By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Kobe Bryant considers him a muse. Harrison Ford says he elevates entertainment to art. Seth MacFarlane calls him "the single greatest talent working in Hollywood."
John Williams, creator of the iconic music from "Superman," ''Star Wars," ''Jaws," ''E.T." and "Jurassic Park," is also the first composer to receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. He accepted the honor Thursday at a black-tie dinner at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre that's set to air as a TV special Wednesday night on TNT. Bryant, Ford and MacFarlane were among the stars celebrating Williams' contributions to cinema.
Steven Spielberg presented his longtime friend and collaborator with the award.
"Without John Williams, bikes don't really fly," Spielberg said. "Nor do brooms in Quidditch matches; nor do men in red capes. There is no Force. Dinosaurs don't walk the Earth… You take our movies, many of them about our most impossible dreams, and through your musical genius, you make them real and everlasting for billions and billions of people."
Williams has scored more than 100 films and received an astounding 50 Oscar nominations. He also composed the theme songs for Sunday Night Football, NBC's "Nightly News" and the Olympics.
George Lucas said it was Williams' soaring score that "ensured that 'Star Wars' would live forever."
"And you did it again with 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,'" he said.
Bryant said he asked to meet with Williams in 2009 to learn how he approaches his work.
"I'm a passionate believer that everybody needs a muse, and John Williams is one of mine," said the recently retired Lakers star. "John's music achieved a level of perfection I wanted to reach on the basketball court."
Other stars feting the composer from the stage included Drew Barrymore, Tom Hanks, JJ Abrams, Bryce Dallas Howard and Will Ferrell, who wordlessly attempted to conduct the audience in song. Broadway star Idina Menzel was among the guests, and she stood and sang a few notes.
The 84-year-old Williams said that when he first learned he would be receiving AFI's highest honor, he thought, "I'm really much too young for a thing like this."
His career began in the 1950s as a paid pianist for Hollywood studios and thrives to this day. His latest composing credit is Spielberg's "The BFG," opening in July, and the next "Star Wars" installment.
"I am enormously grateful, as all composers are, to film, for giving us the broadest possible audience worldwide that any composer has ever enjoyed," Williams said, thanking his mentors, musicians and director collaborators.
"Tomorrow morning when I'm back at work," he said, "I'll try to deserve all this."
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More