Krang

Not that it matters much, but after watching the Abrams interview clip, there's still the possibility that after the locals sing their song in the cantina, some action happens and a new source piece starts up that's just instrumental and composed by Williams. Isn't that what usually happens in Star Wars?

They debuted the voices of key TFA characters using toys yesterday. That was something I would have thought would have been presented with better audio in a trailer first. So the newly recorded score popping up in a car commercial three months out would be on par with this marketing campaign. I just can't fathom the makers of that ad choosing the most expensive option of hiring someone to make it sound like Williams instead of just using the Imperial March, the escape from cloud city or already existing star wars music.

Is that piano intro a variation on the cue that plays with the Force theme at the beginning of the second trailer? If so it could be part of a new theme for Rey?

Williams was trying to build on the Imperial March until Episode 3. So even with the scene of the Clonetroopers taking off, he still held back on it to stick with the plan. Opting for that described "orchestral blowout" that we hear a piece of in the Across the Stars video. But while recording it, it just became obvious that there would be no better place in the prequels to use a bombastic version of the Imperial March. So I completely understand why they changed it and went with what they did. I think it worked out great. I too was also expecting a version of it, maybe with a choir, to be used during Vaders assault on the Jedi temple. Unfortunately the editing wasn't complete with those scenes following the turn in the office and thus Williams just couldn't write anything. The same was for the earlier Kashyyyk scenes showing Luminara Unduli. In fact, the shot of Unduli earlier in the movie was meant to be used during Order 66. But Lucas edited it down and used it as an establishing shot of Kashyyyk. So where once it was a post battle scene where Unduli was about to be shot up, was now a pre battle scene showing her giving instructions to the clones before editing out her death. So many of the shots on Kashyyyk and Order 66 were filmed in post production a year after principal photography. Had Lucas just filmed them in 2003, he might have had a better edit for Williams to work with.

They're taking the Marvel Universe approach to Star Wars. Specifically the Avengers. The Avengers movies are like the Episodes that come out every couple of years, while the individual Iron Man, Thor, Hulk movies fill in the rest. Yet people still go to see these films. So why handle Star Wars any different in this day and age? There's a galaxy worth of stories to tell. As for Williams, if Episodes 7, 8, and 9 are meant to be the new conclusion to the saga, he only has six years to wait to complete the trilogies. Not as bad as waiting 9 that's for sure.

Maybe Uncle George can pony up $30,000 of his newly acquired 4 and a half billion to get Johnny a star as a belated b-day gift.

There's actually a cue from The Phantom Menace that for some reason replays in my head a couple of times a week. It's when we see Coruscant for the first time. Starting with the shot of the planet to the camera panning across the city towards Palpatines balcony. It's a rather dramatic cue but it plays more often in my head than any other John Williams piece. Though the Jurassic Park main theme is probably a close second.

We should go year by year and debate which scores deserved to be nominated to set things right. It would make for one hell of a project...and fight.

I didn't see a topic for this but I just found out he passed away two nights ago. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/25/composer-richard-rodney-bennett-dies Murder On The Orient Express is one of my favorite scores ever composed.

Exactly. He's not intentionally quoting BG. Just using a variation of a section of the main star wars fanfare and masking it because he didn't want all of the OT themes to be fully developed in TPM. Though that said, I can't recall it appearing in AOTC or ROTS. Aside from the opening crawl and the credits, it doesn't appear much in the OT films either. I know he uses it during the chasm crossfire and the throne room in ANH. I think it also shows up once or twice on Hoth in TESB. Maybe I'm forgetting a spot or two.

TESB ANH TPM ROTJ ROTS AOTC

True. However they did make it sound like Episodes 7,8, and 9 might relate to the trilogies we have based on what Lucas wrote. Then there would be other movies (like the clone wars). So in regards to 7 coming out in 2015, that's not all that long to wait and they might want Williams to act as the glue to tie it all together for those specific films. Plus, while Lucas took 3 years between each film, these next 3 might be cranked out much faster.

I didn't realize they'd be so blatant in referencing the original Bond theme in the new song. Still sounds good though.

Damn. Just missed the song snippets before they got taken down.

I'm looking forward to it now.

Singapore really lucked out there. But for a movie about a United States President, I think the U.S. got the shaft.

So it was.... well it should have beaten the Last Emperor then!

Didn't King Kong (1933) come out a year before they started nominating scores for awards? In fact, it was probably a driving force behind recognizing film scores. Also, the first score that came to my mind was Jurassic Park (what do they got in here, king kong?). An absolute classic that got snubbed for the simple reason of Universal putting all of their weight behind Schindler's List. Since Ivan the Terrible was mentioned in the countdown, might as well mention Alexander Nevsky. I don't believe Scott of the Antarctic got much recognition. I'll agree with Conan the Barbarian, Krull, The Ten Commandments, Psycho, The Great Escape, and the Good the Bad and the Ugly needing to be nominated in their respective years. Once Upon A Time In The West, Romeo and Juliet and Bullitt didn't get a nod in 68. Not so much of a snub, but The Godfather got disqualified in 1972 for Nino Rota plagiarizing himself. A warning that doesn't seem to have frightened anyone. The Robe (Alfred Newman) being snubbed caused Franz Waxman to raise a stink. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Herrmann) wasn't nominated. In fact, the movie wasn't nominated for anything. Damn their hatred of sci-fi. It probably prevented Godzilla from getting a nod too. Though different times account for different tastes, if Trent Reznor can win for the Social Network, Halloween could have at least been nominated 78. Am I the only one who thought Gremlins was good enough for a nomination in 84? 1962 was such a stacked year for scores that Cape Fear, Hatari, The Miracle Worker, and Walk on the Wild Side got snubbed. Though I suppose that's not so much of a snub as it was too many chefs in the kitchen. Goldfinger didn't get a nod in 1964. Blade Runner also got snubbed in 1982. Strange given the big year for Vangelis in 1981. 1991 was a strange year. Nothing for Hook, Backdraft, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, City Slickers, or Silence of the Lambs. 1992 could have nominated Bram Stoker's Dracula. Poor Kilar. Empire of the Sun should have gotten a nod in 87. They seemed to dislike Danny Elfman with the snubs for Batman and Edward Scissorhands. Speaking of Batman in 1989, they also didn't nominate Glory by James Horner nor Henry V by Patrick Doyle. I always felt that Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Cinema Paradiso were better scores than the Milagro Beanfield War in 1988. Enough to get nominated at least. The Phantom Menace got snubbed because of the backlash against the movie. They didn't even have a goofy rule that year to prevent it. Sleepy Hollow also could have gotten a nomination that year. I felt Ed Wood and Stargate could have been nominated in 1994. I don't think Laura was nominated in 1944. Nor The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935. Nor Modern Times in 1936. How about Cutthroat Island in 1995? I think Gattaca got snubbed in 1997. Requiem For a Dream was unique enough for a nod in 2000. Life As A House by Mark Isham should have gotten something in 2001. I will also agree that Jerry Goldsmith's version of Legend was incredibly worthy of a nomination.

1) They're ranking original scores against Mozart and Strauss. I've never been a fan of doing that. 2) I didn't see anything from Franz Waxman, Jerry Goldsmith, Dimitri Tiomkin, Henry Mancini, Alex North, Alfred Newman, and so on. Surely one of their best scores could have replaced a few of those mediocre Zimmer efforts. 3) The ranking is debatable given some of the scores that only just made it.

My things to buy list seems to be growing. Absolute classic score and the package sounds perfect.

If you liked his work on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, then you'd probably like his score for Ralph Bakshi's 1978 cartoon of the Lord of the Rings. It's just as bombastic and adventurous. You even hear some of the Voyage Home in it at times. Maybe even RoboCop 2 from 1990. Then there's always his experimental Fantastic Voyage (1966) or The Cobweb (1955). His biggest year was probably 1955 with (as mentioned) the Cobweb but also Rebel Without A Cause and East of Eden. There's always Cross Creek and Beneath the Planet of the Apes too. You didn't even like his work for the The Lord of the Rings? *looks at your avatar*

1. The Greatest Adventure - The Hobbit 2. If We Hold On Together - The Land Before Time 3. Somewhere Out There - An American Tail 4. What's This? - The Nightmare Before Christmas 5. Once Upon A December - Anastasia

As a committee, I bet we could put together a pretty mean top 100 list including French, Italian, British, Indian, and Japanese composers. I'm up for a prolonged debate.

I wouldn't put Thomas Newman in my top 10, but certainly top 100 and probably top 50. The Shawshank Redemption might be what I consider to be his definitive work.

I would argue that it wasn't even a film that got his name out there, but the television show Lost In Space.