What Would Indiana Jones Do?
April 17, 2008
Actually, the title should probably be: What Would Harrison Ford Do? but I thought putting Indiana Jones in the title might drive my hit-count up.
Anyway...
There is an article/interview with Harrison Ford in today's USA Today and although he doesn't really push the new Indiana Jones movie (out May 22, can't wait), it's a good article.
And I latched onto something, something that I guess hadn't quite seeped in, although I must have heard it before.
Harrison Ford had been acting for fifteen years prior to getting the role in "American Graffiti."
Graffiti was directed by George Lucas, and that got him the "in" to be Han Solo in Star Wars, which led to the Indiana Jones films, which Ford thinks have more to do with his success as an actor than the Star Wars films (debatable, in my opinion).
Fifteen years before what you might call his "big break" although I think from sheer box office numbers, it was longer than that. He doesn't talk about "Blade Runner" in there, and although I don't think "Blade Runner" was a huge financial success immediately, it sort of cemented Harrison Ford as a compelling actor who could carry a movie, or, if cemented is the wrong word, at least indicated it. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" undoubtedly "cemented" it.
The writer of the article asked Harrison if things hadn't worked out the way they did if he'd still be acting today. He said yes, and probably doing something else on the side to support himself--in the early days that was carpentry. Then he went on...
(tell me if this sounds vaguely familiar)
...to say that his success pretty much had to do with a little skill, a lot of luck and a tremendous amount of persistence.
There it is again, isn't it?
Persistence.
Well, I don't need to sum this up for you, do I?
Cheers,
Mark Terry
p.s. And I'm in a positive mood today, so I won't dwell on the obvious need for "luck."
posted by Mark Terry at 6:27 AM
4 Comments:
15 years eh? Let's see, Mary and I started writing our first book in, maybe, 1996? Not exactly sure. But, hey, that's not 15 years! And, hey, much as I believe in the role of luck, you don't qualify for luck unless you keep writing those lottery tickets.
Then again...it took Harrison 15 years you say? So, if I start acting now, I'll be a big star by the time I'm 73. Sounds like a plan!!
Eric,
In the article, Harrison said he might be interested in yet another Indiana Jones movie. Sean Connery turned down coming back as his Dad...
I have a tendency to have really bad luck. And then I get really good luck that saves me.
Even with that fact, I don't believe in luck happening. I believe in making my own luck. And it's funny, because I'm always lucky, I don't know how.
Then again, I'm a Libra. I'm quite comfortable with holding opposing opinions. :-)
Spy
--my wife used to say that I could fall in a sewer and come up smelling like a rose. We don't say that any more, but I suppose it's still true.
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