Trivia: Actor Peter Coyote auditioned in costume for the part of Indiana Jones, but he tripped and stumbled over power cables during the audition (conveying an awkward and nervous image, just the opposite of the confident and sure-footed Indiana Jones image that Steven Spielberg wanted). So, Coyote didn't get the part. But Spielberg never forgot Coyote's earnestness, and he later cast Coyote as the compassionate Agent Keys in "E.T. The Extraterrestrial".
Trivia: Tom Selleck was chosen for the main role but he was already involved in Magnum P.I. The show had a chapter named Raiders of the Lost Art as a nod to this, showing him playing Indiana Jones.
Trivia: The main role of Indiana was offered to Peter Coyote, Tim Matheson, John Shea and Tom Selleck.
Trivia: Because of his commitment to the film, Harrison Ford was unable to play Han Solo in the NPR radio dramatization of Star Wars. The role was taken over by Perry King, who had been among those auditioning for the role in the movie before Ford was cast.
Trivia: Arnold Toht has only 16 lines in the entire film.
Trivia: Originally, the golden idol had moveable eyes that were supposed to follow Indy's moves when he is about to snatch it. Compare the idol inside the temple to the one Belloq later holds in his hands.
Trivia: In the original script, instead of all dying together in the infamous scene during the opening of the Ark, Belloq, Toht and Dietrich were to die at different points in the film: Toht was to die together with Gobler during the truck chase, Belloq would die during the opening of the Ark (which was shorter), and Dietrich was to die in the mine cart chase through Geheimhaven that took place after the closing of the Ark and was cut from the film.
Trivia: Some characters in this film had other names during its development, before retaining the ones that appeared in the film. Some of these names were: - Rene Belloq's original name was Victor Lovar. - Toht's was Belzig. - Dietrich's was Schliemann. - the Imam's was Amir. Several characters were also deleted, such as Eric Davona, Calvin Stansbury, Tengtu Hok, Bang Chow, Buzz Kehoe, Stanton, Abu (not the Imam's apprentice), Jules Spencer and Petrovich.
Trivia: The main ghost was played by receptionist Greta Hicks, made up and dressed in a white robe. She was suspended with wires and filmed flying away from the camera. The footage was reversed for the film (this can be spotted in the ghost's hair). For the Angel of Death, a life-size skeletal dummy dressed as Greta was filmed and superimposed on the film.
Answer: Indy and Marcus Brody believed that the Ark needed to be studied. They certainly didn't want to put it back where it was found. They believed that the U.S. government would find the best archaeologists, researchers, and scientists in the world to study the Ark. They are both upset that instead, the government has decided to simply lock the Ark away. This is why Indy says, "Fools. They don't know what they've got there," as he is leaving the building.
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