Trent Reznor Looks Back on ‘Sh*t Cake’ Experience of Scoring Netflix’s ‘Bird Box’

“Final icing on the shit cake” and “a fucking waste of time” are two phrases used by Trent Reznor in a recent interview when looking back on the Bird Box scoring sessions.

Speaking with Revolver, Reznor reflected on his and Atticus Ross’ work on the Sandra Bullock-starring Netflix movie, which ultimately resulted in the release of Bird Box/Null 09 Extended.

“When we got immersed in it, it felt like some people were phoning it in,” Reznor said. “And you’re stuck with a film editor who had real bad taste. That’s kind of our barricade to getting stuff in the film. And the final icing on the shit cake was we were on tour when they mixed it. And they mixed the music so low, you couldn’t hear it anyway. So it was like, that was a … That was a fucking waste of time. Then we thought, no one’s going to see this fucking movie. And, of course, it’s the hugest movie ever in Netflix.”

For his and Ross’ upcoming work on David Fincher’s Herman J. Mankiewicz biopic Mank, meanwhile, Reznor teased the absence of the modular synthesizer. “We think we’re gonna be period authentic, so it just creates a new set of challenges,” he explained of the project, which brings the scoring duo back together with The Social Network director. Mank is currently in production.

For more from Reznor, including a few bits on “Old Town Road” and future plans with Nine Inch Nails, click here. Perhaps of most interest is the fact Reznor said NIN’s intention for their next chapter is to focus on what might be brought out of them via a series of collaborations.