Trivia for
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) More at IMDbPro »

• Producer Frank Marshall stated that the film would be shot the same way as the previous three - with stunt men, and using CGI only when necessary. Before the film entered production Spielberg corroborated these claims, but during filming the decision was made to employ more CGI than had originally been anticipated. (Spielberg estimated at the time that about 30% of VFX would have to be CGI.
  
  
• M. Night Shyamalan and Tom Stoppard were each asked to pen a draft of the screenplay.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg brought on Janusz Kaminski, who's shot all Spielberg's films since Schindler's List (1993), to replace the now-retired cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who had worked on all three of the previous Indy films. Spielberg refused to modernize the photography and wanted to retain the comic book style from the previous films; thus Kaminski had to watch all the three previous films repeatedly to study Slocombe's techniques. Spielberg later commented that both he and Janusz had to swallow their pride: "Janusz had to learn another cinematographer's look, and I had to acquire this younger director's look which I thought I had moved away from after almost two decades."
  
  
• Stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, who worked in all three of the previous Indy films, could not work in this film, as he was committed to The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), so he was replaced with Dan Bradley. However, Steven Spielberg was able to meet Armstrong during War of the Worlds (2005) and talk about three action sequences he had conceived.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg and Dan Bradley drew traditional storyboards to plan all the film's action sequences. However, the motorcycle chase was improvised after the animators had completed their work.
  
  
• Sean Connery was approached for a cameo appearance as Henry Jones Sr., Indiana's father, but he turned it down, finding retirement too enjoyable. George Lucas later stated that in retrospect it was good that Jones Sr. did not appear, as it would disappoint the audience when he would not come along for the adventure. Harrison Ford also joked that he was getting old enough to play his own father, so Sean wasn't needed anymore.
  
  
• This is the first Indiana Jones film without actor Pat Roach, who had a role in all the first three films. Roach died in 2004.
  
  
• Shia LaBeouf signed on for the film in April 2007, so excited about doing an Indy film that he didn't even read the script. To prepare for his role as the greaser Mutt Williams, LeBeouf repeatedly watched the previous three Indiana Jones films and gained fifteen pounds of muscle.
  
  
• Originally, Indy was to be up against an uprising of ex-Nazis, but Steven Spielberg felt he could not treat the Nazis lightly after directing Schindler's List (1993), and Harrison Ford felt they had "plumb wore the Nazis out." George Lucas also felt that the 1950s decade would have to take into account the Cold War, and when he heard that that Joseph Stalin had been interested in crystal skulls, he made the Soviets the script's villains.
  
  
• In 2000, Steven Spielberg's personal interest for another Indy film was ignited when his son asked when the remaining two Indy films would be released.
  
  
• When asked if Harrison Ford was too old to return as Indy, producer Frank Marshall quoted Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): "It's not the years, it's the mileage." He explained that it would be interesting to see Indy in a different decade, and deal with all kinds of new and interesting things. The age also adds to Indy as a fallible and therefore believable character. Ford spent three hours a day at the gym, and subsisted on a high-protein diet of fish and vegetables, thus building his body into a condition where he could perform his own stunts (he always kept himself fit anyway, as he hoped to complete all the five Indiana Jones films that were originally planned in the 1980s). Steven Spielberg later stated he was so impressed with Ford's form that he could not tell the difference between the shoots for the third and fourth films.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg did not shoot the film in digital format, which his friend and partner George Lucas had adopted. Lucas approved, seeing that it looked, in his words, "like it was shot 3 years after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), you'd never know there was 20 years between shooting."
  
  
• In 2006, Harrison Ford declared that if this film was not made by 2008, then the filmmakers should drop the idea altogether. This got Steven Spielberg looking for a good script immediately.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg cast Russian actors in the roles of Russian soldiers so their accents would be authentic.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg describes this film as "the sweet dessert I give those who had to chow down on the bitter herbs I used in Munich (2005)."
  
  
• John Hurt wanted to read the script before he signed on. He had previously heard about actors who signed on to a Steven Spielberg film before reading the script, since "Spielberg - you know, GOD - was doing it!" Hurt replied, "'Well, I need to have a little bit of previous knowledge even if God is doing it." The filmmakers sent a courier with the script from Los Angeles over to London, who gave the script to Hurt at three in the afternoon, reclaimed it at eight that evening and flew back the following day. Ray Winstone mentioned a similar experience on a British chat show: he was asked if he wanted to be in the film, and he requested to read the script. He described a young man in a suit coming to his house, drinking tea while he read it, then getting on the next plane back to America. He also noted that once the film was over, they had to give the scripts back.
  
  
• At a pre-production press conference at Yale, producer Frank Marshall said that Indy's fictional Marshall College is indeed named after him. He quipped, "If my last name was Yale, it would be Yale College."
  
  
• The poster art for the movie was drawn by Drew Struzan, the same artist who also created the poster art for the previous two Indiana Jones films. He took over from original Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) poster artist Richard Amsel who died in 1985.
  
  
• The film marked Spielberg's first return to Cannes since E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
  
  
• The film was delivered to theaters with a combination lock - the combination wasn't provided until the day of the first showing. Code names for the film were 'Band Wagon' and 'Turbo.'
  
  
• WILHELM SCREAM: Boy with stack of books in library about to get crashed into by bike.
  
  
• In the coffee shop, Indy mocks at Mutt Williams' name: Mutt (a mixed breed dog). But as stated by Henry Jones Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indy's name is also canine-related: "Indiana" was the name of the Jones family dog.
  
  
• The pictures of Marcus (Denholm Elliott) and Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) shown prominently on Indy's desk are both from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) More difficult to spot is a photograph of Indy and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) on the fireplace mantel in Indy's home. A picture of Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw) from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) can be seen in the background on a cupboard when Indy is talking to Mutt. She is wearing her red stage dress from Club Obi Wan. A doctored photograph of a young Sean Connery and River Phoenix briefly seen in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) is also visible on a small table as Dean Stanforth (Jim Broadbent) enters the room.
  
  
• The film has some tributes to Marcus Brody (the late Denholm Elliott): A portrait of him is shown on the wall in the hallway when the Dean Charles is having the conversation with Indiana Jones, a picture of him is set on Indiana's desk next to a picture of Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), and there's a statue of Marcus in the College's court yard when the KGB agent accidentally drive the car into it. The plaque reads "In proud memory of Marcus Brody, Dean of students 1939-1944 with honour and loyalty".
  
  
• Indiana Jones does not say his signature phrase "Trust Me" in the film; Marion Ravenwood does. However he does say "I've got a bad feeling about this," a line often used by Star Wars characters. Namely: Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)), Anakin (Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)), Obi Wan (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)), Luke (Star Wars (1977)), Han (Star Wars (1977)), Leia (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)), C3-PO (Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)). Han Solo was played by Harrison Ford).
  
  
• The girl who punches Mutt in the diner scene is Sasha Spielberg, daughter of director Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw (Willie Scott).
  
  
• In the scene at Marshall College, pictures of the Sankara Stones from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) can be seen on a blackboard, along with some of the names of characters associated with the stones.
  
  
• During the Hanger 51 scene, the them for the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) can be heard briefly.
  
  
• Harrison Ford apparently has kept himself in such good shape over the years that his costuming measurements for this film had not changed from those in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), nearly 20 years earlier. He performed many of his own stunts, because stunt technology had become safer since 1989; he also felt it improved his performance.
  
  
• The "swimming jeep" used by Jones is a 1942 Ford GPA. Approximately 12,778 were made during WWII by Sparkman & Stephens Inc. utilizing a Ford GPW frame & driveline. Many went to Russia as part of the Lend Lease program.
  
  
• The "Kung Fu Aztecs" who attacked Indy and Mutt in the graveyard are not as historically inaccurate as one may think. Pre-Spanish Peru Incans did in fact practice a Martial Art known as "Rumi Maki", which literally translates as "Hard Hands."
  
  
• While the previous Indy films were a tribute to the 1930s Republic Pictures serials, the filmmakers decided to change the approach/setting of this film; according to George Lucas, the film was "more of a 1950s B-movie."
  
  
• Harrison Ford convinced David Koepp to include more jokes about Indy's age in the script, believing they would help reduce the "American paranoia about aging." He also refused to dye his hair for the role, arguing Indy's appeal wasn't in his youth but in his imagination and resourcefulness: "My ambition in action is to have the audience look straight in my face and not the back of a stuntman's head. I hope to continue that no matter how old I get."
  
  
• As of June 2008, this film holds the record for the largest Paramount Pictures prints distributed (about 12,000).
  
  
• To prepare for her role of Irina Spalko, Cate Blanchett learned to fence and (during filming) practiced karate. She based her performance on Rosa Klebb from From Russia with Love (1963), who also has a stern manner and a bob-cut hairdo.
  
  
• During filming, Ray Winstone tore his hamstring. He later remarked, "I keep getting these action parts as I'm getting older!"
  
  
• For his role as Spalko's henchman, Dimitri Diatchenko bulked up his physique to look more menacing, arriving at 250 pounds through weight-lifting. He was originally to shoot his role in ten days, since his role was a minor one. When shooting the Marshall College fight, Harrison Ford accidentally hit his chin, and Steven Spielberg liked Diatchenko's humorous reaction to the punch so much he expanded his role, and Diatchenko spent three months filming.
  
  
• When filming the scene where Indiana drives a truck through a wall, things did not go as planned: timed explosives were used, but one explosive did not go off and landed in the seat next to Harrison Ford.
  
  
• The Akator throne room designed by Guy Dyas keeps up an Indiana Jones tradition by having C-3PO and R2-D2 etched into one of the yellow titles, and E.T. into another. According to the book "The Complete Making of Indiana Jones", the characters can be found somewhere in all four Indiana Jones pictures.
  
  
• The movie introduced the line "Nuke the Fridge" to the colloquial English language as a replacement for "Jump the Shark" (see trivia for "Happy Days" (1974)) referring to the scene where Indiana Jones survives a nuclear explosion by climbing into a fridge. Both terms refer to a series having surpassed its peak and getting close to absurdity.
  
  
• Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Virginia Madsen were all rumored to play a part in the movie.
  
  
• Harrison Ford was adamant that he got to wield Indiana's famous whip. Paramount executives wanted the weapon to be computer generated because of new film safety rules, but the actor branded the rule "ridiculous".
  
  
• John Rhys-Davies was not approached to reprise his character Sallah, despite his apparent enthusiasm for doing so.
  
  
• The character Mutt Williams is named after music composer John Williams.
  
  
• Costume designer Mary Zophres based much of the designs of the main characters on certain real-life figures. For instance, Mutt is obviously based on Marlon Brando in The Wild One (1953), Spalko is based on Marlene Dietrich and Marion is based on famed pilot Amelia Earhart.
  
  
• The Staff of Moses from Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956) also makes a cameo appearance in the Area 51 Hangar. The props department made a replica out of the original one. However it is much harder to spot than the Ark's cameo appearance.
  
  
• Karen Allen was not aware her character was in the script until Spielberg called her in January 2007, saying, "It's been announced! We're gonna make Indiana Jones 4! And guess what? You're in it again!"
  
  
• For nostalgic purposes, the Paramount Pictures screen is the same style from before the opening credits of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981). Except 'Gulf + Western' are replaced by 'Viacom'.
  
  
• In the chase seen through the campus Indy and Mutt crash land in the library where Indy is asked a question by one of his students regarding research. Indy responds by saying something to the effect of research being best obtained by getting out of the library and into the field. However, in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) Indy tells his students that "70% of all archeology is done in the library. Research, reading. We cannot afford to take mythology at face value."
  
  
• According to the George Lucas interview from the Special Effects documentary included on the DVD, the concept for the giant, flesh-eating ants was lifted directly from an abandoned script for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
  
  
• All three previous Indiana Jones movies featured a Bond-like, mini-adventure sequence that bore little or no significance to the main plot. In this film, the main story begins immediately after the opening credits, which includes the introduction of all the main villains, along with the very secret to the crystal skull itself.
  
  
• The cast of this film features three actors who have appeared in Martin Scorsese's last three films: Ray Winstone appeared in The Departed (2006), Cate Blanchett appeared in The Aviator (2004), and Jim Broadbent appeared in Gangs of New York (2002).
  
  
• This was not the first time Harrison Ford played the famous role since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Ford donned the fedora and jacket for a brief appearance in 1993's "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues (#2.5)" (1993), a story set 7 years before this film.
  
  
• First Indiana Jones film to show the Lucasfilm logo.
  
  
• Begins with a shot of a mountain-shaped dirt which is reminiscent of the Paramount Pictures logo. See also Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
  
  
• In the motorcycle chase, just as Indy and Mutt enter the library from an exterior shot, a student can be seen wearing the Indy costume, complete with fedora, leather jacket and tan pants.
  
  
• The only Indiana Jones film to not receive any Oscar nominations. The first three movies in the series had won at least one Oscar each.
  
  
• As Indy and Mutt enter the library on the motorcycle, the theme from Johannes Brahms's Academic Festival Overture can be heard in the score.
  
  
• The US version of the teaser trailer was modified so you don't see any guns. In the international version the sight of the US flag was removed.
  
  
• Andrew Divoff, who is himself of Russian ancestry, also appeared in The Hunt for Red October (1990), opposite Indy's father Sean Connery. The sequels, of course, would feature Harrison Ford.
  
  
• This film features the second and third Oscar winners to appear in an Indiana Jones film. Sean Connery in _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', and won his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in The Untouchables (1987). Jim Broadbent won Best Supporting Actor for Iris (2001/I), and Cate Blanchett won Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator (2004).
  
  
• The fedora Harrison Ford wears in this movie is the same one from the previous three Indiana Jones movies. After Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), the iconic hat was retired and became an exhibit at the Smithsonian. However, when the filming of this movie began, the producers requested the hat back, and the Smithsonian staff happily obliged.
  
  
• Security throughout filming was very tight with one of the measures to prevent info leaks was to address the cast with false names in daily call sheets. In those call sheets for example, Harrison Ford was called '#', Cate Blanchett as 'Mean Girl' and Karen Allen titled 'The Damsel'.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg included the opening scene where the car driven by a group of students racing against a car driven by a Russian soldier as a homage to his friend George Lucas. In his youth, Lucas had a passion of car racing. (See also American Graffiti (1973)). In the previous movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Spielberg included the opening prologue in homage to his experiences as a boy scout.
  
  
• Indy's line, "I Like Ike" (also visible on the bomb above the test town) was based on the slogan created by Peter G. Peterson (Commerce Secretary for Richard Nixon) who was involved in the creation of the Draft Dwight D. Eisenhower movement, first political draft to persuade a private citizen to run for presidency in 1952. The line implies that Indy is a believer in right-wing politics.
  
  
• Before 'The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' was chosen as the title, several other titles were considered and even registered with the MPAA in August 2007, including 'The City of Gods', 'The Destroyer of Worlds', 'The Fourth Corner of the Earth', 'The Lost City of Gold', and finally, 'The Quest for the Covenant'. Shia LaBeouf revealed the movie's official title during his appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards 2007 (2007) (TV).
  
  

• SPOILER: Mutt Williams was originally a nerdy kind of character, but George Lucas decided to make him Indiana's son and give him a rebellious character, reasoning that "he needs to be what Henry Jones Sr. thought of his son, and the curse returns to Indy in the form of his own son - he's everything a father can't stand!"
  
  
• SPOILER: There are two literary references included in Harold Oxley's cryptic instructions and gibberish. "Comus" by John Milton and "Eyes that last I saw in tears" by T.S. Eliot.
  
  
• SPOILER: Originally Henry Jones, Sr., Short Round, Sallah and Willie Scott were to make an appearance at Indiana's wedding.
  
  
• SPOILER: DIRTRADE(Steven Spielberg): [Fatherhood]: Indiana Jones wasn't around during his son's childhood. The diner where they talk is named Arnie's after Spielberg's father.
  
  
• SPOILER: Shortly after the spaceship departs, Indy says to Mutt, "Why don't ya stick around junior?" Henry Jones, Sr. also addressed Indiana Jones as "Junior", much to his dissatisfaction.
  
  
• SPOILER: In the "making of" on the Back to the Future (1985) DVD, one of the original ideas of the time machine was as a refrigerator that Marty would climb into. Furthermore, the way Marty was to come back from 1955 was via the power of a nuclear bomb at a test site in the desert. Back to the Future was produced by Steven Spielberg. The idea was scrapped because filmmakers were afraid children would shut themselves inside of their home refrigerators to imitate the movie.
  
  
• SPOILER: This film continues the Indiana Jones tradition of killing off the lead villain through paranormal means related to a consequence of the villain's own greed.
  
  
• SPOILER: There were no less than three major drafts written for this film before the final rewrites by David Koepp and Jeff Nathanson. The first draft was written in 1993 by Jeb Stuart (who was recommended to George Lucas by Harrison Ford while working on The Fugitive (1993)). It was sub-titled "Saucerman from Mars" and it features many plot elements used in the film including the Doomtown nuclear sequence, launch bay test fight, the jungle, Russian enemies, and as well as Indy getting married in the end to a fellow scientist called Dr. Molly. The second draft, written by Jeffrey Boam in 1995, simply called Indy IV had Indy searching for Noah's Ark. Boam's draft contains elements that were used in the final film, including having Marion back from the first film, Indy having a son (called Abner and was described as a geek) and the main object was a crystal skull. This draft could have been used if the film was released in 1995, but was shelved at that time. The third major draft by Frank Darabont, subtitled "City of Gods" was very similar to the final film, with Marion in the film but also has Oxley in it, but removes Mutt. Steven Spielberg reportedly loved the script (according to Darabont he called it the greatest script he'd read since Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)), but Lucas rejected it for reasons not disclosed. Koepp looked at all the film's previous drafts, and kept what he felt were good ideas. He tried not to make his work a "fan script," avoiding any trivial references to the previous films. He noted that the story would have to acknowledge Ford/Jones's age, and also aimed for the mix of comedy and adventure from the first film, trying to make it less dark than the second film and yet less comic than the third film. Plot elements from all three drafts were used for the final script.
  
  

Related Links