Trent Reznor And Atticus Ross Will Score THE VIETNAM WAR

Maybe you thought the return of Nine Inch Nails would prevent Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from working on a new film score any time soon. After all, with a new album already in release, another (allegedly) on the way, and a forthcoming tour (also allegedly) waiting in the wings, where would they find the time? It's a fair assumption!

But then, maybe you've forgotten that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are goddamn machines: not only have they completed work on a new film score (following their work on Peter Berg's Patriots Day, in theaters now), but the film-in-question is an 18-hour Ken Burns documentary about the Vietnam War:

"...Long-form filmmaker Ken Burns (“The Civil War,” “Baseball”) and his co-director, Lynn Novick, approached Mr. Reznor’s manager more than three years ago about an even more ambitious project — scoring his 10-part, 18-hour documentary about the Vietnam War — the musicians gamely added it to their pile of disparate responsibilities.

“I don’t think he finished the sentence before I said, ‘Yeah, we’re in,’” Mr. Reznor recalled in an interview. “That’s a no-brainer.”

Good lord, that's exciting.

According to the New York Times, the score will be comprised of two full hours of brand-new Reznor/Ross material, along with "reworked bits from Nine Inch Nails songs and their scores for The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” That's surprising! And very cool!

In addition to Reznor and Ross' new work, The Vietnam War will also feature songs from the era portrayed in the doc (stuff from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan) along with musical contributions from Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble. 

The Vietnam War premieres on PBS this September. No word on when the soundtrack might be released, but you can rest assured that I'll keep my ear to the ground on that one for you.

(Note: Header photo used with permission via Wikimedia Commons)