The White Lotus Season 3 may have received lukewarm reviews, but the off-screen drama is stronger than ever. Recently, Mike White dished details on his rocky relationship with the HBO show’s composer, Cristóbal Tapia de Veer, after he announced his departure from the show.
Why did Cristóbal Tapia de Veer quit The White Lotus?
Tapia de Veer told the New York Times that he’s moving on from The White Lotus due to creative differences with White. “We already had our last fight forever, I think,” he said, revealing that White, who also serves as the show’s sole writer and director, had become increasingly restrictive, saying no to his ideas.
He added, “Maybe I was being unprofessional, and for sure Mike feels that I was always unprofessional to him because I didn’t give him what he wanted.”
Despite the tension, he expressed pride in his work, noting that it earned several Emmys and generated significant buzz. “But what I gave him did this, you know – did those Emmys, people going crazy,” he said. “That is the main thing that I’m most happy about – it was worth all the tension and almost forcing the music into the show, in a way, because I didn’t have that many allies in there.”
The issue seems to have stemmed from the absence of the iconic “ooh-loo-loo-loo” vocal ululation in the third season, which was a staple of the previous seasons.
Tapia de Veer claimed that he proposed releasing a longer version of the theme that included the missing element, but White wasn’t convinced by the idea. “I texted the producer… He thought it was a good idea. But then Mike cut that – he wasn’t happy about that.”
De Veer composed the show’s score and viral title sequence stylised for each of the three seasons’ locations. His public feud with White comes as the show is set to return with a new season.
Mike White hits back at Cristóbal Tapia de Veer
Mike White has fired back at Cristóbal Tapia de Veer’s claims about their creative differences. In a recent interview with Howard Stern, White disputed de Veer’s version of their split, suggesting that he was trying to create a public image for himself as “edgy and dark”.
White expressed confusion over the reasons for their split, implying that de Veer didn’t respect him as a creator. He also hinted that de Veer’s interviews were a publicity stunt to promote his own image.
“We never really even fought. He says we feuded,” White said, downplaying the alleged tension between them. He attributed their split to de Veer’s reluctance to take feedback and revisions, saying, “It was basically me giving him notes. I don’t think he liked to go through the process of getting notes from me or wanting revisions because he didn’t respect me.”
White also expressed disappointment that de Veer went public with his issues, stating, “I was thrown that he would go to the New York Times to shit on me and the show three days before the finale. It was kind of a bitch move.”
The 54-year-old described his working relationship with Cristóbal Tapia de Veer as rocky, particularly during the first two seasons of The White Lotus. “By the time the third season came around, he’d won Emmys, and he had his song go viral; he didn’t want to go through the process with me; he didn’t want to go to sessions,” White said.
He also alleged that Tapia de Veer would often look at him “with this contemptuous smirk on his face like he thought I was a chimp or something.” “He’s definitely making a big deal out of a creative difference,” he added.
Mike White not open to working out on differences with Tapia de Veer
When host Stern suggested that White and de Veer should just work on their differences, given the overwhelming responses to the show, which has won 15 Emmys to date.
White dismissed the idea, saying, “He is very talented. [But] I’ve never kissed somebody’s ass so hard to just get him to – to lead that horse to water. Have fun with whatever you’re doing next.”
Despite mixed reviews of this season, The White Lotus has boasted impressive viewership numbers. The Season 3 finale drew a record-breaking 6.2 million viewers, establishing itself as an HBO juggernaut.
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