Indiana Jones 4

I just wish they would start filming already.

This was my first ever post to these message boards - waaaay back on June the 6th 2003, and if anything, given all the delays/false starts, I feel even stronger about this now. He's 64/65 (66 when it finally shoots? 66???!!!). Leave. It. Alone. He's too old to play Indy. The character is frozen in '89, where he should remain.

The rumor about the Lucas approved script keeps mentioning a young sidekick character. I don't know how I feel about that. It might be like cheating on Short Round. However, I really can't feel one way or another about it until I know the premise of the film.

Plus, Indy can drive boats and crash blimps and crap. The stuff he did in "Last Crusade" could be done today. It's not until the last act of that film that he becomes physical. Besides, they can just paste his face onto a stuntman how they did with those old fellers in "Revenge of the Sith."

Don't get me wrong though, I want to like the idea of a new Indy film, but it's hard to imagine it working.

Yeah, I guess that could work...so long as Harrison Ford's stunt double was shot only in dark rooms waving a bright, flashy object around in a failed attempt to distract us from the laughably fake digital head floating on his shoulders. Then again, if the Indy IV team is sticking with the Roswell storyline, any sense of realism established in the first three movies will be completely thrown out the window anyway, so might as well go all the way deep into Fantasyland.

Because the idea of alien technology is that much far-fetched compared to the bible?

Ummm...

What if it was a noir? Indy's obviously older, washed up, a joke among colleagues for his past derring-do, but something comes along that convinces him to uptake the hat and whip one more time. I don't know. Ford just doesn't look like Indy anymore. He also doesn't act like he used to (I think due to a mid-life crisis that came in just pre-earring and McBeal). I'm very worried about this one, as it's a movie I both really want to see and don't want to see at all, no matter what it's going to be about.

By the way, Kudos to Dave Davis for the Short Round as nemesis take.

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Frankly, I don't think Ford would have any problems pulling off another Indy. Give the guy a little credit.

Don't misunderstand me: Ford gets huge credit for having embodied three of the most popular heroes of cinema in my entire life (Solo, Indy, Ryan). He had a slump after Crusade, went through a period where he only mumbled mostly, then started spiking his hair and thrusting his hips violently. I didn't see Homicide--the trailer made me wince--but believe me this is a guy I want to root for, it's just been awhile since anything he's done has given me cause.

Can he do it? Of course he can. The man's one of the most powerful leading men of his generation.

Ford is probably the only guy in the world I would say "maybe" about being that old and pulling it off. To be fair though, they did say Star Wars Celebration 3 that his role in the film will be suiting to his age.

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How about basing it on the computer game Fate of Atlantis?

No, because the adventures of Indiana Jones are about globetrotting adventures that take our hero on a physical journey (multiple countries, archaeological sites, exciting chases, etc.) and a spiritual journey (each time out Indy's lack of faith in any given religion -- not just Christianity -- is tested in the extreme.) And also because Indy has been a serious, bloody-knuckled shitkicker. Now picture the waddling, confused Harrison "Methusula" Ford of late stuck the New Mexico desert, limping around looking for ETs.

LAST CRUSADE was bad enough. I don't think it's necessary to also piss on the corpse after its already been thoroughly molested. Or, on a lighter note...

"What are they going to call it? INDIANA JONES AND THE COMFORTABLE CHAIR?!" - Conan O'Brien to Harrison Ford

I'd rather see that than INDIANA JONES AND THE SAUCER MEN FROM MARS. FATE OF ATLANTIS was kind of a fun game, as I recall.

Hearing this news has filled me with a weird combination of excitement and dread that i've not felt since first hearing of the Star Wars prequels back in high school. I want this movie to work, but at the same time i don't really want them to make it.

Another random thought of dread occurs...how come other sites like aintitcool are reporting the Indy news in conjunction with the fact Chris Tucker is not doing Rush Hour 3? Do they know something that is so horrible they can merely hint at it, or are they just hoping to get a rise out of my delicate fanboy sensibilities?

Chris Tucker not doing Rush Hour 3 + a young sidekick in the new Indiana Jones = zany Ahmed Best-like shenanigans!

"I think his turn around was reminding everyone of how great he was at Bond in "Never say Never Again". Perhaps IJ4 will do that for Ford."

Oh man, I thought Never Say Never Again was terrible. Yeah it was cool seeing Connery back in the saddle but the film felt like a cheap imitation Bond at best. But that's just me.

"He had a slump after Crusade"

I don't feel he did. He made Presumed Innocent, Regarding Henry (I didn't think it was bad), the Fugitive (one of his best), the two Jack Ryan flicks and Air Force One. Six Days Seven Nights wasn't great or even *good* but it's a watchable diversion. K-19 wasn't that bad either. And I'm sorry but I found Hollywood Homicide to be a chore to sit through. It tried to be a parody of the action genre and failed miserably. Even Lethal Weapon 4 had more life to it than Homicide.

Here's hoping that Indy 4 will at least be a fun thrill ride like the two previous sequels. That's all I'm asking for.

No "young Indy" since it was already covered in Temple with Short Round and then again in Crusade with River Phoenix. And if their gonna bring Connery back make it a smaller role since hearing the bickering family banter again won't be as amusing second time around.

Hope Harrison can bring back the charisma he once had with this project. And I hope sometime down the line he'll go back to roles like Mosquito Coast or Witness.

By the way, what creepy-crawling critters should they have for this one? We've already had tarantulas, snakes, bats, bugs and rats. What now? How about maggots? That's the ickiest thing I see for ideas in that department.

The only thing that interests me about another INDY is whether or not Lucas will convince Spielberg to shoot with digital cameras, something Spielberg refuses to do.

Though Spielberg did have this to say about it:

"George is the only person who can convince me to shoot digitally."

Something along those lines.

We haven't seen enough Indy in the snow (there was the slide down the mountain side in Temple of Doom), so I'm pushing for Indy in the snow. That leaves us two big options:

Santa and the North Pole
The Fortress of Solitude

If they go with the latter, I want to see him fight gigantic mechanical polar bears.

If Ford doesn't accept this script, they will have to set the film in the 1960s by the time its ready.

Indiana Jones and the Mysteries of the Pill.

Being a professor in the 60s would have been awesome.

Sorry.

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Remember the beginning of Raiders outside Marion's bar? Toht burns his hand from Marion's medallion and runs outside to cool his singed hand in the snow. But yeah, that's a nice idea as we the use of a snow environment hasn't been used much.

We've had the desert, jungles, bustling marketplaces, nightclubs, underground mines. Yeah why not snow?

I do like Chris's idea of Indy being on a journey through deep Africa. But I kinda see it as being a retread of the Raiders prologue or the trek with elephants from Temple.

Still what could they use for the trademark *creepy critter* sequence? How about leeches (or maggots like I mentioned) this time?

We also saw Harrison Ford as Indy in the snow, set in the '50s, in the bookends of YOUNG INDIANA JONES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUES. At this point, I wish that was as close to INDY IV as they would ever get.

Hamsters!

Just imagine Indy being attacked by thousands of cute hamster!

How about "Indiana Jones and The Lost City of Ry'leh"?
He ain't coming back from that one, though....

*sets fifth column hectorting tazers to stun*

Sure, but is that canon?

The films are listed in episodic numerals to the series. But I can see them overlooking old Indy in that episode to make a film work.

Why would they have to? It's such a short period in Indy's life. Seemed like less than a day. As for one-eyed senior citizen Indy, well, I wouldn't mind seeing Indy lose an eye in INDY IV, though I seriously doubt that any of the three major players involved would allow that to happen on-screen.

As for the new creepy critters to plague Indy, well, I guess there could be a lot of scorpions in New Mexico. Or, to go old school, just some good ol' rattlesnakes.

Totally agreed.

Everyone knows that a patch-wearing Indiana would be pretty sweet. Some may try to convince themselves that it would not be, but that's just because a patch-wearing Indiana is a jelly for which the are unready.

As for creepy-crawlers, I think pigeons is the way to go. Right on!

Of the things that make a hero cool, a fedora and a whip are pretty badass. The only thing as cool or on par with such things are pirates! Well, an eye-patch just brings Indy into the next realm of super-bass-ness.

At Celebration III, when Lucas was speaking, he kept saying "the idea" is what made them want to do another Indy film. Well, in the previous scripts, that idea was lost. If an idea was that cool that made them want to do another Indy film, I'm glad they stuck to their guns and didn't just for forward and make the film for the sake of making another.

I think Indy IV is going to take over for my Star Wars fetish until the TV show starts to hit (if its good). Everyone has been asking me, "Jason, what are you going to look forward too now that Star Wars is done?" Indy IV bitches!

It looks as if it closer to happening:

"Variety reports that screenwriter Jeff Nathanson's scripts for Indiana Jones 4 and Rush Hour 3 are moving in opposite directions.

While the trade previously reported that Chris Tucker was expected to sign a $20 million deal which would fast-track New Line's Rush Hour 3, the actor ended up not doing so.

Meanwhile, Nathanson's draft for Indiana Jones 4 has apparently met with the approval of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. But before Paramount can move forward, Harrison Ford still has to sign off on the script, and he hasn't yet read it.

The trade adds that with "Star Wars" off his plate, Lucas recently summoned Nathanson to his Bay Area headquarters, where they went over the draft. The screenwriter also got notes from Spielberg, who brought him into the mix after working with him on Catch Me if You Can and Terminal.

Scheduling Indiana Jones 4 for a 2006 start will be tricky for Spielberg, who next heads to Europe to shoot his untitled drama about the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics for Universal and DreamWorks, and is expected to follow in January with a DreamWorks film about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, to star Liam Neeson. "

My own betting is that Speilberg will put the other films on hold to get Indy 4 done.
I doubt that Ford is gonna throw another monkey wrench into the works at this point.
he stands to make the payday of a life from this film.
Whether it will be any good or not is another story...

Cool, i´ve actually had the same idea.
HP Lovecraft used to write for pulp magazines and George Lucas based Indiana Jones on old pulp serials.
It would make sense to combine the two.
I wouldn´t mind seeing Cthulhu have his ass handed to him by Indiana Jones.(or vice-versa)

I meant the "Indy and Ry'leh" remark humorously.
I say this because I do not want to be lumped in with all the terrible ideas for Indy 4 that seem to be flooding the net as fan fiction is recylcled and snuck into discusions where they do not belong.
AINC has some ideas that you have to laugh at.
BTW Indy's young sidekick is, from all indications including several names being floated , is going be a she in her late teens...Scarlett Johannson was approached by Lucas, apparently.
I am betting she is gonna be either Indy's daughter or a Kid Sister that Jones, Sr, did not tell Indy about until the time of the film.
I hope it is the latter just for the look on Indy's face whenhe finds out he has a Kid Sister....or half Kid sister rather....

"I am betting she is gonna be either Indy's daughter"

If thats true, then you know they're gonna work one of the previous film's leading ladies in as the mother. Perhaps Marion shouldn't have had that drink with Jones after Raiders.

All I really want is a Short Round cameo. Not too keen on the AICN idea of him as a villain, but a brief cameo could be in order and relatively harmless.

"Sister! So . . . I have a kid sister."

If this one turns out to be the darkest of the series, then maybe Indy will share a private moment with his sister before Professor Henry Jones(,) Sr. divulges the whole truth (the revelation of which would result in a bloody pistol-and-whip (and pistol whip) massacré of all the Joneses (that's how Campbell would have wrapped things up, anyway. And Campbell would have stood for no less than the removal of both of Indy's eyes, Oedipus style [minus the whole brooch "gouging" thing]. What would Campbell stand for, now? It depends on the angle of the coffin, I suppose).

If "darkest" is measured in ratings or coffee spoons, that puts this one at either "R" or "espresso."

Big News!

I went to a big hollywood fundraiser last night that helped to raise money for the DNC. I am a member of the young democrats at my university and was lucky enough to be selected to attend. There were tons of celebs there one of which was the great Harrison Ford. Being a HUGE Indiana Jones fan I could not pass up the chance to talk to Mr. Ford. He is a great guy and took the time to talk to a loT of the students that attended.

Now for the big news. I asked him about the new Indiana Jones 4 script and he said that he was in the process of reading it. Then out of no where he dropped the biggest bombshell I could possibly imagine.

The working title of Indiana Jones 4 is.........

INDIANA JONES and the OPAL OF THE MER-MAN PRINCE

Sorry, don't buy it. For at least two reasons:

1) Rick McCallum's last semi-cryptic hint about INDY IV's status: "Watch the desert. Watch the skies."

2) I doubt Harrison Ford could even pronounce that title after 4:20 p.m. on any given day.

1. Hmmm..... misdirection much. We all know that Rick McCallum will lie when it suits him. And isn't it interesting that the desert and the sky are the polar opposite of the ocean.

2. I assure you that is what he said. I was just as suprised as you are. Also, are you trying to suggest that Harrison Ford is a Stoner?

Finally...Namor: The Submariner will have his day!!

Or Ford might just have been funning with you..something he has been known to do.
And it might have been the 2000 time he has been asked that at a party.

Man that's a horrible title, and I seriously doubt that is true. I instantly thought of Zoolander when I read that title...

"I just thank the Lord she didn't live to see her son as a mermaid. "

"Mer-man! *cough* Mer-man!"

You do, uh, realize he was fucking with you, right?

I just think it's weird when people wake up one morning, look themselves in the mirror and say, "I'm going to invent a rumor completely out of thin air just to see how much attention I get."