TRENT REZNOR DOESN’T KNOW WHERE HIS GRAMMYS ARE
Yesterday, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score for their contribution to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*; it’s their second nomination in as many years and would seem to suggest that the duo will probably get a second Oscar nod, too, although it’s not clear yet if they’ll be able to repeat the success of last year’s The Social Network. Still, pretty crazy to see the guy who once sang “I wanna fuck you like an animal” being all respectable n’ shit.
And since he is Mr. Respectable now, Reznor has granted a long interview to The Hollywood Reporter, a trade mag which I can’t imagine would have been interested in him even just a few years ago. But it’s a fun read, and they got some pretty good dish out of the dude — like the fact that he has no idea where his Grammy statuettes are:
“…you won’t find either Grammy displayed in the house that Pretty Hate Machine built. Reznor… admits that having moved several times in the past two decades (Cleveland , New Orleans, Los Angeles), he’s not sure where the trophies are, nor does he care. The Oscar, however, sits prominently next to his Golden Globe (puny in comparison) in his living room. ‘Winning that Academy Award, I’m not ashamed to admit it,’ says Reznor. ‘The others don’t mean anything. Why don’t the Grammys matter? Because it feels rigged and cheap — like a popularity contest that the insiders club has decided. The movie side is interesting, challenging, different and rewarding in way that I hadn’t experienced through my music career.’”
I’m actually kind of surprised to hear Reznor give the Oscars so much weight — ’cause, really, they’re just as meaningless as the Grammys.
And I’m also surprised to hear that Reznor may be making peace with the record industry:
“‘I miss how a record label can help spread the word that you have something out,’ Reznor confesses. ‘Sometimes I feel like stuff disappears into the ether. You tend to rely on the power of your Twitter feed and how loud you can shout from the rooftops, but I’ve noticed that voice isn’t so loud in, say, France.’ Perhaps that’s what precipitated a recent lunch meeting between Reznor and Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine where the two ‘swapped war stories.’”
Although, in all fairness, it doesn’t sound like Reznor will be re-signing with Interscope anytime soon. But the fact that he’s even still rubbing elbows with a guy like Iovine kinda caught me off-guard. Maybe my view of Reznor is a little too rosy.
The full interview is available to read here, and it’s definitely worth checking out — other topics covered including the status of the new How to Destroy Angels album, some behind-the-scenes info on the creation of that Oscar-winning score for The Social Network, and the fact that Reznor was hired, and basically fired, from scoring the 2002 Robin Williams thriller, One Hour Photo. He even gets in a dig at Coldplay, which is always appreciated. Read it.
And for the umpteenth time: the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is out now, and it’s fucking great. Go get it.
-AR
*Chris Cornell was also nominated for the song contributed to the movie Machine Gun Preacher, “The Keeper.” Didja see that movie? You didn’t. Nobody did. Cornell ain’t gonna win, and I don’t foresee a trip to the Oscars in his future, either.
Thanks to our friend and peer Corey Mitchell for bringing this interview to my attention!
