TV special tackles film collaborations

McClatchy Newspapers

Almost four decades ago, a young filmmaker named Steven Spielberg asked established composer John Williams to write music for his film.

As of next year, they will have worked “exclusively together” for 40 years.

“One of the greatest honors that I have ever received in my life,” Spielberg says in a new program looking back at their partnership, “was the first time that John said yes to the movie that I wanted to score which was the (1974) “Sugarland Express.”

The American Film Institute and Turner Classic Movies’ “AFI’s Master Class — The Art of Collaboration,” starring Spielberg and Williams, will debut at 8 p.m. Tuesday on TCM.

In a cozy setting at the AFI Conservatory and with an audience of aspiring AFI Fellows filmmakers, Spielberg and Williams discuss their collaborations.

After so many years, they still greatly admire each other, professionally and personally.

“He’s never once said to me, ‘I don’t like that,’ or ‘this won’t work,’” Williams says of his music for Spielberg,

“He’s enjoyed everything, even the mistakes.”

Along with the discussion, clips are shown from their favorite movies, leading to a discussion of the power of the appropriate music for creating unforgettable scenes.