Find. Kill. Repeat. These are the only words that hitman John Smith lives by in Saban Films’ new action feature Repeater. Available in theaters on December 9th and on demand and digital on December 13th, the film is directed by R. Ellis Frazier from a script he co-wrote with Benjamin Budd. It stars Paul Sidhu, Kristanna Loken, and Nick Moran, with Corbin Bernsen and Gary Daniels.
The official synopsis for the film reads: Hired hitman Smith (Sidhu), is in the crosshairs when rival contract killers come gunning for him. For Smith, his directive is straightforward: seek, locate and terminate. But rival assassins have him in their sites as they track and target each other and aim for their latest assignment, a hacker who threatens to expose the malicious criminality of a conglomerate head. Adding to the thrill ride is the score by composer Chris Bezold. Bezold is no stranger to this genre, his other action credits include Legacy, Hustle Down, Larceny and Your Move. We spoke with Bezold about everything from his collaboration with Frazier to getting inspiration from his own experiences in the National Guard. Read the exclusive interview below.
How did you first get involved with Repeater? What were your first thoughts after reading the script?
Frazier and Justin Nesbitt, of whom I worked with on previous projects, brought Repeater to me and made an introduction to UltraMedia who produced the film. I loved the cast of characters and knew right away this would be a fun musical journey, which would no doubt provide an opportunity for distinct musical motifs. I was anxious to get started and see the first cut!
Were there specific challenges with scoring Repeater? If so, what were they?
Yes, but good challenges! They really helped push my creative boundaries. Mainly, I featured two specific soloists for the score: Regina Tolley on electric violin, and my brother, Devin Bezold on acoustic and electric guitar. I originally wanted a more hybrid score with electronic elements with just a couple traditional sounds. However, in collaborating with the producers I was directed to manipulate these traditional sounds into something more “out of this world”. Something very different from my other work. We did this by massive processing and experimentation, sending these parts through all types of different distortions, reverbs and delays.
According to your resume you have scored a lot of action films. Why do you think your music resonates so well in this genre? Is there a genre you haven’t scored yet that you would like to?
I really love the genre. Action, action/comedy films have always been my favorite genre, so it’s a blessing to be able to work here regularly. I think there may be an intuitiveness for me in the fact that my first instrument before learning piano was drums. I started taking lessons at age 5 so I’ve always had a more sensitivity to rhythm, which in the action space is very useful, not just for fighting sequences, but also just to help drive the narrative home and keep the tension. I would love a chance to do more drama, maybe more historical drama like The King’s Speech (one of my favorite films). I’d also love the challenge of a romantic comedy. I have a lot of passion and emotion that I express in music, and I’d love the opportunity to share this more within those other genres in addition to the action films I score.
You collaborate a lot with director R. Ellis Frazier. Because you have worked together so many times, does he let you experiment a lot with your scores? Or does he have a pretty specific sound he wants to use for each of them?
Frazier is a great director and always provides me with an ample amount of individual creative discretion. He’s very open at every project to hearing my first impressions and to experiment with those results. Typically we’ll sync up right before the score gets kicked off to review the high level tone and feel. We also will go more into the story, and how the music should complement the narrative on screen. Frazier himself is a very talented musician so he is able to communicate with me, musician to musician, in addition to, director to composer.
You are a member of the National Guard. Do you think this is where you get a lot of inspiration for your scores?
Absolutely. I enlisted a little older than most (32 years old at the time), and I knew there was a risk of being tied up in training and potential missions for the next 6 years. That said, I also knew the experience was something that was calling me to do, and that this experience would push me to become a better person, and would therefore ultimately impact positively my ability to communicate through music. There were times I thought I made a BIG mistake. But I’m blessed to have an amazing dad who encouraged me through these times that the result would be worth the struggle and he was right. No regrets.
What would you say is your “go to” instrument?
Although I mentioned the influence of drums and percussion for me, my “go to” instrument is the piano. When I get a new project, read a script, see a rough cut, I’ll go to the piano and start working out different ideas, trying to align the music to the story. It’s like putting together a puzzle for me, I know the right piece is there and often I’m just searching for that right piece, and my go to instrument for this discovery process is the piano 100%.
You have another film coming out soon titled As Good As Dead. Can you talk about your work on that movie?
Absolutely, this was another film directed by Frazier and stars Michael Jai White. I really loved the story of Mike’s character and how his isolated life gets interrupted by a young boy looking for mentorship and teaching on how to defend himself against the bullies in his life. Michael is a powerful presence on screen so my goal in this score was to create a sensitive yet driving and powerful score that complimented MJW’s character throughout.
Is there a specific director you would like to work with one day?
My favorite action films for a while continue to be the Mission Impossible series. I’d love to work with Christopher McQuarrie one day. I greatly admire the amount of work and attention to detail put into these projects. Plus, he’s got a pretty cool first name too! Dallas Jenkins is another amazing director I would love to have the opportunity to work with one day. What he’s done with the independent series The Chosen is truly remarkable.
You have a documentary coming out called Inclusion that focuses on the America’s with Disabilities Act. You wrote the main title and credits for this. How was your approach different for this project, then previous ones?
I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some great directors, and Ty Hunt, director of Inclusion is one of them. Ty and I both graduated from Full Sail University and are friends to this day. Ty is very involved in the music creation process, but like Frazier, also provides and encourages freedom of creative discretion. I really connected to this documentary personally as I’ve spent time volunteering in local Adaptive Sports in southern California, where I was fortunate to be a part of the original volunteer force that started the San Diego Ducks Sled Hockey team. My time with these amazing athletes has been such an enrichment in my life, so when Ty brought this to me I didn’t give it a second thought, I wanted to jump in and express musically not only what I saw in the picture, but also what I’ve seen and experienced firsthand in this community.
Many thanks to Chris Bezold for taking the time for this interview.
