August 2006 News Archives

A New Indiana Jones DVD Boxset in 2008?

August 21st, 2006

T'Bone's Star Wars Universe has an interesting rumor that another Indiana Jones DVD boxset is in the works for a 2008 release, which might just include Indiana Jones 4. Here's the scoop:

"Lucasfilm is allegedly working on another Indiana Jones boxed set for the 2008 Holiday season, so have no fear those of you who like to spend money. Think about the timing though. The new Indiana Jones film seems to have finally been given the go ahead and if all goes well, we could see it in theaters in either late 2007 or early 2008. That gives the marketing machine plenty of time to promote a new Indy set for 4th quarter, 2008 but with the NEW film included. Again, that’s just my gut there. The only info I was given was that there’s another Indy box being prepped for 2008. I’m reading into the rumor."

It does make sense to assume that a new Indy DVD boxset in 2008 would include Indy 4. That is, if Indy 4 does actually get made. But hey, either way we might just be getting a new Indiana Jones DVD boxset (the one we all hoped we had gotten back in 2003 maybe?) if this rumor pans out. We'll keep you posted, but remember: it's just a rumor for now!

Thanks to Sean for the news!

Empire Magazine Celebrates 25 Years of Indy

August 21st, 2006

Empire Magazine is running a special issue this month, celebrating 25 years of Indiana Jones, which features new information on Indiana Jones 4. It's rare to get any sort of new information from the people involved with Indy 4. No matter how hard people try, they can never get the Big Three to spill any major beans. However, Empire has finally gotten some new information that you will definitely want to make note of. For their special Indy celebration issue, Empire was able to sit down with Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford to discuss the current status of Indiana Jones 4, and they all had something very interesting to say. Here's an excerpt from the article features on Empire's website:

“We’re basically going to do The Phantom Menace”, says Lucas (stay with him here, he’s making a point). “People’s expectations are way higher than you can deliver. You could just get killed for the whole thing…We would do it for fun and just take the hit with the critics and the fans”.

The ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation has freed up an idea for a plot that was originally deemed too incendiary.

“I discovered a McGuffin,” continues Lucas, still reluctant to name said 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 MacGuffin and take out the offending parts of it and we’ll still use that area of the supernatural do deal with it”.

“Hopefully it will be different in all the right ways and the same in all the familiar ways,” adds Spielberg.

As for timing, Lucas says that filming is scheduled for mid-2007, for a 2008 release but getting the gang back together is a tricky proposition. “Before I was just working with Steven and Harrison. Now everybody’s a superstar, so it’s a little bit more difficult than it was then”. “But there’s a good chance it will happen,” assures Ford. “There are things left for this character to do”.

Very intriguing information, but the most assuring statement comes from Ford at the end; there is indeed a lot left for Indy to do! And hopefully they can bring things together and make it happen. But there's more info to come from Spielberg, Lucas and Ford as Empire's special Indy celebration issue features more Indiana Jones 4 info and over 30 pages of Indy goodness. So, be sure to check out issue #208 of Empire magazine, in stores August 25th and enjoy the ride!

Official Site: Around the World with Indiana Jones

August 20th, 2006|

Indiana Jones.com has an interesting new article by Marco Frömter about the real world locations where the Indiana Jones films were shot. From the lush rainforests of the Island of Kauai to the acient carved cities in the mountains of Petra, Jordan, the locations where the Indy films were shot are as diverse and globe-spanning as the fictional adventures of Dr. Jones himself. The article "Around the World with Indiana Jones" - which was originally published in the German Star Wars Fan Club magazine - covers locations from all three films and includes new photographs of many of the locales giving fans a more recent look at the locations themselves (pictures that might just come in handy if you ever go on your own quest to walk in the footsteps of Indiana Jones).

Raiders of the Lost Ark in 30 Seconds, With Bunnies!

August 15th, 2006

In case you've been living under a rock for the past several years and missed it, one of the best things to hit the Net in history is this little site called Angry Alien.com created by Jennifer Shiman with one purpose: to reenact famous motion pictures in only 30 seconds using bunnies. And today, after many years of waiting and begging, the Indiana Jones fan community was given Raiders of the Lost Ark in 30 Seconds, With Bunnies! What more can be said? It's a brilliant and hillarious parody of one of the greatest films of all time. And with bunnies! It's about time.

The other movies in the Bunnie's filmogrophy include Jaws, Star Wars, Alien, and The Shining just to name a few. So if you haven't seen these yet, I strongly recommend that you check out the mayhem over at Angry Alien.com, you won't regret it.

A Look Inside the Mind of a Giant German Mechanic

August 13th, 2006

News has certainly been sparce these past few weeks, but here's something that's sure to tickle your funny bone. SpielbergFilms.com uncovered an article by Ralph Gamelli for Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency in a series known as Short Imagined Monologues. His latest monologue comes from one of the most famous fight scenes in the Indiana Jones trilogy in which Indy comes face-to-face with a "Big Bald Shirtless German Soldier" while the Flying Wing circles perilously around them in Raiders of the Lost Ark. We've all seen it; dozens, maybe even hundreds of times. But how many of you have ever stopped to think of what was going inside the noggin of that Giant German Mechanic during the final action-packed minutes of his life? I certainly haven't, until now since Mr. Gamelli decided to address just that very topic. He's written a humorous and imaginative monologue for the unfortunate Mechanic in order to give us a peek into his thoughts just before the plane's propeller sent him into the next world (probably Hell) in a spectacular off-camera death. After all, Nazis, though as inhuman as they were, had lives outside of the routine hunts for religious relics and shooting at meddling archaeologists. Nevertheless, click here to check it out; it's a must-read.

Thanks to SpielbergFilms.com for the news!

Retro Indiana Jones Kenner Commercial

August 2nd, 2006

Get ready to take a trip back through time, at least for some of you veteran Indy fans out there. A user by the name of "raiderstoys" has uploaded an old 1980s Kenner commercial onto YouTube. The commercial is for the 12" Kenner Indiana Jones doll from 1982, and showcases all of Indy's unique archaeological abilities, such as running from boulders, whipping across a snake pit and taking out Nazis and various other villians with his trusty revolver. Certainly a trip down memory lane for a lot of folks out there. To view the commercial, visit YouTube and enjoy.

Big thanks to Michael for the link.