December 18, 2019
Jon Burlingame Interviews John Williams about his final STAR WARS opus
“With THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, set to open Dec. 20, composer John Williams closes the book on his 42-year history with STAR WARS after nine films and more than 20 hours of some of the most lavish and memorable symphonic accompaniment in the history of movies,” writes premiere film music journalist Jon Burlingame, interviewing John Williams for Variety.
“The famous STAR WARS themes — including the opening fanfare, music for the Force and themes for Rey and the Emperor — return,” Burlingame assures, “along with four new motifs: the darkly hued ‘Anthem of Evil,’ a more upbeat ‘Rise of Skywalker’ theme, a scherzo for action sequences and new music for Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Williams also makes a cameo appearance in the film.”
Burlingam’s piece includes exclusive comments from Williams as well as director J.J.Abrams and remarks from members of the orchestra that recorded the composer’s final STAR WARS opus. Williams also looks back on how the musical saga began four decades ago.
Read Jon’s full interview with the maestro online at Variety here. It’s also been published in the print edition for December 17th.
