Harrison Ford is moving from battling communists as Indiana Jones to fighting diseases as a maverick scientist for his next bigscreen project.

Ford will star in CBS Films' drama " Crowley," which Tom Vaughan ("What Happens in Vegas") is in negotiations to direct.

Film is based on the true story of John and Aileen Crowley, whose two children had a rare genetic disorder. Rather than give up hope that nothing could help his children, John Crowley found a researcher (Ford) with a potential cure. Ford also will executive produce the film.

Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher ("World Trade Center") are producing alongside Carla Shamberg. Robert Nelson Jacobs ("The Water Horse," "Chocolat") wrote the screenplay, which was inspired by a Wall Street Journal article and subsequent book, "The Cure," by Geeta Anand.

CBS is fast-tracking the project and is eyeing a start date as soon as possible. Film likely would be the first project to go into production for the fledgling CBS Films, which is headed by prexy-CEO Amy Baer.

Project had been set up at Sony, where Baer most recently worked as exec VP of production. When the material became available, Baer jumped at the opportunity to bring it to CBS Films.

"This is a story that has universal, relatable themes -- particularly the lengths parents would go to protect their kids," Baer said.

Shamberg and Sher enjoyed success bringing another true story to the bigscreen via "Erin Brockovich."

Ford next stars opposite Sean Penn in the immigration drama "Crossing Over."

He is repped by UTA.

Vaughan is handled by CAA.

Source: Variety, Sun., Jun. 8, 2008, 9:00pm PT, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117987104.html?categoryid=13&cs=1; Thanks to Kalista for the alert!!

Help support the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity in their mission to save the planet by joining the bidding on once in a lifetime opportunities! The three auctions include: Lunch for two with Harrison Ford, Naming a NEW Orchid species, and name a Newly discovered microbial species!!

The E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation charity auction launches April 17th and runs until April 27th, allowing earth lovers the opportunity to support the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, and have an amazing story to share. 100% of the winning bid for this auction will benefit the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation (www.eowilson.org). The Ebay weblink is: http://members.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAP.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=e_o_wilson_foundation

Source: Kompolt, 4/19/07

After years of languishing in development, the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise is finally moving ahead, as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford look to reconnect with their blockbuster roots.

For Spielberg in particular, the project marks a return to the kind of pure entertainment fare on which he built his career before his interests turned to more social-minded fare like "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan" and "Munich."

The trio confirmed Monday that Paramount is set to begin lensing the new Indiana Jones pic in June from a script by David Koepp ("Spider-Man").

Par and Lucasfilm, which is producing, are eyeing a May 2008 worldwide release -- some 19 years after the last film in the action-adventure franchise, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," came out.

Fans have long clamored for another installment in the series, but some questioned whether Ford would be able to keep up with the vigorous physical requirements of the role after the long delay. "I'm delighted to be back in business with my old friends. I don't know if the pants still fit, but I know the hat will," said Ford, who is 64.

Thesp, who will again topline, had always said he would reprise his role as the adventuring archeologist if he liked the script. Several scribes tried their hand at the project before Koepp was brought aboard in 2005.

"We feel that the script was well worth the wait. We hope it delivers everything you'd expect from our history with Indiana Jones," Spielberg said. "George, Harrison and I are all very excited."

Producer is Frank Marshall, while Kathleen Kennedy and Lucas are exec producing.

For Paramount, the greenlight seems to be another benefit of its pricey acquisition of DreamWorks.

The film doesn't yet have an official title. Producers wouldn't disclose the storyline other than to say there would be plenty of action. Pic will be shot in undisclosed points around the globe, as well as in the U.S.

All told, the first three "Indiana Jones" films grossed more than $1.18 billion at the box office.

The upcoming installment is looking to be Spielberg's next directing project. The helmer continues to alternate wider-appeal projects with more serious dramas: He's also slated to helm " Lincoln," with Liam Neeson attached to star, for DreamWorks. He was last in theaters with " Munich."

Project reunites Spielberg and Koepp, who penned helmer's "War of the Worlds" and " Jurassic Park," among other pics.

Lucas was grand marshal of the 118th annual Rose Parade on Monday, celebrating the 30th anniversary of "Star Wars."

Source: Daily Variety, 1/2/07, © 2007 Reed Business Information

Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:43am ET
By Silvia Aloisi

ROME (Reuters) - A mix of big Hollywood productions and arty European movies will mark Rome's first international film festival next month, organizers said on Tuesday as they played down rivalry with Venice's venerable film contest.

French and Italian movies dominate the 16-film lineup for the Rome festival's main competition, which has a distinct European, art-house flavor and includes no U.S. title.

Four American films will screen in the section devoted to international premieres, with Steven Shainberg's "Fur" -- the story of U.S. photographer Diane Arbus played by Nicole Kidman -- opening the nine-day festival on October 13.

In fact, the official competition is almost certain to take a back seat to a series of special events and screenings which include the presentation of Martin Scorsese's new thriller "The Departed" and a
tribute to Sean Connery.

Other celebrities who organizers expect to grace Rome's red carpet are Leonardo Di Caprio, Richard Gere, Viggo Mortensen, Monica Bellucci and Harrison Ford.

NOTE: Although not mentioned in the article, friend-of-the-site Jaina Solo passes along that Harrison will present an award recognizing the work of the late Patricia McQueeney, who was Harrison's manager for decades.

Source: Reuters, 9/26/06

By Kate Barrett, CI Staff Writer

Sept. 20, 2006: He starred as Han Solo in Star Wars and Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Harrison Ford also plays action-packed and compelling roles off screen. For more than 15 years, the actor has served on Conservation International's board of directors, and on Sept. 19, was honored for his passion for protecting the Earth.

Embracing a Conservation Ethic
Ford accepted the "ICCF Good Steward Award" Tuesday night at a congressional caucus event in Washington, D.C., where he explained his long-standing dedication to global environmental issues.

"We can unite the world to take individual responsibility by establishing a global conservation ethic that every person – rich, poor, indigenous – can embrace," Ford said. "We need every person on the planet, all 6.5 billion inhabitants, to understand that they must do their part and take individual responsibility for conserving, protecting, and restoring nature."

Ford asked his audience at the inaugural gala for the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) to "place humanity before politics" and assured them that "what's good for the Earth is also great for global economic opportunity." He implored attendees to help do the heavy lifting to conserve the world's natural resources.

Exemplifying Individual Responsibility
The actor, who joined CI's board of directors in 1991, is doing just that. He narrates public service announcements for CI, Earthshare, and the Environmental Media Association; he donated half of his Jackson, Wyo. estate to the Jackson Hole Land Trust as a conservation easement; and he has patrolled the New York's Hudson River watershed by helicopter as Riverkeepers' first "airborne watchdog." As one of CI's earliest board members, Ford has helped mold CI's mission and foster its growth. In turn, acknowledgments of all shapes and sizes have followed.

In Belize and Honduras, a species of ant now goes by the name Pheidole harrisonfordi. A "primitive" spider found in California is likewise dubbed Calponia harrisonfordi. The actor has also been honored with several environmental awards, including the 2002 Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Harvard Medical School.

The International Conservation Caucus
On Sept. 19, the International Conservation Caucus Foundation also honored Patagonia founder, Yves Chouinard, and former congressman Rob Portman, who now serves as director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Chouinard has made protecting the environment a foremost tenet of his outdoor equipment and apparel business. Portman authored legislation to implement "debt for nature" swaps between developing nations and the United States government that allow them to relieve debt while" generating funds to conserve their natural heritage.

Founded by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2003 to raise awareness of international conservation issues among lawmakers, the ICCF was inspired by members of Congress and the International Conservation Partnership (ICP) – a collaborative effort of nongovernmental organizations including Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Wildlife Conservation Society, and World Wildlife Fund.

Source: Conservation International website, 9/20/06, direct link here.

Photo captions and credits: First photo, "Rick Lazio, former representative from New York, presented Ford with the "'ICCF Good Steward Award.'" Second photo: "Rob Portman, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget and author of legislation to implement "debt for nature" swaps between developing nations and the United States government, also was honored." Both photos © CI, Sterling Zumbrunn.

HARRISON FORD and STAR WARS creator GEORGE LUCAS are to be honoured for their movie adventures at the 2006 Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival.

Lucas will be given the Imagination Achievement Award while Ford, the carpenter he turned into a star, will take home the Spirit of Nature Award.

Anthropologist DAME JANE GOODALL will be presented with the festival's top prize, a Lifetime Achievement honour, at the two week event in Los Angeles next month (OCT06).

MALCOLM McDOWELL will host the event, which will mark its debut in America after 15 years in Paris, France.

Source: World Entertainment News Network (WENN)

Exclusive: Dream team talk sequel

Getting one of the Indiana Jones triumvirate to talk about the fourth sequel is a rare opportunity, but getting George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford to spill at the same time is as infrequent as finding a needle in a haystack under some hen's teeth on a blue moony night at the end of a month of Sundays.

But Empire was lucky enough to speak with the trio as part of our massive Indiana Jones 25th anniversary celebrations and it seems that Indy IV is going to be a tad controversial.

“We’re basically going to do The Phantom Menace”, says Lucas (stay with him here, he’s making a point). “People’s expectations are way higher than you can deliver. You could just get killed for the whole thing…We would do it for fun and just take the hit with the critics and the fans...But nobody wants to get into it unless they are really happy with it”.

The ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation has freed up an idea for a plot that was originally deemed too incendiary.

“I discovered a McGuffin,” continues Lucas, still reluctant to name said McGuffin. “I told the guys about it and they were a little dubious about it, but it’s the best one we’ve ever found… Unfortunately, it was a little too ‘connected’ for the others. They were afraid of what the critics would think. They said, “Can’t we do it with a different McGuffin? Can’t we do this?” and I said “No”. So we pottered around with that for a couple of years. And then Harrison really wanted to do it and Steve said, “Okay”. I said, “We’ll have to go back to that original MacGuffin and take out the offending parts of it and we’ll still use that area of the supernatural do deal with it”.

“Hopefully it will be different in all the right ways and the same in all the familiar ways,” adds Spielberg.

As for timing, Lucas says that filming is scheduled for mid-2007, for a 2008 release but getting the gang back together is a tricky proposition. “Before I was just working with Steven and Harrison. Now everybody’s a superstar, so it’s a little bit more difficult than it was then”. “But there’s a good chance it will happen,” assures Ford. “There are things left for this character to do”.

For more on Indy IV, plus over 30 pages of celebration of the Indiana Jones series, featuring interviews with every cast and crew member you can think of (except the monkey) pick up a copy of the new issue of Empire, on sale from August 25.

Source: Empire (UK), 8/21/06 © 2006 EMAP Consumer Media Limited. Direct link to article here.

And here's some more information on this commemorative edition of Empire:

LONDON - Empire is to mark the 25th anniversary of the UK release of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' with a series of four different magazine covers for its October edition.

The Emap film title plans to commemorate the 80s blockbuster movie, which starred Harrison Ford, with three separate covers, and one special version available only to subscribers.

The October edition will feature 30 interviews about the film, including ones with director Steven Spielberg, producer George Lucas and Harrison Ford, articles on lost scenes and details of the fourth Indiana Jones movie, which is due to be released in 2008.

Colin Kennedy, editor in chief of Empire, said: "Outside of the re-releases of the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, this is the very first time Empire have attempted a 'retro cover'."

Empire said it had changed its title font to mimic the film's typeface for the Indiana Jones edition, which comes out August 28.

Source: Media Bulletin (U.K.), 8/21/06

APOCALYPSE NOW is being re-released on DVD this August 15th in region one territories. This time, both Apocalypse NOW and APOCALYPSE REDUX with be available for the first time together in APOCALYPSE NOW - THE COMPLETE DOSSIER, which is loaded with special features, including a commentary by Francis Ford Coppola as well as additional, never-before-seen scenes.

Nominated for eight Academy® Awards, Apocalypse now is a compelling Vietnam War epic starring Martin Sheen as Captain Willard. Willard is sent on a dangerous and mesmerizing odyssey into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade American Colonel named Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has succumbed to the horrors of war and barricaded himself in a remote outpost. Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper and Harrison Ford also star.

Here's a look at the box art for the release. Look out for it in stores from August 15th, 2006.

Source : Paramount Home Entertainment
Date: 9th August, 2006
Posted by: Paul Heath

Source: TNH The Hollywood News, 8/9/06 © 2006 The Hollywood News, www.thehollywoodnews.com. Direct link to article here.

Harrison Ford to be honored in September

By Stewart Oksenhorn

Aspen Filmfest's Independent by Nature Award has been given mostly to filmmakers who are considered rebels against the Hollywood way of making films (Aspenite Bob Rafelson, the first honoree) or have shown a knack for high-minded and broad-ranging stories (Sydney Pollack), and actors whose choices reflect a chance to delve into characters rather than blockbusters (William H. Macy).

Two years ago, Filmfest honored Michael Douglas - a movie star, yes, but one who has also been a prolific producer, won a pair of Academy Awards (one for co-producing "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," the other for his acting in "Wall Street"), and been a part-time Aspen area resident, instrumental in developing and preserving the Wildcat Ranch.

This year, Filmfest has gone pure Hollywood. Harrison Ford - aka Indiana Jones, Han Solo and Jack Ryan, as well as the world's greatest cinematic action hero - will receive the Independent by Nature Award. Ford, whose films have drawn more box-office action than any other actor, will be honored Sept. 30 at the Wheeler Opera House. The Wheeler event will be followed by a benefit dinner at The Little Nell.

The 28th annual Aspen Filmfest is set for Sept. 26-Oct. 1, with screenings and other events in Aspen, as well as additional screenings in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. The complete program will be available at www.aspenfilm.org by Sept. 8, and tickets go on sale to the general public Sept. 19.

"He's definitely a movie star," said Laura Thielen, executive director of Aspen Filmfest, about Ford. "He's a big deal, and we're thrilled. He really has redefined the movie-going experience by creating so many distinctive and memorable characters. They're not just characters, they're icons."

The two best-known screen icons Ford has embodied appear in two of the most successful action serials in film history. Ford played the mercenary spaceship captain Han Solo in the first three installments of the "Star Wars" series and the titular archaeologist-adventurer in three "Indiana Jones" movies. (Ford is scheduled to reprise the role in a fourth "Indiana Jones" film, scheduled for release in 2008.) Ford has also appeared twice as CIA analyst Jack Ryan in movies adapted from Tom Clancy spy novels.

Other adventure/thrillers to Ford's credits include "Air Force One," "The Devil's Own," "The Fugitive" and "K-19: The Widowmaker," the 2002 film which marked his debut as executive producer.

Thielen notes that Ford has also had successes outside of the strict action realm. He earned his only Academy Award nomination for 1985's "Witness," in which he played an undercover cop in Pennsylvania's Amish community. He has also played romantic parts in "Working Girl" and "Random Hearts." Ford had early roles in "Apocalypse Now," "American Graffiti" and the comedy "The Frisco Kid."

Most impressive to Thielen is the associations Ford has had with several top directors. Ford was directed by Steven Spielberg in the "Indiana Jones" films and by George Lucas in the "Star Wars" movies, and has worked multiple times with Mike Nichols and Peter Weir. He starred in the futuristic thriller "Blade Runner," an early film by director Ridley Scott, and has worked with Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski and fellow Independent by Nature honoree Sydney Pollack.

For further information on Aspen Filmfest, go to www.aspenfilm.org.

Source: Aspen Times, 7/25/06, ©2006 aspentimes.com.