20 Things You Didn't Know About Raiders Of The Lost Ark
7. The Inspiration For Indy's Name
When you're brainstorming ideas for your hero, you need to start with a name. In the first draft, George Lucas referred to the lead character as "Indiana Smith". Steven Spielberg protested, worried the name would be compared to Nevada Smith; a 1966 western starring Steve McQueen. The two directors believed a common name like Smith should work and so, decided on Jones.
A few other names were toyed with but Lucas stated his forename had to be Indiana. Why was Lucas so adamant about this? Because it was the name of his Alaskan malamute mutt. Weirdly, this pup also inspired the look of Chewbacca in Star Wars. This means that one dog inspired two of cinema's most popular characters!
This in-joke was inserted into the third film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Henry Jones, played by Sean Connery, explains to Sallah that his son is called Henry Jones Jr. but is nicknamed Indiana, which was the name of their dog. As Sallah roars laughing, Indy defends his moniker by saying, "I got a lot of fond memories of that dog."