News culture “She was all white” this actress’ reaction forced Steven Spielberg to delete a scene from his film
A true nugget of the seventh art, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom left its mark on an entire generation. But one of the actresses was unable to overcome her fears on set and this had an impact on the film.
The Temple of Doom, a cult film
A true jewel of the Spielberg galaxy, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the second film in the adventures of the famous archaeologist. Published in 1984, it is a prequel which tells how Indiana, accompanied by Willie and a young Chinese boy, arrives in the middle of an Indian forest. Brought to go to the palace of Pankot, the trio will then experience an epic at a hundred miles an hour. It turns out that the place is the epicenter of a sect that engages in strange rituals. And in this film, several cult sequences have had a profound impact on people’s minds, whether it be the meal (ah, the famous soup…) or the ritual in honor of the evil goddess Kali. It just so happens that Spielberg was forced to change a scene due to a phobia of actress Kate Capshaw who plays the role of Willie.
“Irrational” fear changes the script
It turned out that the actress suffered from ophiophobia, or more commonly known as “excessive fear of snakes.” In one of the scenes, the latter is surprised by a snake that wraps itself around her. Originally, Steven Spielberg wanted the beast to be giant. Therefore, it was a huge snake that had to appear on screen. But seeing the actress’s face, the director immediately understood that he should not go any further. Kate Capshaw was literally livid, to the point where you could see through her makeup. Her skin had lost all its color, it was completely white and it grew paler as she approached the snake. Steven Spielberg laughs about it today, saying “that she probably married him for that years later.” This anecdote is amusing, isn’t it? After years of good and loyal service, Harrison Ford bowed out as an archaeologist with a fifth and final feature film entitled Indiana Jones and the Clock of Destiny.
