Lucas on Indiana Jones's last crusade
Posted on Mon, 2-May-2005

Now that the kid's scored his helmet, George Lucas is looking to the "Indiana Jones" franchise for the next extension on his mansion.

Though it's been pushed back more times than a drunk chap at a bar, "Indiana Jones 4" is still happening, says Lucas - the plan is in place. And it doesn't matter that star Harrison Ford is getting older - because the script caters for that.

Talking to Hollywood.com, Lucas shed some much welcomed light on the third sequel, saying it'll feature Indy - played by Harrison Ford - as well as a new, younger, sidekick.

"I talked to Steven while I was in Hawaii, and he said the script is done and he was going to send it to me when I got back, which was yesterday. It isn't on my desk today and he's coming up tomorrow to see Star Wars, so I assume he'll bring it with him", the "Star Wars" zillionaire says.

Lucas says he's trying to get "Indiana Jones 4" off the ground since working on TV spin-off "Young Indiana Jones".

"Oh yeah. I came up with this idea doing 'Young Indy', which has got to be about seven or eight years ago, and we've been through a number of scripts--six or eight scripts. Six scripts, two rewrites. So it's been down the path. There were certain aspects of it that Steven and Harrison [Ford] didn't like, and so we changed those, and then we laid out a version and it didn't come out the way it was supposed to, and then we did another version and it didn't come out, so we've just been going through this development hell, which happens once in a while. We'll see. When it comes out, it'll be different. Different, but the same."

And what of the rumours that a new younger sidekick may be involved?

"It's possible. Not really to take over", says Lucas, adding that the new character hasn't been designed so he/she can star in their own movies. "No, it wasn't meant to be that way. But I guess that's a possibility. It's really to wrap it up. Just desperately trying to put things together that work. You need characters to make the film work. It's not just an adventure story. There's actually got to be human relationships in it."

Lucas wouldn't confirm who would be playing the new sidekick - everyone from Kevin Costner, playing Indy's brother, to Scarlett Johansson, playing Indy's new female sidekick, has been rumoured for the part - but did hint that some old series faves, including Kate Capshaw's Willie Scott, could be returning.

The Obligatory Indiana Jones 4 update
Posted on Fri, 8-Jul-2005

Uncle George may have given it the thumbs up, but that doesn't mean "Indiana Jones 4" is a go picture.

Talking to Now Playing Magazine, the "War of the Worlds" producer says they've still got a ways to go before the man with the hat will be back (hey, that rhymes).

“It’s one thing to approve something, it’s another thing to say it’s greenlit and we’re shooting it. So we’re just in that sort of phase of finessing,” she says, before responding to a question about whether or not star Harrison Ford is too old for the part these days. “No, I don’t think so. Certainly we’re not writing the script as though he’s 20 years old. You know, Sean Connery spent a lot of time in the Bond role and whatnot. I think it’s great that we can go make another Indiana Jones movie and Indy can be a little older. I think playing with that is a good thing.”

Kennedy says the film will take place in the 1940's. "I know this sounds like something that we’ve been saying for 15 years, but I’m hoping that we’re going to see something in a couple of months".

Yeah, whatever....and that million bucks I've got coming to me is only a couple of months away too. Right?

A few fresh details have emerged from the cinematic oven on the next "Indiana Jones" adventure.

According to http://www.TheIndyExperience.com, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, and George Lucas have all given the thumbs up to the latest "Indiana Jones 4" script, and it's go-go for launch. Apparently Spielberg's clearing his schedule after "Munich" for the sequel.

Lucas and writer Jeff Nathanson are currently tweaking the script, hoping it should be finished by the fall to be submitted for greenlight.

February 2nd, 2007 is the date Paramount plan to release the blockbuster.

Buzz is that Indiana Jones may be searching for the Lost City of Atlantis in his latest adventure.

-Zavier

George Lucas said Friday that filming of the long-awaited Indiana Jones 4 will begin next year with Harrison Ford set to star again. Lucas said he and Steven Spielberg recently finalized the script for the film.

"It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be the best one yet," the 62-year-old filmmaker said during a break from preparing for his duties as grand marshal of Monday's Rose Parade.

Exact film locations have not been decided yet, but Lucas said part of the movie will be shot in Los Angeles.

The fourth chapter of the "Indiana Jones" saga, which will hit theaters in May 2008, has been in development for over a decade with several screenwriters taking a crack at the script, but it only recently gained momentum.

Lucas kept mum about the plot, but said that the latest action flick will be a "character piece" that will include "very interesting mysteries."

"I think it's going to be really cool," Lucas said.

At the inaugural Rome Film Festival in October, the 64-year-old Ford said he was excited to team up with Lucas and Spielberg again for the fourth "Indiana Jones" installment. Ford said he was "fit to continue" to play the title role despite his age.

Ford played Indiana Jones in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1984's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned more details about the Indiana Jones 4 production after George Lucas announced on Friday that the project is a go for a release in May, 2008.

After years spent in script development, the fourth installment of the successful franchise is set to begin production in June in locations around the world and in the U.S.

Although he has been developing other projects, including a biopic about Abraham Lincoln with Liam Neeson attached to star, Spielberg has decided the "Indiana Jones" sequel will be his next directorial outing.

"George, Harrison and I are all very excited," Spielberg said. "We feel that the script was well worth the wait. We hope it delivers everything you'd expect from our history with Indiana Jones."

The film will be produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and released worldwide by Paramount Pictures, the parent company of DreamWorks. Frank Marshall will serve as producer, with Lucas and Kathy Kennedy joining him as executive producers.

David Koepp, who has wrote such previous Spielberg projects as Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds, wrote the screenplay that finally got the stamp of approval from Lucas and Spielberg. An earlier screenplay by Frank Darabont had been shelved when Lucas turned thumbs down on it.

For the moment, the title of the new film as well as its story line are being kept under wraps.

Although a spokesman for Spielberg said Monday that no casting has begun, Lucas and Ford have said that they would like to include Sean Connery, who played Indiana Jones' father, Professor Henry Jones, in "The Last Crusade."