The Macguffin ?

sandiegojones said:

I think the ceiling is the actual studio ceiling and will be digitally enhanced to appear more like it does in Raiders.

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Yup, we've been talking about that.

The other consideration I thought of is that we know they have filmed on the Downey sound stage...being a former space shuttle plant, it has cavernous, steel-beamed ceilings just like the matte painting in Raiders. Also, in Raiders the crates are stacked higher, hence the higher ceilings. So on the Downey stage they could actually stack the crates several high, even if they're going to multiply them and alter things digitally later. But with those options available, they chose to just put a bunch of crates stacked low in a smaller room? Doesn't make sense.

commontone said:

But with those options available, they chose to just put a bunch of crates stacked low in a smaller room? Doesn't make sense.

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The photo session for VF doesn't necessarily mean that the set seen thereof is the same set in the films. Same goes for the other pics. Those are modified sets with still photography in mind, not film at 24 f/s. Maybe the photographer didn't need/want a high stack of crates. Who cares, to be honest.

I will say that the ending scene of Raiders is more significant than you allude to at this point. Scorsese is always talking about a seminal shot to end films with...he even described the last shot of Raiders as a perfect scene/ending to that movie. That warehouse is not just the place where the Ark is...it is more symbolic of that...it ties the film and the plot together on several levels. I would put that long pull-back shot up there with ET on the bike going across the moon (even though that is not the end of ET).

Spielberg is an extremely calculated director. I really doubt he would happen to casually throw in a setting already seen (or a setting similar if not THE warehouse) just for the heck of it. Keep in mind, they have also used the crate imagery in early marketing displays...this stuff is planned out to the most finite detail, that is why I do not think is it just another warehouse, especially in the Indy film canon.

snake_surprise said:

I will say that the ending scene of Raiders is more significant than you allude to at this point.

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I didn't think I was suggesting that the scene isn't important. I don't think that at all, anyway, I love that scene in Raiders, and have no problem with them revisiting the warehouse in the new film.

All I'm saying is, however plausible it is that the warehouse will be in the new film, and whatever evidence might be interpreted as pointing in that direction, we shouldn't be talking about that like it's a fact.

That picture of crates doesn't confirm that it's the Raiders warehouse any more than Shia and Karen Allen standing together confirms they're mother and son.

I'm not saying for sure that the raiders warehouse is in this but it looks similar to me, not to mention the crate used in the early marketing and that all the early spoiler scoops alluded to the warehouse and the ark featuring, that's all. If I'm wrong then I'm wrong. We'll find out in May! Can't wait!

commontone said:

I didn't think I was suggesting that the scene isn't important. I don't think that at all, anyway, I love that scene in Raiders, and have no problem with them revisiting the warehouse in the new film.

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I should have used a different word than 'important'...I did not do a good job with word choice. At any rate, I would probably define that setting/scene/location as more seminal to the series than most settings in the three films.

And like you, I would have no problem with that setting revisited at all...or the Ark for that matter, if it were handled well. I am weary of it simply because it is Lucas we are talking about, plain and simple.

commontone said:

All I'm saying is, however plausible it is that the warehouse will be in the new film, and whatever evidence might be interpreted as pointing in that direction, we shouldn't be talking about that like it's a fact.

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I agree completely. I am speculating on the side of the Ark and the warehouse being part of the film, given the subject matter and title of this thread.

commontone said:

That picture of crates doesn't confirm that it's the Raiders warehouse any more than Shia and Karen Allen standing together confirms they're mother and son.

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Point taken, but the crate scenario is only more believable simply because we have 'seen' it (or something VERY similar) before.

I'm starting to think that alot of this stuff might be Lucas trying to intentionally mislead the fans in order to better conceal the real plot. I mean, almost every marketing thing we've seen thus far points to the ark being involved, but it's always just a little off( the wrong though suspiciously close number on the crate, the differences in the warehouses, etc.) It's not a bad idea on his part since he's already managed to get so many people convinced that the ark is involved in this movie. After all, this is the guy who filmed "Return of the Jedi" under the title "Blue Harvest."