Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Lucas Researching Concept For New Indiana Jones Film

Posted by Soulskill on from the indiana-jones-and-the-search-for-his-dentures dept.

Cycon writes "According to George Lucas, 'The franchise really depends on me coming up with a good idea. And that series is very research-intensive. So we're doing research now to see if we can't come up with another object for him to chase ... hopefully we'll come up with something.' Lucas 'scoffed at the possibility of passing the famed fedora from Ford to Shia LaBeouf,' instead stating, 'if [Harrison Ford] wasn't in it, you'd have to call it "Mutt Williams and the search for Elvis."'"

13 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. Pffffft.... by VE3OGG · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Lucas whining about "research" is laughable.

    Granted, Raiders of the Lost Ark had some interesting stories in it, and did at least deal with some research, but I would say the amount of true "research" in Indiana Jones films has been dropping geometrically.

    Indeed, The Last Crusade, other then repeating the Romantic-era story about the grail that so many people already knew, gave no new information and instead focused on the relationship between Indy and his father.

    And Crystal Skull -- from what people have told me about it is even worse. Dealing with a completely fictional back story that doesn't represent anything presently known about the crystal skulls, nor anything that is written about widely in popular paranormal literature.

    No one is saying that Indiana Jones isn't a fabulous example of those serial movies from the 40s and 50s, but I am arguing that the amount of research is mind-numbingly small.

    And who here thinks that this statement:

    "The franchise really depends on me"

    Isn't just a bit egotistical... *cough*Phantom Menace*cough*

    1. Re:Pffffft.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      You don't get it do you? Lucas is rich, filthy rich. This attracts shit eaters and douchebags that also want to become rich. They lend him some money to make a movie and expect a fortune in return. Because it's their money (and because they are idiots) they force him to "broaden the experience to appeal to a wider audience demographics" (read: tone down the violence for kids, put in a smooth young main character for the gays, add some slapstick comedy elements and stereotypes for racists and idiots and devise some sort of ridiculous love story for women and those that ususally don't see action films). Cook that mixture over a writers strike for a few months, stir in some greed and stock scare and then dump it into the mainstream to milk the cow.

      Perfect recipe for an awful movie. I don't actually believe that Lucas makes all these terrible decisions himself, there is probably a team of production assistants payd by the shareholders and the studio to fuck up his projects big time (or as they would call it: refine the market appeal).

    2. Re:Pffffft.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      See, I have an Idea for the Next Indy movie, not caring who is going to be the next Indy: As the mummy franchise has moved to China 1st emperor legend, and emergent world powers are popular these days, why Lucas can't go to the Brazilian world domination legend?

      Don Bosco was a Jesuit monk from the 18th century in Brazil and he compiled together various legends to prove that Brazil was the only real heir of the glory of Atlantis and hence destined to become the only world superpower.
      The legend goes something like this:
      Troy was founded by the last dynasty of Atlantes escaping from the cataclysm which drowned the whole continent. They lived in Troy until the war with the Athenians destroyed their city.
      Escaping from their doom, Troy's Royal family traveled through the Mediterranean to Gibraltar (and you can find old inscriptions in Gibraltar...) and then crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the shores of the State of Maranhao, Brazilian Northeast. There, they settled up, and create a complex of walled cities (the seven cities are a national park in Brazil with "ancient walls" made of mud, with strange inscriptions), and a big tower, which the remains you can see even today at Tutoia (from "Tower of Troy"), a small fishermen village and tourist spot in Brazilian Maranhao.
      They mixed with the local natives, and spread across the Brazilian coast, until different attacks from different civilizations ended the Troy heritage. There were Phoenicians raiders in the Region of Rio de Janeiro (where you can see the face of a Phoenician king carved on a huge mountain, the Pedra da Gavea, Gavea Rock), Chinese in the coasts of Bahia and Sergipe, and finally Vikings in the coasts of Para and Maranhao.
      The few survivors of the Troy civilization fled to the semi-deserted lands of Brazilian Sertao to hide.
      When King Don Manuel of Portugal fought and lost the battle of Alcacer-Kibir in Morrocco, He and his knights on order to escape the imminent massacre from the Saladin's troops, had to also flee on a ship, and after a long time in the sea, they finally saw a light, which the natives used to light up on the top of the former-tutoia, then (and now) in ruins.
      The King and his knights arrived in the Brazilian coast and met the ambassadors of the old Troy dynasty. They also mixed up (people do that a lot in Brazil...) and the King Don Manuel promised that one day he will come back to Portugal to make Portugal big again, and together with Brazil, create the super-powerful Lusitania, which will rule the world with an Iron fist (the whole Portuguese Fascism, called Salazarism, from the beginning of the 20th century, is based on this legend).
      The descendants of those two Royal houses, also had to flee from the raiders on the coast, and ended up finding other survivors of the Atlantis cataclysm which were living in caves at the Chapada dos Guimaraes (Highlands on the Brazilian State of Mato Grosso).
      With their advanced technology they helped to create the Inca Empire in Peru, and there they began their plan to reestablish themselves as the ruling world's dynasty.
      However, when the Spaniards destroyed the Inca Empire they had no option to hide again on the caves and underground.
      On the underground they built an empire, hiding themselves from the humankind on the surface. However, when the golden sages from the secret city of Aghartah (described by Helena Blavastky) found out the plans of the Brazilian underground empire, they waved a magic war, and sealed magically the empire doors.
      The keys for the doors where then scattered across the globe. Only the King Don Manuel resurrected would be able to get the 7 keys for the 7 doors together, and release the underground empire. That day, the King Don Manuel and the forces of the underground empire will fight and destroy all the Kings and governments of the world and Lusitania (Brazil and Portugal) will become the only ruling nation over all others. The Nazis had a special division, designated to find those Keys. One was supposedly found in the French Langedoc, Catar

  2. Re:Maybe I am strange... by bennomatic · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Picture that movie in 3-D! With an NC-17 rating...

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  3. Re:Maybe I am strange... by Rogerborg · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they want to keep Ford in it, then they're going to have to move the setting to a nursing home, which would segue nicely with the Elvis angle.

    --
    If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
  4. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis by dalmiroy2k · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Enough said

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Fate_of_Atlantis

  5. Re:Lucas obviously doesn't read slashdot... by Cycon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It seems to me that Lucas' first movie, THX 1138 can be seen as an allegory for his career. The "American Zoetrope" production house he formed with Francis Ford Coppola back in the revolutionary days of the late '60s in San Francisco was all about the independent thinker escaping from the machine of control and exploitation which was the "old boys'" movie studio system at the time.


    ***SPOILER ALERT***
    At the end of the movie, when he has finally escaped and is free of the system (as Lucas is now free and able to produce any movie he chooses from conception through to finished product) the protagonist finds him system alone, in the middle of a barren wasteland. All credit to Lucas for escaping the machine, but it sees his imagination is just as empty these days.

    --
    Your Brain + EEG + LEGO Robots = Brainstorms
  6. Fate of Atlantis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    To anyone who's played Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, why don't/didn't they make that into a movie? Thought the story line was great and would have made a watchable movie.

  7. Obviously theres a market for it! by voss · · Score: 3, Interesting

    711 million worldwide box office.

    Harrison Ford looked pretty good in the current film, I think they were just let down by the script and the film still did well.

    The main problem for any sequel with the current film is that it gave indy his happy ending, theres nowhere to go with the character....

  8. Re:Lucas obviously doesn't read slashdot... by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What about the obvious "Indiana Jones and the Hunt for Duke Nukem Forever"?

    I wanted "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis: The movie" :(

  9. Re:Lucas obviously doesn't read slashdot... by hiryuu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ***SPOILER ALERT***
    At the end of the movie, when he has finally escaped and is free of the system (as Lucas is now free and able to produce any movie he chooses from conception through to finished product) the protagonist finds him system alone, in the middle of a barren wasteland. All credit to Lucas for escaping the machine, but it sees his imagination is just as empty these days.

    Rather than comment on the film ending being a metaphor for Lucas' career and ability, I just wanted to remark that I always found it quite disconcerting that, for once, the film had the bleak ending and the _book_ (Ben Bova's novelization of Lucas' screenplay) had the happily-ever-after. Was never sure which one I preferred.
     

    --
    Karma: Excellent, but still won't get you laid.
  10. Re:The latest indy by nine-times · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I actually set my expectations low, cranked my IQ down and set suspension of disbelief to high. After all it's Indy Jones, you're not supposed to be thinking too much.

    I don't mean this as an attack on you, but I *hate* when people say that about movies. "Hey, it's just a fun movie. Turn your brain off and have fun!" No. I'm all for suspension of disbelief, but only when a movie earns it. A good movie (even if it's just a fun movie) sucks you in and makes you to suspend your disbelief. If you have to put effort into suspending your disbelief, then the movie isn't doing its job. If you have to fight with yourself to ignore the stupidity, then it's just a bad movie.

    Now believe me, I don't nit-pick. I loved the first Matrix movie, the first Indiana Jones. The original Star Wars trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spiderman, the recent Batman movies and old Superman movies (1&2). I could go on and on, and all of these movies have their problems. There are things that are physically impossible, and plenty of unexplained plot-holes that you can catch if you're looking at them with a particularly critical eye.

    BUT!!! If you watch them in a state of mind that's neutral, I think you'll probably find them to be enjoyable without trying (ok, the Superman movies haven't aged that well). But beyond the enjoyability factor, each of them also has a certain degree of depth and quality. It's clear that they were crafted by some people will skill and talent, and there's some mythological value. They're commenting on our world, our times, our society. They're revealing things about what we think about heroism and life. They wouldn't be enjoyable if they weren't successfully pushing some serious psychological buttons.

    So when people think "these sorts of movies are fun, just turn off your brain", I think it's missing the point, and it's being overly-dismissive of the value of *good* fantasy/adventure stories. You shouldn't have to turn off your brain. The movie should convince you to forgive a couple flaws because, ignoring those flaws, it's a damn good piece of work.

    So back to the topic at hand: Lucas is currently a crappy film-maker. It seems like he didn't used to be, but he is now. The latest Indiana Jones doesn't earn the suspension of disbelief necessary to forgive its faults. Even before the fridge gets nuked, there's the magnetic crap, the overly-convenient rocket-train, and a nuclear test site that's overly-accessible without warning signs. Not a damned thing in the movie made sense, the characters weren't believable, and the story didn't fit into the Indiana Jones universe.

    I think part of the problem is the Lucas has bought into the idea that it's good to make movies where you "turn your brain off and have fun." So rather than making anything good, he makes movies filled with precocious children, lame actions scenes, and characters literally yelling, "Wooohooo!" It's all retarded, and we should just stop giving the man the benefit of the doubt.

    I think this is as good a case as any to support short copyright terms. Star Wars should have become public domain 10 years ago, and filmmakers with talent should be allowed to have a go at making a new Indiana Jones story.

  11. Re:The latest indy by bckrispi · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I got the same feeling. What's the point in chasing after an artifact that gives you a tactical advantage on the battlefield (the Ark, possibly the grail) when both Superpowers now have weapons capable of incinerating entire nations? The Zeitgeist of the film was certainly different than its predecessors. In Raiders, academics were trusted by their government and honored for their expertise. In Crystal Skull, they were distrusted as possible Communists. It was a different America, and the film captured that feeling very well.

    And, like the insipid prequel-bashing that goes on here, much of the hate directed at crystal skull was widely undeserved. It had some flaws, but it was still a fun adventure flick.

    --
    Xenon, where's my money? -Borno