Marshall on his best year yet

Action star Yen wants to be ‘good example’

LOS ANGELES, Dec 1, (AFP): Veteran producer Frank Marshall says 2016 is shaping up to be his biggest year — quite a claim for the man who, alongside Steven Spielberg, gave the world “Indiana Jones” and “Back to the Future.”

The five-time Oscar nominee defined the blockbuster for a generation of cinemagoers alongside the legendary director and their artistic partner Kathleen Kennedy — whom Marshall went on to marry.

As the founders of Amblin Entertainment, the trio reigned supreme from 1982’s “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial” through a string of milestones including “Gremlins,” “The Goonies” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”

He’d be forgiven for resting on his laurels at age 70, but Marshall revealed he is busier than ever as AFP caught up with him to discuss the release of “Jason Bourne” on DVD and Blu-ray.

“We’re just finishing ‘Assassin’s Creed’ and we’re talking about how we’re going to sell the movie and the publicity campaign,” he responded when asked about his schedule for the day.

“And we’re working on ‘Sully’ for the awards season so I’m pretty busy. The other thing: ‘Jurassic World II’ is in pre-production so I work on that early in the morning because they are in London.”

Add Spielberg’s “The BFG” to all that work and it’s been a packed year for the father of two.

Film finance website Box Office Mojo attributes worldwide ticket receipts of just under $10 billion for Marshall’s body of work, which includes directing stints, most notably on “Arachnophobia” and “Congo.”

“When I direct, it’s a 24/7 focus and I have a couple of projects that I’m considering directing, but I love producing,” he tells AFP.

Exciting

“This is really my biggest year with four movies out so that’s been exciting and very satisfying.”

Born in Los Angeles, Marshall excelled in both music and sport, running track and cross-country for UCLA before

while working on an off-Broadway show and got engaged in September.

Seyfried is best known for her film roles in “Mean Girls” and “Les Miserables.” She entering his film career as an assistant to director Peter Bogdanovich.

His 1980s output alongside Spielberg and Kennedy include critical hits such as “The Color Purple,” “Empire of the Sun” and “Always,” which featured a cameo by Audrey Hepburn in her last role.

In 1991, Kennedy and Marshall branched out to form the prosaicallytitled Kennedy/Marshall Company, producing 35 movies including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Sixth Sense” and the “Bourne” franchise.

Among the extras for “Jason Bourne,” released on DVD and Bluray next week, is a behind-the-scenes featurette about filming a car chase on the Las Vegas Strip that Marshall describes as among his most challenging.

“For 12 nights in a row we had two crews working 24 hours a day,” he told AFP.

“It actually took four hours just to close down the Strip before we could even shoot. It was quite a large undertaking.”

Marshall became sole head of the couple’s company when Kennedy was made chairwoman of LucasFilm in 2012, taking on responsibility for the “Star Wars” sequels and spin-offs.

The couple — who have 13 Oscar nominations between them and yet no statuettes — live in a $10 million beachfront pad in Malibu, in what Marshall describes as a “very comfortable home life.”

His next big project — perhaps his biggest ever — will be “Jurassic World II,” which begins shooting in London in February.

Co-written by Colin Trevorrow — who helmed “Jurassic World” and is slated to direct 2019’s “Star Wars IX” — the film carries a weight of expectation after its predecessor made an astonishing $1.7 billion.

The internet has been abuzz with rumors of a darker episode than previous movies in the “Jurassic” stable, featuring weaponized dinosaurs.

“Nothing to report,” was Marshall’s judicious response to questions about the direction of the new movie, although

also starred in HBO’s “Big Love.” (AP)

HONOLULU:

“Hawaii Five-0” actor Keo he revealed a “Jurassic World III” was already “at the ideas stage.”

Marshall will also be producing as Harrison Ford picks up the famous fedora and bullwhip for “Indiana Jones V” in 2019.

Whatever the filmmaker goes on to do after that, he intends to remain faithful to his formula for blockbuster success.

“It sounds really simple but you have to have a good story, one that people want to continue to see... Certainly that’s the case with both Indiana Jones and Jason Bourne,” he says.

“They love these characters and they want to see what they are going to do next. For me that’s the key - the story.”

Action star Donnie Yen placed his deadly hands and feet in cement at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre Wednesday, voicing hope that his career would inspire fellow Asians to take up acting.

The martial artist — a multiple world champion in the wushu fighting style — was being honored for a body of work mainly in Chinese cinema, although he also stars in the much-anticipated “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

“Sometimes being an Asian actor is not easy. Unfortunately, for many years, Asian actors didn’t have the same, equal opportunities,” the 53-year-old Hong Kong resident told AFP at the ceremony.

“But I think that things have been changing,” he added. “And I certainly would like to be one actor that set a good example.”

Overshadowed over the years by Jackie Chan and other sought-after kung fu stars, Yen has been gradually breaking into Hollywood since appearing in Guillermo del Toro’s “Blade II” in 2002.

In “Rogue One,” due to be released on Dec 16, he plays a warrior monk who is part of a heroic band of rebels that steals plans for the Death Star.

He also stars opposite Vin Diesel in “xXx: Return of Xander Cage,” which hits theaters on Jan 20.