The pilot of Damon Lindelof's "remixed" take on Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' source material, titled "It's Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice," was directed by Nicole Kassell. In an interview with TV Guide, Kassell—whose previous credits include Vinyl and The Woodsman—credited Lindelof with this act of song selection mastery.
"That was totally Damon's finding," Kassell said, adding that there was originally a different song written into the script with a "honky-tonk, classic Oklahoma" vibe.
Kassell agreed that going that direction would have been a bit too "on the nose" for the episodic moment in question.
"I think one of my favorite things about Damon's work is his use of music," Kassell said. "And he's so good at finding a song that is a perfect contradiction to a scene yet then it somehow works. And the words of that song is actually really relevant to the theme of the episode or the title of the episode. So, I love that find. And it's 100 percent Damon."
Speaking on the influence the Watchmen literature has had on his own work, Lindelof told Rolling Stone last week that the idea of character perspective-shifting was especially appealing. "The idea that it's psychological realism," he explained. "It's really interested in asking why people behave the way that they behave. Obviously, the idea that every issue switched point of view for characters. Traditionally, we can identify who the hero of the story is."
As it stands now, Future hasn't publicly commented on the use of "Crushed Up" in the premiere of Lindelof's Watchmen. Given Lindelof's track record for music curation, however, it's likely we'll have plenty of additional opportunities to discuss matters of soundtracking in the months ahead.
It was announced on Monday that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score will emerge on three consecutive records beginning Nov. 1. The Oscar-winning duo teamed with the Watchmen writers to include “artwork and packaging—exclusive to the vinyl release—that explores the culture of Watchmen America and provides revealing insights into the saga's mythology and mysteries,” per a press release. Volume 2 hits Nov. 25, and the trilogy wraps Dec. 16 with Volume 3. Pre-orders are underway; they run $25.98 apiece.
Watchmen premiered Sunday night to an audience of 1.5 million viewers, marking HBO's biggest series debut since Westworld in 2016.
Back to Future, though: the rapper recently announced he will be holding the 8th Annual Golden Wishes Gala with his FreeWishes foundation. The gala will take place on Nov. 16 and will honor Atlanta's senior citizens and their contributions to the community.
