The Frank Darabont Script

Peacock's-Eye

New member
>>4. Drunk Indy. When Indy loses his job, he goes for the bottle. When T. loses a job, he goes for bench presses. Indy, you got people who love you. Don?t push them away with a glass in yo hand. But Indy learns his lesson in the end. And that?s one to grow on.<<

Must admit that is funny.
 

IndyAJA77

New member
I have yet to read through Darabont's script, but as I was printing it, the lines on the top of page 66 stuck out to me.

MARION
What's the matter, Jones?
Mileage finally catching up with you?

INDY
It ain't the mileage, sweatheart.
It's the years.​

Spielberg used this quote in several Crystal Skull interviews. At the time I thought he came up with this reverse of the classic Raiders line. I guess it wasn't his original thought. Very interesting.
 

graz

New member
IndyAJA77 said:
I have yet to read through Darabont's script, but as I was printing it, the lines on the top of page 66 stuck out to me.

MARION
What's the matter, Jones?
Mileage finally catching up with you?

INDY
It ain't the mileage, sweatheart.
It's the years.​

Spielberg used this quote in several Crystal Skull interviews. At the time I thought he came up with this reverse of the classic Raiders line. I guess it wasn't his original thought. Very interesting.

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but a version of this scene is included in the Titan Graphic Novelisation:

MARION
'Not tired are you Indy?'

INDY
'It ain't the mileage honey, its the years...'
 

tastethecourage

Active member
Bah.

Darabont's screenplay was a wreck if you ask me. Koepp's isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it's better than what Darabont had penned down. I can't believe this... but.... well, Lucas was right. :eek:
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
tastethecourage said:
Bah.

Darabont's screenplay was a wreck if you ask me. Koepp's isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it's better than what Darabont had penned down. I can't believe this... but.... well, Lucas was right. :eek:

I agree. I've read the beginning of the script, and it's a pretty poor the script. The opening is truly wrecked as there's nothing special about Indy's enterence, his friend is MUCH more obnoxious than Mac, and the overdose of reminders that's it's the 50's to the point of Indy's friend saying how much he love ketchup. :rolleyes:

A truly crap script. The only reason people want to believe this Darabont was the second-coming is because of some blind hatred of Lucas I, too this day, will never understand.

Can't we just be happy an Indy 4 got made? I thought it was a fun tribute to Indiana Jones, yet at the same time, continued the franchise with it's fun unique adventure. It could've been worse.It's think it's at least a lot better than the first 2 Star Wars prequels(and I actually like the prequels).
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
How many here are employed script readers...

Forbidden Eye said:
I agree. I've read the beginning of the script, and it's a pretty poor the script. The opening is truly wrecked as there's nothing special about Indy's enterence ....

nothing special here, either:

Raiders Screenplay said:
The MAIN TITLE is followed by this:

PERU
1936

A narrow trail across the green face of the canyon. A
group of men make their way along it. At the head of
the party is an American, INDIANA JONES. He wears a
short leather jacket, a flapped holster, and a brimmed
felt hat with a weird feather stuck in the band. Behind
him come two Spanish Peruvians, SATIPO and BARRANCA.
Bringing up the rear are five Yagua INDIANS. They act
as porters and are wrangling the two heavily-packed
llamas. The Indians become increasingly nervous. They
speak to each other in bursts of Quechua. The American,
who is known to his friends as Indy, glances back at them.

BARRANCA
(irritated)
They're talking about the Curse
again!

He turns and yells at the Indians in Quechua, his anger
giving an indication of his own fears. The party reaches
a break in the canyon wall and takes the trail through it.

When they emerge, their destination is revealed to them
in the distance. Beyond a thick stand of trees is the
vegetation-enshrouded TEMPLE OF THE CHACHAPOYAN WARRIORS,
2000 years old.

The entire party is struck by the sight. The Indians,
terrified now, chatter away. Suddenly the three at the
back turn and run, dropping their packs as they go. Bar-
ranca yells at the fleeing Indians and pulls his pistol
out. He starts to raise his arm to aim but Indy restrains
it in a muscular grip.

INDY
No.

Barranca looks evilly at Indy's hand upon him. Indy re-
leases him and smiles in a friendly way.

INDY
We don't need them.

Satipo watches this confrontation with some concern.

So much for sensationalism. :rolleyes:
 

Great Cloud

New member
Just read Darabont's script, and it is so similar to the final film that I can't for the life of me see why Lucas rejected that one but approved Keopp's. In fact, I admired Darabont's a little more - much better flow that tied up loose ends (Indy being accused of being a red, better explanation of what Marian's been up to over the years), Marian and Indy's relationship is center stage and better utilized, all characters well used. And that aerial battle would have kicked ass. The only key difference is really the absense of Mutt, which is the only reason I could possibly imagine for Lucas to reject it. Otherwise, I'm hard pressed to figure out exactly what made the man hate a script that reads very much like what we eventually saw, only smoother and with better character development. Anyone have any thoughts?
 

Peacock's-Eye

New member
Great Cloud said:
Just read Darabont's script, and it is so similar to the final film that I can't for the life of me see why Lucas rejected that one but approved Keopp's. In fact, I admired Darabont's a little more - much better flow that tied up loose ends (Indy being accused of being a red, better explanation of what Marian's been up to over the years), Marian and Indy's relationship is center stage and better utilized, all characters well used. And that aerial battle would have kicked ass. The only key difference is really the absense of Mutt, which is the only reason I could possibly imagine for Lucas to reject it. Otherwise, I'm hard pressed to figure out exactly what made the man hate a script that reads very much like what we eventually saw, only smoother and with better character development. Anyone have any thoughts?
Yeah, 44 pages of 'em. Get reading!
 

eshine

Guest
Although Marion is my favorite character, and I loved Karen Allen's performance in Skull - having more of her isn't exactly a good thing, at least not the way Darabont wrote her.

She has a few good moments - and I like the fact that she slugs Indy and downs his Martini - but the character is utterly humorless and has displayed absolutely zero growth.

She's kind of a b***, frankly - and I don't see why Indy falls for her again, particularly when she's throwing her husband in his face or just endlessly berating him.

Nope - I like the Marion we got.

She's still fiesty, spirited and funny - but age and motherhood have also realistically matured her.
 

Grizzlor

Well-known member
Great Cloud said:
Just read Darabont's script, and it is so similar to the final film that I can't for the life of me see why Lucas rejected that one but approved Keopp's. In fact, I admired Darabont's a little more - much better flow that tied up loose ends (Indy being accused of being a red, better explanation of what Marian's been up to over the years), Marian and Indy's relationship is center stage and better utilized, all characters well used. And that aerial battle would have kicked ass. The only key difference is really the absence of Mutt, which is the only reason I could possibly imagine for Lucas to reject it. Otherwise, I'm hard pressed to figure out exactly what made the man hate a script that reads very much like what we eventually saw, only smoother and with better character development. Anyone have any thoughts?

I can't figure it out either, because City of the Gods seemed to have more in common with what Lucas wanted than Koepp's. At the time, I commented I think on the old Raider.net board or the Indyfan.com board that Lucas rejected the script simply because he was in the middle of Star Wars Episode II/III and I guess didn't want to have Indy made while he couldn't be part of it. I suppose that's somewhat reasonable that he would want to be there to share in the experience.

I think the addition of Mutt was necessary to balance out Harrison's age, plus they might be thinking of a future with Shia. Otherwise, it is largely the same script. I really think Lucas just didn't want to make the movie at that time until Star Wars was finished.

I always thought that the inexplicable delay between Star Wars III (2005) and the script's acceptance in early 2007 was that Lucas, Spielberg and Ford were simply not agreeing on the script. My guess is that none of the three were 100% happy with the scripts and finally decided to do it anyway.
 

Rococo

New member
eshine said:
Although Marion is my favorite character, and I loved Karen Allen's performance in Skull - having more of her isn't exactly a good thing, at least not the way Darabont wrote her.

She has a few good moments - and I like the fact that she slugs Indy and downs his Martini - but the character is utterly humorless and has displayed absolutely zero growth.

She's kind of a b***, frankly - and I don't see why Indy falls for her again, particularly when she's throwing her husband in his face or just endlessly berating him.

Nope - I like the Marion we got.

She's still fiesty, spirited and funny - but age and motherhood have also realistically matured her.

Agreed! In this script, fiesty she is- but not in the right kind of ways. Marion in Raiders was bitter, angry- and with a good reason. But she moved past it for the greater good, so to speak (whether that be for money, for the quest, for Indy, or just to get the heck out of Nepal). Had she not, she would have played like a petulant child, and would have been instantly hated. Or at least would have played waaaaay more like Willie.

The early, angry Marion is there in Darabont's script- but the other part of Marion that made her isn't there. Yes, she's a more integral part of the action, but to the detriment of her other qualities. In a perfect world, I'd take the KOTCS backstory, add that to a bit of the COG action and more screentime- and had the perfect Marion. But in hindsight, I think that Marion-wise, what we got was better and more true to the character.
 

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
It amuses me that some of those who were most pleased with Marion in Crystal Skull, when presented with a Marion who responds the way she really might be expected to after Indy walked out on her, as she does in City of the Gods, find that to be an unrealistic development.

Really, what pleasure is there in seeing such a dully accepting version of the characteR? Anyone who acts as if the Indy films have always just been happy-go-lucky popcorn flicks might do well to take a good hard look at them again. They aren't happy films. Indy's not a happy guy. Darabont gets that.
 

Rococo

New member
My problem is more with the overwhelming bitterness in Darabonts script, that does an about face in the last section in order to bring the story into a neat little package. I think that Marion in KOTCS changes from anger and resentment to crushing on Indy too fast- but it's a problem in the opposite way in the COG script.

It's hard to compare something that's on film to something that is fleshed out via your minds eye. If the scripts were reversed, at this point I'd probably be resigned to the way the film played out, and more bemused at the KOTCS script. Who knows.
 

James

Well-known member
Grizzlor said:
I can't figure it out either, because City of the Gods seemed to have more in common with what Lucas wanted than Koepp's.

Lucas has said that he first got the idea for Indy 4 while filming the Young Indy episode with Harrison Ford. This is when he realized that an older Indy would require a new historical era- which would also allow them to mine B movies of the 1950s instead of serials from the 1930s.

This was the fundamental concept of Indy 4, and the idea that got Lucas excited about doing another film.

So the biggest problem I see with Darabont's script is that it doesn't really work as a B movie. It wants to veer off into the 1940s, lift scenes and dialogue from ROTLA, include a bunch of over-the-top moments, and top everything off with some of the "Saucermen" draft. Lucas seemed perfectly content to turn the project over to Darabont, and just go off to focus on Star Wars. As he told Starlog way back in 2002:

"I've got a story that (Steven Spielberg and Harrison) want to do. I've got a writer, and I'm going to get him started. I'm going to get him pushed off and then I'll write Episode III. Then, Steven takes over. So that's one of those perfect jobs where all I have to do is get the script in order and have everybody be happy, and they go off and make it. I just show up and wave."

But Darabont just didn't get it. I think he tried to approach the project as too much of a fanboy, and ended up shooting himself in the foot as a result. Lucas had written a homage to the B movies of his youth, not to a film he'd already made 20 years earlier. Koepp apparently understood this, and the end result is a film that works surprisingly well as a tribute to the style Lucas originally envisioned.
 

eshine

Guest
Attila the Professor said:
It amuses me that some of those who were most pleased with Marion in Crystal Skull, when presented with a Marion who responds the way she really might be expected to after Indy walked out on her, as she does in City of the Gods, find that to be an unrealistic development.

Really, what pleasure is there in seeing such a dully accepting version of the characteR? Anyone who acts as if the Indy films have always just been happy-go-lucky popcorn flicks might do well to take a good hard look at them again. They aren't happy films. Indy's not a happy guy. Darabont gets that.
I'm glad our opinions amuse you.

I'm actually surprised to see a moderator condescend in a such a manner and instruct us to revisit films we have seen hundreds of times so that our opinion will match his own. That's very curious to me.

A someone who feels just as qualified to judge these movies as you or Frank Darabont, I will say that Indiana Jones is certainly a happy enough fellow, that these films are popcorn fluff and not dark film noir, and Frank Darabont wrote our beloved Marion to be a humorless shrew completely out of character from the first, save for some gin swilling.
 

Rococo

New member
eshine said:
A someone who feels just as qualified to judge these movies as you or Frank Darabont, I will say that Indiana Jones is certainly a happy enough fellow, that these films are popcorn fluff and not dark film noir, and Frank Darabont wrote our beloved Marion to be a humorless shrew completely out of character from the first, save for some gin swilling.

Here, here! The way that script reads, Marion is closer to being a version of a gin-soaked Karen Walker/Megan Mullally of Will and Grace than anywhere near the character established in the first film.
 
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