It’s been an eventful awards season for composer Laura Karpman. Earlier this year, she earned her first Oscar nomination–for Best Original Score on American Fiction from writer-director Cord Jefferson. And last month, Karpman picked up her eighth career primetime Emmy nomination–for Best Original Dramatic Score on the Stephen Kijak-directed documentary, Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (HBO).
While American Fiction and the Rock Hudson documentary are distinctly different projects, there are parallels between them. Both are graced by jazz scores from Karpman. And the stories contain elements of drama, joy, sex and sadness, she observed. Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed, continued Karpman, is also about “queerness” as the beloved movie star led a secret life, which came to the fore with his death from AIDS-related complications in 1985. Using a mix which included archival footage and interviews with his closest friends, Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed sheds light on the star’s life on and off the screen. And in the process it pays tribute to a man whose passing raised awareness of–and sparked a new dialogue about–AIDS.
Karpman noted that the jazz score she fashioned for Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed was a precursor of sorts to her musical contributions to American Fiction. While the jazz tracks for both projects vary greatly from each other, she related that the Hudson documentary marked her first time collaborating with Elena Pinderhughes, “an amazing musician” who went on to lend her talents to American Fiction. Pinderhughes and some of her select jazz compatriots made an impact on the Hudson documentary as well as American Fiction.
Karpman credited director Kijak with being supportive and nurturing of “a thoughtful jazz score” to help tell Hudson’s story. Karpman said that while the jazz score was worked out in advance very carefully, room was still left for improvisation, helping to bring a spontaneity to the narrative. Karpman said that the music helped underscore what made Hudson tick. The complexities of jazz, she related, dovetailed nicely with the multiple sides and complex nature of the actor’s personality.
Karpman shared that a prime lesson learned from American Fiction and Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed is that “filmmakers in general shouldn’t be afraid of rich and complex music.” Such music can help to elevate a film, she affirmed. Music and film can work magnificently together, forming the heart, brain and soul of a story. Jazz is a rich language that can bring welcomed dimensions to a film, reflecting the fact that a musical score doesn’t have to be simple, doesn’t always have to be “less is more.”
Jazz scores are nothing new, she continued, citing a rich tradition spanning such composers as Lalo Schifrin, John Williams, Elmer Bernstein, Terence Blanchard and Quincy Jones, among assorted others. While many folks have certain perceptions of what jazz is and what it brings to film, the fact is that the music can do much more than what it’s typically associated with. “The truth is that scoring to picture is a lifelong learning experience,” said Karpman who felt the Hudson documentary and American Fiction contributed to her education and further deepened her appreciation of jazz.
Karpman and director Kijak have a shared jazz experience that precedes Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed. A jazz score by Karpman earlier made its mark on the Kijak-helmed documentary Sid & Judy, which explored the personal and creative relationship between Judy Garland and her producer, manager and third husband, Sid Luft. Garland’s jazz sensibilities were rooted in the 1930s and early ‘40s, said Karpman, while Hudson’s were honed in subsequent decades, translating into more bebop and cool jazz. These varied forms of jazz are reflected in the respective documentaries, exemplifying the music’s wide creative range.
Having progressive, open-minded collaborators has proven pivotal in the success of projects like American Fiction and Rock Hudson: All That Even Allowed, shared Karpman. Just as Kijak made all the difference in the Hudson documentary, so too did Jefferson on American Fiction. “I really want to continue working with smart, caring and great thinkers,” Karpman earlier told SHOOT during this year’s Oscar season. She specifically cited Jefferson, editor Hilda Rasula and producer Nikos Karamigio from American Fiction. Collaborating with considerate, thoughtful people is tantamount to being in “the best kind of summer camp,” said Karpman, adding, “You look for projects where you have the freedom, where you can be yourself, find part of your experience and existence as an artist and bring that to the film…in collaboration with other people who have different experiences.” Karpman loves the dynamic of coming together as a team to develop and evolve a film, getting it to its best version.
Karpman’s path during awards seasons over the years has taken her to two Emmy winners’ circles. She won a Primetime Emmy in 2020 for her original dramatic score for the documentary series Why We Hate. And Karpman has 10 News & Documentary Emmy Award nominations, winning four times–all for different episodes of the nature documentary series The Living Edens (three Emmy wins in 1998 and one more the following year).
As for what’s next, Karpman has another jazz project in the offing which she isn’t yet at liberty to discuss publicly. And at press time she was scoring season 3 of the Marvel series What If…? Karpman is no stranger to the Marvel Universe. Two of her primetime Emmy nominations came in 2023 (Original Dramatic Score, Original Main Title Theme Music) for Ms. Marvel.
(This is the 13th installment of SHOOT’s weekly 16-part The Road To Emmy Series of feature stories. Creative Arts Emmy winners will be covered on September 7 and 8, and primetime Emmy ceremony winners will be reported on come September 15.)
