Since 2011, when their debut film score for David Fincher’s gripping drama “The Social Network” earned them an Oscar, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have established themselves as remarkably prolific and consistent composers for both movies and television. Their extensive work showcases an impressive range, from the energetic electronic soundscapes of Luca Guadagnino’s 2024 tennis film “Challengers” and the intense arrangements for his current melodrama “After the Hunt,” to their jazz-infused contributions for the 2020 Pixar animation “Soul,” which garnered them a second Oscar.
However, their most recent creation – the soundtrack for Disney’s dazzling “Tron: Ares” – marks a significant moment: it’s the first time their work in film has been officially credited under the Nine Inch Nails banner. Reznor, who founded the pioneering industrial rock band in 1988 with Ross joining in 2016, explained in a recent video call that this distinction profoundly influenced the outcome. “It really had a significant impact on what ended up happening,” Reznor stated. “It yielded something that wouldn’t have happened if it were called Trent and Atticus.”
The “Tron: Ares” soundtrack by Nine Inch Nails is a masterclass in eerie melodies and warped synthetic textures, perfectly capturing both the awe and potential menace of a narrative exploring artificial intelligence. The film’s retro-futuristic aesthetic allowed Reznor and Ross to craft a soundscape that feels simultaneously cutting-edge and deeply connected to classic electronic scores from the likes of Tangerine Dream, Giorgio Moroder, and Wendy Carlos, whose synth-driven symphonies defined the original 1982 “Tron.”
Typically, Reznor and Ross are inseparable, toiling side-by-side in their secluded Los Angeles studio. But for this interview, they were in separate rooms, enjoying a rare day off before concluding a leg of Nine Inch Nails’ triumphant “Peel It Back Tour” with two hometown shows. Despite their reputation for aesthetic severity and introversion – “We’re insular people who don’t want to hang out with other people, normally,” Reznor quipped – the conversation offered a glimpse of their playful side. Ross, for instance, proudly displayed a signed, framed headshot of David Hasselhoff in his office, joking, “I like to keep treasured things around me.”
The “Peel It Back” tour features stunning visuals fused with electrifying reinterpretations of Nine Inch Nails classics, thanks to collaborations with producer Boys Noize, which include transforming the throbbing “Closer” into a relentless club mix. “It’s a rock show, but it feels like it’s constructed in a new kind of way,” Ross remarked. “I’m not saying that arrogantly, but that’s just how I feel about it.” Although a Los Angeles festival dedicated to film music, “Future Ruins,” was planned for early November, organizers postponed it “to re-think and re-evaluate.”
Both the “Tron: Ares” score and the ongoing tour signal a revitalized era for the band Reznor has led for almost four decades. “Nine Inch Nails was stagnant for a while because it didn’t particularly feel that interesting to me,” he confessed. “It didn’t feel creatively stagnant in terms of what had to be said, but the container it was in felt a little tedious.” That has dramatically shifted. Now, Reznor finds being in Nine Inch Nails “feels vital and exciting again.”
“Composing,” he added, “and being able to be on those weird assignments has really invigorated us, I think, as artists and people.”
Here are edited excerpts from their conversation:
What was the first film score that you remember impacting you?
TRENT REZNOR: “Halloween” came out when I was kind of too young to see it, and it scared the living [expletive] out of everybody. John Carpenter’s score crept into what was going to affect my whole musical trajectory. The use of synthesizers and tension and weird dissonance.
ATTICUS ROSS: Mine was similar: My dad took me to “Jaws” when I was definitely too young to be there, and I remember how terrifying that was. But film music did transcend the screen for me quite early. In the days of VHS and being a teenager, films like “Midnight Express” or “Blade Runner,” I was definitely conscious I was being transported to a different world and that music was part of that language.
When you did “The Social Network,” you both went from never having scored a film before to winning the industry’s highest honor. What was that ride like?
REZNOR: I know I can speak for both of us when I say we’re uncomfortable congratulating ourselves or believing that we did good at something. It’s just kind of how we’re wired.
ROSS: We were so invested in the film from a creative point, and we knew zero about the film business and awards campaigns. So it was kind of like taking acid that lasted six weeks, with those kind of highs and lows. “Now you’re going to a lunch where so and so is going to be talking about this, and now you’re going to a tea, but do I have to wear a suit to that?”
REZNOR: The wonderful experience of “The Social Network” was working with an incredible partner, David Fincher, who is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and was also one of the most nurturing. We felt like, “We don’t want to be the ones to ruin your movie because we don’t know what we’re doing.” Fincher taught us to trust our instinct and lean into that.
To win the biggest award at the end of it was deeply into surreal territory. It felt amazing. And it also taught us that you’re still the same [expletive] the next day, but now you have a trophy on your shelf. The same hole is still inside your spirit. It didn’t fix you, although it felt nice for a minute. That’s not to downplay it at all, but it trained us in the bigger picture. To come to where we are now, which is: Why are we doing this? What’s the goal? It’s not to have another trophy. It’s to have the experience of working with interesting people that you learn from. That learning and that feeling of doing the best work we can do, that fills that hole up.
What about your work on “Tron: Ares” makes it a Nine Inch Nails score?
REZNOR: We met [the president of Disney Music] Tom MacDougall when we scored “Soul” for Pixar. He came by a few years ago and said, “Would you be interested in scoring a new Tron film?” Yeah, we would be. Then he said: “Just have a think about this. Would it make sense to be Nine Inch Nails versus Trent and Atticus?” And I said, “Why do you think that would be a good idea?” He said, “I’m introducing the idea because we want to infuse it with personality and we want to take some risks on the film musically, and maybe it would lead to a different place.”
By the time we actually started working on it, what started to reveal itself was that it changed the choices we made in terms of some of the sounds, and the inclusion of vocal songs. Nothing against Prince, but the last thing I would want to do is, you know, “Music Inspired by Batman.” Like, nothing to do with the film. It needs to feel like the DNA of what the score is. Our role is to help tell the story through score. And it yielded something that wouldn’t have happened if it were called Trent and Atticus. It gave the license to put some actual songs in there.
ROSS: The whole of the European tour, every moment we weren’t on a stage, we were in a traveling studio, in a hotel room trying to finish “Tron.”
REZNOR: It’s a lesson that’s impossible for us to learn. “Hey, ‘Tron’ is going to be done in February. OK, cool, we’ll start up a tour in May.” What do you think happens? “Now ‘Tron’ is going to be done in July.” You’d think we’d know better, but we don’t.
Has composing scores changed the way you watch movies? Can you still get lost in a film, or are you always picking the score apart?
REZNOR: When I’m not on tour, I try to go at least every other week to a theater to watch a film, just because I like to get out of my head for a couple hours and not be me — get lost in something where I feel guilty if my phone buzzes, you know? I don’t pay attention to the score if I’m lost in the movie. I normally only do if it strikes me as: “Wow, this sucks. I’ve been taken out of the story because the music is demanding that.” Or the more rare occasion: “Wow, this is good.” Followed now by a tinge of jealousy. I think the last one I saw that did that was “28 Years Later.” The music for that was excellent.
Have any other recent scores made you feel that way?
REZNOR: What Cristobal Tapia de Veer did with “White Lotus” had an incredible effect on how you felt about the show. The playfulness, the mischievousness, the absurdity of it — I think really did a lot to make that show be as effective and beloved as it is.
ROSS: “White Lotus” is a good example, because when that show came on — the opening titles — I’m already in.