The filmmaker and producer Stephen Soucy discusses his new short film Rich Atmosphere: The Music of Merchant Ivory Films, a look at the music of Richard Robbins, the longtime collaborator to many Merchant Ivory movies, with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Rich Atmosphere: The Music of Merchant Ivory Films is a new short film that’s available for streaming. It’s from the filmmaker Stephen Soucy who joins me now to talk about this work that celebrates the music of Richard Robbins, the long time collaborator of Ismail Merchant, James Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, on such films as A Room with A View, Maurice, Howard’s End, The Remains of the Day, and many more. Mr. Robbins, who died in 2012, earned two Academy Award nominations for his scores to Howard’s End and the Remains of the Day. He scored every Merchant Ivory picture from The Europeans in 1979 through to The White Countess in 2005. The short is narrated by James Ivory, who is also the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Call Me By Your Name, and features illustrations by Jack Cunningham of Nexus Studios in London, England. Mr. Soucy joined me from Los Angeles, California three weeks ago, to talk about this short, his upcoming feature documentary Merchant Ivory, which features an all-star cast, as well as what Merchant Ivory films have meant to him. Stephen Soucy is a producer and filmmaker, who has been in the midst of producing Romy and Michele: The Musical. He has produced the stage versions of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and the recent Broadway revival of the Boys in the Band. Visit www.stephensoucy.com for more information. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Stephen Soucy; Mr. Soucy, good morning.

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