Ideas For New Indy Actor

curmudgeon

Well-known member
I'm waiting for Jurassic World before deciding to jump on the 'Pratt as Indy' bandwagon.

He's got the adventurer part down, but I still need to see him play something other than a goofy man-child, if he's to convince me that he can play a professor of archaeology.
 

foreignerfred

New member
curmudgeon said:
I'm waiting for Jurassic World before deciding to jump on the 'Pratt as Indy' bandwagon.

He's got the adventurer part down, but I still need to see him play something other than a goofy man-child, if he's to convince me that he can play a professor of archaeology.

I agree, though he has played serious roles before. He was in Zero Dark Thirty.
 

kongisking

Active member
I'll admit, this fanart makes a convincing argument:

Bub78pmIYAAQxqr.jpg
 

TheFedora

Active member
kongisking said:
I'll admit, this fanart makes a convincing argument:

Bub78pmIYAAQxqr.jpg

Saw that online today too...man he really does look like Indy! He carries the Raiders vibe in the promo shots for Jurassic World, and acts the Pulp hero in GOTG as well!
 

BiffMan

Member
I could actually get behind that. He was very solid in his limited role in Zero Dark Thirty and one of the first times I'd seen him have good screen presence when not being a goofball. He also has quite a few non-goof moments in Guardians, so there's some potential there.

He also appears to be much more intelligent than people give him credit for. Odd for him to parlay being a goof (Parks & Rec) into an honest to goodness leading man career. I wouldn't have guessed that up front, but in hindsight it seems inevitable. Parks & Rec amused me, Zero Dark Thirty surprised me with solid acting outside of comedy, and he surprised me again with the dynamic voice acting in Lego Movie. I was starting to turn into a fan and Guardians cemented it for me.

I don't know that he'll have the subtlety that Harrison so frequently demonstrates, but Harrison also doesn't exactly have the widest range and it never held him back.

We shall need to keep a close watch on this one. Greatness in him, I sense.
 

TheFedora

Active member
Well, he claims to be capable of more serious roles...especially in this recent interview about his role in Jurassic World.

"In Jurassic World, the character is unlike any other one I?ve played and he?s not like Peter Quill. There?s not much humour, I think he?s a little more John Wayne than Marty McFly. He?s deadly serious. There are comedic elements in the film, just not coming from my character."

So I would say yes, he might be able to pull off the dramatic tension moments well. And his name will only get more recognizable after Jurassic World too...
 

sheffsteve

New member
Oh, he looks very good in that shopped pic doesn't he. However, as mentioned above, I'd rather see him shopped as a smartly dressed archaeology professor wearing a bow tie and glasses and a nice sensible side parting. That will be the real clincher, whether he can pull that look off. As it stands I remain to be convinced of that.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
sheffsteve said:
Oh, he looks very good in that shopped pic doesn't he. However, as mentioned above, I'd rather see him shopped as a smartly dressed archaeology professor wearing a bow tie and glasses and a nice sensible side parting. That will be the real clincher, whether he can pull that look off. As it stands I remain to be convinced of that.

Agreed, and I can't find anything to fit the bill, exactly.

However, here he is in some Indy locales:

4e635db2fdca11e2859c22000a9f0a20_6.jpg
6afbb032b13611e19894123138140d8c_6.jpg


And a three-piece suit:

33e3f06890d429954096d65856d1d7ab.jpg


No sign of a non-blacktie bowtie. But I'll give you this, just so nobody posts the huge version that comes up first on Google:

000_was6133277.cfcab104520.w640.jpg
 

kongisking

Active member
Attila the Professor said:
No sign of a non-blacktie bowtie. But I'll give you this, just so nobody posts the huge version that comes up first on Google:

000_was6133277.cfcab104520.w640.jpg

Hey, he's got a built-in Ford Finger! :D

I think if you put him in the tweed suit, some glasses, a 30's-40's hairdo, he'd look just fine. His biggest physical difference from Ford's Indy is that he's much beefier, and thicker facial features. But that would serve to make his Indy look even more like a classic pulp hero. It reminded me of how much tougher and more intimidating Indy was in the old concept art:

mo_03.jpeg


And in that fanart I found...he's also got a bit mustache. Which looks surprisingly good with the Indy costume.
 

indytim

Member
Right now, Pratt gets my vote. He has the looks and easy charm necessary to pull the role off. And, importantly, the youth.

As much as it pains me to say it, Harrison Ford is now simply too old to portray the character as it needs to be played; that being a guy in his 30s/40s capable of swashbuckling his way through high-stakes adventures full of daring-do. We, as an audience, get our enjoyment from seeing this character being very physical and Ford's age is now simply too much of an issue to be ignored.

Plus, I think it's fair to say that the one thing Crystal Skull proved is that Indy stories work best in late 1930s/pre-WWII era. There is a romanticism about that time that just brings a touch of magic to the stories.

https://www.facebook.com/chrisprattforindianajones

10553481_824232857621450_2041157014586680288_n.png
 

kongisking

Active member
indytim said:
Right now, Pratt gets my vote. He has the looks and easy charm necessary to pull the role off. And, importantly, the youth.

As much as it pains me to say it, Harrison Ford is now simply too old to portray the character as it needs to be played; that being a guy in his 30s/40s capable of swashbuckling his way through high-stakes adventures full of daring-do. We, as an audience, get our enjoyment from seeing this character being very physical and Ford's age is now simply too much of an issue to be ignored.

Plus, I think it's fair to say that the one thing Crystal Skull proved is that Indy stories work best in late 1930s/pre-WWII era. There is a romanticism about that time that just brings a touch of magic to the stories.

https://www.facebook.com/chrisprattforindianajones

10553481_824232857621450_2041157014586680288_n.png

I liked your page. But maybe you should try to color-correct Pratt's head in the timeline picture, to match the more gold-brown color of Indy's skin in that art. A nitpick, I know, but it would look cooler. :hat:
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
curmudgeon said:
I'm waiting for Jurassic World before deciding to jump on the 'Pratt as Indy' bandwagon.

He's got the adventurer part down, but I still need to see him play something other than a goofy man-child, if he's to convince me that he can play a professor of archaeology.

Agreed.

I really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy, but I didn't really think watching it that "Pratt would be perfect as Indiana Jones". He's too comedic. Yeah, Harrison Ford has a sarcastic edge that he brings to Indy, but the core of the character is serious thanks in large part to Ford who himself has a "cool, keeping it real, no silliness" vibe as part of his image.

If Pratt was Indy I could see him being urged to throw in a couple inappropriate improvisations.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Forbidden Eye said:
"Pratt would be perfect as Indiana Jones".
This is already is an oft-repeated point, but... does this translate as "he's not a carbon copy of Harrison Ford", by chance?

I've no greater inkling whether Pratt would make a good Indy or not, but whoever eventually takes the mantle from Ford does NOT have to be exactly like him. As is the case with pretty much any character being re-cast.

kongisking said:
I liked your page. But maybe you should try to color-correct Pratt's head in the timeline picture, to match the more gold-brown color of Indy's skin in that art. A nitpick, I know, but it would look cooler.
My thoughts exactly. It may have softer edges than a run-of-the-mill paste job, but looks still far too cheap to give the cause any traction.


Ah, what the hell, it took me no longer than five minutes anyway...

pRUXYIV.jpg
 
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Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
Finn said:
This is already is an oft-repeated point, but... does this translate as "he's not a carbon copy of Harrison Ford", by chance?

I've no greater inkling whether Pratt would make a good Indy or not, but whoever eventually takes the mantle from Ford does NOT have to be exactly like him. As is the case with pretty much any character being re-cast.

No, he doesn't have to be exactly like Harry. But if you've seen Guardians,, there's one point where Pratt dances to a song from Flashdance, a very comedic moment that'd be too distracting if he brought it to Indy.

Look, I don't mind change, hell I'm the guy who loves Kingdom of the Crystal Skull because of its change from the original trilogy with both its different decade and its otherworldly MacGuffin. And I accept that, one day, the day will come that Indy will have to be played by someone else beside Ford if the series wants to continue.

But I do believe that the character itself can't have any drastic changes and has to be consistent with the previous installments. If he isn't, you might as well not make an Indiana Jones movie and make an "Indy-like" movie like National Treasure.
 

kongisking

Active member
Forbidden Eye said:
No, he doesn't have to be exactly like Harry. But if you've seen Guardians,, there's one point where Pratt dances to a song from Flashdance, a very comedic moment that'd be too distracting if he brought it to Indy.

Look, I don't mind change, hell I'm the guy who loves Kingdom of the Crystal Skull because of its change from the original trilogy with both its different decade and its otherworldly MacGuffin. And I accept that, one day, the day will come that Indy will have to be played by someone else beside Ford if the series wants to continue.

But I do believe that the character itself can't have any drastic changes and has to be consistent with the previous installments. If he isn't, you might as well not make an Indiana Jones movie and make an "Indy-like" movie like National Treasure.

Right off the top of my head, I can think of a few different takes on Indy that would be interesting and filled with potential in their own way:

1. Indy as a Marshall College senior student, who gets wrapped up in his first big field-work adventure, and it acts as a type of origin story, telling how he became the gruff, dry-witted adventurer we love. If you really want to make a reboot that will bring him back to the Fordian persona in some way.

2. A much darker, more aggressive and mercenary Indy, ala TOD, who is put in situations where he has to keep being the reluctant hero. This one is probably going to appeal to the Dark 'n Gritty crowd most, but hey, one of Doom's biggest strengths is how its not scared to show Indy at his worst, in order to give him an utterly badass heroic arc. Why not do that again?

3. The other side of the coin: a more heroic, selfless Indiana but not like the 'idealistic college kid thrust into a deadly adventure' idea above. This is Indy well established, but he's got much more honor than we usually see. But in this version, he's constantly forced in scenarios that test his morals, resulting in some good moral drama for his character.

Which sounds most interesting to you lot? I would enjoy any of these takes.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Forbidden Eye said:
No, he doesn't have to be exactly like Harry. But if you've seen Guardians,, there's one point where Pratt dances to a song from Flashdance, a very comedic moment that'd be too distracting if he brought it to Indy.
Umm... I'm aware of actors sometimes ad-libbing their lines or otherwise improvising (late Robin Williams was a solid example), but don't tell me you're seriously afraid of an actor breaking into a dance routine if the script doesn't call for it? Besides, films usually have these silly little creatures called directors whose whole job is to keep the thing together. Speaking of which, said scene appears far more like something that's brainchild of James Gunn, not Chris Pratt.

To me it sounds like the source of your complaints is, in fact, within yourself and not Pratt. You have trouble associating him in a role different to what is your strongest memory of him. I'm not saying it's not human to think like this - after all, it does for example cause a strange disjointing feeling to watch a goofball like Jim Carrey in a more serious role. But that is still entirely on the viewer, not the actor.

What we have here is sort of a discredited trope. While "going against typecast" is a thing, it does not make a particularly lasting argument.
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
Finn said:
Umm... I'm aware of actors sometimes ad-libbing their lines or otherwise improvising (late Robin Williams was a solid example), but don't tell me you're seriously afraid of an actor breaking into a dance routine if the script doesn't call for it? Besides, films usually have these silly little creatures called directors whose whole job is to keep the thing together. Speaking of which, said scene appears far more like something that's brainchild of James Gunn, not Chris Pratt.

Um, I wasn't staying of Pratt was castes as Indiana Jones for a future movie that he would be dancing on set, I merely singled out that one scene to point out that in Guardians his entire performance is comedic which isn't a tone I'd want for Indy.

Yes, I'm aware that that actors like Jim Carrey, the late Robin Williams have played dramas as well as comedies and that it isn't wise for actors to be typecast a lot of times(if actors never played against type we never would've gotten Bryan Cranston's Walter White/Heisenberg), but I'm not sure Pratt is that skilled of an actor. I'm not saying he's incapable of playing Indy, like I said I'm waiting til Jurassic Worlc comes out(a franchise Ford was once considered to lead) to see how Pratt handles himself. Right now, I just see him as being a bit off despite being similar height to play our favorite archaeologist.

Kongisking: Off those three possibilities you listed, a darker Indy is the one I'm interested in seeing more of as it's the the one we've seen the least of(and one most people seem to have forgotten thanks to Last Crusade). I'm not fond of the idea of delving more into the backstory of Indiana Jones and the only real benefit I could see is if its done via flashback than its a guarantee we'll see Ford as Indy again which I'm don't think is really worth it.
 
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