"CHOKE" SOUNDTRACK TO BE RELEASED SEPTEMBER 23, 2008
ATO Records is proud to announce that the soundtrack to the subversively comedic film "Choke," will be released on September 23, 2008. The album, a digital-only release, will have the seven songs from the film and eight others that are significant to actor, director and screen writer Clark Gregg's vision while he was making it. Highlights include previously recorded songs by the likes of Radiohead, Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Fiery Furnaces, The Twilights Singers and Ben Kweller. Most notable additions are the previously unreleased or rare tracks that appear on the record, among them "Orgasm Addict" by The Buzzcocks as sung by the band's original singer Howard Devoto, a great version of The Doors' "Crystal Ship" by the incomparable Nicole Atkins and The Sea, and the original version by The Natural History of Spoon's current hit single, "Don't You Ever."
The full tracklisting and comments on each song by Gregg are below.
Fox Searchlight Pictures and ATO Pictures present "Choke," a Contrafilm/ATO Pictures Production, based on the novel by maverick author Chuck Palahniuk ("Fight Club"). Actor-turned-director Gregg shows he is as adept behind the camera as he is in front of it with this wickedly comedic tale of Victor Mancini, con artist, sex addict Colonial village re-enactor, angst-filled son, serial restaurant choke -- and unsuspecting romantic antihero for our unsettling times.
"Choke," which ran away with the Special Jury Prize for Best Work by an Ensemble
Cast at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is not only a cathartic and romantic
satire about uncontrolled lust, lost faith, childhood trauma, mad addictions, bizarre fantasies and blockages both emotionally and literally, but also about second chances, redemptive moments and true love - that is, it's about modern life.
The film will be in theatres on September 26 and features an ensemble cast including Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Brad William Henke and Jonah Bobo. Nathan Larson composed the score.
The tracklisting and comments by Gregg follow:
Ben Kweller - "The Rules"
Ben Kweller kicks ass. These lyrics feel like Victor Mancini's rowdy, pissed-off
subtext. I love that it starts off the soundtrack with some slamming indie rock
and that it comes in during the colonial village while we're looking at all the
puffy shirts and bonnets.
The Natural History - "Don't You Ever" (rare)
I only found this band recently, but I listened to them all through post. Max Tepper's vocals are superb. I actually prefer this version to the one by Spoon and I'm a huge Spoon fan. The band broke up a few years ago. I'm going to picket their houses until they get back together.
Fiery Furnaces - "Navy Nurse"
This groove just takes your breath away.
Radiohead - "Reckoner"
Like most people, I am a huge Radiohead fan. The adaptation took me years to write so I wrote it first to Kid A, then Amnesiac and then Hail to the Thief. Later, I learned from Chuck Palahniuk that he had written the novel while listening to their song, "Creep." In Rainbows came out while we were editing and I used almost every track in my early temp cuts of the movie. They all fit really well, but I particularly loved "Reckoner." The tension between Thom Yorke's keening vocals and Phil Selway's brilliant, driving drum track fit so perfectly that it worked almost like score. I was truly dreading the day when we'd have to take it out. Somehow ATO Pictures producer, Johnathan Dorfman persuaded their manager to show the band some footage and to our shock they were generous enough to let us use the song. It's a monumental addition to the movie.
Alap Momin - "Sin Terror"
I love this jam. We needed music for the strip-club scenes and music supervisors
Lyle Hysen and Ken Weinstein knew Alap Momin from the band Dälek and he was kind enough to cook this up just for the movie. He even tailored the tracks to the scenes. The driving discordant build they layered into this piece feels like it's feeding the tension between Denny and Victor.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Satan Said Dance"
I loved their first album and we needed something dark but not too heavy for Victor's sudden rollercoaster ride back to the dark side. Hysen and Weinstein pitched this song and when we saw it over the scene it was just right.
Buzzcocks - "Orgasm Addict" (rare)
This is the anthem. I sort of grew up loving The Buzzcocks, moshing my way through their songs in the East Village. I must have played it every day I was writing "Choke." I always thought we'd open the movie with it, but it didn't work out. In any case here is a cool alternate version with a more deadpan feel and at least it made it on to our soundtrack.
Death Cab For Cutie - "No Sunlight"
What can you say, they're just really, really good.
Blitzen Trapper - "Wicked" (unreleased)
We listened to a lot of Blitzen Trapper during the crazed five-week summer shoot. It just seemed to fit with spending your 18-hour days in a sweltering mental hospital. They've got some excellent chaos going on.
Ms. Tyree Sugar Jones - "If You Feel It"
This plays in another tricky scene where everything we tried felt wrong. And then
I got turned on to the soulful sexy stylings of Ms. Tyree "Sugar" Jones. You put
this on and you know some clothes are coming off.
My Morning Jacket - "Touch Me I'm Going To Scream Pt 1"
We're all big Jacket fans. Listened to them constantly during the shoot. Very
proud to have them on here.
Shout Out Louds - "Bicycle" (rare)
Nothing like a little kick ass Swedish indie rock. They're like The Shins' attitudinal
Scandinavian cousins.
Twilight Singers - "There's Been An Accident"
One of the producers, Contrafilm's Beau Flynn, and I have been Greg Dulli fans for years. I listened to The Twilight Singers a lot when I was writing the script.
The song is really moving in a haunting, portentous way that really works for the
movie.
Nicole Atkins - "Crystal Ship" (unreleased)
Brilliant. She's got a great torchy, Peggy Lee sound with just enough tongue in
cheek to feel like a perfect citizen of the Palahniuk world.
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About ATO Films
ATO Pictures is an independent feature film company based in New York. The company was co-founded in 2002 by Temple Fennell, Johnathan Dorfman and music artist Dave Matthews. Credits include "CHOKE" (distributed by Fox Searchlight), which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008: "JOSHUA" (distributed by Fox Searchlight), which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007; "SAVAGE GRACE" (distributed by IFC), which was an official selection at the 2007 Cannes Directors Fortnight and "AMANDLA!" (distributed by Artisan) which won multiple awards including the both the Audience and Freedom of Expression Awards at Sundance in 2002. Projects currently on the company's slate include: "END ZONE," an adaptation of the Don Delillo novel; "GASTRONOMICON," an adaptation of a Joanne Harris ("CHOCOLAT") short story; "THE COLOR OF WATER," an adaptation of the best-selling novel by James McBride.
About Contrafilm
Beau Flynn launched his own New Line Cinema based production company, Contrafilm, in March 2004 with partner Tripp Vinson. The first release under their banner was "AFTER THE SUNSET." Also produced by Contrafilm, in conjunction with Lakeshore, is Screen Gem's "THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE," which was one of the most profitable and successful films of 2005. On Easter of 2006, Contrafilm released their CG film, "THE WILD" for Disney. That fall, Flynn and Vinson produced "THE GUARDIAN" for Disney's Touchstone Pictures. In February of 2007 the duo released the Jim Carrey thriller, "THE NUMBER 23" for New Line Cinema. Most recently Contrafilm produced "THE JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 3D," the first ever live action film to be shot in HD-3D. "JOURNEY 3D" is a co-production between New Line Cinema and Walden Media and is the widest digital release in history. Beau Flynn also produced "REQUIEM FOR A DREAM," "TIGERLAND," "THE HOUSE OF YES," "THE ALARMIST," "GUINEVERE," and "JOHNS."
About Fox Searchlight Pictures
Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both produces and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.
