New John Williams Documentary Set to Open AFI Fest in October
“The Long Goodbye,” “Home Alone,” “Harry Potter,” “Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park” — these are just a few of the legendary films composer and conductor John Williams has scored throughout his 72 (!) year career. At the 95th Academy Awards in 2023, he became the oldest Oscar nominee in any category for his work on Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” then beat that record again the following year, being nominated in Best Original Score for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” This is in addition to his other 52 Academy Award nominations and five wins. To honor his storied career, Lucasfilms Ltd., Amblin Documentaries, and Imagine Documentaries have joined forces to produce the documentary, “Music by John Williams,” which will have its world premiere on Wednesday, October 23 at the 38th edition of AFI Fest presented by Canva.
The documentary aims to celebrate the life and legacy of John Williams, his countless contributions to the medium of film, as well as music for the concert stage, and the impact his scores have had on popular culture. Featured in “Music by John Williams” are interviews with some of his most frequent collaborators and fans including Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Kate Capshaw, Gustavo Dudamel, J.J. Abrams, Chris Martin, Ron Howard, Chris Columbus, George Lucas, Itzhak Perlman, Lawrence Kasdan, Yo-Yo Ma, Ke Huy Quan, James Mangold, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Thomas Newman, Seth MacFarlane, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Branford Marsalis.
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The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau and produced by Steven Spielberg, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Meredith Kaulfers, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Laurent Bouzereau, with Markus Keith and Michael Rosenberg serving as executive producers.
Of having the film commence AFI Fest, which runs from October 23-27 in Los Angeles, AFI President and CEO Bob Gazale said in a statement, “John Williams is an American icon with a true and timeless global impact. One could say we are ‘over the moon’ to host the World Premiere of the film, but that sentiment would hardly soar without the music of ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.'”
Reflecting on Williams’ impact on him, Bouzereau said “Growing up in France, I discovered the soundtracks I bought on vinyl ahead of most American movies that would come out months after the U.S. release. John Williams was the composer I immediately identified with; his scores made me fall in love with music, and made me realize at a very young age, the power that a score had on cinematic storytelling. This was an important story to tell, not only because it is about one of the greatest composers of all time, but because of the message it carries about the survival of orchestral music, and musicians.”
Williams was previously honored with an AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. IndieWire is hearing from sources close to the film that many of Williams’ beloved collaborators, such as Steven Spielberg, will be in attendance for the premiere.
Following its premiere, “Music by John Williams” will be released in select theaters before streaming on Disney+ on November 1.
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