Kobe Bryant, Will Ferrell, Harrison Ford, and Lin-Manuel Miranda are all big fans of John Williams
We all know that even celebrities have their own fans, but they usually reside in their own industries. There are few people in the world who do something so great and grand that it moves even the most popular people. One of those people, who is still very much alive, is maestro John Williams.
He’s a giant in the movie music industry having written scores for some of the biggest films in history, including the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. While many other movie score composers have been influenced and are in awe of Williams’ output, even more people in other trades besides movies have come to fall in love with his music.
That had to be most seen in full when many of those people gathered to present Williams with his lifetime achievement award given to him by the American Film Institute. The black-tie dinner gala was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood yesterday night and the program had many A-list celebs in nearly every discipline honor Williams.
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant is a big fan of Williams and offered words of thanks to the composer. Comedian Will Ferrell also brought some funny with his honoring of Williams and did some conducting himself. A bearded actor Harrison Ford had some fun poking at Williams saying that “his music follows me everywhere!” Broadway giant Lin-Manuel Miranda also sung the praises of Williams, too.
Other celebrities that were on hand at the celebration included Drew Barrymore, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hanks, Seth McFarlane, Daisy Ridley, and Williams most well-know collaborator Steven Spielberg.
“John, you breathe belief into every film we have made,” Spielberg said to introduce his friend to accept his award. “You take our movies, many of them about our most impossible dreams, and through your musical genius you make them real and everlasting for billions and billions of years.”
To which the humble Williams replied by saying, “Tomorrow morning, when I’m back at work, I will try to deserve all of this.”
And back to work he goes after having confirmed to media at the event that he’ll be writing the scores to the next Indiana Jones and Star Wars films.
You can watch the full 2016 AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Honoring John Williams telecast on TNT next Wednesday, June 15 at 10 PM ET/PT, followed by an encore presentation on TCM on September 12 during a night of programming dedicated to Williams.
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