John Williams said “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” would be his final film project. He lied.
Recording of his latest score was completed on February 10. He says it’s at least an hour and a half of new music.
Entre nous: Williams is still taking offers.
In the meantime, the 91-year-old composer will be at work on a piano concerto for Emanuel Ax.
Some good anecdotes in this Variety article, involving Jacob Krachmalnick (Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster from 1951-58) and Judd Hirsch (Academy Award nominee for Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans”).
He was a smith who forged gold from the basest of materials – film music’s alchemist extraordinaire. Once John Williams kickstarted his blockbuster hog, Jerry Goldsmith may have been destined for the side car, but he possessed a refined genius all his own.
Goldsmith was a consummate professional with a rare talent for speed. When Randy Newman was dropped from “Air Force One,” it was Goldsmith who stepped up, writing and recording the music in less than two weeks. He wrote the replacement score for “Chinatown” in ten days.
Unfortunately, not all the films were “Chinatown.” For every “Planet of the Apes,” “Patton,” and “Papillon,” there was “The Mummy” (with Brendan Fraser), “The Haunting” (remake), and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
Williams got “Superman.” Goldsmith got “Supergirl.” Williams got “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Goldsmith got “King Solomon’s Mines” (with Richard Chamberlain). Williams got “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.” Goldsmith got “Baby: The Secret of the Lost Legend.”
But even when the movies were terrible, Goldsmith’s music served as a consolation prize. And nothing can take away the classics. He was one of the last of the greats, and he lived through a great era, so we certainly have enough to cherish. He just had the bad fortune to have had more stamina than the movies themselves, which got weaker and weaker and weaker.
The composer himself expressed frustration at his music being drowned out by ever more-elaborate sound effects, which is why his scores tended to become more streamlined – and less memorable – in the ‘90s. He would have lost his mind in these days of laptop editing, when movies can be trimmed and shuffled within an inch of their lives, right up until the day of distribution.
For television, he wrote music for “Dr. Kildare,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” “The Waltons,” and “Barnaby Jones.” He was the recipient of five Emmy Awards.
Incredibly, despite EIGHTEEN nominations, he was honored with but a single Oscar, for his influential score to “The Omen” (1976). Goldsmith died in 2004, at the age of 75. If he were to come back today, he would mop the joint with all the Hans Zimmers of this world.
Happy birthday, Jerry Goldsmith. I sure does miss you.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.:
The Blue Max
Planet of the Apes:
Patton:
Chinatown:
The Wind and the Lion:
The Omen:
The Great Train Robbery
Star Trek: The Motion Picture:
If you’ve got a hankering for Goldsmith’s “Capricorn One,” it kicks off last week’s episode of Picture Perfect on WWFM – The Classical Network. Follow the link for the webcast and click listen now.
Happy birthday to the Master, 91 years-old today. I wish I could forget the horrible movie, because John Williams truly is the Last Jedi. Is there any doubt? Here’s a taste of what we can expect this summer.
John Williams is a living reminder of when the movies still had magic and soul. I will be forever grateful for everything this man has contributed to our entertainment and dreams of a better world.
Thanks for everything, and a very happy birthday, Maestro!
More than anyone else in history, John Williams has had the pleasure of scoring the highest-grossing motion picture of the year. Those films remain among the most-successful of all time.
Now, with his 53rd Oscar nomination, announced today, Williams sets another record, as the oldest person ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. The oldest person ever to win an Oscar is James Ivory who, at 89, was recognized in 2018 for his screenplay to “Call Me by Your Name.”
Williams is already the second most-nominated person ever – a record he breaks every time he’s nominated – behind only Walt Disney (with 59). He has earned five statuettes, for his work on “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” and “Schindler’s List.” However, it has been 30 years since his last win.
What are the odds of this year bringing Williams more Oscar gold? Rather slim, I’m afraid. His work on “The Fabelmans,” while certainly effective and wholly appropriate for one of Steven Spielberg’s most intimate projects, is fairly understated and supplemented by a lot of classical music, including works by Kuhlau, Clementi, Bach, and Haydn. (Spielberg’s mom was a pianist.) The soundtrack album in only 31 minutes long, and at least one of the themes flirts with Satie’s “Gymnopédie No. 3.”
That said, somebody should campaign for an honorary Oscar for this guy already. For 60 years, the movies would have been so much poorer without him. Not that he’ll be crying himself to sleep for lack of recognition. What a charmed career he’s had!
At least since “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019, Williams has teased his retirement from film scoring several times. Most recently, he stated that “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” due this summer, would be his last score. Now, however, he intimates that that might not be entirely true.
“I’ll stick around for a while,” Williams told Entertainment Weekly. “I can’t retire from music.” Which should be fairly obvious, when seemingly not a week goes by that he’s not conducting one of the world’s great orchestras, in between work on his long-anticipated Piano Concerto and fulfilling smaller commissions for occasional works and television themes.
John Williams will be 91 on February 8.
This year’s nominees for Best Original Score: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Son Lux), “Babylon” (Justin Hurwitz), “Banshees of Inisherin” (Carter Burwell), “All Quiet on the Western Front” (Volker Bertelmann), and “The Fabelmans” (John Williams).
More details about William’s latest world record here:
Just finally got around to watching the video for John Williams’ “Of Grit and Glory.” The new piece, composed for ESPN’s College Football Playoff National Championship, was heard for the first time on Monday, during the sports channel’s broadcast of the TCU-Georgia game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. Watch it now, or save it for when you need an inspiring three minutes. Williams will be 91 on February 8.
