John Williams: Last News

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the shortlists in 10 categories for the upcoming 96th Oscars ceremony. Overall, Greta Gerwig’s meta-comedy “Barbie” had the most mentions with five including sound, original song for its three submissions from Billie Eilish (“What I Was Made For?”), Dua Lipa (“Dance the Night”) and Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (“I’m Just Ken”), and original score, from the latter duo. The big miss for “Barbie” was in makeup and hairstyling, which was the category that yielded the most surprises.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Many stories have been told about Westward expansion, but few have focused on the impact and consequences. John Williams’ 1960 novel “Butcher’s Crossing” follows William Andrews, a Harvard student who leaves his life behind to join a buffalo-hunting expedition, facing many harsh realities on his journey. Producer Molly Conners sat down with Variety for the film’s DVD release to discuss director Gabe Polsky’s journey adapting the story, financing the film, casting its star Nicolas Cage and working with the Blackfeet Nation to tell the story about the destruction of the buffalo population in 19th century America.

Five tones. That’s all it took for John Williams to convey a sense of a wider form of communication that stretches from the Earth to the Cosmos. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a film about (among many things) communication and the power of the universal language of music in particular. It is fitting, then, that the Royal Albert Hall would make room for Steven Spielberg’s 1977 Sci-Fi classic in its season of live orchestral performances this year. Not only is it a wonderful chance to revisit one of Spielberg’s finest, but it offers a means to greater appreciate just how emotionally complex William’s work is in this tale of making connection with beings not of this world. Seeing a film with a live orchestra is an experience that everyone should embark upon, be it your first time seeing the film for your 100th. It is a uniquely immersive experience, bringing you into the film in a way that no other screening format can quite muster. Music, and particularly the music of John Williams, is often used to heighten emotion and elevate scenes to their peak resonance, and the tangibility of seeing an orchestra play the score as the film progresses brings you even closer to those emotions in a truly profound fashion.The film and the score all build-up to one of the finest finales put to screen with the eventual meeting between our characters and the aliens who have been telegraphing their arrival. The moments of witty government conspiracy and deeply touching and devastating family drama give way to the meeting of human and alien, as the human race communicates to the huge, foreboding and colourful mothership through the medium of music. It is a sequence that never loses its grandeur on repeat viewing, a moment in which the

Adam Driver was back on Saturday Night Live and referred to not killing Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Adam Driver has been facing the wrath of Star Wars fans for the actions of his on-screen character Kylo Ren.

Feeling festive? With this stellar line-up at The Bridgewater Hall, Christmas 2023 promises to be an absolute cracker.

The Godfather and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial in this way over the years, both of them at London’s prestigious and historic Royal Albert Hall in the centre of town.

The biggest movie of 2023 just keeps rockin’ and rollin’.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com The upcoming holiday season just got a little more merry and bright. “Family Guy” creator, director and long-time crooner Seth MacFarlane is dropping a holiday album with Liz Gillies of “Dynasty” and “Victorious” fame — and you can listen to their title track, “We Wish You The Merriest” right now. The velvety pipes of Gillies paired with MacFarlane’s baritone is the enough to soften even the most resolute of grinches.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The international trailer for “A Whole Life,” which will have its world premiere in the Gala section of the Zürich Film Festival (Sept. 28 to Oct. 8), has debuted with Variety (below).

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy has been voted the best film music by the UK public.Howard Shore’s soundtrack took the number one spot on a list of the top 100 film scores compiled by Classic FM, which received over 10,000 votes. The winner was revealed on Monday (August 28) on the radio station by presenter Jonathan Ross.Speaking about the win, Shore said: “Many thanks to all the Classic FM listeners.

Jon Burlingame Despite all the musical superstars who entered this year’s Emmy competition, only one – Ed Sheeran – managed to score when the 75th annual Emmy Award nominations were announced Wednesday. Sheeran was nominated (along with co-writers Max Martin and Foy Vance) for the song “A Beautiful Game” for the season 3 finale of “Ted Lasso,” one of two songs from the popular Apple TV+ series that made it into the music-and-lyrics category. Emmy’s 550-member music peer group ignored the original songs entered by Dolly Parton, David Byrne, Steve Martin, Kid Cudi, Donald Glover and Lainey Wilson, as well as those from such Oscar-winning tunesmiths as Alan Menken, Steven Schwartz, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has sold a 50% stake in its catalog of music publishing and music master rights from the film music library to Multimedia Music, including  marquee and award-winning films 1917, Green Book, The BFG, Bridge of Spies, The Post, Office Christmas Party, Thank You For Your Service and The Girl on the Train and others. The catalog features iconic music from several of the most renowned and celebrated composers in the world including John Williams, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, Rachel Portman, Mark Isham and Rob Simonsen. 

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Of all the local premieres of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” none has had quite so dramatic and apt a setting as the ancient open air Greek Theater in Taormina, Italy, where the fifth instalment of the franchise screened at the 69th Taormina Film Festival Sunday night. Fireworks lit up the night sky to the sound of John Williams’ “Indy’s March,” and the film’s title was projected on crumbling walls that date back to the third century BCE. With the active volcano Etna looming in the distance, the packed-out audience were treated to an all-star presentation, welcoming Harrison Ford to the stage with a rapturous reception.

Harrison Ford is ready to say goodbye to Indiana Jones — but first, one last adventure!«That music follows me everywhere I go,» Ford joked of composer John Williams' iconic theme music for the beloved franchise. «They were playing it over speakers in the operating room when I did my last colonoscopy!»Ford and director James Mangold sat down with ET's Nischelle Turner this week to discuss the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, For Mangold, taking over the franchise from legendary director Steven Spielberg was intimidating, not only as a fan of Ford's, but also as a filmmaker who grew up being inspired by Spielberg and George Lucas, who created the beloved films and franchises that the actor is best known for.«To find myself, not only being lucky enough to be a movie director, but to be a movie director who's collaborating with his heroes on a personal level, yes, feels like an honor,» he marveled.

Indiana Jones may have had his Cannes world premiere, but Disney saved something special for the Hollywood splash of the alleged final chapter in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The U.S. premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” included an emotional and joyous reunion between franchise star Harrison Ford and recent “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan. The duo starred together in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” which marked Quan’s movie debut when he was just a child. A viral video from the “Dial of Destiny” red carpet sees Quan sneaking up behind Ford while the latter is being interviewed by “Extra” host Melvin Robert. Quan places his hand on Ford’s back, and then Ford turns around and smiles when he discovers his former co-star has surprised him.

Jon Burlingame Music has always been an integral part of the “Star Wars” universe, dating back to the John Williams scores for the original movie trilogy. So will Emmy voters recognize one, two or all three of the recent “Star Wars” TV series in the scoring categories? Vying for consideration: the 12-part “Andor,” with music by Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated Nicholas Britell (“Succession”); the six-part “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” with a new theme by Williams and score by English composer Natalie Holt (“Loki”); and the eight-part third season of “The Mandalorian,” with music by Joseph Shirley. All aired on Disney+. Britell spent more than two years on “Andor,” the backstory of “Rogue One” hero Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), including several months creating music that was played on the set during filming – from the Time Grappler’s hammer-banging signals on Ferrix to the alien electronica in the clubs on Morlana and the amateur funeral band playing a dirge for Cassian’s mother in the finale.

Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford swung into Cannes on Thursday for the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in one of the most anticipated events of the French Riviera festival.

A.D. Amorosi Johan Lenox, Variety’s Hitmaker of the Month, is known for the supple grandeur he brings to different projects as a producer, arranger and/or composer. These range from the sublime, stringed swell of “Creepin’,” Metro Boomin’s current top 10 smash with the Weeknd and 21 Savage, to the epic orchestral and choral arrangements of Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” and Nas’ “Nasir” (both produced by Mike Dean), and tracks for Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly. Lenox’s background is as a classical music prodigy (by 18, his compositions were heard at Boston’s Symphony Hall and New York’s Alice Tully Hall) and as a musical theater composer (his 2012 off-Broadway musical “Independents” was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick). But he exists in his own lane, one that’s expanded greatly with the release of solo projects such as his 2022 chamber-pop-hop vocal album debut, “WDYWTBWYGU.”

A pre-taped message from Harrison Ford introduced an extended action clip from Lucasfilms’ highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny during Disney’s CinemaCon presentation here in Las Vegas this morning. Said the veteran actor, “Hello CinemaCon! Playing Indiana Jones all these years has meant the world to me. (The movies) have adventure and heart — and for some reason snakes.” In a charming call back to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ford added, “Why did it have to be snakes?”