[...] Alan Lopuszynski has probably the best look at Frank Darabont’s version of the script. [...]

I’ll certainly agree with you that Darabont doesn’t accomplish everything well here, and he’s also prone to some of the story’s pitfalls. But I can’t say I agree that reading this helped me appreciate Koepp’s take on it. Maybe it made me feel more sympathy for Koepp because by the time he got this it was damaged goods. I don’t know a damn thing about it, but it sure feels as though he was hired to just connect the dots – Lucas had a set amount of story beats, CGI cues and poorly imagined “jokes” and Koepp delivered what he was told to do. I just can’t get to the point where I appreciate Koepps take, however, because overall I feel as though Darabont respected the characters and the franchise more than the finished product.

And, as Mystery Man points out in his terrific treatise on this subject, this very well might have been Darabont’s first draft. Using his version of the story as a blueprint, this would have gone to some intriguing and compelling places indeed. Ultimately his biggest difference – no Mutt – serves the story better in my opinion. It puts the emphasis on Indy and Marion: what they’ve lost, what they have to overcome and how they find their way back to each other. The Crystal Skull is a TRUE MacGuffin here – it means nothing to the characters and is only a means to an end, which is getting Indy and Marion back together again.

THAT’S the purpose of an Indiana Jones MacGuffin.

I think my reaction is not too dissimilar from yours, Burbanked, though perhaps my emphasis would be in different places. I agree that there are some elements that Darabont accomplished better than the finished film (that bi-plane fight is admittedly pretty danged cool) and other things elements that–dare I say it?–are actually inferior. It also has some of the exact same flaws that Crystal Skull did which tells me it wasn’t entirely the writer’s fault (whomever that writer would’ve ended up being). If nothing else, this makes me further appreciate Koepp’s take on it.

For me, a few of the things that didn’t quite work (and some have been mentioned already):

–the incorporation of far too many lines/references from the previous films (and you’re absolutely right about the marketing slogans, Burbanked; that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever). Koepp said in an interview that having a character reference something they said 20 years earlier is one of the worst things you could do as a writer.

–too many characters… particularly the villians whom I had trouble keeping track off (I mean, did we really need Indy to combat Russians AND Peruvians AND Americans AND Germans)? I think I prefer Irene Spalko.

–Marion’s introduction (and revealed marriage to another man) was a little too Casablanca for me. The only thing Indy didn’t do was say “Of all the taverns in all the countries in all the world I could be sitting in, I pick the one that SHE walks into.” On the other hand, Indy’s introduction in the movie is much better than in Darabont’s script.

–the giant snake/bugs made me feel like I was reading the script to King Kong at that point. Oh, and while I’m on the subject, I wanna make a quick remark about Indy’s “getting over” his fear of snakes. In a way I sort of admire Darabont because it’s pretty bold to remove such a beloved trait from such an iconic character (although he does get it back before the story’s over), but just as I wasn’t too thrilled about them losing John McClane’s fear of flying in Die Hard 4, Indy no longer being afraid of snakes is in my mind akin to Bond taking a vow of celibacy. It just ain’t gonna happen. Again, this makes me all the more appreciative of the hysterical snake scene in the film.

–While some of Darabont’s dialogue is, not surprisingly, very sharp and witty, at other times it’s just as cringe-worthy as some of the ones in the film. Plus, there’s no “I Like Ike” line. Another point for Koepp.

–finally, I think I may be the only one in the world who actually liked the Mutt-as-Indy’s-son subplot. Indy’s becoming a father just seemed to me like the next logical step in the life journey of that character (as it is with most of us as well). Maybe they didn’t handle it as well as they could have, but the film was better off for trying.

To try to be fair, Marion does come off better in Darabont’s hands than in Koepp’s, but part of me feels that it’s due simply to the amount of screen time devoted to her and not to a better understanding of the essence of the character.

In the end, Darabont’s affection for the material is certainly clear from his script, but it unfortunately makes it feel very much like a “fan-produced” (a criticism I’ve heard directed at the final film as well).

[...] Alan at Burbanked examines the elusive Frank Darabont Indiana Jones Script. [...]

[...] photo above is courtesy of our friend Alan at Burbanked.]Hey guys,Well, the cat’s out of the bag. Darabont’s script has leaked [...]

[...] Click here to read more. [...]

I agree that the giant snake was too much. The vine-swinging didn’t bother me as much because it’s once, it’s to a believable end – to get across or into the river or whatever – and because NO MONKEYS HELP HIM FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT.

MM: Thanks for chiming in here – welcome back!

The biplane fight sequence is probably the best bit in this draft and I agree with you that it might have gone far to make me feel as though the movie was warranted because it would have been so fun. I particularly enjoyed Marion getting knocked out, coming to and reacting to Indy having jumped to the other plane. THAT moment was as clear as day to me and totally in line with the excitement and humor and spirit and CHARACTER of the previous movies as anything.

Ah, what might have been…

Ya know, I agreed with the vast majority of what you wrote.

On this: “…it does not, in the end, avoid a lot of the movie’s basic problems – most notably, why make this thing at all?” Ya know, I have to admit, I brought a lot of my own baggage into the read of his script, and I wonder how much different I’d feel had I not seen the finished film. That feeling of “why do this” was so firmly instilled in me going into the read that I really wish I could’ve approached his script with a fresh mind. It took me longer to warm up to it (because I was annoyed with so many things in the finished film), but, ya know, I think the entertainment value of Indy’s hilarious banter with Marion, particularly during that airplane sequence, which would’ve been SO much fun to watch, would’ve made us all feel and say, “THIS is why we should be seeing this film.” The bottom line is that characters are the heart of every film, and Darabont handled the characters better than anyone else. We would have cared and loved his version more than what we were given, no question about it.

I’m going to save my fire for my “50 Strengths of Darabont’s Draft” on Monday, but this was a great article, Alan. I wholly agreed.

-MM