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

I am sad to report today that the beloved actor, Michael Sheard -- the man who played Adolph Hitler in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -- has died at the age of 65. According to BBC NEWS, Mr. Sheard's agent stated that Sheard had been suffering from cancer and that he died at home on the Isle of Wight. Sheard had gained fame in the 1980s, for playing the role of Mr. Bronson in the children's TV drama, Grange Hill. But most Indy fans will remember him best for his portrayal of Adolph Hitler in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Sheard also made a brief appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark as the captain of the U-boat, but his part was later cut down.

In April of 2005, The Indy Experience.com conducted a brief interview with actor Michael Sheard. We had planned on doing a series of follow-up questions, but sadly, this will never happen now. Nevertheless, I have decided to post our interview with Mr. Sheard, in remembrance of his work as an actor. Visit the interviews section to read our Interview with Michael Sheard, conducted on April 6th, 2005.

We thank you, Mr. Sheard, for your contributions to film over the years and to the Indiana Jones films. You will not be forgotten.

Yesterday, TIE.c received an anonymous email from someone who claimed to work at ILM. The email we received (via the TIE.c news submition form) included no name or email, so it was impossible to know who wrote the email. That said, what is written below is to be taken as pure RUMOR and nothing more, so take this with a grain of salt! Here is the email as TIE.c received it:

"Hi, I am 33 and I work for Industrial Light and Magic at Skywalker Ranch. Lucas himself came to check on at stuff while he gave a colleauge of mine a discussion. I asked him what it was he said that he will show me. He gave me a book full of paragraphs, it looked like a screenplay. It said Indy 4 on it. Mr. Lucas doesent even want to tell us what the working title is but i got the plot. Its Indy in his 50's, and all I can tell you it concerns Adam and Eve. We were showing Mr. Lucas of digital images of the volcanoes and biblical opinions to hell."

From what we can gather from the email, George Lucas supposedly showed this ILM employee a screenplay draft of Indiana Jones 4, and it seems as though the plot this person read involved Adam and Eve (the Garden of Eden no doubt) and then Lucas was shown some digital images (CGI images?) of volcanoes and possibly a rendering of Hell based on Biblical descriptions.

In case some of you do not remember, the idea of Indy 4 involving the Garden of Eden is nothing new, since it first emerged around 1996. To be quite honest, I have my doubts as to the validity of this report. There's always that slight chance that this could be a genuine report, but since there is no way to either confirm nor deny this report, my suspicion is that it's fake... only time will tell.

The Hollywood Museum in Hollywood, California will be hosting a new exhibit entitled Egypt in Hollywood: A Retrospective 1898 - 2005. According to a recent press release, the exhibit will feature propss from films such as The Mummy, The Ten Commandments, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Raiders of the Lost Ark! The Egypt in Hollywood exhibit will be at The Hollywood Museum on 1660 N. Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA beginning September 29th, 2005 and ending on January 1st, 2006. The exhibit will be open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm, Thursday through Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults, and $12 for seniors and children under 12. For more information, you may call (323) 464-7776 or visit www.thehollywoodmuseum.com.

In a report posted by Variety, Steven Spielberg has been brought on board by Paramount for another sci-fi flick, When Worlds Collide; a remake of the 1951 Rudolph Mate film...

Following the success of Paramount and DreamWorks' "War of the Worlds," Paramount has handed another sci-fi spectacular to Steven Spielberg: the remake of "When Worlds Collide."

Spielberg steps into the producer role left vacant by Stephen Sommers, who has opted to direct and produce Fox's "A Night at the Museum" instead. Sommers had come on to "Collide" as director, writer and producer earlier this year (Daily Variety, April 11).

No decision's been made yet on whether Spielberg -- currently shooting "Munich" for a December release -- will direct "Collide."

Aside from When Worlds Collide, Spielberg is also serving as producer on DreamWorks' Memoirs of a Geisha and Sony's Legend of Zorro, not to mention his directing duties for Indiana Jones 4, which is set to begin production (God willing) in 2006. Check out Variety.com to read the full article, and stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest!

The Poughkeepsie Journal reported that the 1869 Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York will be hosting a screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark as apart of their Firday night film series. The Raiders screening will be held on December 2nd at the historic Bardavon Opera House. For more information, visit www.poughkeepsiejournal.com.

The Camarillo Arts Council will be hosting a special screening of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in August as apart of their Concerts and Movies in the Park. The screening will be at 8:00 PM on August 27th on Constitution Park at Paseo Camarillo and Carmen Drive in Camarillo, California. Tickets for the screening are free. For more information, visit www.camarilloartscouncil.org.

The Indy Experience.com would like to wish Hollywood legend, Sir Sean Connery a very happy 75th birthday today! Best known for defining the character of James Bond, Sean Connery brought a new member of the Jones family to the screen in 1989 with his unforgettable role as Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Last Crusade just wouldn't be the same without Henry and his "obession" for the Holy Grail, and his lessons from Charlemagne. From all of us at The Indy Experience, happy birthday Sir Sean!

IGN pays tribute to River Phoenix in an article by Stax. Phoenix, who portrayed Indiana Jones at age 13 in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, would have been 35-years-old this week, but his life was tragically cut short in 1993. Phoenix' brilliant portrayal of a young Indiana Jones was truly unique. To prepare for the role, Phoenix studied Ford himself to best interpret what Indy might have been like as a young teenager. Hats off, River, your contribution to the Indiana Jones series is a treasure that will never be forgotten.

Indiana Jones.com has posted an excellent new article unearthing a little-known fact about Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. We all remember Temple of Doom's exhilarating opening sequence, and how Indy escaped machine gun fire behind a giant rolling gong. Well, what you may not know, is that this scene was originally scripted for Raiders of the Lost Ark but was never filmed. Instead, this scene was salvaged and reworked into Temple of Doom. Here's a quick excerpt from the article:

"Efforts to keep the Raiders production coming in on time and within budget caused a number of scenes to be cut from Lawrence Kasdan's script, including one that led Indy to Shanghai on a quest for a part of the headpiece to the Staff of Ra. In the original script, the headpiece was separated into two pieces, one held by Marion Ravenwood in Nepal, and the other in the guarded collection of a General Tengtu Hok in Shanghai. Indy first goes to Shanghai to retrieve the piece held by Hok, narrowly escaping two Samurai warrior attacks and a barrage of bullets stopped by a giant rolling gong that acted as the museum's alarm."

The real highlight of this article for me is a complete 90-image slideshow of the original storyboards drawn for the sequence. I should also point out that this sequence appears in the 1979 third draft of Raiders of the Lost Ark which we have for download here. This draft includes the scene described by Indiana Jones.com as well as a sequence near the end where Indy and Marion escape with the Ark in a mine cart on the secret Nazi island base. It's interesting to know that even scenes that never made it past the screenplay in Raiders were not lost forever. Who knows? Maybe some sequences in older drafts of Last Crusade will end up in Indiana Jones 4. Check out Indiana Jones.com to read the full article!

Fox's animated television series, The Family Guy paid homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark last Sunday. During the show, Peter Griffin used the Headpiece to the Staff of Ra to recover his little black book, in reference to one of the most famous scenes in Raiders where Indy uses the Headpiece to find the location of the Ark of the Covenant.

In case you haven't heard, there's been a false casting call for Indiana Jones 4 that has emerged which has left some fans confused. The casting call is located on Craigslist.org and claims to be holding auditions for Indy 4, looking for "male and females - very skinny with weathered looks." TIE.c contacted Lucasfilm concerning this matter, and we recieved the following official statement from a LFL representative:

"According to Lucasfilm Ltd., the announcement that casting has begun for Indiana Jones 4 is a hoax. Production has not begun nor been scheduled for Indiana Jones 4."

The casting call also included a phone number that you could call for more information. When we called it, we got a voicemail for a certain website asking for money to gain access to casting calls. Yeah, that pretty much nails the coffin shut on this one. But for future reference, casting calls probably won't show up on an open site like Craigslist.org. If Lucasfilm does announce an official casting call for Indy 4 in the future, you can be sure to hear about it on TIE.c!

BBC.co.uk has a story on a new Atlantis theory, which has recently emerged. According to findings made by Dr. Marc-André Gutscher, the submerged island of Spartel - located in the Strait of Gibralter - could have been the island that inspired the legend of Atlantis:

Dr Gutscher said that the destruction described by Plato is consistent with a great earthquake and tsunami similar to the one that devastated the city of Lisbon in Portugal in 1755, generating waves with heights of up to 10m.

The thick "turbidite" deposit results from sediments that have been shaken up by underwater geological upheavals.

It was found to date to around 12,000 years ago - roughly the age indicated by Plato for the destruction of Atlantis, Dr Gutscher reports in Geology.

Spartel Island, in the Gulf of Cadiz, was proposed as a candidate for the origin of the Atlantis legend in 2001 by French geologist Jacques Collina-Girard.

However, mapping of the sunken island failed to show any manmade structures. So is Spartel Island a viable candidate for the Lost City of Atlantis? Can't say for sure, by my guess is; probably not. If you look what Plato said, this could not be Atlantis since according to Plato, the island of Atlantis was beyond (not between) the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibralter). Here is what Plato wrote:

"There was an island [or continent] beyond the Pillars of Hercules... larger than Libya and Asia Minor put together. This continent [of Atlantis] was the way to other islands [Oceania]; and from these you might pass to the opposite continent [the Americas], which encompasses the true Ocean." (Lost-Civilizations.net)

Actor Jonathan Ke Quan, who first appeared on screen as Indy's beloved sidekick Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, turns 34 today! Jonathan Ke Quan was born Ke Huy-Quan in Saigon, Vietnam in 1971. Interestingly enough, it was Quan's brother originally auditioned for the role of Short Round, but it was Johnathan who ended up being cast in the film instead. So from all of us at The Indy Experience.com as well as our readers; we'd like to wish Johnathan a very happy birthday!

The International House of Mojo has posted another excellent Indy game review by Gabez, and this time it's one of the greatest Indy games of all time; Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis! So what did he think of it? Here's a quick excerpt:

"It's easy to learn something from [the old LucasArts adventures] and remember it forever, and Fate of Atlantis is no different being one of the brightest Jewels in the golden guy collection. Kerosene lamp? Highly corrosive. Who were the Minoans? An ancient Bull worshiping civilisation. Are all Nazis evil? Yes they are. You can say what you like about these games, but at least they taught you something. But is Fate of Atlantis still worth playing now we’re in the 21st century?"

Fate of Atlantis scored a 4.5 skulls out of a possible 5. For the full review and more Indy game reviews coming soon, visit mixnmojo.com.

Just finished updating the Indiana Jones Fan Art Gallery with an all new featured artist: Adam McDaniel! Adam has created some very impressive Indiana Jones pieces including a beautiful Raiders of the Lost Ark 20th Annivesary poster:

We've also updated the Fan Art Gallery with new categories. Be sure to check it out!

Ain't It Cool News has posted an excerpt from an interview People magazine did with former Indy girl Kate Capshaw, where she gave a few hints at what we can expect in the next Indiana Jones film:

KC: Yes, sometime next year. I believe Willie Scott's going to be making an appearance too.

KC: I can't say. Not because Steven's sworn me to secrery, but because I really don't know yet. All I know is Willie might be coming back, Karen Allen, and possibly Calista [Flockhart]. I think Harrison's going to be outweighed by the women in the next one.

KC: Besides Steven Spielberg? (Laughs). Sean Connery was just heaven. We made a movie called Just Cause together. I also enjoyed working with Tom Selleck on the Love Letter and of course Harrison on Indiana Jones. Dennis Quaid is also lovely - and very talented.

A regular Indy girl reunion for Indy 4; should prove to be quite interesting. Of course most fans are still warry about the idea of Calista Flockhart showing up in Indiana Jones 4. Flockhart has yet to be officially confirmed, but no matter what happens with Calista, it looks as though Indy 4 will indeed happen. Stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest on Indiana Jones 4!

Karen Allen, Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark, has been confirmed as a guest at this year's Collectormania 8. Dates for the convention are Friday September 30th - Sunday October 2nd. For more information, visit Collectormania.com.

We've updated the Raiders: Adaptation Fan Reviews Section with a brand new Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation review by a fan named, "crocoPuffs":

If you have seen The Adaptation and wish to review it, check out TIE.c's Raiders: Adaptation fan review submission form.

Eric Zala, one of the three co-creators of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, has sent us a schedule of six Raiders: Adaptation screenings for the rest of 2005 and the beginning of 2006:

And there's more where that came from! Stay tuned to TIE.c for more Raiders: Adaptation screenings as they come up. And to learn more about The Adaptation, visit TIE.c's Raiders: The Adaptation Section for interviews, TV appearances, press information and more.

According to a report from a fan named "Poison Ivy", The Scene (the British equivalent of Entertainment Tonight) featured a segment on Indiana Jones 4 yesterday where they spoke of other possible Jones family members showing up in the fourth film. There wasn't really anything new in the report, just the usual (i.e. Ford working on his next film Firewall, etc). However, The Scene did claim that Sean Connery has not been written into the Indy 4 script.

The Scene also reported a quote from Ford, stating that although Jones Sr. may not be returning for the fourth film, "another family [member] may be." The reporter stated that a number of names have come up over the years, such as Kevin Costner (who has been rumored to play Indy's brother in Indy 4).

I wouldn't put a great deal of trust in this for now. I did not personally see the segment, so I cannot account for how accurate this report is. Stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest, we'll keep you up to date!

Big thanks to Chris, Eric and Jayson for their amazing support in creating and maintaining our Raiders: Adaptation section.

After a year of hard work, planning and rebuilding, we are proud to present our new (and final) website design for The Indy Experience.com! Ever since The Indy Experience.com first opened in 2002, I have made it my mission to create a website that gives fans a true Indiana Jones experience every time they visit. And during this quest for the ultimate Indiana Jones experience, TIE.c has been through several different web designs, but none of these attempts were quite what I had envisioned. Then, around July of last Summer, I started talking with a well-known Indiana Jones fan artist, Gregory Slevin. And before I knew it, I was pulling a pile of old TIE.c design concepts out of my desk drawer to begin work on the new "Experience."

The goal that both Gregory and I had in creating this new TIE.c design was to present a site that would still load quickly for users with a slower Internet connection, but at the same time create a virtual adventure for their browser. And so, over one year later, we finished work on the TIE.c design you see before you today. I would also like to take this time to thank some good friends of mine who have all served as key players in the creation of this new design...

We certainly hope you enjoy the new TIE.c design, and that everytime you visit, you are once again filled with the excitement and adventure that you enjoy everytime you see an Indiana Jones film. If you have any comments or suggestions, or if you spot any errors or broken links, please email me at aaron@theindyexperience.com, or use the TIE.c Feedback Form. Be sure to keep it here at The Indy Experience.com for the latest in Indiana Jones news, and for all new content, which we will be adding to the site in the coming months.

John Williams will be conducting the New York Philharmonic on April 24th and 26th next year. As of now, only subscribers can order tickets, but on December 1st, tickets will go on sale to the general public. This should prove to be quite an event, and a rare opritunity to hear the master himself conduct live on stage. To learn more, visit www.newyorkphilharmonic.org for ticket information.

Also, iBerkshires.com reported yesterday that John Williams will be speaking at the Berkshire Museum in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts on Tuesday August 23rd, at 10AM. Williams' talk is entitled "Composing for Film", the final installment in his "The Joys of Tanglewood" series presented by the Tanglewood Association of the Boston Symphony Association of Volunteers and the Berkshire Museum. For more information, visit www.berkshiremuseum.org.

Eddie sent me an article published by the New York Daily News, reporting that Steven Spielberg will be directing Liam Neeson as Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln bio-pic next Spring:

Break out the beard and the stovepipe hat. Liam Neeson is ready to play Abraham Lincoln.

Though Steven Spielberg first considered Tom Hanks for the role, Spielberg plans to have his "Schindler's List" star freeing the slaves by next spring.

"We're definitely going to do it," Neeson tells us. "We've been working on it since November."

This puts another film for Spielberg in front of Indiana Jones 4, but since Spielberg has been wanting to direct both Munich and the Lincoln bio-pic for some time, this will put a lot of destractions out of his way for him to focus all of his energy on Indiana Jones 4 in the Summer of 2006. Stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest!

Treasure of the Templars.com Back Online!
August 11th, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

Just wanted to point out that the official site for Ken Gawne's Indiana Jones fan film epic, Treasure of the Templars (www.treasureofthetemplars.com) is now back online after a temporary problem with the server.

Check out www.treasureofthetemplars.com to learn more about Ken's film.

Lucasfilm Has a New Head of Marketing
August 10th, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

Variety reported today that Lucasfilm has hired a new head of marketing; Joshua Katz. Katz has had experience as an executive with a number of cable network "rebranding campaigns". Katz will now be working under the title of vice president and " report to senior VP Jim Ward."

He will head all global marketing initiatives, including games and the still-anticipated "Indiana Jones IV," and the 30th anniversaries of ILM and "Star Wars" in 2007.

Katz said that while he expects there will still be Lucasfilm features, including "Indy IV" and Lucas' future projects, "We have to stop being just a movie studio and have to move to being a television and movie studio." Reported Variety.

You can check out the full article at Variety.com.

Haley Joel Osment to Play Young Indiana Jones?
August 8th, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

ITV.com has posted a very peculiar story about a rumor concerning Haley Joel Osment taking over the role of Young Indiana Jones in a new series of Young Indy flicks. Here's the story as reported by ITV:

The Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment will take over as Indiana Jones on the big screen if Harrison Ford's last starring turn as the action archaeologist is a hit.

The 17-year-old actor remains the favourite to play Young Indiana Jones in a string of new movies and would start work as soon as the fourth Indiana Jones film is released in 2007 if he is awarded the part.

A source tells website Moviehole.net, "Haley Joel Osment was in talks, in 2000, to do a variation on Young Indy.

"At 17, he's the right age for the role."

This, as they say, is where the plot thickens. Well, sorta. This rumor does seem match up with a previous story reported by Ain't It Cool News earlier this month concerning a 2007 release of a new Young Indiana Jones movie. However, since this particular story doesn't provide much to back up its claims and since we cannot account for the source by which this news has originated, I have my doubts. So for right now, this remains a rumor until further notice. We'll do some digging and see what we can come up with. Stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest!

Thanks to Eddie for the news!

George Lucas Comments on the Young Indy DVDs
August 5th, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

Dale Haas informed TIE.c of a comment made by George Lucas during Celebration III this past April. Lucas was asked about the status of the Young Indiana Jones DVDs, where he confirmed that work is continuing on the DVD collection as they compile 100 documentaries for the release. Here's the full quote from Hyperspace:

"We are working very hard because we're trying to. .. we've been doing this for quite a while, but we've been getting some resistance from the studios, but we've been forging ahead dauntlessly. We're compiling the Indiana Jones series with 100 documentaries that we're in the process of making, that deal with all the main characters in the series- all the famous people."

The comment was made on April 23rd at Celebration III, and was posted on Star Wars.com on July 25th. While the quote is old, it still confirms that work is continuing on the Young Indy DVDs. So far, it looks as though we can expect the collection sometime in 2007. If you are a Hyperspace member, you can check out Star Wars.com to listen to the full quote from George Lucas. Stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest!

Big thanks to Dale Haas for the quote!

Raiders of the Lost Ark Screening in Massachusetts
August 4th, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

The Riverfront Park in Fitchburg, Massachusetts will be hosting an outdoor screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark on August 12th at 7:30pm. The film will be screened on an 18x24 foot inflatable screen. In the event of rain, the screening will be moved to the auditorium at the Fitchburg Public Library. Tickets for the Raiders screening are free, so this looks to be a good chance to experience Indy on the big screen!

Thanks to Eddie for the news!

Vendyl Jones' Claims Disputed
August 3rd, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

Remember the story a few months ago about Dr. Vendyl Jones going after the Ark of the Covenant, and how Vendyl was the inspiration for Indiana Jones? Well, the story has resurfaced again, but this time it's not looking too good for Vendy. The Watchman Expositor reports that Jones' claims that he was the true inspiration for Indiana Jones have finally been officially debunked.

"Vendyl continues to repeat unsubstantiated claims that he is the real Indiana Jones a fictional character popularized in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and two other highly successful action films produced by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

In a recent eight-page feature story, Texas Monthly writer, Mark Seal, repeated Vendyl Jones claim that Indiana Jones, 'was inspired not by some chiseled archaeological legend but by [Vendyl Jones] a jug-eared, pot bellied amateur'

Jones explained to Seal that when the first and last letter are removed from Vendyl, the result is endy which is like Indy, the nick-name of Indiana Jones."

Of course, any Indy fan can tell you that this claim is pure rubbish. "Texas Monthly reported that 'Lucas and Spielberg say they've never heard of Vendyl Jones' adding that a representative from LucasFilms, Lynne Hale, stated that George Lucas wrote the original story in 1973, which predates Vendyl Jones' claims by four years." And this is true. The name "Indiana" comes from George Lucas' Alaskan malamute, and it was Spielberg who suggested the name "Jones" rather than "Smith."

Visit The Watchman Expositor to read more.

Thanks to Eddie for the link.

New Indiana Jones 4 Status Update
August 2nd, 2005 | Posted by Eddie Mishan

We have received information from an anonymous source who works very close with Spielberg, who gave us the following information about Indiana Jones 4, some of it you have heard, some of it you haven't:

Steven has agreed in principal to Nathanson's Indy 4 script.
Steven is leaving his schedule open for Indy 4 after Munich is released.
Everyone in Spielberg's circle, including Spielberg himself, are very excited about Indiana Jones 4 and are hoping that it gets greenlighted.
George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson are currently tweaking the Indy 4 screenplay.
The tweaked draft for Indy 4 should be finished by the fall to be submitted for greenlight.
Harrison Ford has agreed on the script as well.

We believe this source is very reliable, for it is someone who is a very close friend of Steven Spielberg, and who works very close with him. This is more-or-less a status update on Indy 4, but the most important thing to note from all this is the fact that Spielberg and everyone in his circle is very exciting about the fourth Indy Jones film.

TIE.c has also gotten word from a source within Paramount Pictures. It seems that the current release date for Indiana Jones 4 is February 2nd, 2007. Of course, this date is VERY tentative, and I can almost guarantee that it will change, but it is the current date that Paramount is shooting for.

That's all for now, keep it here on TIE.c for the latest!

More Indiana Jones Fan Art By Elodie Cinquanta!
August 2nd, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

I've received some more Indiana Jones fan art by a very talented artist, Elodie Cinquanta. Elodie has sent us two new color sketches and six new black and white sketches.

To view more of Elodie's art, visit TIE.c's Indiana Jones Fan Art Gallery.

An Interesting Article About Indy on Sequential Tart.com
August 2nd, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

Sequential Tart.com has an interesting article online entitled, Tart Time Machine: The Life and Times of Indiana Jones. The article is a collection of fans along with their opinions and reflections on the Indiana Jones films and a few comments on Indiana Jones 4.

"So what is it that's so alluring about Indiana? Well, I think the fact that Harrison Ford (Indy, if you didn't know that already) is a great actor, has great comic timing, and, let's face it, is very easy on the eyes has a lot to do with it — as does the simple fact that it was made by Lucas and Spielberg. But there's definitely a fascination with pulp adventure stories, a la Alan Quartermaine, as well as stories of war-time intrigue — and Indy's tales often have both. Me, I'm a sucker for the styles, in clothes, architecture, and music, of the 30s (and 20s, when Young Indiana Jones takes place)."

Visit Sequential Tart.com to read the full article.

Thanks to Eddie for the link.

Mixnmojo Reviews Infernal Machine
August 1st, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

The International House of Mojo has posted a new review of Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. The reviewer, Gabez (whose interest in archaeology was inspired by Indy), gives Infernal Machine a good but firm review of LucasArts' first attempt at Indy in 3-D. Here's a quick excerpt:

"At the end of the day, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine will appeal to anyone who likes the films and doesn’t mind classic action/adventure game play. It’s hard to recommend this when you’ve got Emperor’s Tomb seemingly doing the job better, but if you’re looking for a budget title to while away the hours then you could do a lot worse expect nothing else, and you won’t be disappointed. Now where did I leave my whip?"

Infernal Machine scored a 3.5 skulls out of a possible 5. The new review of Infernal Machine is just the first in a line of Mixnmojo's "Indy month", with a review of Fate of Atlantis due next week. For the full review visit mixnmojo.com, it's definitely worth a read.

Thanks to Eddie for the heads up!

A Young Indiana Jones Movie in the Works for 2007?
August 1st, 2005 | Posted by Aaron

Ain't It Cool News received a report from someone who claims to work at a software company. The tipster claims that his company will be working on a series of Young Indiana Jones educational games that will coincide with a Young Indy film set to release in 2007. Here's the report:

"I work BLEEP at an international software company, and learned some news that might be of interest to you. At a recent all-hands meeting, we discussed what we're working on in the coming year. During the meeting, we learned that we will develop for LucasArts a series of new Young Indiana Jones learning games set from 1916-1919 that will be released to coincide with a 2007 Young Indiana Jones movie.

We were told that the information about the movie came straight from George Lucas to one of our executives.

This is the first I'd heard of this movie, so I thought I'd share.

If you use this, call me Spence."

Well, that came out of left field. As if the fact that this is a report from Ain't it Cool News isn't enough to debunk it, we've heard absolutely nothing of the sorts about a Young Indiana Jones movie set to release in 2007.

Now, all of this sounds somewhat familiar to what LucasArts and Lucasfilm are planning with Indy 4. LucasArts is planning to release the new Indiana Jones next-gen video game in 2007 to coincide with the release of Indiana Jones 4 (both with the game's plot and the game's actual release). So, either this "Spence" simply be confusing the two or the whole thing's made-up. Either way, there's very little validity to the report and I seriously doubt that Lucasfilm would change course so quickly from Indy 4 to another Young Indy flick.

But I would suspect that if there is any truth to this at all, it's been confused with the release of the Young Indiana Jones DVDs which could very well be. We'll just have to wait and see. Check out Ain't It Cool News for the full story and stay tuned to TIE.c for the latest!