David Byrne, frontman of Talking Heads, wrote and performed an original song for “Musk,” Alex Gibney’s documentary about Elon Musk. Titled “Let Me Sell You a Dream,” the track plays in the 232-minute film and qualifies for the best original song category at the 2027 Oscars.
Byrne co-wrote the song with Daniel Pemberton, the Oscar-nominated composer behind “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” According to Byrne, the lyrics draw directly from Musk’s own public statements. “I asked for good quotes from the Martian, and found more of them online,” Byrne said. “All his own words. No editorializing. Straight from the man’s mouth to mine.”
Director Gibney described the collaboration: “I am a huge fan of his. I sensed that he would find a musical way into what the film is trying to say. ‘Let Me Sell You a Dream’ is kick-ass. In writing the lyrics, David dug deep into the sayings of Musk himself to get to ‘extremely hard core,’ foot-tapping sardonic poetry.”
For Byrne, the song marks his first Oscar-eligible work since 1988, when he won the Academy Award for best original score for “The Last Emperor,” shared with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su. Pemberton received a best original song nomination in 2021 for “Hear My Voice” from “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
“Musk” world premieres out of competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on September 8, followed by the Toronto International Film Festival. Bleecker Street releases the film in U.S. theaters on October 16.
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Source: Variety
