The Bearded Trio

VIDEO: John Williams Interview The Philadelphia Orchestra on their Facebook page have published a never-before-seen 19-minute video interview, with Principal Guest Conductor Stéphane Denève and John Williams.  John Williams tells us in the interview: "Most of the time I'm writing something, I'm writing a movie now...So I listen to very little music, it's not very helpful to listen to Brahms or something else where the music is probably better than mine to begin with.  It wouldn't really help." You can watch the interview below: The Bearded Trio - The Site For Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, John Williams and a whole lot more.

Brad’s April Escape - Part 17 April 27 - Return of the Jedi Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up is the conclusion of the beloved original Star Wars Trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983). Return of the Jedi - An Introduction Yes, I skipped over Empire Strikes Back . Don't worry, I have a three-part mega-post coming on that film to coincide with its 40th anniversary from May 20-22. Until then, I suppose we have to settle for this gem of a film, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), wonderfully directed by Richard Marquand. I've been looking forward to analyzing this film for a long time, though I hardly know where to begin. Watching ...

Taking A Look At One Of My Favourite Steven Spielberg Scenes: The Air Traffic Control Scene From Close Encounters of the Third Kind One of my favourite scenes in a Steven Spielberg movie is from the 1977 classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind .  It's the traffic control scene where the operator asks the pilot if he wants to report a UFO.  The fact that we can get involved in a tense scene between a couple of aircraft completely off screen making us use our imagination to fill in the gaps is pure genius.  We hear the pilots trying to figure out what exactly they are witnessing as the object whizzes by getting too close to them.  Then they refuse to report a UFO for fear of stigma and not knowing what exactly they just saw.  It's a gripping scene that I never tire of watching. It turns out that this scene was actually shot before the movie was officially "green-lit."  Columbia realised that in order to qualify for funds from tax shelters they would...

A few weeks back we reported that there were various original iconic movie posters going under the hammer and yesterday the auction took place.  So, how much exactly do original movie posters associated with The Bearded Trio actually go for?  Lets take a look: STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977) - Richard Edlund Collection: Special One-Sheet Style Poster, 1976 sold for £5,000 ($6,124)  The estimate was £1k - £2k (approx. $1308 - $2617) E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982) - Richard Edlund Collection: US One-Sheet Poster, 1982 sold for £1,750 ($2,164)  The estimate was £800 - 1,200 (approx. $1,047 - $1570) STAR WARS ORIGINAL TRILOGY (1977-83) - Mondo Poster, 2013 sold for £1,750 ($2,134) - Over seven times the original estimate! More posters related to The Bearded Trio that sold: Lot #34 - BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985) - US One-Sheet Poster, 1985.  Sold for £562.50 Lot #46 - GOONIES (1985) - US One-Sheet Poster, 1985. Sold for £437.50 Lot #50 - RA...

Brad’s April Escape - Part 16 April 24 - Star Wars: The Last Jedi Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up is a film that effectively split the fan community, but a film I immensely respect, Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). The Last Jedi - An Introduction You probably either loved or hated Episode VIII, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson. After the giddy popularity, and (sorry) predictability of The Force Awakens, Johnson executed his own vision for Star Wars with this entry in the Skywalker Saga. TLJ took chances. It was bold. It wasn't afraid to redefine some traditional Star Wars tropes. It took the beloved Luke Skywalker...

Brad’s April Escape - Part 15 April 23 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up is the long-awaited conclusion to the original trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Last Crusade - An Introduction I can't, and I won't, rank the films of the Indiana Jones franchise. I am too attached in too many unique ways to those first three. Today, I tackle a more mature Indy, and corresponding film, Last Crusade. This film shares a lot of story beats with Raiders of the Lost Ark , and purposefully so, according to filmmaker Steven Spielberg. He says he missed the prevailing tone of Raiders after Indy m...

Brad’s April Escape - Part 14 April 22 - The Lost World Each weekday this month, I’ll screen a film from The Bearded Trio Cinematic Universe and list 10 random scenes, characters, musical cues or performances that I particularly enjoy and look forward to upon every viewing. I’d love to hear similar little things you enjoy about these films, and hope you join me in this escape from the present-day world. Next up represents Steven Spielberg's return to the director's chair after a four-year absence, The Lost World  (1997). The Lost World - An Introduction There was a ton of anticipation for this film when it hit in early summer of 1997. As is famously known, Steven Spielberg took four years off from directing after the one-two punch of Jurassic Park (1993) and Schindler's List (1993). In my mind, the experience of making those two particular films so close together took such a toll on the man that he NEEDED four years off. If anyone deserved a break...