Q: "Mr. Spielberg, why did you decide to make the Russians Indiana Jones' enemies?"
A: "First off, I am Russian," said Spielberg, an American Jew, with a straight face. He was wearing his long-familiar baseball cap with the stitched motto: 'Relax.' "My descendants were from Ukraine. However, when we decided the fourth installment would take place in 1957, we had no choice but to make the Russians the enemies. World War II had just ended and the Cold War had begun. The U.S. didn't have any other enemies at the time."
Q: "Why did you give Cate Blanchett such a nonsensical name like Irina Spalko?"
A: "I had nothing to do with that. That was the screenwriters!"
also:
Blanchett is familiar to Russian roles. In Sally Potter's film, "The Man Who Cried," she made a magnificent performance as a Russian prostitute. Ingeborg Dapkunayte taught her Russian words to use during the film. This time around, though, it seems they couldn't find a suitable Russian teacher for the star and she had to stick with a thickly accented English.
just thought it was interesting
edit: sorry forgot indiana jones is owned by disney now :agony-soviet: