Since news is as non-existent as the plot in “Hot Rod” today, let’s run one of those ‘from the wacky files’ items…. And hope, in the meantime, that these rumours about the WGA strike coming to an end are true.
Anyway, over at MovieWeb, there’s a big fat rumour (does Nia Vardalos get a dollar every time someone used ‘big fat’ in a sentence? I better find that out… I could breaking Clint’s bank) that a few “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” faves may pop up in the next “Indiana Jones” movie.
Says the site, “To celebrate Close Encounters of the Third Kind's 30th anniversary, Spielberg has gone into the storage warehouse and dusted off those rubber Extraterrestrial dummies for a cameo appearance in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. You are probably wishing that I made that up. But, no, I am not.
The one thing everybody knows about the new Indiana Jones adventure is that it deals with aliens. Of some kind. There is a really cool article over at MTV that gives you all the information you'd ever want to know about the emergence of the Crystal Skull in our culture. How they came to be, what they are, and what many believe they are used for. These artificial artifacts make for the perfect Indiana Jones treasure. Read the article and it will all make sense to you. It's cool.
One of the things that Spielberg has gone on record as saying is that most of the special effects in the film are practical. Now that appears to be true. The aliens in the film are puppets. There are three of them, seated on thrones in The Kingdom (an Aztec structure that turns out to be a spaceship). And, guess what? They bare a striking resemblance to the little naked bald headed midgets that were seen running around at the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They are indeed supposed to be the ascendants of the Extraterrestrials seen in that film. They are related. Though the film doesn't come right out and say that. A lot of kids haven't even seen Close Encounters. They aren't going to get the joke.
This makes sense. Editor Michael Kahn and Steve Spielberg first worked together on Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Kahn has been with Spielberg ever since, and is also editing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Plus, this isn't the first time that there have been crossovers in the Spielberg-Lucas Universe. Star Wars figures are prominently featured in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. E.T. and his army of alien friends then showed up in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. "THX-1138" shows up on the wing of a plane in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. In Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom, the cafe at the beginning of the film bares Obi-Wan Kenobi's name. This type of self-referential "humor" is expected at this point.
The puppets have been updated slightly, and I have no idea if they will be modified digitally. But next summer, I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be saying, "Oh, shit...It's the aliens from Close Encounters!" When they see the finished project.”
Might as well throw Jar Jar binks into the Temple of Doom whilst you’re at….
Anyway, so did ya hear that Jackie Chan's the new Mr Myiagi? And did you know that Sylvester Stallone's resurrecting Gabriel Cash next?
As I said, slow news day.... rather, week.
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