ANN ARBOR, Mich.-- Researchers, documentary filmmakers and others will soon be able to get their hands on screenwriter and director Lawrence Kasdan’s papers at his alma mater, the University of Michigan.Archivists are about a quarter of the way through cataloging the 150-plus boxes of material that document the 76-year-old filmmaker’s role in bringing to life iconic characters like Indiana Jones and Yoda, and directing actors ranging from Geena Davis and Glenn Close to Morgan Freeman and Kevin Costner.“All I wanted to ever do was be a movie director.
And so, all the details meant something to me,” Kasdan said in an interview with The Associated Press.“I couldn’t be happier to have this mass of stuff available to anybody who is interested.” The archive includes scripts, call sheets and still photos — including a few rarities.Before Costner became an Oscar winner and Hollywood icon, he worked various studio jobs while taking nighttime drama lessons.
His break — or so he thought — came when Kasdan cast him in 1983’s “The Big Chill.”Costner played Alex, whose death brings his fellow Michigan alums together.Unfortunately his big flashback scene ended up on the cutting-room floor.What are believed to be among the only existing photographs of the famously deleted scene are part of the Kasdan collection, now housed in Ann Arbor.“Different people will be interested in different things,” Kasdan said, pointing to his work writing the “Raiders of the Lost Ark” screenplay as one possible destination for researchers.
The archive features audio cassette recordings of Kasdan discussing the film with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.It also includes Polaroids taken of cast and crew members on the sets of his movies.There are props, too, including a cowboy hat from the 1985 Western “Silverado,” worn by none other than Costner.
Kasdan and the kid from California would work together again on “Wyatt Earp” in the ’90s.Costner also starred...