I found a wonderful little treasure — at least for all film buffs: A transcribed conversation from 1978, in which George Lucas is pitching Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan his ideas for a new movie character and a new movie.
The character would later become ‘Indiana Jones’, and the movie ‘Raiders of the Lost Arc’. It is really interesting to see how Lucas is basically giving them a long speech, laying out endless ideas that he had already developed — particularly about who Indiana Jones is (including the whip!). He is interrupted every now and again by Spielberg, and only very few times by Kasdan.
But it’s also clear that it was Spielberg who came up with the iconic boulder; the giant ball-shaped rock that is chasing Indiana Jones through the caves once he has stolen the icon:
There is a sixty-five foot boulder that’s form-fitted to only roll down the corridor coming right at him. And it’s a race. He gets to outrun the boulder. It then comes to rest and blocks the entance of the cave. Nobody will ever come in again. This boulder is the size of a house.
Steven Spielberg
In terms of describing the whole opening sequence, again Spielberg has the best quote:
What we’re just doing here, really, is designing a ride at DisneyLand.
Steven Spielberg
Here is the link: https://moedred.livejournal.com/2009/03/04/