A Collaborative Project...

Zeus The Moose

New member
It seems as though a lot of people on these forums have ideas about what they would like to see in an Indiana Jones adventure. So I thought it would be fun if, as a group, we collaborated to come up with a detailed story outline for an Indiana Jones movie. This doesn't have to be Indiana Jones 5 necessarily, it could be another story with Indy in his prime if we wanted to go that route.

I want to create the story in a manner similar to how Speilberg, Lucas and Kasdan first created the story for Raiders. They just got together in a room and starting throwing out a bunch of ideas for scenes and action sequences, then eventually came up with a plot that could support all of these ideas. This thread could be our equivalent to that room, so feel free to toss out any general ideas you have for locations, characters or action sequences we could use in an Indiana Jones adventure. Then we'll find some sort of way to incorporate all or most of the ideas and tie it all together into a cohesive story.

A note to those of you who want to pitch possible Macguffins. There are a lot of cool and interesting treasures out there for Indy to go after, so when pitching your particular Macguffin choice, make sure to explain how it might be able to connect to the story on a thematic level. For example, the Holy Grail is such a great Macguffin for The Last Crusade because it represents restoration, and the crux of the story is the restoration of a relationship between a father and son. On the surface Indy is on a journey in search of the Holy Grail, but really he is searching for a renewed relationship with his father. The climax to The Last Crusade is so effective because it able to bring these two things together. Indy must now find the Grail to save his father, and we are emotionally invested because we have seen the father/son relationship develop.

That being said, let's see what you've got!
 

kongisking

Active member
Pale Horse said:
HERE'S what we have so far...

Except Zeus said he wasn't talking about an Indy 5 concept, but an Indy adventure in general. No harm with that.

I'd definitely be game to help with this, as always! (y)
 

Zeus The Moose

New member
kongisking said:
Except Zeus said he wasn't talking about an Indy 5 concept, but an Indy adventure in general. No harm with that.

I'd definitely be game to help with this, as always! (y)

Yeah exactly, I don't really want this to be a theoretical Indiana Jones 5, but rather an Indy adventure with the classic 1930s setting, and a protagonist that isn't as old as the relics he is looking for (I still love you Harrison). No reason why both projects can't co-exist, as there are a multitude of Indy adventures in film, comics, novels and games that all co-exist.

So kongisking, any ideas to get the ball rolling? I'll eventually post a couple ideas of my own, but my role will largely be that of a coordinator trying to make everyone's ideas work together in a story.
 
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kongisking

Active member
Zeus The Moose said:
Yeah exactly, I don't really want this to be a theoretical Indiana Jones 5, but rather an Indy adventure with the classic 1930s setting, and a protagonist that isn't as old as the relics he is looking for (I still love you Harrison). No reason why both projects can't co-exist, as there are a multitude of Indy adventures in film, comics, novels and games that all co-exist.

So kongisking, any ideas to get the ball rolling? I'll eventually post a couple ideas of my own, but my role will largely be that of a coordinator trying to make everyone's ideas work together in a story.

Oh, I can probably devise some ideas. Though my best ones will be saved for if I ever can write an original adventure story of my own, of course...:p

Anyone else here gonna bother to help out Zeus and I? Or is this another fan project doomed to go the way of the thread the mods linked to above?

...without having properly read Zeus' idea, I might add?
 

Zeus The Moose

New member
One idea I had for a scene was some sort of underwater action sequence, since that's something that hasn't really been done before in an Indiana Jones movie. Indy and his sidekick could be scuba diving to explore a sunken ship in search of something. Then they're suddenly attacked by scuba diving Nazis!

Or maybe Indy's on a sinking ship, and trapped inside a room as water is rapidly pouring in. He must escape or drown! It's kind of like how he has limited time to escape the spike room in Temple of Doom, and it would have an awesome adventure serial feel to it, which is what you want to capture with Indiana Jones.

Thoughts?
 

Spurlock

New member
Or maybe Indy and his sidekick hitch a ride on a rocket and fight space nazis! That'd for sure be an Indy first.

And if you intend on doing this seriously, I'd come up with a Macguffin before anything else.
 

Zeus The Moose

New member
Spurlock said:
Or maybe Indy and his sidekick hitch a ride on a rocket and fight space nazis! That'd for sure be an Indy first.

Yeah this sarcastic comment has a valid point. Scuba diving Nazis are so ridiculous, you might as well just have space Nazis.

Well all know that Indiana Jones isn't ridiculous. That's why there isn't a scene where he jumps out of a plane and inflates a raft in mid-air to slow his descent, lands on a hill in the raft, slides down the hill, goes flying off a 100 foot cliff, and lands in a river.

Spurlock said:
And if you intend on doing this seriously, I'd come up with a Macguffin before anything else.

I'm not really sure about a Macguffin, but do have a basic framework of the story in my head.

The opening sequence would take place on a ship. Indiana Jones would be there meeting with some dubious characters in order to cut a deal for a valuable artifact, similar to the opening in Temple of Doom. Of course, the deal goes awry, some action happens, and there is a shipwreck. Indy manages to escape from the ship and ends up washing ashore on a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere.

The main body of the story would take place on the island. Indy would discover a band of mercenaries on the island, in search of a lost treasure/artifact, for some nefarious purpose. At some point, Indy would get captured by the mercenaries, escape, and then have to stop their plan.

Obviously this is very general, but this is the sort of framework I was thinking of working within. I decided to look to the community for ideas to help fill in the details. Things like fleshing out some supporting characters, coming up with action scenes, and of course, coming up with the treasure/artifact the villains would be searching for. I'm definitely open to entirely new ideas as well, and the story could go in a completely different direction.
 

Dr. Gonzo

New member
kongisking said:
Anyone else here gonna bother to help out Zeus and I? Or is this another fan project doomed to go the way of the thread the mods linked to above?

I wouldn't say that project is doomed.
Just put back on the shelf for a while.

By the way I gave my blessing to have anyone move forward with spitballing ideas on that little ditty...

I'm getting towards the beginning of the end of the real project Dr. Gonzo's paycheck comes from so... perhaps in a month or two there will be enough of a lull in my day to revisit "the winter of Indy's life".
 

Spurlock

New member
Zeus The Moose said:
Yeah this sarcastic comment has a valid point. Scuba diving Nazis are so ridiculous, you might as well just have space Nazis.

Well all know that Indiana Jones isn't ridiculous. That's why there isn't a scene where he jumps out of a plane and inflates a raft in mid-air to slow his descent, lands on a hill in the raft, slides down the hill, goes flying off a 100 foot cliff, and lands in a river.

All I'm gonna say is that mythbusters tested that and found the raft falling from the sky part was possible. So...



Zeus The Moose said:
I'm not really sure about a Macguffin, but do have a basic framework of the story in my head.

The opening sequence would take place on a ship. Indiana Jones would be there meeting with some dubious characters in order to cut a deal for a valuable artifact, similar to the opening in Temple of Doom. Of course, the deal goes awry, some action happens, and there is a shipwreck. Indy manages to escape from the ship and ends up washing ashore on a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere.

The main body of the story would take place on the island. Indy would discover a band of mercenaries on the island, in search of a lost treasure/artifact, for some nefarious purpose. At some point, Indy would get captured by the mercenaries, escape, and then have to stop their plan.

Obviously this is very general, but this is the sort of framework I was thinking of working within. I decided to look to the community for ideas to help fill in the details. Things like fleshing out some supporting characters, coming up with action scenes, and of course, coming up with the treasure/artifact the villains would be searching for. I'm definitely open to entirely new ideas as well, and the story could go in a completely different direction.

Well I've already come up with 7 Indiana Jones inspired movie plots which all have more than 20 pages each. So if I were to come up with another plot, it'd probably go to my own ideas.

As for your plot, I both think Indiana Jones is foolish enough to jump onto a boat that's nearly escapable with questionable dealing partners. I know he went onto a boat for LC, but he wasn't making a deal, he was just taking an artifact. And in ToD, there were easy ways to escape and he had his friend.

It also sounds like it mirrors ToD a lot, though a step away from enemy forces, like Nazis and Russians is a good idea.
 

Zeus The Moose

New member
Spurlock said:
As for your plot, I both think Indiana Jones is foolish enough to jump onto a boat that's nearly escapable with questionable dealing partners. I know he went onto a boat for LC, but he wasn't making a deal, he was just taking an artifact. And in ToD, there were easy ways to escape and he had his friend.
Well Indy would probably have an associate with him on the ship, possibly undercover. Also, trying to sneak onto a small boat with numerous enemies on it to steal an artifact is pretty much as foolish as my scenario, I think you're sort of splitting hairs. Nevertheless, the story could instead open with Indy being held captive aboard the ship, interrogated for information about some artifact, he would then escape, action ensues, etc. etc.

Spurlock said:
It also sounds like it mirrors ToD a lot, though a step away from enemy forces, like Nazis and Russians is a good idea.
Yeah, Indiana Jones plots all follow a pretty similar structure. There's no need to re-invent the wheel. Raiders and Crusade are the exact same structurally: opening scene unrelated to plot that sets the tone, scene back at the university where Indy talks to Marcus, scene of exposition about the artifact, travels to place in search of clue where he meets girl, so on and so on. Indiana Jones movies are well-executed formulaic adventures.
 

Lance Quazar

Well-known member
Dr. Gonzo said:
I wouldn't say that project is doomed.

They're all doomed. :D

Trying to do a group project is nigh impossible. Best just follow your own muse and don't expect anyone else to pick up any slack.
 

kongisking

Active member
Zeus The Moose said:
The opening sequence would take place on a ship. Indiana Jones would be there meeting with some dubious characters in order to cut a deal for a valuable artifact, similar to the opening in Temple of Doom. Of course, the deal goes awry, some action happens, and there is a shipwreck. Indy manages to escape from the ship and ends up washing ashore on a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere.

The main body of the story would take place on the island. Indy would discover a band of mercenaries on the island, in search of a lost treasure/artifact, for some nefarious purpose. At some point, Indy would get captured by the mercenaries, escape, and then have to stop their plan.

That's actually a marvelous idea for a story. I like bare-bones, simple, gritty and isolated adventures. One reason TOD was so damn awesome.

Crap, now I'm jealous I didn't think of that concept for my own adventure hero! Grrrr!
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
I wonder whether an island setting could be limiting. Not so much in terms of the number of set pieces you can develop on it, but in terms of the number of players involved in the story. If it's not inhabited, as you've suggested, then you just have Indy, anyone on the ship (probably including his undercover sidekick), and the mercenaries. That said, those limitations would A) offer possibilities for some formula-breaking and B) provide a chance to improve on the sort of story that the Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead novel attempted.

I think using a shipwreck scene as a rendition on a trap sequence is a great idea. A diving sequence could be okay, but could be too much of the same after the wreck; we don't want Thunderball levels of underwater sequences. (I wouldn't push for this, but sharks are an option at some point.)

Of course, Last Crusade more or less begins on a ship, so maybe you'd consider having a different opening adventure, with some time aboard the ship offering an opportunity to get Indy out of his adventure gear and into evening wear, his tweeds, or something more casual. I don't think it's in the nature of an Indy story to have a bunch of innocents dying, so I'd imagine it as a relatively unpopulated ship, maybe a dilapidated ocean liner that's seen better days, traveling an unpopular route, or a cargo ship that takes a small number of passengers. This allows us to retain the idea of Indy willingly boarding the ship in order to make contact with some unsavories. If you want there to be a love interest in the story, she could be drawn from the passengers. Better yet: the pre-existing ally is female (love interest or not), and the male sidekick could be someone he meets on board or on the island. Or the male sidekick could <I>be</I> the unsavory contact he's tracking, a Belloq-type figure, and they're forced to be allies to deal with the mercenaries. That said, I think the former might be the more novel of the two within an Indy context.

Choice of MacGuffin is obviously linked to that of location. Polynesia and the Pacific generally are pretty rare in Indy stories, so I'd throw that out there as a possibility. As you say, Zeus, it's nice when the MacGuffin is thematically linked to the story (though I think that's only a big element in LC and KotCS), and so it could make sense to choose the MacGuffin (and thus location) <I>after</I> the desired theme is in place. That said, the reverse can be a heck of a lot easier. (And the opening adventure, should we want one, is probably to be decided last, for reasons of geography.)
 

Zeus The Moose

New member
Attila the Professor said:
I wonder whether an island setting could be limiting. Not so much in terms of the number of set pieces you can develop on it, but in terms of the number of players involved in the story. If it's not inhabited, as you've suggested, then you just have Indy, anyone on the ship (probably including his undercover sidekick), and the mercenaries. That said, those limitations would A) offer possibilities for some formula-breaking and B) provide a chance to improve on the sort of story that the Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead novel attempted.

I think using a shipwreck scene as a rendition on a trap sequence is a great idea. A diving sequence could be okay, but could be too much of the same after the wreck; we don't want Thunderball levels of underwater sequences. (I wouldn't push for this, but sharks are an option at some point.)

Of course, Last Crusade more or less begins on a ship, so maybe you'd consider having a different opening adventure, with some time aboard the ship offering an opportunity to get Indy out of his adventure gear and into evening wear, his tweeds, or something more casual. I don't think it's in the nature of an Indy story to have a bunch of innocents dying, so I'd imagine it as a relatively unpopulated ship, maybe a dilapidated ocean liner that's seen better days, traveling an unpopular route, or a cargo ship that takes a small number of passengers. This allows us to retain the idea of Indy willingly boarding the ship in order to make contact with some unsavories. If you want there to be a love interest in the story, she could be drawn from the passengers. Better yet: the pre-existing ally is female (love interest or not), and the male sidekick could be someone he meets on board or on the island. Or the male sidekick could <I>be</I> the unsavory contact he's tracking, a Belloq-type figure, and they're forced to be allies to deal with the mercenaries. That said, I think the former might be the more novel of the two within an Indy context.

Choice of MacGuffin is obviously linked to that of location. Polynesia and the Pacific generally are pretty rare in Indy stories, so I'd throw that out there as a possibility. As you say, Zeus, it's nice when the MacGuffin is thematically linked to the story (though I think that's only a big element in LC and KotCS), and so it could make sense to choose the MacGuffin (and thus location) <I>after</I> the desired theme is in place. That said, the reverse can be a heck of a lot easier. (And the opening adventure, should we want one, is probably to be decided last, for reasons of geography.)
A great post with some great ideas.

I especially like the idea of the sidekick being the person he's tracking on the ship, with the two of them being forced to work together on the island. Another sidekick could be an eccentric old hermit who lives on the island, like a strange shaman or witchdoctor that nurses Indy back to health. The love interest could go a couple of different ways. Maybe the unsavory contact Indy is forced to work with is female, and they have some sexual tension. The love interest could also be a woman that the mercenaries are holding captive for some reason (maybe she holds the secret to the treasure they are looking for), that Indy ends up rescuing.

As far as the ship itself goes, yeah I was thinking it would be something along the lines of a large cargo ship or an old ocean liner like you suggested. And yes, there would be a prolonged "opening adventure" taking place on the ship.

A very constructive post overall, nice work!

Also, Thunderball is amazing.
 
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