Karen Allen Joins Indy 4 Cast
Karen Allen is joining the cast of the upcoming "Indiana Jones" movie, reprising her role as spirited Marion Ravenwood, it was announced today during Comic-Con International in San Diego.My expectatoins for this film just rose dramatically. I just hope that Marion isn't presented as a shitty, drunk mom -- as she was in the Jeff Boam draft from years ago (when Shia LeBouf's character was envisioned as a plucky 10 year old). Source
Labels: Film, Indiana Jones, Spielberg
posted by Scott at 9:18 AM
8 Comments:
Praise BE!
I'm kind of amazed since both Spielberg and Allen have expressed disdain for each other after the first movie.
But thank g-d that shitty actress/wife kate capshaw isn't in it.
I didn't know that. I always thought it was because Lucas decided Indiana Jones should bed a different woman in each film.
Speaking of which, do we know what Cate Blanchette is doing in this film?
Indy was envisioned as a James Bond type franchise with a different "Indy-girl" in each one (this was largely the impetus for casting Sean Connery as Indiana's father). Allen was never supposed to appear in another regardless of Allen's and Speilberg's opinions each other...
...also, I've never heard anything resembling disdain from either of them, but I guess I must be reading the wrong rags.
I don't understand why Capshaw gets such a bad rap. They met on the movie, she married him POST film. She was cast like anyone else. And she played the character of a whiny, bluthering twit to perfection (and it's actually very far removed from her normal personality).
I've always had a soft spot for the second film anyway, probably because it is so universally reviled. lol
I agree that a lot of the problem with Capshaw in that movie is not with Capshaw at all, but with the way her character was written. I have a soft spot for Temple of Doom, too -- I must've seen it five or six times that summer (sneaking in after a screening of Star Trek III)
It has a brilliant teaser sequence (up to, but not including, the ridiculous plane crash and aftermath). The third act -- Everything from the time Shortie wakes Indy up -- is just thrilling. It hurtles forward literally until the final frame.
So all you have to do is cut out the racist bullshit in the second act ("Chilled monkey brains," etc etc) -- and what else is the chapter skip button on your remote control for?
I've never held with the thought that Temple of Doom is racist. It depicts POSSESSED people who live in India, not the entire Indian population. It would be the equivalent of saying that showing a black zombie in Dawn of the Dead is racist because he's not the head of a corporation...seems entirely silly and ineffectual.
I agree though, the middle act is the problem. I still find it the most watchable of all three existing Indy films. That climax, from the possession of Indiana and it's aftermath, to rescuing the children (who everyone seems to forget come from a sleepy, kind-hearted Indian village in the grips of a famine), to the fight atop the rock crusher, to the mine car chase to the final bits on the bridge...breathtaking stuff. Some of the special effects are unfortunately ropey, but it has a charm that most modern films are absolutely devoid of.
OK - just to clarify - the bits about Indian culture that were dumbed down to the point of idiocy (the 'exotic' foods eaten at the dinner you mention, for example) are completely racist and stupid.
However, my comment was more about people who say shit like "Indians are evil in this movie, therefore it is racist." That kind of thinking is so far beyond stupid that I can't even deal. Not that you said that, but when I read racist, my head nearly exploded.
Just wanted to clarify.
I actually got into an argument about TOD's racist bits one night. He was the person I was reacting to there.
The same kind of mentality that states the Nemoidians in The Phantom Menace were racist, but have no problems with the exclusively English and Welsh Imperials depicting in ALL the SW films. Seems silly to me, is all.
Carry on. :) Great blog, btw...you've been linked.
Thanks! I admit I *do* think that certain of the alien races in the recent Star Wars pictures are based on offensive ethnic caricatures... the Nemoidians being one, the Gungans being another. The Banking Clan alien(s) we saw briefly in Attack of the Clones, too. I'm sure there are others. (I try to block out as much of those three increasingly atrocious films as possible.)
I'm sure Lucas is *far* from racist, but I'm equally sure that what he thought of as a charming homage to genre films of the 20s-40s does, in fact, come off as racist in the early 21st century just as surely as Ming the Merciless does.
I found "Temple of Gloom" to be just bad all the way around - except for the opening scene. ...and though I don't think Capshaw is good by any stretch, it was the "Goonies" kid that was incredibly incredibly bad and made the movie so.
There is a scene in 'Raiders' where a snake falls on the back of Karen Allen's neck. And she looks up giving a dirty look. Speilberg was right above her throwing snakes on her.
But yes, both have said they did not enjoy working with each other - but those rags are now 25 yrs old.
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