FILM INTERVIEW: MIRIAM CUTLER

A Documentary Composer Hears How Life Shouldn’t Be a Circus for 'One Lucky Elephant'

By: Daniel Schweiger

June 5, 2011

As one of Hollywood’s most prolific female composers, Miriam Cutler has gone from LA avant-garde musician to climbing the ranks of lunatic low-budget movies, all on her way to becoming an in-demand, eclectic voice. Cutler’s work has ranged from such indie dramas as God’s Army and Amy’s Orgasm to acclaimed documentaries like Lost in La Mancha,Thin, and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. It’s the latter genre that’s made the biggest difference in Cutler’s life. Now her documentary work has taken on a truly big, new dimension in both art and reality for Cutler as she assumes the dual mantle of co-producing and composing for One Lucky Elephant.

If animals aren’t people too, then they certainly have as much empathy, a fact touchingly displayed by Flora the elephant. She’s the star attraction of a St. Louis-based circus named after her. Now that she’s grown over 18 years from a pliable baby orphan to a sometimes angry teenager, her owner and Circus Flora owner, David Balding, realizes it’s time for his charge to truly be an elephant. Yet the road to the happiness of a herd is a long one, filled with hope and despair, as Flora bounces between zoos and shelters as those who love her (in spite of their often opposing viewpoints) try to fulfill the destiny of the documentary’s title.

Beyond helping to start One Lucky Elephant through its 10-year production, Cutler also provides a deeply soulful score -- one whose subtle ethnic elements become the ghostly voice of an African continent that Flora will never be able to return to. It’s music that hears the humanity in one of nature’s wisest creatures -- a score that allows One Lucky Elephant to not only touch audiences, but make them question the necessity of live animals as entertainment.

Daniel Schweiger: Before you started scoring films, you played with the original Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Could you talk about your experience with the band during its formative years, and how you made the transition to film composing?

Miriam Cutler: When I was in college, this crazy, fire-breathing guerilla theater group, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, used to attack our campus to publicize their performances at a local theater.  They were led by Rick Elfman, who was Danny [Elfman]'s brother. I was a HUGE fan and went to as many shows as possible.  A few years later, during the mid 1970s, I was performing regularly with my own feminist comedy band for which I wrote and arranged most of the music, The New Miss Alice Stone Ladies Society Orchestra.  Around that time, Danny Elfman had returned from his world travels and joined the Mystic Knights.  His goal was to make it into a killer theatrical band, and that's just what he did.  One night, after an Alice Stone gig, a friend of Danny's told me that the Boingo was looking for women musicians for the band.  Oh boy oh boy!  And then it turned out that a friend of mine from college, Steve Bartek, was also in the band.  I'll never forget my first rehearsal.  I was a clarinet player, and they handed me a tenor sax and told me to play it. Then we started working on their homemade balafons and gamelans.  I was in HEAVEN!  Thankfully, they invited me to join the band! I was with the Boingo for about three years, which were incredible.  What a band -- and the stage show was so zany and fabulous that we had a huge following.  But we parted ways around 1978 or '79.  I was writing my own music and wanted to pursue that.  There were many twists and turns, and I had different bands.  By the 1980s, I formed a hot swing band, and we had a regular gig at the Vine St. Bar and Grill for a couple of years.  During that time, I had been developing my own studio and trying to get my songs covered.  I got a few into movies.  But one night, someone came up to me after the show and asked if I'd be interested in scoring a little documentary film.  That sounded great -- and from the first frame of picture, I was hooked.  Then came a series of bad horror movies, corporate videos, and eventually a couple of decent films.  In 1997, I met Arthur Dong, a highly respected filmmaker in the doc community.  His film, Licensed To Kill, was about men who were put in prison because they thought it was okay to murder gay men.  Working with Arthur changed my life. I knew then what I wanted to do was work on high-quality documentary movies with filmmakers I respect.  And that's what I've been doing ever since!

DS: Do you think documentaries are more difficult to compose for than fictional movies, in terms of how much the music should emotionally manipulate the audience?

MC: I don't think they are more difficult to compose for, but I do feel a huge responsibility to the filmmakers and the characters in the film to show the utmost respect and authenticity with any music I create.  Documentaries, like fiction films, are stories about characters -- drama, comedy, action, mystery, etc. The director determines the tone of the film, so I don't think there are any hard rules. And actually, documentaries have really opened up, in terms of craft and style, since the days I first started.  So it's about finding what works for each film more than anything else.

DS: What did you think about elephants in circuses and zoos before One Lucky Elephant came along? Had you done any animal-related projects before this film among your dozens of soundtracks?

MC: I have been resident composer for Circus Flora, a small art circus in St. Louis, since 1988.  I met Flora, the elephant in our film, at my first meeting with David Balding, Circus Flora's producer.  They were in LA shooting Big Top Pee Wee. This very young elephant, Flora, was one of the stars in the film, among other performers from her circus.  In the many years that followed, this little elephant would always fascinate me when I was around the circus. I wondered what it was like for her, living among humans, being the only one of her kind.  As she grew up, it became clear that she was not enjoying the experience.  In 2000, Flora was nearly full-grown, and David announced he was going to retire her and send her back to Africa.  By then, I was very involved in the documentary community and really wanted to get a film made about Flora and her experience being part of a human family.  Having been exposed to Flora all those years, I was also becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the use of wild animals in circuses, and was always uncomfortable about zoos.  But during the 10 years it took to get One Lucky Elephant made, our entire team came to understand the great harm caused by taking these animals out of their natural habitat, even when they are in a loving environment.  It was very important to me that we give audiences an opportunity to experience her story through Flora’s eyes as best we could.

DS: What was the trick to getting One Lucky Elephant made?

MC: I approached the director, Lisa Leeman, but she politely declined, saying she didn't do animal docs.  Then our producers, Cristina Collissimo and Jordana Glick-Franzheim, showed interest.  Little did I know that Cristina's father was a zoo director when she was growing up, so she was very familiar with and interested in wild animals.  They were able to raise some money to shoot Flora's final performances, and I begged Lisa to direct, and she did.  So off we went to St. Louis.

DS: Did serving as a co-producer and composer of One Lucky Elephant make the scoring process unusual for you?

MC: I actually think of the co-producer and the composer as two separate people!

DS: Talk about your musical approach to One Lucky Elephant.

MC: It did present one unusual challenge.  I've been writing music for their live show for many, many years.  We usually have a five-piece band, most of whom have become part of the regular troupe.  But in my head, I've always had this idealized score for the show -- kind of a Nino Rota inspired orchestral approach. So when we first started thinking about music for the film, that was what I thought I would create.  Of course, the film is not really about the circus, and the themes became more about deeper subjects concerning our relationship with animals, the Earth, and each other.  So I had to really put those old ideas about circus music to rest!  Lisa had this great idea to use hang drums -- a metallic hand percussion instrument that is tuned.  She had a feeling that this sound could somehow reflect the interior life of an elephant.  It really was a fantastic concept to develop the score around.  I worked with MB Gordy, the fabulous studio percussionist, to expand on the ideas.

DS: It's interesting that practically every elephant handler interviewed in the film started out in the circus. You even see Flora's trainer Raul at the beginning of the film wielding the dreaded "bull hook." Do you think there's a guilt that's driving these people to save elephants now?

MC: I think many humans feel a deep connection and attraction to elephants.  There aren't too many work opportunities with elephants in the US outside of circuses and zoos.  I also think it is a natural evolution for a sensitive person who spends a lot of time interacting with these creatures, that it becomes obvious that they are highly intelligent, sensitive, and caring.  So I think it's natural that people who discover this beauty want to work to make elephants' lives better.

DS: What do you think this movie has to say about animal keepers who think they know better than the other?

MC: As you can see in our film, each character believes they are doing a good thing for elephants.  We can't really know what the elephants themselves are thinking, but I believe the best place for them is with their own families living their lives as they were meant to.  Ideally, they shouldn't have to deal with humans.

DS: Do you believe in elephant post-traumatic distress disorder?

MC: I don't know about a medical diagnosis. I will say that elephants are extremely sensitive and intelligent, and they interact with their environment.  They do have long memories, so I'm sure a bad experience is not easily forgotten and always avoided if possible. Just like any other being, something that induces fear elicits a strong reaction if repeated.

DS: What did you think of Water for Elephants? And do you at all place blame on the studio when it was revealed how submission training was used on their elephant?

MC: I have not seen the film.  I have come to understand that an elephant will not perform an unnatural behavior unless it is induced somehow, and I know it is common to use pain and fear to train elephants.  That is why I believe wild animals should not be forced to perform unnatural behaviors for our entertainment.

DS: Do you ever see the day when America will have animal-less circuses? And would you ban the use of animals in them if you could right now?

MC: I do. As people come to understand that animals don't perform for fun or enjoy living in what amounts to a cage, which is often painful and unpleasant for them, that takes the fun out of watching them. Many children seem to know this instinctively and don't like zoos.  All over the world, people are starting to protest circuses with wild animals, and in some countries, they are already banned.  I would definitely ban wild animals in circuses right now.  I myself stopped riding horses many years ago because I realized that having a bit in your mouth and having your every move controlled can't be enjoyable for the horse.  Some people have a deep relationship with their animals, and I cannot be the judge of that.  I simply do not accept cruelty.

DS: Do you think America as a whole is waking up to animal rights? And how do you think One Lucky Elephant will contribute to that?

DS: How has this film changed your thoughts about how "human" elephants are?

MC: When I was with Flora, I never felt the need to pet her or ride her, or force her to relate to me.  I always knew she would prefer not to.  Elephants are elephants, not humans.  But as herd animals, they are definitely social and create strong bonds with each other, living with their family for their entire life, taking care of each other and passing on their elephant culture and memories.

DS: Do you think you have a social mission in your role as a composer?

MC: Yes. Composing for film takes up your entire life. There isn't much time for anything else because it's so labor intensive. I decided a long time ago that, if I was going to dedicate myself to my work, I wanted my work to have a larger meaning.  And composing for documentaries has really been a good fit for me. I get to combine what I love to do with what I care about, and work with people who share my values. 

'One Lucky Elephant' opens in New York on June 8th at The Film Forum, and in Los Angeles on June 24-30th at the Laemmle Music Hall. Visit Flora’s website at OneLuckyElephant.com, and Miriam Cutler’s at MiriamCutler.com.

Interview transcribed by Peter Hackman.