Darabont Script ?

[Deleted]

Script for Indy 4 by Darabont?

www.pdfscreenplays.net/pdfscripts/screenplays/Indiana%20Jones%20and%20the%20City%20of%20the%20Gods.pdf

Cheers,
John

[Kaplan]

Thanks G-MANN, but I don't read scripts that don't turn a mountain into a molehill within the first page. I mean...mountain changing into a real mountain That would never catch on.... ;D

[Ragingblues]

On this same subject, here's a recent interview with Frank Darabont that talks about his experiences while working on the Indy 4 script:

www.movie-moron.com/?p=448


Why Frank Darabont Hated Working On Indy 4 - We Heard It First Hand


If you’ve seen any of the trailers or TV Spots for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you’ll be asking yourself this question: Alien Russian Zombies … seriously?

These cheesy, over-the-top plot devices might seem part and parcel for the film series that brought us a magic Jewish box and a drinking fountain that gives eternal life, but films #1 and #3 have stood the test of time and critical fans because of the deeper, personal story threads; namely Indy fighting for the love of his life and, later, Indy fighting for his personal Holy Grail, Henry Jones Sr.

But remember that middle film? The one where Indy gets poisoned, totes along an annoying sidekick and more annoying prima donna, and saves a village by stealing some self-heating rocks?

If you’re feeling that same, queasy knot in your stomach that came with the Star Wars prequels, you’re not alone. The internet forums were already cringing a full month before the film was scheduled to be released.

The actual genesis of Indy 4 was something quite painful. Various accounts can be patched together from multiple websites, but in early 2006 I was lucky to meet Frank Darabont in an intimate talk-back session in Hollywood, and he gave us the inside scoop on his, now infamous, draft of the film.

Despite his love of storytelling, Darabont actually dislikes the physical act of writing; his gregarious personality is not suited for long hours locked in a small room, hunched over a keyboard. He rarely spends more than three months on a single script, but spent over a year on Indiana Jones 4.

Halfway into the process, Spielberg left the country on sabbatical, leaving the bulk of supervision to George Lucas. According to Darabont, who had worked with both men in the past, the notes be began to receive from Lucas were both disheartening and confusing. He didn’t seem to understand the story focus and, even more strange, the notes themselves were confusing.

As Darabont grew more concerned he forwarded the note to Spielberg, who shared the concern but was unable to do much out of the country.

He continued to write, trying his best to decipher the notes, and finally turned in a draft to Spielberg and Lucas.

According to Darabont, Spielberg’s reaction was glowing - he even stated it was the third best script he’d ever read (and, why NO ONE in our group thought to ask what the first two were is a mystery to me … we must have been caught up in the story).

But Lucas had a different reaction - he flatly rejected the script.

Darabont protested and went to Spielberg personally, asking for intervention. But Spielberg, despite siding with Darabont artistically, couldn’t force a rift in his thirty-year friendship with Lucas over a film script and decided to scrap the project.

At this point Darabont, an accomplished director himself, had spent over a year of his career working on a single project, only to have it rejected for muddy, confusing reasons. Despite his prior experience with the character (Darabont wrote for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles), fantastic work on The Shawshank Redemption, and the stamp of approval from Spielberg, the script would sit on a shelf, unmade.

This experience drove Darabont to his public decision to never write a film he wouldn’t direct himself - and I wonder if this bitterness seeped into the extremely negative new ending for The Mist, which he wrote just afterwards.

Whatever Lucas’s motivations for scrapping Darabont’s script, you have to admit his track record is not pretty - Lucas seems to be a visionary, but don’t forget he only wrote and directed the first installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, and was completely responsible for the horrendous mess that was the prequels.

But whatever its origins, we all know we’ll be in line come May 22, willing to dish out $10 for a movie we probably won’t like - or worse, will completely deconstruct the very fabric of our childhood fantasies. But hey, at least we’ll have popcorn.



Ken

[Ramiel]

Thanks Ken, that was what I needed to know.

[Kt. Templar]

Arghh, 404 error! GMann did you DL it?

[kalkamel]

Courtesy of an RPF'er:

www.mediafire.com/?1pfzjtexmym

[Ragingblues]

It's supposedly the real thing, but who really knows?

BTW, G-Mann did save a copy and has emailed one to me, since I didn't save it myself after scanning through it last night. So, we both have copies in PDF format. If you would like one, PM either myself or G-Mann with the email address you want it sent to.

BTW, here's a new story regarding the script:


Darabont's Alternative Indiana Jones 4 Script Is Online

www.cinemablend.com/new/Darabont-s-Alternative-Indiana-Jones-4-Script-Is-Online-9141.html


You knew it had to show up online eventually, and tonight it did. Frank Darabont’s Indiana Jones 4 script, the one George Lucas threw in the trash after it had already been approved by Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, is all over the internet. No I can’t tell you where it is, because anywhere I point to will invariably be shut down within seconds. Lucasfilm or Fox or both and their cadre of attorneys are all over this one.

I can tell you this much, having read just the first few pages: Frank Darabont deserves a writing credit. The opening credits sequence of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a direct ripoff of the one here, in some cases shot by shot. In other places, the final script by David Koepp simply rips off locations. For instance the Atomic Café from the final film is here, except it’s not some weird prop placed for bombing, it’s an actual café where Indy has lunch. The biggest difference I’m noticing so far, is that Darabont’s script isn’t silly and kid friendly. There are no gophers. Darabont’s is also a lot more thoughtful, and you can tell from Indy's first lines of dialogue. It’s like Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, if it were written solely for adults. I’m willing to bet that when I get further in, those hilarious monkeys will be noticeably absent.

We’ll see how it goes as I keep reading. Maybe Darabont’s script suddenly falls apart at the end, and the Koepp/Lucas effort will best it. But I doubt it. George Lucas’s propensity for torpedoing the story of anything he’s involved in is near legendary by now. We’ll always wonder about the Indiana Jones 4 that might have been… if Spielberg and Ford had somehow managed to push Lucas out of the filmmaking process.


Just for the record.... there were no gophers in KOTCS! Those were prairie dogs.... and yes, there is a difference.


Ken

[Ragingblues]

Jun 12, 2008 7:45:34 GMT -5 @indygr said:

Thanks Ken! It may not be necessary though because I found it a few hours ago.

My comments are written in beige. I preffer to write them that way. If you think that it's not appropriate pls re-colour them.
**
The basis of KOTCS script is the same as this one. Darabont's script seems more serious being less comedic but more drammatic. However, it's a bit exaggerated in some points. For example, Aliens are still there, the nuclear blast, the vine swinging, Peru, etc. are in the script.
The main difference is that the new script was adapted for Indy's son.
I didn't like the ending so much...however, who knows how this could have been on screen.
**
Overall, in my opinion the final KOTCS script was better and more flawless since Darabont's script had to many scenes that were similar to Raiders. However, it's difficult to compare because the script was never transfered to the big screen.

In any case, Lucas was correct in my opinion for further redrafting the script but I really don't understand why Darabont didn't get any credit for the script...I really don't want to imagine why.

Indygr

Well, the basic storyline is credited to Lucas. So Darabont was working from the same core idea that Lucas would use to rewrite things into what became KOTCS.


Ken

[Kt. Templar]

Jun 12, 2008 2:36:44 GMT -5 kalkamel said:

Courtesy of an RPF'er:

www.mediafire.com/?1pfzjtexmym

Cheers Kal!

[nickhorror]

Why are they fighting so hard for keeping this thing off the net? Usually, studios are quick to post scripts for geeks like me who read them all day and just can't get enough.

[Vivli]

I really felt this script was inferior to KOTCS, which suprised me, 'cause I really expected it to be great. I wasn't the hugest fan of KOTCS, despite the fact it was really fun to watch, I felt it could have been better.

Reading this actually made me appreciate KOTCS more though.

Possible spoilers ahead, just as a warning.

To me, the script felt a lot less imaginative than KOTCS. I mean, the villain becoming so blatantly moustache twistingly evil in the first five minutes despite the fact we're supposed to believe Indy's trusted him for years (at least Mac's switch was in character), before suddenly reverted back and them parting ways friendly at the end (despite the fact he's a proven cold blooded killer and total villain by that point, they just let him walk away!). And worse of all, his motivations were so generic and forgettable I didn't find him an interesting character at all. Spalko may not have been up there with Belloq, but at least she was iconic and memorable. And her motivation for knowledge (which Yuri here seems to take at the end for no real reason, whereas with Spalko it worked throughout the script) seemed more convincing.

The 'nods' back to previous films were so blatant in this script too they would have been horrible on screen. Nodding back to a previous movie can be fun, but do it too frequently and you just make the audience wish they were watching that instead. The entire musuem sequence was horrible, and in my opinion, far far worse than anything found in Crystal Skull.

On top of that, the 'suprise' villain of the piece was so blatant it was obvious from the first moment he was mentioned, and on top of that, there were about ten characters we were supposed to remember packed all into the final third, when they were all really a bit unneccesary. As a script, this felt like it needed some serious streamlining. Basically, it needed turning into KOTCS, which is what happened.

The aliens are horribly included too in my opinion, compared to KOTCS. At least in that, they're built up and their presence is obvious. Here, they just randomly pop up at the end, and I can't imagine that would have gone well! Especially Indy's 'one liner' when he deals with them.

I'm not sure how much Darabont deserves a writing credit either. A lot of this stuff was also in the Saucer Men script, so probably came from Lucas himself, wanting it intergrated. I'm not sure. Some scenes found themselves into KOTCS, and if they did originate with Darabont, then yes, he deserved a credit somewhere. I might not like his script, but that doesn't mean I would say he doesn't deserve credit where credit due.

Also, the plane fight was excellent, and I did enjoy Marion's characterisation in it, even if it came off with her looking a bit thick at the end. But to me, there were no memorable characters in this at all. Spalko and Mutt will be memorable, I feel. Nobody in this would have been.

Reading this actually made me like KOTCS more, and I'm really suprised loads of people have been postive about it.

[lordxhelmetx]

Yeah i completely agree.
Personally, I think Koepp is one of the worst writers in Hollywood when he works solo, but he is a freakin' blessing when you read this supposed Darabont script. I mean... I don't think this is real, i just can't imagine spielberg and ford reading this and saying, "Holy Crap! YES!" This was just... painful.