Lucas, Ford to Start Filming New Indiana Jones Film

Alchemist253 writes "George Lucas has announced that the script for the long-rumored fourth Indiana Jones film has been finalized and is to begin filming this year, with Harrison Ford once again in front of the camera. From the article: 'In a statement, the 64-year-old Ford said he was ready for another turn as the globe-trotting archaeologist. "I'm delighted to be back in business with my old friends," he said. "I don't know if the pants still fit, but I know the hat will."' All three of the earlier movies were shot in the 80s. How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?

Comments

Maybe something like this.

[Chas]

*Decks a Nazi out*

*CRACK*

"Shit! My back went again!"

Re:Maybe something like this.

[matt4077]

Well, Ford already injured his back during the second Indy movie. He had to have surgery and the whole project was almost cancelled.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[MillionthMonkey]

I wonder if they're going to have Nazis in this movie, now that Harrison Ford has been aging for decades.

Either the Nazis will come out of a time warp in the 1960s, or maybe they'll continue to set the movie pre-WWII and explain that Indiana aged 25 years instantly when he decided to open that box and peek inside the Ark, just for a second, with sunglasses on.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Curtman]

Well, Ford already injured his back during the second Indy movie

... And George quit the business. Should be a good movie.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[drinkypoo]

Either the Nazis will come out of a time warp in the 1960s

What, they're putting Rick Berman and Brannon Braga on the team, too?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[jtosburn]

I wonder if they're going to have Nazis in this movie, now that Harrison Ford has been aging for decades.

Either the Nazis will come out of a time warp in the 1960s, or maybe they'll continue to set the movie pre-WWII and explain that Indiana aged 25 years instantly when he decided to open that box and peek inside the Ark, just for a second, with sunglasses on.

Mix 'n match movies:

Use the nazis from the Blues Brothers!

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

So, Mel Gibson will be rounding out the cast then? Window seat, please.

Yep. He'll be playing a Nazi, of course!

[pushes you out the window]
Mel: "No ticket!" [sotto voce] "!@#$%ing Jew."

Re:Maybe something like this.

[sBox]

Do you think they can throw in a JTK judo roll?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[jfengel]

I can't find a copy of the quote, but I recall hearing that after Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan Spielberg had sworn off using Nazis as generic semi-comic villains.

A twenty-years-aged Indy will probably be fighting cartoon Commies rather than cartoon Nazis. Perhaps Chinese ones.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[scuba964]

Use the nazis from The Producers!

Re:Maybe something like this.

[MSFanBoi2]

http://www.theraider.net/films/indy4/faq.php

Will the Nazi's again be the villains in Indiana Jones 4?

Frank Darabont said (in March 2003) that the sequel's 1950s setting requires different villains from those in previous installments, which were set in the 1930s. "Those pesky Nazis seem to have departed, which is a shame, because I like those pesky Nazis, because you can just squash them all over the place," Darabont said, with tongue in cheek. Darabont would not say who the new villains were, but assured that the tone of adventure would be consistent with previous Indy movies. "From the standpoint of the fun of it and the adventure of it, [there will be] no [change]," he said.

Note: Because of the rejection of Darabont's script in 2005, this may or may not remain true in any of the later revisions, rewrites, or the final draft written by Jeff Nathanson & David Koepp

Re:Maybe something like this.

[carlivar]

Maybe it will be set in Argentina. Plenty of Nazis there circa 1960's, right?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[The Monster]

Either the Nazis will come out of a time warp in the 1960s

No need for that. These will be neonazis. Think "Indiana Jones and the Boys from Brazil", or maybe Indy could team up with young Jake and Elwood Blues: "I hate Illinois Nazis! And snakes. I really hate Illinois Nazi Snakes!"

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Howitzer86]

No no no, no Nazis. Communists! It'll be the 1950's, and the greatist threat to America is the Soviet Union. Also remember that Indiana Jones is not a super spy or anything stupid like that, so he won't be fighting the Russians directly. Instead Indiana will run into them while searching for some amazing artifact, and he'll have to use his wits and his wip to get out of the situation alive.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[jacoby]

But didn't Spielberg go to Cuba? I'd expect he's way against villianizing commies like that.

Evil corporate types? Yeah, that'll be it.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[InterestingX]

Indiana Jones saying "there's a point-oh-five phase variance in the chronoton flux of the space-time continuum. We need to recalibrate the positronic matrix to compensate" would be, well....

Re:Maybe something like this.

[hey!]

Well, if the character is to be the same age of the actor, we're talking about a film set in the 1960s.

You're probably too young too remember the "Mission Imposisble" series, which ran from around 1966. Mostly the bad guys were iron curtain dictators, but old Nazis made regular appearances too. It was only 21 years after the end of WW2, after all. That's like going back in the wayback machine from 2007 to 1986. At that time, Dick Cheney was serving in Congress, having lost his job as whitehouse Chief of Staff when President Ford failed reelection.

So not only is it plausble as fiction, it is quite historically plausible that individual Nazis could still be active over tweny years after being defeated.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[robyannetta]

If they somehow figure out how to put Nazis in the movie, it'll be either "Indy vs. Mel Gibson" or a slapstick, horse riding remake of the Blues Brothers.

Fav scenes:

"I hate Illinois Nazis." - Indy then proceeds to cross the bridge and knock them in the river while John Lee Hooker plays in the background.

Indy is sitting on his horse under a dark bridge. "It's 160 miles to Chicago, I've got a full horse, half pack of cigarettes, it's dark and I'm in a back brace." - The ghostly head of Jake Blues appears floating above Indy and calmly says "Hit it."

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

> That's like going back in the wayback machine from 2007 to 1986. At that time, Dick Cheney was serving in Congress,
> having lost his job as whitehouse Chief of Staff when President Ford failed reelection.

Does your wayback machine always miss its target by 10 years???

Re:Maybe something like this.

[antek9]

Nope, islamic fascists are the way to go: he could have a fist fight with the former mullah of Jerusalem, Hitler-buddy and uncle of Jassir Arafat (for real!).

Not like there haven't been any muslim nazis in the older movies, hey, but emphasizing those intimate relationships a bit more would provide a tie to today's problems while avoiding to do just another terrorists-attack-what-would-Indy-do? movie.

Some secret plot story about muslim fanatics trying to evoke dark forces in order to destroy Israel, and you'd have it all in one: popcorn, blockbuster & world politics. Suggestions needed for a female sidekick (with/without love interest): Scarlett / Natalie / Tom Hanks, who else?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[jesterzog]

Well, Ford already injured his back during the second Indy movie. He had to have surgery and the whole project was almost cancelled.

I'm a fan of the existing set of Indianna Jones movies, but the second film doesn't have much to do with it, and personally I think that missing out on the second one would not have been a bad thing. The whole movie was stereotypical 80's trash, complete with an annoying kid and a helpless constantly complaining woman who needed to be saved from something every two minutes.

Raiders was a great film because it had a really strong female character among many other things that made it stand out. Temple of Doom was just a sell-out, trying to capitalise the franchise on the popular movie trends of the 1980's.

I really hope the fourth movie has a good script, but right now I don't want to assume too much.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Better yet, he'll be looking for dino eggs in Mongolia.
That way he'll be fighting Russian and Chinese commies!

Re:Maybe something like this.

[yotto]

I agree about ToD. I hope movie #4 will make a complete trilogy of 3 good films.

So long as Indy's trying to find a Christian artifact before the Nazis do, I'll be happy.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Given his age, won't this movie involve him fighting those damn non-religious commies instead? I mean even a 50 or so year old indy would put him well out of the ww2 era, wouldn't it?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Eternauta3k]

Maybe it will be set in Argentina. Plenty of Nazis there circa 1960's, right?

Go to villa general belgrano (córdoba) and you might find some today...

Re:Maybe something like this.

[ScrewMaster]

Only in people years. In movie studio years, anything is possible.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[geobeck]

Maybe it will be set in Argentina. Plenty of Nazis there circa 1960's, right?

Aha! Indy will race to find an ancient relic that Hitler (who didn't die in Berlin) is looking for so he can use its amazing powers to take over the world. Hitler uses a similar (but less powerful) artifact to cast a spell on a bullet he gives to Lee Harvey Oswald. Indy's comic sidekick (who he picks up in Venezuela) is a young man named Hugo who has a crazy dream of selling cheap oil to the USA after world prices rise. Eventually he kills Hitler and saves the world before disappearing in a small southeast Asian country where the commies are making trouble, leaving the door open to Indy 5: Archaeologist Now!.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Twenty years of liberal BS later, Indy will probably be searching for Muslim artifacts before the evil CIA steals them for George Bush.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

"after Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan Spielberg had sworn off using Nazis as generic semi-comic villains"

He must have meant "on film", rather than in computer games. See Medal Of Honor.

I suppose film was too inefficient a medium for him to continue using it to vilify the German people. What's a couple hours watching a film compared to tens, hundreds, and in many cases, thousands of hours of indoctrinating youth to mindlessly sight German soldiers and pull the trigger?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Saint Fnordius]

What would be brilliant for the series would be to make the 4th movie an homage on the movies of the Fifties and Sixties, much as the first three movies were an homage on the old serials. It was the age when James Bond was born as a novel, when international assassins and atomic mutants were all the rage.

It could be interesting, with a respectable Professor Jones being dragged out of his comfortable life as dean of archeology by a mysterious theft from his museum, with a wild goose chase after the mysterious villain through the museums of the world instead of dig sites, culminating in a final confrontation by a forgotten Aztec temple with a mutant giant feathered serpent and/or an atomic bomb test about to go off.

I'm afraid they'll shy away from doing what's necessary, namely Professor Jones saying "I'm too old for this crap" and acting like he now has to worry about his glasses or arthritis from his old wounds. It may be a cliché, but that's what made the movies so fun was that they polished off those old hoary clichés and made them seem fresh. They could even carry off the old trope of insisting on being called Professor Henry Jones Junior until he rediscovers the thrill, and at the end yells "the name is Indiana!"

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope, islamic fascists are the way to go: he could have a fist fight with the former mullah of Jerusalem, Hitler-buddy and uncle of Jassir Arafat (for real!).

That purported family connection has no basis in fact; it was invented by propagandists.

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Walt Dismal]

Don't worry; Indy will defeat them using a wooden laptop running Linux, and shut down their starship. Oh wait. There appears to have been something in my morning coffee. The colors... the colors! Like wow!

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Personatech]

You could have Nazis 20 years later - you see, there's this place called Argentina...

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Wicknight]

Ford is the age Connery was when he played Indy's dad in the last movie. If only River was still alive and could play Indy's son .. or something ... wasn't that the original plan before River blew his brains out with drugs

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Robber Baron]

Maybe it will be set in Argentina. Eine Minuten, eine Minuten! Ach! Das Wagen-phone ist ein...Nuisancephone!

Re:Maybe something like this.

[antek9]

Anonymous coward that you are aside, care to provide a source? There's several scientific books out on that matter as far as I remember. But maybe by propagandists, you mean Arafat and his troupe themselves?

Re:Maybe something like this.

[jo42]

You forgot to throw in some terrorists in there. Even Star Trek: Of Gods and Men has a Weapon of Mass Destruction and terrorists in it...

Re:Maybe something like this.

[Anonymous Coward]

Aliens. He'll end up in Roswell, NM, in 1947 fighting aliens, who are really bad aliens who are trying to kill the good aliens (aka ET, neatly linking up that franchise).

The aliens take him to space as a thank you and -duh dum!!!!- he is un-aged and sent back in time to a galaxy far away, etc.

Done.

That's funny

[Capt'n Hector]

Just yesterday I spoke with someone from ILM, and they were saying how the film wasn't going to happen because Lucas kept rejecting scripts. Good to hear he found one he liked...

Re:That's funny

[pizza_milkshake]

not enough CG characters.

Re:That's funny

[Anonymous Coward]

That is funny (or scary) considering the scripts he himself turned in for the starwars prequels.

Re:That's funny

[morgan_greywolf]

The one that was adopted:

Indiana Jones and the Annoying Alien from Naboo

JJ: "Meesa no liiiike Nazzzzziiis!!"
IJ: *crack* "Oh, my back!" *crack*
JJ: "Aaaaaggghh!!! Meesa no like bull whip!!!!"

Re:That's funny

[Dystopian Rebel]

Lucas kept rejecting scripts

Anything that keeps Lucas from writing scripts deserves our support.

Re:That's funny

[HappySqurriel]

Just yesterday I spoke with someone from ILM, and they were saying how the film wasn't going to happen because Lucas kept rejecting scripts. Good to hear he found one he liked...

With how well the Star Wars prequels were written, maybe it would be better if he was forced to use a script that he didn't like. Honestly, there are several directors that I really wish would find another director (who would treat the material better) to handle sequels/prequels of movies that were made 10-20+ years ago.

Re:That's funny

[eno2001]

Oh it'll be made alright. They'll use CGI to augment Ford's looks. He'll wind up looking better than he did in the 80s. Probably like a cross between that Russell Crow guy and the Terminator. And he'll probably wind up having a big fight with several thousand "natives" while jumping all over the place in superhuman fashion. AND... he'll DEFINITELY shoot first.

Re:That's funny

[Nos.]

The question now is, does the script include Indiana's father. If so, will Connery come out of retirement to play the part. That's what I'd like to know.

Re:That's funny

[djasbestos]

Maybe it'll actually have to rely on plot like the old ones.

Re:That's funny

[WarlockD]

Just yesterday I spoke with someone from ILM, and they were saying how the film wasn't going to happen because Lucas kept rejecting scripts. Good to hear he found one he liked...

I dunno. He also was the one that approved Jar-Jar in Episode 1....

Re:That's funny

[Deinhard]

Indiana Jones with a glowing red eye?

Re:That's funny

[Kamots]

Yeah... but does the script he liked have Wisconsin Platt in it?

Re:That's funny

[Fozzyuw]

I heard on the radio this morning that Connery will also be back in this film.

At the same time, they are *not* going to make Indy the same age as the previous films. He will be relatively older, like Harrison Ford is.

I would worry that the script is going to be as painful as the last 3 Star Wars films, but I think that this, not being a Sci-Fi film, will turn out pretty well... and Spielburg will be directing.

Cheers,
Fozzy

Re:That's funny

[__aaclcg7560]

Yes, Connery will come out of retirement to prove that he's still sexier than Ford when it comes to bedding the 20-year-old girls. Give or take a few Viagra prescriptions.

Re:That's funny

[camperdave]

Yeah, that could have been bad:
*glucas has rejected script1
*glucas has rejected script2
*glucas has rejected script3
...
*glucas has rejected script4
*glucas has rejected script5
glucas: Bantha pudu, all of it. I'll write the script.
*glucas pounds on keyboard for 37 minutes
glucas: There! A rollicking adventure about Indie finding a lost island and a chest full of cursed Aztec gold.

Re:That's funny

[Fozzyuw]

Crap I forgot to mention... it was also said to be written by the guy who wrote the last 'War of the Worlds'.

Re:That's funny

[ArsonSmith]

I always thought James Cameron should only do sequels. Stay away from originals and remakes.

Re:That's funny

[Amazing Quantum Man]

Nah, he's not a cylon.

Re:That's funny

[Grishnakh]

What are you talking about? Terminator 1 was a great movie. The Abyss was pretty good too.

But yeah, he should definitely stay away from remakes, or anything that has a romance as a major plot element.

But he's too busy doing undersea exploration these days; it doesn't seem like he's too interested in movies any more.

Re:That's funny

[ArsonSmith]

wow, I had to go back and look it up. For some reason I though Cameron did T2 but not T1. The Abyss was pretty good though you're right about that one. I do have to say that T2 and Aliens are the only two sequels I can ever think of that were as good possibly better, if a little different, than the originals.

Re:That's funny

[Mark J Tilford]

What are your opinions on Magnum Force, Empire Strikes Back, and Godfather II?

Re:That's funny

[JamesP]

So this means that Titanic 2 will be better than Titanic 1????

Re:That's funny

[Ansonmont]

Or Road Warrior?
-A

Re:That's funny

[MadJo]

These natives, they don't all look the same do they?

Re:That's funny

[Miaowara_Tomokato]

(+1 - Possibly too obscure, even for Slashdot)

Though an appearance by my screen-namesake would certainly give the movie a bit more of an edge. They could fight Nazis together!

Re:That's funny

[captainjaroslav]

Or Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo? I mean, c'mon!

Re:That's funny

[operagost]

He needed one where Indy didn't shoot first.

Re:That's funny

[Grishnakh]

T2 and Aliens were both very different from their predecessors, though they were both also very good movies. T1 was much darker, and had very little humor, compared to T2. Aliens were completely different from Alien (and was by a different director); Alien was more of a suspense-horror movie, and didn't even show the alien that much. Aliens was more of a sci-fi action movie with a lot of guns and explosions.

You're right though: I can't think of any other sequels that were nearly as good as the originals. And don't get me started about Alien3.

Re:That's funny

[Grishnakh]

I can't think of any other sequels that were nearly as good as the originals.

Of course, no sooner do I type this than I see the next comment which mentions "Empire Strikes Back". Definitely better than the original (and better than Return of the Jedi too). Godfather II was great too.

Re:That's funny

[blincoln]

And don't get me started about Alien3.

Have you seen the pseudo-Director's Cut that was included in the last release? I've always thought 3 was better than a lot of people do, but seeing it more like Fincher would have finished it made me genuinely like the film.

Re:That's funny

[mattkime]

Aaaaah! Your sig might change my world! I spent an hour mucking about with the damn epson print utility last night!

Re:That's funny

[Grishnakh]

No, I'll have to check that out. Is this on the regular DVD release?

Re:That's funny

[spoco2]

Check out the 'Alien Quadrilogy', quite cheap these days and has all 4 movies as well as a TONNE of other material. Great set.

And I too really like Alien3, much underrated as far as I'm concerned.

Re:That's funny

[macshit]

glucas: There! A rollicking adventure about Indie finding a lost island and a chest full of cursed Aztec gold.

"... and a CGI humanoid chicken. Love that chicken!"

Re:That's funny

[His Shadow]

It's not going to be a new movie. It's going to be a "re-imagined" version of the first movie, with Sword Guy shooting first, and Charlton Heston will appear as a spirit at the end to smite the Nazis.

No, I'm not looking forward any further projects where George Lucas has a say in the story, plot, dialog or direction.

Re:That's funny

[jcgf]

Your sig made me laugh.

Re:That's funny

[CaptainAvatar]

I always thought James Cameron should only do sequels.

You mean like Piranha II: The Spawning?

Re:That's funny

[Bobsledboy]

Wow, they're bringing H.G. Wells back from the grave just to write an Indiana Jones movie?

Re:That's funny

[Anonymous Coward]

Good to hear he found one he liked...

In other news: the script was said to look like dollar bills and the "writer" was some CEO looking for free ads.

Re:That's funny

[Gogo0]

You joke, but you know that it will have some giant CG monster chasing Indy around and smashing through stuff.
Thats what sells at the cinema these days, and Lucas knows it.

Re:That's funny

[BeanBunny]

Oblig.: "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"

Of course, the Star Trek series of films is a different can of worms.

Re:That's funny

[BeanBunny]

I'd also add X-Men 2, but that one is pretty close.

Re:That's funny

[Ansonmont]

So true, B2:EB was a furthering of the premise set up in the first installment. The moves were better the costumes were day-glowier, and it added Electric Boogaloo to the national lexicon. If only there had been a third....but they probably would have ruined it, like Godfather III

-A

can he run yet?

[iggy_mon]

He's going to look real funny running with a granny walker!

I spent some time on a walker after an accident (29 years old at the time), trust me, it's worth watching! lmao :-)

Re:can he run yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe the movie Bubba Ho-tep would be an appropriate warm up to this new movie... Bruce Campbell plays an aged Elvis who needs to use a walker as he fights a mummy.

They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[steinnes]

They'll keep it tasteful and write the script according to Harrisons age, I'm sure. The only thing I'm curious about is how they'll explain the fact that Indy drank from the holy grail, and thus shouldn't age at all? This should be interesting..

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Gr33nNight]

Watch the movie again, the old man guarding the grail mentions that the grails effects only work if dont pass the great seal, that is the boundaries of immortality.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Gropo]

See, I thought that for years, then I came to the realization that once they (Junior and Dad) crossed the "seal," the holy Paladin magic endowed by the Cup of Kings had no effect.

Now who are they going to find that's still Indy-level hawt in her mid 60's for the romantic lead... There's a few out there I'm sure.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[morpheus343]

Well the knight who was guarding the grail also aged despite drinking from the grail regularly (one would imagine). The grail seems to severely slow down aging, but perhaps only through frequent use (the knight did say something about staying in the temple being the price and limitation of the grail's power) My guess would be that they'll set it forward quite a few years and make up Ford and Connery to look a bit younger. iirc, in the old "Young Indiana Jones" tv series you saw a very very old Indiana Jones in a few segments. Maybe that's how they internally explained how he could be as old as he was and yet more active than someone of his very advanced age might normally be.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[dermochelys]

He crossed the seal, but even if he hadn't, the knight guarding it appeared to have aged; he just didn't die from aging.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[LiquidCoooled]

If Catherine Zeta Jones can play opposite Sean Connery (Entrapment), then I am sure they can find someone just as good for Indy.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Firethorn]

Presumably the knight did leave occasionally. You know, a few days here and there, to gather food if nothing else. It'd add up over several hundred years.

Though the curing of all ills probably would extend life somewhat. 'You know what? That cancer that would've killed you in 20 years? Gone'. Well, that and something along the lines of a professional retuning of the body's systems, fixing up accumulated damage.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[vertinox]

Watch the movie again, the old man guarding the grail mentions that the grails effects only work if dont pass the great seal, that is the boundaries of immortality.

Which leaves a very big plot hole on who made the great seal and what is it?

And why does it have anything with the holy grail? Since presumptuously the grail in itself is the power to immortality, but why does it matter that the seal had anything to do with this? Did Jesus show up and bless the seal when the knights made the temple in the Middle ages?

Lastly... Why can't the seal be moved. If immortality is achievable why not move the seal or move into the temple with modern luxuries?

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Anonymous Coward]

Uhh, no. Maybe you should watch the movie again yourself. The knight says that you cannot take the grail itself beyond the seal. They said nothing of the "boundaries of immortality".

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[virg_mattes]

> Which leaves a very big plot hole on who made the great seal and what is it?

I think you're missing out on the whole "Power of God" thing here. Just to pull something from my nethers, I'd say that the folks who set up the place (the knights who found it) got a vision from God to set up a place for the grail and make a seal on the ground to mark the boundary. The seal itself isn't the boundary, just like a road cone isn't the pothole that it marks. The seal just shows mortals where the line is. As to moving into the place and living forever, it's an artifact from God, so it stands to reason that if you try to find a loophole but you're not devoutly religious, God would just pull the plug on you anyway.

Virg

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Anonymous Coward]

God would just pull the plug on you anyway.

Indeed. The moral of the story is, "Don't try to double cross someone who's omnipotent. Oh, and omniscient too. He'll pwn you, totally".

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Arathrael]

Which leaves a very big plot hole on who made the great seal and what is it?

The seal's mummy and daddy made it, that's where seals usually come from.

And why does it have anything with the holy grail? Since presumptuously the grail in itself is the power to immortality, but why does it matter that the seal had anything to do with this? Did Jesus show up and bless the seal when the knights made the temple in the Middle ages?

The seal was, in fact, Jesus's pet seal, and was blessed by him at the time. It drank from the grail, and is hence immortal too. And that's why it's such a great seal.

Lastly... Why can't the seal be moved. If immortality is achievable why not move the seal or move into the temple with modern luxuries?

It doesn't want to be moved. It's got cantankerous in its old age.

Honestly though, it's a bit odd that you can accept drinking from a wooden cup could make you immortal, but not that the omniscient omnipotent omniprescent force behind that could set any additional conditions on it whenever it felt like it.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[morpheus343]

Given the apparent importance of the grail, I wouldn't assume that the knight ever left the temple. If the grail was as powerful as it's made out to be, wouldn't it be able to "cure" starvation?

Beyond that, I'd be inclined to agree with the "professional retuning of the body's systems" idea, that would nicely explain why the grail knight was just really realy really old, instead of being in his prime.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Arathrael]

Maybe you should watch the movie again yourself. The knight says that you cannot take the grail itself beyond the seal. They said nothing of the "boundaries of immortality".

Maybe you should watch the movie again yourself. ;-) I believe the exact line was "But the Grail cannot pass beyond the Great Seal. That is the boundary and the price of immortality."

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Gr33nNight]

You could make the same argument with any of the Indy movies. They all take a leap of faith to enjoy.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Anonymous Coward]

The grail doesn't keep you from aging. The knight guarding the grail had certainly continued to age, and he had the benefit of the grail on-hand to drink from daily.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Carewolf]

But if god is directly involved they wouldn't need the grail to achieve immortality. God could just grant it, or tell them how to make a mark that grants it..

It's a plot hole, don't try to carpet it over.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[obdulio]

But you forget that the other brothers left the sanctuary and lived very long lives when they returned to Europe. Indy says so when he finds the tomb of one of them underneat that cathedral in Venice.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't the meaning of that line not about some seal limiting immortality, but about not being able to move the cup that one must drink from daily to be immortal beyond a certain point or the temple would collapse as it did later?

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Anonymous Coward]

> The grail doesn't keep you from aging. The knight guarding the grail had certainly continued to age,
> and he had the benefit of the grail on-hand to drink from daily.

Yeah, but he had no food or moisturizer. Makes all the difference!

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Thrymm]

"When 900 years you reach, look this good you will not!" - Yoda

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[virg_mattes]

> But if god is directly involved they wouldn't need the grail to achieve immortality.

Oh, come on, this is too easy. It's simple to show that God grants immortality by route of the grail, and thereby imposes the limitation. If you want to live forever, you must do it in that cave in perpetual worship, because immortality means drinking regularly from the grail and the grail can't leave the cave. Seems simple enough in a religion that emphasizes that immortality is for the afterlife, not this life. Again, the great seal is just an indicator, not anything to do with the power of the grail.

This movie was positively cratered with plot holes, but this isn't one of them. If you want to jump on anything about the grail's resting place, try the concept that there are enough crescent-shaped valleys south of cities in the Middle East that a thousand years of searching (including the knowledge of the map with no names) couldn't turn up the right one until Dr. Jones figured out the name of the city.

Virg

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[fracai]

I'm pretty sure that what the knight actually says is that he occasionally forgot to drink from the cup. Ya know, "wake up, drink" can get old after a while and I'm sure he tried to mix it up with drinking games he lost or sleeping in on Sunday (shhh). The cup has to stay behind the seal, but the power of the cup was not affected.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[whimmel]

The grail prevents you from dying, it doesn't prevent you from aging, eh?

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[morpheus343]

Ummm... according to the movie (i.e. within the Indiana-Jones-verse), yeah pretty much.

The grail knight makes a comment to the effect that he's grown old and weak over the centuries of waiting for someone to make it through the traps to challenge him so presumably he was not old and weak when he first arrived in the temple. Remember, the average life span of people back when he and his brothers originally found the grail was probably somewhere in the 30s-40s at best, it would be highly unlikely that an old man (as he appeared in the movie) would be alive, let alone be able to undertake the journey to find and then hide/construct traps/guard the grail.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[Propaganda13]

It's rumored that Karen Allen is going to be brought back.

I'd go for Annette Bening for an older romantic lead though. BTW, her husband Warren Beatty is older than Harrison Ford.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[DavidTC]

Nonono, you've confused the order. The grail already had the attribute of immortality granting if you drank from it daily. That was the point. It got the power when Jesus used it in the Lord's Supper.(1)

God figured out this was a bad idea to leave laying around, so he had some knights collect it and store it, and, just in case they failed, he added an off switch, where it couldn't leave the cave.

Why he didn't just zap it to start with or hide it inside a mountain, I don't know. But the point wasn't to give anyone immortality, the point was to keep something safe and hidden that already gave people immortality.

1) Actually, stories of 'the cup that grants eternal life or just unlimited clean water when you drink from it' predate Christianity, and got sucked into the mythology of Christianity like a lot of other things.

Re:They'll keep it tasteful... I hope

[bogjobber]

As long as the movie stays consistent with its own internal logic everything's ok. The seal is that way because God said so. It doesn't matter why, it's just a plot device. Take the Indiana Jones movies for what they are, good pulp movies. Part of what makes them so much fun is the fact that they don't have to draw an entire logically cohesive universe to support the meaning of each action.

they were running on a short clock

[B00yah]

Especially since they want Indy's dad to play a decent part in the movie. As much as Connery is one of my all time favorite actors, he's up in the years, and probably only has a few years left on the blue ball. I'll see it strictly for the Connery factor.

Re:they were running on a short clock

[netringer]

Especially since they want Indy's dad to play a decent part in the movie. As much as Connery is one of my all time favorite actors, he's up in the years, and probably only has a few years left on the blue ball. I'll see it strictly for the Connery factor.

They're both up in years.

Sean Connery is 76. As mentioned, Harrison Ford is 64.

That you bought the illusion that Sean Connery could be Harrison Ford's father means they're actors!

Re:they were running on a short clock

[magarity]

Sean Connery is 76. As mentioned, Harrison Ford is 64 ... That you bought the illusion that Sean Connery could be Harrison Ford's father means they're actors!
 
Or a time warp sent them back from the modern inner city. Yeah, that's the ticket. Sorry to spoil the plot of the new movie already.

Re:they were running on a short clock

[Anonymous Coward]

> Sean Connery is 76. As mentioned, Harrison Ford is 64.
> That you bought the illusion that Sean Connery could be Harrison Ford's father means they're actors!

Yes, but Last Crusade is set in 1938, only 2 years after Raiders... so Indy was supposed to be only 2 years older, while Ford was actually 8 years older!

shot in versus

[sammy baby]

All three of the earlier movies were shot in the 80s. How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?

The originals were all done in the pulp-action adventure style that was popularized fifty and sixty years ago - I doubt that it'll somehow be less attractive now than it was when the genre was only thirty years old.

Also, all three may have been shot in the eighties, but they took place in the forties, so it's not like we're going to see an Indiana Jones trying to come to terms with teh Intarwebs.

On the other hand, twenty-some odd years later... hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

Re:shot in versus

[Thansal]

I honestly hope they DON'T ditch the pulp fiction feel of it.

What the entertainment industry lacks currently is light stuff like pulp fiction, be it books, movies, or tv shows (I will admit that the day and age of the radio drama are probably gone, though they could be revived via the use of netcasts).

I have honestly been goign back and reading some of the old stuff (before my time) jsut because it is hard to find anytihng like it that is current. After all, I can only take so many pieces that are trying to be high-brow/intelectual/witty/etc. Every so often I need something that is just pure release and nothing else.

Re:shot in versus

[Ed Avis]

so it's not like we're going to see an Indiana Jones trying to come to terms with teh Intarwebs.

This is a Unix system! I know this!

Re:shot in versus

[skam240]

my hope is that they produce something more like lost ark and less like temple of doom. temple's not a bad movie but it just doesnt have the same feel as the first one. the difference between the two kind of reminds me of the difference between empire strikes back and return of the jedi. empire just had a better dramatic quality to it just like the lost ark did in the indiana jones series.

Re:shot in versus

[forkazoo]

On the other hand, twenty-some odd years later... hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

You know, I was thinking the exact same thing. At first, I dismissed the project out of hand, but now that I think about it, it actually has some potential. Lucas will neither be writing nor directing, and the 60's could be an interesting setting for Indiana Jones.

Re:shot in versus

[barzok]

The movies were set in the 1930s, not the forties.

Re:shot in versus

[Like2Byte]

hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

------------
Indiana Jones and the Spy Who Shagged Me

Dr. Jones: (cracks whip)
Austin Powers: "Yeah, Baby, Grrr!"

((Audience shivers))
------------
Nooo, thank you.

Re:shot in versus

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll settle for either style as long as it isn't anything like last crusade.

Re:shot in versus

[feyhunde]

60's? Bah. Remember he drank from the Holy Grail. He gets to live a nice long time.

I'm expecting him being in the 80's or 90's. /queue Unix jokes.

Re:shot in versus

[plsander]

Remember, Dr. Jones did drink from the Grail....

Re:shot in versus

[Anonymous Coward]

After all, I can only take so many pieces that are trying to be high-brow/intelectual/witty/etc. Every so often I need something that is just pure release and nothing else.

From my understanding, there exist other sorts of 'reading' material that is meant strictly for pure release.

Maybe you can find some related info on the Internet. Apparently, it's filled with the stuff. :)

Re:shot in versus

[nine-times]

The originals were all done in the pulp-action adventure style...[snip]...On the other hand, twenty-some odd years later... hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

Aw, crap. pulp-action from the sixties? It suddenly occurred to me that this new Indiana Jones might look a lot like Austin Powers.

Re:shot in versus

[lemur666]

Well, if the last one was ten years ago, and it took place in the 40s, does this mean the new Indy will be set in the 50s?

Oh great. Jones fights Commies & Aliens:

"Mr. President, I hold here in my hand a list of 500 aliens who work for the
State Department. Yes, I said aliens, aliens allowed to walk among us
without so much as a howdoyoudo from the Whitehouse."

"Have you no shame Senator? Have you no zqorkle ehgg...err shame?"

Re:shot in versus

[steveo777]

I will admit that the day and age of the radio drama are probably gone, though they could be revived via the use of netcasts.
I miss Geeks in Space as well...

Re:shot in versus

[Enoxice]

He can bust Hippie skulls instead of Nazi skulls!

Re:shot in versus

[Lord Bitman]

so it's not like we're going to see an Indiana Jones trying to come to terms with teh Intarwebs.

This is a Unix system! I know this! *cough* *cough* *couch*

Re:shot in versus

[Anonymous Coward]

On the other hand, twenty-some odd years later... hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

SPOILER ALERT:

Indy and his father stumble upon and try to stop the multiple conspiracies from all the people trying to kill JFK.

[tt]

Re:shot in versus

[josquint]

I'll second that!!!

Re:shot in versus

[Threni]

> After all, I can only take so many pieces that are trying to be high-brow/intelectual/witty/etc.
> Every so often I need something that is just pure release and nothing else.

Assuming that you're talking about books here, then I'll take issue that high-brow/witty are pitted against `pure release` - at least, a book can be intelligent but still fun. You might like the shot stories of UK author Will Self if you want intelligent, quirky stories with a twist.

Re:shot in versus

[Alistar]

If I remember correctly, and I am sure I do, the eternal life of the holy grail only worked within the cave, once you stepped out, you kept the regenerative effects, thus he saved his father, but you still age as normal.

Re:shot in versus

[slapout]

Actually, there are several groups doing old time radio drama now. One I know of is Decoder Ring Theatre at http://decoderring.libsyn.com/. There are others, but I don't have the URLs handy.

Re:shot in versus

[SirWinston]

> I honestly hope they DON'T ditch the pulp fiction feel of it.

[Int. ancient temple. Indy's female love-interest-du-jour has a cartoonish Nazi at gunpoint.]

Indy: Bring out the Gimp.
Nazi: The Gimp is sleeping, Herr Jones.
Love-interest-du-jour: It's fantastic! The chamber must extend 60 meters...
Indy: Shit, they ain't got the metric system in ancient Egypt. They wouldn't know what the fuck a meter is.
Love-interest-du-jour: Then what would they call it?
Indy: A cubit.

[Love-interest-du-jour accidentally shoots Nazi in the head, splattering brains everywhere.]

Love-interest-du-jour: Oh man, I shot that Nazi in the face.
Indy: Why the fuck did you do that!
Love-interest-du-jour: Well, I didn't mean to do it, it was an accident!
Indy: Oh man I've seen some crazy ass shit in my time...
Love-interest-du-jour: Chill out, man. I told you it was an accident. You probably set off a booby trap by stepping on that "X" right there.
Indy: "X" never, ever marks the spot, bitch!
Love-interest-du-jour: Hey, look man, I didn't mean to shoot the son of a bitch. The gun went off. I don't know why.
Indy: No, let me ask you a question. When you came in here, did you see a hieroglyphic out in front of this temple that said Dead Nazi Storage?
Love-interest-du-jour: Indy, you know I ain't seen no...
Indy: Did you see a hieroglyphic out in front of this temple that said Dead Nazi Storage?
Love-interest-du-jour: [pause] No. I didn't.
Indy: You know WHY you didn't see that hieroglyphic?
Love-interest-du-jour: Why?
Indy: 'Cause it ain't there, 'cause storing dead Nazis ain't my fucking business, that's why!

Re:shot in versus

[Thansal]

I admit, I was actualy more reffering to movies/tv. There are still enough good books out there (though I can always use more, thank you).

I also admit I made those coments hopeing that people would prove me wrong (thank you again, and to the person that pointed out the radio drama website!)

Re:shot in versus

[Ours]

What the entertainment industry lacks currently is light stuff like pulp fiction
Go check out "Sky captain and the world of tomorrow" (2004). It's got that pulpy, comic-style with a retro-futuristic look. Critics bashed it because of it I guess.

Re:shot in versus

[Hatta]

What the entertainment industry lacks currently is light stuff like pulp fiction, be it books, movies, or tv shows

Are you kidding? Light stuff is all there is in the entertainment industry. It's all 100% fluff. When was the last time you saw a movie or tv show that had something important to say?

Re:shot in versus

[feyhunde]

Ah, but are they regenerated younger than they went in? They might not be immortal, but they may have added a few dozen years to their lives.

Re:shot in versus

[aedan]

In the USA WW2 didn't start till the 40s so you can understand the confusion.

Re:shot in versus

[Thansal]

probably gore's movie. (or possibly Thank You for Smoking, but that is just b/c it is wonderfuly done).

However what I was reffering to are all the movies/tv shows that TRY, but fail to be topical/witty/whatever (aiming for +5 insightful, and ended up with 0, Offtopic), where if they just aimed to be a movie about cool hero(s) trying to foil the Dasterdly Evil Guy, they would have been better.

Re:shot in versus

[Anonymous Coward]

In the USA WW2 didn't start till the 40s so you can understand the confusion.

There still shouldn't be any confusion, because all three films were set before WW2 had even started in Europe.

Hopefully the films are at least encouraging people to learn some history.

Re:shot in versus

[Aereus]

But it just won't have the same feel when watching the red line travel across the globe if he's in a 727 instead of a creeky old DC3 ;)

Re:shot in versus

[osu-neko]

The ones that have something important to say is far fewer than the massive numbers that think they have something important to say, and would be better off if they didn't try to be more than the vapid entertainment they are. There's nothing wrong with a good "popcorn flick", every movie doesn't have to have a message, sometimes we just want a bit of cheap cheesy fun. Those movies that unashamedly provide it are the best of their genre, and better than the crap that tries to be more than it is.

Re:shot in versus

[bigred85]

Also, all three may have been shot in the eighties, but they took place in the forties, so it's not like we're going to see an Indiana Jones trying to come to terms with teh Intarwebs.

Good. Cause God knows Firewall was horrible enough without those crazy Nazis.

Re:shot in versus

[inKubus]

Yeah, even the new James Bond movie was far to serious for my taste. Where are the gadgets, the unbelievable turns, the cars, the women?

Re:shot in versus

[macshit]

"Sky Captain ..." had good intentions, but it was an awful movie (that's why critics panned it). Despite the gorgeous computer generated scenery and a very nice "feel" (the whole 30s pulp/newsreel thing), the characters were so incredibly flat and uninvolving, and the plot such an uncompelling random mishmash, that I found myself nodding off despite my initial enthusiasm. The creators had a very neat idea, but they apparently just didn't have the movie-making chops to pull it off.

Raiders of the Lost Ark on the other hand, was a very good movie. The characters were interesting and charismatic, the plot kept you on the edge of your seat, and the pacing was just about perfect. Spielberg is a much better director than Lucas, and somehow working together with Lucas (and Ford) seemed to keep Spielberg on track, and restrained him from indulging in his most annoying habits (seen in his own rather saccharine movies from that period).

It would be cool if Lucas/Spielberg/Ford can pull it off again, even if they have to use large dollops of CGI and a family pack of canes to do so.

Re:shot in versus

[DragonWriter]

What the entertainment industry lacks currently is light stuff like pulp fiction, be it books, movies, or tv shows

Uh, what?

Admittedly, the light stuff of today tends to come in slightly different style than the original pulps, but light, non-highbrow fictional works dominate all of the media you name. About the only place where this is somewhat less than glaringly obvious is TV, where a lot of the lighter overt fiction on the broadcast networks has been displaced with even lower-brow heavily-scripted and edited “reality” programming (OTOH, arguably, basic cable—particularly, for instance, the SciFi channel—makes up for much of the not-at-all-highbrow fiction deficit.)

Re:shot in versus

[revolu7ion]

Just think... in 20 years time - our kids will be talking about pod-fiction not pulp.

Re:shot in versus

[MikeyNg]

Set in the present time. Explain that since Indy drank of the Holy Grail that he has an extended lifespan, which is why an action hero from the 30s can be around in the present time, yet only have aged twenty years. He may not be as spry as he once was, but he's looking pretty good for a 100 year old archaeologist.

I personally like a "Search for Atlantis" theme myself, but whatever. You lose the Nazis as villains, and "terrorists" is decidedly less "fun" than Nazis, though.

Re:shot in versus

[daeley]

*cough* *cough* *couch*

That last one hurt, did it? ;)

Re:shot in versus

[Anonymous Coward]

Set in the present time. Not really relevant, but we already had Indy in the present in the openings/closings of the Young Indiana Jones TV show.

Re:shot in versus

[Andrew Aguecheek]

... serious yes, gadgetless yes, unbelievable turns - did you sleep through the opening half? The women - there were two...

Re:shot in versus

[Phoobarnvaz]

What the entertainment industry lacks currently is light stuff like pulp fiction, be it books, movies, or tv shows (I will admit that the day and age of the radio drama are probably gone, though they could be revived via the use of netcasts).

Very true...except for the Young Indiana Jones series which ran about 15 years ago on I believe ABC. Watched less than 1/2 hour of the pilot episode & never turned it on again.

On the other hand...Radio Spirts & several other companies...do have the radio shows from the 30's-50's that many stations do run. Used to download & produce them to put into the on-air PC when I was working at a radio station that used to run them 4 hours a week. In addition...if you have XM radio...channel 163 runs this stuff 24/7. For free shows that are downloadable...there is a website I have seen that lets you download all these as MP3's...as long as they are PD. Thought I had the link...but can't find it.

Re:shot in versus

[fm6]

hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

Indiana Jones meets Austin Powers?

Re:shot in versus

[Mortimer82]

How about V for Vendetta (2005)?

Re:shot in versus

[DavidTC]

Actually, the originals took place in the 30s. The last in 1938.

I think they've said the new film will take place in the 1950s, just in time for the Commies to the villians. Too bad, I think Indy would have a lot of fun on campus in the 1960s, assuming he's still teaching.

And, BTW, can I suggest giving the dude a kid or something? This is supposed to be a serial, and Lucas has already proved he can do young stories in that vein with Young Indy.

Since they have to do the cliched 'He's settled down (Probably with Karen Allen, as it's rumored she's back too.), he's a family man, now he's getting pulled back out of retirement' start, all they have to do is show two minutes of young kid of his, and, presto, they want to make another movie, well, it's now 15 years later and that kid grew up. (Obviously, recast the actor.) Get Ford back for two minutes at the start of that movie, set it in the last 60s/early 70s, make another trilogy out of it.

And, checking IMDb to check that Karen Allen rumor, I see someone has rumored putting Natalie Portman as his daughter. Okay, first of all, that's stupid, second of all, she's a little too old, and third of all, the point is to cast some young kid so you can recast whoever you want to star in the actual movie. (In fact, give him both a son and daughter so you can have either star.) OTOH, I suspect this rumor not only has no actual grounding in reality, it was created solely to post on IMDb.

Re:shot in versus

[DavidTC]

I like how people think that Jones could just wander around enemy encampments during a war.

The Nazis in Indiana Jones movies were comical, but not that comical.

Re:shot in versus

[mwvdlee]

Now if only they could talk less like 90's rappers.

Bitching, man. That'd be the fucking shit!

Re:shot in versus

[Thansal]

very true!

I would actualy consider that to be pulp. Probably because it is a remake from a graphic novel, and those are the modern day decendants of pulp!

however, one movie does not make a solid trend.

Re:shot in versus

[stormhair]

Remember, Dr. Jones did drink from the Grail....

Yes, but he crossed the seal - I think the immortality was conditional on not doing that...

Re:shot in versus

[Lord Bitman]

it may not be a good joke, but it is an old joke..

Re:shot in versus

[cswiii]

Short Round: My name Short Round. I solve problem.
Indy: Good, we've got one.

It will do Great

[elzurawka]

I think so, i dont know about you guys, but i loved the original movies, and ill be going out to see this one for sure. Even though he is 64 years old, he seams to be in good shape... Still did some running around in Firewall. We will have to wait and see, but im sure with some CGI and fancy camera work, they will make it great. I would think that there wont be as much physical action as in the previous movies, as it would probably be later in Mr. Jones' life as well.

Re:It will do Great

[Anonymous Coward]

you mean Dr. Jones

Well there goes another one!

[moore.dustin]

Another great set of films to have its legacy tarnished by trying to cash in on it one... last... time...

Hopefully 2007 ushers in a year in which remakes, sequels, and adaptations give way to original and creative stories and ways to tell them.

Ok, George, I'll believe it when I see it

[p3d0]

Lucas said he and Steven Spielberg recently finalized the script for the film. "It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be the best one yet," the 62-year-old filmmaker said

This from the guy who can be heard in the making of the Phantom Menace saying about Jar Jar Binks: "we've never had a character this funny before".

Re:Ok, George, I'll believe it when I see it

[Apocalypse111]

Well, he was right in a way... except that Binks wasn't so much "funny ha-ha" as "funny short-bus".

Re:Ok, George, I'll believe it when I see it

[Greger47]

Something tells me George laughed all the way to the bank.

/greger

Re:Ok, George, I'll believe it when I see it

[Anonymous Coward]

What do you expect him to say?

Re:Ok, George, I'll believe it when I see it

[p3d0]

This was not a comment to the viewer. It was a comment directed at the staff during the making of the film. I don't think there's any reason to doubt he believed Jar Jar was funny.

So much for never

[jandrese]

Does anybody else remember when Indiana Jones's hat was deposited in some Hollywood museum (under glass) and they made a press conference about how there would never be another one? Apparently Lucas doesn't. Presumably he was holding out for the script that allowed him to shoot the entire movie in CG except for Harrison Ford.

Re:So much for never

[Svenheim]

Indy 4 will be shot in the old-fashioned way with lots of use of stuntmen rather than CGI effects. It's one of the few things confirmed about the project. And remember, Spielberg is directing this, not Lucas.

Re:So much for never

[PingSpike]

How do we know Ford isn't just going to do voice overs and dance around a green room in a motion tracking suit for this film?

Re:So much for never

[Anonymous Coward]

Give me a break. This from a guy who also said that Star Wars would never be sold on VHS, and then said the same thing about DVD. Now given people are sick of the 30+ iterations of his star wars franchise, he's trying to cash in some more on the Indy movies.

I doubt that it will be a good movie, but hopefully with Speilberg's influence we won't have another Phantom Menace on our hands.

Re:So much for never

[Megajim]

Yes, and the liberal use of stuntmen means that the repeated "will his back go out" comments are ultimately moot. Do you really think that Harrison Ford jumped that chasm in the opening sequence of the original film? Also, if they go with a hybrid approach, some scenes can have Ford's face mapped onto the body of a bad-ass stuntman, just as they did with Christopher Lee during his big sabre duel. In the case of Lee, the duel itself was so un-samurai that it was about as interesting as the mega-Smith fight in that corny Matrix sequel, but it could work for Indiana Jones, given that there is already a level of camp and absurdity built into the "genre" approach to those films.

Re:So much for never

[timeOday]

Spielberg, Lucas, I honestly can't keep 'em straight anyways.

Re:So much for never

[camperdave]

Lucas has the bigger head.

Re:So much for never

[ArsonSmith]

I think it would be more like he would be photographed and mapped to a computer model and some young kid will be in the green room with the motion tracking suit.

Re:So much for never

[grouchomarxist]

The new movie will start with Indy breaking into the museum to get his hat back.

Re:So much for never

[zentigger]

Oh Good! Maybe with all the money saved on superfluous CGI he can afford to hire a good writer!

Re:So much for never

[sponga]

Any info on the soul being ripped out through your eyes and melting skin?

Re:So much for never

[Reziac]

[laugh] Actually, that might be a nifty way to get the plot rolling -- I don't know why the hat would be in the museum, but it would certainly be a way to get a retired archeologist to trip over something interesting, then off we go adventuring.

Re:So much for never

[Bushwuly]

If I remember correctly, it's actually in the Smithsonian. This is the only reference I can find at the moment: http://americanhistory.si.edu/news/pressrelease.cf m?key=29&newskey=434

Re:So much for never

[Bushwuly]

http://theindyexperience.com/attractions/smithsoni an.php

Re:So much for never

[Anonymous Coward]

So... All the Nazis' guns will be replaced with walkie-talkies?

Shouldn't Ford be the helpful mentor by now?

[Cthefuture]

You know, the old guy that Jones goes to for information/help.

Definitely not a main character in an action movie. What was that awful "computer" movie he was just in?

Re:Shouldn't Ford be the helpful mentor by now?

[Brian Stretch]

Perish the thought! I can see it now: Indiana Jones (Ford) united with his illegitimate son (Justin Timberlake) go after the Lost Chalice of Talent. K-Fed leads the cast of bad/worse guys in pursuit. Working title: "Indiana Jones 4: The Audience is Doomed!"

I'll take CGI over that, thank you very much.

Re:Shouldn't Ford be the helpful mentor by now?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds pretty sweet. Boi... word!

Re:Shouldn't Ford be the helpful mentor by now?

[Anonymous Coward]

nah, that should be the yoda cameo.

Re:Shouldn't Ford be the helpful mentor by now?

[permawired]

What was that awful "computer" movie he was just in?

It was called "Firewall"

If Indiana Jones Sr was around in pre-WWII Germany

[Peter Trepan]

That'll make Indiana Jones Jr. old enough for something like Indiana Jones and the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

HCUUA: Sign the confession!

Jones Jr.: Gimme the whip!

HCUUA: No time to argue. Sign the confession, we give you the whip.

Jones Jr.: (signs the confession) Gimme the whip!

HCUUA: Adios, señor. (guards grab Indiana Jones Jr.)

Raiders of the Medicine Cabinet!

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucas, Spielberg, and Ford. Which of them needs money?

We like Indy. Let us have our memories.

Oh boy!

[PingSpike]

Is it really necessary for Lucas to defecate on another one of our beloved 80s trilogies?

I suppose it is...since he couldn't float another turd across if it wasn't held up by the nations collective nostalgia. Any magic he allegedly had 'back in the day' has clearly faded, or been retarded by senility.

Re:Oh boy!

[simm1701]

Remember that when lucas wrote the original star wars trilogy he had the help of a professor of mythology, a close friend of his. This is why IV-VI play like epic mythos.

Unfortunately he died before I-III were written, even more unfortunately lucas went ahead anyway.

Re:Oh boy!

[Teresita]

Indiana Jones and the Lawn Treading Neighborhood Kids

Re:Oh boy!

[oni]

> Any magic he allegedly had 'back in the day'

Yeah. Allegedly. In truth, what has lucas ever done that wasn't hokie and childish? The original Star Wars was actually pretty good, but Lucas deserves little credit for that. He lucked out in a major way with Harrison Ford, and Harrison Ford saved Star Wars. Try to imagine the movie with just whiny little Luke Skywalker. It just doesn't work.

Case in point, there is a video on youtube of behind the scenes footage from Empire Strikes Back. There is a great scene in Empire where Solo is being lowered in the carbonite pit and Leia shouts to him, "I love you!" Han looks up at her and say, "I know"

What a great scene! Well guess what, Lucas originally wrote it this way:
Leia: I love you
Han: I love you too.

Stop for a moment and let the deep, penetrating suckiness of those two lines seep into your being. George Lucas, sitting at his typewriter, no doubt in his underwear, actually typed that, and actually thought it was a good idea. He typed that crap, then he sat back and looked at what he had done and said, "hell yeah, I'm a bloody genius."

Fortunately, when it came time to film that scene, Irvin Kershner was calling the shots and Lucas was (presumably) in a crypt somewhere. Harrison Ford looked at the script and said, "this sucks" and Kershner agreed and they changed it. And we all remember Empire Strikes Back as a great movie.

Well, it is a great movie, but no thanks to Lucas.

If only we had known the truth, then maybe we wouldn't have been so shocked some years later when we were treated to Lucas' drivel in the form of such brain-numbing lines as "omfg sand is the suxor it gets in my eye LOL!!!11" and my personal favorite, "Noooo!!!!"

God, I hate George Lucas.

Re:Oh boy!

[Nasarius]

I'm still waiting for Lucas to start working on episodes 7-9. He's broken just about every other promise, including his batshit-crazy insistence on never releasing the original unaltered trilogy on DVD. What else is he going to do after Indy 4?

Re:Oh boy!

[discord5]

Let me improve your feeble script

Lucas originally wrote it this way:
Leia: I love you
Han: I love you too.

Luke: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

George Lucas : I'm a bloody genius

such brain-numbing lines as "omfg sand is the suxor it gets in my eye LOL!!!11"

"zomg teh force is strong in dis 1, i can tell from his milk-of-chloreines"

Random Star Wars fans, I AM George Lucas. Together we shall rule the universe as father and son.

Re:Oh boy!

[Teresita]

"I'm still waiting for Lucas to start working on episodes 7-9. He's broken just about every other promise, including his batshit-crazy insistence on never releasing the original unaltered trilogy on DVD. What else is he going to do after Indy 4?" Star Wars Christmas Special 3D Ultimate DVD Edition, with restored footage deemed too goofy in 1978.

Re:Oh boy!

[Bobtree]

> Yeah. Allegedly. In truth, what has lucas ever done that wasn't hokie and childish?

THX 1138. This is a classic work of science fiction, not fantasy adventure, and is fairly serious throughout. Even the directors-cut expanded CG-updated version is relatively unspoiled and watchable.

Re:Oh boy!

[Jtheletter]

Harrison Ford looked at the script and said, "this sucks" and Kershner agreed and they changed it.

If only it had been such an intentional alteration. In fact, the scene had so many takes that Ford had heard "I love you" so many times he finally replied "I know" half jokingly. They thought it fit Solo's character better and stuck with that line. The whole movie had to be re-edited at great expense because the first version was terrible. To get the movie we ended up with many of the scenes go right until the last frame of film that was shot to get them to work.

Re:Oh boy!

[Ubergrendle]

Don't forget 'Leigh Bracket's contributions to the script -- a veteran scriptwriter who had worked on numerous Hollywood classics in the 1940s and 50s. Her experience was essential to the mood and sexual tension of Empire. She unfortunately died before they could work on a script for the third film.

Star Wars is a good reworking of Kurosawa's A Hidden Fortress. Empire has the hands of Kerscner and Bracket all over it. Return of the Jedi closes the trilogy, but should be considered the lesser of the three.

Re:Oh boy!

[Anonymous Coward]

"What a great scene! Well guess what, Lucas originally wrote it this way:
Leia: I love you
Han: I love you too."

Except for one (possibly nitpicky) point: Lucas didn't even write the script for Empire. It was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett.

But you're right, Lucas got lucky by working with good people (especially Ford).

However, there is the small matter of THX 1138 (not to mention American Graffiti).

Re:Oh boy!

[warrior]

Actually, the way it happened was that they had to keep reshooting that seen. Harrison eventually tired of it and after hearing "I love you" many times, he finally uttered "I know" instead of his line and that is what made it into the film. Some of the best lines ever are ad-libbed.

Re:Oh boy!

[bckrispi]

Is it really necessary for Lucas to defecate on another one of our beloved 80s trilogies?

Ahem... One of your trilogies? Need I remind you that Lucas fucking invented both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises? If it wasn't for Lucas, there would be no Darth Vader, Han Solo, or Indiana Jones. Without him, much of our Western pop-culture lexicon as we know it today would not exist.

Now, if six years after the fact, you still have your purty pink panties in a knot over Jar-Jar, that's your perrogative. But at least give the guy credit where it is due.

Re:Oh boy!

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe the reason it took so many takes is because the crew kept laughing at that line.

Re:Oh boy!

[Kelson]

One of the memorable fight scenes in Raiders of the Lost Ark came about in a similar way. During the chase through Cairo, Indy was supposed to have a long fight with a swordsman. Harrison Ford was sick the day they were going to shoot the scene, and asked Spielberg if they could shorten the scene. The result: The guy flashes his swords around, and Indy just pulls out his gun and shoots him. A classic Indy moment that wasn't in the script.

Re:Oh boy!

[Kelson]

Star Wars Christmas Special 3D Ultimate DVD Edition, with restored footage deemed too goofy in 1978.

Impossible. Nothing would have been deemed "too goofy" in 1978.

Re:Oh boy!

[stuboogie]

"Stop for a moment and let the deep, penetrating suckiness of those two lines seep into your being."

That is classic. Thank you for a much needed laugh.

Re:Oh boy!

[DavidTC]

Lucas can conceptualize great.

He just can't actually write characters or dialog.

Re:Oh boy!

[bckrispi]

Lucas can conceptualize great. He just can't actually write characters or dialog.

We've known Lucas can't write dialog since the 1970's. That didn't make the OT any less fun, now did it? And I would argue strongly against your point that he can't do characters. Granted - Jar Jar and Anakin from TPM weren't realized on screen in the way that they were intended (which is the argument that is brought up ad nauseum as definitive 'proof' that Lucas has lost his mind). But take a look at the PT characters that were done *right*, especially Palpatine/Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan, and Anakin in RotS. I would say that these character's motivations are even better realized than the characters in the OT.

Re:Oh boy!

[DavidTC]

You think Anakin's motivations in RotS were well-realized? Huh?

And Palpatine just wanted to take over, and wove a nice and complex plot to do so, I admit. But that plot isn't 'motive', the motive is the incredibly simple 'I wish to rule the galaxy as a Sith'.

Re:Oh boy!

[bckrispi]

You think Anakin's motivations in RotS were well-realized? Huh?

You ever read Oedipus Rex? Faust? Anakin's fall in ROTS is archetypical of the classical 'tragic hero'. So yes. His motivations were very well realized.

And Palpatine just wanted to take over, and wove a nice and complex plot to do so, I admit. But that plot isn't 'motive', the motive is the incredibly simple 'I wish to rule the galaxy as a Sith'.

And what's wrong with having a simple motive? It's the *means* that achieve these ends that make Palpatine such a compelling character.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[caluml]

Hopefully 2007 ushers in a year in which remakes, sequels, and adaptations give way to original and creative stories and ways to tell them.

Uh, fraid not.

We Aren't Dead, Yet

[lbmouse]

"All three of the earlier movies were shot in the 80s. How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?"

Most of us who saw the originals are still alive today. Why wouldn't the characters translate well? The 80's were NOT that long ago. Sheesh!

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[Civil_Disobedient]

The 80's were NOT that long ago. Sheesh!

I know how you feel, but remember when your parents kept telling you when you were a kid about how cool the 60s were, and it felt like they were talking about a different geological era? Well, that's what these kids today think about the 80s. And much like our parents told us, we can tell today's youth that their music sux0rs compared to the stuff we had back in our day.

Of course, they were right.

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[lbmouse]

Ahem, the 60's weren't that long ago either.

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm dead, you insensitive clod!

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[Hatta]

I know how you feel, but remember when your parents kept telling you when you were a kid about how cool the 60s were, and it felt like they were talking about a different geological era? Well, that's what these kids today think about the 80s. And much like our parents told us, we can tell today's youth that their music sux0rs compared to the stuff we had back in our day.

Except that todays music doesn't suck compared to that of the 80s, it's pretty much the same. 60s music is still better than either, and I knew that when I was a kid in the 80s. In fact, todays music is probably better than the 80s because of the popularity of the jam scene.

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[kristopher_d]

The difference, of course, is that those of us who grew up in the 80's know better than to claim they were cool. It's the poor, unfortunate children who've never experienced such cultural atrocities that seem to be reaching back.

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[pimpimpim]

Nononono, sorry, but I have to interrupt you here! I grew up in the 80's and most of the stuff there really was crap. The best thing that happened in the 80's was when the 90's set in, although it even took about 8 years well into the 90's to fully recover. Just look at the haircuts and clothes in movies inbetween 1979 and 1999 and you'll get my point.

The only thing that makes me long to the 80's is the fact that Bono back then had only a few political statements to make (and rightly so) instead of now, where he's trying to save the whole fucking world and showing his stupid sunglassed face at every event that might remotely emphasize his image as the offical world-wide mr. do-good.

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[Kjella]

I know how you feel, but remember when your parents kept telling you when you were a kid about how cool the 60s were, and it felt like they were talking about a different geological era?

I had just that experience about three years ago, when a troll was flaming RMS calling him stuff like a dinosaur that grew up in the era of 256 colors. And I wsa like "umm... I had a Commodore 64 with 16 colors" and I was still in the lower half of my 20s. I guess if you grew up with 16,7mio colors it's like "OMG you didn't have proper colors?!" "No Internet?!" "You didn't have cell phones?!" "You couldn't see pictures you had taken? You had to go to a store and develop them?!" Frame it the right way, and you can make the 80s seem like the damn Dark Ages.

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[OSXCPA2]

One exception - when I was in HS in the 1980s', the only music from the late 50s through early 70s people thought was cool was Rock - especially that which came to be called 'Classic Rock'. Note: That includes Led Zeppelin, but NOT Motley Crue, for you young-uns. The rest of the music sucked. For those who would argue, I submit the following bands who sucked then and can NEVER be considered good by any standard upon which rational, music-loving human beings can agree:
Bread, Three Dog Night, Captain and Tennille (played own instruments, wrote own music, still sucked), The Carpenters, Donovan, Sonny & Cher. Pretty much every 'singer-songwriter' to ever chart. The list goes on.
In short, there was a time during which 'todays music just sucks, compared to what we used to listen to..." was true - the 60's and 70's 'pop' charts, after the boomers did enough dope to terminally fry their minds. How could they go from Jimi at Woodstock to Donnie & Marie? I don't want to know. Korn may not be Metallica, but they certainly aren't the Osmonds... hey you, get outta my yard...!

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[Andrew Aguecheek]

Grew up in the 90s. This has the advantage of being able to tell my kids: "when I was your age we had a 56kbps modem that we were only allowed to use after 6pm on the Family Computer uphill both ways in our bare feet and we were happy."

Re:We Aren't Dead, Yet

[musakko]

we can tell today's youth that their music sux0rs compared to the stuff we had back in our day.

I have a 5 year old daughter now, and I certainly won't be telling her how much better the music was in the 80s..

On a tangent: At what age do people's musical tastes "fossilize"? I know my parents love their old stuff, but I find that I still listen to and enjoy whatever the latest stuff is on the internet. I'm 33 now and can't see that same sort of "the old stuff was much better" mentality creeping in. Is it just a matter of time? Or has the internet and flow of information we have now changed how we age?

Could be very interesting.

[no haters]

I absolutely love the Indiana Jones movies. I don't think the fact that the originals were made in the 80s will have a whole lot to do with how the new movie holds up as much as how they approach the character now that Harrison Ford is 20 years older.

I read a rumor somewhere (rotten tomatoes I think) that many of the old principals were going to come back, including the females from Raiders & Temple of Doom, which could be cool.

All in all, I hope they don't try to make Ford too much younger like Stallone did with Rocky... there are plenty of things that can be done with the story with an older Indiana Jones, it just means a post-war setting.

Re:Could be very interesting.

[greenguy]

including the females from Raiders & Temple of Doom, which could be cool.

I'd love to see Marion Ravenwood come back. As for whatshername from Temple of Doom, I'd rather see the return of the ONLY OTHER WOMAN* to appear in the series: Sallah's wife, who had two whole lines in Raiders.

*Yes, there was obviously the Nazi woman in Last Crusade, but as she died in the Temple, there's not much hope of her appearing in 4.

Re:Could be very interesting.

[finkployd]

As for whatshername from Temple of Doom

That is Spielberg's wife, meaning she will probably be back (and with just as much acting talent as before)

Finkployd

Re:Well there goes another one!

[XxtraLarGe]

Another great set of films to have its legacy tarnished by trying to cash in on it one... last... time...

The great thing is, you don't have to go see it if you don't want to. Or see it, then pretend it never happened. Just like I did with the Highlander series...

No new ideas

[Silver Sloth]

Is it me or is there a staggering paucity of new ideas around at the moment. If you discount the remakes and the 'let's do another one's there's precious little around now that's truly original. Much as I loved the Indianna Jones movies can't we have a new hero once in a while.

Re:No new ideas

[terrymr]

It's been that way for at least 10 years, if not closer to 20.

Re:No new ideas

[SamSim]

There are plenty of new ideas around. Thousands, millions of them. You can bet your bottom dollar that Hollywood is absolutely crammed to bursting with smart, dynamic writers with amazingly edgy, groundbreaking, intelligent film scripts, any one of which could, if made, become an iconic classic, a milestone in modern cinema, a fixture of pop culture to come. You have your ideas, I'm sure. I know I do too. There is no shortage of ideas.

The problem is the, studios don't care about movies. They don't care about creating new icons. They care about money. And nothing else. And when you want to make money, you don't take risks, you make safe movies. Cash cows. Sequels to existing successful movies are by far the most reliable of these. Even most original movies you will find slot neatly into pre-existing genre templates. There's the teen comedy movie, the action movie, the romantic comedy, the animated kids' movie, and so on, and so on. It's all numbers.

The other problem is the viewing audience. They don't want to see new things. While there is less money at stake, they, too, want a safe movie. They go to movie theaters to see something they are pretty sure will entertain them. Out-there, avant-garde movies do not appeal to the general public - at least, not to the most profitable movie-going demographics. Therefore making a stunningly imaginative new movie is risky - it's a risk for punters to see it, which makes it a risk for studios to make it, which is why they are so rarely made.

Re:No new ideas

[mblase]

The problem is the, studios don't care about movies. They don't care about creating new icons. They care about money. And nothing else.

You say this as if it were some shocking new revelation, instead of the basis of how Hollywood has operated ever since soundtracks were provided by a piano player in the theater.

Re:No new ideas

[RexRhino]

Also, movies are a global market. An explosion translates far better into a foriegn language than subtle dialog. Special effect blockbusters do much better overseas than a witty drama (much of which can be lost in the translation).

That being said, there are more indie movies available now that there ever were... you just have to see them on cable, or on netflix, or whatever.

Re:No new ideas

[Shadowin]

I guess I'm one of those people that don't like safe movies so much. I constantly watch foreign films (love Asian horror) and whatever oddities might be out there. I do admit though, most of what I watch sucks, but it's that rare gem you find that makes it worthwhile.

I'm disappointed that I can't find Pan's Labyrinth playing anywhere. And no, I'm not a stuck up artsy dweeb. I will be in the theater opening night for this Indiana Jones flick and for other "safe" movies like Spiderman.

Re:No new ideas

[sulfur_lad]

The good news is that there are new heroes every once in a while, but you won't see three or four in a year. Rocky and Indy weren't invented even a year apart, eh?

In recent memory I can think of a couple of good flix (not that my opinion counts) that used new characters and were just a fun romp of an adventure escape alla Indy. The Mummy (and sequel), Sahara, Treasure Hunters, Pirates movies and even the Tomb Raider (although that characer pre-existed) films were pretty fun to watch in that kind of way. The new ideas do pop up every once in a while, but like I say they're not going to be five per year. Hollywood seems to hit its creativity saturation point fairly easily. :) That's the great thing about an Indiana Jones, they only come up once in a while. I just hope they keep with the feel of the first three: the last thing I'd want to see would be a "Blockbuster" Indy (to me Blockbuster == Blocksuxx0r;). I remember seeing a revival of Temple of Doom in a local cinema a couple of years ago and being just enthralled with the awesome matte backgrounds (like the Indian village from the cliff at night). What a great feel!

Some Hollywood directors are starting to do what I've thought they should be doing for a long time: taking cues from existing sources to visualize. Examples done well, X-Men, Lord of the Rings, Bourne series (although they don't match the books they are very good action spy flics in their own right), Batman Begins. Of course it's possible for even that to go oh so wrong as with Daredevil, The Da Vinci Code, The Punisher, Harry Potter 4. Hollywood tends to be particularly adept at picking a good story and just killing it by blockbustering it.

I don't mind sequels to good films as long as they're done well as in the original like Pirates, Bourne, X-Men; and unlike Star Wars (the 'first' three), slasher flicks in general, Bill & Ted, etc...

Re:No new ideas

[Hadlock]

Stop going to mainstream theaters. Try out an art house theater. In Dallas alone, there are two separate art house theater chains(!) (Angelika & Landmark). Most movies approach or go well beyond the 2 hour mark, due to character development and plot. You'll never see a sequel in one of those theaters, and many of them have budgets in the 20-50 million dollar range, and top ranked actors like Edward Norton, (Painted Veil), Brad Pitt (Babel), or George Cloony/Toby MacGuire (Good German).. Doogie Houser starred in a film adaptation of the book Running With Scissors.
 
At least one "independent" film comes out of studios like Warner Independent, Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures classics etc every month. Typically 2-3.

Re:No new ideas

[mcvos]

Is Babel an arthouse movie? It's in the big cinemas over here (although still on a much smaller scale than blockbusters). The small arthouses show films like Tampopo, Mongolian Pingpong and brilliant gems like that.

Re:No new ideas

[DakotaSmith]

The other problem is the viewing audience. They don't want to see new things.

Sorry, gotta take issue with that.

It's not that we don't want to see something new, it's that we can't see something new if it's not being produced.

I don't think I've seen a movie I really liked and was enthusiastic about in at least ten years, with the exception of The Matrix (and neither of its ridiculous sequels). It's not the viewer's fault if Hollywierd keeps on churning out the same junk year after excrutiating year.

Take, for example, Superman Returns. Like Singer, I'm a huge fan of S1 in particular, and it's a movie that holds up well today. If Warner Brothers re-released S1 in theaters, I bet it would do decent business even in spite of being available on DVD. It's just that good.

I wanted to like SR. I walked into the theater with every expectation that I would enjoy a $250M Superman movie directed by Bryan Singer. And it turned out to be a very pedantic remake of S1 featuring very little of the title character. It wasn't even well-directed, what with its constant quick-cuts and the camera shaking so badly during action sequences that even on a 12-inch screen, the audience is hard-pressed to follow the action.

If this is the best that an admitted fan and supposed rising star can do with $250M, then it's no wonder that Hollywierd can't produce a decent movie to save its life.

It's not the audience's fault. The producers have literally no idea what makes a good movie, consequently they make movies that suck, consequently they don't make much money. That's why we have sequels and derivitives, because for some bizarre reason, producers can't figure out what audiences want to watch, so they look into the past, hoping audiences will watch something similar again.

Pop culture and modern technology being in the sorry state that it is, I think the best we can hope for is the final laying to rest of Hollywierd as the primary purveyor of entertainment. Fortunately, quality filmmaking is no longer technically impossible on a small budget (see Star Trek New Voyages or any number of other amateur/fan films), and the Internet provides a distribution mechanism. It remains to be seen if it can be made a commercially successful medium, but I'd rather spend an hour watching shorts from Blame Society Films (Chad Vader, though I actually prefer some of their other stuff) than plunk down twenty bucks to see a movie I can almost guarantee is going to be a total waste of my time and cash.

Re:No new ideas

[SamSim]

It's not that we don't want to see something new, it's that we can't see something new if it's not being produced.

There ARE good new movies being produced, just in smaller numbers and with less pervasive marketing, which is why fewer casual movie-goers realise they exist and so fewer people see them and they make less money so the feedback loop continues. It's not EVERY movie-goer who is at fault here. In having refined movie tastes, and the active desire to seek out inspired movies over insipid ones, you and I and others on Slashdot are not the problem. Unfortunately we are also not in the majority and hence not in the target demographic.

Re:No new ideas

[DakotaSmith]

In having refined movie tastes, and the active desire to seek out inspired movies over insipid ones

But see, that's the thing: my tastes aren't refined, nor do I have a particular desire to see inspired movies.

Again, case in point: Superman Returns. I would never in a million years expect it to be particularly inspired, meaningful filmmaking. I would expect it to be two hours of action and special effects, of the Man of Steel doing the post-millennial equivalent of leaping tall buildings in a single bound. I'd want to see the good guy trounce the bad guy while I cheer him on.

And I didn't get it. There wasn't much Superman in the Superman movie at all, and due to rotten direction and cinematography I couldn't see what he was doing half the time anyway. I should have left the movie feeling good: I left feeling like I'd only seen half a movie and spend 2.5 hours doing it.

It was just not a good movie, and there's no reason it couldn't have been other than everyone involved simply doesn't know how to make a fun movie. That's hardly the viewer's fault, is it?

Not one comeback - but two!

[ofcourseyouare]

From TFA...

"George, Harrison and I are all very excited," Spielberg said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

I thought George Harrison has passed away? Or are they bringing him back as well as Indy? Just amazing what those boys at ILM can do...

Re:Not one comeback - but two!

[kjart]

I thought George Harrison has passed away? Or are they bringing him back as well as Indy? Just amazing what those boys at ILM can do...

...but it's even more amazing what a single comma can do.

Re:Not one comeback - but two!

[Anonymous Coward]

...and it's even more amazing what sarcasm can do.

Re:Not one comeback - but two!

[TeknoHog]

I thought George Harrison has passed away?

No, he's in comma.

The character is fine...

[owlnation]

How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?

The character is timeless. Similar characters abound in Norse Sagas and Greek Myths for example. As to whether the actor needs to be replaced, depends on the filmmakers. I would personally say yes, even a good director will have issue making him credible - so change him. I would also say that adding an hour of exposition on a trade embargo and a floppy eared jive talking sidekick would be a terrible terrible terrible mistake.

New Title

[Anonymous Coward]

Indiana Jones 4: The Search for Prune Juice

Ford - I thought the USA were just burying him?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean how can he be appearing in a film or is it being made this afternoon? :) Sorry couldn't resist due to the timing....

Casting

[marol]

They should cast Sean Patrick Flanery as Indy and Harrisson Ford as Jones Sr. Then maybe they could do a decent movie.

Re:Casting

[Anonymous Coward]

Sir, looks like you picked the wrong day to quit sniffing glue.

Working title ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Alzheimers.

Re:Working title ?

[Ingolfke]

Seriously not funny. Over 65k people in the US alone died of Alzheimer's in 2004.

Re:Working title ?

[drinkypoo]

If you can't joke about things that have killed thousands of people, then you can't joke about much of anything, and you might as well fucking kill yourself because you will have no sense of humor. If you're not having fun, you might as well be dead. Live a little. Your bleeding heart is making a mess on the floor.

Re:Working title ?

[Ingolfke]

I'm sorry... what were we talking about?

Working Title

[j00r0m4nc3r]

"Indiana Jones and the Metamucil Drink"

Re:Working Title

[gentlemen_loser]

Ya know, these jokes were rampant regarding the new Rocky movie. Have you seen Harrison Ford or Sly lately? Take a real good look, then go to the corner and cry like I did after watching the new Rocky movie. Despite the years on these guys, I would wager a hefty sum that either of them on their worse day are in better shape than 3/4's of us /.'ers.

Now what THAT means is a whole other question...

Re:Working Title

[sharkey]

"Dr. Jones! DR. JONES! Boxers or briefs?"

"Depends..."

How will this one be?

[FatRatBastard]

All three of the earlier movies were shot in the 80s. How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?

Depends on who has the most influence on the movie: if Spielberg then I think it'll be a fun romp, if Lucas then I'm afraid it'll turn into a moralistic pile o' crap (see "Star Wars Prequels").

Lucas has already said he's tried to reedit the earlier movies to make Indy more "heroic" (I believe that he wanted to edit or remove the "Indy pulls his guns on the sword wielding baddies and shots 'em dead on the spot" scene from the first film a'la "Greedo shoots first". Spielberg wouldn't allow him).

Re:How will this one be?

[geoffspear]

What an idiot. I don't care whether Greedo shot first, but that scene was by far the funniest thing in the entire Indiana Jones series, and removing it would be as dumb as letting Lucas write dialog of any kind.

Re:How will this one be?

[Anonymous Coward]

he wanted to edit or remove the "Indy pulls his guns on the sword wielding baddies and shots 'em dead on the spot" scene from the first film

It would be funnier if sword-wielding guy used the sword to cut the bullet in half - the look on Indiana Jones's face would be priceless.

Re:How will this one be?

[AdamThor]

Lucas has already said he's tried to reedit the earlier movies to make Indy more "heroic" (I believe that he wanted to edit or remove the "Indy pulls his guns on the sword wielding baddies and shots 'em dead on the spot" scene from the first film a'la "Greedo shoots first". Spielberg wouldn't allow him).

- is there a source on this? It seems like such a poor idea that I have trouble believing that someone actually seriously entertained it.

Re:How will this one be?

[$RANDOMLUSER]

> It seems like such a poor idea that I have trouble believing that someone actually seriously entertained it.

Meesa thinksa yousa not paying attention...

Re:How will this one be?

[YetAnotherDave]

I've heard that the scene with the crazy sword-spinning guy was another
Ford improvisation - they had planned an elaborate sword vs. whip duel
(Indy had lost his gun someplace) but Ford was too sick to film it
and suggested "can't I just shoot him?".

Re:How will this one be?

[tsotha]

Bah. The only thing Spielberg guarantees is some overly cute, sappy kid. I hate cute kids in my adventure movies.

It's like he saw how successful the cuteness was in E.T. and decided to put it in every movie. Well, every movie that wasn't designed to depress me.

Re:How will this one be?

[Kelson]

Depends on who has the most influence on the movie: if Spielberg then I think it'll be a fun romp, if Lucas then I'm afraid it'll turn into a moralistic pile o' crap (see "Star Wars Prequels").

I'm still of the opinion that the Star Wars prequels could have been made infinitely better by two things: (1) Letting someone else polish the dialog. (2) Letting someone else direct. In this case, David Koepp wrote the script, and Spielberg will be directing. I didn't know Koepp by name, but looking at his IMDB page I've liked several of the movies he's written. And while I managed to miss roughly a decade of Spielberg films (not much interested me after Jurassic Park II), I did see Munich and thought it was good.

If Lucas were directing, I'd write it off. Spielberg at least has a fighting chance to make it work.

Re:How will this one be?

[Kjella]

Meesa thinksa yousa not paying attention...

Talking like that.... and insightful
*head explodes*

Re:How will this one be?

[StikyPad]

IMDb credits "someone" (3rd from the bottom), although Wikipedia credits Ford and claims dysentery instead of food poisoning.

Offtopic, did you post that with a Commodore 64?

Re:How will this one be?

[StikyPad]

Yeah, Schindler's List was a real hoot!

Re:How will this one be?

[tsotha]

Well, that falls under my "designed to depress me" category. In any case, Schindler's List did have a cute kid. It's just that he gets shot.

Re:How will this one be?

[StikyPad]

Right, that was the point... he didn't limit it to the "fun" ones (although I'm sure some sick SOB thought it was "fun" to watch).

Not quite true...

[Anonymous Coward]

> George Lucas has announced that the script for the long-rumored fourth Indiana Jones film has been finalized

Finalized? Heh heh. Every Fanboy knows George doesn't write the script until he does the editing.

Re:Not quite true...

[norminator]

> George Lucas has announced that the script for the long-rumored fourth Indiana Jones film has been finalized

Finalized? Heh heh. Every Fanboy knows George doesn't write the script until he does the editing.

No, no. He edits it without writing, then does the first theatrical release, then he writes it for the second theatrical release. Then there's more writing for the third theatrical release, and of course it goes without saying that each of the 5 or 6 VHS/DVD editions is rewritten. I'm still waiting for Star Wars Episodes 2 & 3 where Yoda doesn't fight at all. I can't wait to see those movies get worse. Although maybe the midi-colorians (sp?) will get written out entirely for the 20-year special edition theatrical re-release of the prequels.

Speaking of prequels, that's one thing we have to hope and pray about... with Harrison Ford being 20+ years old, please, please don't make this a prequel... everyone else is doing prequels.

CGI will be used...

[Ingolfke]

Harrison Ford will provide the voice of Indiana Jones but the "person" you see on screen will be a CGI recreation of Indiana Jones based on footage from the previous 3 movies.

Re:CGI will be used...

[Teresita]

Harrison Ford will provide the voice of Indiana Jones but the "person" you see on screen will be a CGI recreation of Indiana Jones based on footage from the previous 3 movies.

Oh, so it's gonna be Indiana Jones and the Uncanny Valley.

Re:CGI will be used...

[Ingolfke]

No... it's the same process they used to create Gollum, accept Lucas has a better control on the technology and has real footage to use for the 3D models.

G Harrison's death ruined one of my favorite jokes

[Peter Trepan]

Q: What would it take to reunite the Beatles?

A: Three more bullets.

Indiana Jones shot first

[Kuciwalker]

Indiana Jones shot first!

Re:Well there goes another one!

[nick_davison]

Another great set of films to have its legacy tarnished by trying to cash in on it one... last... time...

It can be avoided.

Crazy at it may sound, just about every review of Rocky Balboa observes that it's easily the best since the original. OK, not as good as the original but still one to improve the legacy overall and not detract from it.

The secret appears to be:

• Act with respect to the legacy of what's gone before.
• Respect that the character has aged and tell an appropriate story to that aging
• Dispense with the substanceless formulaic elements previous sequels relied upon unless they actually bring new substance.

If Sylvester Stallone is smart enough to figure out how to do it, we can but hope Spielberg is.

Then again, maybe we'll just be confronted with Indy holding a cellphone instead of a whip. *mutter*ET*mutter*

Re:Well there goes another one!

[umStefa]

Anything is possible,

although I would rather bet my money on Microsoft licensing vista under the GPL.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Ingolfke]

Or see it, then pretend it never happened. Just like I did with the Highlander series...

What are you talking about? Highlander was good... but H2: The Quickening was amazing. Mulcahy's view of the future intertwined with the Highlander saga made for outstanding and highly entertaining cinema. Thought provoking even.

H3 was ok... Morahan's direction wasn't as crisp and insightful as Mulcahy's. But the script was good.

Nah, Panama Hat already said it best....

[Rahga]

From Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Panama Hat: This is the second time I've had to reclaim my property from you.
Indiana Jones: That belongs in a museum.
Panama Hat: So do you.

In american cinema.... of course...

[Anonymous Coward]

just like everything else in the us, the cinema industry has rotted from the inside...

I just saw Pan's Labyrinth and while it was probably not unlike the performances of the Eleusian Mysteries in ancient Greece in it's narrative... I would say it is not a rehashed story... there's quite a bit of good foreign cinema and us cinema has gotten sooooo bad... that foreign films are getting alot more cinema time...

How Bad Could It Be?

[Anonymous Coward]

After all, Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles turned out fine...didn't it?

Re:Well there goes another one!

[mobby_6kl]

Well, if Sylvester Stallone, of all people, managed to create an excellent conclusion after four increasingly lame sequels, I'm sure Steven Spielberg (yep, George "Jar-Jar" Lucas isn't directing this one) can do it too.

As the other poster said, you don't have to watch it if you don't want to. I still haven't seen the last two Star Wars movies, and not planning to do so.

So he was off by 1...

[nuntius]

no comment

Re:Slashdot is always right

[__aaclcg7560]

You just have to wait for the Viagra to kick in first.

Another billionaire who doesn't know any better.

[Futurepower(R)]

Lucus must want money. He certainly wouldn't make another IJ movie because it would be interesting. It's pathetic when a billionaire is so addicted to money that he will do anything to get it, especially when what he will do to get money is sell people on the idea that violence is glamorous. We have the Iraq war because so many U.S. citizens are excited, not disgusted, by violence, any violence. And the war has made the U.S. poor and bankrupt.

--
My corruption summary. Please make your own.

The Title:

[foreverdisillusioned]

Indiana Jones and the Craftmatic Adjustable Bed.

Re:The Title:

[drinkypoo]

My vote: Indiana Jones has Fallen and he Can't Get Up

Re:The Title:

[Ubergrendle]

Indiana Jones and the Walker of Death*.

*would have said Doom, but that was already taken.

Re:The Title:

[MS-06FZ]

Indiana Jones and the Craftmatic Adjustable Bed. OK, there have been about a million "Indy is old" title jokes here so far but this is the only one so far that has made me chuckle. Good work.

Re:The Title:

[StikyPad]

There were no Craftmatic Adjustable Beds in the 1930/40s!

Although, if it was set in modern times, a Hoveround would kick a Craftmatic's adjustable ass.

Re:The Title:

[bill_mcgonigle]

Indiana Jones and the Craftmatic Adjustable Bed

I'd be not-surprised if was Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth - just a variation on #3 (lucas), a quasi-historical artifact (lucas), but most importantly: CGI (lucas) Indiana Jones films forever (lucas).

fugitive 2?

[Anonymous Coward]

I like to see him on the run the best.;-)

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Ingolfke]

I haven't seen the new Rocky movies... the original was great, and it seemed like the second one had potential and then about half way through the movie they just gave up.

The only thing though that can save the new Rocky movie for me would be Carl Weathers speaking to Rocky from heaven and guiding him through the training... that would be absolutely fantastic! It would destroy the movie... but man that Carl Weathers is great. Carl Weathers.

Rocky er.. Indiana IIXIV

[Maxo-Texas]

I'm really sorry they are going back to the well for this.

Re:Rocky er.. Indiana IIXIV

[LordKaT]

IIXIV? Did you just do subtraction with roman numerals?

And even if it fails...

[deltagreen]

hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

IMDb lists Natalie Portman as a rumored cast member. So in case the movie doesn't live up to its potential, just add some hot grits and we'll all go watch it anyway. :-P

Re:And even if it fails...

[FhnuZoag]

Now I'm imagining Ford telling Portman how much he likes sand.

Re:And even if it fails...

[CohibaVancouver]

IMDb lists Natalie Portman as a rumored cast member.

Interesting. Han Solo and Princess Leia's mother together in one movie...

Re:And even if it fails...

[Slider451]

MILF!

Any word on....

[Ingolfke]

River Phoenix signing up as Indy's son? He did a good job in the last movie. Is he even available?

Re:Any word on....

[zoomshorts]

Nope , still dead.

Re:Any word on....

[Gr33nNight]

I doubt it, considering he has been dead for a number of years.

Re:Any word on....

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course he is not available. He is dead.

Re:Any word on....

[Kazzahdrane]

Good sarcasm is a little easier to spot than that :P

Re:Any word on....

[Ingolfke]

Alas... I'm afraid I've fallen into cynicism.

Re:Any word on....

[virg_mattes]

> River Phoenix signing up as Indy's son? He did a good job in the last movie. Is he even available?

Well, there are those who think Harrison Ford will look like the undead, so what diff?

Virg

P.S. In case you're serious, River Phoenix is a little too dead to take the role.

Re:Any word on....

[Anonymous Coward]

I know that was intended as a joke, but there could be some wisdom in it...

If you're looking for an actor that could pass for the son of Indy, wouldn't River Pheonix's brother make some sense?

Re:Any word on....

[evilcanaduhguy]

Uh, didn't River Phoenix play the younger Indiana Jones when he was a teen? In like a flashback type thing? It's been like 10 years since I saw the last movie but I am pretty sure.

Re:Any word on....

[DocMAME]

Now look who's Joaquin.... er, joking...

Re:Any word on....

[cbuskirk]

Honestly I had hoped Indy 4 would be a revival of the franchise. Tell a story that alternates between a young and old Indy. Get Joaquin Phenoix as a young Indy in flashbacks and have Harrison in the "present" dealing with the fallout of some decision he made before.

Re:Any word on....

[StikyPad]

Don't you mean a little harder?

Re:Any word on....

[ScrewMaster]

How about Jerry O'Connell from Sliders?

Re:Any word on....

[ChunderDownunder]

They'll have to explain the absence of Indy's good friend Dr Marcus Brody first.

Re:Any word on....

[Anonymous Coward]

> How about Jerry O'Connell from Sliders?

As long as we're stuck on actors from "Stand By Me," why not consider Wil Wheaton or Cory Feldman? :)

OTOH I always thought Seann William Scott had a dash of Harrison Ford in him...

Re:Any word on....

[Anonymous Coward]

One funny thing is, Ford is now 5 years older than Connery was when Connery played his old, washed up father.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Maxo-Texas]

Highlander was great!

They made one fantastic movie and then they made a one good series.

Fortunately they never made any sequels or spinoff series from those.

And it was always strange to me how Babylon 5 ended on Season 4, episode 21. No ending but i guess they couldn't think of a good ending so they just stopped it there.

"my old friends"

[El_Muerte_TDS]

I'm delighted to be back in business with my old friends

Old is indeed the good word.
I wonder if the movie is about finding the fountain of youth.

Return of the Ark

[subnomine]

Maybe someone will open the Ark in San Francisco and everybody parties with the glowing spirits until they get fried by lightning or melted. You can substitute San Francisco with Des Moines, if you like.

But don't get your hopes up. I predict a new, young, lame character being introduced, and not the return of the Ark.

Indiana Jones now has a family...

[C0rinthian]

...and they are in peril.

stop asking questions

[Anonymous Coward]

For the Xth time, _please_ stop asking questions like "How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?". We are not stupid, we will discuss things, and this too will probably come up. Just post news for nerds, _stop_ asking questions.

Re:stop asking questions

[75th Trombone]

I tag every story like this I see "dontaskquestions". Do the same and pass it on.

Da Vinci

[Anonymous Coward]

I sure hope that the "interesting mysteries" do not involve Christian myths. That's the last thing we need...Another Da-Vinci-code-esque fad.

Re:Da Vinci

[Hongbao]

Is there a term, "Christian-oid myths"? Perhaps I'm bitter because the judge refused to allow me to name "Indiana Jones" as co-respondent in the divorce suit, merely because he is a fictional character.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[AgentSmith]

Turn in your geek card.
Highslander II: The sickening was a very bad piece of pandering tripe.

Killed the whole mystique of immortals as an ancient race. Instead they are SPACE PEOPLE
sentenced to earth. Lame. Unexplained in many parts and killed the previous story continuity.

I'll give you the director/writers's view of the future was interesting. Though provoking? Hmmmm . . .
I'm gonna say no.

another box set!

[duranaki]

I have the trilogy box set... now they'll get to release indy4, indy4 enhanced, indy4 directors cut, and then the supreme 4 movie remastered box set! What a deal! (Ack! I completely forgot the HD-DVD/Blue-ray re-releases!!)

Sarcasm aside, I'm looking forward to the movie.

And in other long awaited news...

[Anonymous Coward]

Henry Kissinger to enter 2008 Presidential race.
Janet Reno finally outed to be a man.
Chinese food found to be essential for a healthy heart.

Re:And in other long awaited news...

[Overzeetop]

If Henry Kissnger gets to run for president, he's going to have to win the nomination away from Arnold.

Think about it.

the market will decide

[yada21]

Let the market decide. It will probably decide that the franchise has jumped the shark. I wouldn;'t spend paper money, let alone true money i.e. gold on it.

Re:the market will decide

[Mr. Slippery]

I wouldn;'t spend paper money, let alone true money i.e. gold on it.

There's nothing "truer" about gold as money than about colored paper with certain marks on it. Money is a social agreement. Gold won't get you far in a society where cattle are the agreed means of exchange.

He also liked the most recent StarWars script...

[Anonymous Coward]

... and we all know how good that movie was.

I'm afraid George Lucas is going to make the last Indian Jones movie a turkey.

Show business..

[slashmojo]

it's pathetic when a billionaire is so addicted to money that he will do anything to get it

I doubt he needs the money too much but the several thousand 'normal people' who will work on the movie will no doubt appreciate the chance to earn some money.. as will their families. Billionaires dont just make money for themselves..

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Ingolfke]

Everybody can have an opinion... but did you like the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies?

Firewall

[Anonymous Coward]

That movie was a crime against humanity.

Re:Firewall

[Teresita]

The only thing worse than the Star Wars Christmas Special is outtakes from the Star Wars Christmas Special. In other words, material that was actually not good enough to be included in the Star Wars Christmas Special.

Re:Firewall

[DavidTC]

Either you're lying, or you've just disproved the existence of a just God.

Re:Another billionaire who doesn't know any better

[Reality Master 101]

Lucus must want money. He certainly wouldn't make another IJ movie because it would be interesting.

No, I think Lucas wants another movie because he wants to do something that the fans don't hate, even if it makes a lot of money. Billionaires don't generally want more money, they want more respect.

We have the Iraq war because so many U.S. citizens are excited, not disgusted, by violence, any violence.

Maybe you get excited by the violence (I've noticed that pacifists usually displace on everyone else their own personality disorders), but I personally get excited about the potential birth of freedom in a formerly murderous dictorship. TJ said it best: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson

Not to nitpick, but...

[greenguy]

Also, all three may have been shot in the eighties, but they took place in the forties,

The open sequence in Raiders says "Peru, 1936."

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[sammy baby]

Doh.

My bad. I hear "Nazis" and for some reason I always think 1940s.

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[mobby_6kl]

>My bad. I hear "Nazis" and for some reason I always think 1940s.

That's probably your country was a lagger and joined the fun after everyone's been at it for a few years.

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

There weren't any fireworks until 1939 anyway. That's close enough to the 40s for me.

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[tcc3]

The only thing more tiresome than the sterotypical American statement "We saved all your asses in WWII" is everone else saying we were late to the party.

It was almost 70 years ago, let's let it go. Evil was defeated, Good triumphed. Let's move on.

I realize you were probaly not being serious, so dont take too much offense.

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

70? nice math. try 60.

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[Palshife]

2006 - 1936 = 70. Your maths are weak.

Re:Not to nitpick, but...

[tcc3]

What do you expect we were late to the party, remember? =P

Just you wait, kiddies

[Anonymous Coward]

20 years from now, Harry Potter will be getting the same treatment. I hope I live to see it. I guess I'd actually have to watch the current Potter films first though... Nah... I'm too busy doing middle aged man shit... but trust me, you're gonna hate it, kiddies.

Didn't Nostradamus say...

[Ingolfke]

that this was a sign of the coming of Duke Nukem Forever?

Plot ideas

[metoc]

If we assume Indiana Jones will act his age (as played by Harrison Ford) then period of the film will be approximately 20 years after the last movie (~1938). In Hollywood time that could be anywhere from 1955-1965 depending on the desired historical backdrop and Fords makeup. In that time period we had the beginnings of the cold war, the beginning of the Vietnam era, the beginnings of the space race as well as the birth of the CIA & KGB. Prof. Jones would probably finishing his career in academia with an eye to retirement (his relic hunting days probably over at 65, remembering that life expectancy in the 50/60s was under 70, but that never stopped Hollywood). If Lucas and Spielberg want to be interesting they would return to Central/South America and the civilizations of the Aztec, Maya, etc. where we met Indiana Jones and the Bowling Ball of Doom and discovered his dislike of snakes. Through in some ex-Nazis in South America (ala Boys from Brazil), the KGB, CIA, lost cities in the rain forest, lasers (Sun God & Temple of the Sun), and maybe even some aliens (crystal skull). Lucas could even revitalize Jones if he finds the Fountain of Youth.

Re:Plot ideas

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucas could even revitalize Jones if he finds the Fountain of Youth.

He already did that. Don't you remember, Indy drank from the holy grail in the last movie. That means he can be as spry as Harrison Ford can pull off. It also means they can adjust the year from anywhere from the 40s to the late 80s with out too much problem.

Personally, I'd like to see a hobbling Indy and his father take out the Fourth Reich when no one else will believe there is a threat, so they are the worlds only hope.

Indiana Jones and the Clones of Doom

[Ranger]

Indiana Jones finds out he's been cloned and now there are 47 copies but they all have different names: California Jones, Idaho Jones, Texas Jones, Arkansas Jones, Utah Jones, Rhode Island Jones, etc. No Hawaii or Alaska Jones because they aren't states yet when this is set. They are all evil so he has to track them down and bring them to justice.

Re:Indiana Jones and the Clones of Doom

[Dephex Twin]

That's great! Thanks for the laugh!

Working title:

[jpellino]

"Indiana Jones and the Prostate of Doom"

Re:Not one comeback - but three!

[Anonymous Coward]

Heck, I just caught part of Ford's funeral this morning on tv. Things are getting mighty weird, man.

That 70s Indy?

[Lispy]

erm, given the timeframe wouldnt Fords age place the story somewhere deep in the 70s? I wonder how this fits with the Indy universe... ;-/

Close...

[sczimme]

"George, Harrison and I are all very excited," Spielberg said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Spielberg was actually addressing someone named George, hence the single comma. "Harrison and I are all..." refers to Spielberg's bewildering array of personalities.

Re:Close...

[Anonymous Coward]

Whooosh...

Re:Another billionaire who doesn't know any better

[GigsVT]

He was talking about patriots rising up against tyrants, not some invading army coming in and slaughtering both.

ObSNL

[Amazing Quantum Man]

That's what your mother said, Trebek!

Re:ObSNL

[19thNervousBreakdown]

I'll take "The Penis Mightier" for $1,000!

Re:ObSNL

[JudgeFurious]

Wait.....are you selling Penis Mightiers?

Atlantis ?

[aepervius]

I am holding out my breath and hope they will turn in film what was the 4th "oldy" game of indy (the one with atlantis, point and click). Althoguh it had a sad end (I won't spoil it) so maybe my hope are in vain...

Re:Atlantis ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Althoguh it had a sad end (I won't spoil it) so maybe my hope are in vain...

Actually, Fate of Atlantis had several endings, depending on your actions a scene or two before the finale. I believe there was one or two "bad" endings, one mixed ending (which is the one you're probably thinking of), and one "happy" ending.

Personally, I'd rather have a new story than a re-hash of an adventure game, even a good adventure game's. A story set in Atlantis might still be interesting and worthwile to do, but I don't think it'd be an automatic winner just because Fate of Atlantis was such a great game. Besides, the time period of the game would be all wrong for an older Indy.

big budget sequels

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Must save money for retirement. Spending too much today on fancy cars and frilious women. 2. Must retain legacy as cool producer. 3. It's a franshise, not a story. 4. Throw in some whizbang, snappy stunts, known bad guy stereotypes, and a popup storyline == profit!

Apocalypse Yesterday

[hachete]

Indiana Jones and the Zimmerframe of Destiny

Indy, Jr ?

[mbone]

My guess is that they will introduce Indy Jr. He can do the running and romancing while Harrison and Sean sit and reminisce (and, maybe, save the day with their superior wisdom).

In other words (if it works) New Franchise!

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Chazmyrr]

H2: There should have been only one. Mulcahy himself hated it so much that he walked out of the premiere and tried to have his screen credit changed to Alan Smithee. The only thought it provoked was "I can't believe I actually spent money to watch that.

"Wherever science fiction fans gather, in decades and generations to come, this film will be remembered in hushed tones as one of the immortal low points of the genre." - Robert Ebert

That is amazing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. I mean really, wow. You are quite possibly the only person on earth who can take an article on "Indian Jones remake being filmed" and turn it into "War in Iraq is bad". I bet even Goebbels would be impressed with this. Congratulations.

Revenge of the Indy

[MidVicious]

Prepare yourselves for a digitally inserted, blue glowy River Phoenix.

Tremble before the mind blowing revelation when Sean Connery announces to the Nazis, "I am the Senate!"

And witness the incredible love scenes between a reunited Indiana and Marion Ravenwood, "I hate snakes. They're slimy, scaly, and they get everywhere. Not like here, where everything is... wrinkley and aging."

Re:Revenge of the Indy

[MadJo]

would there be snakes on his aircraft too?

3-words; (or maybe 2, one hyphenated. . . )

[jafac]

Professor Jar-Jar.

I for one welcome our new overlord

[VEGETA_GT]

President Harrison Ford

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Ingolfke]

Oh I'm sorry... you have to watch it high... It's really outstanding when you're smoking alcohol.

Title??

[Bucky340]

How about "Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Daily Bowel Movement"?

All the films were shot in the 80's...

[porkchop_d_clown]

All three of the earlier movies were shot in the 80s.

Oh, man. I read this and thought "that can't be right!" - then I looked it up and now I just feel old.

Top 10 F/X Scenes in Movie History

[mattnyc99]

Thoughts?

I see...

[Ruvim]

Having sucked the last bit out Star Wars, Lucas proceeds to do this to Indiana Jones? I see..

Indiana Jones in the Sixties

[Anonymous Coward]

hey, an Indiana Jones that took place in the sixties might have real potential.

Yeah, instead of having to battle strange badguys, nazis, and video-game-like traps in caves and dungeons... the script can simply have him tripping his balls off on a bad acid trip.

A Great Idea

[Anonymous Coward]

You remember how the Friday the 13th movies were starting to get old, so they did something new and made Jason X?

They could take that approach with Indiana Jones. Consider:

They awaken Indiana Jones from some kind of hibernation device. It is the year 2167. "We need you! You're an archaeologist! We need you to recover an artifact from your own civilization!"

"What artifact?"

"The activation server for Windows Vista!"

"The... what?"

How does that work?

[porkchop_d_clown]

Since the first 3 films were set in the late 1930s, a 20 year gap would put the fourth one in the 1950s.

1950's = Soviets?

[nuclearpenguins]

Will Indy fight the Reds?

Jake Lloyd

[vjmurphy]

I hear that Jake Lloyd will be playing Indiana Jones Junior. And, in the climax, a bunch of Ewok Freedom Fighters will take on the Nazis and win using rocks and home-made gliders. The whole of Harrison Ford's dialog will be "Get off my lawn, damn kids" or "When I was a kid, I'd steal treasures using nothing but a pouch with some sand in it, while barefoot in the snow."

Re:Jake Lloyd

[taustin]

The sad thing is, that would probably make a better movie that what we're likely to actually get.

Throw in Odessa, and you may have a winner

[ObiWonKanblomi]

Granted, Odessa was nothing more than a conglomerate of people from different walks of life protecting fugitive Nazis, but it's always fun to have stories with Odessa planning for the resurrection of the Reich.

the title

[Anonymous Coward]

Indiana Jones and the Hunt for a Blanket and a Warm Glass of Milk

Re:Oh boy! Ford Rocks! Why?

[closer2it]

Fortunately, when it came time to film that scene, Irvin Kershner was calling the shots and Lucas was (presumably) in a crypt somewhere. Harrison Ford looked at the script and said, "this sucks" and Kershner agreed and they changed it. And we all remember Empire Strikes Back as a great movie. The same thing happened in the 1981 film "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

Obligatory

[kunwon1]

Did you hear about the special edition of 'Raiders Of The Lost Ark'?

The guy with the scimitar shoots first.

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=149832&cid=125 61927

This isn't a last ditch attempt for easy $$$

[the computer guy nex]

This movie has been in the works for easily 10 years. There have been dozens of scripts by multiple writers that have been repetitively rejected.

In order to preserve the original trilogy as one of the best in American film history, only a damn good script would make it past Ford/Lucas/Spielberg.

Personally? I can hardly wait another year and a half for it. A fourth movie is long overdue.

Re:This isn't a last ditch attempt for easy $$$

[Da Fokka]

You are right, Lucas is widely known as an altruistic guardian of the legacy of his films.

Re:This isn't a last ditch attempt for easy $$$

[Anonymous Coward]

This movie has been in the works for easily 10 years. There have been dozens of scripts by multiple writers that have been repetitively rejected. In order to preserve the original trilogy as one of the best in American film history, only a damn good script would make it past Ford/Lucas/Spielberg.

Be careful with your comments, that's too intelligent for average Slashdot reader.

Re:This isn't a last ditch attempt for easy $$$

[pimpimpim]

This movie has been in the works for easily 10 years. There have been dozens of scripts by multiple writers that have been repetitively rejected.

How will the movie be called, Indiana Jones Forever? :)

Re:This isn't a last ditch attempt for easy $$$

[BendingSpoons]

You're absolutely right. I'd never expect an inferior product from the discerning mind that read the script for Firewall (Ford) and said "OK, let's do it". Or from the guys who did "The Terminal" (Spielberg) and "The Phantom Menace (Lucas). Personally, I think our only real hope for a good Indy flick is to ditch the current crew and sign up Senor Spielbergo (with Bumblebee Man as Indy).

Re:This isn't a last ditch attempt for easy $$$

[in_fla]

Would love to see a Charlie Kaufman (Adaption, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) screenplay.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[westlake]

Hopefully 2007 ushers in a year in which remakes, sequels, and adaptations give way to original and creative stories and ways to tell them.

Shakespeare pulls Falstaff out of retirement for The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Hollywood begins with remakes, sequels, and adaptations in the silent era. Zorro, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, The Three Musketeers.

The Wizard of Oz on film doesn't begin with July Garland.

The basic conventions of action-adventure, the cliffhanger serial, were well-established on stage in the 1890s.

Audiences love this stuff, always have, always will.

I hate Illinois Nazis.

[mattcoz]

nm

Re:I hate Illinois Nazis.

[ddusza]

Svengoolie????? Maybe I have my Coz's mixed.....

Re:I hate Illinois Nazis.

[neomajic]

That's from the Blues Bros movie.

Re:I hate Illinois Nazis.

[ddusza]

I know that's where the line is from (BB one of my favorite movies); I was just wondering it that was the same Coz who plays Svengoolie on a local Chicago TV show (actually looked it up afterwards and found it to be Rich Koz, so close but no cigar!). I miss living up in Chicagoland....

Stairs...

[phekno]

why did it have to be stairs?

Re:G Harrison's death ruined one of my favorite jo

[spookmonkey]

You could always update that to be two more bullets.

Re:G Harrison's death ruined one of my favorite jo

[Anonymous Coward]

But that wouldn't be funny, would it? Since GH wasn't killed by a bullet.

The Sequel could be...

[tkrotchko]

Indiana Jones and the Wheelchair of Doom

Indiana Jones and the Snakes on a Plane

[Anonymous Coward]

Indy: "Snakes... why'd it have to be snakes? On a mother!@#%ing plane???"

worried...

[SuperDre]

Well, I'm very worried about the project.. I'm a big fan of indiana jones the movies, but the series of young indiana jones already brought down the movies a bit, the series made jones a much more unbelievable person (who the hell meets so many famous persons in their whole life, let alone in their teens). But both Lucas and Spielberg haven't made a good/fun movie since Indiana Jones and the last crusade, and even that one wasn't as much fun as the first two (except ofcourse Sean connery).. I surely hope we don't get to see the fuzzy effects (like putting vaseline on the lens) spielberg is using in all his latest movies..

Ravages of Time

[juan2074]

This will be similar to Never Say Never Again, when Sean Connery returned as an old-ass James Bond, making Roger Moore look better than ever.

Is it really going to be called Indiana Jones and the Ravages of Time? They are right about the 'ravages of time'.

Harrison Ford sure looks over sixty these days. Maybe they can bring back Sean Connery for this one too, and bring other about-to-die actors as his colleagues. (Is Ed Asner really still alive?)

Has anyone seen the script?

Re:Ravages of Time

[Steve525]

This will be similar to Never Say Never Again, when Sean Connery returned as an old-ass James Bond, making Roger Moore look better than ever

True, but the funny thing about this is that Roger Moore is actually older than Sean Connery (by about 3 years).

Re:Ravages of Time

[digitalhermit]

It's going to be like the episode of ST:TNG where Data finds his head.. Indiana Jones descends into a tomb. He opens a door and sees a horrible, ancient mummy. Rachel Weisz appears and says some Egyptian words, but nothing happens. Jones swings his walking stick at the mummy.. It crashes to pieces. Just then everyone realizes it was a mirror and Ford was looking at his reflection!

That's brillent.

[Belial6]

That is a great idea. (the ark peeking one) If they start the movie with that scene, they could use heavy special effects, and maybe even footage from the original movies cutting room floor to have a Raiders Indy right up to the aging. Then from their, they are golden to have an old Indy fighting Nazis.

Jones 2010

[chunews]

I can't believe I haven't seen a comment yet about this movie possibly being cast in the future. With the power of umm, the holy grail juice, the Jones' far exceed their normal life expectancy and must battle some evil in the future. I don't mean Star Wars future, but still -- something just far enough to be fantastical.

I think there could really be a story about how they have to avoid / evade huge parts of their life to explain away their very very slowing age and then are called upon again . . . perhaps when the Ark finally gets opened up accidentally while searching for party favors for the celebration being held to honour Bush's successful third term.

Re:Jones 2010

[AnotherHiggins]

I don't mean Star Wars future, but still...

*Geek card revoked*

Star Wars took place "a long, long time ago", not in the future.

Re:Jones 2010

[tao_of_biology]

"a long time ago" Looks like two geek cards are history!

Re:Jones 2010

[Valafar]

*Know it all card revoked*

Star Wars took place "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."

Re:Jones 2010

[AnotherHiggins]

Damn. That's really embarrassing. I know better. Honest.

Well, it looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.

Does this mean...

[schiefaw]

that Tales of the Golden Monkey is coming back? That show rocked!

Re:Well there goes another one!

[AnotherHiggins]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

First, a disclaimer: I'm not a huge Highlander fan and haven't seen either movie in years. I only saw the second movie once - I could barely stand to finish it because it was so offensively out-of-line with the original. So, the following comments are made from the memories (of disappointment) I have of seeing the sequel.

Highlander II completely ignored the background provided in the original movie. In the original, Christopher Lambert's character is surprised to find out that he is immortal. Sean Connery's character explains to him about the immortals and the quickening. In the second movie, they are friends on some lame-ass alien planet and are sent to earth together - at the same time. But everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Even if their opinion is friggin' stupid.

Old Age Jokes

[KingNaught]

Everyones making cracks about Fords age, but with Lucus' love of epensive speacial effects I could see him using the de-aging effects used in Xmen3 to youthen Ford up through the whole movie. And use the facial maping effects used in Star Wars 1-3 to map Fords face onto doubles for any strenuous parts.

Ford could easilly play a youthful Indy well into his old age it would just increase the SFX budget. Hell eventually you could have a completley lifelike computer generated Indiana Jones that Ford just does the voice work for.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Darkinspiration]

Blame the network, babylon 5 was supposed to be 5 seasons. The original planning calles for that but the network (forgot witch one was financing at the time.. NBC? nahhh) decided to cut it back to four season only. So the fourth season was rushed. And then at the last minute they decided to ok a fifth season and the production team should have said no.

Ah, you're just jealous

[spun]

You're just jealous 'cause suckiness is frequently rewarded with assloads of cash while talent is often overlooked. You're probably one of those talented people who naturally think talent deserves reward and suckiness deserves ignominy. What a telent-centric world view. Face it, most of the world's population isn't in the "talented" camp, and if they want to reward suckiness, who are you tell tell them otherwise?

Yes, that was sarcasm.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[AlamedaStone]

... in which remakes, sequels, and adaptations give penalties up to and including death by fire ants for those that tell them.

Lil spelling error there, but I touched it up for you.

Re:G Harrison's death ruined one of my favorite jo

[spookmonkey]

To be honest, it wasn't that funny to start with when three bullets were needed.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Bryansix]

Noting is new under the sun.

To quote Harrison...

[Avatar8]

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

I do, too.

This has the possibility of adding to the legacy and retaining the quality of story and action. Then again, Star Wars episodes 1-3 had huge potential and blew it. I just hope this doesn't end up being a bunch of cliches, dialog that doesn't belong in the 30's & 40's ("Indy, you're so cool.") or overblown digital effects where the more realistic, classical stunts fit much better.

I'm curious if they'll get Sean Connery for more comic relief, too.

As we all know, George lives by another of Harrison's lines: "I don't know. I'm making it up as I go along."

Maybe Spielberg can save it. We'll see.

New T-shirts...

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh boy, another Lucas re-remake?
Indy Whipped First!

Only 64

[Heembo]

Oh, quit your crying about 64 - the 60's are the new 30's. I'm sure Harrison has been drinking the blood of young babies for years and everyone in Hollywood KNOWS that stuff keeps you young and spry!

I can see it now...

[metamatic]

"Indiana Jones and the Looting of Iraq".

Aging gracefully?

[adsl]

I hope they don't try to convince us his character is realy only 40 years old. That NEVER works. Best would be for him to be a very active older guy, teamed up with someone younger (a son perhaps?) and this film could transition the major future role to the younger character, while leaving the door open to HF's continued particpation as he REMAINS a fan draw. Let's not also forget that demographics are changing and the Baby Boomer generation wants to see more older characters and the younger generations want to identify with someone their own age. Thus done well this could be a win, win. Done badle it's probably the end of the Franchise.

I wonder...

[Mister Whirly]

and just how long will it take slashdotters to predict how "terrible" a movie will be that hasn't even starting filming yet....

All you need to do is bring up the Lucas name....

New uniform

[wiredlogic]

I'm expecting indy to be sporting a new lycra and rubber uniform to go along with this rebirth of the series.

You kids think you have it so bad

[tomcode]

You kids complain about Jar Jar. Back in my day we had to put up with that supid kid and his muppet pet on Battlestar Galactica, or Buck Rogers and his robot bidibidibidbidibidi! Jar Jar is straight up street gangsta by comparison.

Re:You kids think you have it so bad

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice.

Re:Another billionaire who doesn't know any better

[Mr. Slippery]

I personally get excited about the potential birth of freedom in a formerly murderous dictorship.

Nice fantasy, but I personally get depressed about the reality of the birth of a theocratic murderous dictorship in a formerly secular murderous dictorship, an exchange obtained at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives.

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson

Problem is, the tree of depostism is also refreshed by blood.

Nobody mentioned Natalie Portman yet?

[rune-bare-rune]

Since the rumour has it that Natalie Portman will appear in Indy 4, I guess we can say with some certainty that the film will include an artifact that petrifies whoever touches it.

New Things

[Boronx]

The other problem is the viewing audience. They don't want to see new things

Like Borat?

Re:New Things

[Andrew Aguecheek]

Borat was part of the Ali G show and was Baron-Cohen's first character. Arguably he has been around since 1993 and certainly since around 1998. He is in no way new.

Re:New Things

[Boronx]

Not one of my friends has HBO and none of us had heard of Borat before about August this year. You could compare the audience of the Borat the movie to the number of people that had even heard of him, much less watched the Ali G show, and conclude that Borat is new thing embraced by movie goers.

Re:Well there goes another one!

[Anonymous Coward]

I actually liked the new Rocky movie (although it really should have been named "Rocky VI"). Alas, though, here's what looks like another horrid remake on the horizon....

Terrorists

[frostoftheblack]

I'd like to see Indy fight Taliban and other terrorists...

OB Futurama Quote

[Aereus]

Fry: Married? Jenny can't get married! Leela: Why not? It's clever, it's unexpected. Fry: But that's not why people watch TV. Clever things make people feel stupid, and unexpected things make them feel scared. [Lrrr crackles onto the screen.] Lrrr [on TV]: Attention, McNeal. Your unexpected marriage plan scares us. You stole our hearts as a single female lawyer, and so shall you remain -- or else! Fry: You see? TV audiences don't want anything original. They wanna see the same thing they've seen a thousand times before. http://www.futurama-madhouse.com.ar/scripts/1acv12 .shtml

he'll use a video ipod

[huckda]

to store all of his relic's images...instead of a half-burned image on a chinaman's hand...

And the title is going to be...

[Anonymous Coward]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Mammon :D

Sweet!

[gigoit]

No time for live Dr. Jones!

I wonder if the latest Die Hard. . .

[Fantastic Lad]

might offer an indication of how well an aging actor can fit an old formula.

Indy 4 might work. --If they write a story about a guy in his sixties dealing with the amazing. He'd be living in the Kennedy/Nixon era if Indy reflects Ford's age. The world had taken on a whole different energy by then and magical archaeology could be an interesting thing. Might even be UFO stuff. Though, I'd really like to see the crazy fist fights left behind. Old guys learn to be crafty and clever rather than brute-force types. It could be a really great film if done right.

I hope we don't get any Zionist/Christian propaganda. That's the last thing the world needs today, powder-keg that it is. It'll be interesting to see whose vision is represented better; Lucas' last films, despite their failings, carried a very smart, anti-government message. Spielberg. . , not so much. His late offerings have included things like, "Catch me if you Can," and "Terminal," which seemed to carry a message which told us, "The state is too powerful to fight. Better to follow the laws and take solace in whatever pathetic little victories you can muster." Hm.

If Lucas' comment about the new film being a "Character Piece", means what I hope it means, then it might not stink. I didn't like the last one very much; thought it was poorly written, and the whole Grail thing to be silly.

We'll have to wait and see. I wonder if the next Die Hard will offer any indications.

-FL

Spielberg and overly cute kids

[Kelson]

The only thing Spielberg guarantees is some overly cute, sappy kid.

While that does seem to be true for most of Spielberg's movies (he even managed to put a cute kid in peril in Munich), I don't recall there being any kids featured in Raiders or Last Crusade (unless you count the Indy-as-teenager flashback). Though I suppose Short Round and the hundreds of captured kids being forced to work in the mines in Temple of Doom make up for that oversight.

Re:Spielberg and overly cute kids

[tsotha]

Well, the first Raiders came out before ET, which is where I think Spielberg got the idea blockbusters need kids to be successful (as if Raiders wasn't successful). And yeah, I count young Indy in Last Crusade - the flashbacks didn't really add to the story.

Old Indy

[Kelson]

Did anyone else watch The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in the 1990s? Each episode had a framing sequence that took place in the then-present day with a 90-year-old Indiana Jones. He'd encounter something that reminded him of an event from his childhood or teenage years, then start telling the story to whoever was nearby. Then it would shift into a standard narrative presentation set in 1910, or 1916-1920. Once, for a ratings stunt, they set the framing sequence in the 1950s instead and got Harrison Ford to do the intro.

What we know from these framing sequences: Indy lives until at least 90, ages normally, and has a daughter.

Burnout?

[Enrique1218]

I can see GL is milking his successful franchises for all their worth. Indiana Jones toys must not be selling like they use too. I don't expect George Lucas to come without another blockbuster franchise or even be motivated to even try. But, sometimes, I would like for Hollywood people to just retire or step aside. Not that Ford is capable of still acting, but he is too over the hill for an action movie. Just like Rocky lacing his gloves for one more bout, Indiana should not pack the whip, holster the pistol, and put on the hat for another adventure searching for lost treasure. He just start collecting social security and bust the Ark out storage for more study while his young protege fights someones during the quest for some relic.

Einstein, Jobs, and the like

[Enrique1218]

I wonder what it would be like if Albert Einstein did a second paper on the Photoelectric Effect in 1925

I wonder about the crowds response if Steve Jobs release the Apple II in shining aluminum chassis at next Macworld Expo

Maybe George Bush should have just reinvaded Japan rather than to start that whole Iraq thing.

It seems to work so well for Hollywood

Deckard too?

[nurb432]

Whats next, a 'later' Blade Runner? Or was his term 'predetermined' like the others... Who knows.. Perhaps he can search out the real Tyrell and get his ( their, cant forget Rachael ) life extended....

Hmmmm

It was a great new idea when it came out

[ukemike]

I remember when I was about 12 years old, my Dad was trying to talk me into seeing this movie about an archeologist searching for some ancient jewish artifact. I couldn't imagine anything more boring sounding. "Dad, I don't wanna see some dumb archeology movie, it sounds boooooring! I don't care if Han Solo is in it. It's still gonna be dumb!" Well he and my Mom dragged me along to see it anyway. We were a bit late because of my foot dragging. We walked into the Villa Theater (huge wraparound screen that made IMAX look like a video ipod) right as the Paramount trademark was fading to the jungle mountain. I'm getting chills up my back remembering it. That might have been the most pure unadulterated FUN I ever had in a movie theater.

Re:It was a great new idea when it came out

[Bodrius]

You seem to be proving the point.
How exactly was that idea new who actually WANTED to go?

The one character in this picture for whom the Indy-template was "new" is NOT the one who paid for the tickets.
And from the story, if the decision had been yours, you'd never had seen it in the first place, because it was an unsafe choice for entertainment.

Indy was not new to the movie studios: if anything, it was a nostalgic (retro?) re-make of the old pulp adventure B-movie serials from which they made money throughout decades, but filmed this time with very high production values. Although it had an original plot, the idea was not any more "new" than the King Kong remake.

It was most likely not new to your parents: they were probably familiar with adventure serials, from old B-movies, TV and comics. And for parents the movies were a very safe bet. Not only was this "another epic adventure by the maker of Star Wars", but the model (plot, timeline, scenarios) was even more traditional and straightforward. In all a safer bet.

Re:It was a great new idea when it came out

[ukemike]

I don't disagree at all. I was simply waxing nostalgic about a great film from my childhood.

I"m not so sure the hat will fit

[Master of Transhuman]

An actor's ego increases greatly with age.

The fact that Ford is even doing this movie proves that.

I'd like to see him do the stunts Daniel Craig did for the latest Bond. We'd not see any more of Ford subsequent to that effort, I can guarantee you.

That said, I'll undoubtedly go see it, 'cause I'm a sucker for action/adventure movies. I just wish Vinn Diesel would do another "Triple X" - the stunts in that movie were absolutely awesome.

Cue the dramatic music

[Meph_the_Balrog]

Evil corporate types? Yeah, that'll be it.

Jones, Indiana Jones.

Already had a fourth movie.. and a fifth

[Anonymous Coward]

The fourth was called Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. I remember I enjoyed it quite a bit. Lots of cgi but still good.

Haven't seen the fifth as it had weak reviews. I think they changed the genre of it.

Re:Another billionaire who doesn't know any better

[DavidTC]

I personally get excited about the potential birth of freedom in a formerly murderous dictorship.

You've got some mighty interesting definition of 'freedom' there. Although, in a sense, the ability to kill anyone for any reason whatsoever is really the ultimate in freedom.

Although you are correct about the 'formerly murderous dictorship'. It is now, of course, a 'murderous anarchy' evolving into a 'murderous theocracy'. Yay us!

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

I know that's how I justify all my murders of random people. They were being oppressed!

Only Nostradumass would predict Duke Nukem Forever

[Eternal Vigilance]

And the name's "Nostra-du-mahss."

harrrison stapled his hat to his head

[CarpetShark]

"I don't know if the pants still fit, but I know the hat will"

This sounds like a reference to the (supposed) fact that Harrison stapled his hat to his head for stunts in earlier Indiana Jones films.

A considered response

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up Shut up shut up

Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best Americans are best

Everything we do is right Everything we do is right Everything we do is right Everything we do is right

All history shows Americans are perfect and the rest of the world doesn't exist.

Killing anyone we call a baddie is the way to make the world a better place. I know because that's what Hollywood says.

La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La La

Earlier fireworks

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless you were Austrian, or Jewish, or Czecho-Slovakian, or Spanish, or Ethiopian, or Chinese.

The Eighties Sucked . . .

[npsimons]

Overall, the eighties sucked. I know that Sturgeon's law says that 90% of anything is crap, but it really seemed closer to 99% in the '80s. There were a few gems though, and Indiana Jones was one of them. That you can even ask this question:

All three of the earlier movies were shot in the 80s. How well do you think this character is going to translate into a movie made today?

And not have people go "what are you talking about?" should tell you something. I agree that I think they are just trying for more money and beating a dead horse, but of all the things that could be resurrected from the '80s, they could do much worse than Indiana Jones. Here's hoping the fourth film doesn't suck.

Good?

[Anonymous Coward]

Evil was defeated, Good triumphed

You mean, Good as in Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh, or Good as in Perón, the British Empire, the French Empire and the Belgian Empire?

And now he'll have a cane to fight them with too!

[elrous0]

I can just picture Indy screaming "Get off my lawn, you punks!"

-Eric

Maybe Indy can fight Rocky Balboa!

[elrous0]

It will be the "Aging, egotistical actors who can't accept that they're WAY too old to be action heroes" battle of the century!

-Eric

apparently both dysentery and food are kinda right

[Phil Urich]

According to this page, Ford noted in a book that it was dysentery while Spielberg at least once said in an interview that is was "the local food", thus perhaps the confusion.