George Lucas says his new 'Indiana Jones' is 'just a movie'

To hear him talk, you'd think George Lucas would have preferred to call his movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Don't Get Your Hopes Up.
Lucas, who co-wrote and produced the May 22 film, can sound downright sullen when it comes to his expectations of fan reaction to the year's most highly anticipated movie.


"When you do a movie like this, a sequel that's very, very anticipated, people anticipate ultimately that it's going to be the Second Coming," Lucas says. "And it's not. It's just a movie. Just like the other movies. You probably have fond memories of the other movies. But if you went back and looked at them, they might not hold up the same way your memory holds up."

The remarks appear to be part of a larger strategy to build interest yet temper expectations for the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise. Only one trailer is playing, and when director Steven Spielberg shows up for talk shows, he doesn't bring footage.


Lucas says he learned his lesson about unrealistic expectations when he revived the Star Wars franchise in 1999. "When people approach the new (Indiana Jones), much like they did with Phantom Menace, they have a tendency to be a little harder on it," he says. "You're not going to get a lot of accolades doing a movie like this. All you can do is lose."

Except when it comes to money. Analysts expect it to rake in well more than double its reported budget of $125 million. But Lucas says that doesn't hold much sway for him, Spielberg and Harrison Ford.

"We came back to do (Indy) because we wanted to have fun," he says. "It's not going to make much money for us in the end. We all have some money. … It would make a lot of money if you weren't rich. But we're not doing it for the money."

It's fan and critic reaction for which the team is bracing, but Lucas says he has quit trying to appeal to everyone. "It was really a blast" to make. "And it turned out fantastic. … I like to watch it."

Lucas concedes that it will be impossible to water down expectations, even among fellow filmmakers.

The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan met Lucas at the ShoWest convention this month and says he's impatient to see the competition. "Come on, he's George Lucas," Nolan says. "I felt like I should have kissed the ring."


Link to story.

www.usatoday.com...


[edit on 26-3-2008 by jedimiller]

I doubt people will be as hard on the movie as Lucas thinks they will be.

Now the newest Rambo installment... that bored me to tears without even having to see it, and I still haven't seen it. lol. Stallone is an aquired taste...

Interesting review.

For me he and his stories have lost their charm; not sure why.

I think it was so thrilling back in the early 80s due to the times and the advent of better SFX.

Oh, you might want to go back and use the [ ex ] tags to quote the part directly from the article, or you'll probably get a drive by modding.

Sounds more like he's just trying to keep it real. The hype that went before Phantom doodar really did IMO drive it in to the ground.

I'd have probably enjoyed that movie a lot more if it hadn't been talked up so much!!

MonKey

I guess I can see why Lucas wouldn't want this movie hyped that much. Harrison Ford is what, 65, and the PT Star Wars movie were far over-rated so it only seems logical to me that Lucas doesn't want his feelings hurt when this comes out

this film is going to be great. the only movie I want to see this summer. I think that we might have indy meet an alien for the first time, what do you guys think about that? Indiana jones close encounters...I think it would be a great ending if the aliens came out at the end to claim their crystal skull. Indiana jones freaks out and runs away.

That would be a pretty funny ending but I kind of get the feeling that they want to make a spin off starring Even Stevens and the dude from Beowulf being as it could keep the franchise open without having to use old man ford

I'm not going to go in with super high expectations, but I do think Spielberg can pull this off.

My prediction. this film will break the 300mil mark in two weeks.

interesting article here. Ford buys his own action figures.


see article.

www.theforce.net...


[edit on 13-5-2008 by jedimiller]

Hes watering it down becuase the movie might suck. They have seen the movie and we havent. The last three star wars movies sucked too. Oh and the new Rambo movie was awesome. It was the most violent action packed movie I have ever seen and it was hard to watch.

OMG have you guys been following the cannes footage? Indy 4 was screened sunday and the reviews are all positive. 85% so far at rotten tomatoes. this movie ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!


Saying that, i been following ford's interviews and you know what? HE LOOKS HAPPY! HE TALKS NOW!

remember how Leno used to make fun of him for being quiet and boring? well, now he's all over the place with a huge smile and happier than ever. I feel happy for him, because he needed something positive in his life. you can see his change in his face and attitude. He's actually talking to the press and enjoying it. something he's never done before.