It's known that Ford and Spielberg were uncomfortable with the thought of aliens in Indiana Jones. I wonder if, in order to make this movie, a compromise was reached, going something like this:
"OK, George, we'll make your movie. But the next Indy is the our idea"
Hopefully something like that happens and we get another Indy.
It's known that Ford and Spielberg were uncomfortable with the thought of aliens in Indiana Jones. I wonder if, in order to make this movie, a compromise was reached, going something like this:
"OK, George, we'll make your movie. But the next Indy is the our idea"
Hopefully something like that happens and we get another Indy.
Spielberg was probably as in love with the idea of another Indy as much as we all were. Sadly, it blinded him towards Lucas and his infantile insistence on a hodge-podge script. But, hey, another couple of hundred million in the bank ain't a bad reward for compromising yourself, I suppose.
You know, I get the impression that Spielberg has kind of given up. He had to have his arm twisted to make KOTCS and the way he has said many times now "if people want more Indy, we'll give them more Indy" make me think he has just said to himself, "screw it". My own interpretation of what Ive seen is that he just isn't comfortable with the story of KOTCS so you may be right and maybe we'll see more Indy films.
You know, I get the impression that Spielberg has kind of given up. He had to have his arm twisted to make KOTCS and the way he has said many times now "if people want more Indy, we'll give them more Indy" make me think he has just said to himself, "screw it". My own interpretation of what Ive seen is that he just isn't comfortable with the story of KOTCS so you may be right and maybe we'll see more Indy films.
It's certainly one of Spielberg's laziest efforts as a director. Sloppiness pervades the entire movie, from the 'speeding' cars' collision in the warehouse to the embarrassing composition and execution of Mac's death scene. And let's not even begin to restate the reliance on ILM...
Ultimately, it's a flipside of early criticism directed at Spielberg: twenty years ago, many wrongly believed he couldn't make more adult, mature pictures. Now, however, many more would rightly note that he can't/won't recapture the spirit which made him the master of popcorn blockbusters.
I don't believe it was so much a compromise as it was a "now or never" effort. Ford had apparently put a deadline on it. Lucas has had this idea for a long time, and Spielberg agreed to it. While it's wishful thinking to think that Spielberg and Ford have a better idea for Indy V, it's just that, wishful thinking.
But really, now that they've got the alien thing done, the table is clear for another adventure. Maybe Lucas can't think of another MacGuffin in the next 20 years, but some talented screenwriter will.
After the long hiatus between Crusade and Kingdom they're in business again. You know, just getting warm. If they just got rolling with Indy V soon, the results could be great.
Spielberg said in an interview that there's a lot of give and take between the two of them and that if George was really passionate about something, Steven would give in and vice versa. But i think it was Harrison's insistence, the very public declaration that it needed to get going in the next couple of years, that speeded this along after such a long wait.
My guess is Harrison and Steven were both initially resistant to aliens, but ultimately decided to come around to it. It just took some getting used to. The way the aliens were portrayed as being a part of history, its really not much of a stretch.
Btw, about the apparent lack of visble gun use in KotCS...I noticed on Harrison's wikipedia, he has been unhappy with the amount of gun use in films lately..think this has any influence over KOTCS?
Btw, about the apparent lack of visble gun use in KotCS...I noticed on Harrison's wikipedia, he has been unhappy with the amount of gun use in films lately..think this has any influence over KOTCS?
If that was his intention, then it's backfired badly. Fans are now focused far more on the gun than they would be had he used it a little.
It would have been nice if he had used it. I know Indy is a "changing" man in this movie, but...it would have been nice to at least see him use it to aid an escape. He could have shot some tyres out or something in the jungle chase. Well, we did see him use a rocket launcher, but not quite the same!
Btw, about the apparent lack of visble gun use in KotCS...I noticed on Harrison's wikipedia, he has been unhappy with the amount of gun use in films lately..think this has any influence over KOTCS?
Wikipedia isn't exactly the most reliable source. We all know Spielberg is the polar opposite of Charlton Heston after he changed the guns in E.T. to walkie talkies. Yes, Spielberg allows guns in his 'adult' films, but he unfortenately shys away from them in his family films. Most evidence points to Spielberg making KOTCS so anti-gun. Charlton Heston took his gun obssession too far, just as Spielberg has taken his anti-gun obssession too far.
I hope Ford is innocent in this KOTCS mess. I was thinking that he was the only sane one left of the Big 3. He is the only one that put any effort into KOTCS.
Though wiki isn't the most reliable, I don't see why this snippet would be made up, it mentions various things he is involved with and I seem to recall reading elsewhere awhile ago Ford was a bit disappointed with guns in moves as of late in general, as well.
He may possibly have nothing to do with the lack of one used in KotCS of course - but simply George.
Wikipedia isn't exactly the most reliable source. We all know Spielberg is the polar opposite of Charlton Heston after he changed the guns in E.T. to walkie talkies. Yes, Spielberg allows guns in his 'adult' films, but he unfortenately shys away from them in his family films. Most evidence points to Spielberg making KOTCS so anti-gun. Charlton Heston took his gun obssession too far, just as Spielberg has taken his anti-gun obssession too far.
I hope Ford is innocent in this KOTCS mess. I was thinking that he was the only sane one left of the Big 3. He is the only one that put any effort into KOTCS.
He really did give a great performance. Classic Ford!
Wikipedia isn't exactly the most reliable source. We all know Spielberg is the polar opposite of Charlton Heston after he changed the guns in E.T. to walkie talkies. Yes, Spielberg allows guns in his 'adult' films, but he unfortenately shys away from them in his family films. Most evidence points to Spielberg making KOTCS so anti-gun. Charlton Heston took his gun obssession too far, just as Spielberg has taken his anti-gun obssession too far.
FWIW, I've read (no, I don't remember where) that Steven Spielberg changed the guns to walkie-talkies to deal with a perceived issue in the story's narrative logic, and it had nothing to do with wanting to soften the threat - apparently, he decided after making the movie that it just didn't make much sense for the agents to suddenly be willing to use deadly force to stop E.T. and Elliott, since they'd had the scientists and doctors frantically working to try to save their lives just minutes earlier. One could argue that the agents would do things differently now that the alien and his human co-conspirator were out running around loose and all, but I can still see why it'd be a sticking point for someone. IIRC, Spielberg discussed this with Roger Ebert as far back as around the initial video release of the movie, more than a decade before making the alterations for the anniversary release, so it could well have been something that just bugged him for a long time. It's possible I'm wrong about this, though...
At any rate, there's more than enough gun stuff in his other movies that it just doesn't make any sense to talk of Spielberg taking an "anti-gun obsession too far." He incorporates guns and violence in a movie whenever it's appropriate for the movie. Something like E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial can have them but doesn't particularly need them, I think, and it doesn't much matter for that movie in the grand scheme of things whether there are guns in it or not, as far as presenting the movie simply as a movie goes. The one inarguable reason for keeping the guns there (and all other scenes the way they were before) is the importance of keeping the original version of the movie accessible because of its historical significance, and that's addressed by putting it out on DVD alongside the 20th anniversary revision, which Spielberg did.
