Adventurous Facts About Raiders of the Lost ArkThirty five years after Indiana Jones made his big screen debutand nearly a decade after the adventurous archaeologists last feature film outingDisney recently announced that both Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford have officially signed up for a fifth Indiana Jones film. Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, Disney chairman Alan Horn said. Its rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldnt be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven. Though fans will have to wait until 2. Raiders of the Lost Ark. INDY WAS BORN IN HAWAII. Producer George Lucas first told director Steven Spielberg about his idea for Raiders of the Lost Ark when they were both on vacation in Hawaii in May 1. Spielberg got away for the weekend from finishing up post production on his now classic film Close Encounters of the Third Kind while Lucas wanted to get to anywhere far, far awayStar Wars was coming out that weekend, and he was afraid that the movie would bomb at the box office. But the film broke the bank that weekend and would go on to become a massive worldwide phenomenon, which prompted the two to ponder what they wanted to do next. While lounging on Mauna Kea beach, Spielberg told Lucas that he always wanted to do a James Bond film. Lucas promised him he had that beat, and proceeded to lay out his idea for a swashbuckling throwback adventure movie based on Saturday matinee serials that would eventually become Raiders of the Lost Ark. ONE DOG INSPIRED BOTH INDIANA JONES AND CHEWBACCA. While developing the film with Spielberg and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, Lucas named the main character Indiana Smith. But Spielberg protested that it was too similar to the 1. Steve Mc. Queen western Nevada Smithand requested a change. The three agreed that the last name should be as universal and nondescript as Smith, so Lucas threw out Jones as a possibility. Indiana came from Lucas dog, an Alaskan malamute named Indiana. The big, hairy pup was also the inspiration for Chewbacca from Star Wars. A DENTIST CAME UP WITH THE FILMS MACGUFFIN. Way back in 1. 97. Lucas was still cooking up his galaxy far, far awayhe was also coming up with nascent ideas for Indiana Jones. He and fellow filmmaker Philip Kaufman got together for a few weeks to throw around concepts about archeology and the Nazis obsession with the occult for a potential movie, but Kaufman departed the project soon after when he was hired by Clint Eastwood to develop The Outlaw Josey Wales. E Online Your source for entertainment news, celebrities, celeb news, and celebrity gossip. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV showsThe final film bears little resemblance to what the two began with, but Kaufman still has a Story By credit on Raiders because he was responsible for the films main plot point the Ark of the Covenant. The two were looking for a mystical plot device to move the story along, and Kaufman suggested the Ark because his childhood dentist had told him the story behind the Biblical artifact and its powers, and it had fascinated him ever since. FOR THE ICONIC DESIGN OF INDY, THE PROOF IS IN THE PAINTINGS. As he did with illustrator Ralph Mc. Quarries famous concept art for Star Wars, George Lucas commissioned artwork to set the tone and visualize the concepts of Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1. Watch Good Night, Nurse! Megavideo. Famed graphic artist and illustrator Jim Steranko was chosen to bring the world of Indiana Jones to life, and he created four paintings of the rogue archeologist in thrilling situations that were inspired byamong other influencesHumphrey Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Doc Savage pulp magazine covers, and a production still from the 1. Zorro Rides Again that showed Zorro jumping from a horse onto a moving truck. Sterankos interpretation of the character effectively defined the Indiana Jones look and persona we would see onscreenincluding the iconic hat, beat up leather jacket, and bullwhip. TOM SELLECK WAS SUPPOSED TO BE INDY. Prior to the productions start date in May 1. Lucas and Spielberg set up shop in the old Lucasfilm corporate headquarterslocated at 3. Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywoodto begin the casting process. Actors and actresses in consideration for the lead roles of Indiana Jones and his tough but beautiful companion Marion Ravenwood included Jane Seymour, Debra Winger, Mark Harmon, Mary Steenburgen, Michael Biehn, Sam Shepard, Valerie Bertinelli, Bruce Boxleitner, Sean Young, Don Johnson, Dee Wallace who would later go on to star as the mother in Spielbergs E. T., Barbara Hershey, and even David Hasselhoff. For Indy, Lucas and Spielberg eventually settled on actor Tom Selleck. But when CBS got wind of what the two were up to, the network legally barred Selleckthe lead of the hit show Magnum, P. I. from appearing in the film. Spielberg then suggested Harrison Ford as a quick replacement, but Lucas was reluctant to cast Ford because he was already Han Solo in his Star Wars films. But Spielbergs quick thinking prevailed, and Ford was added to the cast just two weeks before principal photography began. Watch The Words Hindi Full Movie here. A similar snafu happened with Danny De. Vito, the first choice to play Indys jovial companion Sallah, who couldnt take the part due to his contractual obligation to appear on the popular ABC show Taxi. MARION RAVENWOODS NAME WAS INSPIRED BY LOVED ONES AND LOCALES. For Marion, Spielberg and Lucas settled on the young actress Karen Allen, who had previously appeared in National Lampoons Animal House. Watch Online Watch Raiders!: The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made Full Movie Online Film' title='Watch Online Watch Raiders!: The Story Of The Greatest Fan Film Ever Made Full Movie Online Film' />The name of the character she was to play came from an assortment of inspirations from screenwriter Lawrence Kasdans life. Marion was Kasdans wifes grandmothers name, while Ravenwood came from Ravenwood Court, a small street off of North Beverly Glen Boulevard in Los Angeles that Kasdan drove on to get to the studio every day. MANY OF THE FILMS SET PIECES WERE MADE AS MINIATURES DURING PRE PRODUCTION. In order to shoot fast principal photography lasted just three months and stay on budget, many of the films more elaborate set pieces were created in a studio during the films six month pre production as room size scale miniatures by production designer Norman Reynolds. Spielberg blocked out all of the shots for the Well of Souls, the Egyptian marketplace, the Tanis dig, and the final canyon scene with the Ark prior to getting on set so they could expedite the process and film seemingly off the cuffsimilar to the shooting method of the old serials that inspired Raiders. THE FIRST SHOT OF THE FILM WAS INSPIRED BY SPIELBERGS EARLIEST DAYS AS A MOVIEMAKER. When making films as a kid, Spielberg thought up a phony movie studio he dubbed Play Mount Pictures a play on Paramount and his nameSpielberg roughly translates to Playmount in German, and he would try to mimic the famous Paramount logo with natural scenery the best he could. So when he came to direct an actual Paramount motion picture, he thought a similar approach would work with the start of the film he wanted to have the actual logo dissolve into a real mountain peak. To find a summit that matched the Paramount logo, Spielberg dispatched producer Frank Marshall all over Hawaii where they were shooting the opening scene in order to get the right one. Needless to say they found a picture perfect peak, and the shot lives on as the opening of the film. IT TOOK SOME FEMALE SPIDERS TO MAKE AN EARLY SCENE WORK. While shooting the scene where Indy and his companion Satipo played by Alfred Molina carefully pass booby traps to get to a hidden golden idol, some other co stars nearly ruined everything. In the scene, Satipo stops in his tracks to shoo away a few tarantulas that crawl up Indys back, causing Indy to make Satipo turn around and reveal his entire back covered in dozens of huge tarantulas. While shooting the scene, Spielberg wanted the tarantulas to be crawling all over Molina, but the tarantulas stood absolutely still.