'Indiana Jones' Makers Sued Over Crystal Skull Analysis by Benjamin Radford
Sat Dec 8, 2012 02:27 PM ET
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An archaeologist in Belize is suing the makers of the film "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," claiming that the story is based upon a national treasure looted nearly a century ago from the small Central American country.
According to the Hollywood Reporter,
On Wednesday, one of the most entertaining lawsuits of the year was filed in Illinois federal court. It comes from Dr. Jaime Awe, director of the Institute of Archeology of Belize. This real-life Indiana Jones is suing on behalf of the nation of Belize over the Crystal Skull artifact, popularized in the 2008 Steven Spielberg film "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Awe is demanding the return of the Crystal Skull from a treasure-hunting family that allegedly stole it 88 years ago from Belize.
Awe is suing Lucasfilm, the Walt Disney Company, and Paramount Pictures. Awe states that the crystal skull described in the film was stolen by a British explorer (and sometime archaeologist) named F.A. Mitchell-Hedges during a visit to the Maya ruins of Lubantuun in the jungle of Belize in the early 1920s.
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His adopted daughter Anna Mitchell-Hedges is said to have discovered the skull while exploring the ruins. They returned to England with the skull, and Anna regularly exhibited the skull after her father's death in 1959.
In his complaint Awe cites a 1928 "Antiquities Ordinance" which prohibited the removal of artifacts from Belize without express government permission. Since the crystal skull was illegally removed from the ruins and used as a basis for the most recent Indiana Jones film, Awe and Belize want a cut of the profits and the return of the stolen skull which they see as part of their cultural heritage.
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"Lucasfilm never sought, nor was given permission to utilize the Mitchell-Hedges Skull or its likeness in the Film," says the complaint. "To date, Belize has not participated in any of the profits derived from the sale of the Film or the rights thereto."