Moviefone Editorial

Tag: harrison-ford

  • 15 Things You Never Knew About ‘Alien’ on its 40th Anniversary

    15 Things You Never Knew About ‘Alien’ on its 40th Anniversary

    20th Century Fox

    It’s now been 40 years since “Alien” hit theaters and kicked off one of the most popular sci-fi movie franchises of all time. From the unexpected downsides of the Xenomorph costume to the Hollywood stars who almost appeared in the movie, here are 15 things you might not have known about the making of “Alien.”

    1. The original screenplay featured the title “Star Beast,” but writer Dan O’Bannon decided “Alien” was more effective and direct.

    2. Harrison Ford was originally offered the role of Captain Dallas but turned  down the part.

    Warner Bros.

    3. According to director Ridley Scott, Meryl Streep was also strongly considered for the role of Ripley and may well have been cast if not for the sudden death of her partner, John Cazale.

    4. Jon Finch was originally cast as Kane, but had to drop out on the first day of filming due to complications from diabetes.

    20th Century Fox

    5. H.R. Giger‘s original Xenomorph design included visible eyes, but this was removed in order to give the creature a more inhuman appearance. Scott also purposely avoided filming the Xenomorph straight-on, in order to emphasize its terrifying nature.

    6. In order to create the set for the Xenomorph egg chamber, the crew borrowed a set of laser lights from The Who, who were rehearsing on a nearby sound stage.

    20th Century Fox

    7. The facehugger was originally meant to be painted green, but O’Bannon liked the stark, humanoid look of the unpainted puppet and chose to leave it as-is.

    8. Many of the gore effects were achieved by using raw animal parts, including cattle hearts and sheep intestines. That helped fuel the actors’ genuine reaction of fear during the infamous chestburster scene.

    20th Century Fox

    9. The names for the Nostromo crew members were chosen in part because they’re gender-neutral. None of the characters have a specified gender in the screenplay.

    10. The crew had to design a special swing for actor Bolaji Badejo because his Xenomorph costume made it impossible to sit down in between takes.

    20th Century Fox

    11. One of the early shots of the interior of the Nostromo features a coffee grinder hanging on a wall. That prop was later used to create the Mr. Fusion engine in “Back to the Future.”

    12. Most of the creatures models had to be repainted every single day due to the corrosive effects of the slime used to coat them.

    13. The Space Jockey prop measured a full 26 feet tall. Unfortunately, it was accidentally destroyed when a discarded cigarette set it on fire.

    20th Century Fox

    14. One of the many deleted scenes from “Alien” features Ripley and Dallas having casual sex as a way of relieving the boredom of their journey. Scott eventually re-purposed that idea for 2012’s “Prometheus.”

    15. The Xenomorph only appears on-screen for a total of four minutes in the theatrical cut.

     

  • Who Should Play Indiana Jones Next? Harrison Ford Says ‘Nobody’

    Who Should Play Indiana Jones Next? Harrison Ford Says ‘Nobody’

    Paramount

    Who should take up Indiana Jones’s hat and whip after Harrison Ford retires from playing the character? “Nobody,” Ford said with a smile in an appearance on “The Today Show.”

    “Nobody is gonna be Indiana Jones,” Ford said. “Don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones. When I’m gone, he’s gone.”

    (And thankfully, that’s why he was trending on Twitter today. Whew.)

    He then apologized to Chris Pine for breaking the bad news — although the role was once rumored to go to a different Chris, Chris Pratt. Oh well. Neither one of you is getting the job, if Ford has anything to say about it.

    A fifth (and presumably final) Indiana Jones film with Ford as the iconic, whip-cracking character is supposed to start shooting soon.

    Ford was appearing on the morning show to promote his role in “The Secret Life of Pets 2,” in which he plays a dog named Rooster.

    [Via Slashfilm]

  • 15 Things You Never Knew About ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ on its 30th Anniversary

    15 Things You Never Knew About ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ on its 30th Anniversary

    Lucasfilm

    It’s been 30 years since “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” hit theaters. Or as some fans refer to it, “The only good Indiana Jones sequel.” Wherever this blockbuster hit falls on your Indy rankings,  celebrate this big anniversary by learning more about the making of “The Last Crusade.”

    1. When Steven Spielberg and George Lucas first began discussing ideas for a third Indiana Jones movie, Lucas suggested using a haunted mansion as a major set piece. However, Spielberg rejected the idea, having recently completed work on 1982’s “Poltergeist.”

    2. Chris Columbus wrote a very different sequel screenplay in 1985 called “Indiana Jones and the Monkey King,” which revolved around Chinese folk hero Sun Wukong and the fabled Garden of Immortal Peaches.

    20th Century Fox

    3. Spielberg was once slated to direct both “Big” and “Rain Man” but had to drop out of both projects due to his work on “The Last Crusade.”

    4. River Phoenix was Harrison Ford’s personal choice to play the young Indy, as Ford had previously worked with Phoenix on 1986’s “The Mosquito Coast.”

    Lucasfilm

    5. Similarly, Spielberg always envisioned Sean Connery playing Henry Jones, Sr. Spielberg has long held a desire to direct a James Bond movie, and casting Connery as the elder Jones was a way of reflecting the Bond franchise’s influence on Indiana Jones.

    6. In another Bond tribute, the gun used to shoot Henry Sr. in the temple is a Walther PPK, Bond’s trademark weapon.

    EON

    7. Connery didn’t play Henry Sr. in the prologue sequence. The character was instead played by Alex Hyde-White, with Connery later dubbing over his lines.

    8. Spielberg also wanted legendary British actor Laurence Olivier to play the Grail Knight, but Olivier had become too ill by the time of filming and passed away not long after “The Last Crusade” hit theaters.

    Lucasfilm

    9. While the treasure hunter who gives Indy his trademark fedora is only listed as “Fedora” in the credits, the original screenplay reveals him to be Abner Ravenwood, father of Karen Allen’s character Marion Ravenwood.

    10. The Nazi uniforms used in the book-burning sequence are actually authentic WWII relics. Designer Joanna Johnston discovered a cache of old uniforms while scouting in Eastern Europe.

    Lucasfilm

    11. The thousands of rats used in catacombs scene are a mix of live creatures and animatronic props. The production team had to specially breed the live rats in order to ensure none of them would be carrying communicable diseases.

    12. In the scene where Donovan’s wife appears and reminds him he’s neglecting his guests, a character can be heard in the background playing “The Imperial March” from “The Empire Strikes Back” on the piano.

    13. Donovan’s iconic death sequence is the very first all-digital composite sequence in film.

    Lucasfilm

    14. The horses used in the final scenes outside the temple were loaned by none other than King Hussein of Jordan.

    15. While Spielberg admitted he made “The Last Crusade” for less than glamorous reasons (including the need to complete a three-picture deal with Lucas), he’s also named the sequel as his favorite movie in the series.

    2401
  • 17 Things You Never Knew About ‘Apocalypse Now’ on its 40th Anniversary

    17 Things You Never Knew About ‘Apocalypse Now’ on its 40th Anniversary

    United Artists

    It’s now been 40 years since Francis Ford Coppola gave us one of the greatest and most mind-bending war movies of all time. “Apocalypse Now” has lost none of its power over the decades. So strap on your helmet and head up-river to learn some interesting trivia about the background and infamously troubled production of “Apocalypse Now.”

    1. Writer John Milius listened exclusively to music by The Doors and Richard Wagner while he worked on the screenplay. Milius said he believed The Doors to be “the music of war,” a fact which greatly upset the members of the band.

    2. The majority of the dialogue had to be re-recorded during post-production, as the jungle environments and heavy background noise made much of the original dialogue impossible to use.

    3. Coppola originally offered the role of Captain Willard to “The Godfather” star Al Pacino. Pacino declined, telling Coppola he had no interest in spending months shooting in a swamp.

    Paramount Pictures

    4. Pacino was also one of several actors Coppola considered as a potential replacement for Marlon Brando, who repeatedly threatened to quit.

    5. Harvey Keitel was originally cast as Willard and was fired after two weeks of filming. At least one shot of Keitel’s Willard made it into the final version of the film.

    6. Martin Sheen largely improvised the scene where Willard has a meltdown in his hotel room. Sheen was heavily intoxicated and actually cut his hand when he punched the mirror.

    United Artists

    7. Sheen’s brother Joe Estevez plays an essential but uncredited role in the movie. Estevez served as a stand-in for his brother while Sheen was recuperating from a heart attack, and also provided the voice-over work for a large portion of Captain Willard’s narration.

    8. Coppola opted to frame Colonel Kurtz in shadow for most of his scenes, mainly to hide the fact that Brando arrived on-set extremely overweight.

    United Artists

    9. The friction between Brando and Coppola became so great that Assistant Director Jerry Ziesmer eventually took over filming for Brando’s scenes.

    10. Harrison Ford specifically chose his character’s name, “G. Lucas,” in tribute to “Star Wars” and “American Graffiti” director George Lucas. Lucas was once slated to direct “Apocalypse Now” himself, which he envisioned as a faux-documentary.

    11. The film’s famously disaster-ridden production is chronicled in the 1991 documentary “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.” The production went so far over budget that Coppola was forced to mortgage his house and winery in order to finish filming.

    Triton Pictures

    12. Widespread drug abuse was another major problem during filming. Dennis Hopper reportedly caused a teenage Laurence Fishburne to become addicted to heroin.

    13. Because the film includes no opening title card or credits, Coppola needed to include the shot of the graffiti tag “Our Motto: Apocalypse Now” in order to ensure the film could be copyrighted.

    United Artists

    14. The American Humane Association slammed the film with an “Unacceptable” rating after it was discovered the scene where the water buffalo is slaughtered was actually real.

    15. Coppola repeatedly struggled with his vision for the ending of the movie. Originally, the screenplay ended with Kurtz convincing Willard to join him and both men dying in a military airstrike, but Coppola opted for a less depressing finale.

    United Artists

    16. There are several alternate versions of the film in existence. 2001’s “Apocalypse Now Redux” adds 49 minutes of deleted footage, including the lengthy sequence where Willard and his crew encounter the French plantation owners. A bootleg workprint cut includes even more deleted footage, such as a death scene for Hopper’s character.

    17. 2019 will see the release of “Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut,” a 4K restoration that cuts roughly 20 minutes of footage that was added to “Redux.”

  • Harrison Ford is ‘Very Excited’ About ‘Indiana Jones 5’

    Harrison Ford is ‘Very Excited’ About ‘Indiana Jones 5’

    Paramount

    Indiana Jones may be the Grumpiest Action Hero of all now, but Harrison Ford is still excited about playing the iconic character.

    When asked about “Indiana Jones 5” by Variety at a SAG-AFTRA event where he was being honored, the actor responded, “We’ve got a script in production that we are all very excited about, and [I’m] looking forward to it.”

    As far as updates go, it ain’t much. But he did have a quick, Indy-worthy response when asked about (now-dated) rumors that “Guardians of the Galaxy” star Chris Pratt would be the next Indiana Jones.

    Ford scoffed and as he walked, saying, “I think it’s him or me.” We’ll take the original Indy, thanks.

    It’s been 10 years(!) since the last Indy film, 2008’s panned “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

    Right now, the untitled “Indiana Jones 5” is set for a July 9, 2021 release date — 40 years after “Raiders of the Lost Ark” first debuted.

    And, as previously reported, George Lucas will not be involved in the fifth film in the franchise.

    [Via The Playlist, Variety]

  • Han Solo’s Iconic Jacket is For Sale… But It’ll Cost You

    Han Solo’s Iconic Jacket is For Sale… But It’ll Cost You

    20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm

    How much would you pay for Han Solo’s jacket?

    Well, unless you’ve got $1.3 million to spare,  it ain’t enough.

    The jacket worn by our favorite space smuggler in “The Empire Strikes Back” is on the auction block and that’s how much it’s expected to sell for, according to UK-based auction house Prop Store.

    Per the official listing, it’s “the only significant Han Solo costume piece from the original trilogy ever to come to public auction.”

    It was designed by Academy Award-winning costume designer John Mollo.  According to Mollo,  Lucas instructed him to avoid making the costumes appear “spacey.”

    The jacket appears to be navy blue in the film but is actually blue-grey.

    It has “only minor instances of loose threading and minimal wear as a result of production use” and is in “excellent” condition.

    In reaction to Harrison Ford’s impressive “Star Wars” stash, Mark Hamill pledged to sell his red capri pants, which, hey, we don’t remember seeing Luke wear those!

    [Via Slashfilm]

  • 13 Things You Never Knew About ‘The Fugitive’

    13 Things You Never Knew About ‘The Fugitive’

    WB

    “The Fugitive” not only has one of the best taglines ever, it is also one of the best action movies ever made. And don’t listen to or be friends with anyone who says otherwise.

    Released 25 years ago on Aug. 6, 1993, at a time when Harrison Ford was at his peak of doing the “everyman action hero” thing, this troubled production (based on the hit ’60s TV show) with a hard-to-lock-down script became one of 1993’s biggest hits. It was the type of movie that had word-of-mouth like wild fire; it stayed No. 1 at the box office for an unprecedented six weeks. The film set a then-record for the biggest opening weekend in August ever. (A year later, Paramount would release Ford’s follow-up to “The Fugitive” — the Jack Ryan thriller “Clear and Present Danger” — during that same week in August 1994 in an attempt to capture similar box office legs.)

    That success would translate into seven Oscar nominations, including one for a Best Picture (!) and the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Tommy Lee Jones‘ iconic performance as the dogged U.S. Marshall Sam Gerrard.

    Celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary with some behind-the-scenes trivia — after you rewatch the movie, of course.

    WB

    1. In an original draft of the script, Harrison Ford’s character — Dr. Richard Kimble — had a romantic relationship with the doctor played by Julianne Moore. Wisely, Ford helped nix that idea, seeing as how it would be hard for audiences to get behind Kimble trying to find his wife’s murderer if he’s hooking up with another lady. These scenes were filmed, however, and removed from the final cut.

    2. Hollywood releases in China are all but commonplace now. But “The Fugitive” was the first major American film to be screened in the People’s Republic of China after decades of restrictions placed on foreign movies.

    WB3. For the first act of the movie, Ford rocks a pretty serious beard. The studio was not a fan of that character choice, because they paid a lot of money to sell their star’s face on posters and didn’t want it to be obscured by facial hair. The beard stayed, obviously, allowing Kimble to shave it off so he can better go on the run with a new look and without drawing too much attention to himself.

    4. While shooting some footage for the film’s teaser trailer that showed Kimble running through the woods, Ford tore some ligaments in his leg. So that limp you see Kimble having throughout the rest of the movie? That’s not acting, that’s all Ford — he held off on getting surgery until after filming.

    WB

    5. One of two iconic scenes in the film, the train derailment was shot with real trains crashing. The shot of Kimble leaping out of the way was achieved with rear-projection on a set.

    6. The wrecked train and bus remain a tourist attraction in Dillsboro, North Carolina.

    WB

    7. The movie’s other iconic scene — the “I didn’t kill my wife”/”I don’t care” exchange? In the script, there was a lot more dialogue. Word’ round the campfire is that, on the day the scene was shot, Ford convinced director Andrew Davis to cut down the exchange to its most bare-bones, narratively-essential version. The rest is quotable movie history.

    8. According to the DVD commentary, Kimble’s interrogation by the Chicago PD was improvised. Ford had no idea what questions he would be asked, which the actor preferred as that would allow him to create a more genuine and emotional performance.

    WB

    9. And yes, that is Jane Lynch in a very early movie role as one of Kimble’s colleagues that comes to help the wrongfully-accused doctor. Her character was also considered to be a love interested for Kimble, but those scenes were also cut out.

    10. Main villain Dr. Nichols was originally played by the late actor Richard Jordan. Sadly, Jordan became ill and had to drop out of the production after shooting a few scenes with Ford. The character was recast with Jeroen Krabbé, who played the baddie in the 1987 Jamed Bond movie, “The Living Daylights.”

    WB

    11. Rewatch the first scene between Kimble and Nichols again, and you will see that Ford’s beard looks slightly different because it had to be regrown for the reshoots.

    12. The first choice (rumored) to play Kimble? Alec Baldwin. Ford would famously take over the role of Jack Ryan from Baldwin in 1992’s “Patriot Games.”

    WB

    13. As of 2018, “The Fugitive” is the only movie based on a TV show to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

  • Harrison Ford in Talks for ‘Call of the Wild’ Adaptation

    Lucasfilm

    Harrison Ford may be relocating from a galaxy far, far away to the far reaches of the Candian wilderness: The star is in talks to join the latest adaptation of classic novel “The Call of the Wild.”

    Variety has the scoop that the former “Star Wars” star is currently in negotiations to play John Thornton, a prospector who braves the remote Yukon territory during the Klondike gold rush of the 1890s. “Call,” written by Jack London and first published in 1903, has been adapted numerous times before for a wide range of media, according to Variety, including films starring Clark Gable (1935) and Charlton Heston (1972) in the Thorton role. There was even a 1978 Snoopy TV special that was loosely inspired by the tale.

    This new version, however, certainly sounds like it will be the most visually ambitious version to hit the big screen. Variety reports, “The film will rely heavily on the work of Technoprops, a special effects studio that was purchased by Fox in 2017 and whose founder, Glenn Derry, had previously worked on ‘Avatar.’”

    There’s no word yet on when “Call of the Wild” will hit theaters, but we’re betting it will have a faster turnaround time than James Cameron’s ever-evolving slate of “Avatar” sequels. It’s unclear when production on “Call” will begin, though Ford has some free time in his schedule now, thanks to the pushed back premiere date of “Indiana Jones 5.” Stay tuned.

    [via: Variety]

  • 17 Things You Never Knew About ‘Return of the Jedi’

    It’s been a mind-boggling 35 years since “Return of the Jedi” hit theaters and capped off the original Star Wars trilogy.

    At the time, fans feared it might be the last they ever saw of Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest of the gang. That didn’t turn out to be the case, but this movie still holds a special place in the hearts of Star Wars fanatics the world over. And to celebrate this milestone, here are 16 interesting facts you might not know about this epic threequel.
    1. George Lucas created several fake shooting scripts to guard against leaked spoilers. One of these scripts revealed Lando to be the person Yoda alluded to in “The Empire Strikes Back” when he said, “No, there is another.”

    2. Speaking of Yoda, the aged Jedi Master wasn’t originally meant to be included in the film. Lucas added the Luke/Yoda reunion after speaking with a child psychologist and being told that younger viewers needed hard confirmation that Darth Vader is Luke’s father in order to accept the twist.
    3. Lucas clashed with writer Lawrence Kasdan over how to end “Return of the Jedi.” The two considered scrapping the entire Endor sequence and instead setting the climax on Had Abbadon, a planet Lucas envisioned as the capital world of the Empire. The Special Edition re-release instead features a brief glimpse of Coruscant, a world that would become well-established in the Prequels.

    4. Another option considered was to set the climactic battle on Kashyyk, teaming Chewbacca with his fellow Wookiees instead of Ewoks.5. The costume designers tried — and failed — to design Ewok masks that featured blinking eyes. Lucas later digitally added blinking eyes for the 2011 Blu-ray release.
    6. The word “Ewok” is never actually spoken in the film. Also not spoken in the film? Palpatine. The big bad is never referred to by his actual name, just “The Emperor.”7. Originally, Luke’s lightsaber blade was colored blue in the film, and appeared that way in early footage and on the “Revenge of the Jedi” teaser poster. Lucas changed the color to green in order to make it clearer that Luke had built a new saber and not recovered the one he lost in Cloud City.8. Lando’s co-pilot, Nien Nunb, isn’t speaking alien gibberish, but an actual Kenyan dialect known as Haya. His lines were dubbed by a Kenyan student named Kipsang Rotich.9. “Return of the Jedi” is the only Star Wars movie in which Darth Vader appears but doesn’t Force-choke another character.

    10. There actually was a scene of Vader choking an Imperial officer outside Palpatine’s throne room, but Lucas deemed it unnecessary.
    11. When filming his Endor scenes at the Redwood National Forest in California, Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew had to be escorted by crew members so locals wouldn’t mistake him for Bigfoot.

    12. Death Star administrator Moff Jerjerrod originally had a more significant role in the story. An earlier draft depicted Jerjerrod as Palpatine’s right-hand man, helping his master scheme to turn Luke against Vader and eventually being killed by Vader in retaliation.
    13. Han Solo’s fate at the end of “Empire Strikes Back” was left ambiguous in case Harrison Ford elected not to return for the sequel. Ford also campaigned for Lucas to kill off his character in “Return of the Jedi,” though he wound up having to wait until 2015’s “Force Awakens” to get his wish.
    14. Four different actors were required to bring Vader to life in this sequel. David Prowse and Bob Anderson both wore the suit at different points, while James Earl Jones provided Vader’s voice and Sebastian Shaw portrayed the unmasked Anakin Skywalker. And that’s not even counting Hayden Christensen‘s cameo in the Blu-ray version.

    15. Ian McDiarmid had to rotate his throne by using his feet because the actual mechanism never worked properly during filming.
    16. Lucas has admitted to regretting Boba Fett’s infamous death scene after learning just how popular the bounty hunter had become with fans. Lucas even considered adding a scene on the 2004 DVD release that would have shown Fett escaping from the Sarlacc.17. When it came time to expand the musical sequence in Jabba’s palace, actress Femi Taylor was called on to reprise the role of Twi’lek dancer, Oola. She was the only Original Trilogy actor to return for the Special Editions.

  • It Was a ‘Star Wars’ Reunion at Mark Hamill’s Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

    Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, George LucasCongrats to Jedi master Mark Hamill, who finally got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    Joining him at the ceremony yesterday were “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and Harrison Ford.

    Noting the absence of Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, Ford told the crowd, “When thinking about today, I was really sorry we don’t have the other member of our trio to celebrate with us, but I feel her presence.” (A moment while we wipe away something that just got in our eye.)

    On a much lighter note, Ford also said that when he looked back at the screen test he did with Hamill in 1976, “I was surprised by how good he was.”

    Hamill recalled the advice his “Star Wars” costar gave him back in the day: “”Hey, kid, Don’t get cocky.’ And I have tried to remember that to this very day.”

    He also thanked Lucas for his “genius,” saying he “wouldn’t be standing here today” if Lucas hadn’t created a certain sky-gazing farm boy.

    “Mark Hamill is a character that can’t be written,” said Lucas. “He is extremely enthusiastic about everything he does, and that is exactly what I was looking for when I cast Luke Skywalker.”

    “It’s hard to convey my gratitude, my joy and the exhilaration,” the actor told the thousands of fans who turned out for the event. Joking about his brief (and silent) appearance in his second-to-last “Star Wars” film, Hamill said, “I haven’t been this speechless since ‘Force Awakens.’”

    Hamill’s star is in front of the Disney-owned El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. Ford’s star, which was given in 2003, is in the 6800 block of Hollywood Blvd. Sadly, Carrie Fisher never got a star in her lifetime, but may still be honored posthumously.

    Watch the whole ceremony in the video below.

    [Via THR]