A digital Indiana Jones scene in 'Indy 4'!!!?!?

[APzombie]

Ain't It Cool News (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=13899) received a report from a visitor who was in Melbourne at a producer's conference the other week. Lucasfilm producer Rick McCallum was also present and after his speech the AICN visitor got to ask McCallum some questions about Star Wars and stuff. Here's what the visitor reported:

"We were talking about film making in the digital age when I asked him about the headscans that the original Star Wars trilogy cast sat for in the early nineties, I wanted to know if Lucasfilm was going ahead with an all digital sequel trilogy (the guy next to me was looking at me like I was a freak). Rick shot that rumor down but said that one of them may get some use in an upcoming flashback sequence. He said they're just adding the CGI fedora and bullwhip to the model now. I was floored "CGI Indy?" Then he laughed and excused himself to go talk with some other people. I can't say I'm not excited but I'm also a little afraid, a computer generated Indiana Jones flashback would be cool but would it work?"

Rick McCallum said that they might use a CGI Indiana Jones for in a flashback sequence, not the whole film! Actually this might indeed be cool and with where the CGI technology will stand in 2 years, we might not even notice it. Except that Harrison Ford will look younger in that particular scene. By the way, this is a rumor, not an announcement!!

also check out the article at TheRaider.net (http://www.theraider.net/newsarchives/indy4/2002_november.php#0111250201), the most reliable and best Indiana Jones sites on the net.

[dh1989]

This does not suprise me at all. Everything, it seems, needs to be CGI these days. Why use CGI to make Indy younger, have they not heard of a little thing called make-up? I understand when CGI is needed. You cannot create an agile, fighting Yoda with a puppet, Quidditch needs CGI, people turning to skeleton to dust in Spider-Man needs CGI, etc, but this is just Lucasfilm wanting to show off ILM. I do not like this idea.

[KcMsterpce]

I just hope to God that the CGI isn't going to be as reliant in Indiana Jones as it is in Star Wars.

I can't accept Star Wars' latest ventures into CGI, but it's a SCI-FI, so it's much more acceptable than seeing a CGI heavy Indiana Jones. When I see the Indiana Jones movies, I LOVE that LACK of CGI, and the fact that the movies are still so beautiful!

It should only be used for simple embellishments, but I HOPE Indy won't be fistfighting a six foot CGI baddy anytime in the movie. Just stick with the old tricks from Raiders, and I'll be happy.

[dh1989]

Speilberg should continue to build elaborate sets and cool props, don't make CGI enviroments. I am sure right now Lucas is whispering in Speilberg's ear....

"ILM can make huge sets cheaper and there is no need for construction time. Just slap Harrison is a set of greenscreen and we'll do the rest. People like CGI, Steven, its hip."

Its giving me nightmares......

[APzombie]

I agree DH, Lucas realed Speilberg into making INDY 4 digital, he said "I rather not but if George really wants me to i'll do it". Lucas and Speilberg are good friends and even though its Speilbergs film, Lucas is producer and writer, so he owns the Indy license.

I like the qoute from the James Cameron interview Gunn did for JoBlo.com today, when Cameron was asked if he thinks CGI is being overused in films these days, Cameron replies

"It's a new technology people want to play with, when cameras could zoom, we used it all the time, when color first came through film, we raped contrast..."

Smart man...

[KcMsterpce]

Originally posted by APzombie
I like the qoute from the James Cameron interview Gunn did for JoBlo.com today, when Cameron was asked if he thinks CGI is being overused in films these days, Cameron replies

"It's a new technology people want to play with, when cameras could zoom, we used it all the time, when color first came through film, we raped contrast..."

Smart man...

I agree with you on that interview, but the funny thing is that the next sentence was the most poignant one for me:

"Every new technology has boneheads that use it in bad or obvious ways. And then there are people that use it properly, and those are the ones we remember..."

Hmmm... I can think of one "bonehead" that uses CGI in bad or obvious ways. I won't name names, though.

Moving on to another subject...
George Lucas, are you reading this? You start filming in January, right? You still have time to save the franchise from your abysmal display of incompetence!!!

Then Cameron goes on in the interview saying he loves LOTR: FOTR, and can't wait for the next one. That's really cool. No wonder Cameron knows how to make good movies (until "Titanic"); he has good TASTE in movies!

[Commando Spidey]

I'm sorry but it simply will not work. CGI is great when you want to have dinosaurs running around a park, recreate croud scenes, the collapse of the Galactic Empire or even to make a fake 'pale ale' (see American Pie) but a CGI Indy ? No way even if it were just a flash back as soon as the audience see's a close up of the young indy then the story is going to loose any plausibility and it will just ruin the film. Maybe 10yrs down the line it might be a different story but despite what Lucas says YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE !

[APzombie]

Yea, if Speilberg says its ok, then im down... He's the only director I would never second guess.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by APzombie
Yea, if Speilberg says its ok, then im down... He's the only director I would never second guess.

Same here. And anyways, one flashback doesn't hurt -- especially if it's just to perfect it. But an INDIANA JONES movie needs to be real sets, real stunts and real landscapes. It gives them a special, "real", feeling. I don't care if STAR WARS looks cold and computerized -- it fits the genre. Indy needs to feel like hand made craft.

[HM Murdock]

I bet the flashback scene (if there is one) will a short one. Hell, it could show Indy doging a bad guy or something. A split second of film. I doubt that we'll see any close ups or actual acting, it'll just be an action shot, a stunt of some sort. In the original movies, Ford wanted to show that he was doing the stunts himself and not a stunt guy. These days I don't think he could do what he did back then so I guess they want to use a CGI double. Even then it may only be his head that is CGI. Like in Attack of the Clones they may choose to use a stunt man and digitally replace his head with Ford's head.

I wouldn't worry about Indy 4 looking too CGI. Speilburg knows the movie's style (he made 3 of them after all) and I doubt he'd disapoint Indy fans. He loves the genre himself. I bet the digital Indy will only be seen for a split second and from a distance doing a daring leap or something. Just because Rick McCallum said that they may use a digital version of Indy doesn't mean the whole movie will be full of CGI. Have faith for now, Speilburg does know what he's doing. After all this movies been years in the making. He's probably going through it with a fine tooth comb trying to make it good.