The movie Steven Spielberg didn’t want anybody else to direct: “A great popcorn movie”
On many occasions, Steven Spielberg has risen to the top of the movie directing ranks, delivering countless stunning cinematic moments that have become eternally wrapped up in the very fabric of popular culture. Quite, simply, Spielberg is one of the greatest to ever do it and his artistic worth has been proven time and time again.
Just looking across the Ohio-born filmmaker’s back catalogue, one will find some of the most impressive movies ever made in a wide range of genres. The likes of Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler’s List and Lincoln have all arrived on the big screen as a result of Spielberg’s prowess from the director’s chair.
Throughout his career, Spielberg has naturally been offered a several different movies, and invariably, he has either accepted or rejected them, carving out a filmography entirely of his own choosing. The iconic filmmaker had once spoken of his decision to handle Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, admitting that it was “selfish”.
“I had a great time making the first one,” the director said. “I wanted to repeat the experience and selfishly didn’t want anyone else to make it.” Temple of Doom arrived in 1984 and followed on from Spielberg’s previous effort with 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Harrison Ford once again playing the iconic adventurer and archaeologist Indiana Jones.
Temple of Doom focused on Indiana’s journey to recover a mystical stone and rescue some children from a black magic cult in British India. Also starring the likes of Kate Capshaw, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone and Ke Huy Quan in his film debut, the second Indiana Jones movie was a huge box office success, and although the initial critical reception was split, focusing the over-the-top film’s violence, it has since vastly improved.
“I figured if they were going to make another one since I helped generate the ideas with George Lucas in the first one, I felt that I had a responsibility to finish the series,” Spielberg added. In 1989, Spielberg released the third movie in the franchise, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which saw Sean Connery play Indiana’s father.
Later movies included 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 2023’s finale Dial of Destiny, although the latter effort was directed by James Mangold, rather than by Spielberg himself. Temple of Doom marked a change in pace for the series and Spielberg had explained how the action was given far more focus.
“This is a great popcorn movie with much more butter than the first film,” the director noted. “There’s a lot more action; this film does not have speed breaks like the last one had. This one really moves twice as fast as Raiders.” At the core of Indiana Jones, though, and blockbuster movies as a whole, comes the narrative, and Spielberg noted how a film’s story will always be more important than its personnel.
“The public wants to see a story and to see a story told well,” he said. “They’re not that interested in whether I direct, or Lucas directs, or if Barbara Streisand stars; they just want a good story. They’ll discriminate against filmmakers and say, ‘We don’t care about you; we want the stories you’re telling.'” And thankfully, Spielberg told a brilliant story through his “selfish” Temple of Doom decision.
