This is a collection of some (unfortunately grainy) pictures taken at one of
Karen Allen's talks at Dragoncon 2009, and some comments.
For more detailed info about Karen check on her wiki page: Karen Allen wikipedia
DarthEd, who addended a different panel said:
"Oooh, here's a video of Karen Allen answering my question about the "Indiana Jones 5" rumors and
what she'd like to see Marion Ravenwood Jones do in the next movie (assuming she's in it).
Unfortunately, the video ends abruptly before she finished answering the question because the camcorder ran out of memory :-( " Karen Allen clip
She's about to say how she and Spielberg were backstage at the Tanglewood Festival when he leaned over to tell her that they were going to do IJ5. She also recently called Spielberg to ask him if she should keep her schedule open next summer, andhe said that they wouldn't start filming until late 2010 or probably 2011. Of course, it really depends on when the script is
ready, so nothing's written in stone.
My memories of the panel:
Karen Allen is just as wonderful in person as her Marian character is on the screen.
When she was 21ish, she spent a year traveling, much of it alone, around the world. She started in Malaysia and finally met up with friends in Chile. It gave her as strong sense of confidence and resourcefulness.
She said she used experience in shaping Marian Ravenswood.
She had a lot to do with Marian Ravenswood being the strong and resourceful character she was. Spielberg wanted her to be more "help me Indiana" ala Temple of Doom. Karen ran a never ending campaign to make Marian what she was on screen.
In the tent scene (think white dress) the story had Marian sleeping with Rene Belloq to save her life.
Karen adamantly felt that Marian would never, ever do this. Ever. She fought so long for something else she drove Spielberg (and George?) crazy. In the end, the film was running long, and they needed to shorten the scene.She and "Belloq" reworked the scene and came up with the wine drinking scene we know and love. Thank goodness!
Karen knew that Marian was only going to be in the one Indiana Jones (or so she thought). The next two films were to be prequels.
Karen had actually gone to FIT before getting into film and theater. She was always interested in textiles and historical textile. When she realized she could not raise her son on movie sets she went back to FIT to get her degree. She also began working with two Japanese knitting machines which ultimately lead to her clothing business.
She ran her fiber business but kept her directing and acting skills teaching at Bard School at Simons Rock.
Her son, who enjoyed playing on the set when he was young (especially the props) is grown and is eager to become a chef.
Note: The unmodified pictures are available, if grainy.
