Early on in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indy turns to his soon-to-be love interest and his newfound sidekick – a singer in Shanghai's Club Obi Wan (Kate Capshaw) and a scrappy pickpocket (Ke Huy Quan), respectively – and intones, "I think we got a big problem." He's not kidding: the warning comes toward the end of a miraculous 20-minute opening sequence during which Dr. Jones gets poisoned while trying to exchange the remains of a dead emperor for a legendary diamond, plays floor hockey for the diamond and the antidote, impales someone on a kebab, crashes through a window behind a rolling metal gong, and stows away in a plane full of poultry only to have the pilots ditch and take the only parachutes with them. He then proceeds to leap out of the plane on a rubber life raft, which crashes off a cliff and careens down some vicious Indian whitewater. "Big problem" doesn't quite describe it; the torrent of obstacles and challenges that Spielberg and Lucas hurl at their hero in the first reel of this first sequel seems downright cruel. But their unkindness aside, the barreling momentum, brilliant staging, and breezy nonchalance of Temple of Doom's opening evoke something rarely found in Raiders of the Lost Ark and more rarely still in the rest of Steven Spielberg's career: a sense that Spielberg -- the master, the magician -- is at play.

I don't care what George Lucas has to do, but Sean Connery must appear in the new Indiana Jones film. Also, I want him to get Karen Allen, Kate Capshaw, John Rhys-Davies and Jonathan Ke Quan. Heck, while he's at it, I want him to bring Denholm Elliott back to life. River Phoenix, too. Because, see, this film is such an important event that it needs to feature all the major players. It will be a huge success anyway, but just think of how satisfied audiences will be if there's at least a cameo from each of the familiar characters? Lucas knows the significance of nudging the fans -- it is one of the few things he did right with his Star Wars prequels. I'm going to go ahead and assume this will be the last time we see Indy's life on the big screen, so I think it makes sense for Lucas to go all out, spend a fortune and secure the goods we want, including Connery. Ten months ago, Lucas expressed interest in Connery's return, and as of this week he's still trying to get the actor to agree to reprise his role of Henry Jones.

Unfortunately, Connery quit the movie business. But he could come out of retirement for the right price. We know this is true because of two things. Number one: he told reporters in January that he would "perhaps" be in the film but was waiting to see the script. Number two: he told reporters in March that he would also play James Bond's father if offered enough money. So, it looks like he'd do just about anything depending on the size of the check waved at him. So, the question is, can Lucas afford him? Despite all my sarcasm in the paragraph above, I think that Lucas should just leave Connery be and rework whatever is in the script that's calling for his character. After all, the films are called Indiana Jones and ... , not Henry and Indiana Jones and .... Yeah, it was a blast seeing Indy and his father, but surely we can move on to whatever or whoever else is introduced to us in the fourth installment. Like that son we keep hearing rumors about.

I knew I wanted to go to the movies Friday night, but I wasn't sure what to see. There was no way I would be fighting the crowds at Dead Man's Chest and, while I almost went to see Wassup Rockers at the Angelika, I decided to go a different route. After reading Chris' post on the Raiders of the Lost Ark screening here in NYC, the thought of seeing Indy back up on the big screen was just too tempting. Besides, Karen Allen was doing a Q & A afterward and that's a pretty nifty bonus.

Long story short, the film was awesome, as expected. However, when it came time for the Q & A, I sat patiently and waited as I knew one of the first questions asked would be, "So, will you be involved in Indiana Jones 4?" And what do you know, it was the third question. Now, here's where things get interesting. Allen begins to talk about Indy 4 in a very "I have no idea what's going on" kind of way, however, you could tell she knew more then she was letting on.

She did say there were whispers the script was calling for both Allen's character and Kate Capshaw's character from Temple of Doom to reunite with Indiana Jones in the fourth installment. Though nothing was certain, the way she said it made the rumor seem to be much more than just a rumor. And then she dropped the bomb folks. As she delves into this next bit of info, for a brief moment, she hesitates before saying (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Oh, and I just heard Natalie Portman was cast as Indy's daughter." Now, I seem to recall way back in the day, the Portman rumors were out there -- what with George Lucas having just shot three films with the girl. But is it now a done deal? Immediately after the Portman line, Allen switched topics, reverting back to an earlier question. As if she knew she shouldn't have said anything. Of course, this is all still part of one giant rumor, but if I were a betting man, something big will be announced soon. ...