The Machine Composer Joseph Trapanese Talks Creating Music For Action Comedies (Exclusive)

The Machine is now playing in theaters and the new action comedy was helmed by Peter Atencio and stars comedian Bert Kreischer as himself along with Mark Hamill, Jimmy Tatro, Robert Maaser, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jessica Gabor, Rita Bernard Shaw, Nikola Đuričko, Oleg Taktarov, Amelie Villers, and Mercedes de la Cruz. This week, ComicBook.com attended the movie’s premiere and talked to Kreischer about getting the chance to tell his own story his way and what it was like working with Hamill. During the event, we also talked to composer Joseph Trapanese who has created music for The Greatest Showman, Shadow and Bone, The Witcher, and much more. During the chat, we asked how scoring an action comedy is different from other projects.

“I love my job because it’s all about storytelling,” Trapanese shared. “So each one is unique. So this one, I did an action comedy called Stuber several years ago. Jimmy Tatro’s also in that, and he’s awesome. But that all takes place in LA in a car. That’s a certain type of scope, a certain type of vibe dynamic between… It’s a buddy movie. This is also a bit of a buddy action comedy because you have Bert and Mark. But at the same time, they’re going around the world, there’s a different scope, and they’re going to another country. So there’s a different scope, a different scale to this score.” 

“Oh, absolutely,” he added when asked if there was any Russian influence on the music since that’s where the film takes place. “We have a choir singing in Russian, we have Russian-inspired themes. I tried to really dig deep into that Eastern European sound.”

When asked what word he would use to sum up The Machine, Trapanese replied, “Powerful. I really honestly do think it’s… Obviously, it’s funny. Obviously, you’re going to have a lot of fun on this ride. Bert is hilarious. His relationship with his dad is hilarious. But there’s a lot of family drama. There’s a lot of moving, emotional things. There’s a lot of huge action. So I say ‘powerful,’ because it’s very powerful with how exciting the film is and how action-packed it is, but also how dramatic it is and how emotional you’re going to feel at the family drama.”

Bert Kreischer On Getting The Machine Made:

“I’m so close to crying every five minutes,” Kreischer shared with ComicBook.com. “It’s just unbelievable. Everything’s so unbelievable. I feel like this shouldn’t all be happening for me. And especially, you’re right, in my way and starring in it. And everything worked out and then, it’s in theaters even. It’s in theaters. It’s unbelievable. I don’t know how to wrap my head around it.”

When asked if he’s caught the acting bug, Kreischer replied, “It’s so funny when this got done, I was like, ‘I don’t ever want to be an actor.’ And then I started going, ‘I wouldn’t mind learning Jonah Hill’s process.’ I got to be honest with you, I don’t know if I’m a fan of the craft. I think I just want to be a movie star,” he added with a big smile. 

The Machine is now playing in theaters.