This week's episode has been a long time coming. I reckon I spoke to director Todd Haynes well before Christmas. His latest film Wonderstruck received a three-minute standing ovation at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and I've been desperate

to share our chat ever since. Well, the moment has come as Wonderstruck finally gets an official

UK release, though you may have already been lucky enough to see it on Amazon. I'm Edith Bowman,

and you're listening to Soundtracking, a weekly podcast about screen music with some of the biggest

names in the business.

Based on the bestselling novel by Brian Selznick, who also wrote the screenplay,

Wonderstruck intertwines two stories set 50 years apart about children, Rose and Ben,

both of whom are on quest to find their parents. In a novel twist, Rose's story plays out as a black and white silent movie,

which presented various challenges for composer Carter Burwell.

More on that shortly, as well as music from Todd's other work,

including the Velvet Gold Mine, I'm Not There, Carol, and Far from Heaven.

But we begin with the background to Wonderstruck,

accompanied by extracts from Carter's ephemeral score.

Todd, welcome to soundtracking. Can I start off by saying congratulations on Wonderstruck?

It's so beautiful. Kind of welling up thinking about it to be honest because it is just like nothing else I've seen.

Thank you. I did feel, when I read the script and then I went back and read Brian book. I was like, this is absolutely utterly unique.

However it comes out, it'll be something no one's ever seen before.

And I thought, I think maybe this could be, actually could be something that younger audiences could and should have access to.

When you read the book and you read the script, was it very clear to you how you would

bring it to life visually?

It was clear that both stories offered a specific but profound wealth of references in the

historical periods in which they're set, but also the cinema that's associated with

...