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Lucas Researching Concept For New Indiana Jones Film

Posted by Soulskill on Sat Aug 09, 2008 04:09 AM
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."'"
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  • by beh (4759) * on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:12AM (#24535917) Homepage

    There's plenty he could be going after:

    Indiana Jones and the Clump Of Dark Matter [slashdot.org]

    Indiana Jones and the RIAA lawsuit about him touching the Ark Of The Covenant (without seeking prior license from the Vatican) ...?

  • It has to be some kind of magical totem that will resurrect the desiccated corpse of the franchise.
  • I know (Score:3, Funny)

    by twatter (867120) on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:22AM (#24535947)

    How about introducing a strange new character that behaves in an obnoxious way, speaks in unintelligible patois and causes everyone to flinch whenever he's onscreen. He could be called Shortstop Bingo and be Indy's trusty right-hand fuck up.

    Surely this would totally enhance the franchise.

  • by mcvos (645701) on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:23AM (#24535949)

    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."'

    I think Lucas missed an opportunity to turn Indiana Jones into a James Bond-like franchise. Some months ago I read that it was originally sold as "James Bond with nazis and ancient treasures", and I think it would have been a great idea to keep it perpetually in a pre-WW2 setting with nazis and zeppelins, and replace the main actor if he gets too old.

    Although ofcourse no other Indiana Jones could ever compare to Harrison Ford.

    • I remember when I first saw Last Cruisade at the cinema. I was only 12 at the time and I got really confused by the bit at the beginning. I thought they had done exactly what you said and replaced Harrison Ford with a new actor.

  • Pffffft.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by VE3OGG (1034632) <VE3OGG @ r a c .ca> on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:26AM (#24535955)

    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*

    • Re:Pffffft.... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by hairyfeet (841228) <`bassbeast1968' `at' `gmail.com'> on Saturday August 09 2008, @05:51AM (#24536255)
      What I want to know is this: Is Lucas out of money? Gambling debts,an expensive mistress or three to pay for? Surely he is making enough off of the "real" Star Wars trilogy,right? If he still has money why in the name of all that is good and decent in the universe is he determined to destroy every good thing he created in his youth. What's next, American Graffiti the next generation? Seriously WTH is Lucas thinking,either come up with some new ideas or sit on your money and quietly retire. But please quit screwing up our collective past with crap like,well,pretty much everything Lucas has done for the past decade and a half. But as always this is my 02c,YMMV.
      • Re:Pffffft.... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by c (8461) <beauregardcp@gmail.com> on Saturday August 09 2008, @07:54AM (#24536659)

        > Seriously WTH is Lucas thinking, either come up with some new ideas or
        > sit on your money and quietly retire.

        If you kept coming up with stupid ideas, lousy plots, terrible actors, and every nerd on the planet still paid money to see it (often multiple times), do you think maybe you'd be getting a bit of a mixed message? What, is he supposed to listen to critics? If half your "fan base" consisted of people like "Comic Book Guy", you'd probably learn to ignore them pretty quickly.

        If you don't like Lucas' stuff, stop giving him your money.

        c.

  • Shit (Score:5, Insightful)

    by RinzeWind (413873) <(chema) (at) (rinzewind.org)> on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:38AM (#24536011) Homepage

    The franchise really depends on me coming up with a good idea

    We're fucked.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      The franchise is DEAD. This last iteration, "Indiana Jones and the Crystal McGuffin" put a bullet in it.

      George, STOP LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE TELLING YOU THAT YOU'RE GOOD.

      They're lying to you.

      Your last good idea you had was hiring Irvin Kershner and Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan for Empire.

      • No, we aren't. Sorry if you don't agree, but I quite enjoyed his newer work, as well as his older. Hell, Episode 3 was the crowning achievement in the Star Wars saga, what with having an actual interesting plot and all.
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        Actually, from what I understand, Ford signed up for 5 movies in his original contract. There was a massive delay between #3 and #4 because Lucas was insistent on doing one with aliens, and Ford kept balking at the script (justifiably so, imho). They finally found a script that was tolerable, considering the plot concept, and it got made. But Ford is still signed up for one more movie. So, regardless of people telling Lucas that he's good or not, there's one more movie to be made, according to the contr
  • And The Raiders of the Lost Death Star? Temple of the Lost Jedi? Last Strike of the Empire?
  • ... but "Mutt Williams and the search for Elvis" seems like it could be ok.
  • by iapetus (24050) on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:40AM (#24536025) Homepage

    Indiana Jones and the Still Beating Heart of George Lucas

    Seriously, if the franchise really depends on Lucas coming up with a good idea, they might as well call it a day right now.

  • Incredibly lame (Score:3, Insightful)

    by HEbGb (6544) on Saturday August 09 2008, @05:24AM (#24536171)

    Lucas is going to completely destroy the franchise, just like he did with Star Wars. Clearly he has no new ideas whatsoever, as he's prefer to spend his energy squeezing every drop of life out of a one-successful brand rather than continue to create new quality films. He should be ashamed of himself.

  • Subject (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Legion303 (97901) on Saturday August 09 2008, @05:43AM (#24536235) Homepage

    "The franchise really depends on me coming up with a good idea."

    George Lucas hasn't had a good idea since about 1982. Well, I guess not passing the fedora to Shia LaBeouf would be a good idea if Lucas had given the correct reason for it: Shia can't act.

  • by PietjeJantje (917584) on Saturday August 09 2008, @06:05AM (#24536291)
    Following the big financial success of Indy IV, Lucas has decided to further pursue the theme of self parodying absurdities.
    Mel Brooks has been cast as the new Indy. Rick Moranis is close to being signed as the new bad guy.
    Work title: Indiana Jones and The Power of The Schwartz.
  • by voss (52565) on Saturday August 09 2008, @08:23AM (#24536809)

    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....

  • by grumling (94709) on Saturday August 09 2008, @09:23AM (#24537099) Homepage

    ' Lucas 'scoffed at the possibility of passing the famed fedora from Ford to Shia LaBeouf,'

    Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth.

    After all, Harrison Ford is eligible for Medicare as of last year.

    • by Hansu (234247) on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:34AM (#24535991)

      I haven't seen the new indiana jones movie yet

      Consider yourself lucky. Once you have seen it, it can't be unseen.

      My eyes, the goggles do nothing!

      seriously it's crap.

    • The latest indy (Score:5, Informative)

      by TheLink (130905) on Saturday August 09 2008, @04:50AM (#24536061) Journal

      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.

      But when Indy Jones did the ball bearings stuff, those Standard Indy settings started to show their shortcomings... I went "OK turn off physics"

      Things totally fell apart when Tarzan Boy started swinging from tree to tree. I had to do some major changes at that point. How does that add to the story line or show?

      I enjoyed the first one and temple of doom was ok. This one, save your money/bandwidth. Go watch something else. I heard Batman is good.

      • Re:The latest indy (Score:5, Insightful)

        by mcvos (645701) on Saturday August 09 2008, @05:32AM (#24536195)

        I enjoyed the first one and temple of doom was ok.

        Please tell me you've seen The Last Crusade. That's possibly the best of the bunch, certainly rivaling Raiders.

          • by Jeremy Erwin (2054) on Saturday August 09 2008, @08:40AM (#24536885) Journal

            I am not an archaeologist but I would imagine that the holy grail of Archaeology is THE HOLY GRAIL

            Archaeology is the search for fact. Not truth.So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure and "X" never, ever, marks the spot.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            ********* SPOILER *************

            Mostly agreed, but they did one up the last crusade with the Atom Bomb, an artifact that was thoroughly modern and far more dangerous and powerful than any of the mythological stuff Indy had run into before.

            It's an interesting comparison with Raiders: Hitler wanted the Ark (and the Grail) so that his armies of darkness could march over the face of the earth. Americans simply built a better ark.

            • Re:The latest indy (Score:4, Interesting)

              by bckrispi (725257) on Saturday August 09 2008, @05:06PM (#24540119)
              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.

          • I was a big fan of Lucasfilm's Indy games. The Last Crusade took me back to enjoying the "hidden parts that never appeared in the movie".

            But the Fate of Atlantis was even better. Just take a look at some Indy 4 screenshots [mobygames.com].

            First of all, you got this archaeological dig in Iceland. Then the Azores. Then the mayan jungle of Tikal. Also, you make a stop at Monaco and have a seance with the holder of an ancient atlantean disc. AND you have to rescue him from being kidnapped by the Nazis. Later, you go to the des

      • I was disappointed at the latest Indy as well. It simply lacks the "mystic aura" that the other Indy movies have.

        Raiders of the lost Ark: Ancient egyptian maps. Booby traps. The second half of a map that the Nazis lack. An infinitely powerful artifact. GOD's power.

        Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom: Evil cults engaged in bloodthirsty rituals. The stones of the gods. Actual jungles with vampires. Passageways filled with all kind of creepy bugs.

        Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Medieval writings of a Franciscan Friar. Biblical elements. The cup of Christ. Ancient roman catacombs hidden below a Church turned Library. A society designed to protect the secret of the grail. Henry Jone's Grail Diary. The canyon of the crescent moon. Three lethal tests to prove your faith.

        Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Whee, communists searching for alien artifacts in a jungle so fake it looks like a walk in the park! Hey, is that James Dean? Whee, look, aliens!

        I want my childhood back! :( :( :(

      • Re: (Score:3, 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.