For the past 26 years, producer Frank Marshall has been involved with some of the biggest films of the blockbuster era. He has been a producer for both the "Indiana Jones" and "Back to the Future" trilogies as well as "The Poltergeist," "Gremlins," "The Goonies," "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and "Cape Fear" -- to name a few. Additionally, he has been nominated for two Oscars for his work on "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Color Purple."
Marshall's credits don't end there. He has worked with some of the greatest directors, from Orson Welles to Martin Scorcese to Steven Spielberg, and recently has even taken up directing himself with such hits as "Arachnophobia" and "Congo."
This extensive resum has earned Marshall the reputation as one of Hollywood's most influential and lucrative filmmakers. One of the keys to his success is his own gut reaction to prospective films.
"It's as basic as we make movies that we want to see," Marshall said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "You just have to go with your own instincts. You are trying to make what the audience wants to see."
He also added that, as a producer, he has to like what he's working on due to the time that will be invested in the project. "You are talking about seeing this [film] in a year and a half or two years. It is too hard not to be passionate about it."
In the mid '60s, Marshall attended UCLA where he was a political science major. After graduating in December 1968, he was a "ski bum for a winter and went to Europe for the summer." He had been planning to go to law school that fall, but when he was in Europe, "the opportunity to work on a movie surfaced. Luckily I made the right decision," he laughed.
The film, "The Last Picture Show," was being directed by friend, Peter Bogdanovich, was where Marshall first became involved with production. For the next eight years, he worked on Bogdanovich's films and moved to producing with "Paper Moon" which was his first hit. Marshall's first film as an executive producer, "The Warriors," was also a success, and from there he moved on to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" where he formed his friendship with Steven Spielberg and his future wife Kathleen Kennedy.
"Raiders" was not only a blockbuster hit, but it earned Marshall his first Oscar nomination. "It was a dream come true experience," he said.
Kennedy, Spielberg and Marshall soon became a filmmaking team that led to the creation of Amblin Entertainment. "It just kind of evolved," Marshall commented. "We did 'Raiders,' and I was there a lot working with Steven and Kathy, and the three of us got a long so well. Steven said 'why don't you produce 'Poltergeist'' to me and 'E.T.' to Kathy."
Nevertheless, all three worked on both films, with Marshall as the production supervisor for "E.T." "Poltergeist" quickly became a horror hit while "E.T." went on to become the most successful film of its time.
"It worked out so well, Steven said 'Why don't we form a company?' That company was Amblin," Marshall said. He stayed with Amblin and produced a series of hits until 1991 when he left to pursue his directing career. He and Kennedy established The Kennedy/Marshall Company for which he directed "Alive" and "Congo."
Marshall does, however, continue to produce. The Kennedy/Marshall Company has produced four movies this past year: "Snow Falling on Cedars" with Ethan Hawke, "A Map of the World" with Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore, "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis and "Olympic Glory" which will be presented in IMAX.
"I read a lot of scripts and a lot of books," Marshall said. "I'm always looking for a story that I find interesting." Of course he also receives pitches, and many of them.
"Everybody's got a script in the trunk. We even had an emergency room doctor say 'You know, I've got a script for you.' It's after a terrible trauma, and he's saying my other career is a screenwriter," he said.
The pitches are not only omnipresent but overly elaborate as well. "I think a pitch has to be concise ... pitches go wrong when they are too elaborate," Marshall explained. He also added that most producers are fairly busy; thus a succinct pitch is often more desirable.
"Screenwriting is really a very serious craft," Marshall said. "People have ideas that they think are movies. Writing a script is very hard. I wish I could do it because it would help. I wish I had that talent."
To Marshall, the script is a fundamental aspect of the film that must be complete and secure by the time filming begins. He noted that an error several producers make is being too hasty with production. "The biggest mistake is they go forward with movies before the script is ready thinking they'll solve the script problem while shooting," he said.
Of course, sometimes a film can have a solid script and still flop at the box office. "It gets taken for granted that your movie is going to do well. We had high test scores for 'InnerSpace,' but they [the studio] didn't do their usual support of the movie, and the movie really tanked."
Despite box office failures, Marshall insists that he devotes the same passion and energy to each film. "Sometimes they just don't work. But it doesn't mean that we don't put the same amount of time and attention in it. I have loved every movie that I have worked on."
"That's one of the reasons why we don't become a studio because when you become a studio you have to make films you don't believe in because you have to turn out a product."
Ultimately, while certain movies do better than others, Marshall admits that the most rewarding aspect of filmmaking is "when you are in there [the movie theater] and people are moved -- whether laughing or crying or whatever. We're entertainers. I think that's the important thing you have to remember here."
