If they’re taking screenshots from Vimeo previews for their books, how is that a sign of anything deeper or more troubling? Deeper or more troubling than what? It’s a tie-in book that probably won’t really sell a whole lot to anyone who isn’t already a superfan. What signs are you seeing in the decision by an editor or graphic designer to use a frame from a Vimeo screencap that are so troubling?
“If they have any interest in releasing the OOT, then it’s not totally improbable that they would use Legacy in some capacity.”
I don’t know, I find it pretty close to totally improbable. Again, setting Verta’s pitching & public speaking abilities to the side - the only real time his project could be all that viable was when there were budget constraints applied to the release of the original versions on home video, where his fan-restoration would be considered as a legitimate alternative due to the cost savings.
But with those constraints removed, you’d have to suggest that a home video release of the original versions, the first since 2006 (when budgetary restrictions were in place) would be a licensed version of a fan-restoration created from theatrical release prints when Disney itself, again, owners of some of the finest film restoration technology in the industry, has access to not only the Reliance 4K re-scan and remastering of the 1997 SE negatives, but the original film elements necessary to re-create a theatrical version if they so chose.
I just don’t see it. Especially since they’d have to go to the effort and energy to create their own restorations of Empire and Jedi anyway, since Verta’s Legacy project only applies to the first movie, and there’s no way they’re only doing an original theatrical version of Star Wars for this still-hypothetical original versions release, and forgoing Empire and Jedi as well. If they’re going to do their own versions of Empire and Jedi, why wouldn’t they just do Star Wars as well. Not just for the sake of uniformity, but because there is no doubt whatever they’d do in-house would be better than even the best of Verta’s efforts.