In 1981 when I was 9 years old my Dad returned from a business trip with a gift in hand. He surprised me with what I now consider my “holy grail” of gifts I was given as a child: Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Illustrated Screenplay. While it contained the entire script depictions and dialogue, it was also fully illustrated. Accompanying the complete script, including location, time, and scene setups, it was chocked full of storyboards depicting action, blocking, light source locations, camera movements, and even some key frame depictions of Marion as she lost her grip and fell from the statue in the Well of Souls just before Belloq and his baddies sealed their fate. Little did I know what was waiting for me on the last twenty pages...
Anticipating something magical was about to be revealed, I turned over page number 103. There at the top of the page read “Exterior: Desert Island Altar — Night.” My eyes slowly scanned every word before reaching the first line of dialogue: “Marion, don’t look at it. Shut your eyes, Marion, don’t look at it no matter what happens.” Reaching a fever pitch as I was nearing the bottom of the page there was the first glimpse of a generous handful of ILM's blueprints revealing how they would create the most spectacular movie climax in cinematic history. It was complete with meticulous notes describing the elements needed to bring the storyboard to life. My life was forever changed through the illumination provided by this book.
The forward, written by Steven Spielberg, struck me like a bolt of lightning. He described in such visceral detail the variable incarnation of the creative process. Unlike Doc Brown knowing the exact moment when the bolt of lightning would strike the clock tower via Marty McFly’s knowledge of the future while in the past, we never really know when we’ll be struck next, many times in the middle of the night. I’ve created some of my best work, as a child and also professionally, between the hours of midnight and dawn the following day. That’s when our minds are free and unfiltered. If you're still reading this, I have a feeling you know what I mean...
“An electrical impulse seizes the brain and snaps the eyes wide open in the dark. The adrenaline reaches the heart and no matter what time it is, the hand is wildly groping for something to write with. On the open flap of a book of matches, a shredded paper napkin, the cover of TV Guide, or on the palm of the hand, an idea is born. An unsuspecting world goes about its business…then, a year, three years, five years later the palm print is on everybody’s lips in a dozen languages, crossing over a score of cultures, religions, and ideologies. The world has a dashing hero, a magical diversion – a new movie.”
– Introduction excerpt from Steven Spielberg, Los Angeles, California, June 1981, from Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Illustrated Screenplay