Nineteen years after chasing down the Holy Grail in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Harrison Ford will return to the big screen in the character of the globe-trotting archeologist in May 2008.
Producer George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg confirmed details of the project Monday after Lucas tipped off the media to Indiana Jones' imminent return as he prepared to serve as grand marshal of the Rose Parade in Pasadena.
After years spent in script development, a fourth installment of the famously 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. Helping Spielberg choose his next directing commitment had been a primary goal of new DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider (HR 6/23).
"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. Although reps from the companies involved did not address the question of financing Monday, Paramount execs have said that the studio expected to co-finance the project with Lucasfilm.
Frank Marshall will serve as producer, with Lucas and Kathy Kennedy joining him as executive producers. Longtime Spielberg associates, Marshall was credited in a producing capacity on the three earlier films, and Kennedy served as associate producer on the past two.
"Working with Steven, Frank, Kathy and the 'Indy' crew is like working with family," Lucas said. "These films are such great fun to make. I'm looking forward to reuniting with the team and starting this new journey."
David Koepp, who has penned 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. In August, however, Lucas told Empireonline.com, "I discovered a McGuffin. I told the guys about it and they were a little dubious about it, but it's the best one we've ever found. ... Unfortunately, it was a little too 'connected' for the others. They were afraid of what the critics would think. They said, 'Can't we do it with a different McGuffin? Can't we do this?' and I said 'No.' So we pottered around with that for a couple of years. And then Harrison really wanted to do it and Steve said, 'Okay.' I said, 'We'll have to go back to that original McGuffin and take out the offending parts of it and we'll still use that area of the supernatural to deal with it.' "
In an interview with MTV.com, Lucas also said that the project will acknowledge Harrison's age; the actor is currently 64. In a statement, Ford said he is ready for another action-packed turn as the death-defying archeologist. "I'm delighted to be back in business with my old friends," he said. "I don't know if the pants still fit, but I know the hat will."
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." "We are writing him in whether he wants to do it or not," Lucas told "Access Hollywood" when Connery was honored in June with the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award.
It also is not known whether the project will be shot digitally, like Lucas' recent "Star Wars" movies, or on film, the medium Spielberg prefers.
"Raiders of the Lost Ark," the first film in the series, was released in 1981, followed by "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" in 1984 and "Last Crusade" in 1989. The three movies have earned 14 Academy Award nominations, seven Oscars and grossed more than $1.182 billion worldwide.
A release date was not announced, but the past two films in the series opened shortly before the Memorial Day weekend. Currently, the May 2008 lineup includes Paramount's "Iron Man," from Marvel Enterprises; Buena Vista's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media; and Warner Bros. Pictures' "Speed Racer," from Warners, Silver Pictures and Village Roadshow.
I can officially state that I'm as gitty as school-girl about this news....lol
In other news in the last week Eidos Interactive and Crystal Dynamics have released the first trailer for the remake of the first Tomb Raider game, "Tomb Raider: Anniversary". Along with several new screenshots from the PS2 and PSP verisons of the game. The game does indeed look promising, and Crystal Dynamics, so far, is doing a pretty good job. Though I am excited about this remake, I'm trying not to get my hopes up. When Tomb Raider: Legend was first in the making I was excited, but as things progress the more disappointed I became with the outcome of the game. So though I have no doubts about Indy 4 I'm sticking to being a bit cynical about TR: Anniversary.
Below is the official TR: AE trailer, enjoy.
2 comments:
I have to admit, I'm already a bit hyped up about Indy IV and it looks like its going to be great. (It feels safe to assume).
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is something the new developers should be really careful with especially since they have made clear they are very keen to make this a "completely new adventure based on TR1".
One thing I'm particularly happy with is that it seems that focus will be more on gameplay, improving the engine and the whole "Raiding" experience as opposed to Lara Croft. Before it used be all about Lara during interviews. But now if you look at the official screens you'll notice there's more focus on the environment and how the player will be able to interact with it. I think this is the route the series should take if it wants to be considered innovative and taken as seriously as it was back in the early days.
Yeah that's what I have a problem with about this remake too. CD does need to be very careful on how they approach these certain changes they plan on making to the storyline. I really do not want to see this game turn into a Legend sequel, but as I foretold sometime ago I have a feeling that's what they're doing.
On the other hand, like you, I am happy to hear they're focusing more on gameplay and the enivorments the player will have to interact with. I mean how much bigger do Lara's boobs have to get? lol So it's nice to know that they aren't focusing solely on her. I think why all the buzz about Legend was directed more at Lara is because they were changing her so much. With those changes now set in stone they don't have to bother with it.
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