Indy IV Has Six Titles?
The plot thickens! ComicCon came and went without an announcement on the Indiana Jones IV title, but news has emerged today that LucasFilm has filed six possible titles for the sequel with the MPAA - any of which may or may not turn out to be the real thing (cause that Lucas and Spielberg can be a bit tricksy, you know).
Here are the six titles, with our best guesses as to plot:
Indiana Jones and the City of Gods: Indy and son head to Rio in search of the perfect bikini for Marion Ravenwood, and find themselves in the middle of a gang war in the city's biggest slum. Ahem. But seriously, this could carry on the series' general Judeo-Christian theme. And it is the one that we had been tipped off about a few months back...
Indiana Jones and the Destroyer of Worlds: Seems a bit over the top, this title, but it's worth noting that this piece of Hindu scripture is associated with the first nuclear test on July 6, 1945. That might fit in with the 1950s Cold War setting.
Indiana Jones and the Fourth Corner of the Earth: Indy finds the lost continent of Atlantis, full of lots of little men in diving helmets teaching philosophy.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Well, it could be a reference to that Damien Hirst bit with the diamonds, but there is a modern legend that thirteen crystal skulls exist around the globe, of ancient origin and full of mystical power (power to do what is less clear). Five have apparently been found already, and it's already been rumoured that they could provide a MacGuffin for the picture. Still, kinda corny title.
Indiana Jones and the Lost City of Gold: The Central American legend of El Dorado's always been fertile ground for filmmakers and, amazingly, Indy's never been near it (unless you count a German Young Indiana Jones novel, which we don't). Or it could be a quest to find all 39 episodes of the Mysterious Cities of Gold, but perhaps that's less likely.
Indiana Jones and the Quest for the Covenant: Indy goes in search of...that Renny Harlin film of last year, about teen models with magical powers? Or not. It could of course be the Ark of the Covenant, but he found that once already and it'd be kinda careless if he had to find it again. This could refer to any number of things - "the covenant" is the sort of phrase that crops up in Dan Brown novels to refer to some evil organisation but it doesn't really mean anything.
So, what have we learned? Well, very little. The fact that cities are mentioned in two titles might mean it's fractionally more likely to be one of those; the fact that the crystal skulls have already been rumoured might give credence to that title; the Destroyer of Worlds bit would sit best against a nuclear background.
And of course, it might be none of these - other titles may follow to the MPAA.
Agent says Simpson book to be published
LOS ANGELES - A literary agent for the family of stabbing victim Ronald Goldman has made a deal to repackage and publish O.J. Simpson's canceled "If I Did It" book about the slayings of Goldman and Simpson's ex-wife, a spokesman for the agent said Monday.
Details of the agreement, including the name of the New York publishing house, will be released Tuesday, said Michael Wright, a spokesman for Los Angeles-based literary agent Sharlene Martin of Martin Literary Management.
"The family and publisher have pledged to leave Simpson's manuscript entirely intact, but they will also add key commentary," Wright said in a prepared statement. "The Goldmans, the publisher and Sharlene Martin will all contribute portions of sales proceeds to the Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice."
Wright declined further comment. Martin primarily represents self-help, nonfiction and memoir writers, including "You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again" author Suzanne Hansen, according to her Web site.
The Simpson book, in which he reportedly explains how he might have committed the killings, was not released last year as originally planned because of public outrage.
Last month, a federal bankruptcy judge awarded rights to the book to Goldman's family to help satisfy a $38 million wrongful death judgment against the former football star.
Simpson has maintained his innocence in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Goldman. Simpson, who now lives near Miami, was acquitted of murder in 1995.
Van Halen Tour Kicking Off In Late September
The first leg of Van Halen's long-awaited reunion tour with frontman David Lee Roth will kick off Sept. 27 in Charlotte, N.C., and run through Dec. 11 in Calgary, Alberta. Tickets for the trek, announced today at a Los Angeles media gathering, go on sale beginning Saturday (Aug. 18) via LiveNation.com.
A proposed summer amphitheater tour by the group, first tipped here in late January, never got off the ground, with guitarist Eddie Van Halen entering a rehabilitation facility for undisclosed reasons in March.
Roth has not toured with the act in more than two decades; the bass spot formerly occupied by Michael Anthony will be filled by Eddie Van Halen's teenage son, Wolfgang.
"It's a new band," Roth said. "I've done more rehearsal in the last four months than I've done in the past 20 summers. The whole sound is better than it has ever been."
Roth added, "It was Wolf who picked the song list, and we've got close to 25 of your greatest hits -- all the favorites that you've been hearing tearing out of the back of a pickup truck at the Burger King drive-through for how many summertimes. It's all very well intact -- the same sh*tty attitude but with a whole new look."
Various allusions were made to a potential new Van Halen studio album, which would be the band's first with Roth since the seminal "1984."
"There's a high standard here," Roth said. "We could waddle out there and halfway do it. A band like this could totally come in after an absence of this amount of time and get away with a lot, if we only do one tour. That's not our ambition. This is not like the Police. The idea is that it will continue on and on, and you have to get a good start."
"None of us want to give you less than our best, and we are at our best," Eddie Van Halen added.
For more on today's Van Halen announcement, visit the Billboard blog at JadedInsider.com.
Here are Van Halen's tour dates:
Sept. 27: Charlotte, N.C. (Bobcats Arena)
Sept. 29: Greensboro, N.C. (Coliseum)
Oct. 1: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Oct. 7: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Oct. 10: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
Oct. 14: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Oct. 16: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
Oct. 18: Chicago (United Center)
Oct. 22: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Oct. 24: Minneapolis (Target Center)
Oct. 26: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
Oct. 28: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
Oct. 30: Boston (TD Banknorth Garden)
Nov. 3: East Rutherford, N.J. (Continental Airlines Arena)
Nov. 13: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 20: Los Angeles (Staples Center)
Nov. 23: Glendale, Ariz. (Jobing.com Arena)
Nov. 25: San Diego (Cox Arena)
Nov. 27: Sacramento, Calif. (Arco Arena)
Nov. 29: San Jose, Calif. (HP Pavilion)
Dec. 1: Portland, Ore. (Rose Garden)
Dec. 3: Seattle (Key Arena)
Dec. 5: Vancouver (GM Place)
Dec. 9: Edmonton, Alberta (Rexall Palace)
Dec. 11: Calgary, Alberta (Pengrowth Saddledome)
AND NOW A WORD (FROM OUR MOVIE)
As the summer movie season winds down, it's time to take a look at how the big hits stack up - not in quality, of course, but in product placement. This summer's movie screens were packed with more plugs than Axl Rose's head, occasionally distracting viewers, but giving companies priceless opportunities to have their stuff blown up by giant robots.
Was this summer the most product-placed ever? You bet your Timex (now available at Wal-Mart and finer stores near you). Even the latest "Harry Potter" - which last we checked isn't set in the real world - managed to sneak in a nod to Nike, dressing Dudley Dursley in a logo'd shirt.
"I think it's inevitable, that's there's more product placement this summer, just given the amount of money that's being poured into it," says Abram Sauer, who writes about the topic for marketing site brandchannel.com. According to PQ Media, placements saw a jump of 44.5 percent last year, to more than $2 billion. Sauer estimates 2007 will see a similar increase.
But does it work? Do consumers really leave movies hungry to seek out items contained within? It depends. A Maserati featured in "Ocean's 13" and "Entourage" has seen a sales increase of about 30 percent, and celebrity nudie site Mr. Skin saw a 35 percent jump in traffic after being featured in "Knocked Up."
For other products, the correlation may not be so easy to determine.
Here's an evaluation of some of the more prominent cameos in the season's blockbusters.
VW
Film: "The Bourne Ultimatum"
Context: The superspy drives a Touareg 2 in a car chase, busting it up violently and emerging unscathed.
Flagrance rating: Still has a ways to go to rival the tackiness of previous James Bond movie placements.
Cost: Part of a massive $40 million deal VW signed with NBC Universal in 2005.
Did it work? Seems not. Although VW is pleased with "Bourne," the company is vocally dissatisfied with the partnership overall. "Until recently, the placements have been marginal. That weakness is a cause for our disappointment," VW international entertainment marketing manager Martin Biswurm told the Hollywood Reporter.
DODGE
Film: "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"
Context: Mr. Fantastic builds a flying car that inexplicably has a Dodge emblem on the front. The Human Torch takes time out from saving the world to ask if it has a Hemi.
Flagrance rating: "That's a perfect illustration of how not to do something. You only estrange everybody," Sauer says.
Cost: Dodge won't say, but Sauer has heard rumors of $1 million to $3 million.
Did it work? Toss-up. Dodge spokesperson Carrie McElwee says, "It's difficult to measure direct correlation, because this one doesn't have an exact product that consumers can buy."
GM
Film: "Transformers"
Context: The Autobot heroes turn into a Solstice, Hummer and Topkick.
Flagrance rating: Well, guess the robots couldn't very well transform into Kias.
Cost: Nada. Director Michael Bay approached GM - probably because he has directed commercials for the company in the past.
Did it work? Not really. GM spokesperson John M. McDonald says most people don't make a decision to purchase a $50,000-plus vehicle because they saw it kick Decepticon butt. But the placement helped "awareness."
WEST VIRGINIA
Film: "Live Free or Die Hard"
Context: To establish that Bruce Willis and Justin Long are driving into West Virginia, the camera quickly cuts to the state's welcome sign, which bears the slogan, "Open for business." The sign wasn't even shot in West Virginia, but was re-created by filmmakers on a lot in California.
Flagrance rating: Incorporated relatively seamlessly into the plot.
Cost: "We didn't pay for it," says a West Virginia spokesperson.
Did it work? According to Pam Haynes, director of the West Virginia Film Office, the mention has driven business to the state - but only one kind. Other productions have inquired about shooting there.
NOKIA N93i
Film: "Transformers"
Context: Megan Fox's phone morphs into an evil Decepticon.
Flagrance rating: About as subtle as Megatron whacking you over the head.
Cost: Nokia ain't sayin', but Sauer notes the company has paid about $1 million to have its products placed previously.
Did it work? The company wouldn't confirm, but here are two clues: Nokia employs a person whose title is "head of product placement," and the company plans to release a "Transformers" edition of the phone later this year.
MAKER'S MARK
Film: "Spider-Man 3"
Context: Director Sam Raimi is a fan and has put the drink in all three movies - always in the apartment of evil Harry Osborn.
Flagrance rating: Smooth as that third glass of whiskey.
Cost: Nothing.
Did it work? Chris Swonger, senior VP for corporate affairs, likes the publicity but perhaps wishes the bourbon wasn't always swilled by evildoers. "Maker's Mark is a good guy's drink, so I don't think the underlying message about villains enjoying it will determine who drinks it. We are looking for law-abiding, good people to drink it."