While he may have dabbled in a number of genres, told a variety of stories, and balanced big blockbusters with thoughtful dramas, the one constant in the career of Steven Spielberg (Daddy-issue themes aside) has been John Williams. The composer has worked on 25 of the director's films (that includes the upcoming "War Horse" and "The Adventures Of Tintin"), only missing out on "Duel" and "The Color Purple" over their decades-long collaboration. So no shocker here, but Variety confirms that Williams will once again pair up with Spielberg to tackle the score for his dream project "Lincoln."
Based on the best-selling book “Team of Rivals” by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and featuring a script by Tony Kushner (”Angels In America”), the film will focus on the last four months of Lincoln's life which may or may not include: the closing days of the American Civil War; the Second Battle of Fort Fisher; the Burning of Columbia and the Battle of Bentonville; Lincoln’s landslide re-election; his second inaugural address; and the passing of the thirteenth amendment. Of couse, which events Spielberg chooses to zero in on remains to be seen. But he's got a crack cast in place — Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes, Hal Holbrook, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Joseph Cross, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins, Lee Pace, Jackie Earle Haley — and certainly the material alone should provide more than enough inspiration for Williams to work with.
And projects with epic scope are no new territory for the record-holding, 45-time Oscar nominee (and 5-time winner) Williams, as he's got another coming up in the WWI-set film about a young boy and his horse. "'War Horse' is quintessential John Williams," says producer Kathleen Kennedy about the upcoming movie. "Steven was making an epic historical drama, very much in the spirit of John Ford or David Lean — vast, beautiful imagery, whether it was the landscape, the war or pictures of the horses. It required that sense of size, musically."
Is a 46th nomination on the way? We think it's pretty likely, especially if the film truly takes off as an Oscar contender. And with buzz already brewing thanks to some early screenings, we figure Williams has already placed a call to his usual tuxedo rental company.
"War Horse" opens on Christmas Day, and you can get in the mood thanks to the plethora of new images below courtesy of IGN. Next spring Williams will start tuning up "Lincoln" which will hit theaters in the fall, just in time to shake up the Oscar race.
daddy issue themes?
Williams also missed out on TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE. In addition, an argument could be made for POLTERGEIST, since most everyone involved now seems to admit that Spielberg directed much of it and he inarguably wrote it, produced it and ran post-production. Jerry Goldsmith did both of those.
At almost 80, it's no surprise that Williams is only writing for Spielberg these days. It'll be a strange shift when Li'l Stevie has to find another composer. I hope he finds someone considerably different rather than a Williams soundalike.