Indy 4 Opens with Uncertainty, Mystery

The most anticipated blockbuster movie of the summer - and perhaps the year - is scheduled to premiere this weekend in France at the Cannes Film Festival and then open in U.S. theaters on Thursday, May 22. Yet the closer we get that magical date, the more uncertainty and even doubt there seems to be around "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Director Steven Spielberg has kept the film's details and potential plot twists under close guard, which isn't easy to do in the age of the Internet. Spielberg even entertained the idea of keeping the return of Karen Allen as Mario Ravenwood a secret. But eventually the director decided that such information would be too difficult to conceal for a year, and thus announced that Allen would be reprising her role from the original "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at last summer's Comic-Con 2007, which drew applause and cheers from the crowd.

However, since that time, uncertainty and doubt have swirled around the movie, which has been screened for very few people since it was completed late last year. Spielberg and Lucas provided photos, video diaries and some information on the official Indiana Jones Web site. But it wasn't enough for many fans, critics, and bloggers, who longed to know more about the film. What are the crystal skulls? Is Shia LaBeouf's character Indy and Marion's son? Does the Ark make a return appearance? And what's with the Area 51 stuff? Are there aliens in Indy 4?

Some early Internet buzz has been negative, mostly attributed to anonymous bloggers who have claimed to have seen the film (whether or not some of these sources have really seen the entire movie is a subject for debate). Meanwhile, others are wondering is Harrison Ford at 65 years old will still be able to pull off the action hero role. And the biggest question of all may be this: has too much time passed since the last film (nearly two decades) for the Indiana Jones franchise?

The good news is that Spielberg is apparently bringing back a lot of classic elements from the original Indiana Jones film, perhaps trying to recapture the magic that made "Raiders" such a monster hit. He shot Indy 4 on a fast schedule like the first one. The movie will have almost no CGI and will rely on good old-fashioned stunt work and camera skill.

Tom's Games spoke with renowned poster artist Drew Struzan, who created all of the posters and artwork for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which took several months of work. As with any poster he's worked on, Struzan's mission with Indy 4 was to "catch the spirit of the movie that was made," which wasn't easy because Drew still hasn't seen the movie. "I worked on the artwork for quite a while before I even saw any stills from it," he says. "I still haven't read the script, and nobody's actually told me the story. This is the biggest, and well-kept, secret."

But the spirit Spielberg and Paramount wanted, without giving anything away, was "they wanted to reprise what things looked like then, but with a little more modern touch to it. I know people have expectations for it not to be something different, but a continuing saga." When working on a major blockbuster, Struzan's art has to make everyone happy - the director, the stars, and the studio - before it's released to the world. "I had my two cents, and everyone added a $1.50," Struzan jokes. "There's so much that hangs on this that everybody wants to make sure it seems perfect. If the people are happy, I've done my job."

Lucas and Spielberg are both big fans of Struzan's art, and he's grateful they have the clout to have any ad campaign they want, especially a hand drawn campaign. "We all know everything's gone computer these days, and it's nice that there's loyal people who think art is still the way to go. It reaches people's hearts, and motivates them in ways that photos don't."

Howard Kazanjian, who was the executive producer of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and co-producer of "The Empire Strikes Back," is hoping it's not "too modern." With the previous Indy films, which were pre-CGI, "there was something about them where the visual effects were real."

Perhaps the fast schedule Raiders was shot on helped add to the film's realism. "Raiders" was also Spielberg's first film to come in on budget, and Kazanjian remembers it well. "We were very well organized," he says. "We had a terrific crew, we were well prepared, so everything was there, and we were ready. You never had to wait for anything. Steven's attitude was if he tried to do a particular shot once or twice, and it wasn't working, adjust it or move on. Our attitude was we're making a B-movie, no Oscars here, let's get it done, let's have a lot of fun doing it, and have the audience enjoy it."

The first film, of course, is a classic and still holds up today, which means Spielberg really had his work cut out for him when he made Indy 4. But as the director told Vanity Fair recently that he wouldn't change a single thing about the highly anticipated sequel. "Making the latest installment of Indiana Jones was like getting back on the bicycle I hadn't ridden in 18 years," Spielberg told the magazine, adding that he "Indy legs back in the first couple of days of shooting."

Kazanjian agrees that the original Indiana Jones film is timeless. "I haven't seen Raiders on a big screen in a while, but I think you can put it back on the big screen and absolutely enjoy it," he said. "And I think if George had the mindset to re-cut it, I don't think he'd change anything."

Stay tuned for more on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

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