Monday Morning Quarterback Part II
By BOP Staff
May 28, 2008
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Kim Hollis: As John Hamann chronicled in the Weekend Wrap-Up, Harrison Ford's prior three releases had all been disastrous. Do you believe Crystal Skull puts him back on the map as a lead actor or is this his last box office hurrah?
Pete Kilmer: Boy, I think it depends on the projects he picks. He seemed looser and looked like he had more fun in this movie than most of the movies he made over the past 15 years. I think it *might* be his last hurrah as the leading man. He just needs to pick better projects to be in. I hope he does because he's an engaging actor.
Tim Briody: Enjoy what better be your last leading man role, sir. Time to start playing grandpa. All the others actors your age have figured that out by now.
David Parker: This was probably his last shot at having audiences believe him as an action hero. If Harrison wants success a leading man, he'll need to transition from Indy to indie films and smaller roles. Something like Crossing Over is a good start. Everyone needs to see there's a still good actor in there.
Joel Corcoran: It's a last hurrah on par with William Shatner's last turn as Captain Kirk in Star Trek: Generations. Ford is a very good actor, but he's reached (if not exceeded) the limit of playing leading man in an action/thriller. I'd love to see him turn to roles along the lines of what David Strathairn did in The Bourne Ultimatum or George Clooney's role in Michael Clayton - characters facing the gritty realism that they're too old to be "men of action." Or maybe he can join Shatner on Boston Legal. That would be cool.
Max Braden: I think it has certainly revived faith in Ford's ability to perform in energetic movies. Sean Connery did The Rock when he was the same age, and Clint Eastwood was 70 when he did Space Cowboys. Ford may not be able to lead any more action films, but pair him - even with actors closer to his age than LaBeouf - in a project that has a mix of adventure and comedy and he could pull out a few hits yet. Unless it's Hollywood Homicide 2, in which case he's screwed.
Calvin Trager: Unless Warners greenlights The Bucket List II, I don't see it.
Tim Briody: I'm glad somebody went there. Thank you, Calvin.
David Mumpower: I think that he can get all of the parts that Sean Connery's retirement have left open for everyone else. Nowadays, he's the aging mentor whose death from old age teaches the young pup the true meaning of heroism. And he's Indiana Jones if a follow-up project can come together quickly. Other than that, he's at the end of a historically unprecedented career of box office successes. If he wants to be guaranteed to end on an up note, it's time to ride out into the sunshine Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade style.
Calvin Trager: Connery was still "cool" at 60, 70. Harrison Ford comes across as a burned-out husk of a person. Or maybe I'm being all unfair and judgey based on nothing more than seeing him bombed at one too many awards show. Without the fedora I think Ford lacks the certain I don't know what to fill that role. I mean, he's only five years younger than Nicholson, so what's been preventing him from getting those parts up to now?
David Mumpower: My speculation would be ego. After all, he's had as many $100 million movies as anybody in the world. He hasn't been in a position where he had to take on the mentor role until the past few years. K-19: The Widowmaker was when it all went south for him for whatever reason. He'd never gone three straight films without a hit before that and he was always the lead in those titles.
Calvin Trager: I see your point. It's not so much that he couldn't get those kinds of roles as he wouldn't take those kinds of roles. Just for fun, though, here's a few actors pushing 60 who I'd rather see play the grizzled mentor instead of Harrison Ford (born 1942): William Hurt (1950), Jeff Bridges (1949), and Sam Jackson (1948). I'm sure there are others, in fact this is a good place for a "so and so's agent is on line 2" joke. Don't let me down!
Kim Hollis: I tend to agree with David Parker. It's time for him to take on a couple of indie projects and show us he can act.
Maybe he could just star in a CGI adaptation of Mutts instead
Kim Hollis: George Lucas recently hinted that if there were a fifth Indiana Jones film, it would focus on the character played by Shia LaBeouf, Mutt. Do you believe such a film would be as readily accepted as one starring Harrison Ford/Indiana Jones? Basically, do you think it's time for the torch to be passed or should this franchise be allowed to fade into the sunset?
Pete Kilmer: It comes down to the story. If the story is there and George and Steven are up for it...then I say why not? Plus with Professor Jones now the Associate Dean of the University...he can be the new Marcus Brody character and can show up to have some fun as well.
David Parker: I think the draw of this series is Indiana Jones in brand, name and appearance. You might be able to get someone else to play Indy instead of Harrison, but I don't think the movies would be successful with a new main character. Imagine a James Bond movie with James's estranged nephew playing 004.
Didn't we just find out what happens to a franchise (Narnia) when the audience no longer instantly recognizes the brand?
Reagen Sulewski: The words "backpack" and "dynamite" come to mind.
Joel Corcoran: I think there's room for a continuation of the same story based around Mutt, if Indiana still has a large presence in the film - maybe coordinating strategy and intrigue while leaving the adventurism to the younger generation. Getting over the focus on one character (Indiana himself) will make it much tougher for Spielberg and Lucas to expand the franchise along other branches compared to efforts in other franchises that were very successful, like in Star Wars or Star Trek. One interesting possibility would be a movie prequel that bridged the story's timeline between the Young Indiana Jones TV show and Temple of Doom.
Max Braden: To quote Henry Jones Senior, "Let it go." But it's already too late. I'm not ignoring the amount of money that the Indy franchise made, but National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code came along, stripped the heart out, and spotlighted the money that could be made from treasure hunting movies. The reboot of James Bond, prequels of Star Wars, future crossover of comic book heroes of Iron Man et al, plus the box office performance of this Indy installment will most likely encourage Lucas to see how much more he can squeeze out of the brand.
Les Winan: No no, a thousand times no. Let's remember the other "ideas" about franchises Lucas has been involved in and think about how they turned out.
Jim Van Nest: Okay, I haven't seen the film yet, but...I'm thinking it would be a bit difficult to continue the franchise centered around another character. Another actor could be done, but not another character. For instance, who knows how many Indy films we would have had by now if River Phoenix hadn't died. He easily could have stepped in and been Indiana Jones for a new generation. But to try to center the franchise around someone who's not Indy just wouldn't work, in my opinion. Sadly, I think Shia could have been the guy to take over the role of Indiana Jones and make it work, but as Mutt, I don't think the franchise can survive.
David Mumpower: I could see an Indiana Jones reboot working after a time where someone is cast as Henry Jones Jr. The era is rife with with great villains due to the historical landscape. If we move forward to a Mutt Williams period after 1957, who are the villains? The Vietnamese? More Russians? And the other problem is that a switchblade, Mutt's novelty item, is in no way memorable. A whip, on the other hand, has grown iconic over time. Even if I thought Shia LaBeouf were worthy of carrying on the franchise (River Phoenix was, but he isn't), I would still think this whole thing came from the creators of Bad Idea Jeans. The franchise should be done for at least a decade unless Harrison Ford is willing to turn around and do another one quickly.
Calvin Trager: Though I agree with all of what y'all are saying, I think it is a virtual certainty we'll see Indiana Jones V within three years (with or without Harrison Ford).
David Mumpower: On a semi-related tangent, Steven Spielberg is 62 in December. George Lucas turned 64 a couple of weeks ago. Assuming fine health for both men, how much longer should we expect them to make movies? I would guess about eight more years for Spielberg and 6 for Lucas with a special project here and there for each in their 70s.
Calvin Trager: I don't know about Lucas (the sooner the better), but I think Spielberg will likely go out like so many of his auteur brethern have, and simply make movies until he dies (see Kubrick, Stanley; also Altman, Robert).
Kim Hollis: I think you're right about Spielberg. Movies are his life, and that's what he'll do until he simply isn't alive enough to do it anymore. As for a follow-up featuring Mutt as the lead character, I think it's not an Indiana Jones series anymore. It's going to require totally reinventing the franchise if that is truly the plan, and I don't think people will accept it.
*insert falling bomb sound effect here*
Kim Hollis: Despite holiday weekend inflation, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian fell a huge 59% in its second weekend. Given that it's basically dead now, are we ready to write it off as a box office bomb a la Evan Almighty?
Tim Briody: It'd be understandable for Prince Caspian to not match The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but this thing isn't even going to hit $150 million, and perhaps top out in the $125-130 range. I hate calling $100 million earners bombs, but yeah.
David Parker: Prince Caspian seems like it's destined to become the worst perfoming sequel to a blockbuster in terms of dollar value of the original's grosses. From $290 million to $130 or $140 million. Not even Evan Almighty or Lost World dropped off that much. The only saving grace seems to be overseas grosses.
Joel Corcoran: This drop saddens me. I was really looking forward to the entire string of Narnia books being made into movies. And worse, I now fear for the future of The Hobbit.
Max Braden: Not just Caspian, but we've been talking about the fantasy genre minefield for a while now. A fall this fast from the great height of The Lord of the Rings could usher in a slump similar to the decline of the Western genre decades ago.
David Mumpower: Independent of how Prince Caspian performs overseas, this is a disastrous result. Walden Media lost 50% of its market share in one movie. That's hard to do.