Originally posted by: THX
Once again, the o-neg was taken apart to make the '97 SE. Due to its poor condition, parts of the interpositive used for the '93 LD masters were also used. This means that making a new scan of the OUT would require significant restoration. It certainly could be done, but it wouldn't be cheap or easy and is not sitting on the shelf, ready to go.

What i want to know is: was a new interpositive struck before making the SE changes? In other words, were the altered parts of the SE (i.e. Mos Eisley, space battle) re-instered into the original negative, replacing the original footage, or was a new interpositive made from the restored original negative which was then modified for the SE?

If the case is that the original negative now has segments of it replaced with the CGI SE frames, what happened to the original pieces that these SE segments replaced? They would surely be stored somewhere, and it would be no trouble at all to simply scan these elements and digitally edit them into their proper original place on the new scan of the rest of the negative.
If the case is that the original negative was restored, untouched, and then a new interpositive struck from which the SE was worked on, why the hell couldn't a quick scan of the original negative be used for a new transfer (or is LFL planning this for a few years from now?).

I have a hard time believing that the first scenario is true--that the new, finished SE segments were edited into the original negative--but if it is, obtaining a real OOT from negative elements is only marginally more complicated, as it would simply require the original stored negative pieces to be scanned and edited back in. Really this whole "teh negative is destroyed!!1!" excuse is balls.