Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

[pumba]

san fernando jones and the temple of poon

hehe

[Redlum]

temple of doom/last crusade roll of the tongue and also evoke appropriate moods for each film, grandiose fare either ominous or legendary (whether they deliver or not). this new title offers very little of either.

I agree. What concerns me (like you say) is the implication of the title. Raiders and Crusade benefit greatly from the depth lent to them purely by having an established religious artifact at their centre. The Temple of Doom is a lot of fun and a great ride but ultimately feels most like the "saturday morning serials" that Lucas and Spielberg were inspired by. With that in mind the new title makes me think: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Shankara Stones".

Maybe I'm just easily won over by the edginess that the biblical elements bring.  "You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do."

edit: I haven't heard of the mythology surrounding "Crystal Skulls" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_skull

[MacGuffin]

'INDIANA' BLABBER FACES DOOM
Source: New York Post

A BIG-mouthed extra working on the new "Indiana Jones" flick has blown his fledgling movie career to smithereens by spilling the film's major plot points.

Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas made the entire cast and crew of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" sign nondisclosure agreements. But Tyler Nelson - cast as a "dancing Russian soldier" - gave an interview to his hometown newspaper, the Edmond Sun in Oklahoma, in which he revealed that:

* Indy, played once again by Harrison Ford, and the Soviet army are both searching for a priceless skull made of crystal in the jungles of South America.

* The Russians take Indy hostage and then blackmail him by threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, Marion Ravenwood, portrayed by Karen Allen. Cast as the son is Shia LaBeouf.

* Cate Blanchett plays an evil Russian who grills Indy. "I saw Harrison Ford strapped to a chair and being interrogated," Nelson told the paper.

Nelson's own big scene comes when he celebrates Indy's capture by dancing to balalaika folk music. But it's doubtful the footage of the 24-year-old actor - a professionally trained ballet dancer who studied at the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow - will make it into the final cut. Spielberg, furious Nelson blabbed, has reportedly snipped his scene.

Spielberg's spokesman, Marvin Levy, wouldn't say whether any of Nelson's spoilers are accurate, but noted: "Who knows whether that particular person will ever work in this town again?"

Reached by Page Six yesterday, Nelson told us, "No comment. I'm not supposed to talk about it." But his rep at the Thomas Talent Agency said, "He's in trouble. He's got to know that he can't do that."

Meanwhile, there have been behind-the-scenes machinations to get the story squashed. Nelson got the Edmond Sun to yank the story from its Web site, with an employee there telling us: "We removed it out of respect to a hometown boy." And plot-spoilers posted on Harry Knowles' influential Ain't It Cool News site also vanished. Knowles didn't return our call.

The movie, fourth in the "Indiana Jones" series, is set to hit theaters in May.

[grand theft sparrow]

Honestly, unless Cate Blanchett's character is portrayed as good before she turns on Indy, which would be a shitty rehash of the blonde Nazi in Last Crusade, these spoilers aren't really that spoilery.  I can only imagine that Spielberg is pissed because this guy confirmed too soon that this movie is indeed as bad as we feared.

[MacGuffin]

'Indiana Jones' stash stolen
Thieves raid Paramount production
Source: Variety

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" endured another hit this week when computers, photographs and proprietary information were stolen from the production.

A spokesman for director Steven Spielberg confirmed the theft but could not comment on when or where the alleged crime occurred because "a law enforcement investigation is ongoing."

The security breach comes on the heels of last week's confidentiality breach when "Indy" extra Tyler Nelson revealed plot details during an interview with his hometown newspaper, Oklahoma's Edmond Sun. That story was removed from the Sun's website.

[matt35mm]

I don't believe in signs.

But just because I don't believe in them doesn't mean that these aren't signs.

[Pubrick]

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Breaches

that's what happens when you "stage" a confidentiality breach in the form of shia going against spielberg's wishes and announcing the title at the mtv awards. this is all staged too, probably. in fact this recent theft sounds suspiciously like Coppola's in argentina.



kent: When cat burglaries start, can mass murders be far behind?
         This reporter isn't saying that the burglar is an inhuman
         monster like the Wolfman, but he very well could be. 

kent (cont'): So, professor: would you say it's time for everyone to panic?
Professor: Yes I would, Kent.

[MacGuffin]

Breaking Story: Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stolen Set Photos!       
Source: IESB

Steven Spielberg has another reason to be pissed off. Over 2000 production stills, production budget breakdown and other sensitive materials from Indiana Jones 4 were stolen from his office.

This is a story that we are going to be hearing much more of in the upcoming days but here is the skinny.

Over 2000 production stills, plenty of sensitive paperwork including a complete production budget breakdown, possibly the script from Indiana Jones 4 and multiple computers were stolen from Spielberg's Universal Studio office.

The thief started contacting multiple entertainment websites including TMZ.com and offering the stolen goods for a sum of $2000.00.

The IESB has been informed that TMZ.com may had obtained some of stolen property and were on the verge of running the story on its TV division until Paramount lawyers stepped in.

TMZ.com went as far as promoting their upcoming story but we have been informed that they have scrapped their original plans.

The good news for Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and the fine folks over at Paramount, the alleged thief was apprehended today at the Standard Hotel in Los Angeles, CA. around 4:00pm PST.

We have been told that the thief was apprehended by LAPD and the FBI with the help of a member of the online press that had been offered the stolen property. Sources tell us that an undercover sting operation was set in motion late last night with the help of the unnamed member of the online press.

A meeting between the alleged thief and the unnamed online reporter was set up for 4:00pm at the Standard Hotel on Sunset Blvd. The sting went as planned and the arrest was made. The IESB has been told that the alleged thief was in possession of the stolen property.

We are waiting for Paramount Studios to issue an official comment at this time.

Charges to be filed against the individual are unknown at this time.

[mogwai]

brett ratner, you should be ashamed of yourself.

[MacGuffin]

'Indy 4' Will Be As Good As 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark,' Promises George Lucas
Director says the mythology of the 'Crystal Skull' is 'up there with the Ark of the Covenant.'
Source: MTV

Ever since Shia LaBeouf announced the title of the next "Indiana Jones" adventure at the MTV Video Music Awards, everyone from ordinary movie fans to Harvard archeologists have obsessed themselves with the meaning behind crystal skulls, the legendary artifacts Indy will search for in his fourth big-screen journey.

But that's nothing compared to how long George Lucas himself has been obsessed with these antique crystals, the legendary director admitted to MTV News.

"We did 'The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles' [TV show in 1992], and in the process of that, one of the scripts we were working on was about a crystal skull. I became fascinated with it there," Lucas revealed on the red carpet for the American Film Institute's 40th anniversary. "We've been through lots of different versions [of 'Indy 4'] the last 14 years, with five different writers. [But with crystal skulls] there's just a lot of aspects that seem to fit into our kind of a movie."

While Indy's Holy Grail "Crusade" gave him a taste of immortality, and his "Temple" quest for Sankara Stones brought him a glimpse of "fortune and glory," those relics are stuffy museum pieces compared to the power of the crystal skulls, Lucas asserted.

"I think this is actually better, it's up there with the Ark of the Covenant," he declared of the fourth film's "McGuffin" (a term coined by Alfred Hitchcock to describe an object which drives a film's plot). "Sankara Stones and the Holy Grail were a little tough, but I think this time we've really got a great one.

"The skulls themselves are real and a lot of the stuff in the movie is real, just like in the other movies," Lucas continued. "We don't base it on a lot of phony-baloney stuff. It's all based on at least true mythology that exists today that ... a certain amount of the population actually believes in."

Lucas emphasized that "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is shaping up to be the best Indy flick since the first one, even going so far as to call "Skulls" tonally most like "Raiders." But whereas the Ark of the Covenant has very few historically ascribed powers, true believers attribute all sorts of abilities to the crystal skulls, ranging from the skulls being psychic amplifiers to tools of death to repositories of ancient knowledge (something like an Atlantian supercomputer).

So which theory will be in the film?

"There's several different kinds of skulls, several different kinds of theories, several myths that are surrounding them," Lucas said, clearly delighted by his secret knowledge. "So, you just have to put all the pieces together, look it up and figure out which one it is. Or just wait until the movie comes out, which is so much easier."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" opens May 22, 2008.

[MacGuffin]

Spielberg Talks Indy 4, Transformers & Tintin!
Source: ComingSoon

Earlier today, ComingSoon.net had a chance to talk to director Steven Spielberg about next summer's highly-anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, starring Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent, as well as his other projects in the works like Tintin and the Transformers sequel.

Before we met the remarkable and legendary director at the Amblin offices on the Universal Studios lot, we were shuttled to craft services near the set for lunch. While we weren't allowed on-set, which was somewhat disappointing but understandable, we did catch a glimpse of Harrison Ford in full costume grabbing a bite to eat as we left the area and that made not seeing the set quite alright. He appeared to be amazingly fit in his Indy outfit and we couldn't believe how great the 64-year-old looked as he quickly flashed his award-winning grin.

A few minutes later, we met Spielberg in a private screening room where he enthusiastically greeted us sporting his usual dressed-down-with-ball-cap look. Spielberg was gracious with his time and while he talked with us a few minutes, he was upfront about not wanting to answer any questions about the movie. Of course as journalists, we had to try and this is what we got:

Production is two days away from wrapping and the director raved about how great it was to have Ford back and how amazed he was that he did the majority of his own stunts. He said, looking back to the last film, which was 18 years ago, he couldn't tell the difference between the action star from then to now because he's still that good. He also told us that the Russians are the villains in the film and he hired Russian actors to ensure accuracy with their accents.

He went on to say that the fourth installment of the "Indiana Jones" franchise is shot on film and not digital, despite Lucas' encouragements of doing so because he is old-fashioned, and he added that if the people before him, who he considered great directors, did it on film then that's good enough for him.

Spielberg then talked about what a great addition Shia LaBeouf has been and how he's been doing all of his own stunts, too. Speaking of LaBeouf, Spielberg told us there are going to be multiple "Transformers" films that the hot young actor is signed on to do and that there's already a story for the second one, but production depends on the pending writer's strike.

In addition to Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the industrious director talked about Tintin, a project he's working on with Peter Jackson, based on the popular graphic novels by Belgian artist Hergé. He said that as of now there are only two directors with Jackson directing the first installment, himself directing the second movie, and if they don't hire another director, the two would co-direct the third. Jackson will shoot his movie in New Zealand and Spielberg will shoot in the States, and Spielberg said the two are very collaborative and that the film will be using motion-capture, which is still new to him.

As if meeting Spielberg in person and listening to him talk wasn't enough, he also signed limited edition "Indy 4" posters for all of us. It was a great afternoon for everyone, to say the least.

[MacGuffin]

[Pubrick]

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Pants Tent

[cine]

god indy quit holding stuff.

[squints]

I'm still certain there'll be a scene where LaBeouf snorts some meth, hops on a motorcycle and has lots and lots of gay sex to the tune of Little Peggy March's "I Will Follow Him"