Hell Has Frozen Over...The Return of Indiana Jones!

Mr. Harrison Ford is back and, at 65 years old, he looks fantastic!

Hi there, Avenger fans!

Again, it's been a while since my last post. I assure you I'm still plugging away at planning the Scarlet Avenger feature. However, I've recently taken on a new job, shooting and editing a documentary, which has been eating up a lot of my spare time. I just got back from a two week shoot in Munich,Germany, and between long sessions of editing the material shot over there, I've been trying to find the time to jump back on my home computer and continue with my Avenger previs work.

I try not to veer off topic too much on this blog, but a very important event has occured in the history of retro pulp/serial fandom. Several photos have finally been released from the set of the long anticipated, final installment of the 'Indiana Jones' series! I felt I just had to throw in my two cents on the matter. You see, there really would be no 'Scarlet Avenger' if it weren't for 'Indiana Jones'. As I've said before, 1981's 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was the film that really kicked off my lifelong love affair with the 1930s & 40s cliffhanger serial genre.

So, I've checked out the pictures and am really liking what I'm seeing! I'm thinking I'm going to have to put my foot in my mouth for trash-talking the picture so badly, during my interview on 'The Paunch Stevenson Show' podcast a few months back. The hosts of that show, who were questioning me about the Indy series and its relation to the Scarlet Avenger, wanted to know if I thought the picture was going to be any good. Boy, did I go off on a real rant!:-) You see, the 'Indiana Jones' series is the baby of its creator and producer, 'George Lucas', who has in recent years so horrendously destroyed his 'Star Wars' series with the godawful special editions of the original trilogy and the even worse prequel series. However, what I completely forgot was that Indy is also the baby of the greatest filmmaker the world has ever known, Mr. Steven Spielberg, who has consistently churned out quality films year after year. My hope is that Spielberg will keep the ever-increasing miscalculations of Lucas in check, to deliver us a marvelous new Indy adventure.

A few key cast members from 'Indy 4', including Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, Karen Allen, and Mr. Ford, along with the greatest film director in the history of cinema, Steven Spielberg!

In my interview, I also expressed concern over Ford's age. However, at 65, he looks fabulous! He's really whipped himself into tip-top shape. In many respects, he looks even better than he did in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', which was released 18 years ago! And my fears of Karen Allen returning as Marion Ravenwood (Indy's love interest from 'Raiders of the Lost Ark') have been eased as well. Damn, at 55, she's sexy as ever! I'm really starting to look forward to old age!

Who would have thought Karen Allen would look so ravishing at age 55?! Amazing!

Another concern I expressed in my interview was about the new era in which the fourth film would have to be set, to accomodate Ford's age. While I still believe there's a unique sense of magic to the 1930s and 40s adventure film era (the golden age of the serials), I'm starting to warm to the idea of the new film's rumored late 1950s setting. When I really stop to think about it, it's fitting that the last Indy flick be set during this time. You see, the 1950s were the end of the serial era as well. During the 50s, the most important serial production company, Republic Pictures, was still making its films for theatrical release, but fighting a losing battle against the ever increasing popularity of television. Why would kids go to the theater every Saturday morning to see their favorite adventure tales, when they could simply flop down on the living room rug and watch them on T.V.? Some interesting chapter plays came out of this era (my favorite being 1952's Zombies of the Stratosphere) but the format was finally killed off by the decade's end. So, from this perspective, it's a great setting for Indy to have one last kick at the can...one final adventure. I've also realized how much fun could be had playing around with 1950s archetypes. Young actor, Shia LaBeouf (who may or may not be playing Indy's son) appears to be portraying a 1950s motorcycle-riding 'greaser'. Images of Marlon Brando from 'The Wild One' and James Dean from 'Rebel Without a Cause' spring to mind. It also makes me think how much fun George Lucas must be having, returning to the same era he so perfectly captured in one of his earliest films, 'American Graffiti'.

Word on the street is that 'Indy 4' is set in 1957. The period's ripe for a Marlon Brando-esque, bike-ridin' 'greaser', played by LaBeouf

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It's shots like this that make me think of producer George Lucas' early film, 'American Graffiti'.

Shia LaBeouf and Ford. Does LaBeouf play Indy's son? They're keeping this a secret, but I'd bet good money he does.

The question on a lot of people's minds is "who are the villains going to be?" I've heard that the very lovely and talented actress, Cate Blanchett, will be playing a baddie, and that the Soviets will most likely be involved this time around. Using the Soviets as villains is tricky, because they weren't quite as horrible as the Nazis, who were used so effectively as the antagonists of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.

The bottom line is that I'm excited...not only to see a great film, but also at the thought that this final Indy flick could very well rekindle the public's love for classic-style adventure movies...like 'The Scarlet Avenger'!

This is a neat shot, but I pray LaBeouf doesn't steal the spotlight from Ford, as did Sean Connery in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'. And I really hope they're not setting up an 'Indy Jr.' spin-off series here. That's just the sort of thing I wouldn't put past Mr. Lucas!