STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS — John Williams Talks About Creating The Score
Legendary composer John Williams will return to a galaxy far, far away to score J.J. Abrams' upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and in the latest in a long line of Vanity Fair interviews for the film, Bruce Handy spoke with the renowned artist to ask him about creating the movie's music.
On whether his creative process differs with Star Wars films versus any other films he's worked on:
Very much so. It’s all a continuation of an initial set of ideas. It’s a bit like adding paragraphs to a letter that’s been going on for a number of years. Starting with a completely new film, a story that I don’t know, characters that I haven’t met, my whole approach to writing music is completely different—trying to find an identity, trying to find melodic identifications if that’s needed for the characters, and so on. Which I do here, but here it’s an extension of something that’s been really organic and continually growing. It’s a very, very different process.
On working with Abrams compared to George Lucas:
It’s actually very similar. My meetings with George had to do with spotting the film, selecting areas in which music would be played, and pretty much we agreed on all that. He always left me free to write the music. And J.J.’s done the same thing. We’ve had a few preliminary meetings, and I’ve played him some music at the piano, which he seemed to like very much. His latest instruction to me was, “Just do your thing.” Which is giving me a good sense of freedom, a good free swing at the ball. I don’t know how much you know of him, but he is a delightful person. Enormously bright. I’ve been very impressed with him in meetings with a great variety of people. His generalship is assured and warm and inviting and inclusive. If I can say it, he’s a fabulous young man who’s future is so brilliant and so promising.
On if we'll hear any of the familiar themes from the original trilogy, aside from the iconic Star Wars theme:
There are some scenes where we do make reference to earlier thematic pieces. We haven’t done it yet, but we’re planning to do it. It’s something that I think will seem very natural and right in the moments for which we’ve chosen to do these kinds of quotes. There aren’t many of them, but there are a few that I think are important and will seem very much a part of the fabric of the piece in a positive and constructive way.
There are more quotes in the full interview, so I suggest giving it a read. Williams is a living legend in the Hollywood community, and it's insane to me that he's still creating vibrant and essential pieces of music at age 83. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I can't wait to hear what he does with the score for a new Star Wars film.