New Indiana Jones 2007 Plot Details!
June 27th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

ComputersAndVideoGames.com has posted new information about the next-generation Indiana Jones video game coming our way in 2007. The site featured information from the Official Xbox Magazine, detailing new plot information about the game:

This new Indy game is set one year after the events of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in 1939, as the Nazis are setting out to conquer Europe. Indy must travel the globe, including the streets of San Francisco, unravelling the clues found in ancient artefacts and staying one step ahead (or normally behind) his over-educated enemies - including one enemy from his past (hopefully Mola Ram). Then he must use those clues to piece together a biblical mystery and move to the "world's most sacred ground". Which we assume must be Wembley Stadium or the location of the very first Nando's.

Whether any characters from the earlier games or the movies return is still up in the air (Sean Connery will be sorely missed if not). Whether the plot can trump the magnificent, crazy plots of the films is also in question. What's not is that Indy's back and we're all waiting to see what he does next.

You can't go wrong with 1939, as Indy will still be in his prime and Nazis will still be getting the buisness end of Indy's whip. On the topic of returning characters, one that stands out is of course Lao Che. In case you haven't noticed, a sign on the side of a building one of the Indy 2007 screenshots reads "Lao Che Cocktails". Is this an indication that Lao Che will be making an appearance in the new Indy game or is it just a reference to Temple of Doom? No way to know now, but we'll learn more and more as time goes on. Stay tuned for the latest!

Thanks to Eddie for the info!

 

Koepp's Indy 4 Script Dute in 2 - 3 Months
June 23rd, 2006| Posted by Aaron

The Hollywood Reporter has new information from DreamWorks Pictures CEO Stacey Snider on Spielberg's upcoming projects, including information on Indiana Jones 4:

"...there are several projects on the drawing board, including an Abraham Lincoln biopic, an untitled space travel project at Paramount and a script by Rod Lurie set in the glitzy New York media world as well as "Indiana Jones 4," which Paramount would co-finance with George Lucas' Lucasfilm. David Koepp's script is expected in two to three months."

This is certainly encouraging to know that the script will be finished soon, and hopefully everyone involved will sign off on it. Of course, as history has shown, rewrites are of course an issue that could delay us even further, but hopefully Lucas and Koepp have been able to work together enough to write a script that everyone can be happy with.

 

Indiana Jones 4 Pushed Back to 2008?
June 20th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

UPDATE: JoBlo.com posted an extra quote from Howard Roffman who stated, "We're looking at the game as the equivalent of a film launch. It will be a major event." It's is very encouraging to know that LucasArts and Lucas Licensing are doing what it takes to give the new Indy game the recognition it deserves. Very cool.

ComingSoon.net posted some information reported by the Hollywood Reporter on the new Indiana Jones video game and Indiana Jones 4. Howard Roffman, the president of Lucas Licensing stated that Lucasfilm is on the lookout for licensing partners for the Summer 2007 release of the next-gen Indiana Jones video game and the Summer 2008 release of Indiana Jones 4. So is this bad news? Well, it doesn't look like we'll see Indiana Jones 4 make its way to the big screen in 2007 according to this information, but since this comes from an official at Lucas Licensing and has to do with the business end of things, it looks like 2008 could be the year. But of course when it comes to Indy 4, anything can happen. One thing is for sure: the next few years will be filled with excitement for Indy fans. We'll keep you posted!

Thanks to Mark for the news.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark: 25th Anniversary!
June 12th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

It's hard to believe it's been that long, but today marks the 25th anniversary of the film that started it all;Raiders of the Lost Ark. On this day in 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark was released for the first time in the US and introduced the world to one of cinema's greatest heros, Indiana Jones. Raiders went on to spawn two sequals, a TV series, a plethora of books, novels, comics, and video games. And most of all, it stirred the spirit of adventure in fans like myself and like all of our readers. Raiders of the Lost Ark marks a special place in time for the genre of adventure films and in the careers of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford. But most importantly, it marks a very special place in time for fans around the world. And to help celebrate, the super-cool fans over at IndyESP.net created a special Raiders 25th page with a trailer, and special wallpapers in commemoration of the 25 years of adventure.

Also, Indiana Jones.com has collected 25 little-known-facts about Raiders of the Lost Ark, giving you 25 reasons to rewatch the greatest adventure film in history. The collection of facts include bloopers, cameos and various tid-bits of info about Raiders.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: 25 years and it just keeps getting better!

 

Lucas Plans to "Push" Connery into Indy 4
June 10th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

Access Hollywood posted a report yesterday from the AFI ceremony honoring Sean Connery with the Life Achievement Award, where George Lucas stated that he may need to "push" Connery to be in Indiana Jones 4:

Despite reports that Connery is retired, Lucas told Maria, "I would love him to be in the next 'Indiana Jones'…maybe I can push him into it."

When asked if he knew whether or not Connery wanted to appear in the film, Lucas said, "I think he does."

Lucas jokingly added, "We are writing him in whether he wants to do it or not."

Hopefully a little physical force can convince Sean to reprise his role as Professor Henry Jones Sr. in the next Indiana Jones film. Here's hoping for the best!

Thanks to SpielbergFilms.com for the news!

 

Official Indiana Jones Baseball Hats from Lucasfilm!
June 9th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

It's been a while since Lucasfilm has authorized any official Indiana Jones merchandise, but that's all changing as StarWarsShop.com is now featuring an all-new collection of six Indiana Jones baseball hats! The new Indiana Jones baseball caps come in two styles: the first features the classic Indiana Jones clipper on a patch with leather trim (available in both khaki and black color styles), and the second style features a hat-and-whip brass emblem with suede trim and the "Indiana Jones" signature on the brim (available in khaki, olive, dark brown and brown color styles).

All six Indiana Jones baseball caps are available for sale at StarWarsShop.com for $15.00 and is just for pre-order now, but will ship in July. Certainly a welcome collection of new Indy merchandise! Hopefully this is just the beginning; if Lucasfilm is smart they will continue to produce new Indiana Jones merchandise in the not-too-distant future. It is interesting to note that the new baseball hats are by Dorfman Pacific, the same company that produced the official felt Indiana Jones fedora that has been around for some time now.

Thanks to Mark and Indiana Jones.com for the news!

 

Raiders Screening in Massachusetts this Weekend
June 9th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts is hosting screenings of Raiders of the Lost Ark this weekend, starting today. The last screening of the day has already begun, but they will also be showing Raiders tomorrow and Sunday at 2 PM and 7 PM. The screenings are to mark the 25th anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark and the Brattle Theatre will be featuring brand new 35mm prints of the film to make the experience all the more thrilling. For more information visit brattlefilm.org.

Thanks to SpielbergFilms.com for the info!

 

Fountain of Youth Fan Game Demo is Online!
June 9th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

Talk about being late, I don't know how or why I let this slip by for so long. Anyway, in case you haven't heard the demo for the Indy fan game, Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth is now online and available for download! Here's the official press release:

The much anticipated demo of Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth is finally available to download and try out for yourself! It's taken over two years to release but now it's ready for show, and should give you a tiny impression of just what is to come in the future.

The original demo, which almost surfaced in 2005 - had three programmers, and all was lost when the lead programmer dissapeared without ever uploading the game files for the team to continue working from. After this, a new programmer was recruited - and the demo you will play today has been entirely built from scratch by Jan Simon - a keen programmer who has worked extremely hard on pulling our work together, using only the compiled original version for reference and adding every single bit of detail back in himself.

Don't let this fool you though - more time means more ideas, new looks and better gameplay. The team have been able to implement things like the fight engine which was only really being concieved back in 2005. However, Jan has made it possible and in this demo you will get a taster of some of the action sequences in the game. Unlike the original demo, this version features all the correct dialogue written superbly by Lorn Conner.

The demo itself features an array of features that will be included in the full-game. Bear in mind, this is just a demo & so a lot of what we hope to include in the full game to really bring the atmosphere together - has been left out. The demo features a seperate storyline to the full-game but includes some structure that you can expect from the full game - including cut-scenes, inventory based puzzles, dialogue puzzles & action sequences. There's also over 25 minutes of original music especially composed for the demo, and over 15 unique interactive rooms to explore - all in beautiful 320x200 hand-drawn artwork by Misja van Laatum.

Did you know - we hope to release a talkie version of the demo in the near future! With your help, we can get Doug Lee on board as the voice of Indiana Jones! If you would like to hear him as Indy again in a brand new adventure, take a look at the donations page on our website.

www.barnettcollege.com

It's time to finally see what we've been hiding all this time. You will find all the information and downloads you need below, on our demo page - which also includes technical information as there are still a couple of known bugs floating about in this version! (1.0).

So - sit back & hold on to your hats, it's time for your latest adventure!

DOWNLOAD THE DEMO

FoY is a freeware point & click by Screen 7, who are in no way affiliated with LucasArts, LucasFilm or George Lucas. Though, like most - we'd love it if we were!

Be sure to visit Barnett College to learn more about this amazing fan game achievement!

Thanks to Misja van Laatum for the press release!

 

Madsen Addresses Indiana Jones 4 Talk
June 5th, 2006| Posted by Aaron

ComingSoon.net spoke with actress Virginia Madsen about the possibility of her working with Harrison Ford on Indiana Jones 4:

When Madsen was in New York to do press for Garrison Keiller's A Prairie Home Companion, in which she plays no less than the Angel of Death, ComingSoon.net had to ask the actress about these rumors.

"I think that's the best rumor I ever heard about myself," she said, laughing. "I so hope it's true, but no, we never really talked about that. I talked to Harrison about it, as a fan. 'Are you really going to do another Indiana Jones movie? Have you found a script yet?' I don't know whether that was something that somebody picked up that he said. I don't know. I'm going to see him next week, but I'm too shy to ask him. I hope it's not a rumor that's ruining my chances."

Just a note: ComingSoon.net stated that the rumor presisting was that Madsen was being considered for the part of "Mrs. Indiana Jones", which is not true. On February 2nd, 2006, Harison Ford stated "I'm actually hoping she'll come over for Indiana Jones. We've talked about it." For the record, Ford was never specific about the part he had in mind for Madsen; we don't know if it was the part of his wife or just his leading lady. According to Madsen they "never really talked about" the idea of her being in Indiana Jones 4. There may have been casual talk as suggested by Ford's comments, but nothing serious. So there you have it; as it stands now, Virginia Madsen is not in serious discussion of being in Indy 4. But that can always change.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in about the story!