June 12
Call of the Wild 3D
Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
June 16
June 19
Dead Snow
Whatever Works
June 24
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
June 26
Cheri
Fireflies in the Garden
July 1
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
July 3
The Girl from Monaco
I Hate Valentine's Day
July 10
July 15
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
July 17
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All Good Things
The Answer Man
In the Loop
July 29
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The Cove
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When in Rome
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A Perfect Getaway
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The Goods: The Don Ready Story
Ponyo
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August 21
Five Minutes of Heaven
Goose on the Loose!
It Might Get Loud
World's Greatest Dad
August 28
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September 4
Amreeka
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The Red Canvas
Tyler Perrys: I Can Do It All Myself
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Brand New Day
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A Serious Man
Toy Story/Toy Story 2
"For all the warnings of history, the makers of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will stage their film's world premiere at the festival on the French Riviera tomorrow night," writes Times Online correspondent Dalya Alberge. "The film, which opens in the setting of 1957 at the height of the Cold War, is arguably the most anticipated movie release of 2008. Such is the interest that the trailer was seen more than 200 million times in its first week of release on the internet.

{[But] the last time a studio dared to premiere a major blockbuster in this sanctum of high-brow cinema, it was savaged. The actors and director of The Da Vinci Code barely escaped with their lives."
Except The DaVinci Code made lots of money after that. The '06 Cannes beat-down was embarassing, sure, but the general public didn't care. Hundreds and hundreds of millions were spent on DaVinci Code admissions. And nobody in ticket-buying land will give a damn if Cannes critics whack Indy 4. At all. Obviously Paramount marketers know this, and that's why they're here. The Cannes spotlight will boost the film's European, Eastern European, Russian, Asian, African and South American earnings. And that's what matters.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 17, 2008 at 4:12 AM
comment #1
The Pope
says ...
Also, people were loaded AGAINST The Da Vinci Code even before it went into production. Soooo many people hated the book and its success... then there was the anti-Ron Howard constituency... and the let's beat up Tom Hianks brigade.
For Indy, I think at the very most, people are apprehensive. They fear that what befell Star Wars will visit upon the man with the hat. I don't sense the hate coming from the media in the run up to this.
Posted by The Pope
at May 17, 2008 4:57 AM
comment #2
Hickenlooper
says ...
The whole 'Indiana Jones' thing feels depressing to me for some reason. I enjoyed the originals but in the post 9/11 world this event feels bloated with all the relevance of a MacDonald's Happy Meal being sold at an organic fruit stand. I have as much desire to see this as I would seeing a sequel to Spielberg's 'Always.' Spielberg is a great director who should be doing original material. 'Munich' is one of the best films of the last ten years.
Posted by Hickenlooper
at May 17, 2008 5:26 AM
comment #3
markj
says ...
Too bad you're missing out on the fun Hickenlooper. I'm looking forward to the new film. So long as it's a well-made, fun adventure film i'll be happy. It can never top Raiders, but it could still be a good film. We'll find out tomorrow...
Posted by markj
at May 17, 2008 5:46 AM
comment #4
K. Bowen
says ...
Is there a single still of this thing that looks anything but disastrous?
Posted by K. Bowen
at May 17, 2008 8:19 AM
comment #5
Edward
says ...
It's not just the stills K. Bowen, some of the sets scream "fake."
Posted by Edward
at May 17, 2008 8:44 AM
comment #6
The Winchester
says ...
Out of curiosity, with the Dark Knight coming out this summer, how is Indy claiming the "most anticipated" crown? People flip out for that trailer, and go on city wide scavenger hunts just to see a picture. When I see the trailer before a movie, I wish I was seeing that instead of whatever I've paid money to see.
And Hickenlooper, careful what you say about Munich round these parts. Wells took that movie down a few years back.
Posted by The Winchester
at May 17, 2008 9:23 AM
comment #7
sweet_billy
says ...
cannes only matters to like 2% of the moviegoing audience. most people cant even pronounce it.
Posted by sweet_billy
at May 17, 2008 9:30 AM
comment #8
K. Bowen
says ...
"some of the sets scream "fake." "
SOme of the people look fake.
That said, that little three-second clip in banner ad looks fairly rip-roarin'. But it should.
Posted by K. Bowen
at May 17, 2008 9:39 AM
comment #9
breadlymoore
says ...
"People flip out for that trailer, and go on city wide scavenger hunts just to see a picture."
Those are geeks. Geeks are not "people."
Posted by breadlymoore
at May 17, 2008 10:24 AM
comment #10
The Pope
says ...
sweet_billy,
Saying that Cannes only matters to 2% is like saying that Comic-Con matters to only 2%. The reason why it matters is because the world's press are there. All in one place. And the critics. It is the ultimate place to launch a movie. High risk, but if you're critic proof like Indy seems to be, and Star Wars was, and The Da Vinci Code and Shrek... well, I rest my case.
How about this for a spin on the really odd stills. They are NOT from the film. A la Hitchock. Or maybe at most, they are mock-ups from the film... and as we know all publicity shots are taken AFTER the scene has been wrapped and the photographer comes in and takes the snaps with the actors holding their positions... I can't recall seeing a publicity photo for a film that actually lens for lens, frame for frame was the same as the finished product.
But again, I do agree that shot of Cate and Harrison looks really bad... what's with the deep focus. Can you get that when shooting anamorphic?
Posted by The Pope
at May 17, 2008 10:47 AM
comment #11
CinemaPhreek
says ...
"Such is the interest that the trailer was seen more than 200 million times in its first week of release on the internet."
Where is the source to back up this bullshit claim? Everyone keeps repeating it, but a quick check of YouTube shows if you combine the highest rated versions of that first teaser (which is what the 200 million supposedly refers to), you barely get 10 million (the highest viewed version only has 1,774,429, compared to the highest viewed one of DARK KNIGHT at 7,449,142 proving which is the summers actual most anticipated film).
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at May 17, 2008 11:29 AM
comment #12
CinemaPhreek
says ...
HICKENLOOPER - you always struck me as a guy who loved all the old movies, but I guess you must hate all those old serials and genre pictures of the 30's. I mean, talk about frivolous nonsense while the country was suffering FAR worse during the Depression than anything we've seen after 9/11.
Man, you must really think Busby Berkley was irrelevant to his times...
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at May 17, 2008 11:34 AM
comment #13
Roman
says ...
The main difference of course, is that Indiana Jones 4 will get MUCH BETTER Reviews than craptastic Da Vinci Code. How dare you even compare Ron Howard to Spielberg? Just because they are two big movies doesn't mean they'll get similar reviews.
And Spielberg should do whatever he wants, it just happens that fans like myself like seeing him do fun action/adventure films once in a while.
P.S. Only an idiot would even begin to compare anticipation for Dark Knight to Indy. In fact, Indy will probably make more money domestically than TDK worldwide. Also, mediocre Batman Begins has nothing for
Posted by Roman
at May 17, 2008 12:23 PM
comment #14
D.Z.
says ...
The Da Vinci Code probably did well, in spite of bad press, because Hanks didn't have three underwhelming, albeit highly anticipated films, which preceded it, and because no one watches Ron Howard movies because of Ron Howard.
But if people have an axe to grind against Speed Racer, because of the Matrix sequels(which I personally liked), you can bet that the SW prequel haters be even more vicious to Indy 4, if it doesn't deliver.
Posted by D.Z.
at May 17, 2008 1:27 PM
comment #15
The Bandsaw Vigilante
says ...
Nice to see that Cate's Russkie-chick has the almost-wifebeater-thing going on underneath, there...
Posted by The Bandsaw Vigilante
at May 17, 2008 1:56 PM
comment #16
tommysunshine
says ...
The director of Factory Girl lectures Spielberg on originality. That's like King Herod complaining about a hospital's mother and baby unit.
Hickenlooper, you had your shot with Factory Girl. It was terrible. I saw the "improved" director's cut. I wanted to like it especially as I thought your documentary on that freak Rodney was above average. But it was retreading old ground and had nothing new to say.
Will you apologize for Factory Girl to all those- not many of us, actually, but as a symbolic gesture it would be appreciated- who saw Factory Girl in the cinema or on DVD?
Best of good wishes,
Tommy Sunshine
Posted by tommysunshine
at May 17, 2008 3:23 PM
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