Steven Spielberg, the man who created summer blockbusters, has agreed to co-produce a Martin Luther King Jr. biopic for DreamWorks.

For the first time Martin Luther King Jr.’s estate has allowed producers to use his intellectual property including his landmark 1963 “I Have A Dream” speech in a feature film about the civil rights leader. One of the most important figures in American history, King copyrighted his speeches, books and miscellaneous works before his assassination in 1968.

Dreaming

“We are all honored that the King estate is giving us the opportunity to tell the story of these defining, historic events,” said Spielberg. “It is our hope that the creative power of film and the impact of Dr. King’s life can combine to present a story of undeniable power that we can all be proud of.”

Dr. King’s son, Dexter, who is chairman and chief executive of the King estate, said “We hope that this will be the definitive film on his life and legacy.”

Madison Jones and Suzanne de Passe (Lonesome Dove) will produce alongside Spielberg.

I’ll be the first to admit that I have not been a big proponent of a new Indiana Jones movie. I think “Last Crusade” is just a rehash of the far superior “Raiders”, and I really didn’t want to have my wonderful memories of my favorite movie hero to be tarnished by seeing him as an old man. I have heard plenty about this and through it all I’ve been skeptical.

Well, YAHOO has given us the first real peak at what we can expect right here:

I have to admit that I totally started to geek out when I heard the strings start to hum and the Paramount logo morphed. Then we get that silhouette:

I ask you, is there any more iconic image than this? It just says it all. So yeah, they had me thinking positively about the project for a change.

The trailer stayed strong with some good swinging, punching and crashing. All important staples of the franchise. Indy is clearly older, and I could have done without the “I’m too old for this shit”esque comment, but I totally expected it.

The things that worked best for me though were the familiar things. Obviously the stuff mentioned above, but maybe my favorite thing is the location. My favorite sequence from any Indy movie is the opening of “Raiders”. Nothing captures the spirit and excitement of Indiana Jones better than that scene in the temple where he steals the golden idol (a replica of which adorns my TV cabinet in my living room). I’ve always wanted to see more of Indy in South America and it looks like Steve-o and Georgie Porgie finally listened to the threatening Candy-Grams I’ve been sending them and sent Indy back where he belongs. You just can’t beat a South American temple full of BOOBY TRAPS! Especially with hordes of angry natives chasing him.

It is a delight to see Marion back at his side (she always was the only one for him), even if it looks like she might have had some “work” done. I’m no Shia-Hater, but I really wish they had gone with a grown-up Short Round for Indy’s sidekick in this one. Sure you wouldn’t have the whole familial thing going on, but I’d like to think Indy didn’t just leave the kid on a doorstep somewhere.

Just from the glimpse we get here it did seem like some of the backgrounds were a bit to CGI looking, which really disappoints me. Hopefully that can be corrected in post-production. But that is really the only complaint I could offer at this point.

So here we are, he’s older, probably wiser, definitely a little slower, and clearly gray, but he’s still clearly Indy. I’m more positive about it now, but still a little cautiously optimistic.