Previewing AFI’s Master Class – The Art of Collaboration

Back in college I worked at the local amphitheater and besides your usual rock concerts, on most weekends it also served as the summer home of the local orchestra. And yes it was almost as boring as you are thinking, and even more on weekends when they would perform the same music. On the bright side, unlike the rock concert, we were allowed to sit down during the performance. The only two performances I looked forward towards each year where the 4th of July concert and every year John Williams would stop by as the guest conductor which would always include a climatic performance of Indiana Jones Theme.

Williams will be joining long time collaborator Steven Spielberg next Tuesday for TCM Presents AFI’s Master Class – The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams premiering at 8:00. In fact next year will mark forty years of working exclusively together with next year’s Lincoln as their twenty-sixth film together including The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse both due this Christmas. Their work has led to Williams taking home three Oscars, the same number Spielberg has.

Aside from talking about their most famous works like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws, and of course the Indiana Jones films (Steven even makes fun of the fourth movie in this special) the two discuss some of the most memorable music scores to them including Vertigo, Spartacus, On the Waterfront, and Amadeus which Spielberg calls one of the characters of that film. The duo even took time to take questions from the audience filled will AFI Conservatory students.

TCM Presents AFI’s Master Class – The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams airs Tuesday, November 15 at 8:00 on TCM.