A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Photo Credits: © Kristian Schuller (Anne-Sophie Mutter). © Kristin Pulito (John Williams). Album Cover Art © 2019 Deutsche Grammophon On August 30, 2019, Deutsche Grammophon (a Germany-based subsidiary of the U.S. conglomerate Universal Music Group) released Across the Stars: Anne-Sophie Mutter - John Williams , a 12-track album which presents some of Academy Award and Grammy-winning composer/conductor John Williams' breathtaking movie themes. Rearranged for solo violin and orchestra by Maestro Williams, this collection of film themes is performed by the world-renowned German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles, under the baton of Maestro Williams himself. As I wrote in my review of the August 2019 CD: "Across the Stars: Anne-Sophie Mutter - John Williams is a wonderful showcase for two masterful musicians. Once again, the legendary composer and conductor weaves his magic as an orchestrator by taking compositions that were ...

Cover art for Across the Stars: Deluxe Edition .  © 2019 Deutsche Grammophon. Hi, there, Constant Reader. It's early afternoon this Friday 13, 2020 here in my corner of Florida. Here, as elsewhere throughout the world, we are beginning to feel anxiety over COVD-19, aka the novel coronavirus that is on everyone's minds. I'm a bit on edge myself; last week we were at Disney Hollywood Studios to visit Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge , and although I didn't see anyone sneezing or coughing, one never knows where the COVD-19 virus might be lurking. So, even though I don't feel sick, in the back of my mind I'm like Oh, my God. I was in a place where there were huge crowds from all over. What if just one of those visitors had COVD-19 but was still asymptomatic?  Anyway, I don't feel sick at the moment, but I do fret when I get a headache or even feel a slight urge to sneeze. It's driving me crazy. So much so that even though I've been awake since 8 or so...

Still image from Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss. © 2020 Popcorn Sky Productions Hi, Constant Reader, and welcome to another edition of Bloggin' On: Adventures in Screenwriting. Today I'll be talking a little bit about the music of Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, as well as a few other tidbits about the making of the short comedy that Juan Carlos Hernandez, Adria K. Woomer Hernandez, and their son Anthony just completed and uploaded to YouTube this weekend. Now, as the screenwriter of Ronnie and the Pursuit of the Elusive Bliss, I was not directly involved with the sound design of the 22-minutes-long comedy. That was done in New York City, 1,149 miles away from my corner of Florida; the movie's sound was designed and edited by Adria, who is our female lead and producer. However, because Ronnie was my creative baby, as it were, I did have some suggestions about the film's score, some of which I integrated into the script. When Ronnie...

More than 40 years ago, George Lucas introduced to the world his singular imagination, ingenuity, and creative genius. He also gave me an opportunity never before given to an operatic or film composer...the chance to work continually on a single project, and with each film, to add to a collection of musical themes which I hope will be seen as parts of a singular whole.  This experience has been one of the highlights of my professional life, bringing me so much joy in working with some of the world's greatest orchestras and musicians. I stand before the now completed nine Star Wars films with pride and gratitude for the gift of this extraordinary journey. - John Williams, in the liner notes for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack On December 20, 2019, Walt Disney Records published Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, a one-disc recording featuring the musical score for the ninth and final film of the Skywalker ...

"As I suspected, you're a rank sentimentalist." - Capt. Louis Renault to Rick Blaine, Casablanca Hello there, Constant Reader! Welcome to another edition of Odds and Ends, an occasional feature here in A Certain Point of View where I write about other things that aren't necessarily my usual Review of the Day fare. I was hoping I'd have that review of John Carpenter's 1983 adaptation of Stephen King's Christine, but I haven't gotten around to it this week. I received the Blu-ray via Amazon Prime and I've watched it once, but I think I'll have to watch it again at least one more time. I liked the movie well enough, even though 36 years have passed since I saw it in theaters back in Miami, Florida, but if I'm going to review it, I need to see it again, this time paying attention to the acting of the cast and the differences between the original novel by King and Bill Phillips' screenplay. Anyway, I've been feeling a bit senti...

Cover Photo Credit: © Kristian Schuller (Mutter), Kristin Pulito (Williams) ℗ 2019 Deutsche Grammophon (a division of Universal Music Group)  On Friday, August 30, Deutsche Grammophon, a Berlin-based division of Universal Music Group, released Across the Stars: Anne-Sophie Mutter - John Williams, a collection of a dozen film themes composed by John Williams and performed by German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter with the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles.  Although at first glance this offering from the famed classical music label Deutsche Grammophon is simply another collection of "John Williams covers," it marks the first professional collaboration between the dean of contemporary film music and Germany's violin superstar, even though they've been friends for years. (Mutter was once married to the late composer and conductor Andre Previn, a colleague and friend of Maestro Williams from the days when Previn worked in Hollywood as a composer of fi...

Well, Labor Day 2019 is upon us, and as much of America prepares for this last day of a long holiday weekend, I'm keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian. Not that I think that the monster-sized Category 4 storm is going to come ashore anywhere near me and wreak havoc in my neighborhood; the atmospheric conditions, the steering currents, and the Coriolis effect are all working so that Dorian will skirt along Florida's east coast and either go north to the Carolinas or veer northeast and go out to sea while the outer bands nick the East Coast. Me...I'm hoping for the latter; I've been through several hurricanes already and I would not wish them on anyone. Right now, the chances that Dorian will barrel westward into Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie Counties and then batter its way to the Gulf Coast are next to nil. According to my Weather app, Dorian's eye is almost due east of West Palm Beach, but it's moving so slowly (1 mph) that almost anyone could outwalk...

Today is Saturday, August 31, 2019, and this is what's on my mind today: First, I'm keeping an eye on the progress of Hurricane Dorian, the fourth named storm of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season and the first truly major threat to the East Coast of the U.S. As of this afternoon, Dorian is a Category Four hurricane and on its way to becoming a Category Five storm. Per the National Hurricane Center in Miami: ZCZC MIATCPAT5 ALL TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM Hurricane Dorian Intermediate Advisory Number 29A BULLETIN NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL       AL052019 200 PM EDT Sat Aug 31 2019 ...SEVERE HURRICANE DORIAN CONTINUES HEADING FOR THE NORTHWESTERN BAHAMAS WITH LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE AND DEVASTATING WINDS... LOCATION...26.1N 73.9W SUMMARY OF 200 PM EDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150 MPH...240 KM/H ABOUT 205 MI...325 KM E OF GREAT ABACO IN THE BAHAMAS ABOUT 385 MI...6...

© 2019 Deutsche Grammophon On August 30, Deutsche Grammophon, the classical music label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG), will release Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams: Across the Stars, a collection of 12 movie themes composed by John Williams and performed by German violin virtuoso Anne Sophie Mutter with the Recording Arts Orchestra of Los Angeles. This unique collaboration between the dean of modern film score composition and one of the world's foremost violinists is the result of a long-time mutual appreciation and a friendship that began when Mutter was married to the late composer and conductor Andre Previn. Anne-Sophie had been a fan of Maestro Williams' movie music since she was a teen living in Germany's Schwarzwald region when George Lucas's Star Wars (1977) was one of the few distractions for young residents of that beautiful but rural area. Per Deutsche Grammophon's website: “There is only one John Williams,” says Anne-Sophie Mutte...

© 2017 Dolby Labs and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Was The Last Jedi too far, far away from being like a Star Wars movie? Despite what many of its vocal “Disney ruined  Star Wars ” detractors claim,  Star Wars - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi  was not much different from any of the other Skywalker Saga films. It follows the basic format of the previous seven Saga films and has the same basic visual and aural  Star Wars-y  features, including: The Lucasfilm logo (yes, I miss the 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare that preceded the movies made before 2008, but let’s get over that) The Main Title, with the receding  Star Wars  titles and crawl, accompanied by John Williams’ score John Williams’ score Transitions accompanied by “wipes” and “dissolves” A basic three-act structure Intertwined plots that converge at the end Lessons about the Force Jedi stuff Dark Side of the Force stuff Lightsaber duels Mix of comedy and drama Space battles Enemy s...

On Quora, member Alex Meed asks: Why didn't John Williams compose the scores for the Star Wars spin-off films? My answer:  There are several reasons why Maestro John Williams didn’t compose the scores for  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story  and  Solo: A Star Wars Story. First, Williams is, even at age 87, the five-time Academy Award-winning composer is still a sought-after guest conductor for at least two orchestras (he is the Boston Pops Orchestra’s Laureate Conductor, 25 years after stepping down as its principal conductor and music director). Health issues have forced Maestro Williams to reduce his travel schedule; this is why he has recorded the Sequel Trilogy scores with a Los Angeles-based studio orchestra instead of crossing the Atlantic and performing the music for the  Star Wars  films with the London Symphony at the Abbey Road recording studio. Second, Williams is still an active composer with a busy schedule that limits his availabi...

"Steven and I began, as we always did. by screening his finished cut of the film. And, at the end, the lights came up, and it was time for us to begin talking about the role of music in the film. But I was so overwhelmed by what I'd just seen, I really couldn't speak. So I excused myself and walked around the building for a few minutes to gather myself, and then came back to resume the meeting. And I said to him quite seriously, 'Steven, you really need a better composer than I am for this film.' And he said, very sweetly, 'I know. But they're all dead.'" - John Williams On December 3, 2018, almost a quarter century after MCA Records released the original 14-track soundtrack from director Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film Schindler's List, Burbank-based La-La Land Records began to ship a limited edition 2-CD reissue titled Schindler's List: 25th Anniversary Soundtrack. Produced, edited, and remastered by Michael "M...

Who were other candidates for composing the music of the original Star Wars movie? Besides John Williams? None. George Lucas, who had a keen understanding of the intimate relationship between movie imagery and music, planned to follow Stanley Kubrick’s example in 1968’s  2001: A Space Odyssey  and use different compositions of classical music throughout the film. A little Holst here, a little Wagner there, some Tchaikovsky in this bit, and so on. One of the original ideas that Lucas had for the Star Wars - which was based on his use of rock 'n' roll songs in American Graffiti , was to use different classical music compositions to match the visuals. And in fact, during the early stages of assembling the film after principal photography was complete, Lucas created a "temp track" that consisted of pieces such as Gustav Holst's Mars: The Bringer of War from his suite of tone poems The Planets.  This approach worked well for  2001,  but it’s ...