JAWS Turns 40 Today

“What’s the scariest movie that you’ve ever seen?”  

It’s a fair question for any movie geek.  You’ve got your Omens & Exorcists (which are, yes, quite scary) but there was only one film that made me petrified to get into the bathtub and that film is JAWS.  JAWS hit a collective nerve - it still does.  There is something buried deep in our minds that concerns itself with simple survival.  That little voice that reminds us that we are part of the food chain, that there really are things out there that cannot be seen – things that may eat you alive.  JAWS plays perfectly on those fears.  With all due respect to aliens & zombies (both of which, when handled properly, can be quite scary), the food chain is real.  Sharks are real.  Rationally, relying on statistics, I know I will both hit the lottery and be struck by lightning on the same day before a shark takes a bite out of my well-marbled hide.  But I’m talking fear and, yes, “The Shark is Still Working”. 

40 years ago today – JAWS was released.    

I still look twice before getting into the bathtub.  Thanks Mr. Spielberg.  

This Mystery Man’s Kung-Fu is Good

Gentle Reader, submitted for your approval: http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com/. If you have an interest in film and in writing for them then you owe it to yourself to visit this blog, soak in what you read there and check out his Writer’s Resources section. There is a wealth of information to be found here.

I read about his blog while checking out Ain’t It Cool News a few weeks back. Harry had posted something about a long conversation between three filmmakers (Kasdan, Lucas & Spielberg) and how “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was birthed. It is a great read, which can be found here: http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com/2009/03/raiders-story-conference.html.

I post the Mystery Man’s blog because I think that you just might find something that you read there helpful for YOUR Script Frenzy (http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/). There are some nice little resources out on the net and this blog is a gold mine for anyone who wants to learn the craft of writing for the movies.

April is just 4 days away. 30 Days, 100 Pages, Are YOU in? I am and I wouldn’t mind some company.

Pssst. Indy IV is Coming Soon!

I am very much so looking forward to opening day for another chance to keep up with the Jones'.

Please allow me to say that “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is one of my all time favorite films. In 1981, Spielberg and Lucas captured lightning in a bottle when they crafted Raiders. It is one of the most influential films of all time and a lean, mean, storytelling machine. People have said about Raiders that there is nothing wasted, nothing lost in that film. They are right. It’s one of my stranded on a deserted island movies – no exaggeration.

I couldn’t wait for the sequel. I was rabid. My expectations were high in 1984, when “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” came out. I remember seeing it at the old, art deco, Landis Theater in Vineland with my Dad. While I liked it I came away from the theater somewhat disappointed – it just wasn’t Raiders. My expectations were too high and the fart machine that my father and I smuggled into the packed theater ultimately proved to be more memorable. Still, it was Indiana Jones and, unlike a lot of movies I see, I can watch it and still enjoy it today. Even so, Temple of Doom is my least favorite entry of the series.

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” opened in 1989 and, yours truly was there opening night. Sean Connery played Indiana Jones’ father – now what amazing casting is that? James Bond is Indy’s dad? Brilliant. I enjoyed the movie more than Temple of Doom largely due to the amazing chemistry between Ford and Connery. Great stuff. Sure there are amazing writer’s conveniences throughout the movie, some of the supporting actors were relegated to cartoon stooges and (MILD SPOILER – I’ll let you know when it’s safe to read again. BTW, why have you NOT seen it?) I think the ending would have had more impact if Indy’s dad chose to or had to stay there in the cavern and become the next knight protector of the Grail. (SPOILER OVER – come on in, the water’s fine) The Last Crusade is a better film than the Temple of Doom. It was great trying to keep up with the Jones’ and in the end when they rode off into the sunset a little part of my geek-boy heart went with them. I didn’t suspect that there would be another Indiana Jones adventure on the big screen.

As you know, Gentle Reader I was wrong. I thank God, that I was wrong. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” opens everywhere on May 22nd. This one takes place in the 1950’s so Indy will be fighting Commies instead of Nazis. Time has passed even for Indiana Jones. Ford, Spielberg and Lucas are playing to the age of the character, which is a strength. With Indiana Jones what makes the character so appealing is his humanity; he’s flesh, bone and blood. Karen Allen is reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood, which is brilliant and Shia LaBeouf as “Mutt”. No official word on if he’s Indy’s son or not. I guess I’ll just have to be at the 12:01 showing to find that answer out.

Spielberg and Lucas bottled lightning all those years ago – I want to see them do it again. It won’t be Raiders but it doesn’t have to be – it’s Indiana Jones once more on the big screen and that’s all right with me.

See you at the multiplex.

The Return of Indiana Jones

Click here for the details > http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2007-04-04-george-lucas_N.htm?csp=34

Production begins in June in Los Angeles, “before heading off to various ‘top secret’ locations” around the world. The fourth Indiana Jones movie remains unnamed at this time since Lucas wants to hold out for the trailer to premier. There have been rumors across the web…

Indiana Jones and the Truss of Doom

Indiana Jones and the Quest for Regularity

Indiana Jones and the Last Viagra

Indiana Jones Verses the Evil of the HMO

Indiana Jones and the Senior Buffet of Fortune

Indiana Jones and the AARP Card of Validation

Indiana Jones and the Leaky Bladder

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the 401K

… “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is on my list as one of the greatest movies ever made; seriously – near perfection. The storytelling is sharp, the acting is spot on and there are NO throw away scenes in the whole of the picture. Here at Evil Chicken HQ all I have to do it look over my right shoulder to see a framed original one-sheet from the film – it’s the only original I have in my collection. I love this movie. Love it. Spielberg and Lucas bottled lightning with its inception and premier. How it came to be is cool enough on its own. Two of our era’s great filmmakers sitting on a Hawaiian beach geeking out over what would be a cool movie series. One of them suggests something like James Bond and the other says No – even better. And so, Indiana Jones was born. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” came to be. The subsequent sequels, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” were passable but were nowhere near the synergy of Raiders.

I remember going to the old Landis Theater (now boarded up and awaiting renovation) in Vineland with my father to see Temple of Doom. I was so ready for it to be Raiders; so ready for the next step in development of the characters and so disappointed when I left the theater. TOD was a prequel to Raiders and theoretically all the events in the picture occurred before Indy and Marion retrieve the Lost Ark. So no reuniting Harrison Ford and Karen Allen on the big screen; no this time Indy is toting along an orphaned kid, “Short Round” played by Ke Huy Quan (who went on to become a Goonie) with him now and a new love interest, “Willie Scott” played by Kate Capshaw (who went on to become Mrs. Spielberg). This was a bit of a downer for me since “Marion Ravenwood” was more than a match for “Indy” and the chemistry between Allen and Ford was smoking. Another thing that snagged me along the way was believability. Yes, I know this is an action movie produced by Lucas and directed by Spielberg but please don’t throw away all reason. The heart removing stuff with “Mola Ram” played adeptly by Amrish Puri just lost me. Either you have to explain the heart extraction away as a trick that Mola Ram is doing or you have to spend more time explaining why he can do it and why people don’t immediately die once their hearts are out of their chests. The device is used at the end on the rope bridge too with similar results. “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” is watchable but it’s not a worthy successor to Raiders.

The third film is better than Temple of Doom. Gone are Willie Scott and Short Round (what happens to them hasn’t been explained yet); replacing them is none other than Sir Sean Connery. James Bond is Indiana Jones’s father. Now there’s a shinning geek moment for you. The interplay between Ford and Connery is great and fun to watch as the son searches for the father and, ultimately, the Holy Grail. River Phoenix (yes – he did have his whole life ahead of him) adeptly plays a young Indiana Jones for in the beginning of the picture where we see how Indy got the whip, the jacket, the fedora, his fear of snakes and his taste for fortune & glory. There are writer’s conveniences that take the viewer out of the film and some throw away characters but all in all The Last Crusade is a superb entertainment. It’s not Raiders but it ended things on a high note with our heroes even riding out of the canyon into the sunset to that great John William’s march.

Fast-forward 13 years or so; Spielberg, Ford and Lucas start talking about a possible fourth movie. Spielberg starts seeking screenwriters to take a whack at the next Indiana Jones. One of those screenwriters is Mr. Frank Darabont (the Oscar winning writer who did the adaptations of Stephen King’s, “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile). Rumor has it he wrote a script that reunited Karen Allen and Harrison Ford once again. The rumor goes farther and it has been said that Spielberg and Ford loved it. Lucas however wasn’t convinced and turned the script down opting instead for a film where Indy’s love interest will be the wonderful Cate Blanchett and his son Shia LaBeouf (the kid from Disney’s “Even Stevens”, “Holes” and or the soon to be released “Transformers” Movie). This is conjecture – gentle reader and only time will tell. Indy IV will begin filming in June of ’07. Personally, even with a 64 year-old Harrison Ford I’m still on board. While I’d have loved to have seen Darabont’s version on the big screen with the return of Karen Allen in a lead role, just seeing one of my all time favorite movie series on the big screen one more time sends gooseflesh a quiverin’ down my fan boy arms. …Still… just what will the new movie be called?

Indiana Jones and the Phantom Flatulence

Indiana Jones and Those Damned Kids Are on My Lawn AGAIN!

Indiana Jones and the Eternal Left Turn Signal

Indiana Jones and the Lost Dentures

Indiana Jones and the Marauders of the Prescription Program

Indiana Jones and the Bursting Undergarment

Indiana Jones and the Parking Lot of the Lost Car

Indiana Jones Verses the Waiter at Applebee’s

...Only time will tell.