John Williams Could Set Another Oscar Record

Via Variety.com:

With both “The Post” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” in the running this Oscar season, composer John Williams, who already has 50 Academy nominations, more than any other living person, could earn a 51st or even 52nd nom.

Both films stem from working relationships that date back to the 1970s, both of them studded with awards recognition and success. “The Post” is Williams’ 28th film for Steven Spielberg, a partnership that began with the director’s “The Sugarland Express” in 1974. “The Last Jedi” is the composer’s eighth “Star Wars” movie, having launched the original George Lucas space franchise in 1977.

Acknowledgement of one or both scores would be especially sweet considering that Williams, who will be 86 next month, is marking his 60th year composing for TV and films. His earliest screen credits were in 1958, for TV’s “Playhouse 90” and a low-budget drive-in movie titled “Daddy-O.”

And while both “The Post” and “Last Jedi” mark a return to familiar working circumstances, the contrast between the two scores couldn’t be more striking. “The Post” is a real-life newspaper story that plays like a thriller, and Williams’ music reflects this in its urgency for the race to print, and dignified Americana for its final scenes reminding us of the importance of a free press.

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