‘Why does this movie exist?’

Ford explains reprising ‘Indiana Jones’ at 80

Los A ngeLes Times

CANNES, France — Harrison Ford is not an “80 is the new 40” kind of guy. He’s very aware that he is old, and he has no problem with everyone else being aware of it as well. In fact, his decision to dust off the ol’ fedora and resurrect his most famous character in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” was not an attempt to defy age, but to explore it.

“I wanted to round out the story,” he told journalists the day after “Dial of Destiny” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. “To see this man who depended so much on his youth, the vigor of youth, I wanted to see him feel the weight of life. I wanted to see him require reinvention, and support,” he added, motioning to Phoebe WallerBridge, who plays Indy’s fearless god-daughter. “I wanted him to have a relationship that wasn’t a flirty kind of relationship, that was a deep relationship.”

“I saw ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ when I was 17,” said director James Mangold. “It’s one of the reasons I’m a movie director. Harrison is an actor, always looking for what he’s going to play. He was looking for ‘Why does this movie exist?’ beyond all the business reasons for it to exist.”

“I cannot have been better served,” Ford said. “With the script, with the kind of actors that we have been lucky enough to get, the passion and skill that Jim brought to it – everything has come together to support me in my old age.

It was a highly populated news conference; in addi-

Daily Cryptoquotes

Here’s how to work it: tion to six of the film’s actors and Mangold, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and husband/collaborator Frank Marshall fielded questions from a crowd that had risked a literal stampede to get in.

Mangold came out strongly in support of the writers’ strike, noting that although “no movie happens without a great script and no great script happens without a writer, writers, because they are first in the process, are often first to be forgotten.” Waller-Bridge rhapsodized her new role as action hero: “I loved the fighting, more than I can possibly describe,” she said. “I loved the stunts and the action, I was surprised at how freeing it was as an actor to just throw yourself into something.”

Not surprisingly, though, most of the questions were for Ford. His love of, and need to, work quickly became the leitmotif of the event.

“Actors are not happy when they aren’t working and they can’t work unless someone asks them to,” he said when asked about destiny and luck. “I had to wait for luck to come along, but before that, I had the opportunity to learn a bit of craft. Because luck will not save the day. There’s a craft skill involved in what we do… the pain that we feel when we disappoint, the joy that we feel when we’re adequate, successful – you’re in the process of recreating your own history.”

Whether his history will include another Indiana Jones movie, well, “Isn’t it obvious?” he said, grimacing. “I need to sit down and rest a little bit.”

Co-star Mads Mikkelsen quickly took issue with that.

“The first time we had a night shoot, we wrapped at 5 a.m. We all wanted to go to bed because we were exhausted and Harrison picks up his bicycle and goes for a 50-kilometer ride. We were like ‘Come on Harrison, what are we supposed to do?’ So I think there’s a few more Indys in there.”

By turns emotional and wisecracking, Ford appeared to be the only person in the room who didn’t consider Harrison Ford a cinematic icon. At one point, an Australian journalist (you gotta love the Australians) informed him that she thought he was still very hot, especially in the film’s shirtless scene, before asking him what he did to stay fit. Oh, and can he actually ride a horse?

“Let me tell you, I can ride a horse,” he said emphatically. “If it will let me.”

As for the other, Ford first took issue with the bike story, calling it “partial truth” – before leaning toward the microphone to say in a dramatic whisper: “I’ve been blessed with this body. Thank you for noticing.”

He is happy with the scenes that include, for flashback purposes, a younger iteration of Indy – “I know that is my face because Lucasfilm has every frame of every film we’ve ever made together. But it’s just a trick if it doesn’t serve the story, and I’m very happy with it.”

“But,” he said, pausing for effect. “I don’t look back and wish I was that guy because I don’t want to be that guy. I’m very happy with age. I loved being young but I could be dead and I’m still working.”

Word Sleuth

Bridge

by Phillip Alder

As South is in no-trump, he starts by counting his top tricks. Here he has four: two spades, one heart and one club. That means he requires five more winners. The diamond suit will provide four of them, and the fifth has to come from the clubs. Which minor should he lead at trick two? To answer that question, he should consider how he might go down. The only risk is that East gains the lead early and pushes a spade through declarer’s king-jack. If West holds the queen with length plus another entry, South might lose five tricks before winning nine.

He must strain to keep East off the lead. He should lead the club queen at trick two. If East covers with the king, South wins with his ace and shifts to diamonds. His nine tricks will be ready to run.

Pick The Right Suit To Play On First

How often have you read that when the dummy is tabled, you should pause and take stock? Countless times, I’m sure – but does your partner always heed the advice? Now, no doubt, he will take time to consider his line of play in today’s three-no-trump contract. West leads a low spade to dummy’s singleton ace.

Here, West wins with the club king, but he cannot hurt declarer. Whatever West returns, declarer wins the trick and attacks diamonds. If partner didn’t handle this contract correctly, don’t criticize him too harshly. When the deal was played in an expert tournament in 1954, every declarer but one led a diamond at trick two, suffering defeat. The sole successful South led the heart nine at trick two, which worked as East held a heart honor!

COPYRIGHT: 2023, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

Sudoku by Wayne Gould

Bridge

5/23/23

PICK THE RIGHT SUIT

TO PLAY ON FIRST

Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

How often have you read that when the dummy is tabled, you should pause and take stock? Countless times, I’m sure – but does your partner always heed the advice?

Now, no doubt, he will take time to

Difficulty level:

Yesterday’s solution:

© 2023 Janric Enterprises Dist. by creators.com

Brian Crane

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Candorville Darrin Bell

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Baldo Hector Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

Part Two of “The Voice’s” Season 23 finale showcases the end of a showstopping season of competition for the hopeful, budding singers.

‘The Little Mermaid’ searches for adventure

SuSan Hiland SHILAND@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Disney’s “Little Mermaid” comes to the big screen in a live-action remake of the famous story of a mermaid who wants grand adventures but ends up with more than she bargained for after making a deal with an evil sea witch.

Also coming to local cinemas is a film about the socio-economic differences between families and what it really means to be a family, and a film about a Russian mobster who is forced to confront his past with the help of his estranged father.

Opening nationwide are:

“About My Father,” in which Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) is encouraged by his fiancée (Leslie Bibb) to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (Robert De Niro), to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family (Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier, David Rasche). It turns into a weekend no one saw coming. The film is rated PG-13.

“The Little Mermaid,” in which Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure, longs to find out more about the world beyond the sea and, while visiting the surface, falls for the dashing Prince Eric. While mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, Ariel must follow her heart. She makes a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula, which gives her a chance to experience life on land. But nothing comes free and Arial’s adventurous heart leads somewhere she never imagined. The film is rated PG.

“The Machine,” in which Bert (Bert Kreischer) faces a family crisis as his estranged father (Mark Hamill) arrives, quickly followed by the ghost of his boozesoaked past: a murderous mobster (Iva Babić) hellbent on kidnapping Bert and taking him back to the motherland to atone for his crimes. Bert and his father retrace the steps of his younger self (Jimmy Tatro) in the midst of a war between a sociopathic crime family while they attempt to find common ground. The film is rated R.

Opening in limited release are:

“Close To Vermeer,” a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the largest Vermeer exhibition ever mounted, now on view at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Suzanne Raes’ film follows curators, conservators, collectors and experts in their joint mission to shine a new light on the elusive Dutch master. This fascinating documentary reveals everything from the quiet diplomacy required to get the Vermeers to the Netherlands and the new technical knowledge gained by scanning the paintings layer by layer, to the shocking news that one work may not be by Vermeer after all. In the process, we discover how Vermeer was able to depict reality so differently from his contemporaries. The film is not rated.

“MobKing,” in which a loyal crime family confidant, after returning home from a lengthy prison sentence, quickly realizes that he and his family are the targets of the organization that he remained devoted to all of his life. In order to save his family, he must choose whether to run or fight back. This film is not rated.

“The Hole in the Fence,” a film based on true events about boys from a prestigious private school who receive physical, moral and religious training to turn them into tomorrow’s elite in a prestigious Mexican summer camp. The discovery of a hole in the fence sets in motion a chain of disturbing events as the boys devolve into a “Lord of the Flies”like mob mentality that creates and spreads hysteria in this profoundly disturbing coming-ofage drama that unravels like a horror movie while drawing on actual events. The film is not rated.

“The Wrath of Becky,” in which Becky, who has been living off the grid for two years, finds herself going toe-to-toe against Darryl, the leader of a fascist organization, on the eve of an organized attack. The film is rated