SCL Screening + Q&A: MONSTERS: THE LYLE & ERIK MENENDEZ STORY

Composers
THOMAS NEWMAN
JULIA NEWMAN

Music Supervisors
AMANDA KRIEG THOMAS
ANNA ROMANOFF

MODERATED BY JON BURLINGAME (Variety)

NETFLIX ROMA Theater
5901 Sunset Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Monday, June 2, 7:00PM PT

Please be mindful of the SCL's Code of Conduct.

Following the massive success of Dahmer, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology series returns with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, chronicling the case of the real-life brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.

While the prosecution argued they were seeking to inherit their family fortune, the brothers claimed – and remain adamant to this day, as they serve life sentences without the possibility of parole – that their actions stemmed out of fear from a lifetime of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story dives into the historic case that took the world by storm, paved the way for audiences’ modern-day fascination with true crime, and in return asks those audiences: Who are the real monsters?
TV-MA | 60 min

Thomas Newman is widely acclaimed as one of today’s most prominent composers for film. He has composed music for more than 80 motion pictures and television series and has earned fifteen Academy® Award nominations, one Emmy® Award, and six Grammy® Awards.

He is the youngest son of Alfred Newman (1900-1970), the longtime musical director of 20th Century Fox and the composer of scores for such films as Wuthering Heights, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Diary of Anne Frank and All About Eve. As a child, Thomas pursued basic music and piano studies. However, it was not until after his father’s death that the younger Newman, then age 14, felt charged with the desire to write. He later studied composition and orchestration at USC with Professor Frederick Lesemann and noted film composer David Raksin, and privately with composer George Tremblay. He completed his academic work at Yale University, studying with Jacob Druckman, Bruce MacCombie, and Robert Moore. Newman also gratefully acknowledges the early influence of another prominent musician, the legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, who served as a great mentor and champion.

A turning point in Newman’s career took place while he was working as a musical assistant on the 1984 film, Reckless, for which he was soon promoted to the position of composer. And so, at the age of 27, Newman successfully composed his first film score. Since then, he has contributed distinctive and evocative scores to many acclaimed films, including Desperately Seeking Susan, The Lost Boys, The Rapture, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Player, Scent of a Woman, Flesh and Bone, The Shawshank Redemption, Little Women, American Buffalo, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Oscar and Lucinda, The Horse Whisperer, Meet Joe Black, American Beauty, The Green Mile, Erin Brockovich, In The Bedroom, Road to Perdition, Finding Nemo, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,Jarhead, Little Children, The Good German, Revolutionary Road, Wall-E, The Help, The Iron Lady, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Skyfall, Spectre, The Highwaymen, Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, 1917, Let Them All Talk, The Little Things, Operation Mincemeat, A Man Called Otto, and Elemental. Newman also composed the music for HBO’s acclaimed 6-hour miniseries Angels in America, directed by Mike Nichols. He received an Emmy Award for his theme for the HBO original series Six Feet Under and was recently nominated for his theme for the series Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. His most recent television work includes the Netflix hit series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, co-scored with his daughter, Julia Newman. Upcoming film projects include Andrew Stanton’s In the Blink of an Eye and Chris Columbus’ The Thursday Murder Club.

In addition to his work in film and television, Newman has composed several works for the concert stage, including the symphonic work "Reach Forth Our Hands," commissioned in 1996 by the Cleveland Orchestra to commemorate their city’s bicentennial, as well as "At Ward’s Ferry, Length 180 ft.," a concerto for double bass and orchestra commissioned in 2001 by the Pittsburgh Symphony. His latest concert piece was a chamber work entitled "It Got Dark," commissioned by the acclaimed Kronos Quartet in 2009. As part of a separate commission by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the work was expanded and adapted for symphony orchestra and string quartet, and premiered at Walt Disney Concert Hall in December of 2009. In October 2014, Newman and musician Rick Cox released “35 Whirlpools Below Sound,” an evocative, contemporary collection of avant-garde electronic soundscapes which the two collaborators developed over a period of 25 years, and which constitutes a fascinating departure from Newman’s work in film music. Newman was also commissioned by the prestigious Joffrey Ballet in Chicago to compose the score for a new ballet adaptation of the Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men, which premiered in April of 2022.

Julia Newman is a Los Angeles-based composer and songwriter with a long family history in entertainment. After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts, she went on to receive her Master’s degree from USC’s prestigious Screen Scoring Program. Julia’s harmonic and textural sensibilities, in combination with an innate understanding of what constitutes drama, set her sound apart, making her both recognizable and culturally relevant. In 2024, she composed the score for the entire eight-episode limited series FX’s FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans. Her relationship with Ryan Murphy Productions continued with the nine-part limited series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which she co-composed with her father, Thomas Newman, and premiered on Netflix in September 2024. She went on to score an episode of American Horror Stories and currently writes the original score for the drama series Doctor Odyssey starring Joshua Jackson, which debuted on ABC in September 2024 and is available for streaming on Hulu.

Amanda Krieg Thomas is an Emmy®-nominated music supervisor who has been passionate about the intersection of music and storytelling all her life. In 2018, she founded Yay Team! and currently runs the all-female music supervision company. Over the course of her career she has worked with top-level creators and music supervised popular and critically-acclaimed series such as Feud: Capote vs. The Women (FX), Monster: The Menendez Brothers (Netflix), The Americans (FX), Pose (FX), The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX), Big Mouth (Netflix), Pam & Tommy (Hulu), and Dopesick (Hulu), as well as several films, including the film adaptation of the musical, The Prom (Netflix). Current projects include forthcoming new legal drama All’s Fair (Hulu) and thriller The Beauty (FX) as well as the new season of Monster (Netflix) about Ed Gein, all from Ryan Murphy Television. She is also working on the Nickelodeon film, My Weird School, and the Amazon series Off Campus, based on the bestselling hockey romance book series, in addition to managing two small children. In addition to her Primetime Emmy nomination for Halston (Netflix), Amanda has been nominated for 10 Guild of Music Supervisors awards, winning one for her work on The Andy Warhol Diaries (Netflix). She has been a volunteer for the Guild of Music Supervisors for over 10 years, and her first book, Thinking In Sync: A Primer on the Mind of a Music Supervisor, is available on Amazon.

Anna Romanoff is a Los Angeles native and current music supervisor. Across her career, she has worked with industry veterans at Christine Bergren Music Consulting, Neophonic Music & Media, and now Yay Team! Inc. Working in both television and film, she has supervised popular series such as Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix), High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+), American Horror Stories (FX), 9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox), American Sports Story (FX), Dr. Odyssey (ABC) and Human Resources (Netflix), among others. Film credits include Plan B (Hulu), The Country Club, and 15 Cameras. Currently, Anna is supervising music for the upcoming season of Monster alongside Amanda Krieg Thomas, as well as Mating Season, a new animated Netflix series from the creators of Big Mouth, and Off-Campus, an upcoming Amazon series based on the best-selling book series of the same name. Anna was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award® for Music Supervision for her work on American Horror Stories.

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NETFLIX ROMA THEATER
5901 Sunset Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Parking: You have been invited to utilize self-parking services at the EPIC garage. The driveway entrance is located at 1521 N Bronson Ave. Upon entering the garage, a parking attendant will ask for your first and last name. They will direct you to self-park and guide you to Netflix’s Roma Theater.

*** SCREENING + Q&A INFORMATION ***

• Check-in begins 6:30PM.
• If you RSVP but are unable to attend, please cancel your reservation by 10:00AM Monday, June 2.
• Free for current SCL members (click here to check your membership status) plus one guest who will stay for both the screening and Q&A. Please remember to RSVP for two (2) if you plan on bringing a guest.
• Guest of SCL members may NOT attend without the member invitee, or if the member RSVPs, but cannot attend and cancels.
• Please allow extra time for traffic and check-in.
• This invitation is non-transferable.
• Seating is first come, first serve. Late arrivals may not be allowed into the theater.
• Per California state health guidelines, masks are recommended to be worn indoors at all times.