RUMOR: John Williams plans to retire in 2019

[Ricard 2,107]

I know where this comes from and it seems well-founded. However, since the source is not JW himself or his representatives, we should obviously treat it as a rumor.

 

Discuss! 

[crocodile 7,679]

I wouldn't be surprised. But then, I doubt you can retire from composing. Old habits die hard.

 

To be honest, I thought that was to happen after the prequels and then we had a flood of wonderful works. 

 

But yeah, if he's calling it quits then it's a well deserved rest. You couldn't possibly ask for more. 

 

Oh and Ennio did it first!

 

Karol

[SteveMc 2,673]

Well, it makes sense.  Many have suspected that Episode 9 will be his last rodeo.  Spielberg does seem to be going nowadays in a different direction from what Williams is perfectly comfortable with, and other filmmakers expect very different things in process and product than what John delivers.  

 

This is not the end of Williams's composing, I feel.  We may still get to hear some wonderful concert music from here on out.  I don't think Williams is up to the demands of opera or wholesale commission writing, but I, for one, would love to have Williams augment his body of chamber works.   

[The Illustrious Jerry 3,355]

Well we know of:

Episode IX and Galaxy's Edge

We are pretty sure of, provided everything's on time:

Indiana Jones 5

 

And I'm hoping he'll at least somehow be in on a Tintin sequel, if we ever get that, as well as maybe on last shebang with some sort of Spielberg flick.

However, retirement in 2019 would probably limit some of those last ones.

He could always write themes for things I suppose, like with Solo.

 

Mixed feelings. I want him to keep composing, I'm wondering what retirement would mean for him, and I'm thinking about how thankful we should be as it is.

 

 

[SteveMc 2,673]

3 minutes ago, The Illustrious Jerry said:

He could always write themes for things I suppose, like with Solo.

A very distinct possibility.

[pete 816]

He’s often said he’ll compose as long as he’s able, so I think either the rumour is bullshit or his health problems are serious. If his health problems are serious, then wouldn’t he retire sooner rather than a year from now after having written a large score? 

 

Sure, he may slow down as conducting concerts and recording in studios require physical efforts, but based on his earlier quotes, I find the idea he’ll stop composing to be nonsense unless he’s at death’s door. 

[Luke Skywalker 1,671]

If he won't score indy 5 they can already cancel he film please 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,483]

Close to retirement?

[Laserschwert 411]

I'm pretty sure he'd come out of retirement one last time for Indy 5.

[gkgyver 1,645]

Good for him. Leave the work, now enjoy the chicks.

[bollemanneke 3,161]

Guys, he's 86 years old. He has to stop composing one day, it's just fair and logical.

[TownerFan 4,980]

Writing music for JW is like breathing and eating, so the man won’t put the pencil down until something will force him to do so. Of course I don’t expect him to write Avengers 8, Transformers 12 nor even the latest Star Wars cash-grab spin-off, but that’s another thing. Anything he will write will be something he will do for dear friends or for his own pure pleasure of composing music. 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,483]

18 minutes ago, bollemanneke said:

Guys, he's 86 years old. He has to stop composing one day, it's just fair and logical.

 

Jim, Williams is 86 years old. We feel his day is over.

[mrbellamy 5,991]

Well, depends on what he's retiring from. A goodbye to his conducting career wouldn't surprise me at all, especially after whatever he was dealing with in October. I will be both awestruck and slightly exasperated if he's still conducting IX.

 

A retirement from film scoring would be sad but it takes a lot of physical and mental endurance, time, focus, tolerance for bullshit, etc and he must have good reasons if he's even gonna start saying no to Spielberg. I'm grateful for his work this decade and if he's up for one last big swing, that's more than I could ask for.

 

If he decides he's not going to be writing music of any sort to share with the likes of us, then I can only assume he has more important things on his mind that will need his full attention. A huge THANK YOU and all the best to him in that case.

[Thor 6,727]

Williams himself has on several occasions expressed that he will never retire. He will compose untill the day he dies. So I recognize the news bit, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[Jay 35,045]

It wouldn't surprise me if Episode 9 is his last "big" film score, but it wouldn't surprise me if he keeps composing scores for Steven either

[phbart 590]

He won't retire until he gets his 6th Oscar.

[Josh500 1,612]

I refuse to give any credence to this rumour (and that's all it is!), unless John Williams himself or his representatives officially confirm it!

 

 

 

[Marian Schedenig 7,500]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Williams himself has on several occasions expressed that he will never retire. He will compose untill the day he dies. So I recognize the news bit, but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

Depends on how you define "retire", or what from. Retiring from conducting and/or film scoring seems perfectly plausible. He can still write the occasional concert piece at his own pace when he feels like it.

 

Doesn't bode well for the half-rumoured plans for rescheduling the Vienna concerts though. Unless he plans on making those his final public appearance.

[crumbs 13,868]

Not sure about this one. He's been asked about retirement before and has signalled he has no intentions to officially retire, that writing music is just in his DNA and he writes every day. 

 

Why on earth would official confirmation of something like this go to some random Harry Potter news site? More likely they've just misinterpreted Williams' comments about retiring from Star Wars after IX. 

 

Either way, nobody could begrudge him if he chose to retire altogether after IX. I'm still elated that we got 2 new Star Wars scores, hopefully soon a trilogy's worth, at his advanced age. 

 

And yes, for the love of god just cancel Indy 5 if Williams doesn't want to score it (an outcome I can't see happening unless Williams is physically incapable of writing by that time). 

[artguy360 1,787]

I could see him retiring from film composing after Ep 9 and then just composing occasionally for the concert hall.

[crumbs 13,868]

Maybe Spielberg hired Lorne Balfe to adapt Wet Side Story and Williams cracked the sads, immediately threatening to retire! 

[JohnnyD 1,175]

Williams says he has no plans to retire. “I don’t think you can retire from writing,” he says. “I feel very lucky, and the work that I do doesn’t depend on much. If your vision’s still good, and your hands — I have no arthritis in my hands and I play the piano very easily — I don’t think there’s any reason to deprive oneself of the fun of working. Music is so rewarding.”

Asked how it feels to have done this job for 60 years, the composer responds with a laugh: “It feels like a good start.”

 

Source: https://variety.com/2018/music/awards/john-williams-could-set-oscar-record-1202658996/

 

This “rumor” is complete BS. No legitimacy at all.

[mrbellamy 5,991]

The only thing that makes me take it seriously is that Ricard posted this in order to allude that he’s heard something too.

 

But I don’t appreciate him being so vague about what he knows tbh. It’s just shit-stirring otherwise. I get that he doesn’t want to call out his sources or talk about stuff that’s not 100% or whatever but then just don’t bother. Let it come out officially. 

[Will 2,173]

Yeah, I agree with others here that there's absolutely no way JW stops composing before he's on death's door (which I'm going to assume is not the case right now). As others have noted, though, it does seem plausible that he could be done with film scoring and/or conducting soon. Which would be sad, but as long as he's still writing I'm satisfied. 

 

----------------------------------------------

 

EDIT: Hmm... 

 

 

[crumbs 13,868]

It's a ploy to get his 6th Oscar for the final Star Wars! 

[Kasey Kockroach 2,324]

[artguy360 1,787]

34 minutes ago, Warrior of Wet Dreams said:

Perfect.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,338]

Whoever tweeted that cruises JWFan because that GIF comes straight from our John Williams Reaction GIFs thread.

[mrbellamy 5,991]

Courtesy of yourself! 

 

[crumbs 13,868]

I'm not sure anyone associated closely enough with Williams to know his private intentions to retire would leak such a thing to some random Harry Potter news page. It would be the height of disrespect.

 

Smells like horseshit to me. 

[Bryant Burnette 608]

12 hours ago, Ricard said:

I know where this comes from and it seems well-founded. However, since the source is not JW himself or his representatives, we should obviously treat it as a rumor.

 

Discuss! 

 

This thread is in really poor taste.  If this is merely a rumor, then you've posted a rumor you had no business posting.  If it's true, then you've done Williams a disservice by trying to scoop him on his own retirement.

 

Either way, shame on you.

[Score 741]

My first internet rule is that unofficial, unconfirmed, and unverifiable news should not be re-tweeted and, in general, should not be taken seriously. This HPANA that posted that rumor has shown a significant disrespect towards the man, and we should not feed this behavior. 

[King Mark 3,530]

I hope it's not true, it would be sad for all of us. But Ricard started the thread so it could be true.

 

Maybe his health problems were more serious than we thought and he just wants to finish episode 9 and retire

2 hours ago, Score said:

My first internet rule is that unofficial, unconfirmed, and unverifiable news should not be re-tweeted and, in general, should not be taken seriously. This HPANA that posted that rumor has shown a significant disrespect towards the man, and we should not feed this behavior. 

 well it does say it's exclusive info so they didn't grab it from another site. Maybe they were told something directly

[crumbs 13,868]

So Spielberg/Williams finish their collaboration at 28 scores and The Post? Hrmmmm... I'd like to think not.

 

Spielberg himself said their aim is to achieve 30 scores together. If Williams adapts WSS and scores Indy 5, that's their milestone 30th. A fitting climax to their partnership, methinks (though hopefully for a far more worthy sequel than the last).

[bollemanneke 3,161]

Why aren't you counting The Post as number 29?

[crumbs 13,868]

Because it's their 28th feature film collaboration? 

[Wojo 2,450]

If he retires, I hope he can afford to pay for his health insurance. COBRA is a pain to pay for. 

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,261]

 

*Cough*

[Wojo 2,450]

There's a difference between idle speculation and idol speculation. 

[Obi 396]

Star Wars Episode 9 - The Last Score of John Williams

[crumbs 13,868]

I will say, if you'd run a poll 5 years ago asking for which director Williams would write his final film score, I doubt anyone would've guessed JJ Abrams!

 

If there's an element of truth to this rumour then that really ramps up the pressure on JJ's final Star Wars film. Just imagine knowing your movie would feature John's final film score. That would be unbearably stressful! I'd basically ask him to write leitmotifs for the most incidental things. 

 

JJ: John, that rock at the edge of frame is really important. Can you please write something in the vein of Hedwig's Theme to accompany it? I probably won't use it but it would be good to have the option. 

JW: Anything you say, baby. Just let me finish writing the seventeenth cantina band piece first. 

[Score 741]

1 hour ago, King Mark said:

 well it does say it's exclusive info so they didn't grab it from another site. Maybe they were told something directly

 

I didn't mean that they stole it from another site. I meant that I find it extremely incorrect that they have put this news online in that way. They replied to Lehman's request for the source of their information by saying that they cannot reveal it. So, either their source was not supposed to pass this personal information around (otherwise it would be official and there would be no need to hide the source), or they made it up. In both cases, what HPANA did is wrong (and, in my opinion, childish), even if it eventually turns out that JW will indeed retire next year. In any case, I would trust information like this only when they come from official and verifiable sources, like JW himself or his agents. The man does not need to reveal his future plans in exclusive to HPANA.

[Brundlefly 2,352]

First and last reaction, when I read the thread title: "Again?"

[Marian Schedenig 7,500]

9 hours ago, crumbs said:

Maybe Spielberg hired Lorne Balfe to adapt Wet Side Story and Williams cracked the sads, immediately threatening to retire! 

 

That could be what made him sick on his way to London.

[Koray Savas 2,250]

1 hour ago, Score said:

 

I didn't mean that they stole it from another site. I meant that I find it extremely incorrect that they have put this news online in that way. They replied to Lehman's request for the source of their information by saying that they cannot reveal it. So, either their source was not supposed to pass this personal information around (otherwise it would be official and there would be no need to hide the source), or they made it up. In both cases, what HPANA did is wrong (and, in my opinion, childish), even if it eventually turns out that JW will indeed retire next year. In any case, I would trust information like this only when they come from official and verifiable sources, like JW himself or his agents. The man does not need to reveal his future plans in exclusive to HPANA.

Sorry, but anonymous sources are an actual thing in journalism and it isn’t wrong at all to use them.

[Will 2,173]

Yeah, it's tricky because on the one hand we're really sensitive, almost "protective," about JW, so we're loath to see anyone leaking information and see it as distasteful. But on the other hand, anonymous sources are nothing new in reporting and, while it's prudent to be cautious about them, if the HP site has this right than I guess congrats to them. Getting the scoop is reporters' job, and while this report may seem distasteful to us, it doesn't appear to be grievously intrusive on privacy or anything.

[Josh500 1,612]

1 hour ago, Score said:

 

I didn't mean that they stole it from another site. I meant that I find it extremely incorrect that they have put this news online in that way. They replied to Lehman's request for the source of their information by saying that they cannot reveal it. So, either their source was not supposed to pass this personal information around (otherwise it would be official and there would be no need to hide the source), or they made it up. In both cases, what HPANA did is wrong (and, in my opinion, childish), even if it eventually turns out that JW will indeed retire next year. In any case, I would trust information like this only when they come from official and verifiable sources, like JW himself or his agents. The man does not need to reveal his future plans in exclusive to HPANA.

 

Agreed! 

 

In this day and age, the phrase "anonymous source" automatically makes you somewhat skeptical and suspicious, especially if this has nothing to do with government secrets or national security, blah blah, etc. etc.... So much fake news around, I personally wouldn't trust it. 

 

Again, unless JW himself or his representatives officially announce it, I wouldn't give this any special credence.

 

 

[Score 741]

44 minutes ago, Koray Savas said:

Sorry, but anonymous sources are an actual thing in journalism and it isn’t wrong at all to use them.

 

But this is very far from being journalism. If a real journalist receives some important inside news about, say, the government actions, and he publishes them because it's an issue of general concern and interest, and by doing this he forces the government to give an official statement about that issue, then of course anonymous sources are useful. The thing we are talking about here, is nothing more than gossip about a person who should have the right to decide what to say publicly about his future plans, and when. The government's action should have no privacy (in principle) and answers should always be given to people who have elected them, while a person's privacy should always be guaranteed. There is a huge difference.

 

   

[Koray Savas 2,250]

I agree this isn’t real journalism but the principle is the same. Media industries use anonymous sources all the time. Ethical journalists will corroborate these claims before publishing, but news is news.