VIDEO: New Williams TV interview! Still has to finish The Fabelmans, "then I will start Indiana Jones number 5"

[Jay 37,290]

This 6:44 video from Austrian TV channel ORF2 features some nice b-roll footage from this weekend's Vienna concert rehearsals, as well as a couple snippets of a video interview of him and Anne-Sophie Mutter.

 

https://tvthek.orf.at/profile/kulturMontag/13886866/kulturMontag/14127980/John-Williams-Von-E-T-bis-A-I/15127069

 

If you click "UT" you can get English or German subtitles, but I have found the English subtitles do not match what Williams actually said - it's a re-translation of the German translation of what he said, I think.

 

So, I have attempted to transcribe the Williams parts as well as I can hear them under the German overdubbing:

 

1:32 "One thing she is not, is a woman you can say 'no' to.   So, I agreed with the greatest pleasure, and have written her now a violin concerto.  Maybe I will write you another one!"

 

4:29 "Maybe Yoda! I don't know..."

 

4:41 "It's not very glamorous, working, you know.... um, with a pencil and paper, yea, it's true.  I think it's impossible for us to say where things really come from, you know from sometimes a word, a person, a memory...."

 

5:11 "Magic! Absolute magic for us from the USA to feel the history here, feel the past, it still seems alive, it's an incredible experience"

 

6:05 "I will go home to California in a few days and finish up Steven Spielberg's latest film, which is is untitled, but is very, very interesting!  And then I will start Indiana Jones number 5, can you imagine?  Well, I thought maybe four is enough, then, Harrison Ford, who is the star of the movie and I think he is 78, and though he's younger than I, I thought if he can do it, I can do it!"

 

 

 

If I made any mistakes with my transcription, please let me know!

 

 

[crumbs 14,302]

"I thought maybe four was enough."

 

Not exactly what you want to hear from the composer before he starts writing the fifth

[Edmilson 7,393]

"John, do you wanna score a fifth Indiana Jones movie?"

 

"Only if you guarantee that JJ Abrams absolutely will not be involved with the production in no capacity whatsoever"

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

I hope we get to hear Indy's theme with choir

[Jay 37,290]

I've attempted to transcribe the Williams interview bits and put that in the main post - please post any corrections or context!

[Ludwig 1,120]

35 minutes ago, crypto said:

"I thought maybe four was enough."

 

Not exactly what you want to hear from the composer before he starts writing the fifth

 

Haha, I thought the same, but then he turned it around by making it the setup to his joke in a characteristically modest way. Well rescued!

[Jay 37,290]

From what I can hear under the overdubbing, he says "I thought maybe we'd do four", not "I thought 4 was enough"

 

But its a bit hard to tell for sure...

[Ludwig 1,120]

6 minutes ago, Jay said:

From what I can hear under the overdubbing, he says "I thought maybe we'd do four", not "I thought 4 was enough"

 

But its a bit hard to tell for sure...

 

I checked the German subtitles given with the interview and for that bit, it says "Ich dachte, vier Folgen wären genug", which translates as "I thought four episodes were enough". And listening again, it sounds to me like "four is enough." But I mean, if we have to resort to this to find out, then yeah, it's definitely hard to hear!

 

Also, teeny tiny point: about Spielberg's film, he says "which is not titled yet, but is very, very interesting" and again the German says the same with "der hat noch keinen Titel, ist aber sehr interessant".

[Jay 37,290]

Yea - The German overdub, the German subtitles, and the English subtitles are all clearly not an exact replica of the words he said.

 

I put headphones on and tried to tune my antennae to hear only him for the transcription in the main post.

 

Let me listen to that part again...

 

OK, I can now hear what he says is: "I thought maybe four is enough".  If you watch his mouth it's easier to hear his words instead of the overdub.

 

Nice!

[Tom 4,639]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

then, Harrison Ford, who is the star of the movie and I think he is 78 and though he's younger than I, I thought if he can do it, I can do it!"

I wonder if Ford knows that he just got burned by Williams.  

[Jay 37,290]

4 minutes ago, Ludwig said:

Also, teeny tiny point: about Spielberg's film, he says "which is not titled yet, but is very, very interesting"

 

Yes, I hear it now.  Fixed!

[Richard Penna 3,673]

Heh, is that the closest we come to the world's most diplomatic interviewee suggesting that he wasn't racing to be part of Indy 5? 

 

Perhaps his thought process is who they'd get to do it instead, if he feels protective as he does with SW.

[BB-8 3,461]

What really made me freak out was the red light (and mic) on the Vienna stage in the footage between interview sections:

[Damien F 1,742]

I presume that untitled Spielberg film is The Fabelmans. Is JW mistaken that it is untitled or is The Fabelmans just a working title?

[Jay 37,290]

3 minutes ago, BB-8 said:

What really made me freak out was the red light (and mic) on the Vienna stage in the footage between interview sections:

 

Freak out? Why?

 

 

2 minutes ago, Damien F said:

I presume that untitled Spielberg film is The Fabelmans.

 

Of course.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Damien F said:

Is JW mistaken that it is untitled or is The Fabelmans just a working title?

 

We don't know.

[mrbellamy 6,272]

41 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

Heh, is that the closest we come to the world's most diplomatic interviewee suggesting that he wasn't racing to be part of Indy 5? 

 

Perhaps his thought process is who they'd get to do it instead, if he feels protective as he does with SW>

 

It seems like Star Wars and Indiana Jones have an X factor that he doesn't feel as strongly with Superman, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter. He can only be beholden to so many things. Maybe he takes extra pride in them because they're original movie characters he helped define, and part of his loyalty to Lucas and Spielberg (I know Spielberg did JP too but again, Indy is an original cinematic creation.)

 

It definitely feels like it's a certain selective protection of his Hollywood legacy and his friendship with Spielberg that has gotten us any soundtracks lately. Book Thief must have been the last score that he did purely because he wanted to work on a movie.

[BB-8 3,461]

19 minutes ago, Jay said:

Freak out? Why?

 

Well, freaking out in a positive sense that they were possibly doing independent recording sessions with the Vienna Phil before the concerts - maybe this was just to create sufficient back-up material for the live takes of the concerts (to repair e.g. horn flubs). However, a red light plus director's mic indicates that there was a requirement for real-time interaction between recording team and the ensemble.

 

With the red light looking exactly like the one Emil Berliner Studios use (which take commissions from various record labels including DG) it is likely that a dedicated recording is in the pipeline - not just an archival document that may or may not be released.

[Lord Montague 42]

3 hours ago, BB-8 said:

 

Well, freaking out in a positive sense that they were possibly doing independent recording sessions with the Vienna Phil before the concerts - maybe this was just to create sufficient back-up material for the live takes of the concerts (to repair e.g. horn flubs). However, a red light plus director's mic indicates that there was a requirement for real-time interaction between recording team and the ensemble.

 

With the red light looking exactly like the one Emil Berliner Studios use (which take commissions from various record labels including DG) it is likely that a dedicated recording is in the pipeline - not just an archival document that may or may not be released.

The mic is probably only there to record JW's voice. Since this was a direct-to-disc recording, as others have already found out, e.g. by the sign at the door of the recording studio, nothing was recorded, except direct to disc. Nothing will be edited. (otherwise the direct-to-disc concept makes no sense. direct-to-disc and editing are mutually exclusive) The red light in the dress rehearsal is probably to tell them, when the direct-to-disc process is running.

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

14 hours ago, Jay said:

This 6:44 video from Austrian TV channel TVThek features some nice b-roll footage from this weekend's Vienna concert rehearsals, as well as a couple snippets of a video interview of him and Anne-Sophie Mutter.

 

Technically, the TV channel is ORF2. ORF is the Austrian national broadcaster. TVThek is there service for providing video streams of their TV broadcasts.

 

13 hours ago, Ludwig said:

I checked the German subtitles given with the interview and for that bit, it says "Ich dachte, vier Folgen wären genug", which translates as "I thought four episodes were enough". And listening again, it sounds to me like "four is enough." But I mean, if we have to resort to this to find out, then yeah, it's definitely hard to hear!

 

Never count on German interview overdubs to be faithful translations of what was originally said.

[Jay 37,290]

3 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Technically, the TV channel is ORF2. ORF is the Austrian national broadcaster. TVThek is there service for providing video streams of their TV broadcasts.

 

Corrected!

[BB-8 3,461]

But it is possible to rip a direct-to-disc recording onto digital media - of course you miss the analogue cult aspect by doing this.

 

Wasn't Morricone's "Hateful Eight" done like that: a direct-to-disc recording (with presumably some limited direct copies for the freaks) and a digi-rip for Joe Blogs?

[Ludwig 1,120]

11 minutes ago, Marian Schedenig said:

Never count on German interview overdubs to be faithful translations of what was originally said.

 

Thanks, Marian. I think I was trying to support what I heard with something more substantial than "I heard it this way". But now I know better! Anyway, it seems Jay and I now agree. And yes, @Jay you're right, it is easier to watch his mouth, which is what I was doing and didn't say. Sorry for all the fuss!

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

I didn't even try to make out his exact voice. I'll never know why they don't simply subtitle this stuff instead of doing overdubs.

[BB-8 3,461]

26 minutes ago, Lord Montague said:

as others have already found out, e.g. by the sign at the door of the recording studio

As already mentioned elsewhere, these signs on the door could have been historical and not related to the current activities inside and in front of the room.

 

The red lamp on the dress-rehearsal stage, however, very strongly suggests that recording activities were going on. As for the mic, possibly JW could indicate "excellent gents - next piece please" or "sorry gents, inacceptable horn flubs, once again please and a little less forced this time" - and the Emil Berliner nerds would wop on the next lacquer disc, keeping their fingers and toes crossed.

[Lord Montague 42]

45 minutes ago, BB-8 said:

As already mentioned elsewhere, these signs on the door could have been historical and not related to the current activities inside and in front of the room.

 

...

Well... There is also a two track tape recorder to be seen in the pic. Something that wasn't used in that room for about 40 years. Why should they use a tape recorder for recording this? So it seems to be true. The sign current. It was a direct-to-disc recording. Hard to imagine the orchestra would approve it, since those live performances have usually several flubs over the span of a side of an LP. Maybe it was only an experiment.

[Andy 4,087]

I did enjoy hearing John use the German "bleistift" for pencil.  

 

On my first listen, I thought he had said "Baby Yoda"... but then yeah, why would he even ?  

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

What I'm not seeing talked about here is that Williams seemingly just name-dropped the official title for Indy 5!

Discuss!

[Marian Schedenig 8,174]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

I did enjoy hearing John use the German "bleistift" for pencil.

 

"With a Bleistift, ja ja."

[BB-8 3,461]

Nice to hear him confirm that there are short references to Tintin-like phrases in the violin concerto.

 

I noticed that during the Vienna concerts and was wondering whether it was just my imagination.

 

10 hours ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

"With a Bleistift, ja ja."

 

"And with a Nadel direct to disc."

[BB-8 3,461]

 

Strange that no one nominated Maestro Oma Tres as favourite character.