The Indy Experience.com - The Ultimate Guide to Indiana Jones!

Thought it would be good to point out that IMDB.com has listed Frank Marshall (producer for all three Indiana Jones films) as the producer for the upcoming sequel Jurassic Park IV in 2005. Marshall now has a total of 5 films on his slate as producer including Indiana Jones 4 in 2006. Marshall hinted at his involvement in JP IV a few weeks ago in an Idaho Newspaper.

Chances are this won't effect Marshall's work on Indy 4, but it is good to note even though this is just a rumor (given that there has been no official announcement of his direct involvement). Stay tuned!

Thanks to Eddie for the news.

CNN: Temple of Doom and the PG-13 Rating
August 24th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

CNN.com has a very cool article about the PG-13 film rating and how Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom helped inspire it. When Temple of Doom was first released in 1984, it was met with quite a shock from parents due to a certain Thuggee ritual being placed in a PG film. Here's an excerpt from the article:

"After "Temple of Doom" opened May 23, some parents complained to theater managers and the ratings board that their kids were mortified, and news reports began questioning whether the ratings board was being too lax.

Jack Valenti, the longtime MPAA head who recently announced his retirement, told the AP that the heart scene was the catalyst. "By today's standards it's not a big deal," he said. "But it was pretty off-putting. And there was a real problem about how to label that picture."

"Everybody was screaming, screaming, screaming that it should have had an R-rating, and I didn't agree," Spielberg said."

It's interesting that both Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom and Gremlins played such a significant role in bringing about the PG-13 rating. Which, in effect, gave filmmakers a whole new way to market films. So I guess you could say Temple of Doom helped expand the entire film industry by inspiring the new rating. Cool!

Check out the full article at CNN.com, definitely worth a read.

Thanks to Calvin for the news!

Raiders of the Lost Ark on BBC One!
August 24th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Good news for Indy fans in the UK! Just got word that Raiders of the Lost Ark will be showing this Wednesday, August 25th on BBC One at 10:00PM (2000) local time. For more information, check out BBC.co.uk for full schedules.

Thanks to Canyon for the tip!

Happy Birthday Short Round!
August 20th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Today, actor Jonathan Ke Quan turns 33! We all remember Quan's beloved performance as Indy's sidekick in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Jonathan Ke Quan was born Ke Huy-Quan Saigon, Vietnam in 1971. Quan's brother originally auditioned for the role of Short Round, but ended up being cast in the film instead.

We here at TIE.c along with all our readers wish Mr. Quan a very happy birthday!

Spielberg Too Busy for Indiana Jones 4?
August 19th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Empire Online commented on Steven Spielberg's current schedule and it looks as though he may not have time for Indiana Jones 4. After Spielberg finishes War of the Worlds (Sometime in 2005) he will move on to the Munich Olympics project after that. Here's the original article from Empire:

"Once War Of The Worlds is finished, Spielberg will resume Munich Olympics drama Vengeance, to which Bana is still attached, and Cruise will go on M:I-3 once he's found a director. Alias' JJ Abrams has been mooted, although it's not sure where the delay leaves those actors already cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Scarlett Johanssen, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

One thing is for sure, though: this makes the likelihood of seeing Indiana Jones IV any time soon even more remote."

Well, even though that's the way it appears, I like to keep an optimistic view on the situation. I think that Spielberg will have time to make Indy 4 and have it out in late 2006. As always, it's very difficult to predict this sort of things since there are so many factors are involved. If things go moderately well with the WotW pic, it would be possible for Spielberg to move right into Indiana Jones 4 (assuming Lucas and the mystery writer are finished with the final draft of the script). Once he completes Indy 4 he could then move on to the Olympics project.

Though that's all speculation, it's still a possibility, do don't give up hope! We'll keep you up to date on Indy 4, stay tuned...

Thanks to Eddie for the news.

More on the David Boreanaz/Indy 4 Rumor
August 19th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

We received quite a response from yesterday's story on David Boreanaz in Indy 4. As expected, the chances of David Boreanaz's next project being Indiana Jones 4 are highly unlikely. Chances are, the film Boreanaz was referring to is either The Crow 4, Wicked Prayer or Fantastic Four. It's pretty much safe to say it's not Indiana Jones 4, so we'll leave it at that. Case closed.

Thanks to Rob 'Indiana' Gater, Sean C., Eddie & Pete!

David Boreanaz Up For Indiana Jones 4?
August 18th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

TV Guide.com reported earlier today that actor David Boreanaz (Angel) is working on a new "high-profile" film. Boreanaz teased that 'Four' was the magic number. Could he mean Indiana Jones 4?! Here's the report from TV Guide:

"With that in mind, Boreanaz recently shot the title role in the big-screen comedy Mr. Fix It. "It has a very '80s romantic theme to it," he says. "I'm going to be doing some dancing, singing... it's going to be a lot of fun." He's also in talks to co-star in a high-profile franchise flick that he insists is not Superman. "It's better," he teases, adding, "'Four' would be the magic number — that's all I'm going to say." (Our guess? It's the in-the-works fourth Indiana Jones pic.)"

Well, this is of course pure rumor (rather, speculation by TV Guide) but it gets you thinking nonetheless. He could be talking about Indy 4, Jurassic Park IV or another film franchise, who knows? I guess the next question is, (assuming he is working on Indiana Jones 4) what role would he play? Villain? Sidekick? It's anyone's guess. For right now, we'll keep this rumor filed under "S" for speculation, stay tuned...

Thanks to Eddie, TV Guide.com & Coming Soon.net for the news!

Location Scouting for Indiana Jones 4?
August 17th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

An article was posted on Tirol Online where they talked about the work of Leo Baumgartner, a location scout who's next project was supposedly Indiana Jones 4. Apparently, Baumgartner's job was to build a bridge in Rofangebiet, Austria which was to be used in Indy 4. Indiana Jones.de posted a translation to the article:

"If you believe it or not, we were closer to Indy 4 than we thought. Behind the scenes everybody worked hard on the next adventure. Locations were scouted and exterior sets should be built. An article on www.tirol.com proved this:

The article is about Leo Baumgartner. He is a safety guard and location scout. Recently he worked for King Arthur and Bridgit Jones 2. His next project should be Indiana Jones 4. His task was it to build a bridge in Austria (Rofangebiet). But we all know that George Lucas refused the final version of the script. So they stopped the pre-production."

We have no way of knowing if this is true or not, but nonetheless, it is interesting. Was the production of Indy 4 that far along when Uncle George decided to halt for script rewrites? Hard to tell. We have heard reports of location scouting for Indy 4 in the past, but nothing came of it. Keep in mind this is just a rumor and nothing more, but it's still very interesting.

To read more, check out Tirol Online (German) and click here to view a panorama photo of Rofangebiet.

Thanks to Indiana Jones.de for the news!

Exclusive Interview with Chris Strompolos!
August 16th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

The Indy Experience.com is very proud to present an exclusive Interview with Chris Strompolos - one of the three co-creators of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation! Mr. Strompolos was kind enough to share his valuable time with us so that we could conduct this interview, and now give you a chance to learn more about the man who remade Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Eric 'Renderking' Fisk and Adam a.k.a. 'Molorom' were the two other lucky Indiana Jones fans who attended FanzillaCon that day. After a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, Eric and Adam were given the unique opportunity to sit down and talk with Chris Strompolos about The Adaptation and how it has changed his life.

To learn more about the Indiana Jones fan who made history, check out TIE.c's Interview with Chris Strompolos as well as a special introduction to the interview by Eric Fisk. A very special thanks goes out to Chris Strompolos for giving us this opportunity to talk with him, as well as, to the people at FanzillaCon for hosting the screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation.

Keep an eye out for more exclusive features and updates on Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation. The Indy Experience will continue to bring the you the most exclusive information on this one of a kind fan film. Stay tuned - we promise there's lots more to come!

Steve Sansweet Comments on Indy 4
August 14th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

IESB.net conducted an interview with Steve Sansweet, Director of Content Management and the man in charge of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm's Marketing Department. In it, Mr. Sansweet talks about the upcoming Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and at the end of the interview, he was asked about Indiana Jones 4 and here's what he had to say:

IESB.net: "Any word on Indiana Jones? We talked to Frank Marshall recently, he said that George is reworking the script, about three quarters done, is it still Frank's (Darabont) main script?"

Steve Sansweet: "I'm not sure what version of the script that we're going to see in the end but we're all very committed and very hopeful that Indy 4 becomes a reality before very long."

IESB.net: "And are you gonna be actively involved with the fans much like you are with Star Wars?"

Steve Sansweet: "Well, Star Wars is a little different because Lucasfilm controls Star Wars completely, whereas Indiana Jones is really a Paramount project that George and Steven take part in. So, probably won't be the same level of participation for Lucasfilm Marketing, but I love Indiana Jones and hope we do something with that.

Nothing particularly new here, but it is good to hear from Mr. Sansweet and it's good to hear his optimism about Indy 4. I sure hope that Lucasfilm does their best to take part in the fan aspect of Indiana Jones when the fourth film does come around. Be sure to check out the full interview with Steve Sansweet at IESB.net!

Thanks to Eddie for the news!

Three Adaptation Screenings in September!
August 13th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Just got an email from our good buddy, Chris Strompolos who informed me of three new screenings of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation coming next month! This September will see three all new screenings of Raiders: Adaptation as well as the very first screening of the remake in Europe! Here are the dates and details:

September 8th - 13th
Oldenburg International Film Festival
The very first European screening of the Raiders of the Lost Ark remake in Oldenburg, Germany! All three creators of The Adaptation will be in attendance for this screening.
September 17th - 19th
Ocean Springs Film Festival
This will be the official 'homecoming' festival. Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb will all be in attendance for this very special screening in Ocean Springs, Mississippi where the trio filmmakers grew up and made their movie.
September 20th
Coolidge Corner Theatre
Back-to-back screenings of Raiders: The Adaptation and the original Raiders of the Lost Ark in Brookline, Massachusetts with a special appearance by Adaptation director, Eric Zala!

Don't miss out folks, if you live anywhere near these screening locations, you'd better plan on making the trek to see this historic remake. For more information, check out the links above.

Big thanks to Chris Strompolos for letting us know!

John Williams' Scores Featured in Sights & Sounds
August 13th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

In the current issue of the British Film Institute's Sights & Sounds, they have a wonderful feature on one of the most underrated musical genres: film music. And what film music feature wouldn't be complete without a nod to the greatest film score composer of all time, John Williams? In this issue, they list quite a few quotes from some of Hollywood's biggest directors and composers, including Director Jonathan Mostow who proclaimed that the "["Raiders"] main theme is perhaps one of the most rousing pieces of film music ever written." I could not have said it better myself.

I have a feeling Mr. Mostow has just earned a great deal of respect from Indiana Jones fans. You can't blame him. The Raiders March is by far one of the greatest musical scores ever written. Dare I say, THE greatest musical score ever written? Of course, I am bias... John Williams certainly deserves notice for his amazing work and contribution to the movie industry. Simply put, without John Williams, film as we know it today would not be the same.

Thanks to Spielbergfilms.com for the news!

Spielberg Taking on 'War' and the Olympics
August 12th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

We've got a few updates on Spielberg's current filming schedule. Steven Spielberg will once again be taking on two film projects at one time. War of the Worlds and the untitled Mossad Olympics project, much like what Spielberg did with Jurassic Park and Schindler's List back in the early 90's.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg are set to begin production on a modern day remake of the H. G. Wells classic, War of the Worlds. Production is to begin sometime in November with a release date sometime next year (June 29th maybe?) Paramount has pushed back to production of Mission: Impossible 3 to allow Cruise to make War of the Worlds. According to THR, "Cruise hasn't abandoned "M:I-3," though. It will now shoot next summer..." Paramount Pictures chairman, Sherry Lansing seemed very enthusiastic about the new War of the Worlds script stating, "The script for 'War' is nothing short of brilliant..."

Along with his new War of the Worlds film, script work continues on Spielberg's untitled Mossad Olympic drama, a film about the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics where members of the Israeli team were held hostage and killed by Palestinian extremists. According to Variety, the new writer for the script is none other than, Tony Kushner (Angels in America), who Spielberg expressed a great deal of confidence in. According to Spielbergfilms.com, the production of the film was delayed due to work on the script, not because of terrorist threats that were rumored last week.

With those script delays, there comes a considerable push back for the film's production. The current production date for War of the Worlds is scheduled for June of 2005. It is possible that Spielberg could be aiming for a November/December 2005 release date. That would make for a very quick shoot.

Now comes the issue of how all this will affect Indiana Jones 4 (I mean, we are an Indiana Jones fan site after all). After reviewing all the news and looking at what Spielberg has done in the past, I don't believe that these project will have much, if any adverse affect on Indy 4. The Indy 4 script is now in the hands of George Lucas and another unnamed writer. You probably won't see Lucas doing much work on the script until after Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is all done with. And as historical precedent would have it, there will be more delays, hopefully nothing too severe but these things happen.

With all that said, I feel pretty confident that Spielberg will be ready in time to work on Indiana Jones 4. Production could begin sometime in late 2005 to early 2006 (more likely) and from there we could easily expect a mid to late 2006 release date. But as always, anything can happen, so be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Stay tuned!

A big thanks to Spielbergfilms.com for the news!

Amrish Puri Writing His Autobiography
August 12th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Bollywood's very own bad guy, Amrish Puri is getting ready to write his autobiography! According to IndiaFM, Puri is set to begin writing autobiography, and one of the big highlights of the book will be a letter sent to Puri by Steven Spielberg after he completed his work as the villain Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!

Another interesting fact that was pointed out: when Amrish Puri shaved his head for the role of Mola Ram, it made such an impact that he decided to keep his head shaved for future roles.

Sounds like a great read, can't wait to get a copy! Thanks to IndiaFM via Sify Movies and Claire from Indy-Net for the news!

New Indy Fan Film: The Adventures of Indy Toys!
August 9th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

We've updated the Indiana Jones Fan Film section with a very clever Indy fan film which utilizes the Indiana Jones action figures to recreate the streets of Cairo chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!

The Adventures of Indy Toys: Episode 1

Take a few original Indy figures, a set of new Disney Indy figures, build a custom streets of Cairo playset, find a really awesome animation program, and what do you get? The Adventures of Indy Toys! Look for more installments of The Adventures of Indy Toys coming soon to TIE.c!

Big thanks to 'Jonsey' for his hard work!

Will the Indiana Jones Stunt Show Live On?
August 9th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Last week, we reported a rumor which came from Disney Corner.com that there might be a new Indiana Jones attraction coming to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The information wasn't very detailed and there was no way to know if this was true or not. To investigate, I sent an email to my contact at Disney/MGM Studios and here's what I was able to find out:

My source asked some people associated with the Indy Stunt Show and showed them the information from DisneyCorner and the response he got seemed rather skeptical. There has been no information released to the cast or crew that the Indy Stunt Show would be replaced in 2007, so the general consensus is that the information from DisneyCorner was false - more/less speculation than fact.

Having said that, my contact also pointed out that there's always the possibility that the show could simply be canceled. For example, the "Hunchback of Notre Dame" show at MGM Studios was a very popular attraction but was closed with just a month or two advanced notice for the cast. The fact is, Disney is not obligated to inform the cast about a show closing no more than two weeks in advanced.

My contact made another interesting point. There is a new stunt show opening at MGM Studios called "Lights... Motors... Action!" and this could effect the Indiana Jones Stunt Show in different ways. It could cause the Indy Stunt Show's attendance to go up because of the increased number of people in the park, or it could cause the attendance to go down because there's another show to go to. There's really no way to know for sure.

My source at Disney World also assured me that the Indy Stunt Show is pretty much status quo for this year, and stated that the information from DisneyCorner seemed to be inaccurate, but then again it could turn out to be true.

I for one hope that Disney intends to keep the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. It's a superbly entertaining attraction for Indy fans of all ages, and it was one of the driving forces in my Indiana Jones fandom which eventually led to the creation of The Indy Experience.com! While it would be cool to see an updated version of the Stunt Show, or even a new Indy ride of some kind, I believe the Stunt Spectacular should be left as it is so that further generations of Indy fans can go and experience this unique event. Here's hoping for the best!

New Indy Attraction Coming to Disney World?
August 5th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

Disney Corner.com has posted a list of coming attractions to the Walt Disney World theme park in Orlando, Florida. And interestingly enough, they have a new Indiana Jones attraction listed under Disney-MGM Studios. According to the site, an attraction called the Indiana Jones Adventure is set to replace the Epic Stunt Spectacular in 2007!

What could this possibly mean? Could this mean an Indiana Jones ride much like the one in Disney Land California? Well, we really don't know. This is the first we've heard of a new Indiana Jones attraction coming to Disney World, we'll be sure to investigate this rumor further. Stay tuned for the latest!

Thanks to Adam a.k.a. "Molorom" for the news!

New David West Reynolds Article at IndyGear.com!
August 4th, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

The latest installment of David West Reynolds' The Archaeology of Indiana Jones is now online at IndyGear.com! Join Dr. David West Reynolds as he takes you on the journey of a lifetime and discover the truths behind the archaeology of Indiana Jones! Each month, Dr. David West Reynolds along with IndyGear.com will bring you a new installment in this ongoing journey. This week, Dr. Reynolds gives you the true story behind the Chachapoyan worriers.

This is an amazing series of articles that will give you an in depth look at the archaeology behind the Indiana Jones films. With Dr. David West Reynolds, you'll find out what's fact and what's fiction from the man who has gone in search of the actual archaeological locations of the Indiana Jones films. To read more, check out IndyGear.com and Phaeton Group.

Be sure to check out IndyGear.com again next month for the next installment of The Archaeology of Indiana Jones!

New Indiana Jones Parody: Tadeo Jones!
August 3rd, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

A site called Inside Motion.com has introduced a very cool and very interesting new animated Indiana Jones parody entitled, Tadeo Jones. The short is a Flash animation film created by Enrique Gato and features a very well animated Indy-esque character called Tadeo Jones.

There is also a trailer now online for the short and it looks very promising. You can see that a lot of hard work and effort has gone into creating this very clever animation. They even have a facial animation test for Tadeo, so be sure to check it out. The full animated short will be online this October. To find out more, visit Inside Motion.com.

Thanks to Rober from IndyESP.net for letting us know!

Frank Darabont to Rewrite His Indy IV Script?
August 3rd, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

We have another Indiana Jones 4 rumor to report today. According to NOTICINE, George Lucas has commissioned Frank Darabont to rewrite his Indy IV draft that he finished back in February. Here's a translation of part of the story:

"According to IMDB, Darabont, with an ample experience that includes the librettos of "Life imprisonment", "Frankenstein, of Mary Shelley", his own accomplishment "The Green Mile" and "Mission: Impossible 3", has received the order to return to his computer to rewrite the script."

NOTICINE also stated that 15 years after the release Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Paramount Pictures has accumulated nearly twenty different Indiana Jones 4 scripts.

The site stated that this news came from IMDB.com but as of yet I have not been able to track down any related news stories to this claim. For now we'll just leave this as pure rumor. As you may remember, last month Frank Marshall commented that Lucas was rewriting the Indy 4 script with an unnamed writer. Could it be Frank Darabont? No one's to say. For right now we'll just file this under "R" for rumor.

Big thanks to Rober from IndyESP.net for the translation!

Indiana Jones 4 Game Due in 2006?
August 3rd, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

We've got some very interesting news for you this afternoon concerning the new Indy game rumor we heard a few weeks back.

In an interview conducted by gamesradar.com with LucasArts president Jim Ward, he spoke about the new video game LucasArts is developing based on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He also mentioned a new Indiana Jones game that's in the works based on the fourth film! Here's the quote from gamesradar.com:

"In addition, LucasArts are also planning a new Indiana Jones game based on the fourth movie in the series, although this isn't likely to be released until 2006"

While this is a sign that something may be going on, it does not mean Indiana Jones 4 has gone into production yet, so let's not get too carried away. 2006 is still a ways off and a lot can happen between now and then, but nonetheless it would be very cool to have an Indy game based on the fourth film. Stay tuned for more updates!

Big thanks to Rober from IndyESP.net and TheForce.net for the news!

Indiana Jones Reference in New Ford Commercial
August 2nd, 2004 | Posted by Aaron

You might want to keep an eye out for the a cool new Ford commercial (the car, not the actor). The commercial starts out with a narration and it goes a little something like this: "In 1981, he wore a fedora, he cracked a whip, and now the adventure lives on... in the new Ford Explorer!" A very cleaver use of the dates and the Indiana Jones font which is also included in the commercial.

It's funny, for years there have been references to Harrison Ford with quotes like, "Built Ford Tough" (which is of course the slogan for Ford Motor Company) and now, the Ford company has finally started using an homage to our favorite hero in their commercials. Marketing at its best!

Thanks to Jason for the info!