The Times chose wisely this weekend, dedicating its often miserable "A Night Out With" feature to super-dreamy Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull star Karen Allen instead of some dicky little 12-year-old writer who some editor found attractive. "Ms. Allen said: 'People want to see a movie that casts a mature woman across from a mature man. They're not matching Harrison with a 30-year-old.'"
Forget the jerk-ass haters: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will make you happy. "[O]nce it gets going, Crystal Skull delivers smart, robust, familiar entertainment. Ford looks just fine, his chest skin tanned to a rich Corinthian leather; he's still lithe on his feet, and can deliver a wisecrack as sharp as a whipcrack. Karen Allen, 56, who was Indy's saucy love Marion Ravenwood in Raiders, still has that glittering smile and vestiges of her old elfin swagger. They needn't break a sweat keeping up with the (relative) kids: 39-year-old Cate Blanchett, the movie's villainess, and Shia LaBeouf, who plays the young lead Mutt Williams, and who may be tapped to continue the series after Ford's retirement - at least that's what Lucas hinted a few days ago here in Cannes." Slight spoilers after the jump.
So why did magnificent hottie Karen Allen pretty much disappear off the face of the earth after Animal House and Raiders of the Lost Ark before finally returning for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? (Starman doesn't count!) "[A]t some point she went to go knit in the Berkshire Mountains. There was also a marriage followed nine years later by divorce, and single motherhood that would, in concert with the dwindling Hollywood career and the shock of 9/11, prompt her to quit Manhattan permanently for the Berkshires. She had done summer theater in Stockbridge, Mass.; she felt at home there. With her Hollywood money she'd purchased an 18th century barn and remade it; the place came with its own beaver pond, and Allen added a hot tub. She cleared the attic of bats and made it into a master suite with its own sunken bath and office." But now she's back! Yay!
· A special thanks to the Official Star Wars Blog for saving us the trip to Comic-Con to learn that Karen Allen is returning for Indy 4. Still no word on when they're going to announce Short Round's surprise involvement.
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