Regardless of enhancing its popularity over time, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” stays infamous in its personal manner. The prequel to 1981’s “Raiders of the Misplaced Ark” noticed Indy staff up with a brand new sidekick, Brief Spherical (Ke Huy Quan), and Kate Capshaw’s nightclub singer Willie Scott for a decidedly darker story than its predecessor. Although it has since been reappraised, “Temple of Doom” was met with a combination of confusion and consternation upon its 1984 launch, even whereas it turned a field workplace success. None of this could have been all that shocking for director Steven Spielberg, nevertheless, seeing as the unique “Temple of Doom” author was scared away by the story he and George Lucas had in thoughts.
Now, some 40 years after it first debuted, “Temple of Doom” occupies an odd house within the “Indiana Jones” lineage, concurrently overcoming its preliminary response whereas nonetheless trailing some controversy, particularly over its notorious banquet scene and y’know, the kid homicide stuff. Which is why, generally, it is good to neglect all of the controversy and simply nerd out over a number of the movie’s Easter eggs and hidden particulars. One such instance which can have escaped even diehard followers of the franchise is a short “Temple of Doom” cameo by a “Ghostbusters” star that lasts all of 18 seconds.
Indiana Jones escaped Shanghai with the assistance of a Ghostbuster
Earlier than Indy and his cohorts descend into the depths of the Thuggee cultists lair, “Temple of Doom” opens with a now traditional sequence that sees Henry Jones Jr. flee from a Shanghai nightclub known as Membership Obi Wan — itself one of many first Easter eggs within the movie — after crime boss Lao Che tries to kill him. The following automotive chase ends with Indy, Brief Spherical, and Willie pulling as much as the airport and being shepherded to a cargo aircraft by a British navy officer by the identify of Artwork Weber. “Ah, Dr. Jones,” calls Weber in a hearty British accent because the trio pull up, “I am Artwork Weber, I spoke along with your assistant, we have managed to safe a free seat.” Weber then informs the group they will be driving on a cargo aircraft filled with reside poultry, and that is the final we see of the character, who’s, it seems, performed by none aside from “Saturday Night time Dwell” alum and “Ghostbusters” star Dan Aykroyd.
Even those that paid shut consideration to this second might have missed Aykroyd, the star of a few of the most effective 80s comedies. The actor stays pretty removed from the digital camera all through his transient cameo and his face is obscured by a mustache — to not point out his accent, which is in some way each an honest and horrible interpretation of a traditional RP intonation.
Because it seems, Aykroyd and Steven Spielberg had remained associates since engaged on the WWII comedy “1941” — one in all Spielberg’s lowest-rated movies on Rotten Tomatoes — and all it took was a fast telephone name for Aykroyd to land his cameo.
Dan Aykroyd wasn’t the one cameo in Temple of Doom
Requested by The AV Membership how he ended up in “Temple of Doom,” Dan Aykroyd revealed that he truly known as Steven Spielberg personally, explaining:
“I mentioned, ‘I would like to work on this film. Something I can do.’ Simply because I really like these guys and I really like the franchise. They usually introduced me on, good sports activities that they have been. I simply mentioned, ‘Can I please have a component on this film?’ [Laughs] I begged for it!”
If you’re a kind of viewers who did handle to catch Aykroyd’s fast cameo in “Temple of Doom,” chances are you’ll nicely have missed some even harder-to-spot cameos in the exact same scene. Creator George Lucas, govt producer Frank Marshall, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and Spielberg himself seem as missionaries within the background of the Shanghai airport the place Weber meets Indy, Brief Spherical, and Willie.
“Temple of Doom” is way from the one Spielberg film to characteristic plentiful cameos. “E.T. The Further-Terrestrial” was initially speculated to characteristic cameos from Indy himself, Harrison Ford, and Spielberg himself had a secret cameo in “Raiders of the Misplaced Ark.”