Harrison Ford says George Lucas in ‘think mode’ on another ‘Indiana Jones’ film

Harrison Ford said Friday that momentum is building for a fifth movie in the “Indiana Jones” franchise and that George Lucas is already cooking up a suitable plot for a heroic senior citizen with a penchant for whips and fedoras.

“It’s crazy but great,” the 66-year-old Ford said. “George is in think mode right now.”

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” grossed $318 million in the U.S. alone and $770 million worldwide and is expected to be powerhouse seller on DVD and Blu-Ray when it arrives in stores Oct. 14. It was a film that many people in Hollywood assumed would never be made considering the difficulty in finding the right time and the right script to reunite Ford, Lucas and franchise director Steven Spielberg after the 1989 hit “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.”

Now, though, the latest success and the fact that the franchise’s old machinery was revived has Ford thinking a fifth movie is not only a viable idea, but an attractive one.

“It’s automatic, really, we did well with the last one and with that having done well and been a positive experience, it’s not surprising that some people want to do it again,” Ford said.

I asked Ford who specifically is stirring up the idea of another revival, whether it was Lucas, Spielberg or the star himself? “Really, it comes from the ethos, from the ether. It’s natural. It’s a way of nature, of course, success breed opportunities … also we don’t stay as closely in contact as have in the last year, that’s part of it.”

Ford said, though, he would not be game to making an animated “Indiana Jones” film, a notion that became at least a possible option after Lucas took his “Star Wars” theatrical saga into the computer-generated realm with “The Clone Wars” this summer.

“I’m not philosophically against doing animation roles but not for Indiana Jones,” Ford said. “I’d hate to see it reduced in any way from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them.”

- from LAtimes

Regarding Daranbont’s INDY 4 Draft… It Was Only A Matter Of Time…

“… and now it looks like the internet has hold of the Frank Darabont draft of INDIANA JONES 4.
I’m not going to run the script here, but other sites don’t seem to have the same issues with doing so. G4 has posted a review of the bootleg that basically exploded everywhere at the same time earlier today, and a site called PDFScreenplays has posted it as well. There seems to be some debate about whether or not it’s real.

It’s real. That’s the Darabont draft. No question at all.

If you do choose to read it, you’ll be able to see how many of the major story points — the ants, the fridge and the nuke, the rocket sled — all have been carried from draft to draft and from writer to writer by Lucas, who gets story credit on this script. You’ll also see how much more elegant those elements can be in the hands of a writer who loves Indiana Jones and who actually wanted to see a great Indy movie for this last chapter.”

- from Mori at AICN

‘Panda’ masters Friday box office, ‘Indy’ drops to fourth

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount’s “Kung Fu Panda” easily won the Friday box office with a gross of $20 million from 4,114 theaters, giving Jeffrey Katzenberg’s company its highest opening day ever for a non-sequel and second overall after last year’s “Shrek the Third,” which posted an opening day gross of $38.4 million.
Sony’s Adam Sandler laffer “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” placed No. 2 on Friday, opening to $15 milion from 3,462 venues. That marks the second highest opening for a Sandler summer comedy behind 2005’s “The Longest Yard” ($16.2 million).

“Panda,” toplining the voice of Jack Black, is the first animated pic to hit theaters since Fox’s family Easter tentpole “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” which has grossed $152.8 million domestically. However, unlike other family toons, exit polls showed that “Panda” also played to non-family demos on Friday, particularly in the late night showings.

Placing No. 3 on Friday was Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Sex and the City,” which declined 73% from opening Friday to $7.3 million from 3,325 for a cume of $85.3 million.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” placed fourth with $6.5 million off 4,190, down 48%, and a current running total in its third Friday of $237 million.

- From Variety

Milk it dry. No hero grows old gracefully in Hollywood.

NOW THAT INDIANA JONES has officially demonstrated he can still flex his muscles at the box office, don’t be surprised if a new wave of crusty old action heroes are summoned out of retirement. Indeed, studios are probably champing at the bit for California’s governor to give up that silly second career, eager to re-deploy “Commando’s” John Matrix and “Predator’s” Dutch back into action.

Yet after sitting through fourth visits from Indy, Rambo and “Die Hard’s” John McClane — as well as a sixth round of Rocky Balboa — the lingering image is hardly one of demographic progress. For while there’s a familiar adage about age preceding beauty, this latest flurry of comebacks has consistently put age before reality.

Sure, jokes are made here and there about all that wear on the tires, but when time comes to kick butt, all these heroes can still party (and punch) like it’s 1989.

- From Variety

“Indiana Jones” hits $311 million worldwide

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” chased down $311.1 million from moviegoers around the world, as nostalgic fans brought along their children to watch Harrison Ford’s latest escapades, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Monday.

The tally included $151.1 million from the United States and Canada — the second-highest U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend opening in history — and $160 million from No. 1 launches in 61 other countries, the studio said.

Foreign highlights included $24 million in Britain and $14 million in France. Sales in France were boosted by the hype surrounding its glitzy world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera last Sunday.

Overall business was “driven by people in their 30s and 40s, and that audience was excited to see the movie and excited to bring their kids with them,” said Rob Moore, Paramount’s president of worldwide marketing, distribution and operations.

The worldwide tally set a record for both the Viacom Inc-owned studio and for the film’s director, Steven Spielberg. For both, the old mark was held by “War of the Worlds,” which opened to $202 million in a similar number of territories during the U.S. July 4 holiday weekend in 2005. Higher ticket prices and the slide of the U.S. dollar, which benefits exporters such as Hollywood studios, helped the new film’s cause.

- From Reuters

‘Indiana Jones’ nabs $126 mil opening weekend

Paramount’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” has dug up an estimated $126 million since its opening at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

That includes an estimated $101 million in Friday-Sunday coin, which followed a first-day Thursday gross of $25 million. Paramount also projected a $25 million haul for Monday, which would give the first Indy sequel in 19 years a five-day cume of $151 million.

Once tallies are in for the entire Memorial Day frame through Monday, the iconic adventure sequel will be measured against marks such as the $151.1 million tally posted by last year’s “Spider-Man 3″ in a best-ever weekend opening.

“Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” enjoyed the highest-grossing first five days of any picture before or since, registering $172.8 million after debuting on a Thursday before a nonholiday weekend in May 2005.

- From THR

Indiana Jones and the Memorial Weekend of Gold

Who says box office superheroes need to sport tights or youthful smirks to win the hearts of moviegoers?

The fantasy adventure “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” in which 65-year-old Harrison Ford reprises his role as an intrepid archeologist, unearthed $126 million during its first four days of release in North American theaters, its distributor said on Sunday.

Paramount Pictures predicted the long-awaited fourth installment of the adventure series would pick up an additional $25 million on Monday — the Memorial Day holiday in the United States — to bring its total to $151 million.

The five-day forecast was in line with industry expectations, and falls just $2 million short of the Memorial Day weekend record set last year by “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” The five-day record is held by “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” which opened to $173 million a week before the Memorial Day holiday in 2005.

For the traditional Friday-to-Sunday portion of the weekend, “Indiana Jones” made an estimated $101 million, the biggest opening of the year by that measure. The record was set three weekends ago by the superhero saga “Iron Man,” which opened to $98.6 million without any holiday boost.

“Crystal Skull,” directed by Steven Spielberg, is the first movie in the lucrative “Jones” franchise to hit theaters in 19 years. Ford, who delivers a few self-effacing remarks about his age in between some old-fashioned stunt work, is joined by Cate Blanchett and Spielberg’s hot new discovery, Shia LaBeouf. George Lucas, who created the franchise in 1981, returned as executive producer.

- From Reuters

Indiana Jones makes Russian communists see red

Russian Communist party members condemned the new Indiana Jones’ film on Friday as crude anti-Soviet propaganda that distorted history and called for it to be banned from Russian screens.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” stars Harrison Ford as an archeologist in 1957 competing with an evil KGB agent, played by Cate Blanchett, to find a skull endowed with mystic powers.

“What galls is how together with America we defeated Hitler, and how we sympathized when Bin Laden hit them. But they go ahead and scare kids with Communists. These people have no shame,” said Viktor Perov, a Communist Party member in Russia’s second city of St Petersburg.

- From Reuters

Indiana Jones and the Box Office of Gold

My sources just told me that Thursday’s opening box office gross for Paramount’s Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull was very close to $25 million for North America. That’s an excellent though not a record-breaking start to its 5-day Memorial Day Weekend since analysts believed that any total over $18 million for Thursday would be considered major moolah. (I will be refining these numbers as more information becomes available to me…) The PG-13 fourquel opened at 12:01 AM Thursday in ultra-wide release into 4,260 theaters in North America and also day and date in 61 territories overseas (but not Japan). Now it’s certain that this Steven Spielberg/George Lucas tentpole is gonna be mega-hit. (Like, duh.) The only question remaining this weekend is how BIG a hit after 19 years in absentia. – From Nikki

“Indiana Jones” illuminates dark Cannes film fest

The myriad makeshift signs said it all: “Me, Indi Jones tickets, please” as hundreds of fans amassed at the Cannes Film Festival Sunday in hopes of securing passage to the world premiere of the fourth installment of the Steven Spielberg franchise.

And if not to the movie, then at least a glimpse of the director, executive producer George Lucas, stars Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf and practically the entire (human) cast as they made their way to the chock-a-block press conference after the screening.

The film played to a packed house made up mostly of press at 1 p.m. There was the energy of anticipation in the room beforehand, and the applause at the end was polite, but then that’s all the emotion journos tend to display no matter the movie.

Early word from exiting journalists was a general thumbs-up, though with a few strongly expressed cavils and qualifiers: “too long,” “too many stunts,” “too wooden,” not enough time for any of the characters to catch their breath or interact. But such objections, however valid, will probably hardly matter in box office terms, judging from the general public enthusiasm that seemed to transform the mood of the Croisette.

Even among frazzled sleep-deprived festgoers, one could feel the shift: Enough of politically challenging, socially relevant competition pictures — a la “Blindness,” “Gomorra,” “Linha de Passe” — let’s have some brightly lit fun to match the returning blue skies over the Mediterranean.

Spielberg, who hasn’t been to the festival since he brought “ET” in 1982, put it best. He was the last among the creators to be convinced that Indy deserved to be brought back, and it took 17 years to free himself up enough from DreamWorks and his self-described “dark period” movies to tackle it.

- From AP