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Harrison Ford cries, laughs and jokes with his physique at the Cannes 2023 press conference

They had just sat down, the moderator of the Cannes 2023 press conference by Indiana Jones and the dial of fate introduced them and went straight to Harrison Ford: How are you feeling after last night’s tribute? The night before, at the world premiere at the Palais, he was presented with by surprise an honorary Palme d’Or which he received almost in tears. And in the morning, she was speechless again when she remembered it and explained what she felt.

“Was indescribable”, he said and had to stop to stop the tears. “It’s extraordinary; your life passes by, the warmth of this place, the sense of community, the welcome is unimaginable and makes me feel good”.

It was the first time that he was moved in a tender press conference of almost three quarters of an hour, but it was not the last. The vast majority of questions were addressed to Harrison Ford and almost all of them seemed inclined to make him reflect about age, his career, thinking about the past, do a bit of the journey that his character makes in his latest film.

It is the last one? A journalist released half jokingly… half seriously. He laughed. “Isn’t it obvious that I’m leaving? I need to sit down and rest a bit, “he said with a laugh and to clear up doubts.

This is where the emotion comes from, in part: this is the farewell to one of the characters who made him an icon and who gave it away “a lucky run”

“I love working, I love this character, I love what it has brought me in this life,” he said. “There are a lot of talented people not working, actors can be very unhappy if they can’t work.” And he thought of his distant years when he was not yet so lucky.

Some of the journalists gathered there also took the opportunity to declare their love for him. The first was a Brazilian who, at the end of his question, blurted out: “Thank you for existing”. Ford’s smile was so sincere and beautiful that even the public began to get excited (I admit it).

He was followed, bringing us closer to the end, by a well-known journalist on the festival circuit who, without asking anything, directly told him: “You are still very good”, and he reminded and praised him in that opening scene in which he appears in his underpants. “How do you keep fit?”. After much laughter and surprise faces. The actor replied: “I have been blessed with this body, thank you for noticing.”

And he took the opportunity to deny or downplay an anecdote that the actor Mads Mikkelsen had just told about him to highlight his capacity for work and physique: “The first day of filming, we filmed until 5 in the morning, we were all devastated, but he jumped on his bike and went to his hotel 50 kilometers away” .

Harrison Ford is happy, excited, melancholic. Or we probably force him to be, with so many hindsights. But, of course, he gave a beautiful show at a press conference to remember. And he took the opportunity himself to point out that Indy will leave, but he does not intend to go anywhere. He confirmed his presence in the second season of Shrinking. “I love comedy,” he said. “I want to work and tell good stories, I have been very lucky in my life,” she repeated.

And unlike Indy, he’s content with his age. “It was great to be young, and I’m happy being older, I think I might be dead by now and here I continue working… so…”.

Support for scriptwriters

Ford was not alone in the press conference. The rest of the team also had the opportunity to talk about the experience and responsibility of entering into such a project. And the future of the saga…

Considering that he appears for 25 minutes with a rejuvenated face (“It’s not photoshopped, it’s me 35 years ago”; the actor insisted), there could be more movies without him physically. “No”, the producer was emphatic Kathleen Kennedy. “You already have the answer of who should give it,” Ford joked.

They also took the opportunity to ask the powerful executive about the writers strike that is endangering the industry again. “I fully support the writers in their strike to get what they deserve,” he said.

“When it comes to recognizing the importance of writers, I think all of us here have shown that you can’t do anything without a good script.” And he encouraged to open a healthy and honest conversation to reach a common point in “an industry in the midst of change.”

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