Thanks for posting this, Zooba. First time seeing it as well. Hearing all of that wonderful music in the span of an hour - a greatest hits collection, if you will - was quite an emotional experience. It was also great seeing the impact he has had on others over the years.
I saw it shortly after it came out. In fact, one of our resident members kindly offered me a spare ticket to the event. Alas, I could not afford the trip from Oslo to Los Angeles at the time. That member DID send me the event programme booklet, though, which I'm very thankful for.
I was there and the only downside was, as the night wore on (and it was much longer than you see here) we realized other film composers were not going to be a part of it. It made the whole night a suggestion of a backhanded compliment. If the AFI was going to cross the line and honor a composer it needed to include more respect for the profession of composing itself. It wouldn't have taken away from this star studded event to include a few. On the other hand it was an absolute first that said so much about William's stature in the industry. Can't fault that.
Good point about the absence of other composers (or orchestrators, contractors, players, etc.). Almost everyone who spoke had collaborated in some way on a Williams film. Few other composers could make that claim. Maybe Patrick Doyle or Ken Thorne? I doubt that Andre Previn would have been available. Williams graciously said that there were many composers of the past who would have deserved a similar honor.
It was a lovely evening. I've had the opportunity to attend many AFI Life Achievement Awards ceremonies, but this is the first one where I really wanted to be there. So, I went.
