10 secrets about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Like its younger brother “The Last Crusade,” the dark adventure film “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” is celebrating an anniversary this year. Originally released in 1984, the movie follows adventurer Indiana Jones as he finds himself deep in the jungles of India. Together with his young sidekick Short Round (Jonathan Ke Quan) and singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw), Jones finds himself fighting to escape the clutches of a sinister death cult. It’s been 35 years since the second installment of the Indiana Jones series hit theaters, so we’re taking a look back with 10 facts about the making of this groundbreaking film.
10. The main characters are all named after dogs
In a line near the end of “The Last Crusade,” Sean Connery’s character remarks that Indiana took his nickname from his childhood dog. There’s more truth to this line than some people might realize. The character of Indiana Jones was named after George Lucas’s beloved Alaskan malamute, Indiana. In keeping with that tradition, Willie Scott was named after Steven Spielberg’s cocker spaniel and Short Round after screenwriter Willard Huyck’s dog. Indiana also influenced another one of Lucas’s characters: the shaggy, loyal Malamute served as inspiration for Chewbacca in the “Star Wars” movies.
9. It’s actually a breakup movie
“Temple of Doom” was noted by many for being distinctly darker than “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Featuring quite a bit of brutal violence and other dark themes like human sacrifice and child slavery, “Raiders” screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan turned down an offer to write the movie. Kasdan stated “I didn’t want to be associated with Temple of Doom. I just thought it was horrible. It’s so mean. There’s nothing pleasant about it… the movie is very ugly and mean-spirited.”
When reflecting on the film, Lucas and Spielberg both attribute the tone shift to events that were happening in their personal lives at the time: both had just ended long-term relationships, and their personal turmoil was reflected in the movie.
8. It was banned in India
“Temple of Doom” remains a subject of controversy in India. Playing into many harmful stereotypes, the Indian government found the screenplay so offensive that they demanded script changes and final cut privileges. When Spielberg and Lucas denied the request, the Indian government banned the film crew from shooting in the country. As a result, many of the scenes set in India were instead shot in Sri Lanka.
The controversy didn’t stop there; the movie was banned in India for some time after it was released, and remains a contentious subject to this day.
7. Steven Spielberg met his wife on set
Though Spielberg had recently ended a long-term relationship with actress Amy Irving, he found another love on the “Temple of Doom” set. Actress Kate Capshaw, who played Willie Scott, became closer with Spielberg while shooting the film. Though criticizing her character as “not much more than a dumb screaming blonde,” Capshaw and Spielberg soon fell in love. The pair were married in 1991, and have been together ever since.
6. A Saturday Night Live star makes a cameo
In a scene early in the movie, Indiana heads to an airfield to make a hasty escape from Shanghai. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice several familiar faces appearing during the airfield scene: cameos include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. Also among the cameos is SNL alum and comedy legend Dan Aykroyd (pictured above), who has a brief speaking role.
5. One actor couldn’t speak English
Sri Lankan actor D.R. Nanayakkara appears as the leader of a small village that recruits Indiana to retrieve a stolen artifact. Though he speaks in the film, in actuality, Nanayakkara couldn’t speak a word of English. During his scenes, Spielberg would feed Nanayakkara his lines and gestures off camera, and Nanayakkara would mimic them back. Though many of the actor’s pauses may seem like they’re for dramatic effect, they’re actually the result of Nanayakkara waiting for Spielberg to feed him his next line.
4. An elephant ate one of the costumes
The stunning dress worn by Willie Scott for much of the movie was custom-built by costume designer Barbara Matera. To create the piece, Matera used original beads from the 1920s and 30s, but the dress was so tight that Capshaw’s choreography during the opening dance number had to be altered.
Unfortunately, the one-of-a-kind dress met a rather strange end. While filming a scene later in the movie where the dress is hung out to dry on a tree branch, one of the elephants actually began to eat it. Though Matera was able to do some quick repairs on the dress, head designer Anthony Powell was still forced to make an insurance claim for the damage. Under the reason, Powell simply put “dress eaten by elephant.”
3. Harrison Ford suffered a serious injury while filming
While filming an action sequence where Jones is attacked in his bedroom by a cult assassin, Harrison Ford suffered a serious spinal injury known as a spinal disc herniation. Not wanting to hold up the shoot, Ford attempted to power through and a hospital bed was provided for him to rest between takes. Unfortunately, the pain soon proved too much for Ford, and he was barely able to stand up. The production was temporarily halted so Ford could be flown back to California to be hospitalized.
2. Jonathan Ke Quan didn’t audition
Young actor Jonathan Ke Quan made his Hollywood break in “Temple of Doom,” playing Indy’s young sidekick Short Round. Ke Quan hadn’t originally intended to audition for a part; in fact, it was his older brother who had answered a casting call for the role. Accompanying his brother and mother to the audition, Spielberg noticed that the young Ke Quan was giving his brother advice and telling him what to do during takes. Spielberg asked Jonathan to audition, and he did a screen test with Ford where the two improvised the card game scene that ended up in the final film. The rest is history.
1. It was the first film to receive a PG-13 rating
Because the film’s violence and darker themes incurred complaints from parents and audiences, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America add a new intermediary rating. Previously, there was no rating for movies between “PG” and “R.” Agreeing with Spielberg’s suggestion, the MPAA created the “PG-13” rating, and “Temple of Doom” was the first film to receive it.
To quote Indiana Jones himself, “It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.” “Temple of Doom” still holds its own 35 years later, and is certainly an adventure worth revisiting.
