Composer Daniel Pemberton Taps Into “Magic” Of Hollywood’s Golden Age With ‘Being The Ricardos’ Score – Hear An Exclusive Track

Matt Grobar
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has the first exclusive track from Daniel Pemberton’s score for Being the Ricardos, which is set for digital release via Lakeshore Records on December 3—ahead of the film’s release in select theaters via Amazon Studios on December 10, and its Prime Video premiere on the 21st.

The film written and directed by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7) examines the complex romantic and professional relationship between I Love Lucy stars Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), honing in on a moment when they find themselves threatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear and cultural taboos. The drama takes audiences into the writers’ room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom, as the pair face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.

More from Deadline

Daniel Pemberton - Credit: Courtesy of Chloe Pemberton
Daniel Pemberton - Credit: Courtesy of Chloe Pemberton

Courtesy of Chloe Pemberton

Pemberton is an Oscar, Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award nominee who has scored all of the films Sorkin has directed, including The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Molly’s Game, as well as the Universal drama Steve Jobs, which Sorkin wrote for director Danny Boyle. The composer says that in his latest outing with Sorkin, he looked to craft “a timeless classic orchestral score with a strong theme,” which could be adapted in myriad ways to track with “the fascinating and complex emotional journey” of Ball and Arnaz.

“I then wanted to capture some of the magic that scores from that ‘golden age’ had – strong melodic and thematic writing with a large orchestra performing in the biggest room we could get,” he adds. “We were incredibly lucky to not only get Abbey Road Studio One but also just to get across the line with updated COVID protocols, allowing us to record 69 musicians in that legendary space.”

Pemberton says that all in all, his experience with Being the Ricardos was “amazingly memorable.

“I hope this score captures both the emotional complexity of the two main characters,” he continues, “but also some of the magic of the world they inhabited and created.”

Pemberton earned his first Oscar nomination just this year for his work on The Trial of the Chicago 7‘s original song “Hear My Voice,” performed and co-written by Celeste. The composer has also lent his talents to such studio films as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Birds of Prey, Enola Holmes and Ocean’s Eight, along with Indies including Cannes Palme d’Or competitor Mal de Pierres and Paralympics documentary Rising Phoenix, for which he recently won a Sports Emmy Award for Best Music Direction.

Pemberton was named Film Composer of the Year in 2021 by both the World Soundtrack Awards and the International Film Music Critics Association. He received Golden Globe noms for his Motherless Brooklyn and Steve Jobs scores, also scoring Best Original Song noms for “Hear My Voice” and the song “Gold” (co-written by Danger Mouse, Stephen Gaghan and Iggy Pop, and performed by Iggy Pop) for Gaghan’s 2016 film of the same name.

Lakeshore Records is the soundtrack arm of the Cutting Edge Group. The four-time Grammy-nominated record label has previously released the soundtracks for such acclaimed titles as The Shrink Next Door, Bridgerton, Drive, Stranger Things, The Old Guard, Cyberpunk 2077, When They See Us, The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror, Star Trek: Picard, Bojack Horseman, Les Misérables, Mandy, Narcos, Logan, The Walking Dead, Napoleon Dynamite, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Red Dead Redemption 2, Legion, Lady Bird, Moonlight, Little Miss Sunshine, American Factory, If Beale Street Could Talk and The Hurt Locker, among many others.

Being the Ricardos also stars J.K. Simmons, Jake Lacy, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Clark Gregg, Nelson Franklin and more. Escape Artists’ Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch produced the pic, with Jenna Block exec producing alongside David Bloomfield of Escape Artists, Stuart Besser, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz, Jr. and Lauren Lohman.

Check out Pemberton’s final cue for Being the Ricardos, titled “The End Of A Dream,” above.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE-X-3MagqI?version=3&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://deadline.com&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.