"Nature doesn't need people, people need nature."
April 14, 2014 9:46 AM   Subscribe

Harrison Harrison Ford, correspondent for Showtime's Years of Living Dangerously (previously), answered questions on Ask Me Anything (slreddit). You may also recognize Mr. Ford as Dr. Indiana Jones.
posted by Dashy (40 comments total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 


Is there something I'm missing with the double Harrison?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 10:00 AM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


I figured it was a Ford Madox Ford tribute
posted by thelonius at 10:02 AM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


Horace Rumpole: "Is there something I'm missing with the double Harrison?"

His Reddit AMA had two Harrisons, too. (He has a fun sense of humor.)
posted by zarq at 10:04 AM on April 14, 2014


Aaaaand this is what I get for opening multiple tabs and reading them out of order. :P Sorry.
posted by zarq at 10:08 AM on April 14, 2014


He has a fun sense of humor.

This one is the best.
posted by zombieflanders at 10:11 AM on April 14, 2014 [8 favorites]


He's so awesome. I remember he would go on Letterman (I think, some late night show) and answer questions the audience had written on index cards. Always funny.
posted by sweetkid at 10:17 AM on April 14, 2014


Hoopy Frood.
It's not really an ad lib, it was a suggestion, and movie making's a real collaborative process at its best. You don't ad lib it, you suggest it and then you try something in rehearsal and then you agree. So it was my suggestion, because I thought it was more of a character line than what was written, but the director and Carrie and I all thought it was a good idea at the time so we did it.
The short answer is yes, but I love how he refuses to take credit and pulls in the others who made the decision with him.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 10:31 AM on April 14, 2014 [4 favorites]


This one is the best.

I liked this one:

-biscuitSnatcher 1 day ago
I live in your old house on Woodrow. Are there any secrets I should know about?

-iamharrisonford 1 day ago
Yes. There's millions of dollars buried in your basement.

posted by mstokes650 at 10:31 AM on April 14, 2014 [6 favorites]


You all probably know me from movies such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Even though it's not exact in its phrasing, if you can read that in any voice other than Troy McClure's, I'll... actually, I won't believe you.

And yes, his answer about the "I know" ad-lib is exactly as charming as I would want my Imagined Harrison Fored to be. (Also "Lando Who?")
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:38 AM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


"Particularly notable facets of the [Indiana Jones] character include his iconic look (bullwhip, fedora, and leather jacket), sense of humor ..." (from the linked Wiki page).

Sense of humor? Indiana Jones? I guess I don't remember that.
posted by Eyebeams at 10:40 AM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


He doesn't have a middle name although he was forced to use "Harrison J Ford" on some early credits because there had been a silent movie actor with the same name. I think this is just a copy and paste of the typo from the Reddit AMA title.
posted by w0mbat at 10:48 AM on April 14, 2014


You know, he's not even the first Harrison Ford who was a movie star.

I used to see people posing by the other Harrison Ford's star on the Walk of Fame right in front of Musso & Franks (and a block away from my apartment), and I was tempted to say "Oh, that's not the right Harrison Ford, you want the one in front of the Hollywood and Highland Center."

But then I realized how much explaining this was actually going to require.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 10:49 AM on April 14, 2014 [3 favorites]


It's a little known secret that his middle name is also "Harrison", and those of us who hang out with him at BBQs will call him either "Harry Harrison Ford Mustang" or sometimes just "Har Har".
posted by Brocktoon at 10:49 AM on April 14, 2014 [4 favorites]


Harrison Harrison
Bears no comparison
He is the greatest of Fords.

Harrison Harrison
Fought off a garrison's
Worth of Storm Troopers, oh Lord!

Said Harrison Harrison:
"Luke, I should marry, son -
That Princess L. has me floored!"

But, Harrison Harrison,
Luke's love for her carries on -
And he has such a bright sword ...
posted by the quidnunc kid at 10:53 AM on April 14, 2014 [16 favorites]


Sense of humor? Indiana Jones? I guess I don't remember that.

I think anyone that takes the time to make a clever physical pun* while nearly falling to one's death off a speeding truck has a great sense of humor.


* Get it? It's a Mercedes Benz hood ornament that ~bends~ when he grabs it to hold on. Ha!
posted by jammy at 10:53 AM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]




or sometimes just "Har Har".

Well, that's better than "Jar Jar".
posted by Melismata at 10:56 AM on April 14, 2014


(slreddit)

Minor point of style, you'd only do this (i.e. "Single Link Reddit") if the post didn't contain any other links. It's a way of "yes, I know" in advance to people who complain about posts that are just a single link to something on a well-trodden site.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:56 AM on April 14, 2014


Hello Harrison! Who would win in a celebrity boxing match: Han Solo or Indiana Jones?

The promoter would win.

Ah, but who'd punch first?

I think the answer is obvious.


Love it.
posted by Melismata at 11:01 AM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


Thanks, Mr. Spiggott, I did not know that and had inferred the use of (sl__) to be a way of saying "don't even bother to click if you dislike __ (videos, upworthy, nytimes' subscription model, etc)". The more you know ...

I liked Reddit's double-name typo enough to propagate it!
posted by Dashy at 11:25 AM on April 14, 2014


I think anyone that takes the time to make a clever physical pun * while nearly falling to one's death off a speeding truck has a great sense of humor.

Also this is never not hilarious.
posted by jason_steakums at 11:29 AM on April 14, 2014 [5 favorites]


Right, and the shooting-the-swordsman bit was hilarious, but i wouldn't list "sense of humor" among the "notable facets" of Indy's character – let alone the second one (right after the fedora and whip).
posted by Eyebeams at 11:33 AM on April 14, 2014


This (terrible A/V quality, best I could find) Conan interview has always been my favorite interview of him that I've seen. From the goofiness to making fun of the name of the movie he was promoting I was straight up CHARMED.
posted by history_denier at 12:12 PM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


Yeah, he's not a conventionally funny character. Hardly a one of these lines (that are Indy's) are actually funny except occasionally in context. The only two that really come across as jokey are “It’s not the years, honey. It’s the mileage.” and “You’re a professor?!” “…Part-time.” His usual conversational mode seems to be deeply cynical sarcasm, which contains elements of humor, but mostly of the defensive variety. Really, the guy's pretty grim wall-to-wall.
posted by dhartung at 12:51 PM on April 14, 2014 [3 favorites]


When I saw this AMA yesterday, I was surprised at how many questions he was able to answer (more than most famous AMA respondents, I think) and how perfect his composition was, which made me wonder about the set-up. I doubt he actually types these on his own. Does a publicist read them out loud and then type up his verbal answers? Would this publicist also do on-the-fly editing?
posted by painquale at 1:13 PM on April 14, 2014


When I saw this AMA yesterday, I was surprised at how many questions he was able to answer (more than most famous AMA respondents, I think) and how perfect his composition was, which made me wonder about the set-up.

I know that a lot of celebrities are genuinely sub-literate, but Ford did graduate from Ripon College in Wisconsin where he studied English and philosophy. I suspect these are his own answers.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 1:30 PM on April 14, 2014


Nothing about this AMA has done anything to change my lifelong (well, at least since I was old enough to notice boys) crush on Harrison Ford.
posted by immlass at 2:12 PM on April 14, 2014 [5 favorites]


I like how Ford was able to play himself as an unfeeling android in Blade Runner. Such emotional range.
posted by KokuRyu at 2:14 PM on April 14, 2014


I'm so glad he debunked multiple "Harrison Ford Ad Libbed This Awesome Thing" urban legends. I always hear those, and the film pedant in me is thinking, "no, there's no way the actor in a stunt scene could ad lib a shooting scene that was written as a sword fight scene." Glad to know there's a kernel of truth to most of them, and that Harrison Ford is a wonderfully humble person.
posted by Sara C. at 2:19 PM on April 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


I was surprised at how many questions he was able to answer

Isn't he basically semi-retired at this point? He might just be a cool person who is happy to answer folks' questions, with plenty of time on his hands.
posted by Sara C. at 2:22 PM on April 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


When I saw this AMA yesterday, I was surprised at how many questions he was able to answer (more than most famous AMA respondents, I think) and how perfect his composition was, which made me wonder about the set-up. I doubt he actually types these on his own. Does a publicist read them out loud and then type up his verbal answers? Would this publicist also do on-the-fly editing?

Her name is Victoria and she works with Reddit. "He" mentions her at the beginning. While obviously they want to imply he's typing it all, it's pretty clear that they're probably read or typed up. Considering how bad some AMAs have gone (cough Woody), there's probably multiple people in the room. The experience might not be that different from a regular interviewer for the celebrity.

(of course, some probably just have an account and type things up at home)
posted by Brainy at 2:24 PM on April 14, 2014


I am delighted by the extent to which Harrison Ford has a stereotypical Dad sense of humor.

The promoter would win. Spoken like a true dad.
posted by Sara C. at 2:57 PM on April 14, 2014 [2 favorites]


Having known a few people who became dads in the last few years, it's amazing how quickly they adapt to Dad humor.
posted by sweetkid at 2:58 PM on April 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


I would guess that Victoria from Reddit was doing the driving around the Reddit interface more than anything. If he isn't a regular, that would be a bit of a hurdle to answering questions and follow-ups in any kind of efficient way.
posted by history_denier at 3:17 PM on April 14, 2014


Wait what happened with Woody (I assume Harrelson)?

Also this prompted me to go back and look at his films in IMDB and other than maaaaybe the most recent film based loosely off of the Indiana Jones franchise, I've pretty much enjoyed every film of his that I've seen, even Morning Glory.
posted by Carillon at 4:13 PM on April 14, 2014


Yeah for a second I thought Woody Allen did an AMA -- which I can see being an absolute train wreck -- and then I realized that would never happen, and if it did happen, it would surely be through the involvement of an entire entourage of people. It would not be the AMA where reddit finally realized they needed to loop in a mod or handler of some kind.
posted by Sara C. at 4:15 PM on April 14, 2014 [1 favorite]


I just re-watched The Conversation last night for the umpteenth time. I was sad he wasn't asked about this film (now go run off and see it if you're unfamiliar).
posted by el io at 5:15 PM on April 14, 2014 [1 favorite]




I finally had a chance to read the Reddit, and one comment mentioned that Harrison Ford went to a local SoCal hospice to visit a kid dying of cancer... sooo here's the video.

(He apparently spent three hours at the hospice, too...)
posted by markkraft at 10:28 PM on April 16, 2014


« Older Fighting for the Federation   |   A savage Journey to the Heart of the American... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments