Gawker: defamer, indiana jones and the crystal skull

Lucas And Spielberg Given Hefty Chunk Of Indy's Possibly Saggy Back-End

Seth — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Hard as it is to believe, after what seems like 19 endless years of false-starts and "Slowly Veering Lincoln Continental of Doom" jokes, we are less than one month away from seeing the fourth chapter of the Indiana Jones saga. The adventuresome archaeologist enters a far different Hollywood from the days when he first planted sunbeam-focusing scepters in secret map rooms, however; studio sash-tightening has required its makers to defer their fees in exchange for that venerable Hollywood trade-off, a piece (and in this case, a gigantic piece) of the back-end. The LAT breaks down Crystal Skull's financial model:

Paramount spent about $185 million to make the movie and will pay at least $150 million to market it worldwide. The studio will earn a distribution fee of 12.5% of the revenue it receives from the film's release in all media, including theaters, DVD and television.

"Crystal Skull" will have to generate around $400 million for Paramount for the studio to make its money back and earn its distribution fee. Only at that point will Lucas, Spielberg, Ford and smaller profit participants, including screenwriter David Koepp, begin collecting their portion.
Paramount will take 12.5 cents from every dollar thereafter, while Lucas and company will earn 87.5 cents.

In the event that "Crystal Skull" fails at the box office, this arrangement will leave the filmmakers and talent empty-handed. Paramount would lose part of its investment, but not as much as it would have under a conventional deal with top talent.

We take a moment to allow you to recover from any lightheadedness or shortness of breath you may have experienced upon reading the words "fails at the box office," as certainly nothing will prevent the second-most beloved film franchise of all time from ridding billions of Indy fans the world over of the Euros, pesos, and rubles weighing down their wallets since the announcement of Skull's global release date of May 22nd. Still, as perpetual Eeyore George Lucas explained, the inevitably disappointing movie "is not going to make much money for us in the end." Paramount should take heart, however, as anything short of 87.5% of 7 katrillion dollars barely registers as "much money" on the Lucasfilm ledger.

Ford, Lucas, Spielberg on risky quest for treasure [LAT]

Were Shia LaBeouf And Harrison Ford Stoned To the Bone While Shooting 'Indy 4'?

Molly Friedman — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:25:00 EDT

As if George Lucas' forewarning that Indy 4 just won't be all that great weren't enough to lower our expectations, now we learn that heir to the throne Shia LaBeouf filmed most of his scenes while injured. As the star told MTV News, "I pulled a rotator cuff in my hip...because the injury got worse and worse while filming, I pulled my groin also." And not only did Shia gimp his way through scenes, recent reports suggest that he may have been high as a kite while filming. A recent blind item suggests Harrison Ford and his Mini-Me made a habit out of puffing the green dragon in Shia's trailer and even had code names for being stoned.

In today's Rush & Molloy, we learn that one male blockbuster duo holed up in the younger star's trailer between scenes puffing away:

"Which A-lister toked up with his younger co-star during filming of their megablockbuster? The duo, along with the youngster's dad, smoked pot in the star's trailer, causing the crew to create a code name for when they were stoned."

Words like "megablockbuster" coupled with the fact that Shia's already outed his dad as a former drug dealer can only lead us to the Indy 4 set. But taking his groin problem into account, maybe Shia was simply partaking in a Snoop-approved dose of medical marijuana. Ford's excuse? Well all that growling and frowning he's been doing in his later years must have really put his jaw in painkiller hell. Perhaps pot is the only ticket to putting a smile on Ford's face these days.

SHIA GETS INJURED ON 'INDY 4', GEARS UP FOR 'TRANSFORMERS 2' [MTV Movies Blog]
SIDE DISH: NO SPIN-OFF FOR JOHN STAMOS [NYDN]

Lo And Behold, It's The Crystal Skull

Mark — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:18:36 EST

Trumping the recent online publication of a photo depicting Harrison Ford meaningfully standing atop some crates in a warehouse, Movieweb is offering a sneak peak at Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull's titular Mysterious Artifact, an object whose secret has previously been so fiercely guarded that two unfortunate souls have paid for their spoiler-pushing crimes with their freedom and careers. We must admit that the actual skull (assuming, of course, the photo is genuine) is far more menacing than the bedazzled knick-knack we'd long envisioned.

Indeed, even at a quick glance, the item seems to throb with an ancient, alien power, and one can easily imagine our aging archaeologist doing whatever it takes to claim it before his enemies, knowing that its mystical healing properties will immediately cure the arthritis that's made every whip-crack since his 60th birthday an excruciating exercise in rheumatoid agony.

UPDATE (2/7/07): Picture removed at the behest of Paramount's legal department.

[Movieweb]