It's Cool, no problem...

For our last two days this week we want to talk about the films that were inspired by Indy and his adventures. So, let’s talk about film that cemented a movie star and got Back to the Future made.

Author

Tyler Clark
June 29, 2023

Good morning Consumers. This is please consume, film newsletter that double butters your popcorn.

Romancing the Stone (1984)

For our last two days this week we want to talk about the films that were inspired by Indy and his adventures.

So, let’s talk about film that cemented a movie star and got Back to the Future made.

Today we’re talking about Romancing the Stone!

The Long Journey to Get Here

The story of Romancing the Stone coming together is a story of tenacity. For everyone involved, from its lead to the director to its writer, Romancing the Stone was seen as these people’s last chance to make it big.

For the writer of the film, Diane Thomas, she was kind of nobody at the time. She was a waitress at a diner, trying to make it as a writer, but nothing was working till one day she broke with this film which ended up getting into a bit of a bidding war.

It ended up getting bought by Michael Douglas and his production company for $200,000 which was at the time the most anybody had spent on a first time writer's screenplay.

For Douglas, he also needed a win. Before this he was playing second fiddle to legendary actors of the time like Jack Lemmon and Rip Torn. He was seen as simply the boring guy in movies or as that one famous guy's overeager son. He needed a hit badly, and luckily that’s what he got.

The film turned Douglas into a leading man, which honestly is surprising to watch now as this is such a different role than the ones he becomes known for now. It’s earnest and way less creepy than the Gordon Gecko type he would excel at just three years later.

Then there’s the film's director, Robert Zemekis, who needed a win more than anybody. He was coming off of two massive flops, I Wanna Hold Your Hand and Used Cars (which are both excellent films). He’d also written the only Spielberg film to flop at the box office with 1941.

Zemekis needed this win on his own merits, apart from Steve. And a win he got with the film making $115million and became the 10th highest grossing film of 1984.

Zemekis was riding high and was able to use the clout he got off this film to get his passion project made. And that’s the story of how he got Back to the Future off the ground.

The Influence of Indy

When watching this movie you can’t help but see the similarities it shares with Raiders of the Lost Ark with its sweeping score, vibrant cinematography, vine swinging adventures, and a romance between our confident heroine and our scruffy male lead.

But Romancing the Stone is able to stand on its own because, at the end of the day, it’s a comedy film and it knows i ; the jokes that come first and the adventure comes second.

The film also leans much more into its other influences, such as the trashy romance novels that are heroine, played by Kathleen Turner, is known for writing.

Zemeckis is so smart in understanding how to liberalize the use of paperback covers on screen in a way that is so fun to watch, even if it is hell for its actors.

Turner reportedly got upset at Zemeckis for being too controlling with her movements, saying he only wanted to use her like a stick figurine that he could move and pose.

Zemeckis had a purpose though, because the poses really do call back to pulp novels, but also shows the progression of Turner's character in her self confidence and power over a situation.

We see a perfect blend of Zemeckis in this film: his shared brain with Spielberg and his comedian brain that he shares with Bob Gale (his cowriter). And we love to see it!

A Fun Story for the Road:

This film co stars Danny DeVito, who was actually roommates with Michael Douglas when they were in acting school together.

Davito always said that Douglas was a good guy because even when he went out to L.A., he would still send money back each month to pay his half of the rent for their apartment in New York.

They also have wonderful stories of them sitting at home, lamenting the difficulties of becoming an actor together. We just love to picture Michael Douglas, son of Kirk Douglas, the man with the world's sharpest chin, complaining to a literal egg that he doesn’t know if he has what it takes to be an on-camera talent.

Today’s Scene