Composer John Williams’ contribution to cinema is simply astounding. If you do not know him by name, you no doubt would have heard one of his film scores. From Jaws to Star Wars, and from Indiana Jones to Harry Potter, no other composer has made quite the same epic impact on our eardrums. It’s about time, therefore, that the AFI will be honouring the master maestro with their 44th Lifetime Achievement Award on June 9 2016.
It will mark the first time that the award, whose previous recipients include Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese, will be given to a composer. Williams has previously won the Oscar for Best Original Score five times, having been nominated for a whopping forty-four.
According to Deadline, Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, had this to say: “Note by note, through chord and chorus, his genius for marrying music with movies has elevated the art form to symphonic levels and inspired generations of audiences to be enriched by the magic of the movies”.
At the age of 83, and with a composing career spanning over six magnificent decades, Williams is still going strong. He is set to produce yet another iconic soundtrack in December for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, as well as next year with frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg’s latest, The BFG.
#Peace.Love.JohnWilliams.
