Composer Pinar Toprak Gives ‘McMillions’ the Heist Treatment

When you have a story as insane as HBO’s McMillions, it’s difficult to not get caught up in it. I watched the Emmy-nominated documentary series all in one sitting, because I couldn’t tear myself away from it. McMillions walks a fine line between being a hard hitting expose and tabloid journalism. It’s sensational but the actions of a few ruined the lives of many. Composer Pinar Toprak delivers a score that both winks at the audience and underscores the pain and trauma of the people affected.

If you listen to the McMillions‘ opening credits, there is a distinct swagger and coolness to it. It feels like a sly heist but then more sinister tones color the rest of the theme. It’s the perfect example of Toprak’s work on the series. It can be both fun and kind of dangerous. Colorful and bleak.

By the time that McMillions comes to a close, we are left with a batch of people who regret their involvement. Toprak doesn’t shame them with her music or doesn’t make you question them anymore. She knows that these people were just seizing an opportunity they should have second guessed.

Awards Daily: I couldn’t stop watching this show.

Pinar Toprak: (laughs)

AD: What was your reaction to this story and how did the gears start turning for you to score McMillions?

PT: When James [Lee Hernandez] and Brian [Lazarte] approached me about this, I didn’t know anything about it. I knew about McDonald Monopoly, but I hadn’t played it. I moved to the states in around 1997. I had no clue. When they told me about it in more detail, I thought that it sounded like a movie (laughs)

AD: Yeah!

PT: They showed me some footage and they look like actors but they are real people. I was so intrigued. They’ve been working on this for a long time, and I didn’t know what everybody finds out in the beginning. I was solving it while I was scoring it. They had a clear vision but they were open to my ideas as well. I wanted to do this Ocean’s Eleven or ‘70s cop vibe.

AD: There is something very playful about the music, especially towards the beginning of the series.  You get these larger life characters like Robin Columbo and Agent Matthews.

PT: Oh, I’m glad to hear that. You nailed that. Matthews is very similar to like that in real life. I had a fun color palette to work with, so that was great.

AD: How do you not over sensationalize an already big story?

PT: Since I was figuring it along and I hadn’t seen the final two episodes until right when I was about to score them. That helped me not to show any real bias since I didn’t know exactly how it was going to conclude. I couldn’t hint at anything without scoring it in an organic way. When I write, I am very aware of not showing all of my cards at the beginning. It’s very important to pick and choose your moments. That’s the power of score. It’s not about showcasing the music for music’s sake—it’s all about serving the story. No matter how crazy the story is. If I was a little too much, it would take away so much.

AD: I’ve seen so many documentaries where the score is influential to the audience. It’s distracting. I like how your score just agrees with the audience that this is a story that you think you know, and you’re wrong.

PT: Thank you.

AD: I loved the opening titles. I wish that got nominated too. It has this jaunty tone but there’s something quietly sinister about it.

PT: The directions I had were a modern take on Untouchables and the song, “A Day in the Life.” I had to make it modern and give it a staccato feel. I had to start that heist-y themes with the guitar and the piano. Once I found the groove, it came together quickly. It was actually the first try.

AD: I will admit that every time a new episode started, I would dance around a little in my chair. It got me amped up.

PT: I love hearing that. Thank you.

AD: Did you use any sort of unconventional materials to make any of the sounds during the series? There is one point when I thought I heard wind chimes that helped guide the emotion of a moment with Gloria Brown in, I think, episode four.

PT: I’m careful to use the word unconventional because a lot of things are unconventional these days (laughs).

AD: Right (laughs)

PT: I do love manipulating sound. Even if the source wasn’t something unconventional, I do have a lot of weird plugins and I try to make things as unique as possible. In McMillions, there are a lot of textural builds that are almost like subliminal messages. I was careful to use the right sounds with the right modifications without it going outside the tone entirely.

AD: If you did something too out-of-the box, it might sound jarring.

PT: Exactly.

AD: When we get to known Gloria, it feels like the music is different maybe because it’s the first time where it hits how this scam has hurt people’s lives. What can you tell me about scoring some of the scenes for people who may have regretted their involvement?

PT: It’s such an interesting story where, obviously, they didn’t know they were committing a crime or at least at that level. You might wonder if you would’ve done it. A lot of people probably would have depending on their circumstances, especially if they didn’t know what it was going to lead to. It makes you empathize with them, and it takes a strong person to talk about a big mistake they’ve made. For me, I needed to handle it with care and not overdo the emotion. I couldn’t turn it into a melodrama. I had to connect on an emotion level.

AD: I love the music in the final episode when we see everything that’s happened. What did you want to musically leave us with?

PT: Even after having watching it and after it was released, I watched it as an audience member. To find out the informant and her motive…what I wanted people to feel as the show concludes is that they are all people. This was a crazy story, but so many people were hurt. People lost their jobs. It all came from this one person. The butterfly effect of this man’s choices is huge. It is entertaining, but it does break your heart to know how many people were hurt along the way.

McMillions is available across all HBO platforms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN_TzsXUdWY