2004
John
Rhys-Davies still waiting for the Indy 4 call
Tuesday,
January 27, 2004
IGN FilmForce recently had the chance to chat with
actor John Rhys-Davies about his acting career. At one point Sallah, uh
John mentions his involvement in the fourth Indiana Jones film. Here's
what he had to say about Indy 4:
IGNFF: See,
and
I
also promised myself not to ask you a single Indiana Jones
question, either…
RHYS-DAVIES: "Oh, well you're allowed to!"
IGNFF: The
only
one
anyone ever asks you is when a sequel's happening…
RHYS-DAVIES: "They do that all the time. It's so funny - everyone,
but me, knows that there is a sequel definitely happening, they know
that it's in the works, that it's about to be made, that's already
cast, really. The question is - am I in it or aren't I in it? I get
very despondent that my phone hasn't rung, but I was sort of elated the
other day when I think Connery got up at a press conference and he
said, "Well my phone hasn't rung either!""
IGNFF: People
ask
you
the question as if they believe you're a writer and a producer
on the film…
RHYS-DAVIES: "Oh, that's right! I'm so obviously, clearly, an
intimate of Lucas, Spielberg, and Harrison Ford. My phone rings all the
time - they're always saying, "John John John, do you think we should
do this? What do you feel about this?""
IGNFF: Where
do
you
see Sallah going, John? Since the character is yours, we feel we
should consult with you at every moment…
RHYS-DAVIES: "Oh absolutely. Yes, yes… I can't get them off the line!"
IGNFF: That's
why
they
installed that red phone hotline for you…
RHYS-DAVIES: "That's right! They're just bumming me for ideas all
the time."
Click here to read the full interview with John
Rhys-Davies.
Frank Darabont
completes Indy 4 script!!
Friday,
January 30, 2004
According to the trade
reporter, Variety, Frank Darabont has officially finished the
final draft of the Indiana Jones 4 script.
Frank Darabont mentions
that he has completed the script for the long-awaited Indiana Jones
4. "I've finished my work, so now it's in
the hands of God, or Spielberg and Lucas if you prefer," said
Darabont.
The sequel may shoot this year with Harrison Ford starring, Steven
Spielberg directing and George Lucas executive producing. And Paramount
is hoping to distribute the film in 2005.
This certainly confirms what has been rumored. Look forward to an
exciting year of Indiana Jones 4 news!
Thanks to ComingSoon.Net,
Phill
Scott
and Kenny c. for the heads up!
Lucasfilm's
response
on
finished Indy 4 script news
Friday,
January 30, 2004
We asked Lucasfilm
for a comment on the news that Frank Darabont has finished the final
draft of the Indiana Jones 4 script. Here follows Lucasfilm's
official
response,
which is still exactly the same as in October 2003:
Currently, work is
continuing on a final version of the screenplay for Indiana Jones 4,
and
and
once all parties have signed off on the script and schedules
permit, shooting will begin. Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and George
Lucas are all returning for this fourth Indiana Jones adventure. At
this time, we have no details about the plot or other actors. In the
meantime, fans of Indiana Jones can bring the adventures home on DVD
with The Adventures of Indiana Jones: The Complete DVD Movie
Collection.
Stay tuned! More is
coming...
Indiana
Jones 4 on hold again...
Thursday,
February 5, 2004
Bad news fellow Indiana
Jones fans: Variety reported today that the highly
anticipation reunion of Spielberg, Lucas, and Harrison Ford for Indiana
Jones
4 is on hold again. Lucas was unhappy with Darabont's script
so they are now looking for another screenwriter.
Here's what Michael
Fleming from Variety reported on this:
The long-gestating
reunion of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford for a
fourth "Indiana Jones" pic is on hold -- again -- as a new script draft
is commissioned. Paramount had hoped to reunite Indy with his whip and
Stetson hat and get back into production on a new "Indiana Jones" pic
in 2004 for a 2005 release. Frank Darabont had been brought in to
script a concept the trio liked, but sources close to the production
said Lucas was unhappy with the draft. The Indy troika will now bring
aboard another screenwriter to hone Darabont's script.
Spielberg had no
comment on his plans. Spielberg, Lucas and Ford have been trying for
nearly a decade to mount one last Indiana Jones adventure, on the
condition that all three had to love the concept and script before
proceeding.
Finding an availability
window for Spielberg, Ford and Lucas is daunting, and it is now looking
like a 2005 production start at the earliest.
Ford, meanwhile, is considering other assignments, and Spielberg is
likely to move on to another project The Rivals.
Spielberg is also said to be interested in a secret project said to be
making the rounds.
Click here to read the full report.
And special thanks to
Steve Esposito for letting us know.
More on the Indiana
Jones
4 script delay
Saturday,
February 7, 2004
E! Online News reported a bit more information on
the Indiana Jones 4 script delays yesterday:
"They'll
be
some
more script work," says Spielberg rep Marv Levy, who
could not say exactly how long production would be delayed or how it
would affect Paramount's targeted release date of July 4, 2005.
If the script problems
don't get solved soon then Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford might not even
begin filming on Indiana Jones 4 until 2005. And these delays
also bring an other problem: the studio also needs to have the
schedules of Ford, Spielberg and Lucas synchronized to be able to begin
filming Indy 4.
Luckily we Indyfans have
already learned what patience is because we will need it now more than
ever before.
Click here to read the full report by E! Online.
Stay
tuned...
Spielberg
likes Darabont's Indy 4 script
Tuesday,
February 10, 2004
Variety
reported 2 days ago that Steven Spielberg liked the Indiana Jones 4
script written by Frank Darabont. Here's what Variety
wrote:
Steven Spielberg liked
the script. George Lucas , his partner, didn't. So last week, the
umpteenth attempt to revive "Indiana Jones" at Paramount got stalled
one more time.
It's a very short news
message but it's more positive than the previous Indiana Jones 4
script news.
Darabont talks
about his Indy 4 script
Monday,
February 16, 2004
Indiana Jones 4
screenplay writer Frank Darabont explained to Ain't It Cool News why his script didn't get green
lighted from George Lucas.
"The short and simple
version of the Indiana Jones 4 situation is that after more
than a year of working closely with Steven Spielberg developing the
story, I had completed a screenplay that Steven loved and was hoping to
shoot in July of this year. However, George Lucas had issues with the
script and slammed on the brakes in order to rework the material
himself. There is talk of enlisting another writer. Given that George
is the producer, but even more so because of their long and close
friendship, Steven is deferring to George in this situation.
It is now up to them to
try to find a common ground regarding the film. I wish them luck and
hope their efforts result in something they're both excited about
shooting. What, if anything, might remain of my work at the end of the
process is anybody's guess, assuming the film even gets made at this
point. As for me, I'm disappointed, but I'm putting the experience
behind me and moving on with my life and my own projects."
The future of the fourth
Indiana Jones film currently looks dark but let's not give up hope! The
makers were looking forward to begin production on Indiana Jones 4
somewhere in this summer. But it currently looks like it will have to
wait till somewhere in 2005.
Thanks to Ain't It Cool News and Frank Darabont for this
explanation!!
Indy
4 rumor: Release date moved to 2006
Thursday,
February 19, 2004
TheForce.net heard some rumblings about the
current state of Indiana Jones 4 and its script. They received
news that the project is not dead as many people have feared. Here
follows the rumors that TheForce.net has received:
- The 4th Indiana Jones
was indeed stalled because of problems with the script. From what we
gather the script didn't satisfy the "3 principals." From what we can
tell, Lucas is taking the hit for this despite the fact that those in
the know making no mention of Lucas specifically as the source of the
problem.
- We believe that
Paramount has pushed the release date back a year, from July 4th
weekend 2005 to 4th of July 2006. There is still "every reason to
believe" the film will get made, despite the growing concern for ages.
Thanks to TheForce.net and Jared Barrett for the good news.
And remember folks, this is still a rumor!
Spielberg says
Indy 4 will still happen!
Friday, March
5, 2004
About.com had the chance to chat briefly with
Steven Spielberg after the Schindler's List DVD event.
Spielberg talked about whether or not Indiana Jones 4 will
still be made, after Frank Darabont's script wasn't approved.
Here's what About.com reported:
After news that George
Lucas rejected Frank Darabont's script, the project's status is in
flux. But like a parent reassuring a scared child, Spielberg remained
optimistic. "Of course it will still happen,"
Spielberg
said.
He would not, however, discuss the problems with
Darabont's script. "I won't go into it with you
now, but it will definitely still happen."
Thanks to Coming Soon! for the news.
John
Rhys-Davies talks about Indy 4
Monday, March
8, 2004
The Film Freak
website contains a new video interview with actor John Rhys-Davies in
which Leo, host of the Film Freak radio show, talks with John
about his work on Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade.
At a certain moment in
the radio interview, John is asked by a listener if he will be in Indiana
Jones
4. In short, John answered that he hasn't heard from Lucas
nor Spielberg and that he knows nothing about the script. But he added
that the script for Indy 4 has got to be better than the
previous films!
Spielberg, Lucas and Ford don't want to make Indy 4 for the
money but for the film itself. They won't even start production on this
film if they aren't certain they have found the perfect script. "I tell you this; when the next real film comes out, it
will be incredible." added John Rhys-Davies.
John Rhys-Davies also
talked about his working experiences with Steven Spielberg and Karen
Allen and some Raiders of the Lost Ark filming locations. John
also shared which Sallah souvenir he received after the completion of
his part in the films. You'll have to view the amusing video interview
at Film
Freak
Vault to find out which souvenir!
Source: Dark Horizons.
Pirates
writer hired to rewrite Indy 4 script?
Sunday, March
28, 2004
Moviehole.net
reports that Australian screenwriter Stuart Beattie has been hired to
rewrite Frank Darabont's Indiana Jones 4 script:
According to loyal
scooper 'Accountant', The Pirates of the Caribbean writer - he
penned the screen story - was hired by Lucasfilm pretty much
based on the success of that film. He's currently at work on a re-write
of the newest script, with suggestions the film still might be ready
for a release sometime in 2005.
Earlier this year,
Frank Darabont was let go from the production after turning in a sequel
script that didn't meet up "to either of the uber-beard's standards".
Stuart Beattie co-wrote
the upcoming Collateral, starring Tom Cruise, and he's
currently also working on Derailed, a film by Mikael
Håfström based on a James Siegel novel.
Consider this a rumour
folks!! We are looking into this story so stay tuned for more
information!
Thanks to Fred Partridge
for letting us know.
More on Pirates
story writer Stuart Beattie
Monday, March
29, 2004
The latest issue of
Australian film magazine Inside Film contains an interview with Pirates
of
the
Caribbean writer Stuart Beattie. According to 'Graeme',
Stuart Beattie confirms in the interview that he has done a re-write on
the fourth Indiana Jones film.
A fun fact is that both
Frank Darabont and Stuart Beattie share the writing credits for the
upcoming Collateral film produced by Spielberg's Dreamworks
SKG & Tom Cruise's production companies. Tom Cruise is also
starring in the film.
You can find the
interview with Stuart Beattie in Inside Film, issue #64: April
2004 edition.
But Stuart Beattie
re-writing Indy 4 is still a rumour as long as Lucas, Spielberg or
anybody else at Lucasfilm doesn't officially announce this.
Stuart
Beattie
is
not working on Indy 4!
Wednesday,
March 31, 2004
Well, here we have it. A Lucasfilm
representative has let me know that this week's Indy 4 script
news is false and that "work continues on the Indiana
Jones
4 script as it has been".
So Pirates of the
Caribbean writer Stuart Beattie is NOT working on the script for Indiana
Jones
4. It was all only a rumour.
Thanks to Lucasfilm
for clearing that up.
Indiana
Jones 4 postponed again?
Tuesday, April
27, 2004
The chance that we can go
see the fourth Indiana Jones film in theatres in 2005 is getting
smaller with the minute. Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have
recently made commitments ranked above Indiana Jones 4.
They originally planned
to begin production on Indy 4 during this summer, for a July
2005 release. But these plans began to fade when it was announced that
Darabont's Indy 4 screenplay was rejected by George Lucas
earlier this year.
Lead Harrison Ford has just singed on to star in The Wrong Element,
an
action
film in which Ford will play a security guard whose family is
kidnapped.
Steven Spielberg will
begin production on a feature film focusing on the aftermath of the
1972 Munich Olympics, during which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by
Palestinian extremists, this summer. It's rumored that Spielberg and
his crew have already traveled to Europe looking for locations.
And Spielberg has already announced that he's interested in turning
H.G. Wells classic alien invasion tale The War of the Worlds
into a film with Tom Cruise. And then there's also The Rivals
film Spielberg is interested in.
So it's currently a big
mystery when all three Spielberg, Lucas and Ford will find the time to
begin production on Indiana Jones 4.
Hopefully this mystery will be solved soon as Steven Spielberg should
soon begin touring to promote his latest film The
Terminal, his latest film with Tom Hanks that will hit theaters in
June.
Stay tuned for more
updates on the fourth Indiana Jones film. And check out the Indiana Jones Back on Shelf news article at E!
Online.
Behind the
scenes of Indiana Jones 4
Monday, May 24,
2004
Spielbergfilms.com
reported that the latest issue of Esquire magazine includes a
long article called Lucas Strikes Back. The article goes behind
the scenes and talks about how George Lucas keeps delaying Indiana
Jones 4, and if a fourth Indiana Jones film really is a good idea 15
years after the last Indy film was released.
The article, by Esquire
reporter Kim Masters, examines what many studio executives and people
close to DreamWorks and Lucasfilm think of the whole
affair (no one quoted in the article is named and Spielberg, Lucas and
writer Frank Darabont all refused to be interviewed for the piece.)
It's a very long article
and we can't publish the whole thing here online but Spielbergfilms.com
has done a very good job at selecting the highlights of the article and
added personal comments. Here follows the report:
First, one thing became
very apparent to me (Spielbergfilms.com) from the article when it comes
to the very potential of the film: Hollywood is just as uncertain of
the financial feasibility, let alone artistic solidity of the concept.
One studio marketing
executive was quoted as saying "this is a movie
for old people at this point," while the articles' author
reported that Paramount executives were "heartened
last
year
by the more than $150 million worth of sales for the DVD box
set of the first three Indiana Jones movies." Both of these
opposing views show just how darned difficult it is to track whether or
not Indy could perform like he did in his heyday at the box-office.
From the marketing
executive's point-of-view, he is right in a way that Indiana Jones is a
commodity that is infinitely more popular with "Generation X" and "Baby
Boom" filmgoers than fans nowadays who were weaned on other newer
series (Lord of the Rings, The Mummy movies, etc.,
etc.). This isn't to say that there aren't younger viewers who were
introduced to the adventures of Indiana Jones through videotapes or now
even the DVDs, but the core audience who probably drove Paramount's
$150
million
plus worth of DVD sales presumably are die-hard fans who
lived through the 1980s. You'd hope that Paramount (and Lucasfilm)
have
their
demographics nailed down to as near of a science as it can
be, but I wouldn't let those DVD sales get me too excited about
releasing a fourth film if those sales came largely from "Generation X"
or "Baby Boomer" audiences.
It's an unscientific
observation, of course, but here online I've seen so many fans who grew
up with the Indy films in the 1980s say another belated trip to the
well is just a terrible idea or they've resigned themselves to the fact
that its going to happen and have just learned to love the bomb, so to
speak. Adversely, younger fans are clamoring for a new Indy adventure,
but I would bet this vocal group is just a small portion of the
filmgoing demographic that Paramount is hoping to hit to make Indiana
Jones
4 a hit. Younger audiences are where ticket sales are at (or
more importantly, repeat ticket sales) and if a large slice of that
demographic would rather see Vin Diesel tearing it up instead of a
sixty-plus year old Harrison Ford, well, the math does itself...
All of this may not
even be a concern, according to Esquire's article, as it goes
on to examine the events that led up to Frank Darabont's completion of
the script and Lucas' halting of the entire project.
Here's what Esquire
claims happened from when Darabont first fired up his favorite
word-processing program to when Lucas' axe fell (and we've all known
most of these facts for a while, but bear with me, as it gets
interesting in a bit):
"By
all
accounts
of those who have worked with [Lucas], he isn't one to
multitask when he's making a film. That left Spielberg and Darabont to
work out the script. Imagine Darabont's joy when Spielberg pronounced
that he liked Darabont's draft, except for some quibbles with the third
act. Darabont reworked the screenplay, and a few weeks later—last fall—Paramount
was told that Spielberg would shoot the picture in July 2004."
So according to the
article, the script was Darabont and Spielberg's baby, unlike the
previous three Indiana Jones films (in which Lucas, Spielberg and the
screenwriters all toiled together). It's been reported numerous times
that Lucas devised the story for the new film, yet the Esquire
article wraps up by stating that "the official
story is that the project is not dead and that Lucas will come up with
a storyline himself."
I'm not sure if this is
stating that Lucas didn't conceive the screen story for Darabont's
drafts at all and he will be crafting a new concept himself from the
ground up or if this means Lucas will be drafting a brand new script
himself (God help us). Lucas' "storylines" for the Indy films
(i.e.-stories for the films, but not the actual scripts) have been
great, but his work as a screenwriter, as history has proven, is not
even a shadow of Darabont's talents.
Either way, Esquire's
article
is
unclear whether Lucas plans on crafting a new story or
drafting a new script personally, but the article does end with a
couple of notes of doom.
According to someone
allegedly close to Spielberg within the DreamWorks fold,
Spielberg won't be too heartbroken if the film doesn't ever come
together (Spielberg has promised in the press that it will happen
still), and as Esquire tells it (for what it's worth) "many in Hollywood are skeptical that it will ever
happen."
"[Spielberg]
liked
the
idea of it, but I don't think he was in love with doing it,"
the fellow "DreamWorker" told Esquire.
If true, this is never
a great way for Spielberg to head into a movie and his filmography, the
Indiana Jones series and Indiana Jones fans deserve more than that.
Spielberg has throughout his career been infatuated with many a
concept. We've all seen how many scripts he courts but never commits
to, wisely in the end. When Spielberg isn't completely in love with
working on a film, he stumbles with works like Hook and The
Lost World (which he "always, sort of wanted to do"—a very
non-committal reason to shoot the film from Spielberg himself).
Personally, I'd much
rather see Spielberg work on films that fuel his imagination and leave
a burning in the pit of his stomach—something I'd assume the Mossad
project is doing to him right now—stories that he feels inspired by
divinity to tell the world.
Ultimately, perhaps
George Lucas has done Indiana Jones and Steven Spielberg fans a favor
by killing Indiana Jones 4 (perhaps temporarily now, perhaps
outright in the long run no matter what is said in the interim).
For the entire Esquire
story, be sure to pick up the latest copy of the magazine, now on
newsstands.
A
Young Indiana Jones film coming?
Monday, May 24,
2004
Garth from Dark
Horizons posted some interesting Young Indiana Jones film talk
today. Here follows a part of the news:
With a fourth "Indiana
Jones" flick officially 'on hiatus' but unofficially quite dead and
buried, talk in Cannes began to spring up about taking the franchise in
a new and cheaper direction - taking the 'Young Indy' TV chronicles and
shoving them up on the big screen. Now, insider 'Warmest' has heard the
speculation and answers some of the talk:
"Anyway, I saw you had
something on a "Young Indiana Jones" film and thought I'd clarify that
one for you, based on what I know. Granted, this news is a little bit
old now, but I'm sure it's still the case that - it's only an idea.
There's no greenlight, go or anything official of a young Indiana Jones
movie. That's all dependent on how well the forthcoming Young Indiana
Jones Box Set does on DVD. They've been working on that for a while, it
should be a great set. It'll feature a conglomerate of extra features.
Much like TCF's Firefly, if the sales returns are pleasing, then, and
only then, will the studio look at doing the Young Indiana movie...
Check out Dark
Horizons to read the full news message.
Thanks to Colin from StargateSG-1.Net
for letting me know.
Pirates writer
reacts
to
Indy 4 rumour
Thursday, June 3,
2004
Back in March
there was the rumour that Australian screenwriter Stuart Beattie has
been hired to rewrite Frank Darabont's Indiana Jones 4 script.
Beattie is one of the writers of 2003's biggest surprises Pirates
of the Caribbean.
The rumour got support
from the Australian film magazine Inside Film that contained an interview with
Stuart Beattie. According to 'Graeme', Beattie confirmed in the
interview that he has done a re-write on the fourth Indiana Jones film.
The rumour was BIG and a lot of film news sites helped spreading the
rumour. But this rumour soon ended when a Lucasfilm
representative told me that it was all false!
We never found out the
origin of this rumour nor what Stuart Beattie himself had to say about
this, until today. I have received an email from him explaining the
whole situation.
Here follows Stuart Beattie's message:
"I haven't read the IF interview concerning my
supposed work on Indy 4, but I NEVER said I had worked on it
because I never did any work on Indy 4. During the interview I
mentioned that Raiders was my favorite film and the interviewer
asked me about doing work on Indy 4 which I said would be a
dream job for me. The key words being "would be". It seems the
interviewer either didn't hear me (to be fair we were 8000 miles apart
during the interview) or misinterpreted what I said. Sorry I didn't
clear this up earlier, I only just found out about it. Apparently you
can't control what other people say you said. By the way, if I had
worked on it, that's what the whole article would've been about, right?
Writing Indy 4 is not a "tidbit", it's a whole interview.
Again, I apologize for any misunderstandings."
A fun fact is that both
Stuart Beattie and Frank Darabont share the writing credits for the
upcoming Collateral
film directed by Michael Mann and produced by Spielberg's Dreamworks
SKG & Tom Cruise's production companies. Tom Cruise is also
starring in the film.
A big thanks to Stuart
Beattie for clearing this up.
Marshall says Indy
4 is still very much alive!
Saturday, July 10,
2004
Frank Marshall, producer
of the Indy trilogy, has told during an interview yesterday that Indiana
Jones
4 is still very much alive! Despite continual delays and
rumors that Spielberg, Lucas and Ford have given up on the long
anticipated fourth Indiana Jones film.
"Indiana
Jones
4 is still in the writing stages; it's still a live project
and Mr. Lucas is working on the script at this time," he told a
group of journalists gathered at a press event for The Bourne
Supremacy.
When asked if this meant George Lucas was penning the screenplay by
himself, Marshall replied, "No. There is a writer
on the project... I won't go there."
The mysterious writer who
is currently working on the Indiana Jones 4 script is certainly
not Pirates of the Caribbean writer Stuart Beattie. I know this
from Beattie himself as he wrote us a
reaction to that rumour last month. But who is the new writer then?
No idea but I will let you know as soon as I find out.
So, just when can we
expect more movement on Indy 4? "Well I
think that, obviously, we don't want to do this movie unless it's going
to be great," Marshall says. "There's only
the downside of it if we perceive it as something we all don't feel is
worthy. Now we're working on that last third. We'll all get our
schedules together again but it's not gonna be for another year or so."
Source: IGN Filmforce
M. Night tells
about his work on Indy 4 script
Wednesday, July
21, 2004
Ain't
It
Cool
News received a report from one of their readers about the Regal
Cinemas presentation where M. Night Shyamalan spoke live via
satellite to 41 theaters around the US about his latest film The
Village.
As you might remember, there were rumours in 2001 that said M. Night
Shyamalan was working on a script for Indiana Jones 4. Until he
stepped out of the project, for unknown reasons. Now we get an answer
as M. Night mentioned his work on the Indy 4 script during this
Regal Cinemas presentation. He
tells why he left the project:
"...Mentioned that when
he was attempting to write Indy 4 for Spielberg that he kept
having too introspective of an angle on the theme of heroism and what
it meant. Spielberg said if you want to continue you can, but Night was
getting busy with Signs."
Click
here to read the full report.
Location
scout
mentions
work on Indiana Jones 4
Wednesday,
August
18,
2004
Tirol Online has an article about safety guard and
location scout Leo Baumgartner. In that article Baumgartner mentions he
has done some location scouting for Indiana Jones. Here follows the
except from the article (translated from German):
Baumgartner: "I had adjusted myself already to drive to Russia for
an Afghanistan film but a cancellation came in. For an Indiana Jones
sequel I should have constructed a filming bridge and had the Rofan
area in mind. But the project has been delayed."
The quote from
Baumgartner is quite vague but you could say this is proof that
pre-production on Indiana Jones 4 was already underway until something
delayed it. Maybe George Lucas' rejection of Frank Darabont's script?
Click here to read the full article about Leo
Baumgartner and his film career that includes work for the recently
released King Arthur, Around the World in 80 Days, and
the upcoming Bridget Jones 2. The original article is in German
though!
And here you have a photo of the Rofangebiet Leo
Bamgartner mentions.
Thanks to MJ for the translation.
Source: IndianaJones.de
John
Rhys-Davies talks more Indiana Jones 4
Wednesday,
September 1, 2004
NEWS.com.au reported that actor John Rhys-Davies
has revealed to Sydney Confidential that Indiana Jones 4
finally looks set to go ahead!
"I
was
talking
to Steven Spielberg the other day... we discussed a fourth
one," said Rhys-Davies, who is in Australia for a science
fiction convention due to his role as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings
trilogy.
"We're in with the chance of making something
absolutely extraordinary," he added.
It was rumoured that
Indiana Jones co-writer and producer George Star Wars Lucas had shelved
the project earlier this year, which Rhys-Davies confirmed.
"George
Lucas
had
reservations about the script and he said, "The only way I
can express my reservations is making another pass at the script
myself", so it's gone back at least a year."
"It
is
the
intention of these three great filmmakers [Lucas, Spielberg and
Ford] to make another one."
Is there finally light at
the end of the tunnel? Let's all hope that John Rhys-Davies quotes here
soon get confirmation from Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford or George
Lucas! And also that there will be space in the script of the fourth
Indiana Jones film for Sallah, John Rhys-Davies own character in the
Indy trilogy. Stay tuned and please let me know if you might have more
information!
Source:
indianajones.ugo.com
Spielberg says
Indy 4 has a very good story
Friday, September
3, 2004
The latest issue of the
UK magazine Total Film celebrates Steven Spielberg in a superb
huge special feature covering all his films. They also had a chat with
Spielberg himself about his career and Indiana Jones 4:
Total Film: So
why
embrace
Indy 4? Surely you could knock
that out in your
sleep?
Spielberg: It's not for money or success. It's for good times.
I've always said that I had the most fun in my life making those three
movies with George (Lucas) and Harrison (Ford).
Total Film: It's
been
a
fair old wait.
Spielberg: It's a very good story. It's worth living that long to
see.
You can read the full
interview with Steven Spielberg, along with short reviews of all his
films in the latest, September 2004, Issue 93 of Total Film
magazine.
Spielberg
shooting Indy 4 next summer?
Tuesday, September
7, 2004
A certain Jenkis told to Ain't It Cool News today that in an interview
about The Terminal Spielberg said Indiana Jones 4 will
shoot next summer, after he's shot War of the Worlds and then The
Rivals.
You may consider this a
big rumor as it's coming from an unknown and thus unreliable news
source.
It is true that Spielberg will shoot War of the Worlds first.
He's going to begin production on that film together with Tom Cruise
later this year. But it is not totally certain which film he will
direct after that. It could be the untitled 1972 Munich Olympics film
with Eric Bana, which is currently being rewritten, or the above
mentioned film The Rivals. We'll have to wait and see what
Spielberg decides to do after War of the Worlds. But there's
still some hope left that production on Indiana Jones 4 begins
next summer. So stay tuned!
Click here to read the original news message. It
also talks about a 3D Harrison Ford in a film directed by James
Cameron... rumor?
Thanks to Indy Benson,
Jared Barrett and Brett Hopkings for the news.
Hopes to see
the Indy 4 script finished next year
Wednesday,
September 8, 2004
The French film site Encranlarge has posted the transcript from this
weekend's The Terminal press event at the Deauville Film
Festival in France. Both Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks were
present and answered questions from the international press. And the
press asked about Spielberg's future projects, including Indy 4!
Press: And
what
can
you tell us your various projects: the massacre in the OJ of
Munich in 1972, your remake of War of the Worlds and finally Indiana
Jones
4?
Spielberg: For the first, I can't say anything to you at the
present time yet. For the second, we will begin filming with Tom Cruise
next November.
Hanks: (jealous)
Tom Cruise!!!
(while insisting heavily on the name then by throwing his microphone on
the table).
Spielberg: As for Indy 4, it is not that Harrison or
myself have become too old, but we are still working on the script, and
I hope that it will be done at a time given the next year. (with
a small air not to believe in it too much).
Press: It
appears
that
you had a validated script but George Lucas refused it?
Spielberg: Will George Lucas be attending this festival?
Press: Yes!
Spielberg: Then I will not answer this question, I don't want to
get into big trouble.
Steven Spielberg
humorously avoided to comment on George Lucas' refusal of the Indiana
Jones
4 script written by Frank Darabont. (The same script
Spielberg was very happy with.) I'm really looking forward to what
George Lucas will say about the Indy 4 script to the press at
the Deauville Film Festival. If there is a THX 1138:
Director's Cut press event scheduled for this weekend. Stay tuned!
Click here to read the original transcript from The
Terminal press event, in French.
Lucas hopes to
start shooting Indy 4 within a year
Saturday,
September 11, 2004
George Lucas had a chat
with MTV about Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge
of the Sith and other Star Wars things. And yes, he even
mentioned Indiana Jones 4!
Having accomplished so
much on a blockbuster scale, Lucas said that after "Revenge of the
Sith" and his upcoming fourth "Indiana Jones" installment (which he
hopes to start shooting within a year), he'd like to return to
indie-style movies like his 1971 debut, "THX 1138," which returns to
theaters Friday (September 10) with a new director's cut.
So George Lucas hopes to
start shooting Indiana Jones 4 within a year. And Steven
Spielberg said the same thing earlier this week! There already were
some rumors that Indy 4 was going to start production somewhere
in the summer of 2005, for a summer 2006 release. Maybe it's finally
going to happen?! But let's stay calm as they are only expressing
'hopes'. It's still not definite until Spielberg & Lucas declare
that it WILL happen within a year. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.
Click here to read the original MTV
article.
Thanks to Heiko for
letting us know! And to everyone else: If you know or found something
new about Indy 4 that has not yet been announced on TheRaider.net,
please
let
me
know.
Lucas confirms
other writer is working on Indy 4 script
Monday,
September 20, 2004
George Lucas talked with Empire Online about Star Wars Episode III,
THX-1138 and the Indiana Jones
4 script. Here follows what Lucas said about the work on the script
for the fourth Indiana Jones film:
"We
are
working
on the next script. Another writer has started working on
it. We're just not going to make it unless it's really good," he
confirmed. "One of the reasons I'm able to work
with Steven so well is because every time we come to a disagreement
we'll yield to the other one, which means we'll come up with a
compromise that considers both sides, and one person isn't determined
to have his way. It's what's best for the movie."
So you see that the rumor
that George Lucas is re-writing the script himself is false.
Darabont
reflects
on
his Indy 4 script work
Thursday,
September 23, 2004
Frank Darabont did an
interview with Latino Review to promote the 10th Anniversary DVD
release of The Shawshank Redemption, a film Darabont wrote and
directed. In this interview Frank Darabont also talks about the news
that George Lucas had rejected his Indiana Jones 4 script:
"Indiana
Jones
is
not the reason, but a reaffirmation of a decision that's been
coming for a while," Darabont said. "I
won't say I'll never do it again because that's silly. But it's been
sort of a career focus for 18 years now, writing for other people. And
I've come to a place where I'm really very anxious to be focusing on
getting my own movies made and not wrestling with other people's
problems and other people's deadlines. It's been a great run of good
fortune for me as a writer. I mean, how many people can claim an 18
year career? But for now, I'd like to put that on the backburner for
the first time, so I'm turning down work right and left. I want to get
my next movie made."
Though Lucasfilm
and producers like Frank Marshall have said the only problem with
Darabont's script was the third act, the writer himself did not receive
such specific feedback. "I have no idea and I'm
not being coy, believe me. I've not heard anything about the third act
or anything else. All I know is that I developed the script with Steven
and that he was very happy with it and George was not. And so I got
stuck in that crack between two very significant opinions on this
project. So to my knowledge, I have no idea what's going on."
That pressure almost
counteracted the fun of writing an Indiana Jones movie. "It was an incredibly grueling experience working on
that film. I spent over a year working nonstop on that, developing the
script with Steven and feeling like I really had something special to
live up to as a writer. So for me, it was an enormous amount of
pressure to get it right. Consequently, a very interesting and
disappointing experience to have Steven think I got it right and George
not. But hey, as they say in The Godfather, this is the
business we have chosen. Things turn out, sometimes they don't."
Click here to read the interview with Frank
Darabont.
Darabont talks
more about his Indy 4 script
Monday,
September 27, 2004
The interview with Frank
Darabont at Latino Review, from last thursday, was only part
of a much larger public interview to promote The Shawshank
Redemption's 10th Anniversary DVD. About has published the full interview with Frank
Darabont which contains some more Indiana Jones 4 script talk:
Latino: As
a
fan,
was it thrilling to be in charge of Indiana Jones?
Darabont: "From a creative standpoint, absolutely thrilling. It
was incredibly satisfying which makes of course the end results all the
more disappointing. Let me put it this way, as a fan myself, and I'm
talking a real hardcore Indiana Jones fan, the movie I wrote is the
movie I wanted to see. It was the one that would have satisfied me
most. So who knows what's going to be the result of that. I'm sure it
will have, even if it's great, I'll have rather seriously mixed
feelings about it."
Latino: Presumably,
it'll
still
be 2/3 your movie. You know what?
Darabont: "I take nothing on faith, buddy. There might be one
line of dialogue left of me by the time it's all said and done."
Latino: Are
you
confident
it will still get going?
Darabont: "No, I'm not confident about anything about that. Once
you have a movie that's ready to start shooting and you decide no, no,
no, let's go back to square one, that's a sure recipe for things dying
on the vine. I'm not doubting that they'll make the movie, but I'll
believe it when I see it."
Go to About to read the full interview with Frank
Darabont.
George Lucas
talks about Indy 4 script
Friday, October 1,
2004
The Daily Bruin had an interview with George Lucas
to promote the DVD release of Lucas' very first feature film, THX
1138. Among the many questions asked to Lucas were three about Indiana
Jones
4:
DB: And
what
can
you say about Indiana Jones 4?
Lucas: "We're working on a script. Of course, we've been
working on a script for about six years. You know, we're not going to
do it unless we get something that's worth doing. And hopefully we'll
be able to start as soon as we get the script finished."
DB: So,
how
many
more do you have in you? Or, for that matter, how many more do
Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg have in them?
Lucas: "I don't know - we just go one at a time. I have to
come up with the idea of how it works, and it's pretty hard to come up
with the supernatural part of the story and have it make sense. And so
I wasn't sure we were ever going to do any more than just the three,
but then I came up with an idea that I thought was good. So we've been
working with that for a while."
DB: Want
to
reveal?
Lucas: "No." (Laughs.)
Head over to The Daily Bruin for the full interview with George
Lucas. And thanks to IndyEsp.net
for the news.
Indy 4
scheduled to start production early 2005?
Monday, October 4,
2004
Steven Spielberg recently
had an exclusive interview with Lauren Weil on the French channel Canal+
in which he tell that his next three film projects are:
- War of the
Worlds: shooting starts next November.
- Indiana Jones
4: currently rumored to start production in early 2005.
- Untitled
political film: most likely the 1972 Summer Olympics in
Munich tragedy.
This news was originally
posted by JWfan.net.
Ford says Indy
4 production will start very soon!
Thursday, October
7, 2004
Jim Mower has let me know
that Harrison Ford was interviewed this morning on London based radio
station Capital FM. Ford discussed current projects, and the
subject of Indiana Jones 4 came up. Harrison said he has been
told by Spielberg that he doesn't need to get really fit for Indy 4
and so not to go into full-on
training , as he is meant to be his age, not a 30 year old.
Ford commented that
shooting will start very soon, and said he was looking forward to
playing an action role again, although maybe not as physically
demanding as the first three movies.
femalefirst.co.uk
reported the same information yesterday. But their source, an insider
on Spielberg's upcoming War of the Worlds, said that the
62-year-old megastar has been told to get his Fedora and whip ready for
a January 2005 shoot for Indy 4 but not to go mad on getting
buff for the role.
"It's
been
15
years since the last Indy movie and obviously Harrison has got
a lot older but that's not a problem for this movie," said the
source. "Steven doesn't want a middle-aged guy
trying to look young - he wants to bring a new type of hero to the
screen."
Even though it's
mentioned here above that Harrison Ford himself said that the shooting
will start very soon it might be best to wait for comments from
Spielberg & George Lucas. Not that Ford might be misinformed but
only to be absolutely certain. So stay tuned!
A big thanks to Jim
Mower, Tony and Heiko for letting me know.
Darabont talks
more Indy 4 script work
Friday, October 8,
2004
CNN.com
had an interview with Frank Darabont about his The Shawshank
Redemption 10th anniversary Special Edition DVD. Darabont also
mentioned his work on the Indiana Jones 4 script but nothing we
haven't heard before:
"I
wrote
a
script, Steven loved it, wanted to shoot it this year. George
didn't love it, it got sort of lost between two conflicting opinions
and now I think they're trying to figure out what, if anything, to do
from here," Darabont said.
Which prompts the
question, what didn't Lucas like?
"You know what, it's a disappointment and not
really worth getting into details on it. Suffice it to say, he didn't
like it nearly as much as Steven and I did. Sometimes it works that
way," he shrugged. "As they say in 'The Godfather,' 'This is the
business we have chosen.' Sometimes things go really well, sometimes
things don't go really well. I try to weather both successes and
disappointments with equal grace."
Click here to read the full interview.
Jeff Nathanson
Rewriting Indiana Jones 4
Wednesday, October
27, 2004
The trade paper, Variety,
is
reporting
that Jeff
Nathanson, who penned Catch Me If You Can,
is
rewriting Darabont's Indiana Jones 4 script:
George Lucas and Steven
Spielberg have hired Jeff Nathanson to rewrite Indiana Jones 4.
Aside from writing the Rush Hour films, Nathanson also wrote
Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can and co-wrote The Terminal.
If Nathanson delivers a
draft that clicks with Lucas, Spielberg and star Harrison Ford,
Spielberg would still have to make the movie a priority to get it into
production any time soon.
This is very encouraging
news and fans should believe this to be fact. However, even if the
script gains approval the Three need to have their schedules clear.
That may prove to be difficult since Lucas is putting the finishing
touches on Star Wars: Episode III, Ford is gearing up to start
shooting The Wrong Element, and Spielberg is working on War
of the Worlds & the untitled 1972 Munich Olympics murders film.
Stay tuned to TheRaider.Net for further details.
Thanks to our friends at Comingsoon.net for the heads up!
Possible Indy
4 locations revealed?
Wednesday,
November 24, 2004
Ain't
It
Cool
News ran a story on King Kong, the remake by Peter
Jackson, with amazing looking production sketches. The page also
contains a report from Darth SugarPlum who had a peak at some of the King
Kong stuff that has found its way to Skywalker Ranch. At
the end of his report Darth SugarPlum mentions that he might have seen
some Indy 4 related papers:
"Also,
during
the
tour of the ranch we visited the library. A pile of papers
on the desk were labeled 'To shred' and 'I4'. Indy 4? Who knows?
Anyway, they showed 50's photos of the Golden Gate bridge plus photos
of 50's London, including Big Ben."
Head over to Ain't
It
Cool
News to read the full report. And be sure to visit KongIsKing.net
when you're interested in the upcoming King Kong remake!
Old Natalie
Portman in Indy 4 rumor re-emerges
Wednesday,
December 1, 2004
Back in August
2000 there was an unconfirmed rumor that Natalie Portman has asked
George Lucas, on the set of Star Wars: Episode II, the
possibility of playing Indiana Jones's daughter in the next installment.
The second time we heard this rumor was in January
2001, when an article in the China Morning Post mentioned
that Natalie Portman was up for the role of Indy's daughter in the
fourth Indy film. It again turned out to be a rumor.
Yesterday,
IESB.NET posted a rumor from the premiere of Portman's latest film Closer.
Their
report
from an anonymous source had the same information as in August
2000.
"Portman,
23
,
obviously doesn't have to break into cold sweat to reflect on her
time on the Star Wars films. There's already talking about the actress
working with George Lucas again on another multi-million dollar
franchise entry, Indiana Jones. Even before filming had wrapped on The
Phantom
Menace, Portman let the director know that she'd love a
part in the next Indiana Jones movie back, and the word is, he might
have found a slot for her in the anticipated sequel. Smells like
Indiana Jones has an offspring."
This rumor will soon be 4
years old, and in all this time it has never been confirmed nor denied
by anyone involved in the production of Indiana Jones 4. So
this remains to be a big rumor.
Go to IESB.NET
to read the latest incarnation of this rumor.
Ford says Indy
4 is still happening
Saturday, December
4, 2004
News site IESB.net was in
attendance for a special event for Hotel Rwanda to benefit Amnesty
International which was hosted by Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie.
Ford was interviewed backstage and asked about Indiana Jones 4:
IESB.net: Is
Indy 4 still going to be made?
Ford: "No doubt about it."
IESB.net: Could
a
younger
actor play Indiana Jones in Indy 4?
Ford: "No problem, but Indy 4 is mine." Ford
also added that he wouldn't mind having a younger actor play Indy in
future films, which is similar to what was done with the James Bond
films after Sean Connery left.
IESB.net: Will
you
be
doing your own stunts?
Ford: "At least some of them."
Ford also said that
George Lucas, who rejected Darabont's script, is happy with the new
draft from Jeff Nathanson.
This is a lot of good
news for just 1 backstage interview. Hopefully Harrison Ford, Spielberg
or George Lucas say the same thing in an official announcement. I'm a
bit sceptic about this interview, but I hope I'll be proven wrong.
Spielberg to
shoot Vengeance in June 2005
Monday, December
6, 2004
According to Variety's
production charts Steven Spielberg is set to begin production on his
1972 Olympics massacre film on June 1, 2005.
The current title of this
film is Vengeance and tells the story of the aftermath of the
1972 Olympics game massacre of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian
Black September terrorist cell.
It's unclear how this
could undermine the plans to shoot Indiana Jones 4 in 2005, for
multiple reasons:
- The first reason is
Spielberg's War of the Worlds which is still in production. As
this film literally rushed into production, it could always be that War
of
the
Worlds takes more time to finish than expected.
- A second reason is
that all previous drafts for the 1972 Olympics Vengeance film
did not get approval. And we have yet to find out if the latest draft,
which writer Tony Kushner (Angels in America) is still working
on, will be liked by Steven Spielberg.
- And back in the 80's
Spielberg was set to direct Rain Man with Tom Cruise, until
Lucas asked him to start work on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
A
scenario
like this could always happen again, you never know.
Jay Leno jokes
about Indy 4
Thursday, December
16, 2004
Yesterday night, Jay Leno
mentioned during the opening monologue of his The Tonight Show
that Harrison Ford is doing another Indiana Jones movie at the age of
62. He then went on to a joke saying "In one
scene Indiana Jones claps his hands and the lights come on."
This is the second time
in 1 week that Jay Leno jokes about a fourth Indiana Jones film.
Earlier he talked about Indy 4 being officially going on and
said that they wont need Sean Connery this time because Harrison is now
old enough to play Indy... and his father.
Thanks to Jim Strater and
IndyandMarion for letting me know. |