Popular Post Maestro 147 Posted April 28, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 28, 2020 Hello, fellow JWfans. Obsessed with JW since 1994, member on this site since 2003, and have written my fair share of articles about the man for the LA Times, NPR, and elsewhere. All of that as preamble to a request. This fall, assuming the world is still turning and the higher education system still exists, I'm going to be teaching a course at USC on... the music of John Williams. As you can imagine, I couldn't be more ecstatic. Under the shadow of the "John Williams Scoring Stage," across a path from the school where George Lucas attended, I'll get to wax on about the greatest composer of all time every week for a whole semester. I know many of you have gathered biographical info about JW over the years—old news clippings, interviews, photos, etc.—and I would love to have anything and everything I can get my hands on as I prepare for this class. This will also just scratch an itch I have as a lifelong maniac for JW, but now I have a fancy professional reason as well. Let me know if you have anything you'd be willing to share. Thanks in advance! Molly Weasley, Ricard, crlbrg and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Parker 3,040 Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 I'm sure there are other members that will have scores of information to bequeath upon you, but I just want to say: Congratulations, Tim! That's such an awesome opportunity! Maestro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miguel Andrade 1,263 Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 Congrats Tim! I've amounted a lot of materials over the decades and can forward some of that stuff over to you. Just feel free to reach me through e-mail and tell me if you're looking for something specifically. My greatest problem is some lack or organization Maestro and Fabulin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,363 Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 What a great thing that will be for your students this fall! Must be so exciting! I already sense it’s going to be a huge hit. Unfortunately, I have nothing to contribute in terms of materials. But I’m more than happy to offer to review your syllabus; proofread each week’s lecture notes, slides and handouts; test each week the quality of the USC campus’s WiFi by live streaming your lectures from my house, and taking JW to lunch after class if you ever have him in to guest-speak. Really, it’d be no trouble at all.😉 Molly Weasley and tmarps 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Weasley 100 Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 I have collected some papers and interviews about Memoirs of a Geisha specifically, doing some writing for musicology classes, and a bit about Raiders too. This was especially coming from the standpoint of studying exoticism. Probably all material that you would already have, but let me know if that info would be useful. Also, this sounds amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro 147 Posted June 10, 2020 Author Share Posted June 10, 2020 Hi all. Related to my quest: does anyone have a copy of the filmed AFI Master Class with Spielberg and JW from 2011? It looks like it's been taken down from both Vimeo and YouTube... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thx99 1,740 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Check your PMs, @Maestro. Amer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro 147 Posted June 11, 2020 Author Share Posted June 11, 2020 Thanks everyone! I now have multiple copies of said interview. The generosity of JWfans knows no bounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,074 Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Great endeavour, @Maestro! When this course has been completed, perhaps you could consider turning it into a book so everybody get a chance to appreciate your work. Maestro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro 147 Posted June 28, 2020 Author Share Posted June 28, 2020 Hi again! I'm hoping some of you sleuths can help me with this. In 2012, Blu-ray.com (that esteemed bastion of journalism) published a "Making of Jurassic Park" article that quotes John from two sources that strike me as dubious. As far as I know, he only gave ONE interview to Film Score Monthly (in 2002), excepting the 1997 Craig Byrd Star Wars interview. So I don't think this can be right. Does anyone know the true source of these two quotes, or if they're even legit? Taken from https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8186: On his compositions for the film, John Williams told Film Score Monthly in an interview, "I wanted to do something different for Steven. With Close Encounters, I needed to write pieces that would convey a sense of 'awe' and fascination, especially for the last half hour of the film. The music that would be needed here, especially when the group first arrives on the island and see the dinosaurs, would require something rather similar. So instead of going for a sense of fascination, I created a theme for the park itself, which could be used in several different places, and when orchestrated differently, could convey the beauty of what they were seeing at first. So when the passengers in the jeep pass by the group of dinosaurs for the first time, this is the theme I used. Instead of a sense of fascination, I believe the theme conveyed the feelings of the dinosaur researchers in the jeep and their overwhelming happiness and excitement at what they were encountering." He was also interviewed (by the press, by invitation) one day while working at the editing location about the score point with the tyrannosaurus rex. Williams said, "I needed to compose a much darker tone for many of the scenes, especially the rex, which you will notice is different from the final half hour once they are being chased inside the building. The music for the tyrannosaurus rex had to be absolutely frightening. I wanted to convey the feeling that two children would have if they encountered such a beast. Very dark, very scary. Overall, composing the music for this film has been such an enjoyable experience, and of course a pleasure to work again with Steven." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,983 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 The only interview FSM did with JW was the one by Jeff Bond from 2003 where he talked about AOTC, Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can, plus a little bit about A.I. The 1997 interview on the Star Wars trilogy by Craig Byrd was originally made as part of a book and reproduced under authorization from the author, AFAIK. It's the first time I see those quotes from JW about Jurassic Park. Perhaps they were pulled from the Making Of book by Jody Duncan published in 1993? I'll try to investigate. Maestro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,074 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 1 hour ago, TownerFan said: The 1997 interview on the Star Wars trilogy by Craig Byrd was originally made as part of a book and reproduced under authorization from the author, AFAIK. Which book would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TownerFan 4,983 Posted June 29, 2020 Share Posted June 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Jurassic Shark said: Which book would that be? Sorry, I was misremebering. Byrd's interview was printed in the book The Hollywood Film Music Reader, but it was actually published in 2010. The interview appeared originally on Film Score Monthly Vol.2 N.1 (January 1997). Maestro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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