Indiana Jones
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Indiana Jones is a fictional bullwhip-toting archaeologist with an overdeveloped fear of snakes, played by Harrison Ford in a series of films by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg; a younger version of the character was also played by River Phoenix in the third film and Sean Patrick Flanery on television. Jones is modeled after the strong-jawed heroes of the pulp magazines and matinee serials that Lucas and Spielberg enjoyed in their childhoods. The two friends first discussed the project while in Hawaii during the time of release of the first Star Wars film. Spielberg told Lucas how he wanted to direct a James Bond film. Lucas responded that he had something better than that.
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Appearances
The film series includes:
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) where a 13-year-old Indy was played by River Phoenix
- Indiana Jones 4 (2006) categorized as "in production" (see below)
A television series, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, aired from 1992 to 1996, with the 17-year-old Indy played by Sean Patrick Flanery, 93-year-old Indy by George Hall, and 10-year-old Indy by Corey Carrier. This inspired a number of made-for-TV and made-for-video movies featuring Flanery as young Indy. One of the last Young Indiana Jones TV movies featured a cameo appearance by Harrison Ford, reprising the role of Indy as a man in his 50s.
The proposed fourth Indiana Jones movie, once again to star Harrison Ford, has been in the planning stages for several years; if made, it is not expected to be released until 2007 at the earliest.
There is also a series of original paperback novels about the adventures of Indiana Jones other than those in the films, and another series of novels about Young Indiana Jones for younger readers. In addition, there was a comic book published by Marvel Comics in the early 1980s featuring the talents of John Byrne among others.
Various video and computer games have also been produced. The games include:
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (also a comic book of the same name)
- Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
In 1995, Disneyland opened a ride called Indiana Jones Adventure, based on the franchise and set in the "Temple of the Forbidden Eye"; Tokyo Disneysea has a similar attraction, set in the "Temple of the Crystal Skull". Also, Disneyland Paris has a rollercoaster called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril.
Fictional biography
Indiana Jones was born as Henry Jones, Jr. to Scottish-born medieval archaeologist Henry Jones Sr. and his wife Anna on July 1, 1899, in Princeton, New Jersey. "Junior" accompanied his father on his travels throughout Europe, where he learned to speak, read, and write 27 languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Swedish, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Vietnamese, Swahili, Latin and Chinese, apart from English. Although his father called him "Junior," Henry Jr. adopted the name of his beloved dog Indiana for himself, insisting he be referred to as Indiana Jones. It is not known for sure when he first did this, except that he was referred to as Indiana during childhood by his peers.
His father wanted Indiana to go to Princeton University. To escape this, he ran away from home by train. He ended up in Mexico and was kidnapped by Mexican revolutionaries. He joined this army of revolutionaries, playing a part in the Mexican Revolution in 1916, under Pancho Villa. It is here that he also met his friend Remy, a Belgian. With Remy, he left Mexico and eventually made his way to Africa at the beginning of World War I.
He and Remy intended to join the Belgian Army, where Jones was commissioned as a lieutenant. Jones' inability to read maps properly caused him to lose his unit, and he instead fought along side a team of old men under the British Army. Among missions (depicted in the television series), the team destroyed a giant cannon mounted on a train, and they kidnapped the (real-life) German military genius Paul Erich von Lettow-Vorbeck in a balloon, but they were forced to release him.
Eventually Jones joined the Belgian army in Europe with Remy, in 1916 and participated in the Western Front. He was taken prisoner by the Germans, escaped, encountered Mata Hari, worked as an intelligence officer, took ill, and was treated by Albert Schweitzer. Jones vied with Ernest Hemingway for the affections of a young nurse, and Jones worked as a translator for the Treaty of Versailles, and he saw the war come to its conclusion but lay down the groundwork for a second conflict.
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Sometime after the war, Jones returned to the United States, where he studied archaeology at the University of Chicago under Professor Abner Ravenwood. At the same time, he became romantically involved with the Professor's daughter Marion.
Jones abruptly left the Ravenwoods in 1926 and did not contact them for 10 years. He divided his time between teaching and archaeological expeditions, including a journey to China and India where he faced the gangster Lao Che and the followers of the cult of Kali (Temple of Doom). He was eventually contacted by the United States government to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis (Raiders of the Lost Ark). He continued to take on infrequent missions for the government over the ensuing years. In 1938, Indy rescued his father from the Nazis and became embroiled in the search for the Holy Grail (Last Crusade).
When last seen in 1993, Jones was living in New York City with his daughter and her family. Sporting an eyepatch and cane, he was stopping anyone within earshot to regale them with tales of his exploits. He seems remarkably spry for a man in his 90s—whether that is because of his drinking from the Grail is unknown.
Origins
Spielberg and Lucas have said that the adventures were inspired by some of their favorite fiction from when they were growing up, such as Republic Pictures serials. Spielberg wanted Indiana to be a James Bond-like figure that got into difficult situations and worked his way out. Upon requests by Spielberg and Lucas the costume designer was given the task to make the character have a distinctive recognizable silhouette through the style of the hat (much like Dick Tracy). After examining many hats, the designers chose an urban version of the classic Australian hat, the Akubra.
Many people have been called the real-life inspiration of the Indiana Jones character. Probably the most cited person is famous paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews. Religious archaeologist Vendyl "Texas" Jones claims that he was the inspiration, citing his names (he notes that his first name trimmed becomes Endy — very similar to Indy), but this claim has reportedly been denied by Spielberg. Other candidates include explorer Gene Savoy [1] (http://umanitoba.fitdv.com/new/articles/article.html?artid=383) and University of Chicago archeologist Robert Braidwood [2] (http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2003/01/21/obituary_robert_and_.php). However, the most likely inspiration was the fictional character Allan Quatermain.
The character was originally named Indiana Smith, but Spielberg disliked the name and Lucas casually suggested "Indiana Jones". The name was thus changed early in the production of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The origin of the name "Indiana" is the same in the real world as in the fiction: It was the name of an Alaskan malamute Lucas had in the 1970s (the same dog was also the inspiration for Chewbacca). His name is also said to be derived from the character "Nevada Smith", played by Steve McQueen in the 1966 film of the same name.
Indiana Jones 4
Indiana Jones 4 is the title given to what is expected to be the fourth part of this series of films. Rumors of its production have persisted for more than a decade with recent developments giving a projected release date of 2006.
Rumors about such a movie have been augmented since as early as after the release of the game Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (1993). Since the game was the sequel of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure (the adaptation of the third movie), Atlantis was also known as Indy 4, and fans hoped it would be an official precursor of a fourth movie.
Little information on the story has been been released other than it will take place in a much later date than the other three, and will not involve Nazis. There have been rumors about various scripts that supposedly are set in the 1950s, have Soviets for enemies, and include Indy's brother and a lost continent. Although many fans hope that Atlantis is the central point of the story, Lucas mentioned a while ago that he plans for Adam and Eve to play a large part in the movie, leading most to believe that the Garden of Eden will be the main point of the movie.
Henry Jones, Indy's father, might appear but it is not known if he will be played again by Sean Connery. Marcus Brody will not appear in the movie because Denholm Elliott, the actor who portrayed the character in the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Last Crusade, passed away in 1992 (from AIDS).
Credits
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Producer: George Lucas
- Cast: Harrison Ford (no further cast known yet)
- Writing credits: George Lucas (characters and story)
- Composer: John Williams
- Editor: Michael Kahn
Status
Screenwriter Jeff Nathanson's scripts for Indiana Jones 4 has been approved by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but not yet by Harrison Ford.
AICN reports that Harrison Ford revealed the working title which is Indiana Jones and the Opal of the Mer-Man Prince [3] (http://aintitcoolnews.com/display.cgi?id=20375).
References
- "Making Raiders of the Lost Ark (http://www.indianajones.com/raiders/bts/news/news20030923.html)." September 23, 2003. IndianaJones.com (http://www.indianajones.com/).
External links
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- Indiana Jones 4 (http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hp&cf=prev&id=1808404509) (Yahoo! Movies)
- TheIndyExperience (http://www.theindyexperience.com) - Indiana Jones 4 news coverage
- Indy-Net.co.uk (http://www.indy-net.co.uk/)
- IndianaJones.com, official Indiana Jones site (http://www.indianajones.com/)
- IndyFan.com a popular Indy fan site (http://www.indyfan.com/)
- TheRaider.net (http://www.theraider.net/) - An Indy fan site with news and research, including information on fiction that influenced the character and his impact on later fiction.
- Moby Games' list of Indiana Jones video games (http://www.mobygames.com/game_group/sheet/gameGroupId,80/)
- IndyGear.com, a site that details where to procure the Fedora, Jacket, and Bullwhip synonymous with Indiana Jones (http://www.indygear.com/)
- alt.movies.indiana-jones (news:alt.movies.indiana-jones) (Usenet newsgroup)
- Indy-Net.co.uk (http://www.indy-net.co.uk/) - UK-based fan site
- Chronology Central's Indiana Jones page (http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/chronology_central/indiana_jones.cfm?wpid=183410) - Contains a chronological reading/viewing order listing for all of the Indiana Jones films, episodes, novels, and comic books.
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