Friday 22 May 2015

John Williams on scoring The Force Awakens



John Williams' soundtrack for Star Wars sparked a lifelong passion for film music.

I'll never forget being gifted a copy of the original soundtrack album for my sixth birthday and religiously listening to it - playing with action figures or reading comic books - as I convalesced post head injury. The music fired my imagination and, perhaps most importantly, encouraged optimism for the future and adventures unknown.

The Oscar-winning composer talks to Vanity Fair's Bruce Handy about returning to a galaxy far, far away and reprising familiar themes from the original trilogy for The Force Awakens.

Here's an extract from the interview in which Williams contrasts working with George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, and JJ Abrams:

"It’s actually very similar. My meetings with George had to do with spotting the film, selecting areas in which music would be played, and pretty much we agreed on all that. He always left me free to write the music. And J.J.’s done the same thing. We've had a few preliminary meetings, and I've played him some music at the piano, which he seemed to like very much. His latest instruction to me was, “Just do your thing.” Which is giving me a good sense of freedom, a good free swing at the ball. I don't know how much you know of him, but he is a delightful person. Enormously bright. I've been very impressed with him in meetings with a great variety of people. His generalship is assured and warm and inviting and inclusive. If I can say it, he’s a fabulous young man whose future is so brilliant and so promising. I don't know how old he is, but he’s a young man to me. [Abrams is 48; Williams is 83.] He’s enormously impressive."

You can read the full interview here.

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