Their intrusion into the business by way of their HOW TOs really do cause a lot of clichéd writing.

I like the fact that you honed in on the real Indy from the script… LOL. He was originally conceived as an exploitive grave robber archaeologist… Fame and fortune as his number one priority.

I wish more of that had been kept in his character because doing that would have made for some amazing changes in being by the end of the film(s).

He would have been darker but I think he would have been even more real.

Oh well. Kasdan certainly knew what he was doing. Lucas however, wanted a cliffhanging serial archaeologist good guy.

Good stuff!

Unk

What’s really weird about Indy is that I went through Kasdan’s RAIDERS script again and that scene with the Government guys is prefaced by a discussion with Marcus that really distinctly paints Indy as this exploitive grave robber. The standing agreement that Marcus is gonna buy whatever Indy brings him and the description of Indy’s home give the sense that he’s making money hand over foot. When it’s announced that the G-men are there, I think Indy’s first reaction is that he’s in trouble for stealing artifacts again. Which makes any sort of moral, keep the magical weapon from the Nazis argument pretty thin. I think the classroom/professor basis also undermines all mythology and faith to superstition to him. He never really has a ‘Hey, forget it moment’, but when Marcus informs him the G-Men want him to go after the Ark and Indy jumps at it, it’s got nothing to do with the Ark- it’s fortune and glory, maybe showing up the damn Nazis bastards (not that he truly believes they’ll gain power from God) and possibly finding out about his old flame.

I need to look at it again to see if there’s specifically a moment where faith is over taking his greed, but if so, I’d suspect it had more to do with Marion and him falling back in love with her than anything else.

But back to TGE– With Hilts it’s certainly not a direct refusal- he’s not hindering Big X by doing his own thing, but as everything builds and the guys in the camp bond it really hones in to the moment Hilts CAN’T say no, he’s got to take it for the team.

Which was really a lot more protracted than I guess I was thinking of– likely because I’m as programmed with the ‘hit this point at this page number’ approach as anyone else. Which has got to be where the over-used cliches are coming from. It’s a lot easier to parse outright refusal -> immediate consequence than really deeply integrating a character-relevant demand acceptance into the story.

Trying to implement that sort of realization is pretty daunting, but I think I’m getting my head around it bit by bit. Thanks ever so much to you.

The MORE RELEVANT the call to action is to the Protagonist the more we’re gonna buy it but just me putting it that way, makes it sound like bullshit and Screenwriting 101.

Take Indy for instance… He’s the quintessential adventure archaeologist. No way could he turn down a chance to go after the Ark. In fact, we don’t even need him to refuse the call outright and in our face… If I remember correctly, his refusal was based more on him being a non-believer in the paranormal and the power of God. In fact, didn’t he almost MOCK the idea of the power of God?

Therein was his refusal and it was a great way to do it because it wasn’t the traditional, flawed, and cliched shit we see today: But I have classes! But my Mom is counting on me! Yada yada fuckin’ yada.

Same with THE GREAT ESCAPE… These co-protagonists if you will, are perfectly suited (relevant) to the ACTION (the escape).

Hilts refuses the call to grab intel for BIG X in favor of tunneling out like a mole and getting away on his own but we KNOW and FEEL that he is a fuckin’ PATRIOT in every sense of the word and has NO CHOICE but to sacrifice a month or so in the cooler to get the much needed intel on what’s outside the camp.

So once again, you’re on the right road… I’m really happy you revisited TGE and it seems like you’re understanding how to weave the call to action - refusal of the call in such a way that we don’t end up fucking YAWNING our way through the story.

Good job.

Unk