05/28/2025
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"The Piano Lesson" Music Supervisors Deva Anderson and Rachel Lautzenheiser discuss music supervision, focusing on collaboration, research methods, and balancing popular and lesser-known tracks. They highlight the need for historical accuracy in music selection and share personal stories about favorite films. The conversation reveals the creative challenges in matching music to scenes, showcasing the dynamic nature of their work in the film industry.
Deva Anderson is an award-winning Music Supervisor and Executive with unparalleled range and depth. Over the course of her career, she has worked on more than 40 feature films with some of the most esteemed filmmakers in the industry, as well as more than 30 original series for television.
Deva got her start in the music industry representing artists before being hired by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman as the music supervisor of the iconic musical "That Thing You Do!," starring Hanks alongside Charlize Theron and Liv Tyler. Deva was then brought in-house by Hanks and Goetzman as the Head of Music when they launched their production company, Playtone, and has been involved in nearly every Playtone project over the past 25 years, including "Band of Brothers," "Greyhound" and "Masters of the Air," the latter of which she received an HMMA Award nomination for.
In addition to her work at Playtone, Deva is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures and NARAS, and works as a freelance music consultant for major studios. She has music supervised multiple films with distinctive, visionary directors, including Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed films, "Prisoners," starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano, for Warner Bros.; and Villeneuve’s "Blade Runner 2049," starring Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, and Ana De Armas for Sony and Columbia Pictures.
Deva has been a music consultant with Netflix since 2019, working in tandem with the in-house music department on the Original Films slate. Deva also has a deep understanding and appreciation of Black music history which led her to music supervise Jonathan Demme’s Beloved, starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover; as well as Netflix’s upcoming feature "The Piano Lesson, "starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington; based on August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama.
Rachel Lautzenheiser is a rising Music Supervisor whose credits range in tone and genre, and include the Apple TV+ WWII limited series "Masters of the Air," ABC’s indigenous drama "Alaska Daily," Focus Features’ family comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3," and the film adaptation of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "The Piano Lesson", directed by Malcolm Washington and starring Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington. For nearly a decade, Rachel has served as an integral part of the music department at Playtone, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s production company, working collaboratively with Deva Anderson, who has served as Head of Music for over 25 years.
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