10 December,2012 09:05 AM IST | | PTI
Dr Jamie Awe, director of the Institute of Archeology of Belize, has now launched a lawsuit on behalf of Belize regarding the unlawful use of the Crystal Skull, which he claims belongs in Belize, the Hollywood Reporter said.
There are four currently known valuable Crystal Skulls in the world, with three on public display at museums around the world. They are hardstone carvings from quartz that resemble human skulls, and are said to have magical or supernatural powers.
The fourth is alleged to have been taken from Belize in 1920s by an adventurer named FA Mitchell-Hedges, and has remained in the family ever since. The Steven Spielberg movie is alleged to have modelled its own Crystal Skull closely on this specific skull, and Awe is suing producers Lucasfilm for "unlawful" exhibition of the skull.
The lawsuit also alleges that the Mitchell-Hedges family removed the skull from the country and never returning it, that Belize has a "right, title and interest in and to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull and its likeness", and that the film companies have participated in a "civil conspiracy" and interfered with prospective economic advantages. Producer Frank Marshall claimed recently that a fifth Indiana Jones film is "unlikely to happen".u00a0
