John Williams’ shrewd advice for young filmmakers
There’s no doubt that the American composer John Williams is one of the greatest composers of all time, rubbing shoulders with other such masters as Hans Zimmer, Ennio Morricone and John Barry. Lending his talents to an endless array of movie franchises, including Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Williams may indeed be one of the most innovative creatives of modern cinema, even if his talents too often go unnoticed.
Regularly collaborating with Steven Spielberg, Williams first worked with the iconic filmmaker in 1974 for the crime drama The Sugarland Express before making a name for himself in the industry with his distinctive Jaws theme one year later. Early success for the duo sparked a long symbiotic working relationship, with the themes for later movies Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial becoming as famous as the blockbusters themselves.
In 2023, Williams became the oldest Oscar nominee at the age of 90, collecting a staggering 53 nominations over the course of seven decades in the industry.
As a result of his critical and commercial success, John Williams has become as recognisable as Steven Spielberg, with the two taking time to speak with promising AFI students back in 2018. Shedding light on how they grew in the industry and became cinema icons in the process, the duo also responded with sagacious advice when an audience member asked for the best way to get ahead in cinema.
“People have great ambitions to design a spaceship or to become a president or a senator, and there’s so much disappointment, so few people can ever really achieve what their dreams are,” Williams bluntly stated in a moment of tough love. Continuing, he adds: “I’m sometimes suspicious of these great goals that we have in mind for ourselves because we can get tripped up and become disappointed and cynical and depressed about it all”.
Though Williams’ words can be a little tough to hear for any young creative, he speaks to the true reality of the movie industry, which is cutthroat for budding actors, directors and composers. Encouraging students to strive for personal goals, he adds: “Maybe better to get outside of ourselves and confront that with joy and pleasure and a sense of opportunity every little simple task we’re given, rather than to try to do the big task. Rather than to try to shoot Gone with the Wind, do a postcard and then grow from there”.
Concurring with his friend and working collaborator, Spielberg further adds: “Remember to learn your craft even before you start to think of yourself as an artist. Learn your craft because you really shouldn’t think of yourself as an artist, you should let every people think of you as an artist”.
Many individuals who come straight out of film school depart with a grand ego and sense of entitlement that they should shoot right to the top of the movie industry, but Spielberg’s advice is spot on. As Spielberg suggests, lose the ego and focus on the basics, “You’ve got to be able to take that opportunity and be able to give them something that they’re expecting from you, which is a basic knowledge of the craft of putting together a story”.
