A stellar crop of A-list filmmakers descended Friday on London’s famed Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the 50th birthday of Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino.
J.J. Abrams, who Giacchino told the audience had helped propel him from video game music into TV, was arguably the biggest name onstage, hailing the composer with whom he had collaborated on titles such as Lost, Alias, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible 3 and Super 8.
Gareth Edwards, another Star Wars alum, revealed the names given to tracks for 2016’s Rogue One, including “Live and Let Jedi” and “It Takes One to Rogue One.”
Edwards also pointed out the short time frame Giacchino was given to work on the Star Wars spinoff after he stepped in once Alexandre Desplat had left the project.
“He had just four weeks to do the entire soundtrack from start to finish,” the director explained.
Matt Reeves, Colin Trevorrow, Pete Doctor, Andrew Stanton, Carlton Cuse and even The Muppets‘ Gonzo also took to the stage to wish Giacchino a happy birthday, while music from his long list of scores — including those from Jurassic World, Doctor Strange, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and even John Carter (Stanton jokingly asked the audience who had seen the film) — was performed. Giacchino himself conducted several of the pieces.
Brad Bird had been slated to attend, but his plane from the U.S. was delayed. In his place, Tomorrowland star Raffey Cassidy introduced music from the film.
The birthday celebrations closed with the orchestra, led by Giacchino, playing the soundtrack from the musical fantasy animation Coco, the composer’s latest project with Pixar after The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Up.
