In another segment from In Depth with Graham Bensinger, former Disney CEO Michael Eisner talked about his decision to back the first Indiana Jones film when he was president of Paramount Pictures.

Michael Eisner and Indiana Jones

Eisner said everybody had passed on Raiders of the Lost Ark because the opening scene sounded like it would cost as much as an entire movie. But Eisner “thought the script was fantastic.”

He made the deal and told Steven Spielberg and George Lucas they had to make the movie on a $17 million budget. “Today it would cost, you know, $200 million,” Eisner pointed out. But Spielberg said, “I can do a budget at any price.”

One suggestion Spielberg made was a map transition that became an iconic element of the Indiana Jones films. Instead of buying or building an entire plane, Spielberg just built part of the set and transitioned with sound effects into a map showing the journey across the ocean.

“That scene is in the movie, and he did the movie on budget and history was made,” Eisner said. He added about Spielberg, “There’s nobody like him.”

Raiders of the Lost Ark was the highest-grossing film of 1981, grossing a total of $212.2 million. With subsequent re-releases, it has earned $389.9 million. All five Indiana Jones films have since grossed a total of $2.3 billion.

Though it was released by Paramount Pictures, the Indiana Jones franchise would ultimately be licensed by Disney for theme park attractions and then purchased with all of Lucasfilm in 2012 during Bob Iger’s first tenure as Disney CEO.

Watch the In Depth with Graham Bensinger where Eisner talks about Indiana Jones below.

During the interview, Eisner also discussed Disney’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, ABC’s settlement with President Trump, theme park prices, and Disney headquarters.

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