you know his music Now you will be able to get to know him.
John Williams, the legendary film composer behind some of the most iconic film themes of all time, is now the subject of a feature-length documentary, with longtime collaborator Steven Spielberg among the project’s leaders.
Amblin Television, Imagine Documentaries and Nedland Media are in very early stages of production on the documentary, which will be directed by Laurent Bouzereau. Bouzereau is a documentary filmmaker whose credits include Five Came Back, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind and Mama’s Boy: A Story From Our Americas. He is also a longtime director of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes and has produced several hundred since the 1990s, including dozens for Spielberg films.
Spielberg is executive producing along with Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein and Meredith Kauffers.
Williams is the most recognized and successful living composer, and perhaps the most influential in film history. He wrote scores for films such as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Jaws and Harry Potter. And it’s his unique 50-year relationship with Spielberg that’s notable in an industry that resists longevity and is eager to chase the next big (and usually young) thing.
Williams, now 90, was due to retire after finishing James Mangold-directed Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Fortune. But speaking onstage with Spielberg earlier this month, Williams surprised his friend by saying he no longer plans to retire after the next Indiana Jones film. A visibly emotional Spielberg remarked that he had better think about what film to do next.
Spielberg went on to summarize their 50-year relationship as an ideal marriage. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a disagreement,” he said, adding with a chuckle, “I mean, what am I going to do? Sit down and write the music yourself?”
With a career spanning more than six decades, Willams has composed the music and served as music director for more than 100 films, including all nine Star Wars films, the first three Harry Potter films, JFK, Born April 4th, and July, Memoirs of a Geisha, Far and Away, The Accidental Tourist, Home Alone and The Book Thief.
His nearly 50-year artistic partnership with Spielberg includes the aforementioned Raiders and Jaws, as well as Schindler’s List, ET, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Munich, Saving Private Ryan, The Adventures of Tintin, War Horse, Lincoln, The BFG , The Post and the filmmaker’s recent feature film, The Fabelmans.
He began his career working on hundreds of television episodes in the early days of network broadcasting, composing music for the pilot of Gilligan’s Island and shows such as Lost in Space. He also created themes for NBC Nightly News (“The Mission”), NBC’s Meet the Press, and the PBS art show Great Performances. He has also composed themes for the 1984, 1988 and 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics. With five Academy Awards and fifty-two Academy Award nominations, he is the Academy’s most-nominated living person and the second most-nominated person in Oscar history, behind Walt Disney.
In 2016, Williams received the American Film Institute’s 44th Life Achievement Award – the first time in its history that the honor had been bestowed on a composer.
Williams was appointed the 19th Music Director of the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1980 and currently holds the title of Boston Pops Laureate Conductor, which he accepted upon his December 1993 retirement. He also holds the title of Artist-in-Residence at Tanglewood.
A Los Angeles resident, Williams is part of the fabric of the city and a staple of summertime, thanks to decades of annual Hollywood Bowl concerts over Labor Day weekend that draw audiences young and old.