After almost 20 years, Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas team up for a new whip-cracking adventure. Entertainment Weekly magazine talks to the trio about why it took so long, what to expect, and what they think about living up to their own legends.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Another focus of chatroom buzz has been the baddies, a nasty group of Russian soldiers and operatives in search of the title object because of its reputed mind-controlling powers. (About time, says Ford, that Indy moved on from tangling with German SS officers, as he did in movies 1 and 3: ”We plum wore the Nazis out. Couldn’t go there again.”) The leader of the KGB-backed pack is Cate Blanchett, in a severe, straight-banged, ink black wig, as Agent Irina Spalko. She’s a born interrogator. Gimlet-eyed and handy with a sword, she crosses blades with Mutt. Asked if Agent Spalko gives off a vaguely dominatrix vibe, Lucas says, ”Not so vaguely,” and bursts out laughing. Could be the kinkiest thing he’s helped brainstorm since he put Princess Leia in a gold bikini and chains in Return of the Jedi.

When Shia LaBeouf got cast in Crystal Skull, he had to check in at Spielberg’s office to read the script. He didn’t get his own copy until shortly before shooting began. ”That was weird,” he says. ”I was not prepared for not being able to have a script during prep.” When he finally got one to keep, every page had been bar-coded and watermarked to discourage easy duplication. He says he was also given a hotline number. If he needed to valet-park his car — and was even thinking of leaving the script in the backseat — all he had to do was dial the hotline and someone would come retrieve it. And what if LaBeouf ever felt the urge to blab about the plot? Best not to think about that. ”The joke I had was that Steven had snipers following me,” he says, ”and if I ever slipped and gave up any tidbits, that was the end.”

Fan websites like Ain’t It Cool News and TheRaider.net have bandied about all manner of spoilers in the months since. Lucas says Spielberg was dispirited about how much information is out there, despite their best efforts. Relax, Lucas says. ”They’re not coming to see the plot,” he argues. ”They’re coming to see Steve Spielberg interpret a story. You can’t get that any other way than by actually seeing the movie.” He believes it’s impossible to truly spoil Crystal Skull. ”I’ve been trying to get Steven to put the scene where Indiana Jones gets killed into the trailer,” he deadpans. ”And he just refuses to do it.”

Read the full interview here:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: The Untold Story (Entertainment Weekly)

This entry was posted on April 17, 2008 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Celebrities, George Lucas, Indiana Jones, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Movie News, in the media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.