John Williams is a legend of film music, and even of Hollywood itself. The maestro behind the scores of the “Star Wars” saga recently revealed that a big unintentional error had crept into the film’s soundtrack.
Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Jaws, Schindler’s List, Superman, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mom I Missed the Plane, and of course the 9 parts of the Star Wars saga!
All these legendary works of cinema have in common that they have been rocked, carried, punctuated by the magic wand of John Williams. This extraordinary composer, who is undoubtedly among the most legendary musicians in Hollywood and who holds the record for Oscar nominations after Walt Disney (with 54 citations!), recently spoke about his rich and abundant career at the microphone of Variety.
“I wrongly wrote a romantic theme for Luke and Leia”
Among other anecdotes about the numerous original soundtracks that he composed during his 70 years of activity, John Williams notably returned to the very first feature film in the Star Wars saga, directed by George Lucas in 1977, and to the occasion on which the composer had developed the unforgettable themes of the franchise
However, as he explained, a very involuntary error crept into the score of the feature film:
“I wrongly wrote a romantic theme for Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker”he explained.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
“George never told us there was going to be a second film!”
“I later learned they were brother and sister, so it was an incestuous idea to write a romantic theme for them. But George [Lucas] never told us there was going to be a second movie!”
In fact, it wasn’t until the third feature film, Return of the Jedi, released in 1983, that the world discovered the family ties that united Luke and Leia. As a reminder, the two characters, who themselves were unaware of their relationship until then, had even exchanged a kiss at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back.
On the subject of the soundtrack of the first Star Wars, still at the microphone of VarietyJohn Wiliams also explained that at the time, he was not aware of composing something so extraordinary, and that it was the audience’s reaction to the film’s release that made the difference.
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