Frank Darabont on Indiana Jones 4

Writer/director Frank Darabont talked to the Alameda Times-Star about penning Indiana Jones 4, which is targeted for a July, 2005 release.

"I absolutely don't want to do things like having him say, 'I'm getting to old for this s---,' " says Darabont. "I don't want to be slipping and sliding in cliches. This character is no longer in the 1930s. He has to age honestly. He's got to be in the 1950s."

He doesn't sound too worried about taking on such an indelible character. Darabont likes going from the director's chair to the screenwriter's lair.

"Clearly, you are using different muscles," he says. "One is a very isolated, focused endeavor. The other is a wildly not isolated incredibly focused effort."

He describes working on the Indiana Jones script as a "total blast." Darabont worked with Spielberg on the film "Saving Private Ryan," doing uncredited screenwriting work.

"Let's face it, what's not to like about Indiana Jones," he says. "I saw the first movie in 1981, five years before I started my writing career. Who knew I would grow up to write the sequel."

You can read the full interview here.