RAIDERS story conference

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  • RAIDERS story conference

    Came across this wonderful link...

    http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com...onference.html

    ...on John August's site this morning. A 125-page transcript of the original 1978 story conference between Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan regarding RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Worth checking out if you haven't already.

  • #2
    Re: RAIDERS story conference

    I look forward to reading through that transcript.

    EJ

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: RAIDERS story conference

      neat. thanks!
      @PatriotFrames

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: RAIDERS story conference

        This is so cool. I'd love to hear an mp3 of the meetings! I've only read a few pages so far but it's a really fun read.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: RAIDERS story conference

          Excellent find. Thanks, Joe.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: RAIDERS story conference

            Awesome. I love reading this kind of stuff.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: RAIDERS story conference

              Damn, Lucas wanted Marion to be 11 when Indy and her had an affair...wow...

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: RAIDERS story conference

                LOL I bet Speilberg and Lucas won't be too happy.
                "What's worse than being talked about? Not being talked about."

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: RAIDERS story conference

                  Originally posted by ShaneBlackFan View Post
                  LOL I bet Speilberg and Lucas won't be too happy.
                  Not at all, I'm expecting the C&D letters to be coming any day now. Grab the pdf while you can!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: RAIDERS story conference

                    A fine lesson in creating a franchise, IMHO.

                    George Lucas talks a lot and in the end, seems to call most of the shots.

                    Kasdan just listens and tips in once in a while. Spielberg has the most wacky ideas.

                    Great read.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: RAIDERS story conference

                      Originally posted by bulldozer View Post
                      George Lucas talks a lot and in the end, seems to call most of the shots.

                      Kasdan just listens and tips in once in a while. Spielberg has the most wacky ideas.
                      Exactly. I would never have expected it, based on how dreadful the Star Wars prequels were, but this document clearly shows that Lucas was "the smartest man on the room." Any time a story problem came up, he found a way to work it out in the most effective manner imaginable, and his suggestions almost all ended up as the final version of the film.

                      It's quite thrilling to read about how these great creative minds shaped the scenes that we've all come to know so well, like sculptors chiselling out a perfect artwork. The whole lost-ark-temple sequence, for example, goes from nothing to fully formed in "real time," all while these luminaries discuss it. They go from thinking about having the temple fill with water, to fill with sand, to having snakes, to trapping Marion with Indy -- which solves their lighting problem -- and finally, to having Indy ride the crashing pillar into the cadaver room. All the pieces magically knit together. Utterly amazing.

                      In the blog post, linked above, concerning the transcript, I found this observation interesting:

                      2) A character arc? What's that?

                      There was no discussion about an arc, and as you can see, they referenced characters that did not arc, such as James Bond, the Man With No Name, Superman, and some of Clark Gable’s characters.
                      Now, of course, Indy does have an arc in Raiders, going from materialist to agnostic, but that clearly wasn't a key issue in the genesis of the film.

                      Also, of the various approaches to screenwriting, it seems that the trio followed something like a sequencing method -- or at least, they thought of their major set pieces/action scenes, and then worked on how to link them together.

                      All in all, it's one of the most fascinating and inspirational documents related to screenwriting I've ever read.

                      By the way, here's a complete text transcript of the story conference, which I found easier to read than the pdf:

                      http://moedred.livejournal.com/2009/03/04/

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: RAIDERS story conference

                        I found a couple of things very interesting.

                        How certain story points that didn't make it into Raiders, show up later in the sequels.

                        That George thinks like a storyteller, Steven thinks like a director and Kasden thinks like a writer.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: RAIDERS story conference

                          Originally posted by karsten View Post
                          Exactly. I would never have expected it, based on how dreadful the Star Wars prequels were, but this document clearly shows that Lucas was "the smartest man on the room." Any time a story problem came up, he found a way to work it out in the most effective manner imaginable, and his suggestions almost all ended up as the final version of the film.

                          It's quite thrilling to read about how these great creative minds shaped the scenes that we've all come to know so well, like sculptors chiselling out a perfect artwork. The whole lost-ark-temple sequence, for example, goes from nothing to fully formed in "real time," all while these luminaries discuss it. They go from thinking about having the temple fill with water, to fill with sand, to having snakes, to trapping Marion with Indy -- which solves their lighting problem -- and finally, to having Indy ride the crashing pillar into the cadaver room. All the pieces magically knit together. Utterly amazing.

                          In the blog post, linked above, concerning the transcript, I found this observation interesting:

                          Now, of course, Indy does have an arc in Raiders, going from materialist to agnostic, but that clearly wasn't a key issue in the genesis of the film.

                          Also, of the various approaches to screenwriting, it seems that the trio followed something like a sequencing method -- or at least, they thought of their major set pieces/action scenes, and then worked on how to link them together.

                          All in all, it's one of the most fascinating and inspirational documents related to screenwriting I've ever read.

                          By the way, here's a complete text transcript of the story conference, which I found easier to read than the pdf:

                          http://moedred.livejournal.com/2009/03/04/
                          Thanks for posting this link, I couldn't get the ilivid to set up on my MAC, tried several times.
                          FA4
                          "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: RAIDERS story conference

                            Originally posted by bulldozer View Post
                            George Lucas talks a lot and in the end, seems to call most of the shots.
                            I seem to recall Spielberg saying as much during some discussion of the Indy films, that George is the mover and shaker behind them and that he pretty much has the final vote on things. Lucas prtty much said IV would have Crystal Skulls or there would be no film.

                            Too bad Spielberg didn't walk at that point.

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