Today’s guest is director Carl Schultz, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, or THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES, as it’s later been retitled. This lavishly produced early 90’s show, a spin-off of the popular Indiana Jones movies, follows the adventures of Indy as a boy, played by Corey Carrier, and as a young man, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, encountering numerous famous historical figures and events. Carl directed several episodes of the show, including the first few episodes which has the protagonist meeting contemporaries like Pancho Villa, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, and learning about the Mexican Revolution and the suffragette movement, among others. He also made the famous “Mystery of the Blues” two-part episode set in Chicago where Indy meets jazz musician Sidney Bechet and gangster Al Capone. Furthermore, Carl directed many of the bookends of the show, segments with a 93-year old Indy reminiscing about his earlier adventures.
Carl Schultz was born in Budapest but left Hungary in the 1950’s and moved to Australia, where he established himself as a versatile storyteller. He directed several TV productions, including the mini-series RIDE ON STRANGER from 1979, based on the novel by Kylie Tennant set in the 1930’s, and the mini-series LEVKAS MAN from 1981, based on a book by Hammond Innes. Carl also directed several notable theatrical features, including the 1983 drama CAREFUL HE MIGHT HEAR YOU, the quiet story of a young kid caught in a custody battle between his two aunts, which won eight Australian Film Institute Awards, plus the David Williamson adaptation TRAVELLING NORTH from 1987, the deeply human story of an old curmudgeon who tries to enjoy his retirement days without going through the pains of addressing his health problems, and Carl’s American debut, THE SEVENTH SIGN from 1988, an apocalyptic horror movie starring Demi Moore and Michael Biehn.
In our conversation, Carl recalls the freedom he enjoyed as a director and his impressions of the show’s writer’s room. He also discusses his thoughts on the Old Indy bookend segments and his general approach as a filmmaker to the Young Indy stories.
The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #67, which features an in-depth look at the Young Indiana Jones TV series. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with actor Sean Patrick Flanery here on Talking Pictures!
So without any further ado, here’s Carl Schultz discussing how he came on board of YOUNG INDIANA JONES!
The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.
Photos courtesy of Carl Schultz
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent
