Indiana Jones goes to Yale

NEW HAVEN — Indiana Jones will be racing up Chapel Street next month, a spokesman for director Steven Spielberg confirmed Monday.

The fourth installment of the hugely popular series, arriving in theaters almost 20 years after the third, will include some kind of car chase on Chapel between College and High streets. A pre-production crew was in the city last week and Monday talking to shop owners on the block.

"I really have no details on it at all, except to say that there will be some filming there," said Marvin Levy, a spokesman for Spielberg, who did confirm the film will be the next in the series starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, set to open May 22, 2008.

"Indiana Jones" began with a script by George Lucas, whose hits include the "Star Wars" franchise. The collaboration with Spielberg, now a three-time Oscar winner, certified Harrison Ford, the lead in both series, as a superstar.

Levy said the filming dates are not set, but one merchant said she was told it would happen June 28 and 30.Barbara J. Lamb, director of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, said the production would close down parts of College and Elm streets and possibly other downtown streets as well."

We are working with them on a plan to minimize those disruptions on the community," Lamb said. "We will ensure the smoothest flow of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic in downtown New Haven.""Indiana Jones IV" (a working title) will also feature two new stars, Cate Blanchett and Shia LeBeouf, who is starring in "Disturbia." LeBeouf was 3 years old when the third Indy movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," came out in 1989.The first three movies featuring Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones Jr., soft-spoken archeologist-turned-swaggering adventurer, were set in the 1930s and were made in the style of cliffhanger serials of that era.This one will be set in the 1950s, according to several merchants who were approached by crew members. Savitt Jewelers will become a pharmacy, according to owner Mike Rosenthal. And Enson’s men’s clothing store will become ... Enson’s."They wanted to make it look more like the 1950s, and I actually showed them pictures of what it looked like in the ’50s, since we’ve been here for 55 years," said owner Jim Civitello.Next door, Rob Muller of Merwin’s Art Shop said he was asked to make his storefront look appropriate to the era. That shouldn’t be a problem. "We’ve got stuff that’s probably been here since the ’50s," he joked.Lamb said New Haven was chosen because "they like the look of Yale" and added, "I think a lot of it has to do with the film incentives that are now in place ... and New Haven has been an extremely attractive location for filmmakers."

"We’ve been working with them for several months now on identifying various locations in the city ... and we expect it to have a major (positive) economic impact in New Haven," Lamb said.Spielberg received an honorary degree from Yale in 2002, but Lamb said she didn’t think that played a role.The last Hollywood visit to the Elm City was in September, when Uma Thurman filmed a scene for the thriller "In Bloom," planned for release later this year. That also was shot on Chapel Street.This time, the crew members talking to Chapel Street merchants were coy about the title."They told me it was a major motion picture, that we know people in it, but they couldn’t divulge that yet," said Civitello.Other shop owners said the crew talked about compensating them for any business loss. "They just wanted rough numbers, like how much it would cost for a couple of days," said Muller."It’s a plus for New Haven, probably a negative for the business for a day, but one day does not a year make," said Paul Indorf, co-owner of Peter Indorf Jewelers. "We’re not a business that depends on traffic. We’re more a destination business.

"The Board of Aldermen, which must approve the street closings and other details, will be briefed about the plans at 11 a.m. today, said Alderman Nicholas Shalek, D-1, who represents downtown. But he hadn’t heard the names Spielberg, Lucas and Ford in connection with the project."The e-mail I got today just said ‘a big movie,’ " he said. "Generally, I think it’s a terrific thing for the city."Indiana Jones’ visit to New Haven may have been foreshadowed at that 2002 Yale commencement. According to the Yale Alumni Magazine, when Spielberg received his honorary degree, the band played John Williams’ "Indiana Jones" theme. At the end of the ceremony, it played the theme from "Star Wars."