The Indiana Jones Franchise (Steven Spielberg/James Mangold, 1981-2023)

[domino harvey]

I thought it was plural. So many new questions: Is there one skull. one magical creature-- or one skull, many magical creatures? I hope AICN has 250 comments speculating on this by the time I wake up

[miless]

I was under the impression that it was in reference to a group of mysterious crystal skulls discovered in central America. The skulls are interesting as they were made in an area where the local craft tools were not sophisticated enough to create such refined craftsmanship (and are, supposedly, older than any such required tools... leading many to speculate some sort of link with "atlantis"... my grandpa is one of the nuts).
there are a lot of weird theories floating around about this stuff (my grandpa always tells me about them, and then he cites, and continues to show me, this weird book published in the 60's about them). seems like the perfect stuff to base an Indiana Jones around.

This is just one of the sites I found when I looked on google.

[sevenarts]

I don't have a problem with the skulls per se, since the Indy films have always had magical MacGuffins. It's the hinting that Lucas and Spielberg want to turn the film into a Close Encounters/Phantom Menace hybrid that sends Indy to Area 51 that sounds incredibly stupid to me. Admittedly, I'm not naturally that sympathetic to either of these auteurs, and maybe I'll be wrong about this, but I can't imagine this being anything but a disaster.

[domino harvey]

Admittedly I have never been a fan of these movies and was never going to see this anyways, but can someone who is a fan tell me-- is this project actually positively anticipated? Who wants to see this, really? I so want this to tank at the box office, but unfortunately no matter how bad this ends up being, it might as well be titled Indiana Jones and the Money in the Bank.

[Belmondo]

Admittedly I have never been a fan of these movies and was never going to see this anyways, but can someone who is a fan tell me-- is this project actually positively anticipated? Who wants to see this, really? I so want this to tank at the box office, but unfortunately no matter how bad this ends up being, it might as well be titled Indiana Jones and the Money in the Bank.

I completely agree and I'm even more angry than you are because I did think that the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was hugely enjoyable and absolutely, positively, visualized every great genre convention that Spielberg and Lucas wanted to portray.

BUT ... that was twenty five years ago, and some of us are still stuck in our own childhood and some of us have matured. Lucas has never matured in his themes and interests and his preoccupation with visual effects is so complete that it makes any argument of "style over substance" too easy to even bother with. He has every right in the world to keep proceeding in this direction, but many of us are sad as well as angry when a hugely talented filmmaker persists in aiming too low. For me, "Raiders" accomplished exactly what Lucas was hoping it would accomplish by re-imagining the movie serials of an earlier time and, for me, "American Graffiti" was a wonderful recreation of his, and some of our, youth.

BUT ... the man flatly refuses to grow up. Spielberg (and Tarantino too), are at least growing up in fits and starts and giving us something worth talking about even when their efforts involve more youthful preoccupations such as aliens, monsters, kung-fu babes and grindhouse themes.
With Lucas, the things worth talking about were put up on the screen a quarter of a century ago and he hasn't given us anything since except for the occasional "wow, that's cool!" effect.
I, too, have no intention of seeing the new one; but I say it more in sadness than anger.

[Len]

Admittedly I have never been a fan of these movies and was never going to see this anyways, but can someone who is a fan tell me-- is this project actually positively anticipated? Who wants to see this, really? I so want this to tank at the box office, but unfortunately no matter how bad this ends up being, it might as well be titled Indiana Jones and the Money in the Bank.

I really want to this to be good. I grew up watching these films, so obviously for me nostalgia has some part in how much I like the originals, but despite that I think that in their genre, they are pretty much perfect (ok, maybe not the temple of doom, but that ain't bad either). Back then Lucas hadn't gone insane yet, Spielberg was still interesting and Ford was easily my favorite movie star of his generation. Twenty years later, it's a whole different situation.

But then again, it's not like any of these 80's revivals have actually been any good, so I'm dreading the end result. I think they could've done without this. Still, can't be as bad as DH4.

I guess I don't expect this to be horrible, just painfully mediocre (which in a way is much worse). They should've done this sometime in the mid-90s, using the Fate Of The Atlantis storyline (I loved the old Lucasarts games).

[Antoine Doinel]

This may be enough to get me into a theater:



Goddamn.

[tavernier]

Who is that young Confederate soldier?

[J M Powell]

This promotional copy from Dark Horse Comics for the "graphic novel" adaptation provides no new plot information. But it manages to sum up perfectly what I take to be the spirit of the enterprise that is KOCS:

The intrepid Doctor Henry Jones Jr. is back in his biggest adventure yet! This time, the world-renowned archaeologist finds himself caught in a series of events that all point to a discovery unlike any other. But will his rivals in pursuit of this priceless treasure seize his quarry from right under his nose? Not if he, and a few unexpected companions, have anything to say about it!

The thrill and the humor, the action and the romance, the hat and the whip--everything you love about Indy is here! This is a tale sure to please longtime fans as well as foster a whole generation of new ones!

Sheer, crass hucksterism.

[exte]

This may be enough to get me into a theater

Goddamn.

She's got the hot.

[Magic Hate Ball]

She's got the hot.

Yeah, Willy Wonka bob cuts really drive me wild.

[Jeff]

Yeah, Willy Wonka bob cuts really drive me wild.

It's called "The Chigurh."

[Magic Hate Ball]

Yeah, Willy Wonka bob cuts really drive me wild.

It's called "The Chigurh."

Oh, I don't know. Chigurh's hair is fluffier.



You can tell how Depp's hair is more clean-cut than Bardem's. Depp's is closer to the woman's.

[sherlockjr]

Looks a bit Louise Brooks to me, which I consider to be hot praise.

[Jeff]

Depp's is closer to the woman's.

That's no woman. That's Cate Blanchett!

[domino harvey]

This is the perfect transition we need for the Legally Mandated Arrested Development Quote Thread.
"That's a woman's wig."
"I was told it was more of a Bob!"

[Fletch F. Fletch]

A new video has been posted on the official site taking a tour of Indy's home. Indiana Jones and MTV Cribs anyone?

Another new pic and a bit o' news:

"This picture is locked," Marshall told us of the current progress. "Steven's pretty much done editing. And we're going into the phase with John Williams where he starts scoring the movie. He's really writing now and then we'll start scoring in February".

[Antoine Doinel]

Another new pic and yet another new pic.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

The first look at the Crystal Skull.

[Mr Sausage]

The first look at the Crystal Skull.

As of now the image is down, "by request of the studio."

[GoldenPilgrim]

The first look at the Crystal Skull.

As of now the image is down, "by request of the studio."

You didn't miss anything, it looked like some crappy novelty item you could buy at Disneyland. Which is probably the direction it will go next. As for me I will stick with the usual Jack Sparrow dreadlock caps, and Jack Skellington sweatshirts.

[Antoine Doinel]

It looked like the skull of alien straight from Whitley Streiber's Communion.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Empire magazine has got a new still from the film up on their site.

Oh, and if you want another shot of the Skull, check it out here.

[flyonthewall2983]

The first trailer is set to debut this Thursday, in case it hasn't been mentioned yet.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

The first trailer is set to debut this Thursday, in case it hasn't been mentioned yet.

More details from Dark Horizons:

The trailer for the highly anticipated "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" will air exclusively on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday morning between 8-9am US-EST. Immediately thereafter, the footage will be available at IndianaJones.com, Yahoo! Movies and in theaters.