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George Lucas plans to shoot fourth "Indiana Jones" movie in 2007 -By ALICIA CHANG, Associated Press Writer
Friday, December 29, 2006


(12-29) 13:01 PST Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP) --


Director George Lucas said Friday filming for the much-anticipated "Indiana Jones" movie will begin next year and he promised it will be "the best one yet."

Lucas said he and director Steven Spielberg recently finalized the script, which stars Harrison Ford, who appeared in the three earlier flicks.

"It's going to be fantastic. It's going to be the best one yet," the 62-year-old filmmaker said during an interview at the Beverly Wilshire hotel where he took a break from his duties as grand marshal for the 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.

While Lucas kept mum about the plot, he promised 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 "Temple of Doom" and 1989's "The Last Crusade."

Lucas praised Ford for breathing life into his character.

"Mostly it's the charm of Harrison that makes it work," he said.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weren't there rumors of this happening years ago? I remember in 2004ish reading somewhere that Indiana Jones 4 was scheduled for release on the same day as Batman Begins in 2005. Obviously that didn't play out, but it sure has taken a while for them to get the ball rolling on this one.

Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it, as long as Lucas doesn't somehow manage to transform it into a CGI fest.


Anyone else notice the recent trend in reviving "dead" film series with new sequels? Romero continued his Dead saga with Land of the Dead in 2004, Superman Returns picked up on the 1980 flick, Rocky Balboa just hit, Live Free Or Die Hard is coming out next summer, and now this. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just making an observation. It's actually somewhat refreshing to see studios willing to expand and build on preexisting franchises in new ways as opposed to cranking out remakes of anything they can get their hands on. I think we may be seeing more of this trend in the future, and I'm fine with it, as long as the new sequels are done well and for franchises they can actually work for, unlike the plethora of direct-to-video sequels Disney have done for so many of their classic animated films. We really don't need a Jaws 5 anytime soon, or ever.

Like Ben said, this has been rumored for years. Back in 04, Speilberg even claimed he had a script and was ready to shoot! So I won't get my hopes up until we get something concrete.

From the Hollywood Reporter:


Can you dig it? Fourth 'Indy' in '08
By Gregg Kilday
Jan 2, 2007

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."
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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.

But why would Indy want to be Rocky in his 60s?

Director George Lucas said Friday filming for the much-anticipated "Indiana Jones" movie will begin next year and he promised it will be "the best one yet."