Be Here Now

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The main point of Chris Nashawaty's big Indiana Jones piece in the current Entertainment Weekly (dated 3.14) is that as we approach the May 21st opening of Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the tangy, thrill-a-minute franchise is undimmed -- that it still has enormous vitality and fan loyalty.

cover of EW issue #982; Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

But the underlying suggestion in the cover photo, of course, is that the 65 year-old Harrison Ford is still a brawny-studly sex symbol. Which, to many millions, may well be the case. No argument from this corner. (I'm done with the Uncle Festus routine. For now.) But I would have respected the cover-shot choice (as well as Nasahawaty's article, now that I think about it) a bit more if EW had run a shot of the current Ford/Indy biology. He is what he is, "be here now" and all that....right?

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 11, 2008 at 8:15 AM

comment #1

Balthazar says ...

Agreed. If the point is why he's STILL hot, then run a 2008 photo.

Posted by Balthazar at March 11, 2008 8:48 AM

comment #2

Jay T. says ...

I wondered/noticed the same thing... especially when you consider that he looks pretty good for his age in the film's trailer.

Posted by Jay T. at March 11, 2008 8:56 AM

comment #3

Wrecktum says ...

A suspect that Paramount, doling out publicity photos at a trickle, didn't allow EW to print any sexy new photos of Ford as Indiana Jones, instead only approving the publication of the new action photo on the inside of the magazine.

But new sexy Ford pics do exist:

http://img31.picoodle.com/img/img31/4/2/13/f_indycinemam_cb98e4c.jpg

Posted by Wrecktum at March 11, 2008 8:56 AM

comment #4

BurmaShave says ...

Absolutely right. And I'm glad you're done with the Festus routine.

Posted by BurmaShave at March 11, 2008 9:12 AM

comment #5

Jeffrey Kunze says ...

Wow, Jeff must be reading my mind.

I just got done taking a crap with the magazine and thought, if Ford is STILL HOT, then why am I looking at a photo from the bridge scene in Temple of Doom, circa '84.

What the hell, is EW retarded. Did they not think people would notice this?

Posted by Jeffrey Kunze at March 11, 2008 9:15 AM

comment #6

Dave says ...

Jeff, I have to apologize to you. No, seriously.

Like many of your loyal readers, I took minor offense at all the "Uncle Festus" jokes. Yeah, Ford's old, he has a bullwhip hooked to his Depends, ha ha ha. I for one thought that, as long as Speilberg, Lucas and Ford didn't fight his age, it could actually end up being a bit of a plus in Crystal Skull. The trailer seemed to confirm that-- I *like* old, grizzled Indy.

That all said-- watching Harrison Ford on Oscar night (the Baba Wawa interview, then his "Is he drunk, or is he stoned?" award presentation during the show), I realized what a lot of us are denying.

Dude, Harrison Ford is SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OLD. And he looks and sounds it, goofy earring or not.

What does this mean for Crystal Skull? It means that anything that smacks of CGI-enhanced fakery will NOT lead to suspension of disbelief on my part. The trailer didn't rub me the wrong way-- I like that in his dotage, he misjudges the whip-swing-- but if Indiana Jones spends half the movie taking punches that would fell Mike Tyson, I'll be reminded that I'm watching a movie.

Yes, I know that the Indiana Jones films are just movies, not reality. But Ford *owns* that part, inhabits it as if it were a real human. In fact, along with Han Solo (maybe Witness & Mosquito Coast), I think those are the only roles he's ever played where Ford has ALLOWED himself to be human-- so much else of what he's played has sadly been cold, stiff and humorless.

Anyway, Jeff. . . I'll wait to see Crystal Skull to make my judgment, but in the real world? Harrison Ford *is* Uncle Festus now.

Posted by Dave at March 11, 2008 9:17 AM

comment #7

Movie Watcher says ...

Agreed, EW should have used a current picture of Ford on the cover. The story was good. It is going to be big. It can't be worse than Doom, which was bad. The article made some good points. I hope that in the next Indy film, Ford is a mentor, and probably LeBouf is doing the action scenes. Ford will be around 70 when the next one comes out. It's time to transition to a younger guy.

Posted by Movie Watcher at March 11, 2008 9:21 AM

comment #8

PerfectTommy says ...

I also wondered why they used a "Temple of Doom" picture. My teen daughter saw the cover and said "Hot? He's in his sixties!"

But to give a great benefit of doubt, it could be that "hot" was not being used in sense of sexy but that the franchise was still "hot" - has viability.

I love the Indy films, but still have doubts about this one.

Posted by PerfectTommy at March 11, 2008 9:28 AM

comment #9

Dublin101 says ...

"That all said-- watching Harrison Ford on Oscar night (the Baba Wawa interview, then his "Is he drunk, or is he stoned?"

Stoned, definitely stoned. Ford is allegedly one of the biggest potheads in Hollywood. Which is rather funny when your consider his gruff and uptight persona.

Posted by Dublin101 at March 11, 2008 9:33 AM

comment #10

Edward says ...

I'd be satisfied if it was more like Temple and not like the horrible Grail, not that I'm going to be first in line or anything close. I hope I look as good as Harrison Ford when I'm 65.

Posted by Edward at March 11, 2008 9:47 AM

comment #11

Rich S. says ...

Actually, Dave, from what I hear, a lot of punches would fell Mike Tyson these days.

Anyway, I agree with Jeffrey's observation. And you'll notice that they didn't even use a photo from 1989's Grail. They used a shot from 84's Temple of Doom! Why didn't they just get a shot from American Graffiti, just for the hell of it?

Posted by Rich S. at March 11, 2008 10:21 AM

comment #12

LuckyWilbury says ...

Maybe EW should have put "He's Hot, He's
Sexy and He's Still Alive."

That would have been a good riff on the
most famous of all Rolling Stone mag
covers, the one with Jim Morrison in
1981: "He's Hot, He's Sexy and He's Dead."

Posted by LuckyWilbury at March 11, 2008 10:34 AM

comment #13

Dave says ...

Rich-- true, THESE days. I still use Mike Tyson as shorthand for the pre-Buster Douglas, pre-prison Mike Tyson, the one could almost actually scare people to death (as a boxer, not as a human being).

Posted by Dave at March 11, 2008 11:05 AM

comment #14

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

Google is loaded with far too many Shirtless Al Leong pics:

http://goldsea.com/ABH/Al/al3.jpg
http://goldsea.com/ABH/Al/al2.jpg

Posted by The Bandsaw Vigilante at March 11, 2008 11:19 AM

comment #15

rr3333 says ...

Another good question is, will they CGI his earring hole out in the new Indy film? I've seen a bunch of movies and tv where you clearly see an earring hole in an actor that shouldnt be wearing one as the character he is playing(such as the corrupt president in 24 from 2 years ago).

I think Ford looks ridiculous with the earring, but I guess Ally Mcbeal likes that and his pot collection..

Posted by rr3333 at March 11, 2008 11:22 AM

comment #16

Rich S. says ...

Dave, have you heard that they're actually trying to put together Tyson/Holyfield III? Talk about a ready-made horror flick.

Posted by Rich S. at March 11, 2008 11:32 AM

comment #17

Jay T. says ...

Coming to theaters in 2010: Indiana Jones and the Stash of Sticky Icky.

Posted by Jay T. at March 11, 2008 11:46 AM

comment #18

Wrecktum says ...

"Another good question is, will they CGI his earring hole out in the new Indy film? I've seen a bunch of movies and tv where you clearly see an earring hole in an actor that shouldnt be wearing one as the character he is playing(such as the corrupt president in 24 from 2 years ago)."

Earring holes are a huge distraction in movies and TV. It completely takes me out of the moment. Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood was a travesty.

Posted by Wrecktum at March 11, 2008 11:54 AM

comment #19

Rich S. says ...

But is it as bad as Christopher Reeve's Superman and Christopher Lambert's Tarzan having fillings visible in their teeth?

Posted by Rich S. at March 11, 2008 11:57 AM

comment #20

Dave says ...

Heh. Why WOULD Superman need dental work?

Along those lines, the classic Larry Niven essay on the impossibility of Superman having sex.

http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html

Love the thought of yellow-sun-powered Kryptonian sperm killing everything on Earth.

Posted by Dave at March 11, 2008 12:17 PM

comment #21

Rich S. says ...

Thanks, Dave. A friend of mine in college used to go on-and-on about that essay, but I had never read it until now. His favorite phrase was "gut her like a trout."

Posted by Rich S. at March 11, 2008 12:43 PM

comment #22

PerfectTommy says ...

The first ear ring holes that really bothered me weren't a man's. Kelly McGillis in "Witness" had ear ring holes though she was Amish. Leftover's from rum springa? Maybe she inspired Harrison.

Posted by PerfectTommy at March 11, 2008 12:54 PM

comment #23

D.Z. says ...

Jeffrey: "What the hell, is EW retarded. Did they not think people would notice this?"

I'm assuming they were hoping that the people who were too young to have seen the other films would not notice it.

MovieWatcher: "I hope that in the next Indy film, Ford is a mentor, and probably LeBouf is doing the action scenes."

No, please no. That was awful enough in Die Hard 4. I don't wanna see LeBouf taking Ford to sock-hops to do the twist or hang out with a rockabilly band on an Ed Sullivan-style variety show. [Or did I just spoil the story for this one...?]

Dublin: "Stoned, definitely stoned. Ford is allegedly one of the biggest potheads in Hollywood. Which is rather funny when your consider his gruff and uptight persona."

It's not that surprising, considering he went out with Calista Flockheart.

Posted by D.Z. at March 11, 2008 2:41 PM

comment #24

ellenmiss says ...

He is handsome. He posted his personal ad on a celebrities dating site called " wealthydater. com". I just visited his profile page. Seems he is quite popular there.

Posted by ellenmiss at March 12, 2008 12:28 AM

comment #25