As much as I like film composer John Williams (well, more so when he was "Johnny" Williams) I think the decision to have him score the next Star Wars film is a poor one.
J.J. Abrams, the Mindless, is slated to direct Star Wars 7, so it would seem that there will be a thoughtless abundance of space battles, blowed-up-real-good explosions, and mundane lightsaber duels. Hiring a composer who isn't exactly known for pushing the envelope will coat these visuals with the expected notes -- nothing more.
A friend of mine said that he would like to see a director like Walter Hill helm the next Star Wars movie. If composer Jerry Fielding were still alive, I would add him to the mix. At least something interesting might happen with that fanciful teaming.
Maybe Star Wars is now really about expectation -- nothing more.
Old news, I know; from Rolling Stone...
New 'Star Wars' Films to Feature John Williams Scores
Oscar-winning composer will return to sci-fi franchise
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/new-star-wars-films-to-feature-john-williams-scores-20130729
4 comments:
It's all about not rocking the boat on the money train!
You are right.
"Hollywood" is very conservative. And that tends to serve them well.
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For me the Original Trilogy is the fix of nostalgia people want to return to, the god some may argue as dead. But it is "sell the sizzle, not the steak" and the sizzle for those of us hoping to forget the rancid puke-quels has three key mineral-rich proteins: The absence of George Lucas who had come to believe his own hype after years of just being boss, the original cast returning to their iconic roles to perhaps give closure, Lawrence Kasdan who has a proven grasp of pacing, tension and word-play as a writer, and finally John Williams whose themes would be heavily sampled by any other composer and would thus alienate his greatest peers. There is the blend of familiar and unfamiliar. JJ Abrams has learned from running TV writers' rooms how to be "collaborative," which might appeal to Disney committees and anonymous memo-givers. It also hampers him, as it did on ST Into Darkness, from avoiding episodic structure and over-complication. Kasdan can at least counter that by being clear about the value of any set-up and payoff and how established heroes can work as relatable underdogs. The moment of a lightsaber's ignition hasn't really caused elation or tension since the blade was costly to rotoscope. Anticipating or obeying the demands of viewers under born after 1990 - who may be nostalgic about the puke-quels - may be a rabbit hole they hopefully know to stay out of.
Suffice to say I agree with many of your points.
My extension to my own posting would be that I don't even know what film composer working today could do Star Wars. J.J. Abrams' own, Michael Giachinno, is a lightweight and hardly suited to anything more than short-straw Lost scoring.
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