Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 adventure film. It is the fourth Indiana Jones film and the twenty-sixth chronologically in the character’s film and television appearances. It is directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas and stars Harrison Ford in the title role. It also stars Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, John Hurt and Karen Allen. Set in 1957, the film centers around the mysterious crystal skulls, and pits Indiana Jones against agents of the Soviet Union.
The film was in development hell since the 1989 release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, because Spielberg, Lucas and Ford wanted the best script possible. Screenwriters Jeb Stuart, Jeffrey Boam, M. Night Shyamalan, Frank Darabont and Jeff Nathanson wrote drafts, before a script by David Koepp satisfied all three men in 2006. Shooting finally commenced on June 18, 2007, and took place at locations in New Mexico, New Haven, Connecticut, Hawaii and soundstages in Los Angeles. In order to keep aesthetic continuity with the previous films, there will be minimal use of computer generated imagery and more of a reliance on traditional stuntwork, with Ford performing many of his own stunts. The film is due for release on May 22, 2008.
During the late 1970s, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made a deal with Paramount Pictures for five films about archaeologist Indiana Jones. Following the theatrical release of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, Lucas let the series end as he felt he could not think of a good plot device to drive the next installment. Lucas stated that he became fascinated with crystal skulls while producing The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in 1992. He feels that as a plot device, the skulls are as strong as the Ark of the Covenant. Spielberg and Harrison Ford balked as they found the concept of the crystal skulls was too similar to the previous films, and two years were spent reworking it into something more acceptable. Spielberg wanted to make the film because it was a chance to reunite with Lucas and Ford, as well as to please his children and the Indiana Jones fan base.
Writing
In 1992, Jeb Stuart was hired to write a screenplay. In 1995, Lucas called Last Crusade writer Jeffrey Boam back to pen another draft. M. Night Shyamalan was hired as Boam’s replacement for an intended 2002 shoot, but he left because of what Ford described as “the failure of George and Steven to attend to him.” Shyamalan was overwhelmed writing a sequel to a film he loved like Raiders of the Lost Ark, and admitted it was difficult to get Ford, Spielberg, and Lucas to focus. Lucas admitted he would not be able to give the project his full attention until he completed the final Star Wars film in 2005. Afterwards, Stephen Gaghan and Tom Stoppard were approached to write a new screenplay.
With a title already planned, Frank Darabont, who wrote several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, was hired in May 2002 to write. Darabont’s screenplay was set in the 1950s, after the demise of the Nazi regime, and featured cameos from Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). It did not have Jones’ son. In December 2002, Spielberg said he planned to shoot two films before filming Indiana Jones 4 in 2004 for a 2005 release. He also dismissed the possibility of shooting it digitally. In February 2004, Lucas rejected the draft for reasons unknown, although Spielberg called this version the best screenplay since Raiders of the Lost Ark.
script was handed over to David Koepp. As 2006 began, Harrison Ford declared that if the film was not made by 2008, then the filmmakers should drop the idea altogether. Spielberg confirmed Indiana Jones 4 as his next film, calling it “the sweet dessert I give those who had to chow down on the bitter herbs that I’ve used in Munich”. Koepp tried not to make his work a “fan script”, in that he hoped to avoid any trivial references to the previous films, saying “That’s tempting, because you’ve seen the movie a hundred times and you know all the dialogue, but no human being remembers exactly what they said 25 years ago word for word, much less make reference to it. So you try to put aside the other movies and yet be in the spirit of them.” He also noted the story would have to acknowledge Ford/Indiana’s age.
Filming
On December 29, 2006, Lucas confirmed that he, Spielberg and Koepp finished the script, and that Indiana Jones 4 would commence filming in 2007. Filming began on June 18, 2007 at Deming, New Mexico, for scenes set in Morocco. An extensive chase scene was filmed between June 28-July 7 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, which doubled as Indiana Jones’ Marshall College. They moved to Hawaii, shooting twenty percent of the film for three weeks on private property, keeping production secretive. Hawaii stands in for a South American rainforest. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the biggest film shot in Hawaii since Waterworld, and will generate $22 million to $45 million in the local economy. Half the film was scheduled to shoot on soundstages at Los Angeles. These included Downey, California. Filming moved to Chandler Field in Fresno, California, substituting for Mexico City International Airport, on October 11, 2007. After shooting aerial shots of Chandler Airport and a DC-3 on the morning of October 12, 2007, filming wrapped.
Effects
Producer Frank Marshall stated in 2003 that the film would not rely on CGI; it would instead use traditional special effects and stuntwork so as to be consistent with the previous films. He reiterated this in 2006. During filming, Spielberg anticipated “30%” of visual effects would be CGI, for elements such as backdrops. With Ford performing many of his stunts, Spielberg stated he could not tell the difference between Ford during the shoots for Last Crusade and Crystal Skull. While shooting War of the Worlds in late 2004, Spielberg met with stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, who doubled for Ford in the previous films, to discuss three action sequences he had envisioned. However, Armstrong was filming The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor during shooting of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so Dan Bradley was hired in his stead. Ben Burtt, who served as sound designer for the previous films and was an editor and director on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, will not work on this film, as he left Lucasfilm in 2005.
Music
John Williams stated on the 2003 DVD documentary The Music of Indiana Jones that he hoped to return to write the score for the film, as he did for the previous three. In June 2007, Williams’ company, the Gorfaine-Schwartz Agency, confirmed that Williams would be involved with the film. Williams began scoring the film in October 2007.
Release
Lucas intended to unveil the title with the first teaser trailer, originally scheduled for Thanksgiving 2007, but Shia LaBeouf announced it earlier at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on September 9, 2007. The trailer was later said to be released “just before Christmas” of 2007. According to Paramount Pictures executive Rob Moore, the film will be released on both the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats as part of its eventual home video release.
Marketing
Hasbro and Lego will produce toy lines for the film, and LucasArts will release two new Indiana Jones video games. The working title of one is Indiana Jones, and the other is a Lego edition. Burger King and Hallmark Cards will produce tie-ins. Random House, Scholastic, and DK will publish books, and Del Rey Books will publish the novelization, written by James Rollins. Scholastic will release a children’s novelization, alongside adaptations of the previous films. Dark Horse Comics will publish a comic book adaptation of the film, written by John Jackson Miller and drawn by Luke Ross (Samurai: Heaven and Earth). Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing, attributed the massive marketing push to the fact that “It’s been nineteen years since the last film, and we are sensing a huge pent-up demand for everything Indy.”
Leaked plot details and theft
An extra in the film, Tyler Nelson, violated his nondisclosure agreement and gave an interview to the The Edmond Sun on September 17, 2007, which was then picked up by the mainstream media. In the interview, Nelson revealed several plot details from the film. Spielberg has yet to decide if he will cut Nelson’s scene. At Nelson’s request, The Edmond Sun subsequently pulled the story from its website. On October 2, 2007, a Superior Court order was filed finding that Nelson knowingly violated the agreement. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
On October 2, 2007, it was reported that a number of production photos and sensitive documents pertaining to the film’s production budget were stolen from Steven Spielbergs production office. An official with the Indiana Jones production reported the items missing on September 24 to the Sheriff’s Department. Marvin Levy, Steven Spielberg’s spokesman, said the director was concerned that the thieves would try to sell the materials, and on October 2, the people believed to be involved in the burglary sent out e-mails to several entertainment gossip websites offering to sell the images. According to IESB, TMZ.com obtained some of the stolen property and was on the verge of running the story on its TV division until Paramount lawyers stepped in. After Paramount was notified about the emails, they contacted sheriff’s investigators. A member of the online press helped the detectives by posing as a potential buyer and setting up a meeting in West Hollywood. When the seller arrived, he was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property. On October 4, Roderick Eric Davis, age 37, was charged with one felony count of receiving stolen property. He later pleaded guilty to two felony accounts and will serve two years and four months in jail.
1 Comment »
Try it here: Harriosn Ford,
Comment by Keeble Walker — May 6, 2008 @ 16:07