Columns

HOLLYWOOD — Is “Indiana Jones 5” Harrison Ford’s last film? Five-time-Oscar-winning composer John Williams let it drop, as he announced that he’d be retiring after this film, that he believed Ford would be retiring as well. After five Indiana Jones films and a career spanning over 57 films, Ford’s earned the right to do nothing. For the first four “Indiana Jones” films written by George Lucas, Steven Spielberg served as director, but “Indiana Jones 5” will not be directed by Spielberg or written by Lucas. Spielberg once said he’d never make an “Indiana Jones” film without George Lucas. Spielberg’s kept his word — in February 2020, Spielberg passed the baton to director James Mangold, who helmed “Walk the Line,” “The Wolverine” and “Ford v Ferrari” (among others). The story’s been written by Mangold, along with Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, who were also writers for “Ford v Ferrari.” Originally set in 2016 for a 2019 release, it’ll now open July 2023, with Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones and Antonio Banderas. Filming began in June 2021 and wrapped this past February. *** Fans of “That ’70s Show” will get to revisit the series when it morphs into “That ’90s Show.” It’s now set in 1995 and focuses on the offspring of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti. Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Topher Grace, Laura Prepon and Wilmer Valderama (now a regular on “NCIS”) will be returning as guest stars. Kutcher, currently on-screen in “Vengeance” with B.J. Novak and Issa Rae, stars in James Franco’s upcoming film “The Long Home,” with Josh Hutcherson, Courtney Love, Timothy Hutton and Josh Hartnett. “The Long Home” was completed in 2017 and remains in limbo, awaiting a distributor. We’ll see his Netflix rom-com “Your Place or Mine,” with Reese Witherspoon, Tig Notaro and Steve Zahn, long before that. Kutcher’s wife, Mila Kunis, stars with Finn Wittrock, Connie Britton and Jennifer Beals in Netflix’s “Luckiest Girl Alive,” dropping later this year. *** In the late ’70s, I was a columnist for the legendary “Photoplay” magazine, which presented their awards on Johnny Carson’s “The Tonight Show” to such stars as John Wayne and Ann-Margret. I needed a date for the posh after-party and asked Sally Struthers. She’d just begun playing Gloria in “All in the Family,” and she accepted. Sally’s taking on Cloris Leachman’s classic Frau Blucher role in London’s version of Mel Brooks’ hit Broadway musical “Young Frankenstein” at La Mirada Theatre in Southern California come September. Can little Gloria make horses rear up like Cloris Leachman did, or will that take special coaching?