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A Short Time Ago in a Front Yard in Close, Close Proximity…
Some people question the power of movies. Some people even question Huey Lewis and the News over the power of love.
But what about the power of love towards movies?
Legendary composer John Williams has produced some of the most (if not the most) iconic soundtracks to many of the most beloved movies of all-time. This includes Star Wars, as brilliantly played on the trumpet by the young boy in the video outside the house of Mr. Williams. The first Star Wars movie (Episode IV) changed the world back in 1977. The kid in the video is 13 year-old Bryce Hayashi. He wasn’t even born in the same century as Episode IV, and yet, there he was playing the famous anthem of the opening crawl 39 years later in 2016.
To get praise from John Williams himself, that’s movie magic right there.
Happy Monday!
Before the happy comes the sad.
Yesterday morning, iconic and revolutionary SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott passed away after a long battle with cancer at the age of 49. This was devastating news to start the day. It hit everybody hard, including fans of SportsCenter from back in the day when it was on channel 11. Generations of sports fans grew up with him and his electrically charged commentary, quick wit and unforgettable catchphrases.
“Boo-Yah!” anyone?
He solidified in people like me that there were adults who felt the same unbridled excitement about sports that I did. It was an unthinkable thrill and reality. There was a place in this world for people like me when it came to my perfectly unhealthy obsession with sports. During countless lazy summer mornings, countless people woke up early/woke up to hear Stuart Scott illuminating the nation with a home run, a dunk or a random Tar Heel reference.
Stuart Scott was inspiring to kids like me who dreamed of being paid to talk about sports on television for a living.
And Stuart Scott was inspiring because of his courageous battle against cancer while maintaining a genuinely positive outlook on life.
He truly was, “as cool as the other side of the pillow.”
RIP Stuart Scott.
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A month and a half ago, the marketing team from Jurassic World released the very first trailer for their 2015 summer blockbuster. Incorporated perfectly into this long-awaited tease was the delicately slow piano rendition of the infamous John Williams Jurassic Park theme song. In a word: sublime. In more words, fans have technological tools at their fingertips that can produce some very memorable results.
So, how did dinosaur fan Jared Pelletier do with his clever video editing?
Bottom line: Jurassic World (no matter how you cut it) looks amazing!
Have a Roaring Good Week!
The Soundtrack of Our Imagination
There are familiar faces that we see on the news and television on a relentless basis, for a variety of reasons. But it’s always fascinating to see and hear from people who have quietly made a permanent imprint on our lives with works that are nothing short of magnificent when we consider it all evolved from an idea and a blank canvas.
Or from an empty musical page waiting to be filled-in with iconic musical notes for generations to admire.
The journey of master composer John Williams is well-documented in such blockbuster hits as Jaws, Schindler’s List, Superman and Jurassic Park (to literally name only a few). Mr. Williams doesn’t give many interviews or insights into his everyday life, but perhaps all it took was another Mr. Williams to convince him to reveal a little bit about himself. The interview is from a little while ago, but intriguing nonetheless.
He’s one of the drivers of our imaginations:
Telling powerfully moving stories without any words.
Old school indeed.
A Blog 400 Posts in the Making
This is the 400th blog post on Jimmy’s Daily Planet!
It’s surreal to contemplate where this blog began and it’s surreal to imagine where this blog will continue to go in the future.
A sincere thank you to all who read it!
There are countless things to write about and reflect on for what’s to come post-400. However, after being guided to a behind-the-scenes look at 2015’s much-anticipated Jurassic World starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard by a loyal reader, embedding the following music clip just seemed right on this special occasion.
It is my honor to present to you a beloved John Williams masterpiece from my favorite movie of all-time:
“Life finds a way…”
Jimmy's Daily Planet 