James Mangold Employed A Military Adviser To Help With 'Indiana Jones 5' Battle Scene
Image Source: Logopedia
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny brings the titular archaeologist back to the big screen. There is a lot of military-related content in this film, and to get a degree of accuracy, seasoned military adviser Paul Biddiss was brought in. Biddiss had a range of responsibilities, from script work to balancing weapon realism and safety. In a feature with Variety, the advisor discussed some of the specific tasks he handled.
Biddiss helped cast the 300 soldier extras in the movie. Regarding the scripted soldiers themselves, the adviser noted, “There were soldiers from different eras. The first were the Nazis, and the second were in the climactic battle scenes.” He started the extras with the basics of their prop weapons, such as “making sure the weapon was never left unattended, never pointing a weapon and never having your finger on the trigger.”
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After covering weapon handling and safety, Biddiss said he went over “how a German soldier from that era would march with a weapon, salute and even run with it.” For accuracy, he even worked with the costume department to go through the extras, judging which would look best in which rank.
Weapons played more of a role than just firearm props. The “anti-aircraft guns were the key weapons.” Safety was taken to a higher priority when Biddiss confirmed, “There was no actual firing from any blanks or section 5 firearms, so it was all very safe.”
Image Source: IMDb
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth film in the franchise. It is also the final Indiana Jones film, at least in the current iteration. The film was written by director James Mangold alongside John-Henry Butterworth, Jez Butterworth, and David Koepp. It hit theaters on June 30, 2023, and will remain there for the time being. A Disney+ date has yet to be announced.
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