John Williams Is No Longer Retiring From Music

John Williams, the most successful film composer of all time and the artist standing behind some of the most essential film scores of all time, told The Associated Press last year that Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny would likely be his final film score.

For over half a century, John Williams has helped shape the history and sound of cinema, dramatically improving and supporting everything from Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Superman to Harry Potter, Home Alone and ET with his instantly memorable themes and consummate orchestrations.

“At the moment, I’m working on Indiana Jones 5, which Harrison Ford — who’s quite a bit younger than I am — I think has announced will be his last film,” Williams told The Associated Press. “So, I thought: If Harrison can do it, then perhaps I can, also.”

In a new interview with Variety's film and music writer Jon Burlingame at the Writer's Guild Theater, Williams was asked if he'd really retire from music after Indiana Jones 5.

"Well, Steven is a lot of things," he began. "He’s a director, he’s a producer, he’s a studio head, he’s a writer, he’s a philanthropist, he’s an educator. One thing he isn’t is a man you can say no to."

Steven Spielberg responded, "You never told me that before today."

Williams continued to tell a story about a woman in her 90s, who gave him some sage advice. 

"I had a 90th birthday, and I met a woman at my age up in Boston. She was a very nice lady, exactly the same age as I, and I said to her, the greatest decade in a man’s life is 80 to 90, if you have your health, because if you get to 90, there’s an enormous compensation. You see everything with such magnetic vision that you recognize the most beautiful thing in the world are Peruvian butterflies. There’s nothing more beautiful than that. And so it’s the greatest decade. And she said, ‘No, the greatest decade in a person’s life is 90 to 100. So I’ll stick around for a while."

The composer added, "But also, you can’t retire from music. I said earlier, it’s like breathing. It’s your life. It’s my life. And so a day without music is a mistake."

Spielberg then said, "I gotta get working, to find out what the hell I’m doing next."