At an event celebrating his collaborations with Steven Spielberg, 90-year old John Williams surprised the audience by saying he wants to keep scoring Spielberg's movies, even after previously announcing his retirement.
Spielberg himself seemed surprised to hear that, “I’d better figure out what I’m doing next,” said the director. Williams went on to add that Spielberg is impossible to say no to, and notes that Spielberg’s own father worked past 100. “I’ve got 10 years to go,” he said.
Williams had said in the summer that he was retiring from film composing: “The Fabelmans” and “Indiana Jones 5” were going to be his final films. Clearly not. Regardless, this is great news.
“The Fabelmans” is Spielberg/Williams’ 29th film collaboration together. “The Sugarland Express,” their first one, dates back five decades. Williams’ 52 Oscar nominations are an all-time record for scoring, 17 of those are for Spielberg films, including three of his five wins (“Jaws,” “E.T,” “Schindler’s List”).