11/34 Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the only film in the franchise to not be nominated for an Academy Award, let alone win one. Raiders of the Lost Ark won four: Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Temple of Doom won one: Best Special Effects, and The Last Crusade won one: Best Sound Effects Editing.
12/34 Ford scared Spielberg during Temple of Doom when he ran out across the rope bridge to test it’s safety. Spielberg later said “What can I say? Harrison really IS Indiana Jones.”
13/34 To create the sound of thousands of snakes slithering in Raiders of the Lost Ark sound designer Ben Burtt recorded himself sticking his fingers into a cheese casserole.
14/34 Steven Spielberg went on record to say that he made The Last Crusade for two reasons: to fulfill a three-picture obligation with George Lucas and to atone for the backlash he received for Temple of Doom.
15/34 Harrison Ford was adamant that he would use Indy’s whip in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, despite the fact that Paramount wanted the whip to be computer generated because of new safety rules. Ford won the argument.
16/34 The rope bridge used during the final fight scene of Temple of Doom was actually suspended hundreds of feet across a gorge. Spielberg was afraid of heights and never walked across it, opting to drive a mile-and-a-half to the other side of the bridge for filming. Ford, on the other hand, would run across it at full speed.
17/34 Despite having both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg attached to the project, every studio in Hollywood initially turned down Raiders of the Lost Ark. Only after much persuasion did they convince Paramount Pictures.
18/34 Harrison Ford actually outran the boulder in the opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The scene was shot twice from five different angles and in one take Ford stumbled and almost fell. Spielberg thought it looked realistic and left it in.
19/34 Security for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was very tight to prevent leaks so the cast had nicknames for their daily call sheets. Harrison was “#”, Cate Blanchett was “Mean Girl”, and Karen Allen was “The Damsel”.
20/34 Harrison Ford suffered a back injury while filming Temple of Doom and had to be flown back to LA for an experimental disc operation. While he was away Steven Spielberg used Vic Armstrong, a British stuntman, as a fill in. The two looked so similar that members of the crew kept confusing them. When Ford returned he continued to do his own stunts and filmed closeups of scenes he’d missed.