“He’s been so much a part of me growing and learning in this business, so it was all the more important to me to make sure that what we did with his music was right for the film and for…
Category: Interviews
Journal Sentinel Interviews John Williams
Composing a score is like writing prose and rewriting it six times, Williams said. Watching a film as he works, “I try to ask a simple question: What do I think the film should sound like?” he said. “One follows…
Williams at ‘Behind the Score: The Art of Film Composer’ (Videos)
UPDATE: Report from The Film Music Society On July 21, John Williams, Gustavo Dudamel and Gustavo Santaolalla gathered at Los Angeles’s Bing Theater for the Academy event “Behind the Score: The Art of the Film Composer,” where the trio discussed…
Remembering ‘Empire of the Sun’ with Mike Matessino (70-minute Audio Interview)
Tim Burten interviews album producer Mike Matessino to coincide with the new 2CD limited edition release of John Williams’ Empire of the Sun, discussing the movie and music in detail, with numerous cue commentaries and revealing the unique scoring and…
‘One Night Only: Spielberg and Williams at the DSO’
Hour Detroit interviewed DSO music director Leonard Slatkin about how his friendship with Williams sparked this unique event, and what ticketholders can expect to see at the June 14 concert. “To have both of them on the stage talking about…
Williams Talks ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Special Screening
With casting director Lynn Stalmaster and director Norman Jewison, John Williams talks about the challenges of making “Fiddler On The Roof” (1971), before a screening during the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 13, 2014…
Williams to Write Piece for Tanglewood Music Center 75th Anniversary
During a recent interview at KUSC Classical on his oscar nomination for The Book Thief (discussed here), Williams mentioned that he has been asked to write a piece for next year’s 75th Anniversary of the Tanglewood Music Center, which “he…
John Williams on the 30th Anniversary of ‘Olympic Fanfare and Theme’
John Williams explains the origins of his “Olympic Fanfare and Theme”, which debuted 30 years ago at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
‘The Role of Music According to John Williams’
“If we’re successful as composers, we are finding a sound, a theme or if I can put the word in quotes, ‘noise’ that belongs to a film, that doesn’t exist anywhere else. There can be an aspect of uniqueness in…
‘Eye on the Oscars: Composers Sound Off – John Williams’
“When I read The Book Thief, I jumped at the chance to do it,” says Williams, 81, who won two of his five Oscars for films about children (E.T.) and the Holocaust (Schindler’s List). “What I found very powerful was…