Indiana Jones and the Escape from Development Hell

September 21, 2006 10:41 AM

Chris Columbus's Indiana Jones and the Monkey King and Jeb Stuart's Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars are just two rejected sequel scripts for the Indiana Jones franchise. Tom Stoppard, Steven Gaghan, Jeffrey Boam, M. Night Shyamalan, and Frank Darabont each submitted treatments and scripts of their own, but Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (or, more probably, just George Lucas) swatted down every idea until finally Jeff Nathanson's concept was greenlighted--and even that's still being reworked by David Koepp. But with Harrison Ford now older than Sean Connery was in Last Crusade and Steven Spielberg still hobbled by other commitments, it's not clear that Indiana Jones 4 won't be just another false start. The only Indy movie that looks at all certain is the one that Daniel Clowes is making.
posted by Iridic (118 comments total)

Wasn't George Lucas' last three movies evidence that he wouldn't know a good script if it bit him in the ass?
posted by lemoncello at 10:51 AM on September 21, 2006

got enough imdb links, there?
posted by empath at 10:53 AM on September 21, 2006

as a huge Stoppard fan, I'd love to see his treatment. Darabont, too -- for all his schmaltzy instincts, he's one of the few big shot American screenwriters who don't routinely underestimate their audience's intelligence

Nathanson's credits, on the other hand, (Rush Hour 2? Speed "?) are frightening.

re: Ford. Since I read that he turned down The Thin Red Line for that Anne Heche vehicle, well, whatever.
posted by matteo at 10:55 AM on September 21, 2006

I figured if I was going to link to Jeb Stuart so people would know who the hell he was, consistency compelled me to do it for all. Besides, I'm just relieved that I was able to keep the Ain't It Cool links to an absolute minimum
posted by Iridic at 10:55 AM on September 21, 2006

Besides, I'm just relieved that I was able to keep the Ain't It Cool links to an absolute minimum

Good point.
posted by empath at 10:59 AM on September 21, 2006

Really looking forward to Indy 4. I must stay away from this thread so my optimism remains intact!
posted by chudmonkey at 11:01 AM on September 21, 2006

He turned down The Thin Red Line? Yea well... makes sense in light of his (horrific) end-of-career choices.
posted by basicchannel at 11:01 AM on September 21, 2006

Let me guess: Indy and a comical computer generated sidekick are hired by Orson Welles to recover the original print of "Citizen Kane" so that new material can be edited into the film for a forthcoming re-release.
posted by StarForce5 at 11:13 AM on September 21, 2006

"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes . . . ON A PLANE!"
posted by brain_drain at 11:19 AM on September 21, 2006 [2 favorites]

He turned down The Thin Red Line?

Nick Nolte, of all people, had better sense.

the "rosy-fingered dawn" speech versus Six Days Seven Nights? what kind of an actor thinks like that? how many dozens of millions dollars one needs?
posted by matteo at 11:20 AM on September 21, 2006

Didn't some kids already do a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders?
posted by NationalKato at 11:23 AM on September 21, 2006

Correct, NationalKato. (It was discussed here). Clowes is doing the authorized version of their story.
posted by Iridic at 11:25 AM on September 21, 2006

Oh my god, the guy who wrote The Terminal was Harrison's getting a little old. And I can't imagine another actor doing Indy justice (a la the James Bond franchise). There's no one like Harrison Ford back in the day.
posted by witchstone at 11:25 AM on September 21, 2006

Didn't some kids already do a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders?

Uh, yeah. That's the inspiration for the Clowes film. A movie about the making of the shot-for-shot remaking of the original movie. MetaCinemaVerite.
posted by shoepal at 11:28 AM on September 21, 2006

It would be awesome if M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed. I don't mean it would be an awesome movie, just the concept...

INDY:
I... I don't know what to do.

WONDERFUL MAGICAL ETHNIC PERSON:
There's nothing left for you to do now, Dr. Jones.

INDY:
Who are you? How did you get in here?

WONDERFUL MAGICAL ETHNIC PERSON (wryly):
I have always been here.

INDY:
Yes...

SFX:
Room tone

...and so forth for 140 mins. or so.
posted by Mister_A at 11:30 AM on September 21, 2006

I'd like to see an Indiana Jones script written by David Mamet.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:30 AM on September 21, 2006

I'd like to see an Indiana Jones script written by David Mamet.

With Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Indy. Awesome.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 11:31 AM on September 21, 2006

If this thing turns into a Bond-like series, I'd love to see a new Indy. How about Matt Damon?
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 11:32 AM on September 21, 2006

. . . or sure, Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 11:32 AM on September 21, 2006

What is happening to my comments? Words are going missing between preview and post. Let's see if it happens again.
posted by witchstone at 11:35 AM on September 21, 2006

Mister_A, don't forget the twisty revelation at the end that Indy is actually a cultish dead superhero alien who is vulnerable to water.
posted by brain_drain at 11:39 AM on September 21, 2006

Is it just me, or does the first part of that Chris Columbus screenplay read like a damn episode of Scooby Doo?
posted by BobFrapples at 11:46 AM on September 21, 2006

As a huge fan of the franchise I'm sorta terrified that they thought Nathanson's script was the best one. My hope is that it had some clever ideas worth keeping but they dump the rest and let Koepp make everything work. Particularly the dialogue.

That said, I agree with matteo. I want to read the Stoppard treatment. They guy just has an honest talent. Though based on his obvious love of the subject, I'm guessing it has Indy chasing down something to do with Shakespeare.

Personally, I always thought that if they did another movie, a great way of dealing with Ford's age would have been to put him more into the kind of roll that Connery played in the last one and bring back the (now adult) Short Round character to do the heavy lifting in the action work. This would work particularly well in that the Kung-Fu genera has really taken off since the first three films.

And who would play Short Round? Jet Li would be my first choice, but Stephen Chow could be an inspired alternative.
posted by quin at 11:50 AM on September 21, 2006

He turned down The Thin Red Line? Yea well... makes sense in light of his (horrific) end-of-career choices.

A lot of big actors who did go for that film had there roles reduced to cameos or cut completely, for individual actors the roles were often forgettable and not exactly career defining. Unfortunately in hindsight the Nolte part turned out to be good.
posted by bobo123 at 11:55 AM on September 21, 2006

That Daniel Clowes project sounds a little too close to Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind.
posted by fungible at 11:58 AM on September 21, 2006

I'll believe in another Indiana Jones movie when I'm in the theater with the Paramount logo on the big screen in front of me.
posted by Lord Kinbote at 11:58 AM on September 21, 2006 [1 favorite]

Stoppard supposedly did some uncredited rewrites on the Last Crusade script. Shame he didn't get the job for Indy 4, as The Last Crusade was fantastic.
posted by zsazsa at 12:00 PM on September 21, 2006

I just hope that in Indy 4 he finally loses that damn eye.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 12:01 PM on September 21, 2006

Didn't some kids already do a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders?

Correct, NationalKato. (It was discussed here). Clowes is doing the authorized version of their story

Does anyone have a link to that? The original post link is dead.
posted by Kwine at 12:02 PM on September 21, 2006

Okay, seriously... Ford is too old to be "Jones in his prime" again, so who would do nicely as a new Jones?

Don't crucify me for this but... maybe Clooney?
posted by BobFrapples at 12:04 PM on September 21, 2006

The Monkey King was halfway enjoyable until stumbling across this gem of dialogue:
INDIANA
Do you value our friendship, Mac?

MACGOWAN
More than me' nightly pint.

INDIANA
Then this better not be some wild
goose chase...

MACGOWAN
T'ain't wild geese we're after,
Doctor Jones. You got me' word on
that...
(sincere)
...and a MacGowan's word is truer
than an angel's kiss!


Breathtakingly bad! Though I suppose the first two scripts probably look pretty hokey on paper. And are there really aliens in the other one? (just started it--fun so far but the use of PIRATES is a little distracting)
posted by my homunculus is drowning at 12:07 PM on September 21, 2006

I can't help but hope that the working title of Indy 4 liosted at IMDB, "Indiana Jones and the Ravages of Time", is a jab at Ford and Connery's age.
posted by saraswati at 12:08 PM on September 21, 2006

But with Harrison Ford now older than Sean Connery was in Last Crusade...

Am I the only one here who thinks that it would be better to just get a new actor to play Indy? I know it's hard for fans to think of anyone other than Ford as the man in the fedora, but it worked for Bond. And Indiana Jones is sort of a Bond-like character. It beats forcing the writers to come up with some contrived reason for getting around Harrison Ford's age anyway.
posted by magodesky at 12:09 PM on September 21, 2006

Y'know, the more I think about....PS Hoffman might just be able to pull that one off....
posted by pax digita at 12:11 PM on September 21, 2006

What about John Cusack?

"Indiana Jones and the Bumbling Love Affair"?
posted by BobFrapples at 12:12 PM on September 21, 2006

Or just get River Phoenix to reprise his...oh, wait a second. Never mind.
posted by NationalKato at 12:13 PM on September 21, 2006 [1 favorite]

Mister_A, that made me LOL (extremely rare, believe me).

Also: Stephen Chow would be awesome, yes. And PSH.
posted by stinkycheese at 12:17 PM on September 21, 2006

Replacing Connery didn't really work with Bond until Brosnan came along. Also, there is less disconnect in doing that with Bond is a codename or whatever that can be assigned to the whoever is the 007 agent, whereas Indiana is the character's actual name. I would like to see the Indiana Jones franchise continue, and would accept a new actor for that, but they'd have to nail it right off the bat, and I'd much prefer an unknown to someone I recognise from elsewhere.
posted by -harlequin- at 12:21 PM on September 21, 2006

Stoppard supposedly did some uncredited rewrites on the Last Crusade script. Shame he didn't get the job for Indy 4, as The Last Crusade was fantastic.

I rewatched that recently – if you're not sold on the Indy mythology from the outset, there's nothing there. I rewatched it recently and found it to be most hollow. That movie is just a chain of action sequences and no plot. And it's not the first time I've been disappointed by a Stoppard effort.

I really think that Paramount just needs to pull away from George Lucas on the Indy franchise, just as they're pulling 'Mission:Impossible' away from Tom Cruise.
posted by vhsiv at 12:23 PM on September 21, 2006

I have no problem with Ford's age. What is the problem? That he is too old to be performing physical feats that no one alive can possibly perform? Action movie stunts are generally impossible to pull off individually, much less one after the other. What is really the difference if the stunts are being done by a buff Tom Cruise or Nell Carter?
posted by flarbuse at 12:24 PM on September 21, 2006

magodesky ...

I saw Harrison Ford not all that long ago. He's in remarkable shape and easily has another Indy movie in him.
posted by RavinDave at 12:24 PM on September 21, 2006

Indiana Jones 4 already came out. It was called Sahara, and Indy was played by Matthew McConnaughey. Marion was played by Selma Hayek, and Shortround was played by Steve Whatever his name is.
posted by poppo at 12:26 PM on September 21, 2006

And with the collapse of Lady In the Water Shyalaman may be willing to take a little instruction.

He might be a good fit for the franchise as long as he doesn't get to write.
posted by vhsiv at 12:30 PM on September 21, 2006

Indiana Jones just hasn't been the same he got shot in the head at the convienence store.
posted by srboisvert at 12:32 PM on September 21, 2006 [2 favorites]

"Get the hell off my plane!"
posted by stinkycheese at 12:35 PM on September 21, 2006

Sahara was based on a book, from a series of books about the characters, right? Are they making any more movies with those characters?
posted by -harlequin- at 12:36 PM on September 21, 2006

I don't actually know. I haven't even seen it. It just seemed so obvious.
posted by poppo at 12:37 PM on September 21, 2006

I like it whenever Shyamalan gets rejected.
posted by thirteenkiller at 12:38 PM on September 21, 2006

Thanks for the love, stinkycheese ! And let me lend my voice to the chorus of (presumably) olden folks that say you gots to have Harrison Ford playin' Indy. Even tho he is a bit of a nutter these days.
posted by Mister_A at 12:40 PM on September 21, 2006

Did some googling, it doesn't sound like a sahara sequel is underway yet, but that there is a fair chance something will happen.

(I liked Sahara - kind of what Indianna Jones might be if it were set in modern-day).
posted by -harlequin- at 12:43 PM on September 21, 2006

I so badly -- so, so badly -- want to see Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men From Mars that it makes my heart ache.

At the same time, I remember how the follow-ups to that other beloved trilogy of my youth turned out, and that, too, makes my heart ache. You can't go home again.
posted by Joey Bagels at 12:46 PM on September 21, 2006

I like it whenever Shyamalan gets rejected.

I do too, but he's got some skills and it might be nice to let him up for air every once and a while.

As I said – as long as he doesn't get to write.
posted by vhsiv at 12:48 PM on September 21, 2006

They're all just ripping off Fritz Lang.
posted by muckster at 12:49 PM on September 21, 2006

Sahara's a lot of fun, and there are plenty of other Dirk Pitt novels to adapt. The only stumbling block would be that Clive Cussler didn't like the job Eisner did on Sahara. Apparently he thinks the character of Pitt has to be in his 50s and have no sense of humor.

Also, I think Thomas Jane would make a good Indy.
posted by brundlefly at 12:52 PM on September 21, 2006

I think Thomas Jane would make a good Indy.

SNAP! And it might keep him from making any more Punisher movies.
posted by vhsiv at 12:59 PM on September 21, 2006

Selected quotes from Indiana Jones 4: The Quest for an Early Bird Special Under $2.95 That Includes Juice:

[After dodging boulder]
"Well, at least that wasn't as painful as the last time I passed a stone... "
***"Snakes?!? I hate snakes! ...I think. Snarks? No... snorks? Snacks... naw, I love those digestive cookies. Must be snakes. Gotta be- Snakes?!? I hate snakes! ..."
***"No time for love, Dr. Jones!"
"You don't have to tell me, Shorty, those damn pills take 3 hours to kick in... "
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:02 PM on September 21, 2006

They should make some elegiac Indy film with Jones dying at the end. With Nazis.
posted by Falconetti at 1:04 PM on September 21, 2006

I hope Spielberg's Lincoln movie includes the broadswords in a pit incident.
posted by homunculus at 1:16 PM on September 21, 2006

Indiana Jones 4 already came out. It was called Sahara, and Indy was played by Matthew McConnaughey. Marion was played by Selma Hayek, and Shortround was played by Steve Whatever his name is.

poppo. I agree with your sentiment completely, but I have to make a couple of corrections: It wasn't Selma Hayek it was Penélope Cruz and the actor you are drawing a blank on is Steve Zahn, who is fantastic in nearly every movie he works in.

Sahara may actually be my favorite adventure movie that isn't Raiders of the Lost Ark. Everything in it just worked for me. Hell, it was so good that it made me stop disliking Penélope Cruz (who was tainted for me by her history with Tom Cruise).

I think my favorite movie reviewer said it best

"And the upshot is that Sahara might actually be worthy of licking the boots of Raiders of the Lost Ark."
posted by quin at 1:19 PM on September 21, 2006

"And if you think that's bad.."
Spielberg has said what the project after Indy 4 is.



Jurassic Park...4.
posted by Cyclopsis Raptor at 1:22 PM on September 21, 2006

Yeah, but it sounds wonderfully ridiculous. Scroll down to "REVIEW STARTS HERE."
posted by brundlefly at 1:31 PM on September 21, 2006

Flick Philosopher's good, Quin, but she's been replaced in my weekly browsing by Vern, a purported ex-con trying to make good. His take on Mission: Impossible 3 was the one of the funnier reviews I've ever read.
posted by Iridic at 1:33 PM on September 21, 2006

Hugh Jackman
posted by Flashman at 1:44 PM on September 21, 2006

Replacing Connery didn't really work with Bond until Brosnan came along.

You what?
posted by Mocata at 1:49 PM on September 21, 2006

Oh cripes, now Spielberg's making a Lincoln movie? I wish he'd give up this stultifying quest to Tell the World's True Story.
posted by ktoad at 1:50 PM on September 21, 2006

I thought Brendan Fraser already played Indiana Jones in two movies?
posted by Lord Kinbote at 1:57 PM on September 21, 2006

Oh, man, brundlefly. That Jurassic Park 4 idea is brilliantly insane. I'm so there.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:59 PM on September 21, 2006

Holy crap, homunculus, that Lincoln story just made my day.

Me, I'm more interested in seeing Sean Connery reprise his role killing Nazis in a bumbling fashion. Or, y'know, in the pit.
posted by Corey Feldman and the Goatse National Orchestra at 2:00 PM on September 21, 2006

Mocata: ??? Are you saying there was a Bond actor that wasn't completely dwarfed by Connery's Bond? Or are you saying that Brosnan was just as dwarfed as the rest of them? Or that Connery was an overrated hack? :)
posted by -harlequin- at 2:17 PM on September 21, 2006

Isn't Indiana Jones immortal now anyway, after drinking from the grail at the end of Crusade?
posted by gsteff at 2:22 PM on September 21, 2006

Grail Knight at the end of 'Crusade'...
"But you cannot pass beyond the great seal. That is the boundry, and the price off imortality."

So, no. Not immortal

[/ indygeek]
posted by stumcg at 2:46 PM on September 21, 2006

gsteff:

"Indiana Jones and the Neo-neo-Nazis of WWIV"
posted by -harlequin- at 2:46 PM on September 21, 2006

"Indiana Jones and the Search for WMDs"
posted by StarForce5 at 2:58 PM on September 21, 2006

OP: But with Harrison Ford now older than Sean Connery was in Last Crusade

Am I really the first to point out that Harrison Ford was born in 1942, and Sean Connery was born in 1930, and IJATLC came out in 1989, and it's currently 2006. So... unless my math is funky, Sean Connery was 59 when IJATLC came out, and Harrison Ford is 54 now, and would be 56 if the IJ4 comes out in 2008. So uh... I think you're wrong.
posted by hincandenza at 2:58 PM on September 21, 2006

No time for love Dr. Jones!
posted by bardic at 2:59 PM on September 21, 2006

2006 -1942=64
64 > 59
posted by Iridic at 3:08 PM on September 21, 2006

OT re: Bond, Moore really did quite well, unless you count constant dollars. Before Goldeneye, the most successful 007 movie was Moonraker. And it's a canard that Dalton's movies were flops, they just didn't reinvigorate the franchise (and the hiatus had nothing to do with box office).

I think Ford still "has it" but then he hasn't been in a really decent movie in a while either. The main strength he has is that Indiana Jones was ... written around his strengths. (Yes, I know it was originally written for Selleck. But Ford and Selleck have similar strengths.) I'm not sure who else can really do that action with self-deprecation quite as well. OK, Bruce Willis, but he's ancient now too. And he's too cynical and ironic.

Brendan Fraser did OK with the basic model. It's sort of a genre now, isn't it?
posted by dhartung at 3:10 PM on September 21, 2006

Isn't Indiana Jones immortal now anyway, after drinking from the grail at the end of Crusade?

But the grail cannot pass beyond the Great Seal. That is the boundary, and the price, of immortality.
posted by Krrrlson at 3:12 PM on September 21, 2006

Iridic, You were not wrong, Vern's reviews are great. Thanks for bringing him to my attention.
posted by quin at 3:13 PM on September 21, 2006

And who would play Short Round? Jet Li would be my first choice

Submitted for your approval: the fact that Jonathan Quan (Short Round) was a stunt co-ordinator for the Jet Li flick The One.

Whooeeeooo.
posted by Sparx at 3:16 PM on September 21, 2006

Please make a new original film Hollywood. Not another shithouse sequel.
posted by asok at 3:39 PM on September 21, 2006

The point no one's made is that Ford is now so much older that they'll kind of HAVE to set the film in a much later era than the 1940s. If you go by real age (which they certainly fudged with the prequels, but that was a long time ago), we're talking late '60s here. Which means that Indy's quest would, of course, be to ... keep the Beatles from breaking up?
... prevent the Six-Day War?
... fight those Neo-Nazis from the Blues Brothers?
posted by rikschell at 3:41 PM on September 21, 2006

Nathan Fillion would make a great Indy.
posted by prolific at 3:42 PM on September 21, 2006

That Jurassic Park 4 idea is brilliantly insane.

Will it have Bea Arthur? Please let it have Bea Arthur.

Or if it can't have Bea Arthur, can it at least have Betty White cursing the dinosaurs to death?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:13 PM on September 21, 2006

Weren't the Indy movies always more adult than the Star Wars trio? I was in grade school when the first (er, "fourth") Star Wars came out, and utterly bored of it all by high school when the Pile 'o Shit ewok thing was released. But the Raiders movies were great all the way to adulthood and are still terrific. (I even drunkenly enjoyed the middle Indy movie on TV a few months ago; pissed-off righteous Indy was pretty awesome: Show some respect and eat the bug brains, bitch. These people are starving.)

It was Kasdan who wrote the original, right? That guy did some fine neo-noir dialogue.

Anyway, Clint Eastwood is 15 or 20 years older than Ford and still plays credible tough guys. Plus, Indy was always beat up and sore and limping around. You could get some good laughs showing him suffering through whatever torture in his late 50s. "It's not the years, it's the mileage," indeed.

I was hoping the Berlin Wall would be involved. Like, Indy leaves the Magic Whatzit in a basement of a Berlin apartment, and he comes back to get it and the Wall has run right over it. Plus, Checkpoint Charlie. And a scene in Hamburg, making a deal with some shady boat captain, in a bar. With the Beatles playing. Just torture him with the modern world. Because now the Nazis are in America, running the space program, and then they kill Kennedy with a ... magic bullet.
posted by kenlayne at 4:23 PM on September 21, 2006

rikschell: Exactly!

"Which means that Indy's quest would, of course, be to ... keep the Beatles from breaking up?
... prevent the Six-Day War?
... fight those Neo-Nazis from the Blues Brothers?."
posted by kenlayne at 4:24 PM on September 21, 2006

M. Night Shyamalan? That would have been intresting.
posted by delmoi at 4:35 PM on September 21, 2006

"Sharks. Why'd it have to be sharks with frickin' lasers in their eyes?"
posted by blue_beetle at 4:39 PM on September 21, 2006

Indy's quest, actually, would be to break up the Beatles. To save us from a world gone mad!
posted by cortex at 4:48 PM on September 21, 2006

Indy's quest, actually, would be to break up the Beatles.

To that end, he willingly submits to gender-reassignment and race-reassignment surgery...
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 5:23 PM on September 21, 2006

"'Yoko Ono'? Are you kidding me, India—"

"Who is Indiana? My name is...Yoko."

"Seriously, Jones, that's the stupidest code name I've ever heard."
posted by cortex at 5:42 PM on September 21, 2006

prolific writes "Nathan Fillion would make a great Indy."

Seconded.
posted by brundlefly at 7:03 PM on September 21, 2006

Thirded!
posted by EarBucket at 7:37 PM on September 21, 2006

It seems I've been hearing about an Indiana Jones 4 movie for over a decade now and I'm just plain sick of it. I'm a huge fan of the three that have been released as I think it's a great adventure series in the same vein as Bond. As far as I'm concerned at this point Lucas missed the boat by f'ing up and not greenlighting SOMETHING. It's not freaking rocket science and it's not the greatest cinema ever created some I'm puzzled about any hesitation to create something new. It's just good fun and Lucas ruined what could have been a long running franchise (with new actors stepping up as Indy (just like in Bond)) by pussyfooting around.
posted by jasenlee at 7:53 PM on September 21, 2006

Clowes is doing the authorized version of their story.

Which is, IMHO, lame. The details of the story make a great story, but that's it. They most certainly do not make a good movie.

On the other hand, the actual movie they made, now that was a good movie. There's a promo clip of it that was going around back when it played at some Austin film festival (can't remember the details exactly). The clip was the part of the movie at the beginning when Indy is being chased out of the temple by the huge rolling boulder. The background music was Four Ton Mantis, by Amon Tobin. It is Cool. As. Fuck.

I would actually pay money to watch that in a theater. Fifteen bucks for tickets and another ten for a coke? Sure, anything you say. Sadly, they were cowered into not releasing it by fanciful talk of including it as a bonus feature on the DVD release. That, and the threat of a thousand lawyers of Hades descending upon them.

Still can't believe there's not a copy out there... somewhere!
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:03 PM on September 21, 2006

Holy crap I think I found it.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:22 PM on September 21, 2006

You can see it in a theater. I saw it in Sydney six months ago. The rule apparently is that the filmmakers themselves have to travel with the print and give a talk, so the screening ends up being more of a "special event". At least, that's what the director said. They've got some great stories about the production, and man, they had the best parents ever.
posted by web-goddess at 9:05 PM on September 21, 2006

By all means, share the wealth C_D. That film sounds pretty cool.

Nathan Fillion would make a great Indy.
posted by prolific at 3:42 PM PST on September 21 [+] [!]

Fourth'd! I was struggling to think of an actor that would be a good Indy, but Fillion is perfect. The man has the right sort of...hmm, I can't really think of the proper term for it, a charisma that's mixed with vunerablity and humor. Basically the same sort of charisma that originally made Ford so appealing in the role If Fillion plays his cards right and gets cast in some good movies the guy could very well be the next Harrison Ford, regardless.

The Indiana Jones movies are one of the few films series where I honestly don't mind that they keep making more films of. Maybe the fact that the films and the character were inspired by pulp novels has something to do with it. I just don't have the "omg! Childhood ruined!" reaction to the thought of expanding the series. (even though the films played a huge part in my life growing up) I just loved the sense of adventure and fun that they had, and I'd love nothing more than to see more period adventures flicks like it and to have the films continue on in a Bond-like manner.

That said, I'd prefer it if the franchise continued with a younger actor than Ford. I know that he has his defenders here, but I think that he really is too old for the part. I don't have much in the way of hopes for the fourth film, though. Partly because of Lucas' involvement and partly because of the insistence in casting Ford. I know that restarts seem to be the in thing for franchises at the moment, but I think it would really be the best thing for the series if people want to keep it going. :>

Btw, did anyone else read the comics? I know that Darkhorse put out some good ones in the 90s. I wonder if they've been printed in any collections.
posted by kosher_jenny at 9:05 PM on September 21, 2006

magodesky ...

I saw Harrison Ford not all that long ago. He's in remarkable shape and easily has another Indy movie in him.

Sure, Ford still can do action movies, obviously. But do we really want him to play Indy again? A 65-year-old archaeologist running around the world fighting bad guys rather stretches credibility, even by Indiana Jones standards. And besides, they'd have to move the timeframe up considerably to explain the age difference. Like to the 1950s, or even the early 1960s. It just seems so un-Indy-ish. And it also means no Nazis. They tried doing an Indy movie sans-Nazis before. And, in my opinion, Temple of Doom is definitely the weak link in the trilogy.
posted by magodesky at 9:07 PM on September 21, 2006

Indiana Jones and the Red Menace
Indiana Jones and Cubans of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Curse of Monkey Island
posted by blue_beetle at 9:10 PM on September 21, 2006

torrent?
posted by now i'm piste at 9:27 PM on September 21, 2006

Indiana Jones and the Confounding Windows XP Error
posted by kenlayne at 9:28 PM on September 21, 2006

Fourth'd! I was struggling to think of an actor that would be a good Indy, but Fillion is perfect. The man has the right sort of...hmm, I can't really think of the proper term for it, a charisma that's mixed with vunerablity and humor. Basically the same sort of charisma that originally made Ford so appealing in the role If Fillion plays his cards right and gets cast in some good movies the guy could very well be the next Harrison Ford, regardless.

I think it's the impression they both give (in their respective movies) that they'd be happy to win a gun vs sword fight without worrying about honour and crap like that, and still come off looking good.

That said, I don't think Indiana Jones is a character like James Bond where you can replace the actor and keep going. However: the style of movie, that is the aping of 1930's serials, is fully duplicatable with new characters.

I wouldn't like to watch Nathan Fillion as Indiana Jones but I would like to see him as Nevada Smith, if that makes sense.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 9:31 PM on September 21, 2006

And it also means no Nazis.

Don't be silly. Do you know how many places there are for Nazis to hide?
posted by Krrrlson at 9:34 PM on September 21, 2006

That said, I don't think Indiana Jones is a character like James Bond where you can replace the actor and keep going. However: the style of movie, that is the aping of 1930's serials, is fully duplicatable with new characters.

I wouldn't like to watch Nathan Fillion as Indiana Jones but I would like to see him as Nevada Smith, if that makes sense.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 9:31 PM PST on September 21 [+] [!]

No, I get what you're saying. I'd love to see more movies that are based around that pulpy 30's adventure serial format, or at least have that feel to them. The Mummy remake with Brendan Fraser was very good in that regard, though the sequel really wasn't that great. And it looks like I'll have to give Sahara a try, even though I really don't like Matthew McConaughey. I think Fillion would be a great fit in those sort of adventure films.

Like to the 1950s, or even the early 1960s. It just seems so un-Indy-ish. And it also means no Nazis. They tried doing an Indy movie sans-Nazis before.

Not necessarily. I always figured that if they wanted to do a post-WWII Indy movie that it would be set in Central or South America and have the Jones boys dealing with a band of renegade Nazis and some Aztec/Incan supernatural weirdness.
posted by kosher_jenny at 9:46 PM on September 21, 2006

I'd consider Matthew Fox, (Dr Jack on LOST), before Fillion. Josh Lucas is another actor that can play in such an anytime manner.
posted by geekyguy at 10:44 PM on September 21, 2006

Yes, I know it was originally written for Selleck.

W.

T.

F.

*shakes head. rights world*
Make that a fifth on Fillion.
Harrison Ford was too old in Clear and Present Danger to be doing the bullet-dodging and -- do I remember this right? -- machine-gun handling that he was doing.
posted by dreamsign at 1:34 AM on September 22, 2006

kosher_jenny writes "I always figured that if they wanted to do a post-WWII Indy movie that it would be set in Central or South America and have the Jones boys dealing with a band of renegade Nazis and some Aztec/Incan supernatural weirdness."

Indiana Jones and the Odessa File? I like it!
posted by brundlefly at 2:31 AM on September 22, 2006

By all means, share the wealth C_D. That film sounds pretty cool.

I had to finish downloading it and watch some to verify that it's indeed the correct film. All I can say is... wow! The sound's not all-that-great, but the special effects are remarkable for a "bunch of kids."
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:38 AM on September 22, 2006

C_D, you wanna seed that? There are no full copies being seeded right now.
posted by kenko at 9:41 AM on September 23, 2006

Sure thing. Gimme a couple of minutes. Also, keep in mind that my connection is ASS SLOW. But it's worth it.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 4:56 PM on September 23, 2006

The next Indiana Jones? No question: Hugh Jackman
posted by djfiander at 6:03 PM on September 23, 2006

I had the misfortune to watch Sahara last week. Yes, you can immediately draw parallels toward Indiana Jones. However, it's an absolutely awful film - and how anyone can say it's anywhere near good enough to be mentioned in the same breath as the Indy trilogy is beyond me.

Quin : Just what did you think was good about it? I'd be interested to know how you managed to gain any enjoyment out of it at all.
posted by StuMiller at 2:26 AM on September 25, 2006

StuMiller, it's tough to nail down the specific ingredient they used that made it work, but I'll try.

First, I really liked the interplay between the characters. The action is fine and all, but in this day and age, action is pretty easy. Getting good chemistry is much harder. For example, the scene when they are being pursued by the African soldier's patrol boat and William H. Macy, over the satalite phone, is trying to find out what is going on, and then desperately yelling not to do a 'Panama' only to be met with static is funny. The scene that follows it where McConnaughey explains that 'It didn't really work the first time' is even funnier.

I also loved that Steve Zahn's character wasn't relegated to a sidekick roll. He is just as competent as McConnaughey. Usually a sidekick is only good for comic relief and once or twice to do something to help the hero, here we have Zahn repeatedly saving the day.

Finally, and to me most importantly, the dialogue. I loved the dialogue in this movie.

"No man, African war-zone, ship of death" delivered with a thumbs up and serious false enthusiasm is funny.

And upon finding the wreckage of a World War I biplane as a possible means of escape: "I don't want to rain on your crazy parade, but I don't think we can fix it" delivered in a complete deadpan just puts me in stitches every time.

I guess it's the humor that really worked for me. Many people don't think of it anymore, but Radiers had some great comedic scenes. It was also a brilliant action movie. Nowadays, we seem to get one or the other, and only occasionally we get movies that succeed in both. The first Mummy movie did it, and in my opinion so did Sahara.

Humor is subjective. And if you didn't find the movie funny, you aren't going to like it. But I would wholeheartedly encourage you to give it another chance.
posted by quin at 10:31 AM on September 25, 2006

I second quin - action scenes these days are all done to a fair standard in all films (it's been nearly ten years since any film had anything to contribute in terms of action sequences (The Matrix in 1998)), action sequences Just Don't Do It, for any movie, but the humour in the character interactions was the heart of Sahara.
posted by -harlequin- at 11:55 AM on September 25, 2006

I third quin. That flick had me stiches. Also, I did enjoy the action in Sahara, simply because it was a little bit old fashioned. Not a lot of jiggly camerawork and MTV editing. Not bullet time, either, thank God.
posted by brundlefly at 1:53 PM on September 25, 2006

Quin (and others) :

Fair enough. Horses for courses, I guess. I completely agree about the humour being an important element in Raiders, and in all the Indy films. They wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well without the humour.

Some things I didn't like that I can remember off hand. Dirk Pitt as a character. Quite how Cussler managed to think that such an utterly cliched creation was a good idea, I don't know. But doing this, and then naming him Dirk Pitt? Excelled himself there. And using a WWI biplane as a sand yacht? Oh dear.

I'm sure I could think of more.

As you say though, humour is subjective, and I didn't find Sahara at all funny. I did find it rather stupid, marginally irritating and at times quite boring. So I didn't enjoy it. But that's not to say that other people have to have the same opinion.

Thanks for the comments though. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one!
posted by StuMiller at 12:47 AM on September 26, 2006

StuMiller, you're right. Dirk Pitt is an utterly cliched creation. A wonderfully cliched creation. That's why I love those books. They're just so goofy. My favorite moment is in Inca Gold, when Cussler describes a female character as having "an hourglass figure, with an extra 20 minutes for good measure." Incredibly goofy shit.

The movie took a bit of that ridiculous stuff out, and replaced it with goofy one liners. Which totally worked in my opinion. The movie and the novel are both pulp fun, which is what the Indy flicks drew from in the first place. Don't get me wrong, the Indiana Jones films are superior to Sahara in just about every way. That can be said about most movies, because the Indy movies were freakin' brilliant. That doesn't keep me from digging Sahara, though. It's not something to write home about, but I had a grin on my face the entire way through.

As far as big Hollywood summer movies, we need more Saharas and fewer Fast and the Furiouses (Fast and the Furiousi?).
posted by brundlefly at 1:12 AM on September 26, 2006