Wednesday, March 26, 2014
STILL A BETTER IDEA THAN SHIA LABEOUF: So, rumors are flying that Disney (which now owns all future rights to the franchise) wants to reboot Indiana Jones, with a new actor playing Jones in future movies and Bradley Cooper on the wishlist. How terrible an idea is this? And if they do it, should Indiana Jones remain a period piece (set in the 40s-50s), or does an "Indiana Jones" in the contemporary world of smartphones and GPS work?
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You beat me to it, but I like my headline more:
ReplyDeleteMARION, DON'T LOOK AT IT. SHUT YOUR EYES, MARION. DON'T LOOK AT IT, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS! There is some speculation that Disney may try to reboot the Indiana Jones franchise with Bradley Cooper in the lead role.
[Other names mentioned in the Dissolve article: "Nathan Fillion? Channing Tatum? Ryan Reynolds? Oh God, not Ryan Reynolds."]
Well, if period piece Indiana Jones does any more adventures or Nazi fighting, he'll never get tenure. The fact the character isn't a cop or a soldier or a superhero is part of what makes him so compelling, and stretching out plots with a series of additional films necessarily dilutes that aspect of the character, as it did with John McLaine.
ReplyDeletePeriod piece and you know what? I'm not totally against this idea.There's been a billion actors to play Sherlock Holmes and no one complains about dilution there; why not have a contemporary Stephen Collins* give it a shot?
ReplyDelete*Ask your parents.
I would sign on for Nathan Fillion. Or they could just make an "Uncharted" movie starring him. Perhaps Dr. Jones isn't the vehicle, but I would endorse a Channing Tatum globe-trotting adventure.
ReplyDeleteIn the line of classic characters being played by new actors, this piece on making Columbo America's Dr. Who is pretty great: http://the-toast.net/2014/03/05/the-case-for-columbo/
NO.
ReplyDeleteSherlock Holmes... James Bond... Batman... heck, even Jack Ryan. There's ample precedent for a character being played by multiple actors. Though Ford as Jones might be the most iconic of any of them. (Connery as Bond is close.)
ReplyDeleteAdam and Phil and I don't need to ask our parents, because we went to college with Stephen's nephew.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, my only thought about a this is: "Hola! Soy Dora!"
ReplyDeleteBut seriously: If contemporary, why only men? Why not do a kick-ass female protagonist who hunts relics? Heck, make her an Indian-American woman and call her Indira Jones. (I guess Jolie is out, because they wouldn't want to get too close to Tomb Raider.)
ReplyDeleteI just wondered how many people here remember Tales of the Gold Monkey and should have thought again, "Wait, these people? One of them probably has a DVD set of it."
ReplyDeleteOf course, the young'uns today remember another member of the Collins family... Eve 6's Max.
ReplyDeleteMax Collins was on X-Files?!?
ReplyDeleteIf you aren't watching Tales of the Gold Monkey on VHS, you aren't doing it right.
ReplyDeleteContemporize Indiana Jones, and you run into all kinds of sensitive and probably politically fraught areas, as in "It belongs in a museum!" but probably not an American museum, Dr. Jones.
ReplyDeleteI do not, however object to the part being recast. Nathan Fillion may be a little too old, but maybe the part could tempt Matt Keeslar back into acting.
Take a page from Monument Men and after WWII Indiana becomes a Nazi hunter also searching for stolen loot.
ReplyDeleteIn favor, particularly if it means Ford is done in the role, because really. But as much as I like Fillion, he's too old. Cooper may be as good an option as any, but I'm not sure he's a home run for the genre.
ReplyDeleteWoody Harrelson. Bruce Willis. (is it ok to say mel gibson?? or, do we never want him to work again?? -- Braveheart.).
ReplyDeleteI am tired of remakes and sequels. I get that movies cost a ton to make and you need some "guarantee" that it'll make money, but there's a reason I spend a lot more time in front of the TV these days than in the movie theater. So much of the movie landscape is half-baked, warmed over, or just plain stupid. Indiana Jones does not need a reboot. Hollywood needs to put out good, original movies.
ReplyDeleteShould we now also get off your lawn? :)
ReplyDeleteI would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids!
ReplyDelete