INDIANA JONES & THE SEARCH FOR A SCREENPLAY - David Koepp Quits

[AndyDursin]

Koepp has written a lot of Krapp AFAIK

I wonder if the problem with Indy V is Disney wants to make this movie whether Steven can come up with a story or not (see: all the STAR WARS movies they've made lol) -- yet, nobody wants to cross Spielberg. If he doesn't want something to happen, he usually can put pressure on a studio so the property, even though he doesn't "own" it, is untouchable (like why nobody has made another JAWS since 1987 lol).

There's probably a little bit of that going on here. Disney is indulging Spielberg's crew even though they could, say, go ahead and make some Chris Pratt version tomorrow if they wanted. You just wonder when their patience will run out.

[Paul MacLean]

Disney is indulging Spielberg's crew even though they could, say, go ahead and make some Chris Pratt version tomorrow if they wanted. You just wonder when their patience will run out.

Mayne they should just buy the rights to Bring 'Em Back Alive or Tales of the Gold Monkey and adapt one of those into movie!

[Monterey Jack]

I wonder if the problem with Indy V is Disney wants to make this movie whether Steven can come up with a story or not (see: all the STAR WARS movies they've made lol) -- yet, nobody wants to cross Spielberg. If he doesn't want something to happen, he usually can put pressure on a studio so the property, even though he doesn't "own" it, is untouchable (like why nobody has made another JAWS since 1987 lol).

To say nothing of E.T.. If the original weren't made by someone with Spielberg's clout, we would have gotten E.Two by 1985 at the latest.

[jkholm]

To say nothing of E.T.. If the original weren't made by someone with Spielberg's clout, we would have gotten E.Two by 1985 at the latest.

I''m sure we're all grateful a sequel to E.T. never happened. But didn't Spielberg himself have some terrible ideas for a sequel? I was listening to the podcast Best Movies Never Made and they talked about a proposed sequel that was more of a horror film with evil E.T.s kidnapping and torturing Elliot! And then there's the E.T. ride at Universal Orlando which starts out fine but gets weird very quickly.

[AndyDursin]

LOL yeah I don't think that's actually real. It's a supposed "story treatment" that was allegedly written after the movie was released, but only "surfaced" a within the last decade (itself calling into question its veracity) called E.T. 2: NOCTURNAL FEARS...read it yourself. I dunno, between the grammatical and spelling errors, not to mention the insipid writing, just doesn't seem like the work of Steven Spielberg to me!

https://www.thebeardedtrio.com/2012/06/ ... et-ii.html

Spielberg DID sanction and provide the story for William Kotzwinke's 1985 paperback sequel E.T. - BOOK OF THE GREEN PLANET (no torture involved there!! lol) --



I always liked the Orlando ride!

[AndyDursin]

Oh no...it's filming this summer.

[Monterey Jack]

This is going to make Crystal Skull look like Raiders. It was hard enough buying a 65-year-old Ford being up to the strenuous physical requirements of the role, but a Ford pushing EIGHTY YEARS OLD?!

Did anyone want a 70-something Fred Astaire doing a dance routine in the 1970's No, because it would have been sad and more than a little anger-inducing, seeing a frail old man forced to keep doing the stuff he did thirty or forty years earlier because aging nerds refuse to let the poor man retire from an iconic role with his dignity intact. Yes, Skull disappointed a lot of people, but doing a fifth Indy film over a dozen years later in order to make sure "the last Indy film isn't a bad one" is just throwing good money after bad. It's like that sixth Die Hard movie that was proposed a few years back...after the wretched A Good Day..., I would rather they just leave poor John McClane the hell ALONE.

[AndyDursin]

Can't we just give this movie the Coronavirus?

After a long development process, Steven Spielberg is handing the directing reins on “Indiana Jones 5” to another filmmaker for the first time in the franchise’s 39-year history, Variety has learned.

Sources say, while a deal hasn’t closed, “Ford v Ferrari” director James Mangold is in talks to take the job. Mangold has been put in this situation before when he took over the “Wolverine” franchise; 2017’s “Logan” was a blockbuster, grossing $619 million globally, and earning Mangold an Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay.

Spielberg will remain as a hands-on producer on “Indy 5.” According to a source close to the filmmaker, the decision to leave the director’s chair was entirely Spielberg’s, in a desire to pass along Indy’s whip to a new generation to bring their perspective to the story.

Harrison Ford, meanwhile, is still on the project. The actor recently made headlines speaking about the future of the franchise while promoting his latest film, “The Call of the Wild.” He told “CBS Sunday Morning” this month that he was “going to start doing ‘Indiana Jones’ in about two months,” and then days later told HeyUGuys that the project is still facing “scheduling issues and a few script things” and that “we’re determined to get it right before we get it made.”

When Disney first announced the new “Indiana Jones” film in 2016, with Spielberg directing and Ford starring, the studio originally slated the film to open on July 19, 2019. Then it was pushed a year to July 10, 2020, and then delayed again to July 9, 2021, when Jonathan Kasdan (son of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” scribe Lawrence Kasdan) was brought on to take a pass on the script after original screenwriter David Koepp left the project.

With a new director coming on board, the possibility that “Indy 5” will be pushed once more from its 2021 release date seems likely. Spokespeople for Spielberg and Disney declined to comment.

This was already going to be a busy year for Spielberg, who is in post-production on his new version of the classic musical “West Side Story,” which Disney will release through 20th Century Studios on Dec. 18. But the most successful director in Hollywood handing the franchise that helped define his career to another filmmaker is nonetheless a surprising development. As opposed to the other movie franchises inaugurated by Spielberg — “Jaws” and “Jurassic Park” — the filmmaker has remained in tight creative control of the “Indiana Jones” films, directing every one since “Raiders of the Lost Ark” debuted in 1981 (and earned eight Oscar nominations, including for best picture).

Still, George Lucas, who co-created Indiana Jones with Spielberg, has retired and is not expected to be officially involved with “Indy 5.” The most recent “Indy” film, 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” was a global hit, earning $790.6 million worldwide, but it also served as an example of nostalgic excitement for the return of a beloved franchise after many years away, leading to disappointment among some fans in the final product.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/stev ... 203515698/

[Monterey Jack]

Considering how lazy Spielberg's work was on Crystal Skull, a new filmmaker might add some needed juice to the movie. Now, how about re-casting so the title character isn't an EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD MAN?!

[AndyDursin]

Nah, this franchise should just end. What Indiana Jones is, is Spielberg, Lucas and Ford. Without them it's a piece of soulless, corporate Disney crap like SOLO. Ford was that character. Nobody gave two bleeps about the guy that played the role in that movie. And the same thing is going to happen here if they bother to recast.

This isn't James Bond. There doesn't need to be another trilogy of Indiana Jones movies. In fact there doesn't need to be another Indiana Jones film at all.

And clearly they have no story, because Spielberg would be involved if there was. That's the most crucial element here. There is obviously no good reason at all to make this movie creatively. They took years to come up with Crystal Skull and they still haven't figured this one out? Why would anyone think this is going to be any different.

Just like Star Wars, they have a release date before they have a script. Or even a concept. So here we are again, with another famed franchise Disney purchased, and them trying to push that brand forward, without the artistic driving force behind it, for no other reason than they own it.

Unlike Williams, at least Spielberg had the good sense to say no. I hope Ford does the same and backs out. Disney has soiled enough of their legacy already, why be a part of something thats going to be more of the same.

[AndyDursin]

David Koepp quit. No great loss but hopefully this project is going to just die out as it's currently configured.

"Not anymore,” Koepp clarified. This largely has to do with Steven Spielberg, who had directed every other entry in the franchise, choosing to walk away. James Mangold, who recently helmed Ford v. Ferrari, has taken over. “When James Mangold came in … he deserves a chance to take his shot at it. I’d done several versions with Steven. And when Steven left, it seemed like the right time to let Jim have his own take on it and have his own person or himself write it.”

https://collider.com/david-koepp-confir ... a-jones-5/

[AndyDursin]

No shocker, Spielberg left because he didn't like the story concepts. Good for him. Let Disney take a whizz on another beloved Lucasfilm property.

https://www.slashfilm.com/indiana-jones ... spielberg/