Scribe Jeff Nathanson has two jobs most screenwriters would envy - penning the next entries in the "Indiana Jones" and "Rush Hour" franchises. Today, Variety reports one of those potential sequels has hit a stall and it ain't the one you'd think.

It seems that Chris Tucker has had another about-face and failed to sign a $20 million deal that would fast-track New Line's "Rush Hour 3." The studio had made an agreement with Tucker, Jackie Chan and helmer Brett Ratner to pay Nathanson - who penned "Rush Hour 2" - to write a treatment. If they liked Nathanson's pitch, each would waive script approval. But Tucker changed his mind at the last moment, and New Line refused to cut a check to Nathanson unless it knew the film would get made. New Line hoped the film would anchor its summer 2006 slate.

On the flip side, Nathanson's draft for "Indiana Jones 4" has apparently met with the approval of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. But before Paramount can do it, Harrison Ford - the third key member of the Indy triumvirate - has to sign off on the script, and he hasn't yet read Nathanson's draft. An earlier effort by Frank Darabont failed to pass muster.

Scheduling "Indiana Jones 4" for a 2006 start will be tricky for Spielberg, who next heads to Europe to shoot his untitled drama about the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics for Universal and DreamWorks, and is expected to follow in January with a DreamWorks film about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, to star Liam Neeson.

Thanks to 'Eddie'.