Maggie Phillips (‘Fargo’ music supervisor) wanted the soundtrack ‘to be a character of its own’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

“’Fargo’ is quite different than any show I’ve ever worked on,” admits music supervisor Maggie Phillips. In our recent webchat she continues, “The music of the show, the soundtrack and the songs, get to be a character of its own. On some shows, I wouldn’t want to be bold and call attention to the songs. In ‘Fargo’ you want people to notice and be thought provoking.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“Fargo” is the FX anthology series created by Noah Hawley that was inspired by the 1996 Joel and Ethan Coen film. Each season takes a darkly comedic look at new characters dealing with life and crime in the Midwest. The series’ fifth instalment tells the story of Dot, played by Juno Temple, whose normal life is disrupted when her abusive ex-husband, Sheriff Roy Tillman (Jon Hamm), discovers her whereabouts. Phillips says, “I love how Dot stayed kind and genuine across the entire season. She also has her daughter booby trap the home. That’s what’s fun about ‘Fargo.’ If we were telling a story that was very naturalistic, you couldn’t throw in a scene of her booby trapping a home like ‘Home Alone.’ ‘Fargo’ allows us that elasticity with reality.”

Phillips reflects, “I’m a survivor. I’m not a survivor of domestic abuse. I’m a survivor of sexual assault and rape. So, for me, Dot’s storyline was very critical. I was very protective of her storyline. I was very aware of that and how we represented her. That was the thing that drew me in most and emotionally got me attached to the characters and scripts.”

In selecting and placing songs to depict the Sheriff and the other villains in the series, Phillips explains, “Noah really didn’t want to make fun of Roy Tillman. There was this fine line of it’s such a heavy subject, how do we have fun with it but realize these guys are evil? It’s a very fine line to thread; we are poking fun and choosing irony by choosing ‘Rush’ and ‘Prodigy’ and ‘YMCA,’ but I also think it is authentic to the characters.” She notes, “These are songs they would chose for themselves.”

The music supervisor has worked in the industry for 20 years. She founded Deep Cut Music, an independent, all female creative music supervision shop, where she works alongside Kristen Higuera and Asia Wagner. For her work on ‘Fargo,’ Phillips has received her first Emmy nomination in the music supervision category. She reveals, “I just started crying. This past year since the strike has been brutal. When I got the ‘Fargo’ nomination, I felt maybe the future of Deep Cut Music is gonna be ok. It was a relief.”

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