Originally posted by: MTHaslett
I worked on my ideas for editing Jabba's Palace sequence last night and found that the material is there to make something much more sensible and thrilling. There are many jokes that create a tone that makes me cringe. But with CC's strategy, the idea of cutting the jokes as part of a new narrative really worked.
In brief (beause I don't have time now) I have a way to let Leia's plan be in action before Luke arrives-- essentially covering the gap we're creating by having Luke go get training while letting Han just hang around frozen in Jabba's clutches. Then Luke's arrival and "plan" come across as more daring and less blind-frickin'-lucky.
The droids appearance gets moved back, thus keeping the tone darker before their arrival. The whole sequence of Leia arriving as the bounty hunter plays out with subtitles and no Threepio.
I worked on my ideas for editing Jabba's Palace sequence last night and found that the material is there to make something much more sensible and thrilling. There are many jokes that create a tone that makes me cringe. But with CC's strategy, the idea of cutting the jokes as part of a new narrative really worked.
In brief (beause I don't have time now) I have a way to let Leia's plan be in action before Luke arrives-- essentially covering the gap we're creating by having Luke go get training while letting Han just hang around frozen in Jabba's clutches. Then Luke's arrival and "plan" come across as more daring and less blind-frickin'-lucky.
The droids appearance gets moved back, thus keeping the tone darker before their arrival. The whole sequence of Leia arriving as the bounty hunter plays out with subtitles and no Threepio.
I think you have something there with most of it, but at least some of the comments by Han and Luke have to stay in, I think. Something we disagree on -- a big surprise, right?
The comments back and forth between the two friends show the anticipation they must feel for what Han fears will happen, and for what Luke has planned to happen. Han's always struck me as a sarcastic smart-ass, so I'm more comfortable with comments and false bravado than just silence to hide the fear he would surely be feeling on a barge that's taking him to his apparent death. Keeping in mind that he has limited sight at this point, he'd be trying to compensate for his lack of control over the situation, trying to hide the fear he feels for being in a situation he can't control, not knowing what is coming. I always took his comments to Jabba as defiance. Like he feels the need to show that no matter what Jabba and his henchmen do, his spirit will never be broken. None of this is really out of line with his previous appearances, at least in my mind.
On other points, and these are just things I'm throwing out as the Devil's advocate....
We open with Leia handing over Chewie, with Lando not revealed yet if possible. We have plenty of establishing shots of exteriors on Tatooine to work with here.
Luke finishes his training on Dagobah. Yoda dies, telling Luke that he must face Vader to become a full Jedi.
Vader arrives at DSII.
Leia is captured after freeing Han from the carbonite.
Luke leave's Yoda's hut and sees Ben. They talk before Luke leaves.
The droids show up at Jabba's. (and yes, the droid torture certainly has to go)
The Emperor arrives at DS II
Luke arrives at Jabba's. I agree that Luke should be able to use the Force to bring down the door on the Rancor.
From here, the movie continues as originally devised, with the exceptions of some dialogue and action edits to make the escape from the barge more of a daring act of heroism than luck (though I once again point to Obi-Wan's comments from ANH on the Falcon about luck...)
That's just off the top of my head after work today.
I'm wondering if perhaps one of the biggest changes might be that we could somehow incorporate the much-rumored death of Lando and the loss of the Falcon in the destruction of DS II, so Han doesn't seem like a totally out of character crybaby idiot when he says he doesn't think he'll see the Falcon again. We could eliminate the bit where he talks Lando into taking the Falcon. Just cut in like it's the end of a conversation, and he's giving reluctant permission to use the reliable freighter, on the condition "not a scratch." I always thought it was pretty poorly written that Han changes tune so drastically in that scene. One minute he's trying to get Lando to take the MF, and then he's almost crying because Lando might get a scratch on her in a heavy combat zone. One way or the other, please -- not the half-assed way it was written. If we decided not to add Lando's death, perhaps we could instead cut the lines where Han makes him promise not to get a scratch and also where he worries that he won't see the Falcon again. Once again -- one way or the other, please.
We also need to cut down on the Ewoks scenes, or at least have them not so cutesied-up. It's a shame we can't figure out a way to exchange them for the Wookies from ROTS....
Comments anyone?