28 Days, Weeks and Years Later: Godspeed Vs. Danny Boyle

“The car’s on fire and there’s no driver at the wheel and the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides and a dark wind blows” – monologue intro to “The Dead Flag Blues”

When British director Danny Boyle made his comeback film, “28 Days Later” – a genuinely terrifying zombie film ostensibly about the end of the world – he wanted dark, apocalyptic music.

“I always try to have a soundtrack in my mind. Like when we did ‘Trainspotting,’ it was Underworld. For me, the soundtrack to ’28 Days Later’ was Godspeed. The whole film was cut to Godspeed in my head,” Boyle told the Guardian.

Obviously. Boyle was so smitten with the punctuation-moving, Montreal squatter-orchestra Godspeed You! Black Emperor, when he could only acquire one song from the notoriously anti-corporate, fiercely anarchistic doomsday rockers, he contracted composer John Murphy to essentially write an entire soundtrack that sounded like Godspeed facsimiles.

Months before, Boyle ceaselessly harassed Godspeed; chasing them via email, begging them to use songs, taking them out for a herbivorous dinner (naturally) and sending many a passionately-worded letter. Naturally suspect of any commercial endeavors GY!SE initially declined, but eventually relented after they met Boyle face to face and were down with what seemed his honest, pure intentions. And more importantly – his disassociation with the studio hegemony.

“We went to meet them and they were very reluctant as normally they don’t license their work for features. They were a lovely bunch of people. This slow, very elegiac start which their music builds from virtually nothing to an apocalyptic crescendo; it was a fantastic template for the film. And what we did was use that track at the beginning and then the composer, John Murphy, took it as inspiration for the end.” – Danny Boyle in Res Magazine.

However, when Boyle sold the militant, landlord wary politicos his idea, “28 Days Later” was an indie, not yet backed or financed by big-business interests – this would change (Initially however, ‘28 Days’ was shot on a shoestring budget and indeed came on the coattails of two major financial and critical Boyle bombs – “The Beach” and “A Life Less Ordinary.” At the outset, Boyle was forced to keep it simple and scale back).
Allegedly, Godspeed and the film auteur agreed to the terms on a handshake deal and then later, when Boyle and producers were looking for distribution and financing, Fox Searchlight came a knockin’ and acquired the film.

To these PETA-endorsing, gentrification-fighting communists, this was tantamount to treachery of the highest order. Godspeed felt swindled and quickly disavowed any association with the film.

One measly song, “East Hastings” (the movement, “Sad Mafioso,” specifically, from the album f# a# oo) was used in the film, but Godspeed still had a shit-fit, fearing that their reputation as difficult, stringent assholes might be ruined with Sassy magazine readers the world round (as part of their initial agreement, the song would be utilized in the movie, but it would not appear on the soundtrack CD and this agreement was never breached).

Some ardent extremists were shocked that Godspeed would even agree to such a thing to which the irritated collective would point to the disclaimer above their heads reading, “Please do not ask Godspeed about 28 Days Later, to us it does not exist.”

(As an aside: curiously enough, not one article from this period exists. I googled up the wazoo, but could not find one such case to back up the story I had read years ago; utitizling multiple search engines and various Internet archives. If you can find any article where GY!BE disassociates itself with “28 Days Later,” please, please send it to me. I challenge you to find even one instance and will paypal you $10 if you can find substantial information).

So Boyle basically went without, grabbed an Eno and Grandaddy song, used the Murphy knock0ffs and voila, the soundtrack was complete.

Contrary to popular opinion though, GY!BE weren’t completely dogmatic; two years earlier they had lent their music to the IFC documentary about the golden age of horror films, “This American Nightmare” (the group allowed the documentarians to use “Moya” also from f# a# oo)

Not surprisingly, after the “28 Days” experience, the self-righteous ideologues shot down further film inquiries. Reptilian director, Oliver Stone’s asked to use “Moya” in his absurdist football comedy, “Any Given Sunday,” but the band naturally refused to give their consent. Stone apparently even had cut a scene to their music and then was forced to re-edit the scene after Godspeed refused at the last minute.

Godspeed’s, I’m-not-the-spokesperson, spokesperson/Charles Manson-look alike, Efrim Menruck told the story in this poorly translated French interview (we tried to clean it up a bit).

“We had many calls [about soundtracks], it’s true. What shocks [filmmakers] is that we want to know what the film is about; what is it’s goal, what is the director’s background because we do not want our music used in bad films.

And then, they are so sure you will say yes, that they make you the offer once that the addition of your music is completed! Take for example the Oliver Stone film, it was our bass player, a big mouth who said that their 250,000 dollar offer was accepted!

Finally you have call one of their assistants to ask that they tell their boss we refused.

The American Football movie was to illustrate a scene where the quarterback throws the ball, it is the most important moment of the film, and you have this long journey with the ball in slow motion in the air, it was ridiculous.”

Sounds like our Oliver. Godspeed may have denied Stone, but DIY classical group the Rachel’s seemed to have no problem with “Any Given Sunday.”

For the sequel, “28 Weeks Later” (which opens tonight in North American and the U.K.), the filmmakers – not Boyle this time; he executive produced and Spanish, “Intacto” director, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo took the helm– used composer John Murphy again and allegedly some Brit-Pop tracks (Muse‘s “Shrinking Universe” is in the trailer).

An interesting aside: “28 Weeks Later” producers begged original ’28 Days’ star Cillian Murphy to make a cameo as a zombie in the film, but he flat out refused. But don’t think that relationship is in disrepair: Murphy stars in Boyle’s upcoming psychological sci-fi drama “Sunshine.”

Download:
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – “East Hastings”
Download: John Murphy – “Rage” (“28 Days Later Soundtrack”)
Download: John Murphy – “Tower Block” (“28 Days Later Soundtrack”)
Download: John Murphy – “The Beginning” (“28 Days Later Soundtrack”)

Scene: Godspeed’s “East Hastings” in “28 Days Later”

Trailer: “28 Weeks Later”