (the “Game of

Thrones” references already

feel dated) to the wink-wink

lunacy of the action, “Hobbs

&Shaw” embraces artifice

with a brazenness that feels

new to the series. It’s like a

“Fast & Furious” movie

that’s been deconstructed

and reassembled as a glee-

fully demented live-action

cartoon.

Speaking of artifice, the

villain this time around is one

Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), a

cybernetically enhanced

megalomaniac who wants to

use the virus to wipe out half

of humanity and raise up a

master race of man-machine

hybrids like himself. It’s fasci-

nating to consider that dys-

topian possibility as a meta-

phor for the “Fast & Furious”

movies, which have always

been predicated on their own

fusion of humanity and tech-

nology, that glorious al-

chemy that transpires when

a car and a driver fuse to-

gether as one. For better or

worse, these are digitally

souped-up blockbusters that

haven’t entirely lost touch

with their humanity, even if

“Hobbs & Shaw,” diverting

as much of it is, could have

used less snark and more

soul.

Insult comedy kicks into overdrive

VANESSA KIRBYplays Hattie, sister of Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) and an MI6 agent caught up in the action in “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.”

Universal Pictures

IDRIS ELBAplays Brixton Lore, a cybernetically

enhanced tyrant aiming to cause mass destruction

Frank MasiUniversal Pictures

‘Fast & Furious

Presents: Hobbs

& Shaw’

Rated:PG-13, for

prolonged sequences of

action and violence,

suggestive material and

some strong language

Running time:2 hours,

17 minutes

Playing:In general release

[‘ Hobbs,’from E1]