February 6th, 2004

RAIDERS OF THE LOST SCRIPT
Dr. Strangescript or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Delays

by Eric 'Renderking' Fisk

Last Thursday we reported that Variety had an article stating that George Lucas wasn’t completely happy with the recently completed Indiana Jones IV script that Frank Darabont completed a few days before.  All resulting in yet another script writer being brought in and perhaps “tweaking” the current script, and possibly doing a total re-write or scrapping the whole thing and starting new.

Fact is, all long time Jones fans have something in common: We’ve all read this story before but with different names.  This isn’t anything new. Over the past decade we’ve seen scriptwriters come and go… as if it’s a “Changing of the Guard” at the Lucas Ranch.  John Hughes (Home Alone), M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense and Signs), Tom Stoppard (Empire of the Sun, Enigma) and Chris Columbus (The Goonies and Harry Potter director) were all attached to the script before Frank Darabont.

Personal Analysis.

“The news heard around the world of Fedora Wearing Fans” that gave us all our doubts about whether or not this motion picture will ever be made reads almost like an obituary for a friend who’s been gone too long and now will never return.  Here’s the story from Coming Soon.net:

Variety reports that the reunion of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford for Indiana Jones 4 is on hold again as a new script draft is commissioned. Paramount had hoped to get into production on a fourth film in 2004 for a 2005 release. Frank Darabont had been brought in to script a concept the trio liked, but apparently Lucas wasn't happy with the draft. They will now bring aboard another screenwriter to rewrite Darabont's script.

The obvious question is why was Mr. Lucas unhappy and what could he have found wrong with the script?  And why the hesitation to go forward with a script everyone assumes is perfect because of Darabont's previous work?

It’s my personal opinion that because of some of the back-lash Mr. Lucas has felt over the past 5 years from rabid STAR WARS fans, Mr. Lucas isn’t in a hurry to make what many fans might regard as “more mistakes”. Episode I was the most eagerly awaited motion picture in history, leaving Mr. Lucas open to enormous amounts of criticism.  Fans expected too much, a Science Fiction version of a Shakespearean opera or a “Pulp-Fiction” gore feast with lightsabers.  Nothing Mr. Lucas could have done would be enough to please every single die-hard fan.  The first episode of the STAR WARS saga needed to be in part a political drama and setting the stage for the action that would continue to play out in the next two episodes.

What’s clear is that Mr. Lucas is hesitant to “make the same mistakes over again.” He might be bringing on another writer to take out the “Soap Opera” and the “Cute-Disney” factors from the script.

Free Advice: Lawrence Kasdan and Nick Meyer

What ever the issues are with the new script, they can be addressed by two men who have proven themselves in the past to be “Miracle Workers”.  If Mr. Lucas is looking for someone to give the script a final polish or “Rev it up a notch”, I would like to help him narrow the field down to two.

Lawrence Kasdan: As I’ve written in many other forums, if Jones4 is going to be the last movie, then by all means bring it full circle. Get back to the roots of what made Indiana Jones the character loved by millions.  Mr. Kasdan’s proven himself time and again with films since his work on Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

Nick Meyer: Out of all the STAR TREK movies with the Original Cast, the three that are the most enjoyable are the ones that were scripted and Directed by Nick Meyer.  By writing this, I’m not saying that he should take over Mr. Spielberg’s chores behind the camera.  What I am saying is that if there were anyone else other then Mr. Kasdan who I would guarantee a perfect script, it would be Nick Meyer.

Nick Meyer saved the STAR TREK franchise.  He took the original script for Wrath of Kahn and in a matter of days took what was once a cheesy over-the-top space melodrama and turned it into a very realistic, dramatic story and gave the ENTERPRISE the nautical feel it had been missing since the first two pilots were filmed.

Nick Meyer has an ironic sense of history and is able to incorporate that into his work in a metaphoric sense.  Nick Meyer would be able to take modern issues of today and twist them seamlessly into the script and make it a timeless product that will be able to hold up for generations to come.

Don’t Panic

Getting back on track, from what I’ve read in previous stories, there are many people who are committed to this project, including the executives at Paramount Pictures.  Does this mean that Jones4 ISN’T going to happen?  No one here can tell the future.  I can predict that who ever they get to work on the script will do so until there’s final word that they have started shooting or the project is canceled once and for all.  Not until there are reports that the cast and crew are shooting on location will I be confidant that this movie will happen.

The good news is, Jones 4 will be release on it’s own and won’t be overshadowed with the release of Episode III.  It’s not being rushed into production half-heartedly with something everyone isn’t confident with.

Mr. Lucas bringing in a new scriptwriter for a rewrite is a final attempt to cover all of his bases.  Not until the word is released that the project is canceled will I get upset.  With news like this, it’s important to remember what really matters and is important.  For me, being a fan doesn’t hinge on the possibility of another sequel - Raiders Of The Lost Ark inspired me to spend more times hiking and visiting new places and spurred my curiosity of films from that era.

This is far from the End of the World… if anything it means that Mr. Lucas is giving himself an opportunity to finish work on the last STAR WARS movie before moving on to something else we’ve been anxious to see.

For me, personally.  I think this is what you deserve when you don't have a life and you live vicariously through movies and sequels. If you're just a fan with a life, this isn't going to kill you. Your fedora still fits, the DVD still plays the movies and your mother and wife still love you if they ever did.

Jones should be inspiring you to do something more than wait for news of yet another sequel.  As of this writing I remember walking through the woods on an abandoned rail-trail with my son and wife this past summer.  There was a cut through the woods and there was a canopy of leaves and the sun was causing rays of light to slice through the humid air.  It was a perfect moment filled with adventure and excitement, reminiscent of one of our favorite movies yet miles away from a theater or our television.

That's means there's more to life then a sequel and more then anything another could bring.

After Word by Aaron Gantt:

 When I first read the story in Variety that Indy IV’s production was going to be put on hold and that the script was going to be rewritten, it shocked me to say the least.  We had just gotten confirmation that the script was completed and was ready to go!  But not once did I lose faith that Indy IV would happen, that thought never entered my head.  After talking to some officials at Lucasfilm it has been confirmed that the Variety article was accurate.  So there is no question as to if this story is for real or not.

The plot thickens...  Another interesting aspect to the story comes from Dark Horizons who received a report from a Paramount ‘insider’:

Meanwhile a supposed Paramount insider sent in the following scoop to DH a few hours before the trade report broke which could reveal some of the reasoning behind why Lucas didn't like it: "Darabont has been ordered to rewrite it, one of the elements he apparently didn't go for was a sub-plot involving Indy's brother. The brother is still going to be in it, but not as much a focus as in the current script. There needs to be more dimension to the character as well. Apparently Kevin Costner has talked to Spielberg too - but I don't know if he's in it".

Now we’ve all heard the idea of Indy’s Brother being in the fourth film, nothing new there, and it might make a good addition to the story.  From everything we’ve heard, Lucas is merely trying to make Indy IV the best film he can, and I think we should cut him some slack.  You have to remember one thing: these are people who want to make Indy IV work.  We should at least be thankful that they aren’t rushing into things and trying to stamp out a quick sequel and move on.  As Ren said, George is simply trying to avoid making any mistakes.

I don’t want anyone to think that Indy IV is done for, but don’t think it’s set in stone just yet  We’ve been through this before, but for the first time, we’re seeing events surrounding Indy IV that are occurring on a scale we’ve never seen before, which makes it all the more interesting.  From what I’m hearing, we’re looking at a 4 – 6 month delay so that the script can get tweaked to the point that everyone is happy.  Then we’ll be right back on track chugging forward toward Indy IV’s release.  Granted that’s just one scenario, so don't hold me to it.  But rest in the fact that Mr. Spielberg, and Mr. Lucas are doing the best they can to make the fourth Indiana Jones film as good as possible.  Nothing is for sure until the day you walk out of that theater having just seen Indiana Jones IV, and I believe that day will come.

 "At my age I'm prepared to take a few things on faith."