Now You Know

Now You Know - Jack Ryan Season 4: Lesser-known Facts about the Hit Prime Video Series - Episode 106

The Office star John Krasinski is set to return as the titular super spy Jack Ryan in the fourth season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. The new season will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on June 30th, and it will focus on Jack as he steps into the role of Acting Deputy Director of the CIA trying to root out the corruption within the organisation. So for today’s Now You Know, we take a look at lesser-known facts about the series that even ardent fans of the show may not know.

1. Lead star John Krasinski revealed that the CIA Headquarters in Langley granted the TV show’s production unit access to locations inside the complex that were never used for filming previous films and TV shows. Talk about keeping it real!
2. The series is based on Tom Clancy’s series of novels, but unlike the previous adaptations, including film and TV shows, the Prime Video series is not based on any of Clancy’s novels. Instead, the series has borrowed the characters and setting from the franchise and created original stories set around contemporary geopolitics. Such creative liberties can sometimes enhance the source material and even result in compelling adaptations.
3. For the first season, the scenes involving the antagonist Sulamein and his residence were filmed at a 13th-century kasbah, or a fortified citadel, on the outskirts of the Moroccan city Marrakesh.
4. Australian actress Abbie Cornish plays the role of Jack’s love interest, Cathy Mueller, in season one. In the show, she is depicted as an epidemiologist, and her profession is pivotal to the first season’s plot. However, in the books, she is an eye surgeon.
5. Robert Pine essays the role of Gerald Halpert in the sitcom The Office. His character is the father of Jim Halpert, who is played by Jack Ryan lead star John Krasinski. In real life, however, Pine is the father of actor Chris Pine, who played the role of Jack Ryan in the 2014 film Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Now that’s just a beautiful coincidence.
6. In the film Clear and Present Danger, starring Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan, Jack is ambushed in the streets of Colombia, similar to the ambush scene in Venezuela in the second season of the TV series. Coincidentally, scenes set in Venezuela were filmed in the Colombian city of Bogota.
7. German actress Nina Hoss essays the role of the fictional President of the Czech Republic, Alena Kovac. She is depicted on the show as the centre of power in the country, similar to the role of an American President. However, in real life, the Prime Minister in the Czech Republic is considered the ultimate leader of the government, similar to India and other European nations, and is more powerful than the President.

Well that's the Now You Know for today's episode , until the next it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

• Written by Ryan Gomez

OTTplay Now You Know - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 2023: 6 lesser-known facts about the Harrison Ford film - Episode 107

Hollywood legend Harrison Ford returns as the iconic swashbuckling adventurer Indiana Jones or Indy in the fifth instalment of the franchise. An archaeologist, professor and full-time explorer, Indy is often dubbed a grave-digger who inevitably finds himself in near-death situations as he takes on fierce adversaries to retrieve objects of immense cultural and historical significance.

Directed by James Mangold, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, is set to release in theatres on the 29th of June in India. So for today’s Now You Know, we take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the film.

1. The film’s first script reportedly featured several jokes aimed at Indiana’s age. However, lead star Harrison Ford asked them to be removed as he felt that it would distract the audience from the film’s immersive experience. Well, we feel the jabs would've also been a tad ageist if not entirely insensitive and it was a good call to nip them in the bud.
2. As many fans of the franchise would already know, this film was scheduled to release in 2021 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with a few injuries Ford suffered during production, delayed the film – eventually pushing it back by two years.
3. Steven Spielberg was vehemently opposed to the idea of using digital de-aging technology on Harrison Ford for the film, all the way back in 2012, when the plans for a fifth film were being discussed. However, the technology has significantly improved since 2012, and it appears new director James Mangold does not feel as strongly about de-ageing technology as Speilberg did. Ford confirmed that de-ageing technology is used in the film for flashback sequences, in an interview with late-night talk show host Stephen Colbert.
4. In the trailer, Indiana appears to be wearing a gold wedding band. It could be a hint that he is still married to Karen Allen’s character Marion. Even though Allen did not feature in any of the trailers, she is listed as a cast member.
5. The film’s primary antagonist, Jürgen Voller, is played by Mads Mikkelsen. His character is reportedly modelled after Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi who was among the 1600 ex-Nazi scientists who were brought to the United States to work on the top secret government program called Operation Paperclip. Wernher von Braun served as director of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and was instrumental in the US winning the ‘space race’ during the Cold War. There are even theories as to whether the German scientists, including von Braun, were truly ‘former Nazis’ and if they ever truly stopped believing in the principles of the Third Reich. Ironically, it is a Disney TV show that showcased von Braun as an American hero, and the Indiana Jones franchise is owned by Disney, with its latest film featuring a villain inspired by von Braun.
6. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who is best known for helming Killing Eve and as the star and showrunner of Fleabag, essays the role of Indy’s goddaughter Helena Shaw. Her character has essentially replaced Shia LaBeouf’s character, Mutt, Indy’s estranged son from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Director James Mangold revealed that he based Waller-Bridge’s character on Barbara Stanwyck’s character Jean Harrington from the 1941 film The Lady Eve.

Well that's the Now you know episode for today on OTTplay, until the next one it's your host Nikhil signing out.

Aaj kya dekhoge OTTplay se poocho

• Written by Ryan Gomez