The Last Jedi Nathan Johnson discusses missing out on The Last Jedi to JW

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Thought this was a fun interview which revealed a few interesting nuggets we didn't previously know. I think the Hook signing was already revealed by Rian, but one can infer from Nathan's comments here that he actually lost this gig to Williams. Another interesting layer to that mysterious period between TFA and TLJ where JW's ongoing involvement was unclear. 

 

It seems Nathan actually got to attend the recording sessions though, so don't feel too upset for him. A dream come true for any aspiring composer. A nice gesture from Rian who surely arranged that as an apology for not getting the score. 

 

Quote

 

Obviously there’s one film of Rian’s you didn’t score, which is The Last Jedi, which is a movie that I love. I think it’s brilliant. And no disrespect to John Williams, who I thought did a fantastic job, but when Rian was first announced, I was honestly really looking forward to hearing what your Star Wars score might sound like. Were you a bit bummed that you didn’t get to take a crack at that one, or were you relieved that you didn’t have to try and do a score for a Star Wars movie?

JOHNSON: (Laughs) All of the feelings. I mean, the thing is, if you’re going to lose out on a movie, you’re proud to lose out on it to John Williams.

 

Yeah, it’s hard to argue with that.

JOHNSON: Oh, he really scored our childhood. I mean, almost literally. This is a fun story, but you probably know that Rian and I grew up as kids making movies and music together. For our family videos, we had like a couple film soundtrack CDs, and one of the only soundtrack CDs we had was John Williams’ score from Hook.

 

I love that score.

JOHNSON: It’s such a good score.

 

It’s so good.

JOHNSON: So all of our childhood movies are scored with the Hook CD.

 

That’s awesome.

JOHNSON: At the end of The Last Jedi, Rian went to John Williams, and he had him sign two things. He had him sign a poster for himself, and then he brought me a gift. He was like, “I got this for you.” I opened it up, and Rian had basically tracked down an original vinyl copy of the Hook score, and had John Williams sign it for me.

 

That’s amazing.

JOHNSON: Yeah, it was. It was like, yeah, so, so nice. It was like, oh man, that’s this legend, who felt like he scored our childhood, so for me, it was just a pleasure getting to be in the room on those scoring sessions, just to be there as a fan, but also to be learning from just watching how he worked with the orchestra and being in the room with his incredible score. It was a real treat.

 

Yeah, yeah, that’s incredible. That score was also the score of my childhood, that one specifically; I mean, all of his scores, but I was obsessed with Hook.

JOHNSON: Yeah. Rufio! (laughs)

 

Yeah, it’s incredible. It’s underrated, too. I know Rian’s into early development on potentially new Star Wars movies, but have you guys talked about you maybe doing the score for those at all?

JOHNSON: All I’ll say is I’m happy to be a part of whatever he invites me to be.

 

 

https://collider.com/knives-out-composer-interview-nathan-johnson/

[mrbellamy 5,693]

We also know that he was going to do the Canto Bight source until JW called dibs.

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I didn't know that! When was that revealed? 

 

Ironic, considering the reverse situation happened on TFA. 

[Edmilson 4,925]

So we should probably add Rian and Nathan Johnson to the club of people who are disappointed with the 2012 LLL Hook release, and to this day are hoping for a new release produced by Mike Matessino?

[gkgyver 1,643]

Yeah, right. Because as a film music fan, the first guy you think about when a new Star Wars film is announced, is "Fuck yes, Nathan Johnson!" 

 

That interviewer is bs-ing something fierce. 

[mrbellamy 5,693]

55 minutes ago, crumbs said:

I didn't know that! When was that revealed? 

 

Ironic, considering the reverse situation happened on TFA. 

 

There were a couple Rian Johnson interviews where he mentioned it, I think in one of the score featurettes actually. 

 

I don’t think it was set in stone or anything but he just said that was the assumption and when John saw the scene, he was like “I’m doin that” lol

[Fabulin 3,442]

2 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

There were a couple Rian Johnson interviews where he mentioned it, I think in one of the score featurettes actually. 

I don’t think it was set in stone or anything but he just said that was the assumption and when John saw the scene, he was like “I’m doin that” lol

There was no stopping him. Had Nathan Johnson said anything, Wiliams would have started knocking at him with a baton and yelling "Mine, mine, mine!"

[Unlucky Bastard 7,771]

It might have been a better score!

[mrbellamy 5,693]

[Edmilson 4,925]

So essentially Lucasfilm did exactly what WB should have done with David Yates and the Harry Potter franchise.

 

Lucasfilm: "So, Rian, we want you to direct the next Star Wars movie, are you in?"

 

Johnson: "Sure, great! But I would like to use my cousin and composer Nathan Johnson, he is relatively unknown but I think he'll work".

 

Lucasfilm: "No way! John Williams wrote iconic scores for the Star Wars saga, and he'll continue to do so until we say otherwise. We already conviced him to not only score Episodes VIII and IX but also write a few themes for Solo and Galaxy's Edge. So, you either find a way to collaborate with him or you're fired!"

 

Johnson: "Okay..."

 

Meanwhile:

 

WB exec: "So, David, we want you to direct the next Potter movies, are you in?"

 

Yates: "Sure, great! But I would like to use my composer Nicholas Hooper, he is relatively unknown but I think he'll work".

 

WB exec: "Yeah, whatever. He'll charge us less than John Williams anyway, so, more money for us to spend on VFX and the marketing campaign!"

[Fabulin 3,442]

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[Not Mr. Big 4,210]

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

So essentially Lucasfilm did exactly what WB should have done with David Yates and the Harry Potter franchise.

 

Lucasfilm: "So, Rian, we want you to direct the next Star Wars movie, are you in?"

 

Johnson: "Sure, great! But I would like to use my cousin and composer Nathan Johnson, he is relatively unknown but I think he'll work".

 

Lucasfilm: "No way! John Williams wrote iconic scores for the Star Wars saga, and he'll continue to do so until we say otherwise. We already conviced him to not only score Episodes VIII and IX but also write a few themes for Solo and Galaxy's Edge. So, you either find a way to collaborate with him or you're fired!"

 

Johnson: "Okay..."

 

Meanwhile:

 

WB exec: "So, David, we want you to direct the next Potter movies, are you in?"

 

Yates: "Sure, great! But I would like to use my composer Nicholas Hooper, he is relatively unknown but I think he'll work".

 

WB exec: "Yeah, whatever. He'll charge us less than John Williams anyway, so, more money for us to spend on VFX and the marketing campaign!"

The ST films have their problems but they gave us three Williams Sci-Fi fantasy scores, and that renders any criticism of them inert.

[SyncMan 246]

I wonder how Michael Giacchino reacted to this? 

[mrbellamy 5,693]

 

 

[Disco Stu 15,475]

No where was it suggested that Rian had wanted or asked for Nathan to score it

[Jurassic Shark 9,744]

On 11/28/2019 at 3:29 PM, First TROS March Accolyte said:

The difference is that Williams made Lucasfilm rich in the first place. Meanwhile WB has a 100-years old tradition of treating composers like Steiner like livestock.

 

Livestock is yummy.

[Kühni 484]

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[Richard Penna 2,631]

What a stupid interview. There's no way Johnson was going to be asked to score a Star Wars movie and it just means that the interview descends into a crowd-pleasing sermon about how great JW is.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,256]

7 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

What a stupid interview. There's no way Johnson was going to be asked to score a Star Wars movie and it just means that the interview descends into a crowd-pleasing sermon about how great JW is.

 

Is that a bad thing though?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,771]

On 11/29/2019 at 1:07 AM, Edmilson said:

So essentially Lucasfilm did exactly what WB should have done with David Yates and the Harry Potter franchise.

 

Lucasfilm: "So, Rian, we want you to direct the next Star Wars movie, are you in?"

 

Johnson: "Sure, great! But I would like to use my cousin and composer Nathan Johnson, he is relatively unknown but I think he'll work".

 

Lucasfilm: "No way! John Williams wrote iconic scores for the Star Wars saga, and he'll continue to do so until we say otherwise. We already conviced him to not only score Episodes VIII and IX but also write a few themes for Solo and Galaxy's Edge. So, you either find a way to collaborate with him or you're fired!"

 

Johnson: "Okay..."

 

Meanwhile:

 

WB exec: "So, David, we want you to direct the next Potter movies, are you in?"

 

Yates: "Sure, great! But I would like to use my composer Nicholas Hooper, he is relatively unknown but I think he'll work".

 

WB exec: "Yeah, whatever. He'll charge us less than John Williams anyway, so, more money for us to spend on VFX and the marketing campaign!"

 

Harry Potter isn't as important as JWfanners make it out to be.

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[SilverTrumpet 563]

I don't think Nathan was ever in the running. They're using the term "lose out" because he lost out as soon as it was Star Wars.

[mrbellamy 5,693]

That’s obvious but we have to fill the thread somehow.

[kelliwisethebrave 54]

23 hours ago, First TROS March Accolyte said:

They share speech patterns with the actors characters in Disney Trilogy. Barely orate at times.

It's funny you say that, seeing as "orate" is a verb, not an adjective. 

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[kelliwisethebrave 54]

 

44 minutes ago, First TROS March Accolyte said:

You were saying?

 

Interesting, that only pops up if you search specifically for "orate as an adjective," otherwise the dictionaries I saw only list it as a verb. 

Regardless, I think the way the characters in the sequel trilogy speak is just fine and matches the context - many characters in the prequel trilogy are senators, royalty, etc. which would mean they speak in a more formal manner. In the sequel trilogy, most of the characters are from more humble backgrounds so it makes sense that they would speak in a way that reflects that. Aside from that context, according to the genre and style of the Star Wars films, I think the sequel trilogy fits in just fine in this arena.

[Fabulin 3,442]

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[Unlucky Bastard 7,771]

Anyone else hate all the incomprehensible mumbling in modern movies?

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,479]

And trailers.

[Edmilson 4,925]

A lot of dull scientific technobabble.

 

And it's funnier on those awful DC shows on CW, on which despite the heroes being super powered, they need the help from a nerd with a lab on which they can do everything from hacking Pentagon systems to creating complex chemical formulas to portals to other universes, time machines, etc.