What's Harrison Ford doing these days?

Z dweller said:
Jeez guys, we all agree Harry is physically very fit for his age.

But that is simply not enough to play Indy.

His face refects his age 100%, and there is nothing anyone can do about that.
This was already a big problem in KOTCS, for gawds sake, and that was over 6 years ago!
Most of Harry's facial expessions in that movie came across as tired, lacking the intensity and fire required to play Indy convincingly.
Even the patented Indy smirk seemed like a bad imitation of the original.

Harrison Ford was the ONLY convincing thing in that half crapfest of a movie.

Z dweller said:
Who wants to see an old, tired looking Indy lead an action movie?

Hm... let me think... basically everybody.

Z dweller said:
Unless of course they digitally alter his face like they did with Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy. Now, would you really want to see that ??

No. But fact is that now they could also do that. Like, for flashbacks and/or prologue scenes.

Z dweller said:
I'd rather they recast it, in fact I'm pretty sure that's what Disney are going to do at this stage.

Not sure, man. Disney have invested millions of dollars to secure the rights for future movies. Future movies, 'cause the rights for the previous ones still belong to Paramount.
Well, to me it just wouldn't make sense for them to have done this now, if they didn't have at least the clear intent of start working on something tangible really soon. They could have just waited otherwise.

And honestly I don't understand people talking about recast. What's the problem with Harrison being older??
Think of the Expendables movies. Every new installment is bigger and better than the previous, even if all the main actors are in their late 50s or 60s. Expendables 3 was like the most illegally downloaded movie EVER, and still had an impressive box office performance, meaning that there is still a strong and vivid interest for those old, tired actors of the eighties.
Indiana Jones 5 would be no different. If they made it, I bet it would easily become the biggest hit of the year.

I personally hope they hurry up.
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
The Stranger said:
Hm... let me think... basically everybody.
Not so.
Here at the Raven, many have openly stated their preference for a recast.
Clearly, that could go either way - but personally I'd rather take my chances with a new actor than watch Ford play Indy again. Sorry...

The Stranger said:
Disney have invested millions of dollars to secure the rights for future movies. Future movies, 'cause the rights for the previous ones still belong to Paramount.
Well, to me it just wouldn't make sense for them to have done this now, if they didn't have at least the clear intent of start working on something tangible really soon. They could have just waited otherwise.
But what exactly does soon mean for the Disney execs?
3-4 years is probably soon enough to justify the acquisition, in their mind.
 

AndyLGR

Active member
The Stranger said:
Not sure, man. Disney have invested millions of dollars to secure the rights for future movies. Future movies, 'cause the rights for the previous ones still belong to Paramount.

Well, to me it just wouldn't make sense for them to have done this now, if they didn't have at least the clear intent of start working on something tangible really soon. They could have just waited otherwise.

And honestly I don't understand people talking about recast. What's the problem with Harrison being older??

Indiana Jones 5 would be no different. If they made it, I bet it would easily become the biggest hit of the year.
I hope they make at least 1 more with Harrison, I think he could do it.

At the same time I also think that Disney will remake or reboot the films in the future too, irrespective of what happens with Harrison in the role. New Indy films can be around for another 30 years or more.

Z dweller said:
Not so.
Here at the Raven, many have openly stated their preference for a recast.
Clearly, that could go either way - but personally I'd rather take my chances with a new actor than watch Ford play Indy again. Sorry...
Using a small forum of die hard Indy fans is no gauge as to what should happen with the future Indy movies. Its a tiny tiny percentage of the millions of people that would be going to see an Indy movie around the world.
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
AndyLGR said:
New Indy films can be around for another 30 years or more.
Absolutely! That's the spirit. (y)
AndyLGR said:
Using a small forum of die hard Indy fans is no gauge as to what should happen with the future Indy movies. Its a tiny tiny percentage of the millions of people that would be going to see an Indy movie around the world.
I think we are saying the same thing.

My point is: if even here at the Raven many posters would rather see Indy recast than Ford reprising the role, imagine out there in the real world, where most people under 30 have no fond memories of him playing the role back in the 80s.
 
Z dweller said:
But what exactly does soon mean for the Disney execs?
3-4 years is probably soon enough to justify the acquisition, in their mind.

Z dweller said:
My point is: if even here at the Raven many posters would rather see Indy recast than Ford reprising the role, imagine out there in the real world, where most people under 30 have no fond memories of him playing the role back in the 80s.

It's exactly this part that I'm not sure about. I think that recasting the actor now would be an enormous mistake. Face it, Indiana Jones is not one of those soul-less superhero characters that are so trendy nowadays. Indiana Jones is possibly the most iconic movie hero of all times, and it's a character that's been expressively created around Harrison Ford. It was dressed over Harrison Ford. It was shaped by Harrison Ford. And he played it four times, over a timespan of 30 years, in a trilogy of films that are almost universally acknowledged among the best movies EVER.

Now... the fact is that Harrison is still one of the most charismatic personas in the Hollywood business, and he is still one of the actors that have the biggest star power in the industry. Yes, it is true that many of the youngest people may not know him well, exactly as it's true that many of those people may not even ever have seen the Indiana Jones films. I myself know some teens that have never seen 'em.

But then there's still two things to be considered:

1) for this very exact reason, logic would suggest that an eventual fifth movie should be more aimed to the fans that already grew up with the character and already care about it. If you wanted to aim to newer potential fans, you could easily do a similar movie, with different characters, like Sommers did with the 2 Mummy films (and shame no-one does films like those anymore, cause they were so damn good).

2) with movies like Expendables 3, Ender's Game, Cowboys & Aliens, etc, I think that during these last couple years Harrison has made a name for himself even in the eyes of the younger generation. And, don't forget, the new Star Wars movie will boost his popularity even more, and I could bet my ass that, however things will go, that film will become a MASSIVE hit, thanks due to teenagers and kids alike.

The point is that, as I said, recast the Indiana Jones role now would be just an enormous mistake. I don't think it's a matter of opinion. It would most certainly cause an uprising among fans and general moviegoers all over the world. Because everyone in their 20s, 30s and over, KNOWS Indiana Jones, at least by fame, and everyone freaking KNOWS that Indiana Jones has always been played by Harrison.

If they wanted to reboot the franchise, which will probably happen one day or another, I think they'd better wait at least another decade or so. It would be the only thing that makes sense. And that's why I wrote that for Disney to buy the rights NOW was a pretty suspicious maneuver.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
The Stranger said:
And that's why I wrote that for Disney to buy the rights NOW was a pretty suspicious maneuver.
And them suddenly starting to pay interest in them maybe a decade from now while more or less ignoring them that far wouldn't have been?

The timing is pretty irrelevant here, if you ask me. It's obvious they eventually want to do something with those rights, they wouldn't have acquired them otherwise. But companies can really sit on IPs for years, if not decades.

The only reason they need for their acquisition was that they were presented an opportunity to acquire them. You get that, you take it, and you figure later what you intend to do with them. And when.
 

IndyForever

Active member
Harrison's age/mainstream appeal is not the main issue its lack of story & Lucas being obstructive.

Lucas has in the last few weeks insulted Hollywood & also said Disney ditched his ideas for Star Wars EP7 which he sold to them when he sold Lucasfilm.

He worked on Strange Magic & Star Wars EP7 for the last few years when he said he was working on Indy 5 so I doubt another Indy with Harrison is something he is bothered about its not for money so not sure what his motivation would be anymore when he got so much hate for KOTCS (Wrongly as it was a joint effort with Spielberg on storyline) and he is very sensitive to that I just get the strong impression Lucas is not going to be involved so unless Disney get things moving behind the scenes its very unlikely Harrison will play the role in a lead capacity especially if Lucas/Spielberg are not involved.
 
Finn said:
The timing is pretty irrelevant here, if you ask me. It's obvious they eventually want to do something with those rights, they wouldn't have acquired them otherwise. But companies can really sit on IPs for years, if not decades.

The only reason they need for their acquisition was that they were presented an opportunity to acquire them. You get that, you take it, and you figure later what you intend to do with them. And when.

I don't know. What you say is true, what I am doing is nothing but pure speculation, but let's remember that the rights for the Indiana Jones character were firmly and permanently hold in the hands of Paramount. It was Disney that offered to aquire them from scratch. It's not like what usually happens with other IPs that are temporary, and you can only secure them for a limited amount of time before other companies have the possibility to buy them and use them for their own profit. Indy was Paramount's child, and I sincerely doubt there were any others interested in it on the short term. I think Disney could have easily waited for some years, and most importantly save much money by doing so. It would have been a far better strategy. To buy them now for no reason wouldn't make sense. The rights for a fading IP would have cost a lot less in five or six years, or a decade, from now.

Obviously I can't be sure that they are really working on a new script or whatever. It's impossible to tell. But I would be surprised if they were not.

IndyForever said:
Harrison's age/mainstream appeal is not the main issue its lack of story & Lucas being obstructive.

At this point I don't think the storywriting and production process will involve Lucas anymore. Basically they can hire any screenwriter they want, and go for whatever new story their talents can come up with. I think that by now Lucas have no more decision power over anything, especially since he publicly admitted to have no more interest in the mainstream movie industry. Even so, it's pretty obvious that they would consult him anyway to get some feedback.
 

Dr. Gonzo

New member
The Stranger said:
...but let's remember that the rights for the Indiana Jones character were firmly and permanently hold in the hands of Paramount.

False. Paramount had the distribution rights, not the rights to the character... When Disney purchased Lucasfilm ltd, that encompassed all it's properties...
They wanted to make another Star Wars, Indiana Jones was just a bonus... There was just the tricky business of the distribution rights which have now been settled.

The Stranger said:
Obviously I can't be sure that they are really working on a new script or whatever. It's impossible to tell. But I would be surprised if they were not.

Also false. Things like hiring a writer come out in the trades -- and it's big news that they want to cause hype, especially for something like Indiana Jones. You couldn't be more wrong. When a writer gets hired, trust me, we'll know...
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Dr. Gonzo said:
... -- and it's big news that they want to cause hype, especially for something like Indiana Jones. You couldn't be more wrong. When a writer gets hired, trust me, we'll know...

And it'll be years from now. There's little profit in the plush toy Indiana Jones markets.
 
Dr. Gonzo said:
False. Paramount had the distribution rights, not the rights to the character... When Disney purchased Lucasfilm ltd, that encompassed all it's properties...
They wanted to make another Star Wars, Indiana Jones was just a bonus... There was just the tricky business of the distribution rights which have now been settled.

I knew. But without the rights for distribution, they simply wouldn't have had the opportunity to use the filmic rights for the character in any profittable way. The core concept is exactly the same. Why spend millions of dollars now for something you do not intend to capitalize on?? Especially given that, 99% probability, in some years from today they could have secured the very same for much less money.

Why did Disney need now the distribution rights for future movies, if they do not plan to do some with those in the next two or three years?

Dr. Gonzo said:
Also false. Things like hiring a writer come out in the trades -- and it's big news that they want to cause hype, especially for something like Indiana Jones. You couldn't be more wrong. When a writer gets hired, trust me, we'll know...

You are right. I know that when some big company officially hires a screenwriter generally the thing gets pumped up pretty instantly. But that's also one of the last steps in the process. Correct me if this is not true. Hiring a screenwriter generally implies that the project has already been discussed and greenlit, a story has already been outlined, a budget limit has usually been concorded on, a release date has been scheduled, etc... which I think will not definitely be the case for Indy 5, before Star Wars VII comes out.

However, even if they are not actively working on a real script now, this doesn't necessarily mean that Disney executives can't be already making their plans, sitting in their offices, and evaluating different strategies and opportunities for the short term future. As I wrote, it's impossible to tell. It could turn out they will do absolutely nothing, sure, but I just think it would be VERY stupid.

Z dweller: :p this is pointless nitpicking, but as far as I know Indiana Jones' trademark fedoras and equipment are different from anything else that's been ever produced in the world, and have all been specifically tailored and modified over Harrison's physical features.

It's obvious that the character has been based on the classic "adventurer with hat and leather jacket" from movie serials and comic strips of the past, or even that Secret Of The Incas screencap if you ask me, but if it hadn't been for Harrison, the Indy apparel would probably have turned out much different from what we know now.

So, yes. I'm sure. :)
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
The Stranger said:
I think Disney could have easily waited for some years, and most importantly save much money by doing so. It would have been a far better strategy. To buy them now for no reason wouldn't make sense. The rights for a fading IP would have cost a lot less in five or six years, or a decade, from now.
Down right false. If Disney wants the rights cheap, they'll have to acquire them at a moment when the interest from the buyer's POV seems peripheral at best.

An analogy. You put your old car on sale. You offer it to your neighbor, who isn't interested. It sits on your yard for a few years, collecting rust. Nobody shows interest. Then all of a sudden, one morning your neighbor is there, willing to take it off your hands. What's the right thing to do? Just nod and say "deal"? Nope. Something is up, and what you should do is figure out why the sudden interest and what it's really worth to him.
 

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
harrison-ford_a6442_jpeg_600x400_q90.jpg

"Now look. Don't get involved in this, Mister Caul. This thread is dangerous. You've read it; you know what I mean."
 

Dr. Gonzo

New member
A little late but...

You know just escaping death and landing a crashing airplane better than most experts could...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7-6xW2-nnE8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 

AndyLGR

Active member
My heart skipped a beat when I read the news headlines of the crash. Glad it looks like he's going to make a full recovery.
 
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