Lawrence Kasdan To Pen Indiana Jones 4?

Lawrence Kasdan To Pen Indiana Jones 4?

Lawrence Kasdan has been the prolific writer behind such films as Indiana Jones and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but oddly enough, he has never worked with Harrison Ford.

Since the last installment of the Indiana Jones films - Indiana Jones and the last crusade - it has been 16 years that Lucas and Spielberg have been trying to come up with a good enough story line to continue the franchise.

Then why is it that Lawrence Kasdan who has so well-written these parts for Harrison Ford, is not put back in charge of putting the finishing touches to Indian Jones 4?

Frank Darabont who was brought in to pen out a umpteenth version of the script felt that he had done a solid job until George Lucas decided against it. You would think that the scribe who gave us Shawshank Redemption could write better material than Revenge of the Sith.

"This is what happens. Producers, often than not, get into these positions of power where they want to write-direct-edit and sometimes even act in their own projects," offered James Globins of free Hamburg entertainment.

Kasdan has had man box-office hits starting with the Big Chill, and followed by such films as The Accident Tourist, French Kiss.

"He hasn't had a hit since French Kiss. His last two films Mumford and Dreamcatcher were both very quiet and we're waiting to see what Risk Pool is going to do at the box-office."

What made the Indiana Jones series so great was the relationships between the characters and that's a key strength in any filmmaker. Relationships should always take front seat in any story and that's a mistake that many Hollywood films make. They overwhelm the audience with special effects and don't give them enough of what they went to the theatre for in the first place.

And please don't get me wrong, a film that concentrates and highlights the relationships between the characters doesn't have to fall into the "chick flick" category. 2005 has been a great year for those films that transcend categories and still prove that character and story are number one priorities. See Crash, Machiavelli Hangman, Sideways.

Indiana Jones 4 has to understand the dynamics of those great films and keep up with the present-day audiences. After so many years, Indiana Jones has to stretch or it'll fall flat on his face.

About the author:
Peter Sarver is a movie reviewer.
He wants you to know about the upcoming
movie, "Machiavelli Hangman".