Learning Mandarin - Ford can still fit into Indy's trousers

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Ford can still fit into Indy's trousers

(AP)
Updated: 2007-07-14 14:54









Harrison Ford arrives at the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival Tributes
held at the Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2006 in Los Angeles,Ca.[AP]



HILO, Hawaii (AP) — Harrison Ford, who turned 65 Friday, still fits into
Indiana Jones' tight trousers.

Many fans are curious to see if, 18 years after "Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade," Ford can live up to the physical rigors of the
globe-trotting archaeologist in the long-awaited fourth installment of
the epic series.

Producers of the adventure, currently being filmed on Hawaii's Big
Island, say there's no need to worry. Ford is as fit as ever.

"I have to say, he looks amazing," said Kathleen Kennedy, the film's
co-executive producer, along with George Lucas. "He looks fantastic in
the outfit."

Actually, Ford knew the hat would still fit but wondered if he could
still squeeze into the pants. He did.

The action star, who first introduced Indiana Jones, sporting his fedora
and cracking his bullwhip, in the 1981 classic "Raiders of the Lost Ark,"
is actually doing many of his own stunts in the latest film.

"He's doing them, he just has a few more ice packs and a few more
massages," Kennedy said.

"And a lot of Celebrex," producer Frank Marshall added.

The movie just completed the first of three weeks of filming in Hawaii,
after spending a week each in New Mexico and Connecticut. The lush areas
surrounding Hilo are filling in as a South American rain forest.

Lucas and director Steven Spielberg have not released the title of the
film, scheduled for release May 22, 2008.

The filming has created a buzz on this normally sleepy island, known for
macadamia nuts and premium Kona coffee. It's the most action since nearby
Kilauea volcano rumbled to life in 1983. Like Indiana Jones, the
still-erupting volcano has been an attraction ever since.

In the privately owned jungles of Keaau, one of the movie locations, two
colorful signs that were drawn in crayon and decorated with balloons were
displayed at Liberty Christian School.

One welcomed the cast and crew of the film. The other read: "Happy
Birthday, Harrison Ford."

Janae Pacheco helped draw the sign, even though the 8-year-old student
admitted not knowing Ford or seeing his movies.

"Not exactly," she said, when asked if she knew Ford. "But my teacher
does."

The film's biggest action sequences are being filmed in Hawaii. Marshall
compared one scene to the thrilling, white-knuckled truck chase in the
desert in "Raiders."

"It's that level," he said.

Hawaii will be featured in about 20 percent of the film. About half will
be from sets in Los Angeles. The Aloha State was also the backdrop for
portions of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Ford, Lucas, Spielberg, Kennedy and Marshall all worked together on what
till now has been the trilogy. So, it was a homecoming of sorts.

"We're having a great time. It's so much fun being together," said
Marshall, who has produced more than 50 films, including "Poltergeist,"
"Gremlins," "The Goonies," "The Color Purple," "Back to the Future"
trilogy, "The Sixth Sense" and the "Bourne" trilogy.

"Nobody's worried about their careers any more," he said.

The latest Indy adventure is set in the 1950s and, in addition to Ford,
stars Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent. One
popular character not in the line-up is Sean Connery, who played Indy's
father.

"We would've loved to have Sean do a cameo-type part in this but he's
very much enjoying retirement," Kennedy said.

She promised movie fans, who have patiently waited since the 1989
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," would get the same level of
excitement as the previous three films.

"The cleverness, the humor and the tone of Indiana Jones is very much
alive and well in this movie," Kennedy said.

The producers are being very tightlipped about the movie, and the remote
sets are well guarded, leading to rampant rumors on blogs and chat sites.

It took some time to get to the fourth film, partly because of the
schedules of Spielberg, Lucas and Ford. Plus, they knew they had to
deliver another hit.

"The bar was pretty high," Kennedy said.
























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