Episode 71 - Hook

The journey to bring "Hook" to the big screen was a long one -- 16 years, to be exact. It started out as a Steven Spielberg project in 1985, and was to be a retelling of the classic story … with Michael Jackson in the lead role! There was also a plan to make the story into a musical, an idea that stayed with Spielberg when he officially started work on it in 1990. John Williams brought on lyricist Leslie Bricusse to create eight songs for the film, and only two survived after the musical idea was scrapped. Williams kept some of the melodies from the discarded songs, including an airy theme for Peter's childhood and a fun march for the pirates. Host Jeff Commings and co-host Derek Scholl disagree on many of the merits of the film and score, but agree on some of the finer points, including the soaring orchestrations for Peter's first flight. Grab a seat for a Never-Feast of music!