Indy Game Heading to Wii

From Kotaku.com

Indy 4 Coming to DVD and Blu-ray October 14

Official word was unleashed today. IGN reports on the content we'll see on both formats, and it looks promising. Bonus material galore!

From the Ranch...

George apparently talked to the press yesterday. Not much we haven't heard before, but knowing Indy 5 is a possibility for now, and that there's an intentional girl-centric focus going on in Clone Wars... well, they're just nice reminders. Both from SciFi Wire:

"

12:00 AM, 05-AUGUST-08
	Lucas: Indy V Research In Works George Lucas told SCI FI Wire that preliminary research has begun on a story for a possible fifth Indiana Jones movie, but added that such a film is one of dozens of potential projects currently crowding his schedule. "It sits on the shelf there as one of 50 projects that I have to deal with," Lucas said in an interview on Aug. 4 at his Big Rock Ranch in San Rafael, Calif., where he was promoting the upcoming computer-animated feature film Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "And if I can come up with a story ..." But, Lucas added, "it's very hard to come up with stories for that thing. You know, It's really impossible. Because it has to be real. It has to be something that actually happened. It has to be something people know about. It has to be supernatural. It's a really difficult research project. Which they're researching now. You know, and last time it took 14 years. So ... " Lucas was referring to this summer's fourth Indiana Jones film, subtitled The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which was in development for more than a decade before the pieces finally came together. In recent press interviews, Lucas has said that the three principals--himself, director Steven Spielberg and star Harrison Ford--all have to agree on the idea for a fifth film in order to move forward. He has also said that Spielberg is more amenable to the idea of a further installment than he was last time around. Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens Aug. 15. --Patrick Lee, News Editor

12:00 AM, 05-AUGUST-08
	Clone Wars' New Girls In Town George Lucas, executive producer of the upcoming animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, told reporters that the film features two female characters new to the movie franchise: Ahsoka Tano, the new padawan learner of Anakin Skywalker, and Asajj Ventress, a dark sorceress and apprentice to the nefarious Count Dooku. "I wanted to develop a character that would help Anakin settle down," Lucas said about Ahsoka in a news conference at his Big Rock Ranch in San Rafael, Calif., on Aug. 4. Lucas added: "At the end of Episode II, [Anakin's] kind of a wild child, and he and Obi-Wan don't get along. So the idea was to see how they become friends, how they become partners, how they become a team. And ... one of the ways to do that ... Because when you become a parent, when you become a teacher, you have to sort of become more responsible. You know, it forces you into this adulthood thing. So what I wanted to do was take Anakin and force him into this kind of, 'now I have to teach somebody. Now I have to be slightly more responsible.'" Ahsoka is a teenage orange-skinned Togruta girl who is assigned by Yoda to serve under Anakin as the Clone Wars worsen. The story is set between the events of Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones and Episode III--Revenge of the Sith. Lucas said he looked to his own experience as a father in coming up with Ahsoka's storyline. "I happen to have a couple daughters, so I have a lot of experience with that particular situation," Lucas said. "And I said, 'Rather than making it another guy, why don't we make her a girl? Because that's fun, and I have a lot of girls, and they're just as hard to deal with when they're teenagers as boys are.'" Dave Filoni, director of The Clone Wars, added that Ventress was a character originally conceived for Episode II who has existed for a while in the Star Wars expanded universe. "There was the idea that maybe the Sith apprenticed a new one after Darth Maul, [and that she] would be a girl," Filoni said in the same news conference. "That got abandoned eventually in favor of Count Dooku and Christopher Lee's character. But the concept art existed. And the comic books and novels on the Clone Wars before had utilized that character, that concept art, and created this new character, Asajj Ventress. So when it came time to develop the idea of The Clone Wars as a series, we thought, 'Well, that's a big fan favorite character. Let's draw her out.'" Filoni added that the two characters balance each other out in the new movie. "It just so happens that we introduced Ahsoka at the same time," he said. "So here you had these two new girls coming into this story at the same time, which was actually, there's kind of an advantage to it, because you had one that's the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker trying to be trained in the traditional ways of a Jedi, and you had one that's the hidden apprentice of Count Dooku, who was the evil opposite end, so that actually works really nicely for the stories we're trying to tell." Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens Aug. 15. --Patrick Lee, News Editor

"

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Also on starwars.com

and BBC (with video)

New Indy game early 2009?

It feels like forever that we've been waiting for some real next-gen content, and of course LucasArts leads the way creating completely playable environments with Digital Molecular Matter and euphoria technology (GTA4 uses euphoria, but not DDM). First we'll get The Force Unleashed, but hopefully not too long after that we'll get more of an Indy fix. Some retailers are projecting a March-or-so 2009 release date. My Lego buzz is just starting to wear off too.

The more I think about it, the more this looks like it might be Grand Theft Auto: Indy Nights... or something to that effect. Notice the San Fransisco setting?

Keep an eye on the LA Indy game site:

"Indiana Jones debuts the revolutionary new euphoria technology from NaturalMotion, which delivers never-before-seen lifelike action and awareness to every character in real time -- so you'll never see the same thing twice. For the first time ever, euphoria enables interactive characters to move, act and even think like actual human beings, adapting their behavior on the fly and resulting in a different payoff every single time. This next-gen technology imbues Indy and his opponents with unparalleled environmental awareness and survival instincts. They'll stumble, then attempt to maintain their balance; brace themselves for falls, then get back up; and reach for nearby ledges when falling. Each action results in an authentic, varied performance every time.

Complementing euphoria will be Pixelux Entertainment's Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) technology, which brings a level of realism to next-gen games never seen before by making completely interactive environments that react as they would in real life. From crumbling walls to shattering glass and even swaying organic plant life, in-game objects have material properties that behave realistically all in real time.

Indiana Jones also features completely interactive Hot Set™ environments, where every setting is open-ended and completely destructible in a way that only next-generation consoles can deliver. Use your wits and daring to make each spring-loaded environment a weapon as you dispense of foes in clever and unexpected ways. Also, embark upon thrilling chase sequences that remain true to the spirit established in scenes such as Indy's pursuit of the motorcade in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the mine-cart scene in The Temple of Doom, and the free-for-all aboard the tank in The Last Crusade. Face Indy off against a devious longtime rival, reunite him with old friends, and meet more of his most trusted allies throughout the world."

The Indy Code

Steve Rose has cracked the Indy code over at his Cinematical blog, giving fans the ultimate comeback to Crystal Skull naysayers. It's hard to choose a favorite aspect out of this analysis, but I love the overall theme of the Indiana Jones movies as anti-neo-Hollywood, yet pro-early 20th century serial B-movie.

Indy IV - 57 mistakes and counting

Not that I care. In fact, the mistakes probably make the film even more endearing to me since it makes the Indiana Jones serials even more similar to it's inspirational predecessors from the early 20th century. I have to wonder if or how many of the so-called mistakes are intentional.

Moviemistakes.com has updated the count from 48 to 57 in the last 24 hours (at the time of this posting). Hey, at least it means these people are really watching. And how appropriate is it that the amount of errors coincide with the year the film takes place? One of the most frequent errors in fact seems to be that certain props and other facts did not come about until the years after 1957.

Here are some of my favorites, with my ever-optimistic notes:

"Continuity: Throughout the whole movie, Irana's hair seems to be kept absolutely pristine, even when she is flung from cars. This is very noticable at the car chase in the military base when she is thrown from the car by Indy. One minute, a few strands of hair are slightly messed, then they are fixed again."
jk - In pretty much any movie from the 50s and before, the female characters have perfect hair.

"Factual error: In the scene when Indy and Mutt are flying to Peru, a Pan American Aircraft is shown. It is an Antonov AN-2. Pan Am never flew this Russian aircraft! Also, the shot is backwards; the writing on the aircraft (airline name and registration) read backwards."

"Continuity: When Mutt slams his fist on the table in the Diner the Ketchup and Mustard bottles fall over, the shot pans to Indiana's back and the bottles are standing up again, he tells Mutt to sit down, the camera pans back to Mutts back and the bottles are as they were after Mutt slammed the table and Indiana picks them both up."

"Plot hole: We are told in the film that the Conquistadors stole the skull. However, since Indiana has to use the skull to open the tomb that it came from, it would have been impossible for the Conquistadors to have opened the tomb to steal it in the first place."
jk - Um, perhaps the Conquistadors got the skull some other way?

"Factual error: In the scene where they are flying to Peru from US, they fly over a "map" of a Central America region and the country of Belize is shown. That country was the British Honduras until 1973. It was then renamed to Belize."

"Factual error: There is a shot of the exterior atomic test homes where we see child dummies playing on a slip-n-slide. That toy was not introduced by Wham-O until 1961."

"Visible crew/equipment: When Indy is tied to the chair and Spolka comes in to talk to him, in some shots of Spolka, to the lower left there is a crew member with headphones that is crouching down. He can only be seen in that shot of Spolka, but disappears in some of those as well."

"Factual error: During the fight in the rocket engine testing facility the countdown timer is of a type with electronic digital numbers. In 1957 the countdown timer would have been of a type of flipping numbers, which are mechanically changed as the timer counts down. See films like Fail Safe and Goldfinger for such clocks or timers. LED's weren't even invented until 1962."

Indy 4 is here, now the countdown for LEGO Indy is on!

Now that 'Crystal Skull' is out, I can move on to another countdown - LEGO Indy for seven gaming platforms (PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, Wii, NDS, and PC) will be out June 3. Whew! I was just getting to the point where I was playing more LEGO Star Wars than was probably healthy. Now at least I can say it's a different game and start from hour zero again. LEGO Indy will cover the original trilogy of Indy films and even though I haven't read the reviews (trying to keep somewhat spoiler free on this too), I have a sneaking suspicion we will be seeing a Crystal Skull level as well.

And now I present to you, fellow Lucas LEGO devotees: Raiders of the Lost Brick

Be sure to check out the other fun videos at the LEGO Indy site as well!

Indy for real?

Recently I heard a public radio story about a real-life Indiana Jones who coincidentally hails out of Yale University where some of the Marshall College vehicle chase scenes in Indy 4 were filmed. Hiram Bingham III discovered and studied Peruvian artifacts and Machu Picchu (also coincidental, but maybe not, to the setting of Indy 4) in the early 20th century. There is some amazingly similar legend and lore surrounding Bingham, just like a real-life Indiana Jones. Listen to the story and read more from NPR/WBUR's On Point with Tom Ashbrook.

Thank you Steven and George

Reposted from Seven Pieces:

So far I've got two Indy 4 viewings down within 14 hours, and I can't wait for the next one. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is everything that I hoped for and more. If you haven't seen it yet, this entry will be full of spoilers, so stop here and come back after you've seen it

On May 21, 2008 at 11:59pm EST I settled into a 3/4 or more full theater (gone are the days of sold out seatings me thinks) primarily occupied by teenagers obviously looking for an excuse to stay out late from parents who understand the magnitude of a new Indiana Jones chapter. I did spot about 10 Indy costumers (but no Marions or other characters). The crowd was abuzz with excitement nonetheless, and cheers all around for the opening Lucasfilm logo followed by the famous Paramount logo transition to... a molehill this time around! Actually, I'm pretty sure those were groundhogs, but either way a hilarious contrast from the previous Indy opening mountains.

Fast forward to May 22, 2008, 1:50pm - The official opening day of KOTCS. After sleeping off the previous evening's viewing which was fogged by noisy and distracting audiences along with my own tiredness, I was very pleasantly surprised to enter the very same theater I was in 14 hours before with only about 15 or 20 well mannered fellow audience members. This time around, I would be able to catch most of the story details that evaded me the first time.

And that I did. Here are some observations and impressions:

1. How awesome is the opening drag race scene? A direct nod to American Graffiti. I love the 50s. I think George does too.

2. Shia LaBeouf is just the most awesome, charismatic, fun to watch, young new talent out there right now. It's as if he were made for Indy movies, or perhaps the Indy movies were made for him...

3. Mutt seems to have chosen his name just like Indiana did, but it still remains to be seen if Henry III also had an actual dog (named Mutt?) or if he just considers himself to be a mutt. Either way, it's an awesome name for a 50s greaser type. He really nailed that part!

4. Love the glimpse of the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and it was great to revisit that immense military warehouse. At the end of Raiders it seemed like we would see that place again, or at least I had hopes to.

5. Indy has a hat and a whip. Will Mutt's signature be a knife and his hair (I can't help noting that Mutt's character must be developed after George himself)? If Indy is afraid of snakes, and Henry the first is afraid of rats, what is Mutt's mortal fear? I'm asking a lot of this with the presumption that the story will continue in some form. If it's Shia taking the reigns for two more movies, I'll take it. I'm just trying to wrap my head around possible titles like "Mutt Williams and the Ancient Pigeon Roost of Death and Destruction" - ?

6. Speaking of snakes, the scene where Mutt uses a rat snake (is that a reference to Henry I's fear of rats?) to pull Indy out of the sand pit is hilarious. Before they got to the sand pit however, during the escape from the camp which Mutt instigated, Indy starts assuming the role of his father by saying "This is intolerable" in reference to Mutt's plan of action. Later we see Indy act like his father again, but he seems to catch himself doing it..

7. I didn't find any 1138 references, and didn't really expect to, but if I remember correctly, the Wilhelm scream, which has been in all 3 previous Indy movies, is found from a Russian soldier during the jungle car chases. If I don't remember correctly, it has to be in the Area 51 warehouse somewhere. I definitely heard it in one of the two scenes.

8. The capoeira moves during the burial grounds scene were totally awesome.

9. Near the end in the throne room, Indy says "I have a bad feeling about this" just like in all the Star Wars films. I haven't noticed this phrase being used before in any of the other Indy films.

10. Mutt "hangs out" with monkeys who have the same hairstyle as him, and they teach him how to swing. This was one of my favorite parts of the movie.

- Thanks to The Dark Moose who notes that in Raiders Marion and Indy stroll through Cairo with a similar monkey. Marion tells Indy "He has your looks" and Indy retorts "He has your brains", as if they were talking about Mutt already!

11. The view of Indy standing before an atomic mushroom cloud is absolutely fabulous, and terrifying. I love the framing and photography used in all the Indy flicks. They stick to their stylistic traditions and it never gets old.

Also of note: During my second viewing this afternoon I was treated to my first big screen showing of the WALL-E trailer and I have to say that I haven't been so excited about a movie just from a trailer in a really long time. I've been anticipating this endearing Pixar flick for a long time. They didn't show the trailer during the previous midnight Indy 4 viewing!

Overall, Indy 4 was just perfect to me. A wonderfully over-the-top (as per the Indy tradition) mix of action, adventure, early history, lore.. and this time around a little bit of sci-fi mixed in. I love how on one level, the Indiana Jones legacy looks at early history through archeology, but on yet another level and from the audience perspective, it is a commentary on 20th century world history.

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and the entire cast and crew from KOTCS and all the Indy films for enriching our lives and respectfully continuing the legacy. Great job everyone!

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Congrats to Jedi-G and Jedi-J on a great job with the Henry I and Marion costumes!

Our Indy Valentine

CHUD.com reports that we'll see a shiny new Indy trailer in theaters on February 14th, and it will be posted to indianajones.com at 12:01am on the 15th.

AW!

Thanks to TFN for the pointer

Comics News - JJ Miller does Indy IV and Vector

A few weeks ago I posted over at my starwars.com blog about the forthcoming new Star Wars title Vector, and that it was going to be developed by JJ Miller (of KOTOR) and John Ostrander.

Check out JJM's own blog for upcoming news on Vector, as well as over at Dark Horse.

Speaking of JJM, and Dark Horse, and Indy (okay we weren't speaking about Indy before)... Miller will also be developing the comic series for Indy IV. Very exciting. It's only in the agreement stage right now, so there isn't any info or details beyond that. Of course, it will be a Dark Horse publication.

And now really speaking of Indy... Dark Horse will be reprinting to omnibus all the rare out of print Indy comics from the days of yore! Volume 1 comes out next February, and since it's an omnibus edition.... hopefully we can expect the cover art to be included! *crosses fingers*

Great job JJM and Dark Horse!

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Looks like Steven and George are buffing up Castle Grayskull for Indy IV. It's official now - The title is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I was impartial to "The Lost City of Gold", or perhaps they would have been willing to consider my own title - "Indiana Jones and the Squirrel that Regurgitated the City of Atlantis"...

Then again, maybe there's a reason I don't have that job.

And Shia was acting all sneaky like he spilled the beans at the VMAs today. Watching Brittany made me wanna spill the beans... that I had for dinner.

starwars.com blog reports

Indy, Indy, Indy! And a dash of Star Wars...

Click on the picture above... I dare you. The official website for the Indiana Jones franchise has gotten a face-lift as it gears up for the next installment, Indy IV. Check it out along with some recent production video peeks courtesy of Steven Spielberg.

Woah! Check out the video from Comic Con as well. Indy cast and crew! Hoot hoot! I read this transcript but really wanted to actually see it. Well, there I go. A very special lady makes an appearance, and Shia is hilarious - "I don't know what I'm doing in this movie". If this gets removed, don't worry... I downloaded it. ;)

Indy stuff was part of the rage at Comic Con. Look for some pics of Indy set props in this photo collection from the Official Star Wars.com Blog (the entry linked has some more Indy news from the Star Wars publishing panel at SDCC, as well as cool SW stuff... as always). Here's some video from the sw.commers too:

Very nice!

Some more reports from Comic Con panels thanks to TOSWCB (looks like there's still no Kirk for Star Trek XI, but they got a young Spock!).

And last but not least - Kudos to starwars.com on the new Clone Wars addition to the website. I haven't combed through it yet, but I'll be getting to that soon. Now, can we have some live action show news peeps? I guess we'll have to wait until Indy IV goes to post before that. *sigh*

Indy IV rumors/spoilers from TFN + my iNDY art!

I don't know that I'd call it spoilers just yet, but The Force.Net has been keeping us up to date with absolutely any Indy info they can get their mittens on. It's largely production info, but knowledge of certain actors possibly joining the cast may be considered a spoiler of sorts. This is probably not for the ultra-sensitive, but for the most part, you've probably heard some of this stuff anyway:

Indy 4 Rumors With Possible Spoilers from The Force.Net

aaand...

Something I've been playing around with for awhile, and finally got around to touching up... In the spirit of Indy IV going into production, 9FF4 brings you:

iNDY! (click for larger view, and/or see below for the better version)


For some reason, Indy with the iPod just doesn't do it for me. The design idea with the silhouette and lettering, since Indy begins with the letter I and all, seemed fun. But the iPod itself is just really un-Indy. So, check out the version without the silly little i..thingus:

iNDIANA

Ahh, maybe this will get reworked again. The Indy image comes from the marvelous poster artist for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and many more; Drew Struzan.

Feel free to use any of those for a desktop or your own Indy fun :)

A couple of other fan Indy sites:

The Raider.net

The Indy Experience (not updated in quite some time, but lots of cool images and other info)

Why snakes? Why did it have to be snakes?

- Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indy sighting...

Just posted: Harrison Ford on the set of Indy IV.

Mark this day... Indy IV begins!

Starwars.com and Indianajones.com, announced today that Steven Spielberg has begun principal photography on the next installment of Indiana Jones (Indy IV.. no catchy titling as of yet). Today, June 18, 2007, marks the date that I officially feel old as I reflect on the Indiana Jones of my childhood and how long ago that seems, but Harrison Ford will always be older and he just keeps ticking! Still, it's probably better that they got this project going finally. They already missed the window for any chance of pulling Sean Connery out of retirement, and as much as I am eternally in love with Harry, he just ain't getting any younger.

Oh, and today is the day they started actually shooting. Well, on the east coast, it's actually tomorrow now. (The poster shown at right is not an official poster. It's fan-made)

All I know is that I'm pretty MAJORLY bummed out I missed on this opportunity.


To think I could have easily traveled to make it to this, *and* be involved in the production somehow, *and* get the chance to dress up from the 50s era (love early to mid 20th century eras) - see related articles linked to in article...

I read about it all after the fact. Just thinking about it makes me weepy and sick.

Be sure to check out the article linked to Indianajones.com and check out the video interview with the new Indy junior-junior, Shia LeBeouf.