Steven Spielberg

Indy's brother

New member
Montana Smith said:
The thought crossed my mind that Raiders ended with a Kafkaesque pessimism about bureaucracy, whereas the dark journey of Temple of Doom ended with a typically Hollywood happy-clappy family finale, as though it was a tacked-on apology for the preceding horrors.

The following two films were a continued apology for the darkness of TOD, where in fact Raiders had already set a benchmark for avoiding excessive the 'lightness' that might be associated with family movies.

My oft-spewed opinion of the ending of these films is very in line with your summation. ROTLA had the best ending of all 4. It was majestic, unsettling, and the tone was perfectly satisfying thanks to John Williams brilliant score. I would absolutely LOVE a 5th to attempt something similar, as opposed to the traditional "Hollywood Happy Endings" that were designed to have audiences skipping down the aisles of the theater on their way out the door.

ROTLA had the brave ending that was a bit of a cliffhanger in itself. The destiny of the Ark wasn't certain. It left an ominous feeling of dread, uncertainty, intrigue, and left us with the feeling that as tough, lucky, and smart as Indy is, his adventure was to be buried and overshadowed by higher powers beyond his control. Both spiritual and bureaucratic. By framing and ending the tale in a bigger world full of unseen dangers, it brought Indy closer to us in a way that an endings that wrap up all the loose ends can't. After all, there are no happy endings in real life. Because life doesn't end until you do, and really, how happy is that?

I will say that LC had the best of the happy endings for Indy. In no small part due to Spielberg's overall intent of the scene. KOTCS' ending was brilliant in it's own way, leaving it open for another film, but also closing the door on the franchise if need be. I'll give it that. TOD had the weakest, imho.

As for the "lightness" associated with "family movies" that you mention, I think that this approach most likely came after the box-office numbers of ROTLA proved that people were taking their kids to see it, and the following movies were adjusted a bit to cater to the idea that people were taking their families to see them. I mean, if anyone needs proof of that, just consider Indy's sidekick in TOD....and then his sidekick in LC....and his main sidekick in KOTCS....seeing a pattern that wasn't in ROTLA?

ROTLA: underaged ex-girlfriend
TOD: adopted son
LC: biological father
KOTCS: estranged illegitimate biological son, and his eventual wife

Each movie brought Indy closer and closer to a whole, traditional family.

Here's an idea to get back to the original feel, how about Indy getting reunited with an ex-partner that he screwed over. Male, since we don't need to see a 70-year old man flirt with or seduce a woman. Perhaps a military ally, or an academic peer of some stripe. Then he has to work together for a common goal, while trying to make up for his past betrayal or whatever. Get away from the family thing (at least a little) for one movie, and have an ending that doesn't solve every conflict in the adventure, or wrap everything up in a neat little package. Leave us something uncertain to mull over. THAT'S what I would like to see.

Of course, if done right it would just make me instantly want more:

But isn't that what a great film is supposed to make you feel like when it's over?

That's how I feel to this day as the credits roll in Raiders of The Lost Ark.
 
Indy's brother said:
Of course, if done right it would just make me instantly want more: But isn't that what a great film is supposed to make you feel like when it's over?
That and: "I want to see that again!"

The happy endings sucked.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Warner Bros. courting Steven Spielberg for another giant biblical epic about Moses

[Courtesy of the Onion AV Club, the material seen here]

Sean O'Neal said:
Jewish people celebrating Rosh Hashanah have already received the gifts of a Hanukkah movie not being made by Mel Gibson, and numerous awkward “Happy New Year—or do you say that?” sort-of jokes from their clueless gentile friends. Now they also have the prospect of a huge, Warner Bros.-backed epic about the life of Moses, a guy that Jews pretty much think is aces, like, just the tops. They’re also quite fond of Steven Spielberg, whom Warner Bros. is currently courting to direct their Moses story—which the studio takes pains to point out is absolutely not a remake of The Ten Commandments, even if it will similarly follow Moses from birth to death, hit highlights like his freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt and their escape across the Red Sea, and touch on his occasionally contentious yet ultimately way-tight relationship with his buddy God. After all, that’s just how the story goes. You know, the story that God wrote? What, you want they should change the word of God?

Unfortunately, while Spielberg has shown some interest in Moses in the past with the DreamWorks Animation film The Prince Of Egypt, it also seems likely that he’ll be far too busy for the next couple of years shooting Lincoln and mounting the similarly epic Robopocalypse (as foretold in the Book of Revelation). Still, Spielberg has reportedly read and is currently considering taking on the script from Green Lantern co-writer Michael Green and Stuart Hazeldine, who, it should be noted, also wrote Warner Bros.’ upcoming 3-D “aerial warfare” adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost. And with that film, this new Moses project, and the Warner Bros.-backed Mel Gibson/Joe Eszterhas take on Judah Maccabee, it definitely seems as though the studio took one look at all the rampant public domain scavenging of late, then decided to stake preemptive claim on some of the oldest stories in history. Perhaps Darren Aronofsky will have a place to make Noah after all.

As one of the commenters mentioned - the first of them, in fact - this would result in what is, of a kind, a prequel to Raiders.
 
TCM Turner Classic Movies

TCM Presents: AFI's Master Class - The Art of Collaboration
Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 8 p.m. (ET)

A look at the four-decade friendship and working relationship between filmmaker Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams, one of the most prolific and influential artistic collaborations in film history. Master classes are a core part of the curriculum at the AFI Conservatory, which offers a Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines and was recently named the #1 film school in the world by The Hollywood Reporter. With an audience comprised solely of AFI Fellows, the two artists discuss films that inspired them and present clips from these classic films. They also present and discuss their own collaborative work to illustrate different aspects of filmmaking. Each program concludes with a Q&A session with AFI Fellows.

The Spielberg-Williams collaboration began in 1974, when Spielberg asked the composer to score The Sugarland Express (1974), the director's first theatrical film. Familiar with Williams' work on Mark Rydell's adaptation of William Faulkner's The Reivers (1969), Spielberg felt the composer could capture the right sound for his light-hearted convicts-on-the-run drama starring Goldie Hawn. Williams' score is both haunting and playful, with legendary jazz musician Toots Thielemans, providing the harmonica solos.

Spielberg and Williams' collaboration took off the following year with the mega-blockbuster Jaws (1975), which earned Williams the first of three Oscars he would take home for scoring Spielberg's films. After that, there was no looking back as the pair collaborated on such popular hits as Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), Catch Me if You Can (2002), Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005), as well as such powerful dramas as Empire of the Sun (1987), Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and Munich (2005).

Along the way, Spielberg has taken home three Oscars for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, while Williams added statuettes for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler's List. The pair also worked together on two documentary shorts and two episodes of the television series Amazing Stories, for which Williams also wrote the theme. Today, the Spielberg-Williams collaboration continues full force, with The Adventures of Tintin and their 25th feature film collaboration, War Horse, both set for release this Christmas. Spielberg's Lincoln, which will mark their 26th feature film together, is slated for release in 2012.

TCM will follow the premiere of TCM Presents AFI Master Class - The Art of Collaboration: Steven Spielberg and John Williams with a presentation of Saving Private Ryan, a film in which both artists went against traditional war-movie forms: Spielberg with his chaotic, non-glorifying vision of war and Williams with a score that relies on hymn-like reverence and seething, underlying tension. The evening will also include a presentation of Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960), with a score by Alex North. Williams and Spielberg both cite Kubrick and North's work on Spartacus as influencing their collaborative point of view.
 
First he outlined Nazi genocide on celuloid...

...now his crosshairs are trained on Christians!


Spielberg film pulls plug on Richmond?s capitol tree lighting

Yes, Virginia, there is a Grinch. But this year it?s not a green-skinned grouch who?s stealing Christmas in the commonwealth. It?s Steven Spielberg.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and filmmaker Steven Spielberg meet in October to mark the start of filming of "Lincoln." ( Michaele White, Governor?s Photographer) The director is filming ?Lincoln? at the governor?s mansion and Capitol Square, and that means the annual capitol tree lighting has been called off.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell?s office announced the cancellation Thursday.

The news upset enough residents to prompt a Richmond-based TV reporter to ask McDonnell (R) about it during a Thursday afternoon conference call from India, where the governor is on a trade mission.

McDonnell said he did not know too much about it, except that as part of the state?s agreement with DreamWorks, Spielberg?s studio, ?we had to keep several venues in and around Richmond reserved for them.?

?Honestly, they have taken over Mr. Jefferson?s capitol,? McDonnell quipped.
 
"My philosophy is that every single movie is a signpost of its time, and it should stand for that. We shouldn't go back and change the parting of the Red Sea in Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Ten Commandments' just because with digital tools we can now make that even more spectacular than it was," he explains

On Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom:
"It doesn't hold the same candle up to the first film."


Lincoln...will be coming after the presidential election in November, and it's a calculated move to avoid being used as political fodder by either party.

"It has a lot of revelance to our time, especially with our divided House. It is about a divided House in 1865. But I'm not willing to allow the film to be part of the gristmill of the 2012 election cycle," he explained to EW in the latest issue. "So I'm going to make the movie, which of course would be ready for release before the election, but it won't come out until December of '12."

And while he doesn't point to any specifics, he does say that both the Republicans and Democrats could put their teeth in the movie, and he's not willing to have it chewed up by politicians. "I don't mind starting a conversation, but a film like 'Lincoln' could be used by both sides, and the only casualty will be the film," Spielberg said. His feelings are understandable, and speaking from a purely pragmatic view, not rushing to meet an earlier date will certainly give him more breathing room to finish the film which is already coming in on a sharp deadline.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
The Spielberg Face

The Onion A.V. Club has a nice little summary piece on the Spielberg face.

Behold the glory of the ?Spielberg Face?

By Marcus Gilmer December 14, 2011

Years ago, a reader of ESPN?s Bill Simmons? columns wrote in about the ?Manning Face,? a look of confusion, frustration, and disgust displayed by quarterback Peyton Manning every time something went wrong on the field which, given Manning?s strive for perfection from teammates, was often, a look inherited by his younger brother Eli, also an NFL quarterback. Now, one eagle-eye filmgoer has found its cinematic opposite: the ?Spielberg Face.? Defined by Matt Patches of UGO, the ?Spielberg Face? is described like so:

"When a character looks up and catches something unexpected, that's the face. When a character watches something otherworldly take place in front of their eyes, that's the face. When a character stares outward, mouth slightly agape and has a revelation that will change them forever, that's the face."

Fandor?s Kevin Lee then took up the task of finding all the examples he could of the ?Spielberg Face? and created the below video, one of the most slack-jawed, sparkly-eyed supercuts ever made as well as something akin to a master?s thesis. (No word if the video will be updated to include any instances in the upcoming Spielberg films War Horse and The Adventures of Tin Tin.) So cast your eyes in wonder upon the glory of this collection of awe-inspiring gazes.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VS5W4RxGv4s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

Montana Smith

Active member
"When a character looks up and catches something unexpected, that's the face. When a character watches something otherworldly take place in front of their eyes, that's the face. When a character stares outward, mouth slightly agape and has a revelation that will change them forever, that's the face."

056.jpg
 
Spielberg in the saddle

Q. You?ve been directing for more than 40 years now. How have you changed? Not grown, which is inevitable, but changed, which isn?t.

A. Well, if I could tell you that I?d go into another business. I?d be a therapist.

Q. Let me ask that question a different way. Would the Steven Spielberg who directed TV episodes and ?Duel?? 40 years ago, would he recognize the Steven Spielberg of today?

A. Oh yeah.

Q. What would he think of him?

A. I think he?d say, ?What?s the matter with you? You?re much older than I am, but why won?t you grow up??? I don?t think there?s any difference between who I was then and who I am now.

With regards to Indy V Genre:

Q. What haven?t you done that you?d like to?

A. [With no hesitation] A musical and a love story.
 
Montana Smith said:
If Indy V's a musical love story, you know Willie has form in both those areas. :p

Not anymore she doesn't!:p Maybe we can get the daughter of Willie Scott and Mutt to battle it out...in song!


♫ Anything you can do I can do better...♫
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Maybe we can get the daughter of Willie Scott and Mutt to battle it out...in song!


♫ Anything you can do I can do better...♫

You mean a re-run of the TOD separare bedrooms scene? Little Willie tries to make a man out of Mutt, but discovers to her dismay that he's more of a Brokeback kind of guy.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Well, not if he's shoe shopping with her, though a trip to Victoria's Secret would be nice...



...as a fox spectator and not a "bare" model.

You never know, he might still hook up with a someone more motherly. A silver fox.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Montana Smith said:
Wasn't quite sure what was going to be at the end of that link. Luckily it was a fox and not a bear.
Hey, I might be a Machiavellian, sardonic bastard, but I'm hardly a hypocrite.
 
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