John Williams‘ music for “Disclosure Day” marks his 30th score for director Steven Spielberg, dating back more than half a century to their first film together, “The Sugarland Express” in 1974.
It could be Williams’ final score for the movies. No one has formally stated that, and in fact Spielberg says he’s already spoken to Williams about doing their 31st together.
Most film sessions are done over a week or two, and many composers have only a few weeks to compose a complete film score. Williams, who has faced unspecified “health challenges” over the past two years and is now only seen in public in a wheelchair, tackled “Disclosure Day” with surprising energy, sources report.
And while the film’s credits say that the score was “orchestrated and conducted by” Williams along with longtime colleagues William Ross and Randy Kerber, those closest to the maestro insist that Williams orchestrated the entire score and conducted much of it, usually while seated but also standing at times.
Over the course of seven sessions, Williams recorded more than two hours and 20 minutes of music. The final film contains 82 minutes of score. Some of the extra music was reserved for the soundtrack album.
Spielberg said that he has an idea for his next film, “and John just said yes.” Adds a Williams associate: “So long as he’s able, he’ll do the next movie.”
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‘Disclosure Day’: John Williams Recorded Two Hours of Music Over a Six Month Period for his 30th Collaboration with Steven Spielberg, by Jon Burlingame