Behind the Music interview: Fil Eisler on Life of the Party

For the next edition of Behind the Music, we will be chatting with acclaimed Empire musical composer and the man behind the music of the newest Melissa McCarthy film, Life of the Party: Fil Eisler!

Behind the Music is an ongoing series that seeks to interview and gain an introspective on both established and up-and-coming composers. These composers, who have worked for everything from television to film to commercials, share their experiences, work ethic, and more, here on Hidden Remote. For this edition, we interview the composer behind the newest Melissa McCarthy comedy, Life of the Party: Fil Eisler.

Melissa McCarthy and director Ben Falcone are the latest examples of a married Hollywood team. The husband and wife have been responsible for directing and starring in their own films since 2014 with Tammy. Falcone helps write and produce the films with McCarthy and they have been thriving as a comedic team in the film industry since then.

With their newest film, Life of the Party, we see McCarthy engage in social life among college students as a divorcee who decides to go back to college with her daughter. While the team is essentially the head of the operation here, it doesn’t mean they didn’t receive some help from other crew members to help make the film better. This is where prolific composer, Fil Eisler (stylized as iZLER), comes in.

You have heard his music set against the backdrop of some of television’s most acclaimed and beloved shows. From helping score the Showtime hit series, Shameless, to working extensively on one of the hottest shows on television right now, Empire, Eisler has gained traction as a famed composer with these resume boosters. His experience in film is no joke either, having worked on the scores for recent films like Proud Mary and last year’s CHiPs remake. Now, his latest project, Life of the Party, is in theaters and Fil Eisler tells all about his experience working on the film, his humble beginnings and his work on Empire.

Hidden Remote: To get things started, I’d like to start from the beginning. From how early on in your life did you realize that you wanted to work in music?

Fil Eisler: I realized I wanted to work in music very early on. My earliest musical memories stretch back to when I was probably three but my first recollections of wanting to do nothing but music for the rest of my life kicked in around the age of eight or nine. I remember being very clear about it at that age, that it was all I wanted to do for a living and it’s never changed since. I would definitely consider that a blessing.

HR: Who would you consider to be your influences in music and furthermore, do you incorporate their essence into your style?

FE: I think anyone who’s ever listened to a piece of music ingests it in some way and your musical style is ultimately a synthesis of what you’ve spent your life studying and appreciating. It’s what you do with those influences and how you impart your personality on them that hopefully makes it feel like something fresh and new. As far as my own influences go, that feels like asking me to describe a chain of my DNA, I could probably never get through them all but let’s say … Beatles, Elvis Costello, Beethoven, Mozart, Stravinsky, Scriabin, Vaughan Williams, Prokofiev, Nick Cave, Rage Against The Machine, NWA, Public Enemy, John Williams (I know, some of these are obvious but who isn’t influenced by the Beatles and John Williams?), Debussy, Arvo Part, John Corigliano, Sex Pistols, and more. I could go on for ages!

HR: Now onto your latest project, the music for the new Melissa McCarthy comedy, Life of the Party. How did you find yourself involved with this new project?

FE: It was actually Dax Shepard who recommended me to Ben Falcone, the director. We had had so much fun on CHiPs and Ben was about to start on Life of the Party, so I went from one straight to the other.

HR: This isn’t your first venture into comedy, as you’ve also worked on the 2016 film, How To Be Single. Both films aim towards a fast-paced comedy with an emotional core to pull audiences in. How did you differentiate between the two films to give them their own sense of personality in the music?

FE: I think the same as I approach any film, comedy or otherwise – that is to say. I what motivates the characters, what’s moving the story from one place to another and how can I help pull the audience deeper into that, make them forget they’re watching a movie. Each film kind of finds its own voice that way because every film feels different. Both of those movies were very different and so there was never any question of repeating what I did in one for the other. It just wouldn’t work.

HR: Hearing the music in the film, it felt somewhat relaxing to listen to. The track, “Vagoogle” for instance, felt like something leaning towards a soothing guitar ballad, with some piano mixed in there to give a homely feeling. Was this the intention to make audiences feel relaxed and safe while watching the film?

FE: I think it was more about finding the emotional heart of the Deanna character and there are those moments in the film where she’s somewhat reflective so that kind of made sense. There’s also something quite whimsical about her character so the music had to reflect that a bit. I’m glad it made you relax though!

HR: Is there a particular scene in the film that you feel was enhanced by your score? Like a scene where the acting, filmmaking, and music all come together at the perfect moment to create a memorable moment for one to ponder after leaving the movie theater? If it’s a scene involving a spoiler, you can be a bit vague about it if you need to!

FE: I have to be a bit careful about spoilers but I’d say one of those reflective moments towards the second half of the movie is my favorite. It’s actually a genuine moment of honesty between the mother and daughter and it’s really nicely acted.

HR: What did you find most rewarding about working on Life of the Party?

FE: Working with Ben and Melissa was a really great experience, they’re just lovely people who absolutely love making movies. Can’t find a better gig than that!

HR: This project is something of a different beast compared to earlier this year when your music appeared in the action film, Proud Mary. Do you find it relatively simple enough to switch from one genre to another?

FE: I relish the idea of not being stuck in one genre and I’ve been quite lucky not to get pigeonholed so far so yes. It keeps it interesting for me.

HR: For the last few questions, I’ll ask a few more personal questions! Given how you’ve scored a number of projects over the years, from episodes of Shameless to last year’s To the Bone, what would you say is your favorite piece of work that you’ve done over the years?

FE: It’s hard to say because I rarely go back and listen to my music from previous movies unless there’s a reason like a concert or an album. I find going back through my archives whenever I need to is a sort of mixed experience, like “oh that was nice”, closely followed by “oh that should really have been better if only I’d had another week on that one!” A lot of my favorite memories are more tied in with the experience of who I was working with and how fun and creative it was.

HR: Your work on the Fox musical television series, Empire, has garnered you even more exposure to the mainstream, along with your work on Shameless and Life of the Party. How do you balance your musical score with the rest of the hip-hop-influenced music of the show?

FE: The Empire score has always been about juxtaposing the hip-hop with storytelling music so in a way, they’re two very distinct voices. I’m a big hip hop fan but I tend to leave that side of it to the experts!

HR: Have you collaborated with Timbaland, executive music producer of the show, on the music for the show or are you encouraged to try out something completely different from the rest of the crew?

FE: I haven’t so far although we’ve talked about it but mostly our schedules on the show keep us apart. The score is so different from the hip-hop and that’s a very deliberate choice.

HR: Do you see yourself continuing forward with working on Empire? The show definitely wouldn’t sound the same to audiences, given your recent nomination at the Black Reel Awards for Television for Outstanding Music!

FE: Absolutely! Season 5 is up next!

HR: Are there any genres in film and television that you’d like to experiment with in the future?

FE: As long as the material is good and I feel like I can contribute something to it, I really don’t mind what the genre is at all.

HR: Before we end this, I will ask you this: why should audiences go out to see Life of the Party in theaters right now?

FE: Because it’s fun! (Obviously, if there’s anyone out there reading this that isn’t into fun then yeah, totally avoid it).

Next: Behind the Music: Thoroughbreds' Erik Friedlander

HR: Lastly, do you have any advice for up-and-coming music hopefuls in the entertainment industry?

FE: Lots … but if I had to come up with one thing, it’s to make sure you absolutely love doing it and have fun doing it. Life is too bloody short for anything else.

Check out Fil Eisler’s work on Life of the Party, which is in theaters now!