Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[grand theft sparrow]

George Lucas Says Indiana's Next Crack Of The Whip Will Be TLamer

[Pozer]

I'll give you 5 bucks if you change your avatar.

[modage]

for 5 bucks his avatar will do a lot more than change!

[Pozer]

:] Nice.

[MacGuffin]

Calling Sean Connery -- You're Needed in Indy 4

Sean Connery supposedly retired from the movie business last year because he can't take the "idiots" working in Hollywoood, but now he's being called back into action. George Lucas told Access Hollywood that Connery is needed to reprise his role of Henry Jones in Indiana Jones 4. "We are writing him in whether he wants to do it or not," said Lucas, who serves as executive producer on the franchise. The two were united Thursday night, along with Harrison Ford, at AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony, where Connery was honored.

[MacGuffin]

Indiana Summer
A release date is announced but will it hold?

The Licensing 2006 International trade show takes place this week in New York City, with Hollywood and various entertainment companies peddling their stories and characters to merchandise companies of all stripes.

LucasFilm is among the film companies in attendance, says The Hollywood Reporter, and they've announced their current plans for Indiana Jones IV in order to arrange merchandising partners.

Summer 2008 is the rough date chosen for Indy's final adventure — and that date is probably the studio's last crack at the whip if they want to make it before Harrison Ford is too old. That probably also means production will happen in early 2007.

In addition, a new Indiana Jones video game is set for release in 2007 by LucasArts. Expect numerous tie-ins with that as well, as the hype for the movie begins to build.

[MacGuffin]

Final Indiana Script Soon
Spielberg's man still polishing story.
 
Spielberg's writer and collaborator on War of the Worlds, David Koepp, is still polishing off the screenplay for Indiana Jones IV to the director's satisfaction, if an industry report at The Hollywood Reporter is accurate.

Although producers George Lucas and Frank Marshall have both claimed to have a satisfactory script in-hand, the tinkering continues. A final draft is expected in two or three months. Although Sean Connery is apparently being written into the story as Indy's father again, there's no confirmation of him joining the production yet.

The next and final Indiana Jones adventure, starring Harrison Ford in his familiar role, is expected to bow in the summer of 2008. To keep that schedule, production should commence in early 2007. Lucas, Spielberg, and Marshall have been mum so far as to the story and potential shooting locales.

[matt35mm]

David Koepp

Since when was this motherfucker writing the script?  Haven't people learned from the massive quality difference between Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 to never hire David Koepp?  The only thing I've liked that he's written is the first Jurassic Park... and maybe Death Becomes Her.  But those were early works, and he's lost whatever little spark that he might have ever had.

This movie will suck; just remember that I called it 2 years in advance and specifically cited a major reason why.  That and also neither Harrison Ford, George Lucas, nor Sean Connery have been involved in a good movie in a long time.  Spielberg is still great, even if his movies aren't perfect--he's way the hell more advanced than the rest of these guys, and they'll just be dragging him down when he should go off and do something better.

Eh fuck it.

[MacGuffin]

David Koepp

Since when was this motherfucker writing the script?

Page 5:

"I have David Koepp on it now, and he's my 'closer,'" Spielberg said, using a baseball reference to the pitcher who comes in during the 9th inning and finishes up a winning ball game.

"He wrote 'Spider-Man' and 'War of the Worlds,'" Spielberg added, "so he'll get it done."

We've heard a lot of things about the Indiana Jones IV script lately. Lucas suggested that a draft by Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour, Catch Me if You Can) had been approved and was ready to shoot, while director Steven Spielberg said he was having War of the Worlds collaborator David Koepp work on it some more.

At last report, the much-delayed script for the film now appears to have been completed to the satisfaction of all parties involved. The supposedly approved script was penned by Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour, Catch Me if You Can) with a final polish by David Koepp.

[matt35mm]

I think I read those and blocked it out, but thanks.

[pete]

I dunno, the most brilliant part about the indiana jone series is how the action sequences are handled, with equal parts of tension and humor, a mix between what seems familiar and fresh twists.  I've also never heard lucas and speilberg taking this long writing their scripts before.  they don't need a polished script, they need one with energy and childlike excitement.  does koepp have that?  the action scenes in all of his previous stuff all seem pretty standard dramatic stuff.  close calls and whatnot.

[MacGuffin]

Portman Lands Role in Indy 4???
by Erik Davis; Cinematical

I knew I wanted to go to the movies Friday night, but I wasn't sure what to see. There was no way I would be fighting the crowds at Dead Man's Chest and, while I almost went to see Wassup Rockers at the Angelika, I decided to go a different route. After reading Chris' post on the Raiders of the Lost Ark screening here in NYC, the thought of seeing Indy back up on the big screen was just too tempting. Besides, Karen Allen was doing a Q & A afterward and that's a pretty nifty bonus.

Long story short, the film was awesome, as expected. However, when it came time for the Q & A, I sat patiently and waited as I knew one of the first questions asked would be, "So, will you be involved in Indiana Jones 4?" And what do you know, it was the third question. Now, here's where things get interesting. Allen begins to talk about Indy 4 in a very "I have no idea what's going on" kind of way, however, you could tell she knew more then she was letting on.

She did say there were whispers the script was calling for both Allen's character and Kate Capshaw's character from Temple of Doom to reunite with Indiana Jones in the fourth installment. Though nothing was certain, the way she said it made the rumor seem to be much more than just a rumor. And then she dropped the bomb folks. As she delves into this next bit of info, for a brief moment, she hesitates before saying (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Oh, and I just heard Natalie Portman was cast as Indy's daughter." Now, I seem to recall way back in the day, the Portman rumors were out there -- what with George Lucas having just shot three films with the girl. But is it now a done deal? Immediately after the Portman line, Allen switched topics, reverting back to an earlier question. As if she knew she shouldn't have said anything. Of course, this is all still part of one giant rumor, but if I were a betting man, something big will be announced soon.

[killafilm]

I'm not sure if I really see that working.  But I loves me some Indy and I really really loves me some Portman.  So...

[MacGuffin]

Spielberg, Ford and Lucas on Indy IV
Exclusive: Dream team talk sequel
Source: Empire Online
 
Getting one of the Indiana Jones triumvirate to talk about the fourth sequel is a rare opportunity, but getting George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford to spill at the same time is as infrequent as finding a needle in a haystack under some hen's teeth on a blue moony night at the end of a month of Sundays.

But Empire was lucky enough to speak with the trio as part of our massive Indiana Jones 25th anniversary celebrations and it seems that Indy IV is going to be a tad controversial.

“We’re basically going to do The Phantom Menace”, says Lucas (stay with him here, he’s making a point). “People’s expectations are way higher than you can deliver. You could just get killed for the whole thing…We would do it for fun and just take the hit with the critics and the fans...But nobody wants to get into it unless they are really happy with it”.

The ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation has freed up an idea for a plot that was originally deemed too incendiary.

“I discovered a McGuffin,” continues Lucas, still reluctant to name said McGuffin. “I told the guys about it and they were a little dubious about it, but it’s the best one we’ve ever found… Unfortunately, it was a little too ‘connected’ for the others. They were afraid of what the critics would think. They said, “Can’t we do it with a different McGuffin? Can’t we do this?” and I said “No”. So we pottered around with that for a couple of years. And then Harrison really wanted to do it and Steve said, “Okay”. I said, “We’ll have to go back to that original McGuffin and take out the offending parts of it and we’ll still use that area of the supernatural to deal with it”.

“Hopefully it will be different in all the right ways and the same in all the familiar ways,” adds Spielberg.

As for timing, Lucas says that filming is scheduled for mid-2007, for a 2008 release but getting the gang back together is a tricky proposition. “Before I was just working with Steven and Harrison. Now everybody’s a superstar, so it’s a little bit more difficult than it was then”. “But there’s a good chance it will happen,” assures Ford. “There are things left for this character to do”.


The Empire special tribute issue to Indiana Jones will be available on newsstands this Friday, while “Indiana Jones 4” will be in a theater near you in 2008 if all goes well!

[MacGuffin]

Is it too late for Indy?
Another "Raiders of the Lost Ark" movie seems to be finally in the works, but will fans still care?
Source: Los Angeles Times

Twenty-five years ago three great and mighty gods of entertainment came together to create the best B-movie the world had ever seen. Their names were Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford, and what they bestowed upon the world, in June 1981, was "Raiders of the Lost Ark" — the first of three films starring a brave and vulnerable whip-cracking adventure seeker named Indiana Jones.

After "Raiders," the gods delivered "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," which was followed by "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Even though there was that telling word "last" in the final film, Indiana Jones' fans cried out for more. The three great gods said they might make a fourth film, and then didn't and then said they might, and then didn't and so it has been ever since.

Now, Empire magazine tells us that the almighty triumvirate is planning to make a fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise for release sometime in 2008. But can the Indiana Jones fanatics trust this prophecy? And does anybody even care about Indiana Jones anymore?

Brandon Gray, the super smart brains behind Box Office Mojo was hesitant to speak definitively about whether the current cinema market could sustain a fourth Indiana Jones movie — but that didn't stop him from speaking.

"It's hard to say," he said. "The Indiana Jones trilogy is a beloved movie series, so it depends on what Mr. Lucas and Mr. Ford have cooked up for the fourth picture. It depends on the story and how they plan to resurrect Indiana Jones, but audiences are always game for a fun adventure picture, and with the success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' there may be room for another one."

Gray does not think that Harrison Ford's age is a problem (the actor turned 64 in July).

"That's not a huge issue," he said. 'It is more are they going to have a story worth resurrecting Indiana Jones for."

As for whether die-hard Indiana Jones fans are excited about a fourth installment of Indy, it doesn't seem clear. Aaron Grant, the 19-year-old creator and webmaster of TheIndyExperience.com said he could go either way.

"I certainly wouldn't mind it. I can imagine one day if I'm sitting in a theater about to watch it I'll be 'giddy as a schoolboy,' to quote Indiana Jones himself. But if they don't do it in the next three years it will probably be too late."

Grant's site is one of the few Indiana Jones fan sites that continue to be updated regularly, and if he's not jumping out of his skin in anticipation of another Indy movie, it doesn't seem like the best idea to do an expensive remake.

On the other hand, Grant may just be jaded by what the three gods have promised in the past.

"We've all been down the path of it's going to happen, then nothing gets done, it's going to happen, and now we'll just have to wait and see," he said. "There has been a lot of ups and downs and I think people get frustrated. But I assure you everybody keeps it in perspective. We have our three films, we have the Young Indy series and all these video games. There is a substantial Indy world. We would have loved it if they could have made it like James Bond and kept putting movies out, but it's sort of like an alignment of the planets…it never happened."