Secrets, secrets, secrets!
(Not that anybodys doing anything but talking speculatively at this point.)
Now, anybody who follows film follows Steven, and what hes doing and whats next.
Credit: David James/ © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved
The problem is, at that time, Steven was working on about 16 different movies.
So I went to [Spielbergs production company] Amblin, and I came into his office.
I had started to think maybe I was going to the principals office.
And we just wanted to express our thanks for your hard work and efforts.
But that didnt happen.Steven asked, Have you ever seen any of theIndiana Jonesmovies?
I dont think I talked for five minutes.
I had to get up and pace in his office.
I was freaking out.
I want to cry.
Im having a panic attack, and Im sweaty.
My heartbeat it’s possible for you to even ask Steven.
He finally said, I guess that means yes.
So you were sort of the rookie on this movie.I was around a lot of veterans during this film.
And they all kept saying, Dont take any of this to yournextmovie.
Its a different tone and style.
How so?There is a certain camp element thats needed for the Indy tone.
Its notBourne Identitytype of action.
And its not far from slip-on-a-banana-peel punch in of action.
Its a very specific tone that seems to only work inIndiana Jonesmovies.
Taking this tone to any other franchise or any other film wouldnt work.
But the audience is addicted to that tone for these films.
It goes hand in hand with the rest of the elements.
Did Steven swear you to secrecy on all plot matters?I dealt with a bit of secrecy onTransformers.
AndTransformershas a certain place in certain peoples hearts.
ButIndiana Jones, its much larger, and theres much more passion involved.
Which was: You experienced the plot on the day you saw the movie.
Hes the quintessential movie star.
And the fact that he doesnt really care is beautiful.
The thing became like a third arm.
I was on theTransformerspress tour while I was getting my knives ready.
That was my homework.
George, of course, madeAmerican Graffitiand knows all about the demimonde of the greaser.
George has the most disgusting comb.
Its full of the most nasty crud.
Hes probably had this comb for 40 years.
And George would say, I wanna ensure that Mutts comb is bent.
Otherwise its not accurate.
It looks like a brand-new comb and not Mutts comb.
And verify theres a bunch of white specks in it.
see to it youve got scalp in that comb.
And you had to have a greaser hairstyle, too.That hair took a lot of time.
Im a cigarette smoker, and its not easy to smoke around a flammable head all the time.
That thing could light up, and its over.
What did you use to slick it down?We used all kinds of stuff.
We evolved from Murrays on.
Then we started making our own stuff.
I dont have hair thats conducive to this kind of hairstyle.
I have a very nappy, curly head.
I come from French Cajun Jewish people.
Our hair is not supposed to be that way.
I dont know anybody in my family that has that throw in of hair.
So it took some work.
I think we worked on the hair as much as we did on the sword fighting.
Did all that hair gunk smell good?It smelled fantastic.
So being around them all the time, you were immersed in it.
The movies, the culture, the scene.
NEXT PAGE: It was like a fraternity, a boys club.
Harrison has a very dry sense of humor.
And whats amazing is Karen [Allen] was in the boys club with us.
She got to ride the ride with us.
It was never batting the eyelashes or pulling any of that s. Shes one of the guys.
She was my first friend on set.
Its the most humorous one out of the bunch so far.
I havent seen the cut, I just know from shooting.
But when it comes to Cate Blanchett as a villain?
Cate held on to a kind of exclusion.
Maybe not necessarily [intentionally], but we all played into it.
She was kind of in her own world, which works perfectly for the movie.
She probably did do it on purpose.
If it was an accident, it was divine.
Shes incredible to watch, as a technician.
Shes purebred badass in the movie.
You shot some scenes in and around Yale University.
Werent you thinking of going there?I had a letter of intent.
I was planning on going to Yale to theater school.
And then when I got there [for our location shoot], it all went away.
I just felt as though I would never attend school there.
Its not an enjoyable place.
I didnt like New Haven.
Its a beautiful campus, but thats all that it is.
Maybe I can do, like, an in-person letter of recommendation.
But that never came about.
The way I felt was: What theater schools gonna allow me to work with Cate Blanchett?
Or Harrison Ford and Ray Winstone and John Hurt and Steven Spielberg?
The decision is sort of made right there.
