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Matinee Magic: David Koepp and Indiana Jones Enter the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
BY PETER N. CHUMO II
When Steven Spielberg, who directed Raiders of the Lost Ark as well as the two follow-up adventures in the series, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(1989), called Koepp two years ago about writing a fourth installment,
he had "to think and decide carefully." Not many screenwriters, after
all, receive the opportunity to pen a chapter in a series whose first
film inspired them to become a screenwriter in the first place. As
Koepp succinctly puts it, "That kind of symmetry and circularity
doesn't come along often in life, and I really didn't want to screw it
up." Ultimately the offer was too tempting to pass up, especially since
he and Spielberg had already successfully collaborated on Jurassic Park (1997) and War of the Worlds (2005). Because "we brought good stuff out of each other," Koepp concluded that he would "be crazy not to do this."
Embarking on this project meant reading material from 15 years of
development and five writers—Jeb Stuart, Jeffrey Boam, Frank
Darabont, Jeff Nathanson and George Lucas. Lucas, of course, conceived
of the protagonist more than 30 years ago, and, along with Spielberg,
has shepherded each adventure to screen. Koepp is modest about his
achievement and does not think that everyone before him failed. Rather,
he asserts that other writers all made important contributions to the
development of the script. "You can learn more sometimes from a draft
that misses wildly than from a draft that got really close," Koepp
says. And, on a humorous but philosophical note, he adds, "Sometimes
some poor bastard has to go down a road that will bear no fruit so that
future generations don't." Koepp believes that he had "a combination of
timing and a confluence of personalities" working in his favor.
Building on their already solid working relationship, he and Spielberg
were quickly "throwing ideas at each other that were sparking ideas in
the other person."
Like
what you just read? Read Peter Chumo's
entire interview in the latest
issue
of Creative Screenwriting!
Holy Cash Cow! Superheroes are the New Boys of Summer
BY PETER CLINES
Like any
adaptation, the job of adapting comic books presents its share of
dangerous mistakes—and a legion of fans ready to pounce on the
transgressors. One thing that writers agree will ruin a script these
days is to treat it like camp. "There creeps in a sense of 'Oh, it's
only Batman, so it can be silly,'" says David Hayter (X-Men).
"That, in my opinion, diminishes the material and makes it less worth
doing. And in the end you make less return on it because the audience
feels you're not taking it seriously."
Another important
issue is context. Even the most popular of comic books has a narrow
audience compared with a major tentpole movie, and as such, comics can
get away with scenes and situations that would be unacceptable in a
feature film. Derek Haas cites an example from Wanted. In the
graphic novel, the character of Fox (Angelina Jolie) is first seen
gunning down random customers in a convenience store. "While it's
badass in the comic world, you do that on screen and you can't forgive
this woman for the rest of the movie," he says. "She's just killed a
soccer mom and a guy getting coffee. Those are the kinds of things
where you think, 'OK, I love this scene, I still want to use it to get
from point A to point B, but we've just got to make it our own so these
are characters you want to spend time with."
Check
out the rest of Peter Clines' article in the latest
issue!
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