Frank Marshall has had a long career as both a producer (with films such as Signs, The Bourne Identity and Poltergeist) and director (helming the likes of Alive and Arachnophobia). He has now returned to produce the new Indy adventure, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. “It really did feel that we were just picking up where we left off all those years ago,” he tells David Grove.

What was it like to return to the Indiana Jones franchise after almost 20 years?

Steven said it was like getting back on a bike you loved to ride as a kid, and I think we all feel that way. It was also like a great reunion, with Harrison Ford and Karen Allen, and all us being back together. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, and there was the big DVD release a couple of years ago, but when we stepped onto the set in New Mexico for the first day of shooting it was a real blast from the past.

We were all in our 30s when we made Raiders of the Lost Ark and now we’re in our 60s, and our careers and lives have gone in all sorts of interesting and unexpected directions. So it was a real moving experience to be back together.

How does the visual look of Crystal Skull compare with the previous three films?

The previous three films were all shot by Douglas Slocombe, the great British cinematographer who’s now retired. This film was shot by Janusz Kaminski who’s been Steven’s cinematographer for all of Steven’s recent films. Douglas’s lighting was brilliant, and it really captured that feeling of a serialised adventure.

Steven and Janusz watched the films together and they talked about the lighting because Steven wanted the lighting on Crystal Skull to be pretty similar to that of the previous films. The answer is that the look of this film will hopefully match the visual look of the previous three films, which is that blazing Technicolor look.

Why did you decide to set Crystal Skull in 1957?

The biggest reason was that Harrison is 20 years older since we made the last film so in order to make his character believable we had to set the story in a later period. Another reason is that George Lucas grew up watching movies as a kid in the 1950s, as did Steven, and George really wanted to make a film that captured the elements of that period. This also gave us a chance to create new villains, as opposed to the Nazis.

How would you describe Cate Blanchett’s villain?

In the film, Indiana’s up against these Russian Cold Warriors, led by Irina Spalko, played by Cate. She’s a great über-villainess, and Indiana always has something going with every woman he meets so there’s some chemistry between them - even though she’s trying to kill him. She’s funny and terrifying and Cate had a lot of fun with the role. I think she might be the best villain we’ve had in any of the films so far.

Why do you think Indy has remained such a popular character?

One of the reasons Indiana Jones has remained such an enduring and popular hero is that he’s not some unstoppable, impenetrable killing machine. He’s a hero who’s vulnerable, and who gets hurt and expresses his feelings. He also has a sense of humour about himself. Humour is the key, I think, because Indiana Jones is a man who’s full of flaws and imperfections and I think that’s why the audience identifies with him so much. That’s how he appears in this movie, except now he’s much older and so those flaws and imperfections have become magnified.

He’s our Clark Gable, our Humphrey Bogart, and a lot of the credit for that goes to Harrison because he understands how to play the character so well. In the film, we establish him again, being a teacher and living a quiet, normal life. Then he’s thrust into the dangerous adventure. We introduce him again, show how he’s changed, and then we get right into the adventure. We learn a lot more about him in this film, even more than the last film where we introduced his father.

You also produced the Bourne films. Did the success of that franchise influence your approach on Crystal Skull?

There’s been so many films that have tried to copy the Indiana Jones franchise and most of them have failed, except for the Bourne films. I think the reason people like Bourne is that he’s a credible, believable hero, much like Indiana Jones. Jason Bourne does some amazing things but that’s because he’s been so well trained in martial arts and different forms of killing so it’s not totally unbelievable, like the Mission Impossible films.

We looked at the Bourne films, and we thought that maybe Indiana Jones could do some more dangerous things in this film, and still have that seem believable. The key is you have to believe that Indiana Jones can do the things he does and not say ‘There’s no way he could’ve survived that situation!’, so you walk a fine line. What sets the Indiana Jones films apart is that you can’t just call them action movies. They’re supernatural mysteries with elements of action and comedy and, in this film, some science fiction.

What was the genesis for this film’s story?

George was working on an episode of the old Young Indiana Jones series - it was the episode where Harrison Ford made a cameo - and they were shooting in Wyoming, near Harrison’s home. That’s when George came up with this idea for a great MacGuffin, which is the supernatural element that Indiana searches for in every film. He told the idea to Harrison, but Harrison wasn’t very interested and George wasn’t going to budge. He wouldn’t make another film unless they used this story he had in mind. Years went by, scripts were written, and then finally we came up with a script that both George and Steven loved.

Would you say that Crystal Skull has a much stronger science fiction element than the previous movies?

Yes, there’s a strong science fiction element in the story. It’s key to the story, all in the context of the archeology and the supernatural-mystery elements that are a part of any Indiana Jones adventure. This is set in the 1950s, and George Lucas grew up in that period watching lots and lots of science fiction shows. Much like the serial adventure film defined the 1930s, the science fiction B-movies defined the 1950s, at least for George and Steven.

How significant is Karen Allen’s role?

She’s very important. Marion has a very strong role in the film because she’s the love of Indy’s life. This is the continuation of their relationship that began in the first film. She’s a great character; the fans loved her in the original, and I think they’re going to enjoy their relationship in this film.

The fact that they’re both older I think makes their relationship more poignant...If we’ve done our jobs well, hopefully it’ll seem that it’s only been a couple of years since we last saw these characters as opposed to 20. We all had a great time, and it really did feel, on the set, that we were just picking up where we left off all those years ago.

What’s the balance between digital and practical effects in the film?

The film is about 70 percent practical. The digital effects in the film only serve to compliment the practical stuff and the actors. There were a lot of matte paintings in Raiders of the Lost Ark, for example, and this time we have digital paintings, which look more realistic than the old matte paintings. We also have lots of matte paintings in the film so the audience won’t be sure what’s real and what’s not, which is the best way to use digital effects.

Raiders of the Lost Ark was the beginning of your long association with Steven Spielberg. When did you first meet?

We first met in 1973 when I was working with Peter Bogdanovich on his early films. Then I worked with Walter Hill and produced two of his films. When Steven was getting ready to make Raiders of the Lost Ark he called me and asked me to be his producer. We hit it off and then we did Poltergeist and we’ve been together ever since.

It’s amazing to look back and realise how quickly the times goes by. The real impetus for Crystal Skull was probably the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 when Harrison was honoured. We were all there and they showed clips from the films, and that got us all excited. We remembered how much fun we had on the three previous films, and we decided it would be great if we could do another one, while we’re still alive. Now we’ve done it!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is released in UK and US cinemas on 22 May 2008.

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