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COAXIUM BEBOP (CB-style Solo Fanedit) (WIP)

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Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite shows of all time, and Star Wars is a franchise very close to my heart. Naturally, I’ve always been thinking of ways I could express my love for both. So here we are! This is a fanedit I’ve been fooling around with of Solo (2018) in Cowboy Bebop’s style. I mean, it’s perfect. Space cowboys and past loves, they’re thematically perfect for each other.

Basically, this edit will be Solo re-scored and edited to be more introspective and melancholic. The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of primarily jazz and blues. It’s very stylistic and deliberately paced, but a lot of fun.

I hope this can scratch those Pulp Empire, or Neon Noir itches.

Here’s the original “Memory” cold open I’m emulating in the preview for comparison to the source

Music is a very important part of Bebop’s DNA, and that will stay true for this edit. Sequences of the film will be split into sessions, named after certain songs and musical references (for example, part one is named after The Rolling Stones’ “Silver Train”) and I’ll definitely be using motifs throughout. “Memory”/“Adieu” for flashbacks/forwards, etc.

It’s not even close to being done yet, but I needed a break from some of my other edits to do something a little more fun. It’s generally just re-scoring and de-foleying so far, but I’m thinking about making some graphics for the bumpers in between acts and whatnot. I’m also open to some music suggestions - from CB or otherwise. Some Empire Jazz might make it into here. 😉

Stay tuned!

Andor: The Rogue One Arc

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You Did It. The Crazy Son of a Bitch, You Did It!

“Get over violence, madness and death? What else is there?”

Also known as Mr. Liquid Jungle.

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This is fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. Just finished a rewatch of Bebop recently (although I made mental comparisons to Final Fantasy 7 before Star Wars), so I’m definitely intrigued by this.

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I absolutely love this idea. Adore Cowboy Bebop and its soundtrack, and this edit concept has actually crossed my mind before. Here are a few essentials from the CB OST that immediately come to mind.

Space Lion - a sprawling epic of the CB soundtrack, I think Vos’s Yacht where Han sees Q’ira again could use this track for both the mood and tension of the scene.

Bad Dog No Biscuits - I could see this fitting perfectly for the opening chase scene.

Tank! - this would definitely work best for an action scene, maybe even the train heist.

Cats on Mars - one of the more quirky CB tracks, I could see this working great as a theme for L3.

Blue - the ending credits song for the final episode of CB would also work really good for Solo. I think it just naturally works very well for a climactic moment.

This is me just spitballing ideas, there’s a ton of quality tracks in the show to choose from.

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So I haven’t seen Cowboy Bebop (yet!) or Solo, I love radical edits like Pulp Empire, would I be better off going in cold on this? Or would it be better to catch up and watch one or both in your opinion?

“The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” - DV

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Watch Solo first, definitely. There are some bad parts, but overall it’s worth your time.

I haven’t seen Cowboy Bebop, so I can’t advise you on that. I’m not a big fan of anime, although I’ve been trying to watch some to see what the fuss is all about. Maybe I’ll check it out.

My preferred Skywalker Saga experience:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

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Cowboy Bebop isn’t really anime anime FWIW. Its influences are rooted in western culture and cinema and none of the otaku culture and tropes that typically turn people off of the medium are in it.

I will say, part of me kind of hopes some people will watch this edit without having seen Bebop actually. I highly recommend the show either way, but I also want the edit’s style to speak for itself and not just be a novelty of “Oh! I get how this is a reference! etc. etc.”

I think there is something inherently melancholic about Han’s story in Solo, and I think the tone and pacing of Bebop really bring that out more. He’s just a kid, willingly headed towards a darker, complicated, criminal future because of his heart. And that defines his life, even in his final moments. It’s amazing how well that thematically works with Bebop.

Andor: The Rogue One Arc

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Yeah, Cowboy Bebop is absolutely worth checking out - especially if you “don’t like anime” (I don’t). It’s an incredible, mature, fun, realistic space opera. And its music is incredible. You could absolutely enjoy a Bebopified Solo movie without knowing the show, because so much of the style is captured by the music and it genuinely would suit Solo, but the show is magnificent whether you like anime or not.

The Clone Wars: Refocused | Andor: Movie Omnibus

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Love this. The harmonica seems really loud during Han and Chewie’s conversation though. Maybe it’s just my headphones?

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Here’s a rough draft of the first 15 minutes

There’s a color grade and some grain/film effects to age the footage a bit - I thought that fit the vibe. The B&W flashforwards will stay clean and HD, the majority of the edit will be like in the preview, and I have another grading scheme for the scenes that take place on Corellia. Basically, it’ll be more saturated and grimy the further back in the timeline, with the OT/ST clips being monochrome.


Music used:
Memory
Spokey Dokey
A Heavy Blues Hook (from YouTuber WhistlersBrothers)
Don’t Bother None
Yo Pumpkin Head
Elm
Road to the West

Bebop uses not only music but also silence really well, so I tried to have stretches of just environmental sound to capture that laid back feel leading up to the heist, as well as tension during Enfys’ attack. For the cold-open “Memory” sequence, I used the Imperial alarm in place off the church bells.

I’m thinking about starting session two with Corellia flashbacks before returning to Beckett, Han, and Chewie.

Andor: The Rogue One Arc

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This certainly is on track with joining the ranks of Pulp Empire. You’ve nailed the feeling and I’m still wracking my brain over how well you isolated the dialogue. You’ve rebuilt the tracks in an expert manner and just nailed your aesthetic. I’m not really into the pulp thing, but this is super impressive and the freshest take on Solo yet! 😃

digmodification.wordpress.com

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement on this pretty obscure idea!

For an update, those 15 minutes have been tweaked a bit since I posted. I’ve added (back? I had to re-foley myself) some sound in the later parts of the clip and swapped out approximately the last third of “Elm” used with another portion of it. I just thought that it got a little repetitive at the end, so I use the guitar plucking from this point in the track. You’ll hear in the full edit I will release.


In the meantime, Here’s a rough draft of the next 13 minutes

Tracks:
Farewell Blues
You Make Me Cool
Too Good Too Bad
Stella By Moor
Green Bird

I don’t want to end up posting part after part before it’s fully done, but I did feel iffy about this immediate next portion. Levels, dialogue isolation, etc. I also wasn’t so sure about my usage of Green Bird, I feel like I might be stretching the premise thin here? Anyway, thoughts would help.

Andor: The Rogue One Arc

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These are so, so good. I think you’re absolutely nailing this. In the second clip I’d delay Too Good Too Bad by about 30 seconds - you have it start as soon as they get in the car, then go quiet later, but it’s probably better off kicking off when the car action scene escalates, so that it can play out fully from there.

The Clone Wars: Refocused | Andor: Movie Omnibus

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I’m not familiar with Cowboy Bebop beyond a fun ‘Cosby Bebop’ YTMND from back in the day.

But this should be fun to watch, maybe all the more, when finished. I love the creativity. 😃

My stance on revising fan edits.

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Really enjoying this. The eye rolling “comedic” scenes actually work really well in this style.

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I think this is the kind of approach that Lord & Miller were originally going for. I even heard somewhere that they wanted the scenes on Correlia to be at the end of the 3rd act. Pitty, seams like the higher ups thought it was too much of a risk. I guess that’s why the finished cut ended up feeling so… generic.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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idir_hh said:

I think this is the kind of approach that Lord & Miller were originally going for. I even heard somewhere that they wanted the scenes on Correlia to be at the end of the 3rd act. Pitty, seams like the higher ups thought it was too much of a risk. I guess that’s why the finished cut ended up feeling so… generic.

By most accounts from others on set, they were wanting to go more in the direction of Spaceballs than Bebop. They also didn’t give direction to the actors and wouldn’t follow the script, forcing them to do improv rather than the rehearsed and written scenes. The film is generic because 80% of it was directed by Ron Howard, who is generally a fairly generic filmmaker.

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Tbh I don’t really know what to believe. The script was pretty bland so I can totally see why they wanted to spice it up a little, and hey, those two have proven many times how capable they are as film-makers. One thing I know for sure is that it would have been a far more interesting film had they had been allowed to carry out their vision.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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idir_hh said:

Tbh I don’t really know what to believe. The script was pretty bland so I can totally see why they wanted to spice it up a little, and hey, those two have proven many times how capable they are as film-makers. One thing I know for sure is that it would have been a far more interesting film to watch.

I understand that perspective, but the reason I disagree is because no one else was on board with what they were doing. At the very minimum, you need your cast to trust you and to be on the same page of what you’re doing. That was never the case, which would have made the eventual film weak for it.

And lots of fun films have bland scripts, take The Force Awakens with its bland script that barely isn’t A New Hope. The direction is what gave it any life. After being burned by “edgy” filmmakers, they went with the safest possible choice they legally could (Lawrence Kasdan, already working on the film as writer and producer, could not direct according to union rules that the film legally agreed to prior to going into production).

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I haven’t heard any actors involved say anything of that nature, I guess we’ll have to wait a few years for a “reveal all” memoire or book to really know what happened behind the curtains.

Peace is a lie
There is only passion…

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idir_hh said:

I haven’t heard any actors involved say anything of that nature, I guess we’ll have to wait few years for a reveal all memoire or book to really know what happened behind the curtains.

They were polite about it, but read all of their interviews and it’s all there. Even Lord & Miller’s remaining scenes kinda show the much sillier tone (Han speaking Shyriiwook, etc.); it shows a film that no one would’ve taken seriously.

They wanted to make a spoof while Lucasfilm, the writers, the producers, and the cast wanted to make a Star Wars movie.