LOS ANGELES—At 81 years old, legendary composer John Williams is busier than ever, as he scores JJ Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode VII” and is raring to work on Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones 5.” John quipped that he expects to be working until he’s 100 and beyond. The Oscar and Golden Globe awardee’s credit list is staggering as it stands: all six “Star Wars” films, the first three “Harry Potter” films, the “Indiana Jones” films, “E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial,” “Jaws,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Schindler’s List,” just to mention a few.
The man, whose career spans six decades, is responsible for some of the most memorable movie-music passages. Most of that hummable cinematic music is from his 40-year collaboration with Steven.
“I met Steven when he was very young, over 40 years ago, when he asked me to do the music for his first feature film, ‘Sugarland Express,’” said John in a recent interview.
“I’m quite a bit older than he,” John said of Steven, his frequent artistic partner. “It’s been, for whatever reason, always a wonderful relationship. Since he is younger than I am, I will try to keep up with him, do the music for ‘Indiana Jones 5.’ I will try to keep up with the other gentlemen, including JJ Abrams, who’s doing ‘Star Wars VII,’ and we will see how long my eyesight will hold out. —That’s the present state of things.”
“I have a little theory about Steven Spielberg, whose father, Arnold, is a most wonderful man,” said the Boston Pops’ Laureate Conductor. “Arnold is well into his 90s. He was always working. I think every man and woman thinks, if your father was working at 90, that’s also what you will do. So, I think Steven expects to be directing 25 years from now—and he fully expects me to be with him. I will be over 100 years old then, so I will do my best.”
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