Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall: The Rushfield Conversation

The acclaimed producers open up about their new doc, 'Music by John Williams'

INSTRUMENTAL DUET Producers Kathy Kennedy and Frank Marshall have worked with composer John Williams on such seminal films as Raiders of the Lost Ark and Schindler’s List as well as the new documentary chronicling his life and work. (Photo illustration by The Ankler. Emma McIntyre/WireImage)

Composer John Williams has been so heralded and celebrated for his decades of scoring films that it’s hard to think of him as underappreciated. But after seeing the documentary, Music by John Williams, which debuts on Disney+ on Nov. 1, you may just believe that we’ve only begun to contend with the legacy of the man who clearly is the greatest film composer of all time.

The sheer number of his works that have entered the common musical vocabulary is fairly mindboggling. Start with the themes from Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters, E.T., Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harry Potter, Schindler’s List and Superman, to name just a few, themes that define some of the greatest films of the past 50 years — and transcend them. Throw in the Olympic theme and the NBC News theme while you’re at it, and you realize that the very sonic fabric of our entire culture was, to an astonishing extent, created by one man. Along the way he nearly single-handedly brought the art of orchestral film scoring out of the ill-repute in which it had been held into a place of respectability at the forefront of classical music.

Music by John Williams takes a closer look at the very gentle musical giant behind so many Hall of Fame pieces, looking at his process and the journey that led him to such a historic output. Produced by Steven Spielberg, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall — among others — the film takes you inside the maestro’s process from the perspective of the directors and producers who have worked with him over the years. In addition to the film’s Disney+ premiere, in L.A., it will have a special one-week run at the El Capitan Theatre.

After watching the film, I chatted this week with Kennedy and Marshall, the also legendary husband-wife producers, about their history with Williams. The pair worked with him on many of his greatest scores for more than four decades, serving as producers on Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Empire of the Sun and Schindler’s List — to name a few of their films that have featured some of Williams’ classic scores. Marshall for his part, has known Williams for his entire life, having grown up at his knee among the musicians’ circles of the San Fernando Valley. Kennedy, as head of Lucasfilm, continues to work with Williams on new scores. We spoke this week about their work with the legendary composer and what his legacy means to this industry.