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New tactic for petitioning for the OOT?

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As time passes and the chance of Lucas changing his mind about the OOT release in any new format seems further and further away, perhaps instead of petitioning and/or repeatedly asking LFL employees to relay messages we should collectively try something new- bring the cause to the people influential in Lucas' life.

Love him or hate him, we know that Steven Spielberg has influence to some degree in George Lucas' life. Also we know that Spielberg has been brought to his senses about original versions vs special editions on DVD with at least one of his films, E.T. which at the last minute he bowed to pressure and made the original version more readily available to the general public (and even he and the studio were at least making the original version available in a limited edition expensive package before that instead of saying 'it doesn't exist').

So what I propose it taking the top two or three people in life who George Lucas might listen to occasionally and writing to *them* and petitioning *them*. Write to Spielberg. Write to Francis Coppola. Write to Lucas' *kids* for that matter- anyone who might be able to put the bug in his ear.

I firmly believe that Lucas really doesn't understand the scope and meaning of his tinkering to the detriment of film history and that he truly feels that anyone who thinks otherwise are just a small band of mean-spirited geeks who don't know any better. I mean after all- people *do* keep buying his stuff.

What do you think?
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Not a bad idea, at this point anything new is worth a try.

How about finding some writer for a publication like Entertainment Weekly, or some entertainment magazine to get the full story out about the original movies. Get one of the magazines to do a cover story about the O-OT, and how they are stored away somewhere and can't be enjoyed on the latest format.

As much as we all want these movies out, I still think there is a huge amount of older fans who didn't really follow the prequels, and don't follow SW much anymore on the web like us, but loved the movies growing up, and really aren't aware that these versions either arent' out, or they have changed that much over the years.

But your idea is still worth a try!
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I had thought about the magazine technique as well, or at least something similar. Basically find someone or some publication like you said to champion the cause or at least explain it in a way that people can understand. Just as there are still plenty of people in the general public who don't understand why there are 'black bars' at the top and bottom of their screens when they watch some DVDs there are those (gasp! ) who don't really notice that anything has changed in the OT nor maybe even really care at this point. But I don't know about the rest of the world but in the U.S. at least when you start telling people what they 'don't' have or worse yet what they *can't* have then they tend to get up in arms, figuratively speaking (most of the time).
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The media/newspaper/magazine tactic is the only one that will work, IMO. Harassing employees is completely useless. But do you know how much damage would be made if Entertainment Weekly ran an article on the matter, even if just a small blurb?? Aside from the fact that it would inform thousands of ppl oblivious to the issue, it would also serve as a source of legitimacy--no longer just disgruntled fanboys and middle-aged grumbling nerds, the issue has become a mainstream concern from general fans of cinema. If three of four major movie magazines, like Empire, ET, or something less significant like Filmmaker, ran articles you can bet that LFL would begin to take the issue much much more seriously.
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I think that this is a wonderful idea. I don't know how I personally could contact Steven (or the person who reads his mail), but the magazine/newspaper thing is a step in the right direction. The more people know that they can't have this the more they are going to want it. You tell a kid that they can't do something, what do they do? -- they usually go a head and do it anyway. We can't have the OOT? We're gonna want it even more.
"I am altering the movies. Pray I don't alter them any further." -Darth Lucas
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Your idea is original and has great merit. I definitely reckon try it.

But I have to say, being the voice of skepticism for the moment, that the reason petitions don't work is because Lucas doesn't *want* them to work. In this case, he probably knows he's in the wrong and that his argument is extremely stodgy. He knows damn well that he can release both versions (heck, release the originals as the "Inferior Edition" if he so wished) but to go back now would show how he messed things up at the start. He's trying to save face by pretending this side of things doesn't exist.

Call that whatever you will, but in the big picture it works really. As much there are those of us who don't like his changes, there are still more apathetic souls who can only muster up a 'meh'.
VADER: Let me look on you with my own eyes...

LUKE: Dad, where are your eyebrows?

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WO_S6UgkQk0
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Zebonka has a point. Until we, the people who want the originals, are in the majority, he really doesn't have to listen. The 70,000 or some that have signed the petition here, even if that's a small portion of the "old fans," as I'll call them, are but a small portion of all the Star Wars fans. The ones that buy are the ones in power. We don't have it.
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I would definitely not recommend involving Lucas' kids or family in this, that's kind of intrusive and damaging to the cause, IMHO. Maybe writing to Spielberg is alright, but making his friends our messenger boys seems kind of presumptuous. I think the only angle you could pull is a profit-angle. Convince someone in power that it is financially viable to release the OOT.

But media support would certainly give creedence to our cause.

I think, however, that we will need to wait until people are thinking about Star Wars again (for instance, next year will be an anniversary) to generate dialogue on this in the general public.
MTFBWY. Always.

http://www.myspace.com/red_ajax
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Leave his kids and his personal friends out of it. It's not fair to any of them and will only make us look like crazy fan boys whose next move will be to stalk Lucas.

I think the magazine idea is great though. If anyone has even a slight channel to someone who edits content for one, I think we should pursue that.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

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I agree not involving anyone close to George. the magazine articles sounds a good idea but it cant be too anti-Lucas if we want any sympathy, I also think there needs to be more attention drawn to this site through whatever, i have personally let people know from other sites, who want the oot, to come here and they mentioned theyve never heard of this site, the petition and the work that goes on here to preserve the oot.
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Well I never meant to harass his family, but considering how reclusive he seems to be I was grasping for straws to think of *anyone* much that he might actually listen to.
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He would definately release the OOT if his kids wanted it. After all, the only reason he made the Ewoks films were as "gifts" for his daughters, and the only reason he wanted Clone Wars Volume II made was because Jett wanted to see the continuation of the story.
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"He would definately release the OOT if his kids wanted it."

But if his kids have the same screwy SE-love as you do, then all is lost.








<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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I think his kids have access to the O-OT without a mass production wide release and marketing machine necessary to make it happen.
I am fluent in over six million forms of procrastination.
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Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
I think his kids have access to the O-OT without a mass production wide release and marketing machine necessary to make it happen.


I wonder if they sell bootlegs of it at school? My family used to own a bakery and I'd take donuts to school and sell them. I can just picture Jett... "Hey dude... wanna buy a DVD of the OOT? Yeah... my dad has *millions* of them but we only give 'em to people who don't bitch about it!'
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Heh, that's awesome. I could see that happening. Just like in the cartoons when the character's dad has a cool job and passes out free samples.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I think this is a great idea. But I don't think it should be about Lucas at all. Make it all about the movies and preserving them. Nothing more. After all, isn't that what it's all about?
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Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
"He would definately release the OOT if his kids wanted it."

But if his kids have the same screwy SE-love as you do, then all is lost.




NO!

There is another....

IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!

"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005

"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM

"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.

Rewrite the Prequels!

 

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Originally posted by: Ell the Ewok
If we're writing to his friends write to Supershadow


XD

Nice one Ell.