I read with some interest Harry Knowles' description of the Indy 4 script by Chris Columbus and I have an Idea. I think that this is really the script that was passed over when they were trying to make Indy 3. Someone has slapped a new date on the cover page and sold it to Harry as the latest attempt. My reasoning? Consider the following:

Chris Columbus stopped writing scripts "for a living" to become a director and producer. I believe that it's been years since he had a new script of his own produced, or even had the time to write one. However, I could be wrong. The next thought is a bit more compelling.

If you read in the hardcover book "George Lucas: the First Twenty Years" about the making of the Last Crusade, it details a script submitted by Chris Columbus (at a time when he really was a script writer - anybody remember Young Sherlock Holmes?) which was considered, but ultimately passed on as the shooting script for Indy 3. The script had to do with Chinese mythology and the Monkey King. Details about the Monkey King can be found in the Chinese classic "Journey to the West" (a very cool book, also made into a goofy sixties cartoon feature from China called Alakazaam!) In the book, if memory serves, the Monkey King goes after some magic peaches because he wants to become an immortal, and he has some other magic items like a staff and a golden hoop around his head.

Harry, if your out there and this is the script I think it is would you be willing to sell me a copy? I've been looking for it ever since the George Lucas book was first published!

Thanks,
walker

Guys, I guess that in the US you never got the TV show, MONKEY? It has been replayed over and over by Australian TV. It was a 70s Japanese series which we received dubbed very badly into English, and it was based upon the Chinese classic, Monkey, by Wu Cheng-En, who lived around a similar period to Shakespeare.

The book (and the TV series) told the story of a stone monkey who acquires much magical knowledge and is very powerful, but is still pretty much a monkey at heart. He fought his way into heaven, and they gave him a job to keep him out of trouble, tending the magical peach garden. Well, he stole the peaches he was meant to be guarding, giving him immortality, and was cast out of heaven.

He was challenged by Buddha, who said that he could not escape from his hand, at which Monkey scoffed jumped onto a cloud and flew many days to what he thought to be the five pillars at the end of the earth. He urinated on one pillar and wrote his name on another, but when he returned, Buddha merely held up his hand to reveal the "five pillars", his fingers (from which urine and ink still dripped) Buddha trapped Monkey under a mountain.

Centuries later, a young priest, Tripitaka, was called upon by Buddha to fetch scriptures from India. Buddha allowed Tripitaka to free the Monkey, and forced Monkey to accompany Tripitaka on his journey by encircling his head with a gold hoop and telling Tripitaka an incantation which would make the hoop constrict in size around Monkey's head (obviously causing him great pain.)

Monkey's magical wishing staff was a weapon that he stole from a dragon king, and which he could change in size from the size of an enormous pillar, to the size of a splinter, which form he would often make it so he could carry it in his ear.

Others were forced to joinTripitaka for the pilgrimage to India including Sandy, a water spirit, and Pigsy, a pig demon, as well as a dragon which assumed the form of a white horse to carry Tripitaka. In the source material, Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka all became Buddhas or something, but in the TV series they were perpetually travelling, engaging in all sorts of martial arts battles with demons, etc.

All Australian kids of the 70s and 80s know this stuff...

The show also had some funky tunes from a band called Godiego, including the theme song, "Monkey Magic"...

"Born from an egg on a mountaintop
The funkiest monkey that ever popped
He knew every magic trick under the sun
To tease the gods and everyone and have some fun

Monkey Magic, Monkey Magic, Monkey Magic, Monkey Magic , woohooo!

ahem... Probably a good idea to pass on this subject matter for Indy. The populations of most Australasian countries would not be able to sit through it without remembering "Monkey Magic"...