Toy Story's Randy Newman: 'I just don't like directors'

Exclusive: Randy Newman, who has won two Oscars for his music for Pixar films, says the animation studio probably won't use him again.

The American singer-songwriter and film composer has scored seven Disney-Pixar films, picking up two Academy Awards for the songs 'We belong together' from Toy Story 3 and 'If I Didn't Have You' from Monsters, Inc.

But the composer believes he doesn't think the animation studio will be using him again.

"I'm not so sure that I don't have a reputation just for being a little trouble," Newman tells Classic FM's Tommy Pearson on this week's Saturday Night at the Movies (Saturday 14 February, 5pm).



Click below to listen to a preview of Randy Newman's interview:

Newman says he thinks it's easier for Pixar to get along with Michael Giacchino - who won an Oscar for his music for Up - and Thomas Newman, Randy's cousin, who wrote the scores for Finding Nemo and WALL-E.

Newman was unhappy with Toy Story 3's director Lee Unkrich using his temporary score in the final version of the film.

"The movie did great and everything, and maybe I'm wrong and if I look back on it I won't know the difference – but it didn't fit hand in glove the way I would have tried to do - and he fell in love with the [temporary score] very much," Newman says.

"So now he's not going to use me to work with him again."

The composer acknowledges he is "troublesome".

"I've just got to be nicer to directors," he tells Tommy Pearson. "I just don't like them, because they don't leave you alone. Really it's their picture, their name's on it so if they want you to use a kazoo and a bath tub and a whisk broom to do something you've got to do it."

Listen to Randy Newman – and Thomas Newman – in conversation with Tommy Pearson, on Saturday Night at the Movies, 14 February 2015, 5pm.