CYNTHIA TORNQUIST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What does the film “Batman Forever”, the Broadway show The Green Bird, and a symphony commissioned for the 20th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War have in common? This man.
ELLIOT GOLDENTHAL, COMPOSER: I love cinema. I love the concert stage. I love the theater. Living between the exit signs is a really beautiful thing.
TORNQUIST: Composer Elliot Goldenthal has created works for orchestra, theater, opera, and film. He has received Oscar nominations for his scores for “Interview with the Vampire” and “Michael Collins”, and Grammy nominations for “A Time To Kill” and “Batman Forever”.
However, Goldenthal's latest work brings him back to Broadway to write the music for The Green Bird.
GOLDENTHAL: I can't stand still. If you watch me, I'm constantly shifting and moving around. I'm just a nervous character like that.
What you want to do is have a song either surprise you, take you by surprise.
TORNQUIST: Goldenthal is collaborating on The Green Bird with director Julie Taymor, who launched Disney's Broadway hit The Lion King. They also recently did the film version of “Titus.”
Taymor and Goldenthal's partnership began about 15 years ago and has since turned personal.
The Green Bird is a project they developed in 1996 for off Broadway. They've made some changes for the Broadway version.
GOLDENTHAL: There's a large, you know, quote/unquote ‘Broadway finale number’. There's also a lot – a lot more dancing, a lot more singing.
TORNQUIST: Goldenthal is pleased with the results.
GOLDENTHAL: It's a tremendous exhilaration to see someone else get music that moved you that was somehow picked out of the air.
TORNQUIST: Cynthia Tornquist, CNN Entertainment News, New York.