What's Harrison Ford doing these days?

Finn

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Olliana said:
There's one mistake you do.

The difference between Star Wars and Indiana Jones is that Star Wars is and always was a kids movie. Indy not so much. People are still raving on this "old guys can still kick some ass"-thing, and there actually is an audience for movies like Expendables, Taken, Taken Again and Taken On A Plane.

Indy can be old and don't you forget, KOTCS was never panned because of Harrison Ford's age, but for entirely different reasons really, and it was anything but a box office bomb nonetheless.
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There's one mistake YOU do. Actually, several.

Indiana Jones is not a character aimed at kiddies, in that you're correct. But neither is he aimed at the audience you refer to. Indy is considerably more mature than Star Wars, but he's not as dark and mature as the Taken series or the Expendables.

Also, a great hint that you're grasping at straws is the fact that you completely ignore the point I raised about ensemble movies. I already explained why there can be old guys in movies like Star Wars or the Expendables. Taken and its sequels are admittedly a counterpoint, but again, the tone of the Indiana Jones series is nowhere near as dark, gritty and mature as those.

None of the Indiana Jones films - not even KotCS - have been "old guy movies" aimed for people who don't mind, so to make Indy 5 into one would present a significant tonal shift. And as a fan, you might be okay with that. After all, you've already seen Corey Carrier, River Phoenix, Sean Patrick Flanery, George Hall. Indy growing old is natural progression to a fan. But the general audience? They've only seen Harrison Ford, in his prime. It's easy to sell Liam Neeson kicking ass as an old guy because all they've seen is Liam Neeson kick ass as an old guy. But it's harder to sell Harrison Ford kicking ass as an old guy when your key memories are of him doing it as a far younger man.

"But but but! Harry was old in KotCS! And it was a commercial success!" Yes and yes. KotCS doing rather well is one of my favorite arguments against those who rag against the movie. But Ford was not yet past the proverbial "point of no return" when they made KotCS - another point you solely ignore. He wasn't there in 2007, but he is there now. And oh, I severely doubt there'll be another entry to the Taken series after Liam Neeson has turned 70. As a matter of fact, Taken's not a good argument for Harry's current age and prowess because while Neeson is "old", he's not old.

There's a name for the effect present in this thread - fan myopia. Some are so focused on the few points why it could happen that the far more numerous salient points why it won't happen fall outside their view of vision. They think that because they as a fan of the series would be completely okay* with something, everyone must be.

I personally would have no issue with Indy 5, starring aged Harry. I'm a fan, after all. But I'm also an academic, trained to look at the bigger picture. And in that picture, Indy 5 starring Harrison Ford is a pipe dream.


*Also works the other way around. You hate something as a fan, you figure everyone must hate it. Have seen some sad examples of those as well.
 
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M

Mickiana

Well-known member
Hanselation said:
Have a look at the end of this tunnel, that is also where hope ends.

OdZXx.gif


At least there you will see Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones 5 for sure! (y)
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Looks like some of the work places I've been in my Boilermaking outings!(The insides of big pipes) :D
 
Moedred

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
There's a time for number crunching, but ultimately the story will dictate the direction of things. If there's a brilliant space age 1960's story, they're not going to wait 40 years for the reboot cast to tackle it.

A Blade Runner sequel may have been Harrison's dinner conversation with Ridley Scott on June 10. They're currently shooting a Harrison-centric Star Wars movie. Apparently someone out there likes him.
Finn said:
Indiana Jones can't be old. Just can't.
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I tend to disagree, but I know how some feel here. De Niro was perfect as The Godfather, but the older version just sat around and held meetings. Here's hoping the gangster action ramps up again in the 1930's reboot.
 
kongisking

kongisking

Active member
IndyForever said:
Bond can be a series Ian Fleming wrote a lot of stories. Indiana Jones is not a series at all & was never meant to be considered as such either. Huge difference. Look how much material has been created for Star Wars, Star Trek 007 etc etc then look how little has been created for Indiana Jones!
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There's four movies. So, actually, it is a series by now. Not to mention a decent Expanded Universe, but an admittedly under-exposed one...

And I'm pretty sure I've read elsewhere that part of Berg and Lucas' deal in the start was for at least five Indy movies. So...yeah. And even if Indy WASN'T meant to be a series, what the heck does that matter? The concept is too awesome to waste on just a handful of movies, when Indiana Jones is actually a much richer, more diverse premise than people give it credit for. There's more than just four mythic artifacts in the world to look for, you know...

IndyForever said:
Reality check those actors do not exist anymore. Harrison IS forever Indiana Jones as George Lucas said a reboot would be "Mutt Williams & the search for Elvis or something"
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I can't decide if I'm amused or saddened by the mixture of cynicism and total disrespect to the many young, talented modern actors at work today. Can you choose for me? Please? Just choose wisely...

IndyForever said:
Reboots do not work they are designed to earn money for the lowest possible budget to create them & trade on goodwill from the series. Reboots have never ever been a creative medium BTW! They are purely cynical business driven decisions.
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Quite a few of them are, yes. But was, say, Peter Jackson just doing it for money and trading on goodwill for the character by making his Kong remake? No, it was because he has a mad crush on the old film and wanted to make a gushing love letter to his favorite movie of all time. The final product isn't perfect...but made purely as a cash grab? Excuse me while I wipe my eyes from laughing.

IndyForever said:
Young Indiana Jones showed how the series does not really work without Harrison as the lead actor. It was a history lesson show more than anything else & never appealed to the mainstream audiences as Harrison IS Indiana Jones :whip:
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The show tried to give Indy further character development and show different layers to who he is and how he became who he was in the films...but hey, its not Harrison Ford, so it was a total mistake to flesh out the character? Ugh...

The hilarious irony of your username is that your stance is entirely in favor of the Indiana Jones series not lasting forever. Not even having a proper life, for God's sake.
 
Finn

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Moedred said:
I tend to disagree, but I know how some feel here. De Niro was perfect as The Godfather, but the older version just sat around and held meetings. Here's hoping the gangster action ramps up again in the 1930's reboot.
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For what it's worth, that was written from the marketing people's POV.

I personally have nothing against an aged Indiana Jones set in the 60s. Get some proper writing talent on that and it might become a splendid movie. But call it realism or cynicism, I don't see Disney agreeing with us.
 
I

IndyForever

Active member
kongisking said:
There's four movies. So, actually, it is a series by now. Not to mention a decent Expanded Universe, but an admittedly under-exposed one...
Still not a series its an 80's trilogy + part 1 of Harrisons new Indy trilogy! ;) Bond was 12 Fleming books & 2 other books of short stories created by Fleming. All richly detailed providing a lot of material to draw from.

And I'm pretty sure I've read elsewhere that part of Berg and Lucas' deal in the start was for at least five Indy movies. So...yeah. And even if Indy WASN'T meant to be a series, what the heck does that matter? The concept is too awesome to waste on just a handful of movies, when Indiana Jones is actually a much richer, more diverse premise than people give it credit for. There's more than just four mythic artifacts in the world to look for, you know...
Harrison IS the widely accepted concept of Indiana Jones you know! That's the huge problem for Disney its not just me but to most of the audience :whip:

I can't decide if I'm amused or saddened by the mixture of cynicism and total disrespect to the many young, talented modern actors at work today. Can you choose for me? Please? Just choose wisely...
Its not disrepect its based on watching many movies for years there are no standout talents capable of doing Indiana Jones justice IMO. That's also ignoring where are the next Lucas/Spielberg behind the scenes building the story & adventure?

Quite a few of them are, yes. But was, say, Peter Jackson just doing it for money and trading on goodwill for the character by making his Kong remake? No, it was because he has a mad crush on the old film and wanted to make a gushing love letter to his favorite movie of all time. The final product isn't perfect...but made purely as a cash grab? Excuse me while I wipe my eyes from laughing.
King King was terrible just a vanity project to try & lure Jackson away with the promise of bringing LOTR grosses to Universal!Universal funded it on that basis not to keep Jackson happy!!

The show tried to give Indy further character development and show different layers to who he is and how he became who he was in the films...but hey, its not Harrison Ford, so it was a total mistake to flesh out the character? Ugh...
It was a history lesson show but even then to me it did not work as Harrison only appeared in part of 1 episode as guess what going back to my earlier point......Harrison IS Indiana Jones! It was well made, everyone did a good job but Lucas only made it as he saw a way to get education funded to kids by using Indiana Jones world to tell the story via history lessons intermingling with the 30/40's world. If Lucas could have got the money another way it would probably never have existed. ;)

The hilarious irony of your username is that your stance is entirely in favor of the Indiana Jones series not lasting forever. Not even having a proper life, for God's sake.
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That username was created many years ago who knew at the time about reboots/remakes/prequels/re-imagings etc etc please ignore its significance as it has none to me just a handle I needed to think of at the time when the Internet was very slow & you quite often lost text due to unreliable ISP'S! If I could change it I would!

Back to an earlier point Indiana Jones was an 80's trilogy then due to Spielberg's reluctance the mid 1990's sequel became a late 2000's entry. Harrison gave Indy a proper life without his acting & character traits Indy would never have won audiences hearts & minds :hat:

Lets just agree to disagree you want a reboot if it means more Indiana Jones. I only want 2 more movies with Harrison starring as Indy (y)
 
Grizzlor

Grizzlor

Well-known member
Those look like the same pictures, but yes it's shut down. Peter Mayhew is appearing in a couple weeks at a convention in NJ, while its shut down.
 
kongisking

kongisking

Active member
IndyForever said:
That username was created many years ago who knew at the time about reboots/remakes/prequels/re-imagings etc etc please ignore its significance as it has none to me just a handle I needed to think of at the time when the Internet was very slow & you quite often lost text due to unreliable ISP'S! If I could change it I would!

Back to an earlier point Indiana Jones was an 80's trilogy then due to Spielberg's reluctance the mid 1990's sequel became a late 2000's entry. Harrison gave Indy a proper life without his acting & character traits Indy would never have won audiences hearts & minds :hat:

Lets just agree to disagree you want a reboot if it means more Indiana Jones. I only want 2 more movies with Harrison starring as Indy (y)
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Ideally, what I want to happen is one more film with Ford, to be an awesome, thrilling climax to Ford's tenure, and also ensure KOTCS isn't the only film with Old Indy, a concept which deserves a really gritty, intense exploration. But once that's done...reboot. Please. ASAP.

But what I feel is going to happen, is a reboot, and the plans for Indy 5, if there ever were genuine ones, will be scrapped. All because Lucas completely neglected to focus on it, in favor of planning his beloved firstborn child's immortal success after him. Sigh. We had a chance for one more film with Ford, when it was just three or four years after KOTCS' release, but now, the practical odds of it happening are so depressingly tiny now...

So, please don't misunderstand me. I'd love at least one more badass Ford-starring adventure. But I'm completely ready to move on, if we have to. In any case, sure. Agree to disagree. :hat:
 
Z dweller

Z dweller

Well-known member
Finn said:
I've slowly come into realization that Harry's aged past the point he can play Indiana Jones convincingly.

-snip-

Indiana Jones is all about the title character. The focus can't slip off of him but only for fleeting moments. And while they can do plenty wonders with makeup, lens angles and other Hollywood magic, even that shouldn't be made too obvious. And the man seen in this image is going to make it just so.

If Ford's to appear in Indy 5, one way to pull it off would be to have him in it for the prologue adventure, after which the film flashbacks to Indy's younger days - with a new face donning the fedora, naturally.
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I'm with Finn on this one.

In fact IMO Harry already looked too old in KOTCS, his expression came across really tired most of the time, like Indy was past caring.
For me, that's the main shortcoming of the movie, more so than the poor script.

The last movie in which he looked like a credible Indy is Six Days and Seven Nights, which predates KOTCS by a full decade.

Disney ought to ask him to bookend Indy 5 a la George Hall, with a younger actor bearing the brunt of the action scenes in flashback, and then taking over the fedora in the following instalments of the series.

I believe Harry, being the smart man he is, may well go for this option - rather than never play Indy again.

I certainly hope so :gun:
 
U

Udvarnoky

Well-known member
Grizzlor said:
Those look like the same pictures, but yes it's shut down. Peter Mayhew is appearing in a couple weeks at a convention in NJ, while its shut down.
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This is good news, right? I remember when the word was that production would stop for nothing and they would simply film around Ford and reduce his intended role accordingly. Shutting down for three weeks suggests that Harrison's recovery is happening well enough that they're simply going to wait for it to finish and stick with the original plan.
 
Grizzlor

Grizzlor

Well-known member
Udvarnoky said:
This is good news, right? I remember when the word was that production would stop for nothing and they would simply film around Ford and reduce his intended role accordingly. Shutting down for three weeks suggests that Harrison's recovery is happening well enough that they're simply going to wait for it to finish and stick with the original plan.
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The original plan was a 2 week shutdown. I would assume that they will start with filming Harrison's closeup scenes, avoiding as much physicality as possible. The studio was lambasted for hiding the "true extent" of his injury, when in fact they were pretty well truthful from the start. Are they losing money on the shutdown? I would figure they certainly are, but it's unavoidable now. I don't think J.J. wanted to reduce the role, and now I suspect there's no need to.
 
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