One benefit of John Williams being Oscar-nominated for the score to The Fabelmans is that he’s doing a lot of media—more than I can ever remember, in fact.
Here he is with Chris Wallace on CNN:
I used to wonder if Williams was one way in interviews (polite, articulate, diplomatic) and another in private. But I think I’m coming to the conclusion—this is just how he is!
He seems so genuinely humble and satisfied with his life and career (who wouldn’t be?) that I don’t think it’s an act.
So wonderful!
Curiously, the clip they show from Star Wars is the original 1977 version of the title crawl, without “Episode IV.”
He says he wrote the Star Wars main title last, because he was having trouble coming up with the theme, but this doesn’t quite make sense because the theme is interwoven throughout the rest of the score.
It's not the first time he mentions this. The main theme has always been there, but I think he's merely referring to the "overwritten", heraldic fanfare shape of the opening:
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/williams/confesses-parts-of-star-wars-score-probably-overwritten/
If you're interested, check out this segment of THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT that aired last Friday. Welcome to the Mutual Admiration Society!😉 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIBD829-HU