“I come from a theater background. Aaron Sorkin is my favorite. I love talk. Dialogue to me is my stock in trade so I loved it. Learning about it all was actually really cool. I read the Steve Jobs biography. I looked into also to be able to get into it and explain it and explain it in a way that actually made sense to me was actually really fun.” —
Betas star Joe Dinicol on mastering the tech talk his character so smoothly delivers (watch the show for free here)
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If Bebe Neuwirth’s performance of the gloriously profane “Someone With Whom …” in the Amazon original pilot Browsers reminded you of a certain Broadway classic, well, there’s a reason for that.
We asked Browsers creator David Javerbaum to tell us about that song and the rest of show’s soundtrack, which features music by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Brendan Milburn (and is available for free at Amazon MP3):
“My Life”
Music by Brendan Milburn, a wonderful composer and friend I have known for almost 20 years. It introduces the four interns both individually and as a group, so it had to be long – 3 1/2 minutes, much longer than the typical song in the show, but necessary to have a real “opening number” feel. The tune Brendan wrote is catchy and irresistible. As for the title, yes I’m aware of the Billy Joel song, but it was the perfect hook for this song. It will not happen again. There will not be a “Piano Man” song in Episode Two.
“Goin’ Viral”
The music is by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, my collaborator on many other past projects and an all-around protean musical force. It has a nice Chemical Brothers sound.
“When I Tweet”
Music by Schlesinger. Very anthemic. I’d like to add another verse, give it a real ending and release it a single. I think the Twitterverse would really like it. Particularly if we could get the Bieb to cover it.
“It’s Not Like”
Music by Milburn. A lovely delicate AABA waltz with a tricky little melody and some amazing orchestration – check out the pizzicato!
“Someone with Whom Not to F—-“
Music by Milburn. Evocative of “Whatever Lola Wants” from Damn Yankees, but deliberately so – Bebe was once Lola, and Julianna [the interns’ terrifying and powerful boss] is very much like what Lola would have evolved into had the devil retired and given her the job.
Read more from Javerbaum about the show.
It takes a special person to be a great Listening Intern. It’s not just about listening — also smiling, nodding, and silently showing profound interest in what is being said (as seen in Onion News Empire, one of Amazon’s original comedy pilots.)
Think you’ve got what it takes? The Onion is hiring a Listening Intern. Get the details here.
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