Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Cast: Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Divoff, Pavel Lychnikoff, Igor Jijikine, Alan Dale, Joel StofferDirector: Steven Spielberg
Writers: David Koepp, George Lucas,
Jeff Nathanson, Philip Kaufman
Producer: Frank Marshall
Co-Producer: Denis L. Stewart
Executive Producers: George Lucas, Kathleen Kennedy
Art Direction: Luke Freeborn
Casting: Debra Zane
Costume Design: Mary Zophres
D.O.P.: Janusz Kaminski
Editor: Michael Kahn
Music: John Williams
Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas
Set Decoration: Larry Dias, Alyssa Winter
This newest adventure begins in the desert Southwest in 1957 - the height of the Cold War. Indy and his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) have barely escaped a close scrape with nefarious Soviet agents on a remote airfield.
Now, Professor Jones has returned home to Marshall College - only to find things have gone from bad to worse. His close friend and dean of the college (Jim Broadbent) explains that Indy's recent activities have made him the object of suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university to fire him.
On his way out of town, Indiana meets rebellious young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who carries both a grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist: If he'll help Mutt on a mission with deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history - the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear.
But as Indy and Mutt set out for the most remote corners of Peru - a land of ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a rumored city of gold - they quickly realize they are not alone in their search. The Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull. Chief among them is icy cold, devastatingly beautiful Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), whose elite military unit is scouring the globe for the eerie Crystal Skull, which they believe can help the Soviets dominate the world ... if they can unlock its secrets.
Indy and Mutt must find a way to evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an impenetrable trail of mystery, grapple with enemies and friends of questionable motives, and, above all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of hands.
Now, Professor Jones has returned home to Marshall College - only to find things have gone from bad to worse. His close friend and dean of the college (Jim Broadbent) explains that Indy's recent activities have made him the object of suspicion, and that the government has put pressure on the university to fire him.
On his way out of town, Indiana meets rebellious young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who carries both a grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist: If he'll help Mutt on a mission with deeply personal stakes, Indy could very well make one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history - the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear.
But as Indy and Mutt set out for the most remote corners of Peru - a land of ancient tombs, forgotten explorers and a rumored city of gold - they quickly realize they are not alone in their search. The Soviet agents are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull. Chief among them is icy cold, devastatingly beautiful Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), whose elite military unit is scouring the globe for the eerie Crystal Skull, which they believe can help the Soviets dominate the world ... if they can unlock its secrets.
Indy and Mutt must find a way to evade the ruthless Soviets, follow an impenetrable trail of mystery, grapple with enemies and friends of questionable motives, and, above all, stop the powerful Crystal Skull from falling into the deadliest of hands.
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cinematographic Process: Digital Intermediate (master), Panavision (source)
Film Format: 35mm
Filming Locations: Connecticut, USA; Hawaii, USA; Los Angeles, USA; New Mexico, USA
MPAA Warning: Adventure Violence and Scary Images
Production Budget: $125 million
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm,
Amblin Entertainment, Santo Domingo Film & Music Video
Production Schedule: 18th June 2007 - 11th October 2007
Web Sites: Official Site - MySpace - The IMDb
Cinematographic Process: Digital Intermediate (master), Panavision (source)
Film Format: 35mm
Filming Locations: Connecticut, USA; Hawaii, USA; Los Angeles, USA; New Mexico, USA
MPAA Warning: Adventure Violence and Scary Images
Production Budget: $125 million
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm,
Amblin Entertainment, Santo Domingo Film & Music Video
Production Schedule: 18th June 2007 - 11th October 2007
Web Sites: Official Site - MySpace - The IMDb
Reports from the Connecticut Yale shoot for the upcoming fourth "Indiana Jones" flick have been flooding the Internet since filming began yesterday morning, so lets sort...
The official site for the next "Indiana Jones" flick has posted up the Comic-Con panel satellite video presentation that took place on Thursday with the main cast members...
- In June 2003 Frank Darabont's script was being reported as being complete. In April 2004, the project was supposedly shelved once more after George Lucas rejected the script by Darabont, reportedly not liking Darabont's handling of the storyline between Indy and his brother. Spielberg called this version the best screenplay since Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Darabont's screenplay was set in the 1950s, after the demise of the Nazi regime, and featured cameos from Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw It did not have Jones' son. M. Night Shyamalan, Stephen Gaghan and Tom Stoppard were also each asked to pen a draft of the screenplay.
- Final script scribe David Koepp tried not to make his work a "fan script", in that he hoped to avoid any trivial references to the previous films. He noted that the story would have to acknowledge Ford/Indiana's age, and also aimed to make it less dark than "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" yet less comic than "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", aiming for the balance from the first film.
- In order to keep aesthetic continuity with the previous films, there will be minimal use of computer generated imagery and more of a reliance on traditional stuntwork, with Ford performing many of his own stunts. During filming, Spielberg anticipated "30%" of visual effects would be CGI, for elements such as backdrops. Production Designer Guy Dyas later confirmed the same ratio - citing most CG for the film was basic background extensions, wire removals and so forth.
- Steven Spielberg brought on Janusz Kaminski, who's shot all Spielberg's films since Schindler's List (1993), to replace the now-retired cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who had worked on all three of the previous Indy films. The pair had to watch all the three previous films repeatedly to study both Slocombe's and Spielberg's earlier techniques.
- Sean Connery was asked to reprise his role as Henry Jones, Sr. from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" but Connery turned it down because he did not want to come out of retirement.
- Before 'The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' was chosen as the title, several other titles were considered and even registered with the MPAA in August 2007, including 'The City of Gods', 'The Destroyer of Worlds', 'The Fourth Corner of the Earth', 'The Lost City of Gold', and finally, 'The Quest for the Covenant'.
- Instead of tributing Republic Pictures's 1930s serials, the film instead tributes a 1950s B-movie, which give the skulls an appropriate context given their origins. Lucas's favorite B-movie of that era was Forbidden Planet.
- The 64-year-old Harrison Ford spent three hours a day at the gym, and subsisted on a high-protein diet of fish and vegetables, thus building his body into a condition where he could perform his own stunts. Steven Spielberg later stated he was so impressed with Ford's form that he could not tell the difference between the shoots for the third and fourth films.
- This is the first Indiana Jones film without Pat Roach, who had a role in the first three films. Roach died in 2004. It's also the first Indiana Jones film not photographed by Douglas Slocombe.
- Ian McDiarmid reprises his role as Professor Levi from "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles". The character serves as a replacement for Sean Connery's Henry Jones, Sr. character. Jim Broadbent's character stands in for Marcus Brody, as actor Denholm Elliott died in 1992. As a tribute to Elliott, the filmmakers put a portrait of the character in the film on the Marshall College set.
- Shia LaBeouf pulled his hip's rotator cuff when filming his duel with Spalko, which was his first injury in his career. The injury got worse throughout filming until it pulled his groin. Ray Winstone tore his hamstring during filming.
- Spielberg cast Russian actors in the roles of Russian soldiers so their accents would be authentic. Spalko's bob cut was Cate Blanchett's idea, with the character's stern looks and behaviour inspired by Bond villainess Rosa Klebb in "From Russia with Love".
- An extra in the film, Tyler Nelson, violated his nondisclosure agreement and gave an interview to a Canadian newspaper in September 2007, which was then picked up by the mainstream media. Spielberg has yet to decide if he will cut Nelson's scene. A month later a Superior Court order was filed finding that Nelson knowingly violated the agreement. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
- In October 2007, it was reported that a number of production photos and sensitive documents pertaining to the film's production budget were stolen from Steven Spielberg’s production office. People believed to be involved in the burglary sent out e-mails to several entertainment gossip websites offering to sell the images.
- Jeb Stuart, Jeffrey Boam, M. Night Shyamalan, Tom Stoppard and Jeff Nathanson were each asked to pen a draft of the screenplay.
- Calista Flockhart was attached at one point to the project.
- Darabont's screenplay was set in the 1950s, after the demise of the Nazi regime, and featured cameos from Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw It did not have Jones' son. M. Night Shyamalan, Stephen Gaghan and Tom Stoppard were also each asked to pen a draft of the screenplay.
- Final script scribe David Koepp tried not to make his work a "fan script", in that he hoped to avoid any trivial references to the previous films. He noted that the story would have to acknowledge Ford/Indiana's age, and also aimed to make it less dark than "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" yet less comic than "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", aiming for the balance from the first film.
- In order to keep aesthetic continuity with the previous films, there will be minimal use of computer generated imagery and more of a reliance on traditional stuntwork, with Ford performing many of his own stunts. During filming, Spielberg anticipated "30%" of visual effects would be CGI, for elements such as backdrops. Production Designer Guy Dyas later confirmed the same ratio - citing most CG for the film was basic background extensions, wire removals and so forth.
- Steven Spielberg brought on Janusz Kaminski, who's shot all Spielberg's films since Schindler's List (1993), to replace the now-retired cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who had worked on all three of the previous Indy films. The pair had to watch all the three previous films repeatedly to study both Slocombe's and Spielberg's earlier techniques.
- Sean Connery was asked to reprise his role as Henry Jones, Sr. from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" but Connery turned it down because he did not want to come out of retirement.
- Before 'The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' was chosen as the title, several other titles were considered and even registered with the MPAA in August 2007, including 'The City of Gods', 'The Destroyer of Worlds', 'The Fourth Corner of the Earth', 'The Lost City of Gold', and finally, 'The Quest for the Covenant'.
- Instead of tributing Republic Pictures's 1930s serials, the film instead tributes a 1950s B-movie, which give the skulls an appropriate context given their origins. Lucas's favorite B-movie of that era was Forbidden Planet.
- The 64-year-old Harrison Ford spent three hours a day at the gym, and subsisted on a high-protein diet of fish and vegetables, thus building his body into a condition where he could perform his own stunts. Steven Spielberg later stated he was so impressed with Ford's form that he could not tell the difference between the shoots for the third and fourth films.
- This is the first Indiana Jones film without Pat Roach, who had a role in the first three films. Roach died in 2004. It's also the first Indiana Jones film not photographed by Douglas Slocombe.
- Ian McDiarmid reprises his role as Professor Levi from "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles". The character serves as a replacement for Sean Connery's Henry Jones, Sr. character. Jim Broadbent's character stands in for Marcus Brody, as actor Denholm Elliott died in 1992. As a tribute to Elliott, the filmmakers put a portrait of the character in the film on the Marshall College set.
- Shia LaBeouf pulled his hip's rotator cuff when filming his duel with Spalko, which was his first injury in his career. The injury got worse throughout filming until it pulled his groin. Ray Winstone tore his hamstring during filming.
- Spielberg cast Russian actors in the roles of Russian soldiers so their accents would be authentic. Spalko's bob cut was Cate Blanchett's idea, with the character's stern looks and behaviour inspired by Bond villainess Rosa Klebb in "From Russia with Love".
- An extra in the film, Tyler Nelson, violated his nondisclosure agreement and gave an interview to a Canadian newspaper in September 2007, which was then picked up by the mainstream media. Spielberg has yet to decide if he will cut Nelson's scene. A month later a Superior Court order was filed finding that Nelson knowingly violated the agreement. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
- In October 2007, it was reported that a number of production photos and sensitive documents pertaining to the film's production budget were stolen from Steven Spielberg’s production office. People believed to be involved in the burglary sent out e-mails to several entertainment gossip websites offering to sell the images.
- Jeb Stuart, Jeffrey Boam, M. Night Shyamalan, Tom Stoppard and Jeff Nathanson were each asked to pen a draft of the screenplay.
- Calista Flockhart was attached at one point to the project.
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22nd May 2008: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UK, Venezuela
23rd May 2008: Bulgaria, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Turkey
21st June 2008: Japan
