The American Film Institute has announced that Music By John Williams, a documentary on the iconic film composer from Lucasfilm Ltd, Amblin Documentaries and Imagine Documentaries, will world premiere as the opening night film of the 38th AFI Fest on Wednesday, October 23.
Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, the doc is billed as a comprehensive look at Williams’ life and career, from his early days as a jazz pianist to his 54 Oscar nominations and five wins, celebrating his countless contributions to the moving image arts, music for the concert stage as well as his indelible impact on popular culture.
One of the most influential film composers in history, who in 2016 became the first to receive AFI’s Life Achievement Award, Williams’ work spans top-tier franchises like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and Jurassic Park, as well as such classic one-offs as Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Schindler’s List. Over the course of his career, he’s also been honored with 26 Grammys, seven BAFTA Awards, three Emmys and four Golden Globes, among other accolades. Most recently penning the scores for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, Williams saw Sony dedicate a building on its lot to him earlier this year.
In Music by John Williams, documentary subjects speaking to the ways in which their lives have been touched by Williams’ timeless music include Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Kate Capshaw, Gustavo Dudamel, J.J. Abrams, Chris Martin, Ron Howard, Chris Columbus, George Lucas, Itzhak Perlman, Lawrence Kasdan, Yo-Yo Ma, Ke Huy Quan, James Mangold, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Thomas Newman, Seth MacFarlane, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Branford Marsalis.
Producers of the doc included Spielberg, Brian Grazer, Howard, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Meredith Kaulfers, Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Bouzereau. Markus Keith and Michael Rosenberg served as executive producers.
“John Williams is an American icon with a true and timeless global impact,” said AFI’s President and CEO, Bob Gazzale. “One could say we are ‘over the moon’ to host the World Premiere of the film, but that sentiment would hardly soar without the music of E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.”
Stated Bouzereau, “Growing up in France, I discovered the soundtracks I bought on vinyl ahead of most American movies that would come out months after the U.S. release. John Williams was the composer I immediately identified with; his scores made me fall in love with music, and made me realize at a very young age, the power that a score had on cinematic storytelling. This was an important story to tell, not only because it is about one of the greatest composers of all time, but because of the message it carries about the survival of orchestral music, and musicians.”
Following its AFI Fest debut, Music by John Williams will have a limited theatrical release and premiere on Disney+ on November 1. This year’s edition of the L.A.-based festival is taking place at the TCL Chinese Theatre from October 23–27.
