John Williams is the next guest on the Smartless podcast

[Director of Poltergeist 8,048]

2 minutes ago, Once said:

I can't help but feel like it was another missed opportunity to delve into some really new topics, but still fun

 

Well, there it is. I guess it will be another day of listening to Carolla rant about the smoke detector low battery chirp. 

[pete 1,085]

I thought he sounded really well and happy, and he speaks with his typically rich vocabualry.

And it seems he was spending an hour on a golf course most days at least until pretty recently. I would be curious to know when that was recorded.

 

I certainly enjoyed hearing him reminisce and laugh, even if most stories we'd heard before. That's an interview that I would have been happy if it were ten hours long instead of one. But of course, there are hundreds of questions and topics I would have liked to have heard, but I'm glad this hour of Williams exists with him reminiscing and offering some sage advice like the Gandalf/Dumbledore he is.

Bring on the doc. and biography! 

 

And it was cool when one of the guys played a recording of himself playing the piano part of the ET credits.

 

And who is the guy with the really deep voice? I've not heard of the podcast before yesterday, but I've certainly heard his before I think also discussing movies and interviewing. Found the answer - Will Arnett

[Once 898]

9 minutes ago, pete said:

And who is the guy with the really deep voice? I've not heard of the podcast before yesterday, but I've certainly heard his before I think also discussing movies and interviewing.

That would be Will Arnett, who I mostly know from 30 Rock, BoJack Horseman and Arrested Development, but has starred in a lot of other stuff as well.

[BB-8 4,959]

I keep reading: John Williams is the next great Smartass.

[mrbellamy 7,278]

He's the original

[Jay 42,358]

Anyone listening now this this is available free on any podcast platform?

[Director of Poltergeist 8,048]

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,807]

Anya would like to have sex with Xander while listening to this podcast that Willow downloaded from the internet.

[BB-8 4,959]

They behaved.

[Director of Poltergeist 8,048]

They at least had knowledge of JW's music and could carry on a conversation with him, but it's nothing I'd ever listen to again. The questions were largely prepared from anecdotes we all know because we're nerds. That being said, they did set him up for the SL quote and instead he went with Close Encounters.

[Andy 5,949]

What surprised me was my reaction to the subject that I didn’t think would interest me: Golf.  When Maestro spoke of it as a solitary and meditative act for himself to take a brain break and move a little… something about it made me legit choke up.  This Godlike being, humanized in a way in which we rarely hear him speak.  Not the Composer, not the Legend, but the man. This was authentic John.   I conjured in my head an image of him enjoying this simple peaceful pleasure in and it struck me emotionally.  

That part was good. 

[Mr. Hooper 5,022]

2 hours ago, Andy said:

I conjured in my head an image of him enjoying this simple peaceful pleasure in and it struck me emotionally.

If you play well (or just don't care), yeah sure, you can commune with nature and talk to the trees...

 

But as a player myself whose game can suddenly fall apart, it can be the most frustrating effing thing ever. lol

 

But I'm happy it's relaxing for Williams. 

[Alex 2,936]

You could hear his internal monologue screaming “NOOOOOO!” when they were talking about going to say hi to him at the golf course.

[Andy 5,949]

Oh absolutely.  Let the man have his meditation. 

[Holko 11,343]

This was a great talk! They knew what they were talking about, didn't have to start from the basics, Johnny was a good sport (it was so weird that it started out with him asking the questions!) the CE3K curveball answer instead of the all dead story was surprising.

[BB-8 4,959]

It's reassuring to know that he likes to be a lonely wanderer.

 

Hope he's not forced to stay at home due the recent health concern.

[Thor 9,308]

That was better than expected, but not something I'll return to.

 

I've slowly come to terms with the fact that I will never experience my dream interview with Williams (someone extremely knowledgable about the man, but not fanboy-gushing, and focussing primarily on his early days and work). And by "my", I don't mean myself (that train has long since left the station), but someone with deep knowledge. Be it Jon Burlingame or anyone else of that caliber.

[BB-8 4,959]

Spielberg should interview him in-depth within the framework of the upcoming documentary.

 

Like Previn did years ago.

[GerateWohl 5,918]

Never listened to a podcast with so many advertisements in it.

 

[BB-8 4,959]

[Davis 3,949]

15 hours ago, Andy said:

I conjured in my head an image of him enjoying this simple peaceful pleasure

I have a recurring dream where John and I play golf together. That’s the dream. It’s funny because I don’t play nor watch golf. 

[BB-8 4,959]

Golf courses resemble the steppe landscape of mankind's ancient hunting grounds.

 

This may be where our affinity for parks and forest edges comes from.

[Tom 5,591]

15 minutes ago, BB-8 said:

Golf courses resemble the steppe landscape of mankind's ancient hunting grounds.

 

This may be where our affinity for parks and forest edges comes from.

That and the beverage girls.  

[Thor 9,308]

Never understood the fascination for golf (neither the sport nor the venue). Too tidy and landscaped. I prefer the more unkempt nature if I go out and about. But then I suppose there are limited options in LA if you want greenery (and hiking the Hollywood Hills isn't easy when you're approaching 100).

[BB-8 4,959]

21 minutes ago, Tom said:

That and the beverage girls.  

 

[KittBash 336]

Do we have any idea when this was recorded???
Asking for the Chronology project.

[Jay 42,358]

March.

[Lady Dimitrescu 9,807]

Beware the ides of March

[Davis 3,949]

31 minutes ago, Jay said:

March.

Well they weren’t in a hurry to air it. 

[BB-8 4,959]

Perhaps they have already met on the green.

[Davis 3,949]

I hope not.

[mrbellamy 7,278]

6 hours ago, Thor said:

That was better than expected, but not something I'll return to.

 

I've slowly come to terms with the fact that I will never experience my dream interview with Williams (someone extremely knowledgable about the man, but not fanboy-gushing, and focussing primarily on his early days and work). And by "my", I don't mean myself (that train has long since left the station), but someone with deep knowledge. Be it Jon Burlingame or anyone else of that caliber.

 

Not to put too much pressure on Tim but I think if the early chapters of his biography don't scratch this itch x 100, nothing ever will. 

 

Tbh I do wonder why nobody ever seemed to think it was a good idea around his 80th or 90th to write a nice profile interviewing him exclusively and extensively about his early years in Hollywood. Whether it's journalists not thinking of it or editors rejecting the pitch. Not just for the JW bio aspect but he's one of the few alive anymore with stories from that time. It's always cool whenever it comes up at all like in this pod.

[Thor 9,308]

17 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

Not to put too much pressure on Tim but I think if the early chapters of his biography don't scratch this itch x 100, nothing ever will. 

 

Yeah, it will be a nice "consolation prize", if you will, now that such an interview will most likely never take place.

[Davis 3,949]

26 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

his early years in Hollywood

The stories he could tell. Meeting Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and who knows how many of the biggest movie stars and directors of all time, many of whom he got to work with.

[Jurassic Shark 14,945]

31 minutes ago, mrbellamy said:

Tbh I do wonder why nobody ever seemed to think it was a good idea around his 80th or 90th to write a nice profile interviewing him exclusively and extensively about his early years in Hollywood.

 

The Williams Interviews

[mrbellamy 7,278]

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Yeah, it will be a nice "consolation prize", if you will, now that such an interview will most likely never take place.

 

Didn't Tim say he got several interviews with JW himself for the book? I think it could end up being more than a consolation prize. 

 

Of course what would be really cool is if he were also able to publish the full interviews separately. I wonder if that's a possibility. I've always wanted just an interview book with Williams about everything, like Hitchcock/Truffaut, Cameron Crowe's Conversations with Wilder, or Richard Schickel's Conversations with Scorsese. 

 

But I can't imagine the biography being less satisfying than an article or even series of articles and interviews about his early years...probably Williams writing his own memoirs would be the only thing better. Or I guess just an entire book that was only about that era.

[Thor 9,308]

I don't know the extent of Tim's interviews with Williams himself, but if it encompasses lots about the early years, great! Of course, it can't beat hearing it from the man himself, but probably as close as we will get.

[pete 1,085]

3 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

Of course what would be really cool is if he were also able to publish the full interviews separately.

 

That's what the book "Ennio Morricone: In His Own Words" is. And it's a wonderful read. I finished it with such a greater appreciation of his genius and intelligence and humanity, and... well everything.

[Alejandro 28]

I wonder if Sean’s husband is on this forum. Sean said his husband knows everything about John. 

[Davis 3,949]

19 hours ago, BB-8 said:

Golf courses resemble the steppe landscape of mankind's ancient hunting grounds.

 

 

[Muad'Dib 1,940]

That was really lovely, I greatly enjoyed it!

[Tom 5,591]

On 18/06/2024 at 5:33 PM, Alejandro said:

I wonder if Sean’s husband is on this forum. Sean said his husband knows everything about John. 

Celebrities sometimes exaggerate.   

[ThePenitentMan1 1,292]

I keep seeing this thread on the main forum page as "John Williams is the next gu..." and I keep thinking he's gonna be the next guitarist.

[Tom 5,591]

I can't help but finish the sentence with "the next guess on the Price is Right."  

[Mr. Hooper 5,022]

[SilverTrumpet 645]

On 17/06/2024 at 2:39 PM, Brock Lovett said:

 

Let's see more of that nerd shelf. 

[Director of Poltergeist 8,048]

It's in Other Topics!

[DigitalfreakNYC 91]

On 19/06/2024 at 7:26 PM, Tom said:

Celebrities sometimes exaggerate.   

Everyone sometimes exaggerates. It's not exclusive to celebrities nor do they do it more than anyone else.