The International House of Mojo

Being that I’m the guy who repeatedly, and only somewhat sarcastically, used the front page to hype up the approach of the Willow television show, it might have been noticeable that I fell silent when the thing actually arrived. Well, Mom always said that if you don’t have anything nice to say…

But hey, just ‘cause the show’s aggressively tropey Young Adult vision wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean it wasn’t for somebody. Plus, you gotta cherish when Lucasfilm puts anything non-Star Wars on its docket. It’s sorta Mojo’s raison d’etre, if I might invoke a little…Portuguese?

So I stand with the bereaved in reporting that Disney/Lucasfilm has given the show the axe rather than allow Jon Kasdan to make good on his outstandingly presumptuous post-credit implications, presumably on the grounds that it didn’t have lightsabers in it. On the plus side, you’re effectively left with an eight hour, live action Willow 2 quasi-starring Warwick Davis, which few people over the past thirty-five years would have called possible.

I’ll also take this time to point out that the show’s soundtrack, featuring compositions by James Newton Howard and Xander Rodzinski when it wasn’t going in for horrific rock covers, is available from all the Mickey-approved platforms in a three-volume digital release from Walt Disney Records. It’s another important precedent for those of us who have our fingers crossed for more official soundtrack releases for certain non-obvious Lucasfilm properties.

Now, dry those tears and let’s get that throwback graphic adventure continuation up and running. May I suggest David Fox?

Source: Deadline

The MPAA has awarded Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny the traditional PG-13 rating, citing “sequences of violence and action, language and smoking.” Yah, you’re gonna want that TruCoat violence and action. Allegedly (Footnote: elTee’s alludes to “reliable sources” that he steadfastly refuses to identify), this was only achieved after the filmmakers cut out 40 solid minutes of unflinching sexual activity, Cruising-style, but as a commercial matter The Mouse needs this to reach the widest possible audience. You’re gonna want that widest possible audience.

A movie can only be rated after it has locked picture (unless the studio wants to pay for a resubmission), so the real news here is that this thing is in the birth canal, and there’s no turning back. Next on the horizon should be a proper trailer. That’s probably the one that’s going to give us our first look at Sophia Hapgood, or so elTee’s reliable sources (Footnote: Okay, it was just that adventure-gui.de guy) tell me.

Source: Screen-Connections

It’s always useful to remember that a corollary to our getting a fifth Indiana Jones movie is that we’re getting a fifth Indiana Jones score from John Williams. In a new conversation with the maestro, Variety extracted a few quotes on his final Indy score (but not necessarily final film score, as had been previously indicated):

I don’t want to spoil anything, but you’re gonna love the “Indy’s Noble End” track!

Source: Variety

If you’ve been following along with us on all things Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, you may know that English character actor Toby Jones will be playing Basil, a sidekick to Indy, in the much-touted prologue set in 1944. Conforming to how Indiana Jones teasers usually play out, it all sounds heavy on the eventfulness:

So when you see Jones “walking along” on June 30th, you can rest assured that he did so without fakery. And if that doesn’t justify an IMAX premium, what does, really?

Source: Deadline

Some new quotes from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold have been published by way of The Hollywood Reporter.

Though there's always something vaguely mannequin-like about the end result to even my aging peepers, the glimpses we've gotten of this VFX effort look like it's going to be the best of its kind so far. Read Mangold's comments in full here.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

I mean, it's thirty seconds, so just watch it.

Source: YouTube

The Hollywood Reporter has a lengthy new interview with Harrison Ford, and while you should read the whole thing, it’s the Dial of Destiny segment you want. Find it below the cut:

Read more...

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The knowledgeable know that before he joined the ranks of his younger buddy George's game studio, Hal Barwood belonged to the same filmmaking cohort as Lucas, befriending him at USC and going on to serve as animator on Lucas's first feature THX 1138.

Hal often worked alongside his writing partner Matthew Robbins, with their credits including such screenplays as The Sugarland Express, MacArthur and an uncredited contribution to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The crown jewel of their collaboration was the cult classic Dragonslayer, which Robbins himself directed from their script. The film is a highlight of 1980s fantasy, with its uncompromisingly filthy 6th century vision and a dragon which celebrity uber-dorks like Guillermo del Toro and George R.R. Martin consider live action cinema's most iconic.

Being a Paramount/Disney co-production that didn't set the box office on fire, fans haven't held their breath on the film receiving the special treatment it deserves in the arena of home video, but sometimes the wheel turns favorably, and a handsome-looking 4K Blu-ray package freighted with extras is arriving on March 21st. Presuming Paramount didn't get cute and de-grain this earthy masterpiece, we're in for a real treat.

Source: The Digital Bits

An interesting phenomenon of big franchise movies with their attendant merchandising tie-ins is that the toys sometime scoop the marketing machine. The logistical need for this stuff to be manufactured well ahead of time by the licensed partners, and the wacky calendar vagaries that can result, has historically led to reveals coming from unexpected places. I seem to vaguely recall that product descriptions for LEGO sets and the like back in 2007-2008 exposed otherwise shrouded story and character elements from Crystal Skull way in advance of the movie, for example.

Anyway, the tradition continues with Indy 5 -- Hasbro’s putting out a whole bunch of future landfill fodder for all the Indy movies, including something called a “Worlds of Adventure” line aimed at younger children. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character from the upcoming movie made the cut, and the packaging for her ends up unveiling her surname and presumably her vehicle of choice. Meet Helena Shaw:

Once your heart rate settles back down, there’s also the similarly detailed figure below for Mads Mikkelsen’s villainous Jürgen Voller, helpfully stripped of his Nazi iconography. I wanna say this character’s full name may have already been revealed elsewhere, but hey, now you know he might be piloting that aircraft in the movie, so there’s really no reason to go to the cinema at this point:

You can ensure the continued celibacy of your day by checking out Hasbro’s full line-up at Lucasfilm.com.

Source: Lucasfim.com

It seems Indy was driving around Morocco when he came down with some sort of a metaphor for Mojo’s backend. But seriously, folks.

Source: CoveredGeekly

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director Jim Mangold has some teases and a new production still for Entertainment Weekly, but only because the Webmonkey address bounced.

He also confirms that Mutt will be unseen but acknowledged, while Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character is the daughter of “a friend of Indy’s, who we will also meet in the movie.” That’s gotta be Toby Jones. Anyway, you’ll need to read the article for the rest.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

By all accounts, George Lucas had virtually no creative role in the development or production of the new Indiana Jones, but a story is circulating that, having been shown a cut of the movie, Lucas requested to be onboarded as an Executive Producer. You can see his name among the EPs listed in Lucasfilm’s press release for this week’s trailer, whereas it was notably absent from previous issuances.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a departure from tradition in that Steven Spielberg has ceded the director’s chair and assumed more or less the George Lucas role, while Lucas himself seemingly removed himself from the equation altogether in his embrace of retirement. With the movie essentially finished, his name being lent as a producer at this late date would seem to function as a vote of confidence. When asked for comment, Willow responded as follows on formal letterhead:

:~

Source: The Raven

Attendees of D23 got to see it in September (sans title). Attendees of CCXP22 - that would be Brazil's Comic-Con, for those who find unintuitive acronyms to be unintuitive - got to see it today. And now, so do you.

A lot to discuss here. And if you're Too Cool to carry it on in the comments, take it to the forum thread why don't you.

That's the title of the new Indy movie, per historically reliable purveyor-of-Indy-5-exclusives "ThrowMeTheWhip" over at The Raven, the forum of TheRaider.net.

Meanwhile, folks have gotten their hands on print copies of Empire's latest issue containing their big Indy 5 spread -- that would be the six-page "first look" of the movie that Empire's online presence has been teasing excerpts and photos from over the last week. Inevitably, somebody's got scans, but we at Mojo trust you will all do the right thing and refer to these only as a convenience after buying your own copy in support of print media.

Source: The Raven

It seems Empire is going to keep these coming at a steady drip until Thursday, and who am I to complain? The latest tease is of Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character Helena: Indy's goddaughter and by all accounts primary sidekick for his last adventure.

The opening reel of Indy 5 will see a de-aged Harrison Ford infiltrating a Nazi castle during World War II. More at the link in the tweet embedded below.

Source: Empire Magazine

It would appear that the first three (out of eight) episodes of Willow have been distributed to distinguished members of the press, or in any case to a bunch of sites with “geek” in the name. (Not to be a churl, Craig, but Ronda Scott would have hooked us up.) And while an embargo prevents full reviews from being published until Nov. 30th, these critics can at least tweet their general reaction, and so they have:

Well, if you’re inclined to put your trust in whomever those people are, the show sounds like it’s more fun than a sharp stick in the eye.

Need more to sustain your excitement? You might also want to check out Gizmodo’s new interview with showrunner Jon Kasdan, who among other things discusses how the show somehow features Val Kilmer without featuring him. TV Line also got in on the action with an exclusive clip. I’m telling you, with Monkey Island 6 out the way, you can all finally devote yourselves body and soul to the true messiah. That would be Willow, for those playing at home.

Guess they wanted to save some stuff for the weekend. The latest Indy 5 tease is our first glimpse at Voller, the villain played by Mads Mikkelsen.

Follow the link for some new quotes and an image of Voller's "lapdog" played by Boyd Holbrook.

Source: Empire Magazine

In Mojo’s typical mad dash to be the first to press, we overlooked the fact that Empire also released a new production still for Indy 5. Check it out beneath this excerpt from the first look you can enjoy in full when the magazine is published next Thursday.

Source: Empire Magazine

Sure enough, Empire had something to share about Indy -- or will, in the upcoming edition of their magazine hitting newsstands November 24th. But to tease that preview, they do have these rad covers to show off:

Source: Empire Magazine