The Legacy of John Williams (Website & Podcast)

[bollemanneke 3,813]

What I want to know is: does that AFM rule prevent Mike from actually doing these titles now? As inn, could labels technically pay for all of them and wait until some idiot somewhere has a good day?

[Richard P 4,502]

I suppose Mike could do all the musical work, but the labels aren't going to want to pay him to do that without the expectation of a release at the end, surely.

 

Scores with deteriorating elements are another matter and digitising them would be a priority, but scores that are just a set of digital sessions don't need rescuing to start with.

[bollemanneke 3,813]

But would there not be a chance of release? I mean, how likely is it these rules are never going to be sorted out, ever?

[Richard P 4,502]

It's a pretty open ended problem really isn't it - if the legal groundwork won't allow its release and there is no expectation it will change soon, then a label couldn't anticipate a return. Roger mentioned they'd looked into a waiver for Avatar, and I'd fully expect them to have confirmed whether that was a movable obstacle before putting major cash into doing the score.

 

Of course, projects get cancelled for a variety of reasons, with significant sunk capital, but I'd expect them to be unforseen or exceptional issues, and not 'the AFM said no... again'.

[Holko 11,029]

And it's not like Mike has so little to work on and so much free time that he'd waste it on putting work into scores that may or may not be released in years or decades instead of scores that will get released in months or years.

[Yavar Moradi 3,292]

The recording dates actually don't matter, @Amer. It's the release date of the film itself that matters. See MV's January 4 post here:

https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=158900&forumID=1&archive=0

"For the last time, we aren't doing TG Maverick...and any film or tv show recorded with the AFM that was released after Aug 15 2005 can't be expanded or released due to high reuse fees. LEGEND OF ZORRO was released in Oct 2005. Hopefully, one day, this outdated rule will be lifted.

As for more Bond -- we would rather release 4 Bond titles that sell and pay the bills than 20 non Bond titles that don't even break even including titles by top composers. Sales are not what they used to be unless you release a highly desired title that appeals beyond this ever shrinking film score cd marketplace

MV"

 

Yavar

[Jay 41,179]

Yes, MV said films released after Aug 15 2005, however Mike M has said scores recorded after July 3 2005

 

For AFM recordings made before July 3, 2005, NO reuse needs to be paid to the musicians at all, provided a) that it’s for a physical format release with a 5000 unit maximum, and b) that the musicians list is published, preferably in the packaging. For recordings made after that date, whatever the musicians were paid to record the score for the film has to be paid to them again, 100%. That’s why it’s called “reuse”. They were paid to play music for sync purposes, but an album is a new use.

 

So, hypothetically, if 120 people were paid $360,000 to record the music for the film (musicians, orchestrators, copyists, at an average of $3K a person), then a label would have to pay that exact same amount to AFM in order to put out an expanded album. That makes it impossible to consider even before you get to licensing, publishing, production and manufacturing.

 

The 2005 date was established in 2015 and applied to recordings going back 10 years prior, but unfortunately it was not a “sliding” date as it really should have been.

 

Mike

 

Which is correct?  I have no idea.

[enderdrag64 1,138]

4 minutes ago, Jay said:

Which is correct?  I have no idea.

 

Neither it looks like, the official AFM rules say "Upon the request of a Producer, the Federation shall, in good faith, grant waivers to allow the release of sound track albums recorded before August 14, 2005 without the necessity of payment in advance of, or upon, release."
 

https://www.afm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2020-Basic-Theatrical-Motion-Picture-Agreement.pdf, page 14

[Jay 41,179]

It makes perfect sense that it would relate to the recording dates and not the film's release date.

[JohnnyD 1,450]

29 minutes ago, enderdrag64 said:

 

Neither it looks like, the official AFM rules say "Upon the request of a Producer, the Federation shall, in good faith, grant waivers to allow the release of sound track albums recorded before August 14, 2005 without the necessity of payment in advance of, or upon, release."
 

https://www.afm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2020-Basic-Theatrical-Motion-Picture-Agreement.pdf, page 14

 

27 minutes ago, Jay said:

It makes perfect sense that it would relate to the recording dates and not the film's release date.

 

If that is the case, then is there still a chance of getting remastered and expanded releases of the Maestro's score to Memoirs of a Geisha and/or Munich? This year marks the 20th anniversary of both films, so it would be a great opportunity.

[Jay 41,179]

I have no idea when those scores were recorded.

[JohnnyD 1,450]

Well, both Munich and Memoirs of a Geisha were released in theaters on December 23th, 2005. Memoirs of a Geisha premiered in Tokyo on November 29th. Hmm. That may cut it close for both, but it is certainly possible.

[enderdrag64 1,138]

Wikipedia says Geisha's OST album released on 11/22/2005

 

I'd expect from that the sessions were probably around August-September but I'm not certain, the OST booklet doesn't seem to mention recording dates

[Jay 41,179]

JOHN WILLIAMS: A COMPOSER’S LIFE by Tim Greiving is the first major biography on the renowned composer. It will be published by Oxford Academic (Oxford University Press) on September 1, 2025.
“Seeking to understand what drove Williams's musical productivity and its effects on the lives of those close to him, Greiving delves deeply into the composer's decades-long career, uncovering countless new stories and revelations. Throughout, he analyzes and describes Williams' film scores, recalling them primarily in narrative and emotional terms rather than purely musicological ones, and in doing so emphasizes one of Williams's principle strengths: his musical storytelling.
With unprecedented interview access to Williams and those close to him, Greiving presents the definitive portrait of a beloved but famously private doyen of twentieth-century pop culture.”
You can pre-order your copy at the following link:
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/john-williams-9780197620885
Stay tuned for exclusive content about the book on The Legacy of John Williams as we get closer to release date!

 

https://www.facebook.com/thelegacyofjohnwilliams/posts/pfbid07utUMnY1XXacnx3pHECbmtKVMD6W5XZ8wemDQVo4PFDRK38nsYbcTBhT6CzDbkyUl

[Jay 41,179]

The Legacy of John Williams were delighted to participate in Shout! Studios’ new retrospective making of for their 4K release of Far and Away. We discuss the huge impact John Williams’ score makes to the film and I relished the opportunity to credit James Thatcher’s stunning horn solos. Thanks to Brian Ward and Jon Donahue for the invite🥂!

 

  

 

https://www.facebook.com/timburdenvoiceovers/posts/pfbid02n3qDhH9x1WgSD1Tg87sFvi34q3fsc7MHLyq8eJT9ucSUWQdpcE2mfVVAj75wroJ9l

 

 

Product page: https://shoutfactory.com/products/far-and-away-collectors-edition-exclusive-poster 

[Luke Skywalker 2,065]

I like that title font better than what was used in the LLL. (though the LLL uses the poster or final film credits IRRC.

[BB-8 4,429]

But the colours shout out. 

[crumbs 15,228]

21 hours ago, Jay said:

The Legacy of John Williams were delighted to participate in Shout! Studios’ new retrospective making of for their 4K release of Far and Away. We discuss the huge impact John Williams’ score makes to the film and I relished the opportunity to credit James Thatcher’s stunning horn solos. Thanks to Brian Ward and Jon Donahue for the invite🥂!

 

  

 

https://www.facebook.com/timburdenvoiceovers/posts/pfbid02n3qDhH9x1WgSD1Tg87sFvi34q3fsc7MHLyq8eJT9ucSUWQdpcE2mfVVAj75wroJ9l

 

 

Product page: https://shoutfactory.com/products/far-and-away-collectors-edition-exclusive-poster 

 

A bit off topic but I'm surprised (and disappointed) they didn't find a way to include the extended TV cut. Guess that'll never be released.

[Jay 41,179]

I'd assume the master for the extended cut burned up in the Universal fire, so someone would have to rebuild it

 

@Croweyes1121 did give Ron Howard a copy of his restoration of it on blu ray at least