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George Lucas

#31: “I Don’t Need Cute” – Director Carl Schultz on THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES

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Today’s guest is director Carl Schultz, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, or THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES, as it’s later been retitled. This lavishly produced early 90’s show, a spin-off of the popular Indiana Jones movies, follows the adventures of Indy as a boy, played by Corey Carrier, and as a young man, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, encountering numerous famous historical figures and events. Carl directed several episodes of the show, including the first few episodes which has the protagonist meeting contemporaries like Pancho Villa, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, and learning about the Mexican Revolution and the suffragette movement, among others. He also made the famous “Mystery of the Blues” two-part episode set in Chicago where Indy meets jazz musician Sidney Bechet and gangster Al Capone. Furthermore, Carl directed many of the bookends of the show, segments with a 93-year old Indy reminiscing about his earlier adventures.

Carl Schultz (left) on the set of YOUNG INDIANA JONES with executive producer George Lucas.

Carl Schultz was born in Budapest but left Hungary in the 1950’s and moved to Australia, where he established himself as a versatile storyteller. He directed several TV productions, including the mini-series RIDE ON STRANGER from 1979, based on the novel by Kylie Tennant set in the 1930’s, and the mini-series LEVKAS MAN from 1981, based on a book by Hammond Innes. Carl also directed several notable theatrical features, including the 1983 drama CAREFUL HE MIGHT HEAR YOU, the quiet story of a young kid caught in a custody battle between his two aunts, which won eight Australian Film Institute Awards, plus the David Williamson adaptation TRAVELLING NORTH from 1987, the deeply human story of an old curmudgeon who tries to enjoy his retirement days without going through the pains of addressing his health problems, and Carl’s American debut, THE SEVENTH SIGN from 1988, an apocalyptic horror movie starring Demi Moore and Michael Biehn.

In our conversation, Carl recalls the freedom he enjoyed as a director and his impressions of the show’s writer’s room. He also discusses his thoughts on the Old Indy bookend segments and his general approach as a filmmaker to the Young Indy stories.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #67, which features an in-depth look at the Young Indiana Jones TV series. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with actor Sean Patrick Flanery here on Talking Pictures!

So without any further ado, here’s Carl Schultz discussing how he came on board of YOUNG INDIANA JONES!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Carl Schultz
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

 

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#30: “It Made Me Read THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka”: Actor Sean Patrick Flanery on THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES

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Today’s guest is actor Sean Patrick Flanery, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, later re-titled as THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES– a lavishly produced spin-off of the popular Indiana Jones movies which ran from 1992 to 1996, following the adventures of Indy as a boy, played by Corey Carrier, and as a young man, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, encountering numerous famous historical figures and events. Sean appeared in the lion’s share of the episodes, with Indy fighting numerous battles in World War I, joining Sidney Bechet’s jazz band in Chicago, getting involved with the Easter Rising in Ireland, going to Hollywood to work with John Ford and Erich von Stroheim, and meeting other legendary people like Albert Schweitzer, Ernest Hemingway, George Gershwin or Charles de Gaulle.

After some commercials and smaller roles, YOUNG INDIANA JONES was Sean Patrick Flanery’s first big role in a major production. He also appeared in movies ranging from the cult success THE BOONDOCK SAINTS (1999) and its sequel (2009) to films like SUICIDE KINGS (1997), BODY SHOTS (1999), D-TOX (2002), SAW 3D (2010), the seventh part of the horror movie series, to the recently released horror film NEFARIOUS. On TV, Sean was part of the show THE DEAD ZONE based on the Stephen King novel, where he appeared in several episodes from 2002 to 2007, and he joined the show DEXTER in 2013 for its 8th season. He’s also a martial artist and a writer – his debut novel JANE TWO was published in 2016. On the book’s webpage, Sean’s bio includes the charmingly tongue-in-cheek statement: “He has appeared in over 100 movies and television shows, some of which he hopes you’ve seen, and some of which he hopes you haven’t.”

In our conversation, Sean recalls how the Young Indy series juggled all sorts of different storytelling approaches, and how he experienced the show as an actor. He discusses the educational part of the series and remembers his favorite episodes and directors.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #67, which features an in-depth look at the Young Indiana Jones TV series. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with Young Indy director Carl Schultz here on Talking Pictures.

So without any further ado, here’s Sean Patrick Flanery recalling the audition process of Young Indiana Jones.

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Sean Patrick Flanery
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#29: “We Need the Indiana Jones Character”, Says Novelist Max McCoy

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Just like in our last episode, today’s guest is not a filmmaker but a novelist. In our last episode, I spoke to Rob MacGregor who wrote several Indiana Jones novels at the beginning of the Nineties – this time, I’m talking to writer Max McCoy who continued the series from 1995 to 1999 with four original Indiana Jones stories, starting with INDIANA JONES AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE and continuing with INDIANA JONES AND THE DINOSAUR EGGS, THE HOLLOW EARTH and THE SECRET OF THE SPHINX.

Before his Indy series, Max had already written several novels in the Western genre, including THE SIXTH RIDER, SONS OF FIRE and its sequel HOME TO TEXAS and THE WILD RIDER. After the Indiana Jones books, he wrote several other Western novels like HELLFIRE CANYON, DAMNATION ROAD or the Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery series and the Ghost Rifle series, but also thrillers like HINTERLAND, non-fiction books like ELEVATIONS: A PERSONAL EXPLORATION OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER, and the novelization of the Steven Spielberg-produced TV series INTO THE WEST. Max has won not only several awards for his novels, including three Spur Awards, but also for his investigative reporting – because in his other career, Max also works as a journalist and for many years taught as a professor of journalism at Emporia State University in Kansas.

In our conversation, Max recalls how he became involved with the world of Indiana Jones, and how he distilled the ideas of George Lucas into a series of stories that feel very close to the original Indy movies. He discusses the importance and the appeal of the Indy character, the input from Lucasfilm and some ideas that didn’t make it into his novels. He also talks about his research process, his literary influences, and much more.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out episode #64, which features an in-depth discussion of the Indiana Jones novels by Rob MacGregor, Max McCoy and Wolfgang Hohlbein. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with Rob MacGregor here on Talking Pictures – the novelist who six original Indiana Jones novels in the early 90’s.

So without any further ado, here’s Max McCoy!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Max McCoy
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#28: Mythology and Spirituality: Rob MacGregor on his Indiana Jones Novels

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Today’s guest is not a filmmaker – but his best-known work is closely connected to one of the most popular movie series of all time. It is novelist Rob MacGregor, who wrote the novelization of Steven Spielberg’s third Indiana Jones movie, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE – and then went on to write six more original Indy adventures shortly afterwards, starting with INDIANA JONES AND THE PERIL AT DELPHI in 1991 and then continuing with DANCE OF THE GIANTS, THE SEVEN VEILS, THE GENESIS DELUGE, THE UNICORN’S LEGACY and INDIANA JONES AND THE INTERIOR WORLD throughout 1991 and 1992.

Rob also wrote many other novels, including the Will Lansa Young Adult series which started with PROPHECY ROCK in 1995 and the Nicholas Pierce series which started with CRYSTAL SKULL in 1991. He also published many other mysteries, adventure stories and sci-fi & fantasy stories, including SEVENTH BORN and TULPAS; he wrote books together with Peter Benchley and with Billy Dee Williams and he wrote novelizations for movies like THE PHANTOM and SPAWN. He also wrote numerous non-fiction books, many of them with his wife Trish MacGregor – including books on synchronicity, psychic powers and paranormal mysteries.

In our conversation, Rob recalls his early days as a writer and his journey into the world of Indiana Jones. He talks about working on the six Indy novels and the connections between the stories, the input of George Lucas and Lucasfilm, the popularity of the Indy books and some of his influences in terms of mythology and writing.

The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out episode #64, which features an in-depth discussion of the Indiana Jones novels by Rob MacGregor, Max McCoy and Wolfgang Hohlbein. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with Max McCoy here on Talking Pictures – the novelist who continued the Indiana Jones novel series with four more books in the late 90’s.

So without any further ado, here’s Rob MacGregor – who is unsure whether he should re-read his Indy books after all those years …

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Portrait photo courtesy of Rob MacGregor
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#27: “Nothing Would Ever Top the Ark of the Covenant”: Screenwriter Menno Meyjes on INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE

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Today’s guest is screenwriter and director Menno Meyjes, best known for his collaboration with Steven Spielberg in the 80’s. Menno was born in the Netherlands but moved to the United States in 1972 to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. After writing a script for one of the best-known episodes of Spielberg’s AMAZING STORIES TV series – “The Mission”, starring a young Kevin Costner and directed by Spielberg himself – Menno received an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel THE COLOR PURPLE, as directed by Spielberg. As a screenwriter, he also worked on films like Franklin Schaffner’s LIONHEART, Russell Mulcahy’s RICOCHET and Edward Zwick’s THE SIEGE.

After THE COLOR PUPLE, Menno was brought in to work on the third Indiana Jones movie, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, taking over from writer Chris Columbus whose MONKEY KING script had been rejected. In our conversation, Menno talks about his collaboration with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and how elements like the search for the Holy Grail and Indy’s father were introduced.

He also discusses some of the other films he’s worked on, including his directorial debut MAX, an independent gem starring John Cusack as a Jewish art dealer based in Munich who, shortly after WWI, encounters a young, struggling painter named Adolf Hitler whose anger and disillusionment is slowly finding other, more harmful outlets. Menno also talks about his work on MANOLETE, a biopic starring Adrien Brody as the popular Spanish bullfighter, and he discusses his more recent move back to the Netherlands to direct independent films like THE DINNER and THE REUNION.

So without any further ado, here’s Menno Meyjes recalling how he came on board of INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE.

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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Talking Pictures #8: Midge Costin, Director of MAKING WAVES

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Today’s guest is sound editor-turned-filmmaker Midge Costin. Midge worked as a sound and dialogue editor on some of the biggest films of the Nineties – ARMAGEDDON, CON AIR, THE ROCK, BROKEN ARROW, CRIMSON TIDE – but also on films like CRY-BABY, LEAP OF FAITH or SWING KIDS. She later became a teacher at the University of Southern California – and most recently, she created a brilliant documentary called MAKING WAVES – THE ART OF CINEMATIC SOUND which I became aware of when she ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign to finish the film. The film premiered at the Tribeca film festival in 2019 and also ran at the Munich Film Festival, at Cannes, and other film festivals.

MAKING WAVES discusses the history and the art of sound design and features interviews with filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Ryan Coogler or Barbra Streisand – but more to the point, it features dozens of interviews with excellent sound artists like Ben Burtt, Walter Murch, Gary Rydstrom, Anna Behlmer, Ai-Ling Lee, Cecilia Hall, and many others, taking an in-depth look at scenes from movies like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, STAR WARS or APOCALYPSE NOW, and many others.

Midge Costin with legendary sound designer Walter Murch.

I first contacted Midge because I was writing an article on the documentary for the German trade magazine Film & TV Kamera (a shortened version can be found online here). In our interview, Midge not only discusses the importance of good sound design and the individual creative roles of the sound artists – she also explains why it took the team nine years to finish the film, why there is a strong focus on the New Hollywood era, and she discusses the sound design of the documentary itself. You can learn more about the movie at makingwavesmovie.com.

So here’s Talking Pictures with Midge Costin!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

All photos (C) Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet/Dogwoof.
Special thanks to Dr. Wily, my Lichtspielplatz podcasting partner for audio editing. The music was created by Clark Kent.

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