Cast: So far, so good...

It should definitely be in the top five for highest grossing movies of 2008.

JJkrogs, I'm not doubting I4 will be a huge hit, and I agree w/Dr. Sartorius that it'll be one of the biggest hits of 08, in fact I'd say it'll be the biggest hit of the year. Indy 4 has a tremendous amount of fan anticipation behind it, probably second only to The Phantom Menace. I just don't know if it'll make the kind of money that hits like The Pirates films, Spiderman, or Shrek(which I still don't get the mass appeal of) have done over the last bunch of years. I think it will hit 300 million domestically, but not up in the 400's like the other movies I've just mentioned. I'd love to see it be huge w/all the age demographics, and so far between Dr.Sartorius, Baron Brunwald, and OKi9sedo there are 2 20 year olds and a 17 year old which show that Indy is still big w/the younger crowd. Other than die hard fans who hit up this site, I can't say. Maybe we should do a poll on The Raven to see where the ages range. I'd love to see Indy 4 break Titanic's stranglehold on the dom. box office crown, 600 million is an insane number to beat, but I'm just concerned if the birth of Darth Vader can't even break 400 million, and a movie (as great as the special effects are) as bloated and over the top as Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men's Chest can near 450 million dom., I don't know what are man Dr. Jones can do? So, yes sir I will take the bet, and gladly say you were right, if Indy4 pulls out w/a monster box office haul!

Finn said:

It's true that not-so-skilled actors need a good director to prevail. On the other hand, skilled ones can still do decent roles without. Samuel L. Jackson and Ewan McGregor weren't half bad. Okay, Liam Neeson was, but he was trying too hard to deliver something similar to Alec Guinness. Acted indifference is not the same thing as genuine one.

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I thought Liam Neeson's performance is one of the best of the prequel trilogy. And I didn't think Ewan was as good in his second two outings as he was in his first. And Sam Jackson's acting ability generally makes any movie, good or bad, worth sitting through.

I do agree with everything else Finn had to say. The acting will be fine. Acting wasn't even the main problem with the prequel trilogy anyways but that's a different topic.

As for Indy being the biggest hit of '08? I don't know any child from age 3-13 who's seen Indy and that's just pathetic if you ask me, but hey, they're children of the '90s or 21st century. Hopefully their parents will take them to see Indy 4 anyways. I think Prince Caspian or Dark Knight will be bigger hits. I hate to say it, but I'm looking forward to Dark Knight much more than Indy.

Katarn07,I agree Liam Neeson was great in TPM, I think I forgot to mention him w/Mcdiarmid and he's up there as one of my favorite actors so I should have thought of him. I thought Ewan was great in Sith and finally came into the role, but just so so in AOTC, and pretty good in TPM(even though he had like 5 lines). Dark Knight should be big, 250 million at least since The Joker is back, and Prince Caspian should pull in similar numbers based on the success of Narnia. On second thought, I really don't know the storyline of Caspian, so I guess I'm just spectulating on its potential. Indy4 will bring out a lot of the late 20's and up crowd. I'm still not convinced it will bring in the teens like a Pirates movie, since young girls don't really have an Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp to go see in Indy4. I'm pretty positive it was the positive reviews and repeat viewings of the younger crowds, which made DMC such a huge hit. Maybe Laboeuf could bring in younger fans, but I haven't really scene much of the kid and he's not exactly Bloom. I hope I'm wrong and Indy 4 is a mega hit w/the younglings! It'll be great to keep the fanbase growing close to 30 years later.

The one theme, 'cept for Titanic which is just a ridiculous situation any way you look at it, for the other major blockbusters on the list is that there are true, good-vs-evil heroes. Spider Man, Harry Potter, LOTR all had archetypes that anyone could enjoy. Indy, even being 63, fits that mold.

People worldwide need heroes, now more than ever it seems.

Plus, the budget likely to be spent on advertising the movie will be staggering.

No way it beats Titanic. That's just crazy at 600mil, but the next few are in the 430's. That's doable.

I agree completely about the world needing heroes! As for the theme of the movies I mentioned, the good vs. evil scenario does appeal to a mass audience, but more importantly these days to bring in the bucks, you need a hook. In this case w/all those films action and special effects aside you have YOUNG good looking actors and actresses w/love stories mixed in w/the rest of the storyline. W/the exception of Shrek which is a kids movie(which most animated ones these days do amazing at the B.O.), and it also appealed to adults w/the humor, you have actors like Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley, Geoffrey Rush(just kidding!), Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire,and James Franco which cash in on the looks dept. to pull in the teens! Titanic, once again was a love story w/Leonard Dicaprio the object of millions of young girls adoration in the 90's,a romance that every one could identify with, and it also had the historical angle to bring in the older crowd, as well as keep most guys on the edge of their seats in the last hour w/the sinking. Indy is going to need to up the ante, to bring in the young crowd. Look at 300 right now at the B.O., it's doing tremendous because it has tons of action, a strong beautiful leading lady, romance, blood and gore, special effects, and tons of eye candy for women. It satisfies a lot of demographics. Harrison Ford is still a good looking man, but he's a senior citizen now, he's not exactly Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett is beautiful (and at times kind of creepy, just my opinion), other than the two of them more are needed. As much as I don't want to see the guy in the movie, if you included someone like Josh Hartnett(as a young archeologist in traning) and say Natalie Portman(to play Indy's daughter) who have a romance as well, you'd have major potential for hitting a wider demographic, and even more box office gold!

I don't care how many people will go see this film.

I myself am 16. JUST found Indy ,and am now a complete fan...... Of course im a hick/redneck type but that still show's something.
Personally i dont think Indy4 will make top 5 . Possibly top 10... Definatly top 20. Of the year i am saying YES to top 5. We all know Pirates (Bleaghh) will be in teh top 5.....
I mean it SHOULD be.... With shows like Pirtes ,Shrek ,and teh like bringing so much i think a Indy (Which although not starwars scale) is still huge.
I think one of the BIGGEST things that brings people in will be some of the older generation. Like my parents... Although not huge fans they watched indy in thier early 20's ,and enjoyed them. They consider most new movies pure C***.... I think a lot of those type of people may show up to watch Indy for as much as anything....um... something actually interesting?
I myself despise movies like Pirates of the Caribbean,Shrek ,and those.
However if Fox,and the mad proffesor (I know. its now impossible). would team up in another Back to the Future. I would go in a second... I think a lot of people are like that.
Just my thoughts however.

Grant, you're right about your folks and those that are older that would dish out the bucks to see a new Indy flick, as opposed to Shrek 3 or Pirates 3. Most of the driving force behind those films are probably 40 and under, just a guess though. Plus, how many of your friends would you say are Indy fans,that are in your age bracket?

Yes, indeed.

Think about those people who were roughly your age back when Raiders hit the silver screens... quite many of them are middle-aged family men now. Apart from regular teen audience, one shouldn't underestimate this flick's significance to them... it'll be a huge trip down the nostalgia lane.

This'll be a film many families go see together, but this time it's the parents who want to see this one, not the kids.

You're right Finn, if you were a teen in 80/81 you'd be near 40's or mid 40's. Plus if you take into consideration how many parents back then took their kids to see an Indy flick, you have appeal for those all the way up in their 70's. Indy is a throwback, reminiscent of another time. With Ford being 65 it's a lot diff. for an older crowd, it's like having one of your peers, as opposed to seeing Tobey Maguire in a movie.

Finn said:

This'll be a film many families go see together, but this time it's the parents who want to see this one, not the kids.

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I think you're right, but parents don't go and see a film 5, 6 times like the kids, which is why pirates/potter/spider-man do so well in my opinion, so I do think I4 will struggle to be the top grossing movie of 2008 (especially against potter/batman/bond) - but I couldn't care less, as long as the movie is good does it matter how many people do or don't see it or how many records it does or doesn't break?

Hell, if the movie's good, It'll break even off my admission tickets alone...even if it's terrible I'd be surprised if I saw it less than 5 times at the cinema!

For me, casting names that would make me cringe would be:

1. Indy replacement-Ben Affleck
2. New Indy Girl-Britney Spears
3. Villains-Richard Roxburg, Paris Hilton
4. New Sidekick-Matthew Broedrick

Those would make me either scream or groan with worry!

jjkrogs said:

"George Lucas announced today that (Enter Cringe-inducing Name Here) will play a key role in Indy 4..."

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Tom Hanks --------

I'm with you regarding Hanks, lol! I would def. cringe if I heard of any of the following: Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Scarlet Johannson,or Dustin Hoffman. While they might be good actors they all bug me.

deckard24 said:

Dustin Hoffman.

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Agree with all but this one. My gringe-worthiness is not personal, just if the name's someone who's "hot on the scene" at the moment. That means they don't trust Ford or Indiana Jones alone be attractive enough.

Hoffman certainly isn't one of the current fan favorites, yet it's hard to see what kind of possible role there would be for him. Possibly a three-minute-flash as an eccentric antiquities dealer?

<small>Note, letting my imagination fly as usual. If you post a rumor thread after this that claims "Hoffman in talks for Indy IV" and ESPECIALLY if you've spotted it from IMDb boards, I'm soooo going to whoop your hide.</small>

Finn, my Hoffman bias comes from watching Sleepers the other night on tv, and his stuttering, repeating himself over and over again method really got under my skin. The man's a great actor but in some roles he just bugs me. Antiques dealer hadn't thought of that? I'm just curious to see if The Berg pulls out all the stops in this film and brings in a lot of heavyweight actors. Ensemble pieces are all the rage in Hollywood these days, and I could see it happening. I wouldn't mind seeing Geoffrey Rush or Ciaran Hinds in I4.

deckard24 said:

Geoffrey Rush

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This guy certainly falls into "who's hot" category, mostly thanks to PotC. Kinda makes me think would you even have suggested him if not because of Pirates...

Well actually Finn, I was thinking of Munich, that's why I mentioned Ciaran Hinds right after him!!

Ciarán Hinds would fit an Indy movie like a glove. He was incredible as Caesar in Rome.