Few people are as uniquely placed to look back at the legacy of Indiana Jones as Joe Johnston. A founding member of ILM on his way to a stellar movie directing career, Johnston came aboard early in the process to help create the world of Henry Jones Jr, and here he talks with Lucasfilm about that process and how exciting it was to finally have the two titans of 70’s and 80’s cinema – George Lucas and Steven Spielberg – join creative forces.
As a founding employee of ILM, Johnston heard about George Lucas’ idea for an adventuring archaeologist while wrapping up work on 1980’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. “I remember that George talked about making a movie that was sort of roughly inspired by the serials of the ‘30s,” Johnston says. “George was talking about this film about an archaeologist adventurer guy named Indiana Jones, who was actually named after his dog, Indiana, and that Steven was going to direct it, and that ILM was going to do the effects, of course.”
Even before he saw any of the script, Johnston had a good feeling about Raiders. “Well, I knew that because it was George and Steven working together, it was going to be something special,” he says. “Plus, it was really different.”
Johnston would find, however, that work on Raiders was very different from what he’d grown accustomed to. “There wasn’t a whole lot of design work to be done on it, because it’s not like on the Star Wars movies where you’ve got these spaceships and hardware and costumes and gear to design. It took place in the ‘30s, so it’s not like you’re designing a whole new world,” he says. Still, Johnston relished the opportunity to step back in time creatively. “It was actually a lot of fun,” he says. “I’m a big fan of that period of history. I love the ‘30s and ‘40s. Cars and buildings, even everyday objects were designed to look beautiful, whether they were efficient or not.” In talking about his appreciation for design from this era, Johnston stops to clarify something.
“There’s a misconception of what I do, and I’ve been fighting this for decades. People think I’m a visual effects person. I’m not at all, and I never was,” he says. “I was always a designer. When I worked on Star Wars, the task of designing hardware evolved into sequence design and character design and stuff like that, laying out these action and visual effects sequences in storyboard form. But essentially, I’ve always been a designer. And because I designed the stuff that is then used in these great visual effects sequences, everybody thinks I’m a visual effects guy. I’m not at all,” he says with a laugh. “I love visual effects as a tool to tell a story, but now as a director, all I need to know about visual effects is that anything is possible.”
- IMMERSIVE STAR WARS EXPERIENCE: Dive into the iconic Star Wars universe with the Shatterpoint Core Set, offering an immersive gaming experience set in a galaxy far, far away. Join the legendary Jedi and Sith in epic battles and thrilling adventures.
- COMPLETE CORE SET: This all-in-one box includes everything you need to start your Star Wars journey - rulebook, miniatures, cards, dice, and more. Gather your friends for an action-packed game night filled with lightsaber duels and blaster fights.
- ICONIC CHARACTERS AND POWERS: Command powerful and iconic characters like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, and more. Unleash the Force and strategize your way to victory in thrilling skirmishes.
- EASY-TO-LEARN RULES: Whether you're a seasoned gamer or new to tabletop adventures, the Shatterpoint Core Set offers easy-to-learn rules that make it accessible for players of all skill levels. Dive in and become a Jedi or Sith master in no time.
- EXPAND YOUR GALACTIC ADVENTURE: The Core Set is just the beginning of your Star Wars journey. Expand your galactic adventures with additional expansions and allies, unlocking new characters, locations, and missions to enhance your gameplay.
