I watched this video for the first time last night. I found it intriguing and the interview with Sara Horner and his daughter was lovely and so personal. The items in his studio were so quirky, fun and unusual. I didn't find them creepy or weird at all. This was a man who had the mind of a genius in order to compose the lovely music that he did. Hearing that he considered himself to be on the spectrum did not surprise me. Through the years working in the school and through volunteer work, I have met several young people who have been on the spectrum. Many of them had amazing talents but were socially awkward. Some have gone on to excel in their field of choice and when I run into them, they still have that innocent awkwardness. However, when you ask them about their profession, they transform before your eyes.
I am so thrilled that I happened upon this thread and was able to view this amazing tribute to James Horner. I often think about what he would be composing these days. I hope that his family is doing well during this tragedy in California.
I'd forgotten about this video, but when I saw it a couple of days ago, a class I'm teaching just happened to be exploring a textbook unit about autism. The day before I had set my students (Korean university students) homework to find an English article or video about someone on the spectrum. So I just had enough time before class to post the video and some music examples and type out some of Mrs Horner's really touching comments abiout James to share them with my class. My students didn't recognize his name - Joe Hisaishi and Hans Zimmer are the composers most students know these days. but they all knew his music having seen Titanic - even though it was released before they were born - and Avatar.
I find it really fascinating that he was able to write such emotionally charged music while having difficulty expressing and noticing emotions himself, and I love the anecdote Mrs Horner shared about James talking about where his inspiration comes from. And wow, his working space!
I'm not sure if there's been an update. Is the family home still safe?
The north perimeter of the Palisades fire (in this specific area) remains unchanged since end of day Jan 9th: about 2 km south of the Horner property, along the Saddle Peak and Topanga Lookout Trail ridge. The evacuation order for this area, MTN-U028, has been in effect since January 8th.
The fire advanced yesterday and overnight (a 5-10% progression) further to the east in the area of Encino and Brentwood.
Devastating losses of life and property. Conditions already worsening for Brentwood again.
