[In Case You Didn't Know] Harrison Ford Caught Diarrhea Before Filming 'Indiana Jones' Action Scenes (Part 1)

"Tying the 'Dial of Destiny' to the 'Indiana Jones' Series
The Background of Spielberg Directing Four Films...
Why He Made Snacks During the 'Raiders' Audition..."

The movie 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' is the conclusion to the 'Indiana Jones' series, first introduced in 1981. Actor Harrison Ford (81) once again dons the fedora and travels through places like Tangier in Morocco and Sicily in Italy. Though over eighty, his image whipping the whip while wearing a leather jacket is unmistakably Dr. Jones. He struggles to retrieve the circular numbered dial called 'Antikythera,' said to have been made by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. He races on horseback along subway tracks and fights on a moving car. His hair has turned white and his movements have slowed, but he faithfully carries on the series' tradition, delivering its unique fun and emotion. "I've seen many amazing things, been tortured by shamans, and been shot nine times. Yet, I've spent my whole life searching for this."

'Did you know?' provides scattered useful information. These are tips to enjoy the movie more interestingly.

*Director Steven Spielberg directed four films in the 'Indiana Jones' series. This was due to a promise with director George Lucas, who participated as a producer. When filming 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1982), Lucas said, "If this movie succeeds, let's make two more." It was more of a friendly tease than a formal contract offer. Spielberg replied, "Okay," considering it as a de facto formal agreement. Later, when Lucas announced he would shoot the sequel 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' (1985), Spielberg gave up on 'Rain Man' (1989) and rushed to join. Spielberg said, "The promise with Lucas was more important than producing 'Rain Man.' I really wanted to work with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, so it was very disappointing, but I had to step down." "I gave a kind of report to director Barry Levinson and handed over all my notes. Levinson went his own way and made his own film, but he appreciated the time spent discussing the notes I gave him. I would have made the film according to the notes, but Levinson directed it in his own way."

*Spielberg and Lucas first met in 1967 at a student film festival held at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus. Lucas, attending the University of Southern California, submitted a short film called 'THX 1138.' Spielberg, an undergraduate at California State University, Long Beach, was captivated by the work and met him through an introduction by director Francis Ford Coppola.

*Spielberg was offered to direct 'Raiders' by Lucas in Hawaii. "He called me. 'I have to go to Hawaii for the release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Can you join me?' So, we were together in Hawaii. We were waiting for the opening week's box office. Some theaters opened at 10 a.m., so we were waiting for the morning screening results. Around 3 or 4 p.m., I got a call. It was still daylight. I remember Lucas hearing that all the 10 a.m. screenings nationwide were sold out. At that moment, he looked more confused than I had ever seen him in all the years I knew him. He didn't know what to do, but above all, he was relieved. While waiting for the statistics, Lucas seemed deep in thought, then turned to me and asked, 'What's your next plan?' I said I was going to see producer Kirby Broccoli, who had once rejected me, to see if he had changed his mind about hiring me for a James Bond film. Then Lucas said, 'There's something better,' mentioning 'Raiders.' He explained the details, and I promised to do it on the white sands of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. We started a lucky sandcastle-building game. We believed if it survived the first high tide, the movie would succeed. If it collapsed, we'd have to struggle to recoup the production costs. It was our superstition and tradition."

*Spielberg wanted to tell a father-son story in the third 'Indiana Jones' film. He suggested to Lucas, "I want to bring in Indiana Jones's father. I hope it's a journey to find the father." Lucas replied, "Really? I hope it's a quest for the Holy Grail." They looked at each other and said, "Then why not do both?" They combined their ideas and cast Sean Connery.

*Harrison Ford had stomach trouble while filming 'Raiders' in Tunisia. Before a scene where he fights villains wielding knives, he suffered from diarrhea. Clutching his stomach with a painful face, he asked Spielberg, "Can we shoot this scene within an hour?" Spielberg humorously replied to ease his worries, "Of course, if you shoot him." Ford actually did so. When the villain attacked skillfully with a knife, Ford pulled out a gun instead and shot him in one shot. This comically directed scene was inserted into the film and is still talked about today.

*Spielberg dropped a snake over Karen Allen, who played Marion in 'Raiders,' because he felt she didn't scream genuinely.

*Spielberg cast the 'Raiders' actors while baking cookies. He thought actors didn't have a chance to show who they really were. "When actors enter the office, we give them 15 minutes to open their portfolios and show some photos. While they talk, we usually read resumes, so eye contact is minimal. In such situations, actors have to leave an impression that lasts forever and is worthy of the role in just a few minutes. I thought it was a terrible method, but it was the average casting process for decades. Then I realized the best casting method was to make people comfortable. I prepared a bag of flour on the table, mixed it with eggs, kneaded the dough, and coated it with sugar. Immediately, portfolios were forgotten. I could tell in 5 minutes, not 15, if my choice was right. The actors all relaxed and enjoyed the audition. For over 14 weeks of casting, I baked cookies almost every weekday, sometimes twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Lucas's company had 100 employees. They smelled the food in the kitchen in the office complex and brought their lunchboxes to eat around 11 a.m. They couldn't stand it anymore."

*Spielberg was exhausted when 'Raiders' hit the screen. He didn't watch the film with audiences until 44 weeks after its release, before it screened at the Cinerama Dome. "I watched 'Raiders' for the first time in almost a year and could see it relatively objectively. I could enjoy it as entertainment. But I couldn't stop thinking, 'Why did I do that like that?', 'Why not do it this way?', 'Why did I use camels with syphilitic leukoplakia?' I'm critical of my films. 'I should have spent more time on that sequence. Oh my, I used the second take there. Why didn't I use the fourth take?' Something like that. So sitting in my own film and watching it is a huge mental shock. In that sense, I think music director John Williams, who repeatedly conducts his own music, is amazing. I could never do that."

*Spielberg met his wife Kate Capshaw at the 'Indiana Jones' audition. Capshaw recalled the moment: "Spielberg smelled like family to me. It was a scent of familiarity. Not a metaphor, but literally olfactory. They say if you blindfold a woman and let her smell her baby among twenty babies, she can pick out her own. That's how I felt. I smelled with my eyes closed and thought, 'This is the man.'"

*Spielberg said making 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' (2008) felt like "riding a bike again after 18 years of not riding. Fortunately, I could balance well without training wheels." "It felt like reuniting with the sweetest memories from the 1980s to 1989. Moreover, having Allen and Ford join in such great shape! I had to watch the films again for my own sake."

*Spielberg shot the first three 'Indiana Jones' films with Douglas Slocombe. The lighting style was defined as an action-adventure series genre. He hoped a similar style would be reflected in 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.' Meanwhile, cinematographer Janusz Kami?ski wanted the film to look modern. But after watching the previous three films with Spielberg, he gave up his pride. Spielberg was also worried about Ford's acting in this regard. He doubted whether Ford could return home after appearing in various genres over the past 18 years. Contrary to concerns, Ford quickly regained his sharp and concise spirit and excellently handled the action scenes. Spielberg said, "Except for being out of breath and panting after every action stunt, he was just the same as before."

*Spielberg said, "Indiana Jones was never a perfect hero from the start." "Writer Lawrence Kasdan wanted our protagonist to be a character who is wounded, expresses pain, shows anger, makes mistakes, and sometimes becomes a laughingstock. These flaws make the audience feel that with a little practice and courage, they can be just like Jones."

*Spielberg described Marion, played by Karen Allen, as "the role who would prepare and knock out Indiana Jones when he acts cocky." "Growing up watching 1930s films, I admired the bold female leads. Women then could stand up to men like Irene Dunne, Ann Sheridan, and Barbara Stanwyck, hold their ground, and win. Screenwriters in the 1930s and 1940s clearly knew how to write scripts for women."

*The action sequences in the 'Indiana Jones' series are clear. There is never a question like, 'Who is that person punching that person?' Unlike recent action films that deliberately create a sense of chaos, Spielberg said, "I pursue geography. I want the audience to know which side the good guys are on, which side the villains are on, and where they are positioned on the screen." "I want the audience to be able to edit at their own pace in shots where I don't want to cut or transition. That was the approach in all four 'Indiana Jones' films. Fast editing is very effective in some films like the 'Jason Bourne' series, but it sacrifices geography. Still, in 'The Bourne Ultimatum,' where scenes are edited every 1.5 seconds, the audience gets a huge adrenaline rush. There is only enough geography so the audience doesn't get lost. Especially the last of the three films, which I think was the best. In that sense, 'Indiana Jones' is a bit old-fashioned compared to modern action-adventure films. We made every effort not to reinvent the genre, and I hope it succeeded. If the genre were reinvented, it wouldn't be 'Indiana Jones.' Above all, I don't want it to be reinvented in a way that denies its basis on 1930s Hollywood films."

References: Lester D. Friedman, Brent Notbohm, Steven Spielberg, translated by Lee Suwon, published by Maumsanchaek 'Words of Spielberg (2022)'; Jeong Deokhwan, published by Paper Book 'Spielberg's Film Conquest Project (2011)'; Dennis Kearney, Joseph Dagnes, translated by Lee Sanggu, published by Bonus 'Indiana Jones Exploration Notebook (2008)'; Ryu Donghyun, published by Rubybox 'Indiana Jones and Archaeology (2008)', etc.