Steven Spielberg to produce John Williams documentary
They are perhaps the most dynamic duo in the history of Hollywood. For nearly 50 years, iconic Hollywood director Steven Spielberg has had one collaborator who has outlasted all others. When Spielberg makes a film, it’s almost inconceivable for one person not to be involved: composer John Williams.
After kickstarting their working relationship with 1974’s The Sugarland Express, Spielberg and Williams became inseparable. From that point on, Williams was almost always the first call that Spielberg made when it came time to focus on the score and music for his films. The pair have worked on 27 feature films together, with only five of Spielberg’s movies not featuring Williams as the film’s composer.
Now, to commemorate their five-decade-long friendship and working relationship, Spielberg is producing a documentary on Williams’ legendary career. Spielberg’s Amblin Television production company is working on the feature film centred on the legendary 91-year-old composer alongside Imagine Documentaries and Nedland Media. Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein, and Meredith Kaulfers will be the film’s other executive producers.
Of course, Spielberg isn’t the only director with whom Williams is associated. Williams has also composed the music for George Lucas’ two biggest franchises, Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Everyone from Clint Eastwood to Alfred Hitchcock has employed Williams as their composer, with legendary scores and themes from films like Superman and the Harry Potter franchise and TV programmes like The Today Show and Meet the Press belonging to Williams.
Earlier this year, Williams indicated that he plans to retire from film composing. Then, in an understandable change of heart, Williams decided that retiring didn’t sound like all that much fun, especially when Spielberg was the man who kept asking him to stay active. It’s hard to argue against working with Steven Spielberg for as long as possible.
Williams’ documentary doesn’t have a title or a director attached to it yet, but if things start to fall through, maybe Spielberg will roll up his sleeves and just do it himself. It remains the one thing missing from his eclectic and celebrated filmography: Spielberg has never directed a documentary.
While we wait, let’s watch Williams in action, conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker playing the ‘Main Title’ theme from Star Wars.
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