Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

New Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Comic Book Cover Surface For ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:32:53 -0500

Three new behind-the-scenes photos turned up on Wednesday for “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in a comprehensive Vanity Fair article. In the third photo below, we see the first photo of Cate Blanchett as a Russian agent.

The article and photos have been picked up by /Film, Hollywood Elsewhere and other film sites across the Web. Some Vanity Fair quotes from director Steven Spielberg follow:

I’m in my second cut, which means I’ve put the movie together and I’ve seen it. I usually do about five cuts as a director.

The best news is that – when I saw the movie myself the first time – there was nothing I wanted to go back and shoot, nothing I wanted to reshoot and nothing I wanted to add.

I go for geography. I want the audience to know not only which side the good guy’s on and the bad guy’s on but which side of the screen they’re in.

I want the audience to be able to edit as quickly as they want in a shot. [That has] been my style with all four of these “Indiana Jones” pictures.

Quick-cutting is very effective in some movies – like the “Bourne” pictures – but you sacrifice geography when you go for quick-cutting.

[That] is fine because audiences get a huge adrenaline rush from a cut every second and a half [in] “The Bourne Ultimatum”.

There’s just enough geography for the audience never to be lost especially in the last “Bourne” film, which I thought was the best of the three.

By the same token, Indy is a little more old-fashioned than the modern-day action adventure.

You can read the full Vanity Fair piece here.

It doesn’t stop there with “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” unveilings. New comic book cover art for the film (warning: minor spoilers) just surfaced as well.

Also picked up by TheRaider.net and /Film, this comic cover premiered at Diamond Comics with this announcement:

The most anticipated movie event of the summer comes to comics in this adaptation of the fourth “Indiana Jones” film.

The intrepid doctor Henry Jones Jr. is back in his biggest adventure yet. This time, the world-renowned archaeologist finds himself caught in a series of events that all point to a discovery unlike any other.

But will his rivals in pursuit of this priceless treasure seize his quarry from right under his nose? Not if he – and a few unexpected companions – have anything to say about it.

The thrill and the humor, the action and the romance, the hat and the whip: everything you love about Indy is here. This is a tale sure to please longtime fans [and[ foster a whole generation of new ones.

New ‘Indiana Jones’ Lego Sets Reveal Key Scenes in ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:02:08 -0500

Images of new “Indiana Jones” Lego sets have surfaced. Warning: This is spoiler information.

Along with their revealing titles, it’s easy to see the key scenes being revealed from the upcoming film “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” which is slated to hit theaters on May 22, 2008.

The “river chase” Lego set for “Indiana Jones”.
Image credit: Brickset

The “jungle cutter” Lego set for “Indiana Jones”.
Image credit: Brickset

The “Temple of the Crystal Skull” Lego set for “Indiana Jones”.
Image credit: Brickset
I learned about these from here. That site first mentioned an information teaser about this on Nov. 12, 2007.

Second ‘WALL-E’ Trailer Now Online; Will Package With ‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 22:08:00 -0500

A second trailer for Pixar’s “WALL-E,” which will be packaged with “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” for its Dec. 21 release, is now online. “WALL-E” is slated to open on June 27, 2008.

The Disney film is said to be vying along with “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” as the most anticipated film of 2008.

“WALL-E”.
Image credit: IMDb
“WALL-E” comes from the creators of “Finding Nemo”. Director and writer Andrew Stanton also wrote “Monsters, Inc.,” “Toy Story 2,” “A Bug’s Life” and “Toy Story”. Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin and Ben Burtt are currently attached to “WALL-E”.

The “WALL-E” movie poster.
Image credit: IMDb

Teaser Trailers Coming For ‘The Dark Knight,’ New ‘Indiana Jones,’ New ‘Star Trek’

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 20:12:59 -0500

ComingSoon.net on Sunday published new details about when we should expect teaser trailers from “The Dark Knight,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and the new “Star Trek” film.

ComingSoon.net has learned new details about the upcoming teaser trailers for three of [2008’s] highly anticipated movies.

Keep in mind … the online debuts for these trailers will probably be earlier in the week of release for the movie it is attached to and … the trailer may not be shown with every print of the film.

First up, the first trailer for Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is now planned for a debut in [Feb. 2008].

Harrison Ford (left) and Shia LaBeouf in “Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”.
Photo credit: IMDb
While we don’t know for sure with which movie it will show, Paramount’s biggest film that month is “The Spiderwick Chronicles”. Keep your eye on that one.

Of course, it’s possible Paramount will decide to debut footage earlier during the Super Bowl, but we’re not sure.

In just two weeks on Dec. 14, Warner Bros. will release the teaser trailer for … “The Dark Knight” in standard theaters with “I Am Legend”.

Christian Bale as Batman in “The Dark Knight”.
Photo credit: IMDb
As was previously announced, the studio will be showing the seven-minute opening scene of “The Dark Knight” before the screenings of “I Am Legend” in IMAX.

“Star Trek” fans won’t have to wait long for the first teaser for the J.J. Abrams-directed film.

Paramount is planning a debut with the Abrams-produced monster movie “Cloverfield,” [which is opening] on Jan. 18, 2008.

I am screening “I Am Legend” in IMAX two days earler – on Dec. 12 – so stay tuned for information on “The Dark Knight” teaser trailer.

News You Need: State of ‘Play,’ Carnahan’s Updates, Embry Gets ‘Eagle Eye,’ Ambrose With ‘Wild Things,’ ‘Hulk’ Photos

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:48:46 -0500

State of Pay or Play: According to Variety, Russell Crowe is in talks to take over for Brad Pitt in “State of Play,” which is an adaptation of the 2003 BBC mini-series.

Brad Pitt.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
The film was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (“The Kingdom”) and directed by Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”). It was undergoing a rewrite by Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”) and Peter Morgan (“The Queen”) before the WGA strike.

While Pitt has been notorious for dropping out of pictures at the last moment, his publicists claim he wanted to postpone shooting until after the strike.

Crowe – who is currently shooting Ridley Scott’s al-Qaeda/CIA-themed “Body of Lies” with Leonardo DiCaprio – is also prepping “Notingham” with Scott.

If Crowe turns down the role, Universal will likely go after Tom Hanks and Johnny Depp. Their strike movies (Ron Howard’s “The Da Vinci Code” prequel “Angels & Demons” and Mira Nair’s “Shantaram,” respectively) were also postponed.

“State of Play” already had the cast of Helen Mirren, Jason Bateman (reportedly playing a Mohawked “bisexual fetish club promoter”), Rachel McAdams and Robin Wright Penn lined up.

Nikki Finke off-handedly reported that Variety held off the story of Pitt’s exit for 10 days “at the request of Universal Pictures”.

‘White Jazz,’ ‘Killing Pablo’: Carnahan’s brother – director Joe Carnahan (“Narc,” “Smokin’ Aces”) – recently made two posts on his blog about the in-flux productions “White Jazz” and “Killing Pablo”.

“White Jazz” was adapted by both brothers from the James Ellroy “L.A. Quartet” novel.

The first post was simply a picture of Marvel’s Juggernaut, which was played in “X-Men: The Last Stand” by Vinnie Jones. He made a vague and playful inference that Jones was up for a role in either “White Jazz” or “Killing Pablo”.

Vinnie Jones.
Photo credit: IMDb
Jones – who was central in Guy Ritchie’s first two films – actually wasn’t in “Smokin’ Aces” (though it’s easy to mistake that film of Carnahan’s for one of Ritchie’s).

The second post pointed out that Christian Bale – who AICN has rumored to be playing John Conner in McG’s fourth “Terminator” – is still in “Killing Pablo”.

Christian Bale.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
Carnahan’s blog has been consistently entertaining and honest since George Clooney exited out of “White Jazz,” which then was set for a Jan. 2008 shoot date.

Carnahan even leaked the shooting scripts to “White Jazz” and “Killing Pablo” before being told hours later to take them down.

New ‘Eagle Eye’ FBI Agent: “Eagle Eye,” which has been shooting in Chicago, just added Ethan Embry (“Freakylinks,” “Brotherhood”) to its cast to play Rosario Dawson’s FBI partner.

Ethan Embry.
Photo credit: IMDb
In Other ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’ Alumni News: Lauren Ambrose will replace the voice of Michelle Williams in Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are”.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the filmmakers got along with Williams but felt her voice “didn’t match their original vision”.

Lauren Ambrose.
Photo credit: Theo Wargo, WireImage.com
The film co-stars Catherine Keener along with the voices of James Gandolfini, Forrest Whitaker, Tom Noonan, Paul Dano and Catherine O’Hara.

Written by Jonze, Michael Goldenberg and Dave Eggers (who is writing an adult novel adaptation), the film is to combine live action, computer animation and puppetry.

“Where the Wild Things Are” finished shooting in Dec. 2006 and is set for a fall 2008 release.

“Where the Wild Things Are”.
Photo credit: MTV
Ambrose is also set up to co-star with Parker Posey in Fox’s mid-season sitcom “The Return of Jezebel James” from “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.

The network did, however, reduce its show order (thus giving it this Fox seal of quality: probable fait accompli cancellation).

Hulk Smash: ComingSoon.net has posted new photos and video of “The Incredible Hulk” along with a first look at the smartly cast William Hurt as General Ross.

Zey Don’t Belong Here, Mozambique: MovieWeb has a spoiler-full and potentially obnoxious rumor about potential cameos in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” by “old friends”.

Hint: They know sign language, and no, it isn’t the digitally generated ghost of Francois Truffaut.

By Shane Hazen
Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com

‘Transformers’ Star Shia LaBeouf Arrested in Chicago, Charged With Criminal Trespassing

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:39:56 -0500

When “Transformers” star Shia LaBeouf was in Chicago this weekend, his trip went awry and he spent some time with Chicago police.

Shia LaBeouf
Photo credit: CBS 2 Chicago
The 21-year-old actor was reluctantly handled by security guards at a downtown Walgreens at 757 N. Michigan Ave. Around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Chicago police arrested him due to his unwillingness to leave the store.

Chicago police said a security guard excessively told LaBeouf he wasn’t welcome and had to leave because he appeared to be drunk. LaBeouf refused and a guard called the cops.

Once the cuffs went on, police said LaBeouf was “very courteous and polite”. Police said he posted bond before 7 a.m. on Sunday. He is a resident of Glendale, Calif.

LaBeouf, who was charged with a misdemeanor for criminal trespassing, is slated to appear in court in on Nov. 28 at 9 a.m.

He was in Chicago to film a movie. IMDb only lists him as having two projects in the works: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Eagle Eye”.

8:16 a.m. update on 11/6/07: Shia LaBeouf’s official mugshot from this Chicago arrest has surfaced online.

Shia LaBeouf’s Chicago mugshot.
Photo credit: The Smoking Gun