A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

“Stand by Me” is a moving coming-of-age comedy drama directed by Rob Reiner. Adapted from Stephen King’s novella The Body by screenwriter-producer Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, this 1986 comedy drama follows the misadventures of four pre-teen boys (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell) who hike through the woods outside the small town of Castle Rock, Oregon to look for a missing teen’s corpse. Like director Robert Mulligan’s “Summer of ‘42” and other coming-of-age movies, “Stand by Me” is not a plot-driven movie. It’s a character piece that focuses on Gordie (Wheaton), Chris (Phoenix), Teddy (Feldman) and Vern (O’Connell) during a weekend-long trek in the Oregon woods to find a dead kid’s body before a band of teenage hoodlums led by Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland) does. On the surface, “Stand by Me” is one of those “small” films that are better suited for after school television specials than the silver screen. But King’s well-written novella is...

“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989) Directed by Steven Spielberg Written by Jeffrey Boam, from a story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, Julian Glover, Michael Byrne, John Rhys-Davies, River Phoenix Fedora: You've got heart, kid. (indicates cross) Fedora: But that belongs to me. Indy: It belongs to Coronado. Fedora: Coronado is dead. And so are all his grandchildren. Indy: This should be in a museum! As a result of the mixed critical reaction to “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” director Steven Spielberg told his friend (and executive producer)  George Lucas that the next chapter of the trilogy needed to evoke the lighter, more fun spirit of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”   Lucas first suggested a story that featured a haunted castle, but Spielberg rejected that idea because it was too similar to “Poltergeist.”  Lucas then pitched a plot that involved the Ho...