The fourth movie for Indiana Jones has hit it big. Since the movie’s opening on Thursday, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has made an estimated $311 million around the world.

It marked the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in history, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End which made $153 million domestically from Thursday to Monday last year.

“Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn’t wait to take their kids with them,” Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution told the Reuters.

Source

I saw it with fellow Flickscribe writer Kevin (and some friends) so it will be interesting for both of us to post our overall reviews. I’ll be working on mine. Don’t rush me okay?

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Well, as Indiana Jones hits screens today and TIME.com Hollywood reporter Rebecca Winters Keegan has just published an open letter to George Lucas that is interesting to say the least.

Dear George,

The first Star Wars movie I saw was The Empire Strikes Back, and it rocked my kindergarten brain. At one point I had a modest collection of figurines, which mysteriously disappeared in the Trail of Tears Winters Sibling Room Swap of ‘83.

Now that we’ve established my bona fides, let’s get to you, George. For the third act of your career, you’re gonna need some Jedi managerial advice. You came up with Star Wars and Indiana Jones in the ’70s. You invented all kinds of super-cool technology that revolutionized moviemaking. And now it’s time to use the force of your experience and nearly $4 billion net worth to leave Obi-Wan and Dr. Jones behind and tell a story you thought of after the Carter Administration. I know you can do it.

I’ve got an easy five-step plan:

1) Take a page from Hitchcock and hit the tube: I’m thinking a half-hour weekly sci-fi and adventure anthology series called “George Lucas Presents.” Let the snobs think you’re making pulp TV. Just like Rod Serling did on The Twilight Zone, you’ll get away with all kinds of subversion.

Source

You can read the rest of the letter at the source link above, but her main focus question was: “George, isn’t it time to move on? Don’t you have anything else left to do in your career besides recycling your old movie franchises?” I suppose that she doesn’t realize that George simply brings back these characters because we love them. They’re iconic and have actually shaped our society. Would you have geeks standing outside Best Buy with robes and lightsabers without George? No. Would you have a rise in fedora hat sales or floating cars without George? No. Okay…that last one doesn’t exist, but it will darn it and that will all be due to George. You’ll see.

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The reviews are in for Indy 4!

So far, reviews are very positive for Indiana Jones and the Kindom of the Crystal Skull. 

The movie opened in Cannes on Sunday, and will open everywhere else this Thursday. 

I am trying not to read them because I don’t want the surprise spoiled.  But if you are the kind of person who peeks before Christmas, see the links below. 

Review 1

Review 2

Review 3

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The new poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull shows a clearly non-human skull. If you add in the trailer scenes that have been shown featuring a crate stamped Roswell New Mexico, then you have all the makings of some mysterious adventure. I’m really looking forward to joining Dr. Jones again for this one.

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I think I know how the new Indiana Jones movie will go.  By now you should have seen the trailer for the New Indy Movie: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Previously on this site, we have written that we thought Shia LaBeouf (he’s also being called “Mut” in the media) was playing Marion and Indy’s love child. However, based on the trailer and my gut feelings, I have changed my mind. Here is what I believe:
 

1) Shia is playing a young Indy. Why I think this:
I think we can all agree this is Harrison’s last go at Indy. He is way too old to make another.

Yet the franchise makes tons of money, and it’s a great story.

So, the reigns must be passed to a younger actor.

It wouldn’t make sense to have Shia LaBeouf as some random dude off the street. He is the guy who is going to take on the story in future movies if this one goes well (which, unless someone completely drops the ball, it will be). Therefore, there has to be an emotional connection for the audience.

Typically, this means Shia would be directly related somehow. We have seen him in the trailer interacting with Indiana Jones, so the first thought everyone has is Shia is Jones’ son. HOWEVER:  Which has more appeal? Indiana Jones Jr. or a Younger Indiana Jones? You guessed it! Definitely a young Jones.

As mentioned in an earlier post, George Lucas has said he thought of the MacGuffin when he was filming an episode of “Young Indianna Jones”, specifically when Harrison made an appearance.

In the trailer, Shia asks Indy “You’re a professor?” and Indy says “Part Time!” If he was the love child of Marion and Indy (even if she never told Indy about their son) she surely would have told their son about his father.

Currently, Shia is being billed as a scruffy sidekick to Indy.  If this is true, do you really think they would have had the above conversation?  I don’t think so! 

The rest of the guesses come from #1

If Shia is a Young Jones:

2) The MacGuffin is time travel. This is the only method you could use to get the two together.
The box on the trailer that the glasses hit says clearly “Roswell, New Mexico.” Of course, everyone has heard of the famous “alien crash” there. So, this means:

3) Alien Technology is the means for the time travel.

So, those are my thoughts! Drop us an email or leave a comment below if you disagree or agree.

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Oh the joy! Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is more of the same awesome goodness that we want.

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