Williams and Spielberg on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Thursday March 2

[Smeltington 1,436]

Nice that Colbert played it straight, and I do like hearing JW answer the "What's your job" question. The fact that he thinks of "atmospherics" as one of they keys to scoring was a surprise to me.

[TheUlyssesian 2,473]

Gotta say - this full court press. They are definitely trying to get Williams an Oscar. This is definitely a serious campaign.

 

Maybe they sense an opening. The other front runners are Babylon which is a hated movie. And All Quiet which is a tech giant.

 

So maybe they think they have a shot.

 

I'm still unconvinced Williams is really competitive this year. That's mainly down to Fabelmans being weak as well. It's now fallen to 4th or even 6th place in the Best Picture race. With the film being so weak - Williams ain't winning. 

[mrbellamy 6,273]

Very undignified interview

[Muad'Dib 1,801]

I think they're giving it an honest shot, but I think that Johnny also feels very proud of his friend and wants to support him as much as he can.

[JohnnyD 1,222]

That was a nice interview with Steven Spielberg, and a good first-half of the interview with both Steven and the Maestro. I can’t wait to watch the rest of the interview next week, though this time I will wait until it is uploaded on YouTube and watch it the next day instead of watching The Late Night Show on-air.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

3 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Whose living room is it?

Mine

[Bayesian 1,359]

On 28/2/2023 at 8:51 AM, MrJosh said:

I just asked it to do this: write a short concert speech in the style of John Williams including funny anecdotes about Daisy Ridley, star wars and composers who are dead.

 

Here's what I got:

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to this wonderful concert tonight. As we celebrate the iconic Star Wars music and the talents of the incomparable Daisy Ridley, I want to share a few funny anecdotes with you.

 

You know, it's not easy being a composer. We spend hours and hours locked up in a studio, trying to come up with melodies that will capture the hearts and souls of audiences around the world. But sometimes, inspiration strikes in the most unexpected ways. I remember one time, I was walking in the park, trying to come up with a new theme, when suddenly, a squirrel ran up to me and started chattering away. And just like that, I had my melody!

 

Speaking of unexpected things, I have to tell you about the time Daisy Ridley and I were working on the Star Wars soundtrack, and we couldn't stop laughing because we kept imagining what it would be like if some of the great composers from the past were still alive and composing for the movies. Can you imagine Beethoven's take on the Imperial March? Or Mozart's version of the Cantina Band? And what about Bach's interpretation of the Force theme? It's hilarious to think about, but who knows? Maybe they would have been brilliant!

 

But let's not forget the composers who are no longer with us. We stand on the shoulders of giants, and I feel privileged to have been inspired by so many great masters of the past. I remember once, I was at a party with some fellow composers, and we were all trying to come up with the most ridiculous idea for a composition. And then someone suggested, "How about a piece for a hundred pianos, all playing different things at the same time?" And we all laughed, until someone said, "You know who would have loved that idea? John Cage!" And we all stopped laughing, because we knew it was true.

 

So, as we enjoy the Star Wars music and the talents of Daisy Ridley, let's remember to keep our sense of humor, to stay curious, and to be inspired by the great composers of the past. Thank you, and enjoy the concert!

Eleven lol reactions so far. Let’s see if you’re all still laughing in three years when this pernicious AI is writing newspaper articles and scientific journal articles and social media posts and… oh wait that’s already happening!
 

It’s past time to listen to Cassandras like me and get this this technology under some serious regulation. And while we’re at it, let’s destroy all the quantum computers. Just like we’ve banned human cloning, we must ban quantum computing—or one day, really soon, a quantum computer is going to figure out how to clone a human and some idiot in a lab coat is going to let it.

 

It’s only 2023 and we’re already entering the fight of our lives for the soul of our species. Soon we’re gonna look back on this whole JW will-he-or-won’t-he sixth Oscar race with such chagrin—“ah, remember the days when we had the luxury to worry about something as trivial as that?”

[Alex 2,833]

Someone needs to get JW on a podcast. I am sick of these little 5 minute interviews with 1 million variations on the same question.

[King Mark 3,626]

He said his wife dresses  in black at the Oscars because he always loses .That was his best new anecdote in years

[Edmilson 7,398]

10 hours ago, Muad'Dib said:

I think they're giving it an honest shot, but I think that Johnny also feels very proud of his friend and wants to support him as much as he can.

I agree. I think Williams is doing all of these interviews more out of respect for Spielberg given how personal the movie is for him than any desire to win Oscars. He already has 5 of those and is used to losing every year since 1994, but this movie means a lot for both men.

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

17 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Whose living room is it?

 

Balfe's.

[Brando 1,857]

On 3/3/2023 at 8:11 AM, BB-8 said:

Whose living room is it?

Zimmers

[Jurassic Shark 12,033]

3 minutes ago, Brando said:

Zimmers

 

Wohn Zimmer's, thank you.

[Miguel Andrade 1,262]

21 hours ago, King Mark said:

He said his wife dresses  in black at the Oscars because he always loses .That was his best new anecdote in years

Not new at all. He has had the almost same exact reply a decade or so ago.

[artguy360 1,843]

23 minutes ago, Miguel Andrade said:

Not new at all. He has had the almost same exact reply a decade or so ago.

He's been losing for a long time.

[aviazn 273]

I seem to recall Samantha Winslow herself giving that anecdote to a journo at one point. Maybe to David Carr at his Carpetbagger blog.

[Tom 4,640]

"I'm married to a loser."  

[Bryant Burnette 654]

On 03/03/2023 at 11:16 AM, Bayesian said:

Eleven lol reactions so far. Let’s see if you’re all still laughing in three years when this pernicious AI is writing newspaper articles and scientific journal articles and social media posts and… oh wait that’s already happening!
 

It’s past time to listen to Cassandras like me and get this this technology under some serious regulation. And while we’re at it, let’s destroy all the quantum computers. Just like we’ve banned human cloning, we must ban quantum computing—or one day, really soon, a quantum computer is going to figure out how to clone a human and some idiot in a lab coat is going to let it.

 

It’s only 2023 and we’re already entering the fight of our lives for the soul of our species. Soon we’re gonna look back on this whole JW will-he-or-won’t-he sixth Oscar race with such chagrin—“ah, remember the days when we had the luxury to worry about something as trivial as that?”

 

There's nothing funny or charming or useful about any of this.  Anyone who uses this bullshit is complicit.

[crumbs 14,305]

Soooo any sign of them actually airing the rest of this interview or are they just going to forget about it? 

 

Hasn't the voting window for the Oscars closed?

[Jay 37,326]

4 minutes ago, crumbs said:

Hasn't the voting window for the Oscars closed?

 

It has now, yes.

 

On 04/03/2023 at 11:32 AM, Jay said:

Finals voting begins 9 a.m. PT Thursday, March 2, 2023

Finals voting ends 5 p.m. PT Tuesday, March 7, 2023

 

https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-and-abc-announce-show-date-95th-oscarsr

 

[Jay 37,326]

Bonus content:

 

 

[DangerMotif 1,037]

Didn't he make it seem like there would be more of the JW interview this week?

[Jay 37,326]

The week is still young. 

[Bespin 8,480]

It's funny to hear again that John Williams still thinks the flying bikes in E.T. are a question of speed... and not because of E.T. powers. 

 

Edit: sorry I think he says that in the CNN interview.

 

And BTW E.T. 2 exists, I read the book when I was young. It was called The Green Planet.

 

 

[John Takis 206]

 

[Thor 7,478]

Always nice to hear them chat, but as others have pointed out - these interviews for mainstream media make it out like they've only done some 4-5 films together. Even if nothing in the Spielberg/Williams canon would be considered obscure, it would be so awesome to hear them, for once, chat about 1941, ALWAYS, EMPIRE OF THE SUN, AMISTAD, A.I. etc. etc.

[BB-8 3,463]

Great comedy scenes.

 

Wonder where the laughter is coming from...

[mrbellamy 6,273]

12 hours ago, Thor said:

Always nice to hear them chat, but as others have pointed out - these interviews for mainstream media make it out like they've only done some 4-5 films together. Even if nothing in the Spielberg/Williams canon would be considered obscure, it would be so awesome to hear them, for once, chat about 1941, ALWAYS, EMPIRE OF THE SUN, AMISTAD, A.I. etc. etc.

 

This is why it would have been great if they were just doing a doc about the Spielberg/Williams collab alone. 

 

But a Hitchcock/Truffaut style book would be even more amazing where you had space to really go through the process of doing them all, and a deluxe version that had a companion CD or DVD set of examples, outtakes, clips without score and isolated score and stuff. Something that could contain a real academic approach to their whole collab guided by their commentary would be an amazing dream. I have to think that surely they've been pitched something like that. I guess the whole problem would be collecting everything from different studios, but I would pay through the nose for the book alone. 

[Ali Rahmjoo 3]

It's somehow liberating to see JW make a musical mistake about his own music (not that it's a big deal anyway)! It reminds us that despite his incredible career and musicianship, he's still a human being after all.

(Solfège syllables for CEOTK's five-note theme should be RE-MI-DO-DO-SOL instead of MI-RE-DO-DO-SOL.)

[Manakin Skywalker 4,891]

6 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Wonder where the laughter is coming from...

 

The interviews were shown live on the show, so they used the recorded audio. Basically like what SNL does with pre-recorded sketches.

[Score 770]

7 hours ago, Ali Rahmjoo said:

It's somehow liberating to see JW make a musical mistake about his own music (not that it's a big deal anyway)! It reminds us that despite his incredible career and musicianship, he's still a human being after all.

(Solfège syllables for CEOTK's five-note theme should be RE-MI-DO-SOL-DO instead of MI-RE-DO-DO-SOL.)

 

  It's actually RE-MI-DO-DO-SOL 

 

 

[Ali Rahmjoo 3]

1 hour ago, Score said:

 

  It's actually RE-MI-DO-DO-SOL 

 

 

You're right. I mistyped it.

[crumbs 14,305]

How ironic.

[Andy 4,092]

How could Colbert have these two and not ask Spielberg if he and Kate Capshaw put on “Nocturnal Activities” during sexy time?  Lame. 

[Brando 1,857]

5 hours ago, Andy said:

How could Colbert have these two and not ask Spielberg if he and Kate Capshaw put on “Nocturnal Activities” during sexy time?  Lame. 

We should have you host next time instead.

[Andy 4,092]

Thank you, but you know who would’ve done well is Seth McFarlane.  I believe he would put away the snark and respectfully ask questions that are a little more sub dermal.  He’s obviously got great respect for Williams and I think as a musician himself, would hope to surprise viewers with how seriously he would take it. 

[Brando 1,857]

13 minutes ago, Andy said:

Thank you, but you know who would’ve done well is Seth McFarlane.  I believe he would put away the snark and respectfully ask questions that are a little more sub dermal.  He’s obviously got great respect for Williams and I think as a musician himself, would hope to surprise viewers with how seriously he would take it. 

The only thing he MUST do if he ever got to interview the both of them is show them this. He'd absolutely have to

 

[WilliamsStarShip2282 308]

On 03/03/2023 at 1:23 PM, DangerMotif said:

Such disrespect, interviewed spielberg the whole time. 3 minutes of Williams and that was it. Said they didn’t have enough time for him and that they’ll show more next week.

 

Judging from what we saw and the other interview, I feel like he walked in or was around, it wasnt originally planned to have Williams as part of this.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

On 11/03/2023 at 12:23 PM, Andy said:

Thank you, but you know who would’ve done well is Seth McFarlane.  I believe he would put away the snark and respectfully ask questions that are a little more sub dermal.  He’s obviously got great respect for Williams and I think as a musician himself, would hope to surprise viewers with how seriously he would take it. 

I was under the impression that they had already met.  (I think Manakin or Brothersound said John Williams was apparently REALLY close to scoring Cosmos). 

[leeallen01 2,134]

I love Seth Macfarlane's passion and showcasing of Williams and film music in general. It's so rare for someone seemingly so mainstream with things like Family Guy, to do such an indulgent celebration of Williams in such a nerdy way.

 

I feel like Seth would be a great member of JWFAN and a joy to talk to about real deep-dive score topics.

[Bellosh 3,400]

My favorite thing from all these interviews was learning that Stephen and JW have not had any arguments all these years.  That really is a testament to how perfect of a match they are for each other.