IHateSnakes interviews Martin Casella

ihatesnakes

New member
We are interviewing our friend Marty Casella at the end of this month for an extensive oral history project on the making of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

Our goal is to interview as many of the surviving cast and crew members of RAIDERS as possible and put them together for future generations to read, study, and enjoy.

We would welcome any questions that you'd like to see asked. Marty has never actually been interviewed about his time as Steven Spielberg's assistant on RAIDERS. Some of the stories we've already heard from Marty are just great, but we'd like to get even more of his recollections down.

So please, if you're so inclined, fire away with the questions! With his permission, I'll also be revealing the identity of my collaborator on this project within the next week or so.

Upcoming interviews: Karen Allen, Richard Edlund, Drew Struzan, Deborah Nadoolman (Landis), and many more!

Richard Dean Starr
Curator and Webmaster,
IHateSnakes.com
 

Z dweller

Well-known member
Sounds like a great project! (y)

I'd love to find out more about the interaction between Spielberg and the main actors, and between actors.

Take a movie like Blade Runner: Ford famously tangled with Ridley Scott, and didn't get on well with Sean Young, on account of her being very inexperienced.

At the same time, EJ Olmos and Rutger Hauer both worked constructively with Scott, and came up with great ideas (cityspeak and the "tears in rain" speech, respectively).

How about Raiders?

We all know that Ford suggested Indy shoot the swordsman: are there any behind the scenes stories we haven't heard about?
 

ihatesnakes

New member
Thanks, z!

We'll formulate some questions around your ideas here.

If anyone else has questions for Marty about RAIDERS, now's the time to let us know!

Thanks!

Richard Dean Starr
 

ihatesnakes

New member
More Questions?

Hey, Folks...

We can still use some more questions for Marty Casella, for those of you who'd like a previously-undocumented look at what went on overseas during the filming of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.
 

Stoo

Well-known member
ihatesnakes said:
More Questions?
Hello, Richard.

The lack of questions might be because most current Raven regulars aren't interested in discussing the original Indiana Jones movies. Sad, I know, but it's quite apparent.(n) (Show yourselves, people!)

Hope it's not too late but here are my submissions:

- At what point during production did your job begin and when did it end?

- It's known that "Raiders" was filmed quickly with Spielberg not asking for many shots to be done over & over again numerous times. Can you recall any shots which had a large number of multiple takes?

- Did you ever have any on-the-spot input/suggestions for a scene (or was that out-of-bounds for your position)?

- What was your worst & favourite day on set?

- Supposedly, George Lucas directed some scenes at the dig site in Tunisia. Do you have any memory of this? If so, do you know which ones?

- How worried were you & the crew when the biplane crashed during the shoot in Hawaii?

- Have you kept any special mementoes from your time working on "Raiders"?


---
PLEASE NOTE: When you get to interviewing Richard Edlund and Deborah Nadoolman, I have PLENTY of questions!:D
 

ihatesnakes

New member
Stoo - Casella Questions

Hi, Stoo:

Thanks for the great questions!

Not sure why the Raven regulars wouldn't be interested in hearing stories about RAIDERS that may have never been told before. Especially in light of the fact that Marty has never been interviewed about RAIDERS.

At any rate, thanks for providing those questions. We appreciate your help!

Best,
Richard Dean Starr
 

AndyLGR

Active member
What was the feeling on set from the cast and crew during shooting, did they feel they were on to something big?

Were there any noticeable signs of any pressure on Spielberg as he was coming off the back of 1941 which wasn't much of a hit?

How influential was Harrisons input in the making of the film and the development of the character?

What were the dynamics like between Harrison, Steven and George?
 

AndyLGR

Active member
Even though Spielberg planned meticulously, can you remember many instances where any scenes evolved or changed much from the planned storyboards?
 

ihatesnakes

New member
All Great Questions!

Thanks, everyone. Feel free to bring on some more! The idea of this interview--as it is with all of them--is that it be THE definitive interview with the subject.

Happy Holidays!

Richard Dean Starr
 

ihatesnakes

New member
Interview...Tomorrow!

Okay, tomorrow is the Marty Casella interview here in Los Angeles.

If anyone has any further questions about making RAIDERS in Europe and Africa, now is the time to post them.

Thanks again to everyone. And just FYI, a condensed version of the Casella interview will appear in Indymag.

Best,
Richard Dean Starr
 
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