History Trivia / IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Creator/SharonStone auditioned for the part of Willie Scott before Creator/KateCapshaw was cast.
** Creator/ChrisColumbus wrote a script for this movie, in which Indiana traveled to Africa and dueled a Monkey prince. It was rejected, because of too many negative African stereotypes, but a tank chase sequence in the script was also later used in ''The Last Crusade''.
** Creator/LawrenceKasdan was asked to write the script, but he refused the offer, as he was working on ''Film/TheBigChill'':
---> "I didn't want to be associated with ''Temple of Doom''. I just thought it was horrible. It's so mean. There's nothing pleasant about it. I think ''Temple of Doom'' represents a chaotic period in both their [Lucas and Spielberg] lives, and the movie is very ugly and mean-spirited."
** In the original draft, there was supposed to be a motorcycle chase scene across the Great Wall of China. However, the Chinese government refused to grant the permission of filming. Though the motorcycle chase scene was later used in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''.
** Spielberg originally wanted to bring Marion Ravenwood back, with Abner Ravenwood being considered as a possible character. He and Lucas had already decided that every movie should include a different woman for Indy.
** A dogfight was deleted from the script, as well as a scene showing those who drank the Kali blood turned into zombies with physical superhuman abilities. Though the dogfight scene was also later used in ''The Last Crusade''.
** Lucas' initial idea for Indiana's sidekick was a virginal young princess, but the writers and Spielberg disliked the idea.
** One of Lucas' early ideas had Indiana discover a "''Lost World'' pastiche with a hidden valley inhabited by dinosaurs".
** One thing was thankfully ''avoided'': Harrison Ford sustained a serious back injury while filming a fight scene, and was in such constant pain that George Lucas considered shutting down production. Ford traveled to the U.S. to get experimental surgery, and luckily it worked and he's still making movies today.
** George Lucas wanted the movie to take place in a haunted house. Steven Spielberg refused because he had just finished working on ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}'', and wasn't interested in "doing that again".
** According to Paul Freeman, Belloq was considered for a return, but the idea was dropped for unknown reasons, although Lucas and Spielberg told Freeman that they would call him for the second movie.

* EnforcedMethodActing: Apparently Kate Capshaw was legitimately terrified during the bug tunnel scene (even though the bugs weren't really dangerous). One can only hope she got paid extra for that part..

* OnSetInjury: Creator/HarrisonFord herniated a disc in his back filming a fight scene, forcing him to fly back to Los Angeles for an operation. He returned six weeks later.

* TributeToFido: Indy was already named after Lucas' dog, and this film took things further with Willie named after Spielberg's dog, and Short Round after another one.

** Creator/ChrisColumbus wrote a script for this movie, in which Indiana traveled to Africa and dueled a Monkey prince. It was rejected, because of too many negative African stereotypes, but a tank chase sequence in the the script was also later used in ''The Last Crusade''.

** The minecart chase was originally planned for Raiders (and even storyboarded) but had to be cut for pacing reasons.

** George Lucas wanted the movie to take place in a haunted house. Steven Spielberg refused because he had just finished working on ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}'', and wasn't interested in "doing that again".

* DeletedScene: Scenes cut from the [[http://www.theraider.net/films/todoom/deleted_scenes.php film]]:
** While traveling to Pankot Palace, Willie is disgusted by the smell of the elephant which carries her and pours the entirety of a bottle of perfume on the animal. In the film, we find a while later that, dissatisfied with being soaked with the stuff, the elephant stops in the middle of a river and, using his trunk, soaks his back as well as his passenger. This causes Willie to fall into the river, which causes [[HilarityEnsues general hilarity]]. Originally, the scene was longer. The elephant did not only react to its "freshening up", but also to Willie's voice. Forgetting the jungle's dangers, thanks to the perfume, and finding a little of its social context, Willie starts begins to loudly sing the song from the beginning of film. Moved by the melody, Indy and Short Round chime in the same way with a song of their own. The perfume and the constant noise is definitely too much for the elephant which, with a bellow, again interrupts the smell and the songs. Indy and Short Round can do nothing else than explode into laughter.
** Right after the first sacrifice Indy makes his way to the center of the Temple to grab the Sankara Stones. Having put the Stones in his pouch he spots a big stone snake on the top of the altar. Originally, Indy was shown touching the stoned snake in awe, but considering his established snake phobia, the filmmakers came up with the idea of Indy adjusting his hat in a hello manner.
** As Indy walks past the Temple's altar, to explore where the mysterious cries he hears are coming from, we see Willie and Short Round's encounter with a group of Thuggee guards. As Shorty is being captured Willie manages to flee back to the catacombs. What has been left out is the part that shows Willie's return to her room. Following the same trail that lead them to the underground Temple, Willie finds her way back to her room, there she finds Chattar Lal waiting for her only to be captured again. This little scene, besides the fact that it explains how Willie was captured, reveals for the first time Chattar Lal's allegiance to the Thuggees. When the time came to cut the film Spielberg and Kahn figured that the scene slowed the film's pace while the deletion of it didn't affect anything! Once again Marvel Comics can give a hint of what this scene was all about. Another scene of Indy feeding lies to Captain Blumburt and menacing Willie has not been verified yet.
** A Thuggee guard is whipping slave children when he is suddenly struck in the legs by lava exploding from a fissure. Short Round who was digging nearby witnessed the guard's awakening from his possessed state before the Thuggee was dragged away by other guards. This scene explained how Short Round knew what to do to bring Indy out of Kali's "black sleep." Although, of great significance to the plot, this scene was cut from the final film for unknown reasons.
** A scene was shot showing Indy and Willie helping the freed children to cross the lava pit through a makeshift bridge. When the time came for Short Round to cross the pit the bridge had caught fire under the intense heat and Indy and Willie managed to save him in the nick of time from falling in the lava pit. With the bridge crumbled the trio had to find another way out and that was through the mines. As with the above scenes, the most logical explanation for this cut seems to be the pace and not the film's running time, since it ended up at 113 minutes. Even the addition of all of the scenes mentioned on this writing would never push the film over the 120 minute barrier.

** the young Maharaja is dubbed by Katie Leigh and sounds a lot like a little girl as a result.

** Creator/ChrisColumbus wrote a script for this movie, in which Indiana traveled to Africa and dueled a Monkey prince. It was rejected, because of too many negative African stereotypes, but a tank chase sequence in the the script was also later used in ''The Last Crusade''.

** Creator/DavidNiven was going to play Captain Blumburtt, but he died before the start of filming.

** Creator/SharonStone auditioned for Willie. She played a similar role in ''Film/KingSolomonsMines'' and its sequel.

** Creator/LawrenceKasdan was asked to write the script, but he refused the offer, as he was working on ''Film/TheBigChill'':
--> "I didn't want to be associated with ''Temple of Doom''. I just thought it was horrible. It's so mean. There's nothing pleasant about it. I think ''Temple of Doom'' represents a chaotic period in both their [Lucas and Spielberg] lives, and the movie is very ugly and mean-spirited."

** George Lucas wanted the movie to take place in a haunted house. Steven Spielberg refuesed because he had just finished working on ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}'', and wasn't interested in "doing that again".
** Creator/ChrisColumbus wrote a script for this movie, in which Indiana traveled to Africa and dueled a Monkey prince. It was rejected, because of too many negative African stereotypes, but a tank chase sequence in the the script was also later used in ''The Last Crusade''.
** Presumably the film was to be a sequel instead of a prequel, since the idea was often nicknamed "''Raiders 2''".

* WorkingTitle: The film's original title was ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Death'' which was changed because it sounded too foreboding. It was retained as the film's German title (''Indiana Jones und der Tempel des Todes'').

** In the original draft, there was supposed to be a motorcycle chase scene across the Great Wall of China. However, the Chinese government refused to grant the permission of filming.

** A dogfight was deleted from the script, as well as a scene showing those who drank the Kali blood turned into zombies with physical superhuman abilities.

** Creator/ChrisColumbus wrote a script for this movie, in which Indiana traveled to Africa and dueled a Monkey prince. It was rejected, because of too many negative African stereotypes, but a tank chase sequence in the the script was later used in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''.

* SuntDouble: During filming, Creator/HarrisonFord injured his back and was out for several weeks. His stunt double, the legendary Vic Armstrong, was very similar in appearance to Harrison (even for a stunt double) and the two could be mistaken for brothers. Creator/StevenSpielberg continued work on the film by using Vic to perform the actions filmed from behind and then later filmed a few token close ups of Harrison to keep the illusion. The resemblance was so great, Ford's son would approach and talk to who he thought was his father before discovering it was Armstrong.

* TypeCasting: Amrish Puri has a long list of villainous {{Bollywood}} roles.

* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: The beaded dress worn by Kate Capshaw was eaten by an elephant. You can almost see it in the campfire at night scene [[note]](when the elephant's head is just out of frame, it's eating the dress in front of the entire crew)[[/note]]. The good news? It was covered by insurance (Spielberg notes that all he could write on the insurance claim for "cause" was "[[ADogAteMyHomework dress eaten by elephant]]" and [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer hope he was believed]]). The bad news? It was a dress made of genuine vintage crystal beads.

** A dogfight was deleted from the script, as well as those who drank the Kali blood turned into zombies with physical superhuman abilities.

** A dogfight was deleted from the script, as well as a scene showing people who drank the Kali blood turned into zombies with physical superhuman abilities.

* UncreditedRole: The kid in cage with Short Round and Indiana Jones who says "I pray to Shiva, let me die" is voice by an uncredited Creator/TressMacNeille.

** Creator/SharonStone auditioned for Willie. She played a similar role in the Alan Quatermain films.

** Creator/LawrenceKasdan was asked to write the script, but he refused the offer:

* {{Bowdlerized}}: For its UK release, about one minute of violence and gore was cut in order to secure a PG rating rather than a 15 (the 12 rating wouldn't be introduced until 1989, and 12A until 2002). As noted above, there was also some drama about the rating in the US. The uncut version was finally released on Blu-ray in 2012 with a 12 rating. [[https://youtu.be/q0sndAkUSCA Detailed 'Cutting Edge' background and comparison video via GNC Films]]

* ContentWarning: One American poster featured the phrase "This film may be too intense for younger children" at the bottom corner (The poster for ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' also had that same inscription). Judging by the subsequent controversy, it's obvious that parents did not heed that warning.

** In the 2003 documentary about the film, Capshaw was very critical of Willie's character, saying that all she does is scream.

* CreatorCameo: Creator/StevenSpielberg, Creator/GeorgeLucas, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy all have cameos at the airfield.

* DyeingForYourArt [=/=] DyeHard: Prior to ''Temple of Doom'', Amrish Puri had quite the full head of hair. His role as Mola Ram was so iconic, he kept his head shaved from then on.

** Creator/LawrenceKasdan was asked to write the script. but he refused the offer:

** Lucas's initial idea for Indiana's sidekick was a virginal young princess, but the writers and Spielberg disliked the idea.

* RealLife/MeanCharacterNiceActor: The late Amrish Puri, the Indian professional wrestler turned-actor, who played the heart-ripping Mola Ram in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and went on to play several Bollywood villains, is said by both Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg to have been a sweet and lovely man.

!!Miscellaneous

* At the end, when the British Indian Army Riflemen fire at the Thuggees, because they are using blanks, which have no recoil, one rifleman is short-stroking his rifle. He is only drawing back the bolt 3/4 of the way before the brass breaks loose from the extractor claw, then tries to load a fresh round before he has expended the spent brass. This causes both rounds to jam in the chamber, and takes him several seconds to clear it by pulling back hard on the bolt.
* This, along with ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'', is partially responsible for the making of the PG-13 rating because of its dark content.
* The only ''Indy'' film to take place on only one continent, namely Asia. Indy, Willie, Art Weber, and Captain Blumburtt are the only non-Asian characters in the entire film. Even Blumburtt's regiment at the end is composed of Indian soldiers.

!!Specific Tropes:

* ActorAllusion: [[Creator/HarrisonFord Indy]] [[Film/ANewHope chases after a small group of mooks, only to encounter a larger group of mooks and run away from them screaming.]]

** Spielberg has stated in his interviews that ''Temple of Doom'' was his least favorite of the Indiana Jones films, and the best thing about it is that he met Kate Capshaw while making it.

* RomanceOnTheSet: After the film was complete, in 1991, Kate Capshaw married Creator/StevenSpielberg. He declares it's the only good thing to come out of the movie.