John Williams Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has sold a 50% stake in its catalog of music publishing and music master rights from the film music library to Multimedia Music, including  marquee and award-winning films 1917, Green Book, The BFG, Bridge of Spies, The Post, Office Christmas Party, Thank You For Your Service and The Girl on the Train and others. The catalog features iconic music from several of the most renowned and celebrated composers in the world including John Williams, Thomas Newman, Danny Elfman, Alexandre Desplat, Rachel Portman, Mark Isham and Rob Simonsen. 

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Of all the local premieres of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” none has had quite so dramatic and apt a setting as the ancient open air Greek Theater in Taormina, Italy, where the fifth instalment of the franchise screened at the 69th Taormina Film Festival Sunday night. Fireworks lit up the night sky to the sound of John Williams’ “Indy’s March,” and the film’s title was projected on crumbling walls that date back to the third century BCE. With the active volcano Etna looming in the distance, the packed-out audience were treated to an all-star presentation, welcoming Harrison Ford to the stage with a rapturous reception.

Harrison Ford is ready to say goodbye to Indiana Jones — but first, one last adventure!«That music follows me everywhere I go,» Ford joked of composer John Williams' iconic theme music for the beloved franchise. «They were playing it over speakers in the operating room when I did my last colonoscopy!»Ford and director James Mangold sat down with ET's Nischelle Turner this week to discuss the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, For Mangold, taking over the franchise from legendary director Steven Spielberg was intimidating, not only as a fan of Ford's, but also as a filmmaker who grew up being inspired by Spielberg and George Lucas, who created the beloved films and franchises that the actor is best known for.«To find myself, not only being lucky enough to be a movie director, but to be a movie director who's collaborating with his heroes on a personal level, yes, feels like an honor,» he marveled.

your best friend?Obviously, celebrities love to be complimented. And even if they pretend they don’t care, they care. (Unless they’re Sean Penn in which case, they really don’t care).

Indiana Jones may have had his Cannes world premiere, but Disney saved something special for the Hollywood splash of the alleged final chapter in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director The U.S. premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” included an emotional and joyous reunion between franchise star Harrison Ford and recent “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan. The duo starred together in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” which marked Quan’s movie debut when he was just a child. A viral video from the “Dial of Destiny” red carpet sees Quan sneaking up behind Ford while the latter is being interviewed by “Extra” host Melvin Robert. Quan places his hand on Ford’s back, and then Ford turns around and smiles when he discovers his former co-star has surprised him.

Jon Burlingame Music has always been an integral part of the “Star Wars” universe, dating back to the John Williams scores for the original movie trilogy. So will Emmy voters recognize one, two or all three of the recent “Star Wars” TV series in the scoring categories? Vying for consideration: the 12-part “Andor,” with music by Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated Nicholas Britell (“Succession”); the six-part “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” with a new theme by Williams and score by English composer Natalie Holt (“Loki”); and the eight-part third season of “The Mandalorian,” with music by Joseph Shirley. All aired on Disney+. Britell spent more than two years on “Andor,” the backstory of “Rogue One” hero Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), including several months creating music that was played on the set during filming – from the Time Grappler’s hammer-banging signals on Ferrix to the alien electronica in the clubs on Morlana and the amateur funeral band playing a dirge for Cassian’s mother in the finale.

first reactions on social media were more positive. Per usual for Cannes premieres it did receive ovations, but they were reserved for Harrison Ford himself rather than the James Mangold-directed film.

Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford swung into Cannes on Thursday for the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in one of the most anticipated events of the French Riviera festival.

A.D. Amorosi Johan Lenox, Variety’s Hitmaker of the Month, is known for the supple grandeur he brings to different projects as a producer, arranger and/or composer. These range from the sublime, stringed swell of “Creepin’,” Metro Boomin’s current top 10 smash with the Weeknd and 21 Savage, to the epic orchestral and choral arrangements of Travis Scott’s “Astroworld” and Nas’ “Nasir” (both produced by Mike Dean), and tracks for Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly. Lenox’s background is as a classical music prodigy (by 18, his compositions were heard at Boston’s Symphony Hall and New York’s Alice Tully Hall) and as a musical theater composer (his 2012 off-Broadway musical “Independents” was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick). But he exists in his own lane, one that’s expanded greatly with the release of solo projects such as his 2022 chamber-pop-hop vocal album debut, “WDYWTBWYGU.”

A pre-taped message from Harrison Ford introduced an extended action clip from Lucasfilms’ highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny during Disney’s CinemaCon presentation here in Las Vegas this morning. Said the veteran actor, “Hello CinemaCon! Playing Indiana Jones all these years has meant the world to me. (The movies) have adventure and heart — and for some reason snakes.” In a charming call back to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ford added, “Why did it have to be snakes?”

Jurassic Park has been announced, marking 30 years since the release of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster.‘Jurassic Park In Concert’ is due to tour the UK, with John Williams’ score performed live by a full orchestra. The tour begins at the Manchester AO Arena on October 18, before continuing to the Birmingham Resorts World, Leeds First Direct Arena, Nottingham Motorpoint, and concluding at the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena on October 29.The tour follows a long line of Hollywood classics that have received the orchestral treatment, with the HD screening accompanied by a performance of Williams’ seminal score by the Hallé Orchestra, one of the UK’s top symphonic ensembles.The plot of Jurassic Park follows a group of scientists, invited to a newly opened theme park set on a remote island, with exhibits featuring recently revived dinosaurs after a scientific breakthrough.You can see full dates for the tour below.

Earlier this week Jurrasic Park fans were surprised with a full UK arena tour of the film 'in concert' and tickets go on sale today.

In total, Cannes Film Festival General Delegate Thierry Frémaux today announced 52 titles that will debut at the 76th edition which runs May 16-27 on the Riviera, and which he dedicated to the late producer and Telluride co-founder Tom Luddy. It’s set up to be yet another starry affair – though to outdo last year’s Top Gun: Maverick screening replete with French fighter jets buzzing the Palais would be a real feat.

Harrison Ford is back as Indiana Jones and returns to form in the newly released trailer!

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock back in the hot seat. Johnny Depp, Disney and a bizarre UK government department called the Valuation Office Agency were in the international film and TV news this week. Make sure to sign up to the Insider newsletter by clicking here. Let’s go.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic According to legend, the chupacabra is a fearsome, blood-sucking beast — a lean and intimidating animal you wouldn’t want to come across feasting on your livestock at night. Not so the cub three kids nickname “Chupa” (Spanish for “sucker,” short for its species) in Mexican director Jonás Cuarón’s family-friendly Netflix movie. This one looks like a fuzzy-wuzzy baby lynx, with inquisitive amber eyes and a pair of awkward azure wings it still hasn’t learned how to use. A single glimpse of this oversized kitten and you’ll want one for your own, if not the plush version to snuggle up with at night. That’s a pretty radical reimagining of a mythical monster usually discussed in horror terms, but an inspired way to bring a sense of Amblin-esque wonder south of the border, attempting to do for a legendary Latin American creature what films like “E.T.” did for extra-terrestrials — which is to say, turn something typically perceived as a threat into everyone’s new fantasy best friend. Cuarón doesn’t exactly hide his influences here, paying overt homage to Steven Spielberg throughout. He even goes so far as to tack a “Jurassic Park” poster on the wall of 13-year-old Alex’s (Evan Whitten) all-American bedroom.

The Cannes Film Festival has confirmed that it will announce the Official Selection for its 76th edition on April 13 in Paris.

Cannes has confirmed that Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny will get its world premiere on May 18 at the festival.

Hello, and welcome to Oscars Sunday on Deadline. Tonight we gather as another lengthy awards season draws to a close, and what a bizarre season it has been. Before the year started, who would’ve thought a pic like A24’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, a scrappy sci-fi comedy adventure about an Asian-American family, would go from outside underdog to odds-on front-runner? The film debuted last year out at SXSW but has stuck around, charming its way onto screens across the world and picking up top honors from all four major guilds — a sweep only four other films have ever achieved. But can it win Best Picture? That’s perhaps the biggest question still at play this evening.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic paid tribute to the music of iconic composer John Williams with a program dedicated to his timeless scores. And they turned The Smith Center into an interactive experience! Not just through music! Thrilling!

Jon Burlingame editor In what may be the most difficult-to-predict score competition in years, the original-music Oscar could go to a sentimental favorite, a past nominee or the newcomer to the race. Academy members begin voting today. Legendary composer John Williams broke records again by becoming the most nominated living person (53 nominations, winning five), earning the highest number of nominations ever in the music categories, and (it is believed, per the Academy) becoming the oldest nominee ever for a competitive award. He is 91. His nomination for “The Fabelmans” surprised some outsiders, as his fairly spare score is often overshadowed by the several classical pieces performed by Mitzi (Michelle Williams), the character based on director Steven Spielberg’s piano-playing mom. But it passed the 35% rule — that is, more than a third of the total musical content must be original dramatic score — or it would have been disqualified by the Academy’s strict music-branch executive committee.

Jon Burlingame editor “The Fabelmans” music is up for an Oscar and the score for “Indiana Jones 5” is completed, but 91-year-old John Williams is far from retired. He is mulling new concert works for leading classical soloists and preparing for a series of conducting gigs in the coming months that will take him from Chicago to Tokyo. Williams celebrated his birthday on Feb. 8 quietly, just dinner with his wife and daughter, he tells Variety in a rare interview. “When you finally get to be 90, you think, ‘This is great, I made it.’ It’s wonderful. I recommend it to everybody.” Nonagenarian status hasn’t slowed down the five-time Academy Award winner, who is on his 53rd Oscar nomination for Steven Spielberg’s film about his childhood and the trauma of his parents’ divorce. It’s their 29th film together, and three of his five Oscars are for Spielberg films (“Jaws,” “E.T.,” “Schindler’s List”).

Steven Spielberg has said the final scene in Schindler’s List, where holocaust survivors visit the grave of Oskar Schindler, was a late addition to the pic and was his way of making sure audiences knew the film’s story was based on real-life facts.

also include some history-making firsts worthy of celebration. While Michelle Yeoh and Angela Bassett are breaking ground in the acting categories, RRR is bringing Indian representation to a stacked list of contenders for best original song.Michelle Yeoh is the first Asian-identifying woman to be nominated in the best actress category for her starring role in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical feature The Fabelmans earned a number of Oscar nominations this morning, including one for Spielberg’s longtime collaborator, composer John Williams, and one for veteran actor Judd Hirsch, who plays Boris, a fictionalized version of Spielberg’s great uncle in the movie.

The 2023 Oscar nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song have been announced. The 95th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Rihanna and Mitski have earned their first Academy Award nomination, with Rih's “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and "This Is A Life," a song co-written by Mitski, David Byrne, and Ryan Lott, up for Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars.

Cue the menacing tuba. And the Imperial March. And the rousing Indiana Jones theme. Five-time Oscar-winning composer John Williams is getting the feature documentary treatment, and his half-century collaborator is among those wielding the baton.

While original adult films haven’t been faring well at the box office of late in the shadow of tentpoles, the one week Thanksgiving sneak preview of Netflix’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery looks to change the tide in its short run before hitting the service on Dec. 23.