Exclusive: B-Movie Feel For Indy IV
Adventure sequel opts for retro look
If you've watched the Indiana Jones films recently, you may have noted, with a certain amount of nostalgic relish, how real it all feels. That's not to say you truly believe Harrison Ford is facing off against a king cobra (the reflection in the glass separating them is something of a giveaway) but the fact remains that it's a real snake and not some CG jiggery-pokery. Speaking to Indiana Jones 4 producer Frank Marshall, Empire Online enquired whether the fourth instalment will retain its forbears' penchant for good old-fashioned stunt work or embrace the technological revolution.
"One of the things I enjoy about these movies is that they do recall the old cliffhanger serials of the thirties and forties," said Marshall. "We didn't have computer effects in those days, we couldn’t easily erase things and I think one of the unfortunate by-products of the computer age is that it makes filmmakers lazy. You become more creative when you have to hide ramps with a tree rather than erase it later as you can today.
"In Raiders, that's a real ball rolling behind him so Harrison really is in some danger running in front of that; these are real situations and that adds to the excitement and the creative energy on the set."
All well and good but will the fourth instalment, like Die Another Day before it, sell out on traditional action and opt for ropey CG instead? "We're not done with the script on Indy 4 but I think we're going to try and rely, like the first two movies, on realism and not try to do too many things with the computer." Yes, yes, something we've heard many times before but Marshall seems quite earnest on maintaining the purity of the franchise. "When you start getting into computers you get fantastical situations like in the Matrix or movies like that. We don't want that, we want exciting heroism, we want seat-of-your-pants, skin-of-your-teeth action. We didn't have all the money in the world on the first films and we want to keep that B-Movie feel. We want to make Indy 4 like we made the first three."
And we're glad to hear it.