Director and screenwriter James Mangold (59) and Harrison Ford (80) at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The fifth and final chapter of the saga… Getty Images
James Mangold loves a challenge. With an almost “quiet” air, goat-like body and physical appearance american common man, is truly the successor to the omnivorous directors and “craftsmen” who have made Hollywood history. A John Ford contemporary, almost… able to cross Wolverine And logan To when love burns the soul, From copeland To That train to Yuma, From interrupted the girls And innocent lie To le mans 66, Above all, I’m open to the challenge of replacing Steven Spielberg director Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, The fifth chapter of the saga with Harrison Ford. first time without spielberg Behind the camera (he had to quit due to previous commitments, remained producer and executive producer with George Lucas). They say, the last. At least about the Indie we know and love: she Harrison Ford,
Interview with Indiana Jones 5 director James Mangold
Did you immediately accept the offer?
I was born in 1968 and grew up on Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It didn’t scare me that our movie was the only movie in the series that wasn’t directed by Steven and not written by Lucas. I had 80s Harrison Ford and the lively Ethan Isidore with me. His debut on the big screen, but with good experience on TV with Tom Selleck.
So far it seems necessary to include a minor in the cast to win over the family audience…
This was not a speculative option. Isidor brings a great refreshing ease to the whole story and fits perfectly between Indie and co-star, Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Needless to mention that Karen Allen reappears, her role as Indy’s true love Marion is unforgettable to me. Telling the plot of movies is something I hate, so viewers will get to know the facts and misdeeds of this adventure.
Why do you think indie is always loved?
He’s a hero, but he doesn’t show off biceps or perform impossible feats like many of today’s superheroes do. He is the hero next door, who knows how to make the audience laugh and smile.
Have you ever thought about replacing Harrison Ford with a younger lead?
ever and never. Indy is Ford. And the presentation at the Cannes Film Festival was the ultimate proof of his charisma. Harry, as his friends call him, as a carpenter, he takes equal care in carving out every nuance of his characters, dramatic or fantastic. Then he is an experienced pilot like Tom Cruise. That’s why he is fond of adventure.
Is there a favorite of the films in the saga?
No, I like them all. For me they are one in the adventure, in the relationship between the heroes, in the analysis of their psychology. Also in Indy’s emotional problems and contradictions.
A scene from the film, chasing a tuk-tuk in Tangier.
Who is Alexander Mackendrick
Which directors did you study under in preparation for Indiana Jones?
Spielberg. Then Kubrick, Truffaut, John Ford, George Stevens. And Alexander Mackendrick, whom few people know but is great to me: I love watching and re-watching his cyclone over Jamaica and his scoring lead with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Those are two actors I continue to study… Mackendrick was a writer and a great craftsman, his career was brilliant because he crossed all genres. Like John Ford and Frank Capra.
Like Him: After Indiana Jones, she’ll direct musical film on young Bob Dylan with Timothée Chalamet…
Many of my films are in pre-production and I will be co-producing them as well. But I cannot describe my projects until they are completed. The first film about Bob Dylan should be going into production in New York this summer. Will the protest of screenwriters end and will the crisis of theaters go away? Because the public has now started liking watching movies at home.
Will his Indiana Jones draw audiences back to theaters?
I agree with Spielberg: cinema will not end in theaters. And at a certain point, streaming will help him because the public will remember the room as a place of aggregation and discovery.
You were the first to lend credibility to the actress, with Girl Interrupted and Angelina Jolie coveted the skill and commitment of Joaquin Phoenix in Love Burns the Soul, which earned lead lady Reese Witherspoon an Oscar. How do you choose actors for your films?
With instincts and studying their interpretations. Whenever I have free time, I continue to teach cinema at Columbia University and want to delve deeper into cinema and actors. An interesting generational change is underway and a shift is taking place between the small and the big screen, which was once unimaginable. We’ll see what comes of it: cinema is very important, even if some people think otherwise.
James Mangold was on set with Mads Mikkelsen playing the bad guy (turned to the good side…).
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the ultimate indie/harrison ford
It is said that your chapter is the final chapter in the Indiana Jones saga: how do you feel about the Indy/Harrison Ford ending?
Are you sure this is the end? I can not believe it. On my part, I tried to create a classic and modern story at the same time. As the movies of Spielberg and Lucas have always been.
When you presented the film in Los Angeles, you also said that the film is a travel story. Do you want to tell the reason?
Because it takes Indiana Jones and the masses from Morocco to Greece and Sicily. Not to mention the time: 40, 60 and… that’s all I’m saying.
For the first time, a woman is on the same level as Indiana Jones: a real adventurer…
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is what drew me to the series Flea bag And kill eve, His Helena and Indy are evenly matched in many situations.
Harrison Ford with Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a scene from the film: The English actress and screenwriter plays the archaeologist/adventurer’s niece Helena. He also participated in the script of no time to dieDaniel Craig’s last time as James Bond
You said you were looking for a new Katharine Hepburn…
Because I wanted a woman who was strong, but also able to reveal her sensitivity and vulnerability. Phoebe doesn’t have the dazzling beauty of many of today’s actresses: she has personality, an unusual face and she gives a charge of dynamism to every movement and action sequence. He is perfect as eighty year old Harry. I am really satisfied with my choice.
And he’s perfect for chases and action scenes, just like eighty-year-old Harrison Ford…
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Some! Even though, even while filming in full swing, I tried to convey the emotion.