Star Wars: The Thread Strikes Back

[Reply #80 on:]

I'd rather see the prequels remade.

Keep Liam Neeson, Samuel L Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Natalie Portman, and Ray Park. Re-cast all the other main characters.

Jar Jar Binks does not exist. Dooku is unnecessary, have Darth Maul be the continuing protagonist.

Make C3PO and R2D2 less cute.

And stop paying the CGI guys so much, pay the script writer and set decorators more.

Darth Maul being the protagonist?  Don't you mean antagonist?  Well, I suppose, it depends on how you watch Star Wars.

But I'd also lose Samuel L. Jackson as well, or if he had to be kept, he should be used for a character that fits him, not Mace Windu.  One of the most boring characters Jackson have ever played.  Ewan McGregor is probably the only person cast right.  Unfortunately, his character was written terribly.

I'd also lose Liam Neeson (because his character is pointless) and Natalie Portman (because so is hers (and her performance)).

[Reply #81 on:]

Samuel L Jackson is a man who plays intense, loud, emotional characters. Plugging him into the serene role of Mace Windu was a dumb idea, just like Jim Carrey would have been wrong for the role.

As for Mark Hamil, maybe he's accepted that Star Wars was in fact the biggest and best thing that ever happened to his career. The role of a lifetime. Actors like to put on airs but it's kind of ridiculous to pretend that they are above the roles that catapulted them into wealth and worldwide fame, for which they are still known decades later.

[Reply #82 on:]

I liked Jake Lloyd in that role.  I thought he gave a genuine childlike innocence to the character.

 

[Reply #83 on:]

Darth Maul being the protagonist?  Don't you mean antagonist?

Oops, yes. In my defense, it was late and I was tired.

But I'd also lose Samuel L. Jackson as well, or if he had to be kept, he should be used for a character that fits him, not Mace Windu.

As DrT said, have him turn it up to 11.

I'd also lose Liam Neeson (because his character is pointless) and Natalie Portman (because so is hers (and her performance)).

I disagree on the pointlessness of Liam Neeson's character, but Natalie Portman would have been better if there was any chemistry between her and Hayden Christensen.

[Reply #84 on:]

I liked Jake Lloyd in that role.  I thought he gave a genuine childlike innocence to the character.

 

To his credit in that regard, his performance never dispelled my belief that I was seeing a child actor.

[Reply #85 on:]

Caught the last few episodes of The Clone Wars. Despite my love/hate relationship with it, I am sad to see it end so suddenly. I hope the same artists get to work on the sequel trilogy, because consistently brought their A-game as far as spaceship/location designs.

[Reply #86 on:]

Can we just hand the entire Star Wars franchise over to Genndy Tartakovsky and call it a day already? As far as I'm concerned he's the only one who ever did anything truly awesome with it.

[Reply #87 on:]

I second that.  I haven't watched the current Clone Wars, but the Tartakovsky version is awesome.  When I looked to buy the series a few years ago it was out of print.  I didn't think anything Star Wars went out of print!  Fortunately, I have a Star Wars nut friend who had a copy that I could rip.

[Reply #88 on:]

For serious? I think the Tartakovsky version is awful. Way over the top.

[Reply #89 on:]

For serious.  I like that the Tartakovsky version was way over the top.  For instance, General Grevious is a bad ass in the Tartakovsky series.  He was feared.  In the movies he was a joke.  Jedi powers are basically magical, it's more entertaining to me if the characters are played over the top to reflect that.

[Reply #90 on:]

For serious? I think the Tartakovsky version is awful. Way over the top.

To each his own. I thought Tartakovsky clearly had a sense of vision for it and I really enjoyed the unique sense of style he lent to the miniseries. I also thought the animation was top-notch, much more enjoyable to look at than the CGI they use for the current Clone Wars series.

That said, I'm a weirdo when it comes to my opinions about Star Wars compared to most people. For example, while I greatly appreciate the original trilogy's sense of scope in its story, as well as what it achieved for the genre of science fiction and for film in general, I find the movies to be boring, silly, and not particularly well-acted at all. I didn't think the characters were very relateable and therefore couldn't fully invest myself in the drama or the action, even as a young kid.

And while I would never make the claim that any of the prequels are better than any of the original trilogy - even if I believed that, which I don't (I find Episodes I and II to be complete abortions of cinema), I would be too afraid of being strung up - I will say that of the six movies, the one I personally enjoyed the most is Episode III, despite its obvious flaws that it shares with the other prequels (terrible acting being the main one). I liked how it was essentially Shakespeare's Othello set in a science fiction universe, and that it had the balls to be as dark as it was compared to the other two prequels which tried too hard to be kid's fare.

[Reply #91 on:]

When I looked to buy the series a few years ago it was out of print.  I didn't think anything Star Wars went out of print!  

Wait, seriously? You've heard of the Star Wars Holiday Special, right? Or the (actually unrelated, but nearly as bad) Star Wars holiday album, Christmas in the Stars? Or the Ewok TV movies? Or those 80s cartoon series?

Shit, there's a whole mess of stuff that's basically unavailable now, officially speaking. Even the main film DVDs (including the ones that had the unaltered trilogy) are actually out of print now.

[Reply #92 on:]

I didnt liked the Tartakovsky version much either.. the problem was that EVERYTHING was over the top... Grievous being a baddass was more in tone to the Jedis being hyper-jedis ... the Coruscant scene with Mindu says it all..

but again thats a personal opinion...  it wasnt in tone with the movies where you can see the Jedis not being the invincible badasses both series seems to suggest (except when they want to).. in the movies Grievous was beaten by Obi-Wan

[Reply #93 on:]

Obi-Wan's character shield can repel badassery of that magnitude!

When I looked to buy the series a few years ago it was out of print.  I didn't think anything Star Wars went out of print! 

Shit, there's a whole mess of stuff that's basically unavailable now, officially speaking. Even the main film DVDs (including the ones that had the unaltered trilogy) are actually out of print now.

According to Lucasfilm, the original negatives were damaged beyond being worth repair in making the Special Edition.  It doesn't make much sense, but that was the company line as of a few years ago.

[Reply #94 on:]

Are you sure?  They released the unaltered films as specials (extra) on DVDs in 2006, that were available in a very short period of 3-6 months.

Oh yes; I actually do have a copy of those lying around it seems.

[Reply #95 on:]

Some website that was gathering support for a re-release of the original trilogy (possibly originaltrilogy.com) wrote to Lucasfilm about it.  Maybe it was just about restored versions of the un-added-to films.

[Reply #96 on:]

Yeah, the 2006 version was what I was referring to. I'm aware of the rest of Lucasfilm's history with the films, including their bizarre claims, but I was referring to the DVDs themselves. Even the special editions are out of print aside from Blu Ray.

[Reply #97 on:]

Maybe I'll hang on to my VHS versions*, then.


In the VHS Episode IV, Jabba shot first!

[Reply #98 on:]

The 2006 versions aren't that bad....well, better than VHS, anyway. That said, I think they're a little expensive on the used market now.

[Reply #99 on:]

In the VHS Episode IV, Jabba shot first!

I was working on a list of things I wouldn't be surprised to see in rereleases of the original movies, but then Lucas decided to sell the franchise to Disney, rendering it baseless.  Still, that was not far off from at least one of them.

[Reply #100 on:]

Adywans versions are the best, studio shmudio, Lucas versions Shmucas shmersions...

[Reply #101 on:]

The 2006 versions aren't that bad....well, better than VHS, anyway. That said, I think they're a little expensive on the used market now.

I couldn't remember which version of the DVDs I have.  Just looked at the Ep IV DVD and the copyright is 2004.

[Reply #102 on:]

Basically, the 2004 versions were the second "Special Edition" version to come out (making more changes from the 1997 releases), and the first release on DVD. The 2006 version is basically the same, but it omitted the 2004 set's bonus disc and instead included an individual bonus disc for each movie with the theatrical versions included on them as "extra features." There are some other variations (basically just repackagings of the 2004 set that still omitted the bonus disc, and I think the theatrical discs too), but that's the basic breakdown between them. They all include the 2004 remasterings/special editions, until the Blu-Ray set which updated them once again.

[Reply #103 on:]

Adywans versions are the best, studio shmudio, Lucas versions Shmucas shmersions...

I cant wait for his versions of TESB and ROTJ, also he said he will make the new trilogy..  wich will be curious at least.

TESB is near release.. im quite curious because he actually made physical models , like Snow Speeders and the Hoth shield generator , so what he has in mind goes beyond what he did in ANH where he only added shots and ships digitally aded (he said that the only 3D ship added was the TIE Fighters from the insert in Yavin battle.. everything else comes from other movies or smart-edition/mirroring/rescaling ships and inserting them here and there..

Unfortunatelly, i asked him (in his Facebook page)  if he was going to add Mon Calamary cruisers to the final shot of the fleet in the outer rim .. he said that while he was going to add more ships, non of them would be Mon Calamary ships.. as the fleet we see at the end of TESB was suposed to be the ships fleeing Hoth..

Actually that was odd.. i allways tought that the rebels fleed Hoth and went to several points.. and that the fleet we see was one of the rebel fleets that were hiden in the outer rim.. thats why i asked why not add Calamary cruisers.. they were suposed to be arround before Yavin..  but if thats a fleet composed of ships that escaped Hoth then it makes sense..

Tought i dont know where they were keeping that Nebulon-B frigate.. maybe it was in orbit and jumped away as soon as the sensors detected the Imperial fleet aproaching?

example of his progress:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN8YIR60Ij0

[Reply #104 on:]

About the fleet at the end, I sort of agree that it needn't be the fleet that has just fled Hoth... but at the same time it doesn't have to have Mon Calamari ships in it either, IMO. It could just be a support fleet, as its capital ship appears to be the medical frigate. Keep it small, so it lessens the threat of detection, and out of the way until needed.

I guess.

Anyway, I'll add my voice to the Adywan praise. 
His latest Hoth battle clip (go watch it right now! Right now! NOW!!!) is brilliant and personally I love how...

Show spoiler

The last time I checked he said he was going to completely remove the fleeting appearance of the AT-ST at Hoth, as it only appears once or twice and is inconsistent with the rest of the battle scenes, and the ROTJ appearances... well, now he's updated the model and added a whole load of them! The shot of one taking pot-shots at the air speeders is beautifully done!

[Reply #105 on:]

About the fleet at the end, I sort of agree that it needn't be the fleet that has just fled Hoth... but at the same time it doesn't have to have Mon Calamari ships in it either, IMO. It could just be a support fleet, as its capital ship appears to be the medical frigate. Keep it small, so it lessens the threat of detection, and out of the way until needed.

I agree.. it was just a personal opinion and actually more like a romantic wish...  like we dont see the actual rebel fleet until ROTJ, and we only see rebel ships in TESB , so seeing some calamary ships in the background would tie-in with ROTJ, but is also right that the rebels did have many small fleets and many smaller warships arround and that most of them didnt had Calamary ships (be it destroyers, frigates or cruisers, Adywan only adds oficial material so he would have to work only with the massive cruisers)

[Reply #106 on:]

Re: Mon Calamari on Hoth, I don't suppose fish monsters liked Hoth weather very much and fled long before the Empire arrived.

[Reply #107 on:]

Re: Mon Calamari on Hoth, I don't suppose fish monsters liked Hoth weather very much and fled long before the Empire arrived.

no.. i was talking about the final shot of the fleet in the outer-rim when the Falcon departs the medical frigate Redemption.

there is a lot of "suposed to"s .. by TESB the Empire was suposed to have TIE Interceptors arround , and the rebelion would have allready A-Wings.. non of them appears in TESB for the simple reason that Lucasfilms hadnt invented them yet..

Actually the A-Wing issue was one of the more hilarious and ridicolous cases of retconing..

oficial sources said the A-Wing was developed after the battle of Yavin as a fast agile interceptor to counter imperial TIE Fighters and provide escort ...

the the X-Wing and Rebel Assault series show them arround even before the Battle of Yavin.. ok they are games we can ignore that..

but way before the games, the series Droids shows A-wings way before Yavin ...

What did Lucasfilms did? : There are 2 separate but visually identical ships: the R-22 Spearhead and the RZ-A1 interceptor..

The R-22 would be in use from early in the rebelion ... and it would be nicknamed A-Wing too... then after Yavin  the alliance used the R-22 as base to make a far more advanced and powerfull fighter, the RZ-A1 ..also nicknamed A-Wing

Isnt it fun how ludicrous and complicated they can go to explain screwups?

[Reply #108 on:]

Disney announces once Star Wars film per year plan!  That's right, kids, one Star Wars film a year, for a million years!

Yoda's Bar Mitza will be one of them! 

[Reply #109 on:]

Ambitious if nothing else.  They're going to have to get them all in the can almost simultaneously, LOTR-style.

[Reply #110 on:]

I don't think so. If they alternate between "episodes" and spinoff/one-shot movies, then that gives them two years to make an episode.

The basic schedule for the prequels (released every three years) was
Year 1: Lucas writes the script and works with art team to come up with designs/storyboards
Year 2: shoot the damn thing one actor at a time in a tiny blue room
Year 3: add effects

Since the script writers have no directorial responsibilities, they can sit in a dark room and write the next movie's script for a year while the current movie is being filmed/post-produced.

Also, screw Disney.

[Reply #111 on:]

I thought they announced that plan back when they bought the rights?
Aynho, am I the only one who has a thought running around inside their head that the notion of Star Wars being in blocks of trilogies is somehow sacrosanct? Not that I'm strictly opposed to more films, it's just the thought of the new order being "Episodes 7-9? Yep, then 10 to infinity, just marching gaily into the distance..."

It just doesn't seem right...

[Reply #112 on:]

Less is more.

1 was good. 2 was great. 3 was satisfying. 4 was yay!/meh. 5 was "do we have to?". 6 was "Stop wasting my time".

I honestly don't want to know what 7 is about.

Edit and aside: I'm really looking forward to the Star Wars threads to come, based on the pattern we have, especially:The Thread Menace and Attack of the Thread

[Reply #113 on:]

I would be deeply worried about : The hollyday thread  or The caravan of threads

[Reply #114 on:]

Zed brings up a good point about trilogies.  I think Lucas painted himself into a corner back when he called ANH Episode IV, which I don't think he actually made public until ESB.  There seemed like there was a lot more story in the prequels than could be told in three movies.  I suspect this trilophilia stems from the usual 3-act structure that Western stories tend to follow, but there is also the possibility that trilogies just offer the best return on investment.

[Reply #115 on:]

And thats what was greatly referenced in the parody trailer "When senators attack IV"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H67L4IW4zq8

(specially in 1:59)

[Reply #116 on:]

From www.twitter.com/starwars

Production has begun on Star Wars Rebels, an all-new animated series set between the events of Episode III and IV. http://bit.ly/16EjuQE

[Reply #117 on:]

Interesting move. I was sure they'd do something post-ROTJ to tie in with Episode VII.

I like it, though. It gives Filoni the possibility of tying up some loose ends from The Clone Wars (my prediction is that Darth Maul and Ahsoka get married have babies) while also getting rid of the prequel imagery that is so unpopular with people who aren't me and moving more into the original trilogy imagery.

[Reply #118 on:]

[Reply #119 on:]

LOL, Faze, that made me laugh.