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George ruined the drama in his own stories. — Page 2

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I like it. Although my favorite is this angry religous website that calls it: STAR WARS:RELIGION OF THE ANTICHRIST!
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It is not.

I AM!


For some reason, I am reminded of when one of the great philosophers, like Plato or Aristotle pleaded to the emperor to have all the storyteller exiled because they were so dangerous.
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Thanks for posting the Gary Kurtz interview. Very very good stuff. I do remember soon after ESB was released seeing the Time magazine article that layed out the 9 movie line, which of course George Lucas and Rick McCallum now claim never existed, as there were only ever 6 movies planned.

Very sad that we'll never see what might have been. GL took the quick and easy path.

As far as the complaints about ROTJ posted earlier, I don't have the same problems with Jedi. Jabba allowing Leia to rescue Han could have been explained by Jabba finding more value in the entertainment to his guests than in keeping Han as a trophy. Leia responding that somehow she had always known about Luke being her brother, could be just some sense or feeling that something was different about Luke, but that now being told, that feeling made sense. Of course there are elements of Jedi that are weak, and there is the move towards being cute and softening the depth of the story. Even after seeing Ewoks though, who would have ever imagined Jar Jar? At least the Ewoks were cute and sometimes funny.

It definetely would have been interesting to see the ROTJ that would have resulted if Gary Kurtz had been retained as Producer.
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Originally posted by: Skyranger
Thanks for posting the Gary Kurtz interview. Very very good stuff. I do remember soon after ESB was released seeing the Time magazine article that layed out the 9 movie line, which of course George Lucas and Rick McCallum now claim never existed, as there were only ever 6 movies planned.
I remember an interview with Mark Hamill, around the time Jedi came out, where he said that he'd agreed to play "old" Luke in the last 3 Star Wars movies (7, 8, 9) if George ended up making them.

There's a lot of things George Lucas and Rick "yes-man" McCallum claim never existed: the plans for 9 movies, the OOT.....

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After seeing 1-3 I think it's best that there not be a 7-9. Knowing GL we would probably end up finding out that Vader wasn't Lukes father after all and it was really Obi Wan or something crazy like that. Making Obi Wan an even biger lier. It would probably be complete CGI too.
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You know, the more I think about it, the more pissed I get. This helps explain the SE. Lucas was treating them as effects movies, and nothing more. If the Star Wars movies were just eye candy popcorn flicks, then updating the effects would be a good move. Over time, the effects would look dated, so they would need updating to keep them fresh. And if effects was the only reason to watch the movies, then minor changes to the story wouldn't matter because the story was crap anyway, so any change is likely to be for the better.

Unfortunately, Star Wars is much more than a special effects flick and Lucas simply fails to recognize this.
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He recognizes it on the level of lip service at least. In the special features for Episode Two, Lucas says, and I quote:

A special effect without a story is boring.


Granted, the core story of the prequels is actually quite good-Palaptine's rise to power and corruption of Anakin. The details, however, leave much to be desired.

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Perhaps, but what the Kurtz comment lead me to believe is that 1) making Star Wars is a lot of hard work so he was looking for some corners to cut. This is understandable. I'm led to believe that he had a heart attack making the first one, so i can understand him wanting to make it easier. I don't have to like what he produces when making it easier on himself, but I can understand. 2) Unfortunately, where he decided to cut corners was the story. He was still drawing on Campell, hence the whole chosen one/balance to the force crap in the prequels. I guess he felt that if he drew on old myths, it would make writing easier since the story was already written thousands of years ago. All he had to do was steal it. Problem is, the story is what made Star Wars such a success. there were literally hundreds of Star Wars wanna be's in the last thirty years, and only a handful even come close. The main reason was that many of the other movies had piss poor stories and relied on the special effects to hold the audience interest. And it did for an opening weekend and then tapered off and then no one bothered to think of them much after that. With this approach, Lucas has made Star Wars into the worst knock off of Star Wars. This boggles the mind.
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I don't think Lucas even remembers what Star Wars was supposed to be. He's given so many different answers to the same questions...he's almost like a politician.

If Star Wars was originally to be three trilogies, which no matter how many times he denies it is the truth, then the series should have ended with what we know as the OT. THOSE should have been episodes 7, 8, and 9. The first trilogy could have established the Republic in its waning years, the grandeur and history of the Jedi and their relationship to and conflict with the Sith. Obi-wan could have been the focal character for this particular set of movies. The final film of the first trilogy could have dealt with the introduction of Anakin and the beginnings of his realtionship with Obi-wan.

The second trilogy would have dealt with Anakin's maturation and quest for greater power as a Jedi that ultimately leads him away from the order. The seduction could have been stretched over the three movies, as well as the rift between Anakin and Kenobi. Sort of set up the first cracks in the foundation at the end of the first film, and then develop them into the full fledged split by the end of the second film, which could see Anakin's wife fleeing into hiding with Obi-wan at her side. The third film would focus on the culmination of Anakin's turn, the beginning of the annihilation of the Jedi order, and Obi-wan's hunting of Anakin that leads to the big duel. Each film in this trilogy would have to be at least two and a half to three hours to do it right.

If there were to be three trilogies, I think something along these lines would have worked best.
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Thanks for that Kurtz interview- it's very interesting. I especially like what he says on the last page of the interview about a director going back and changing a film once it's finished.

I've read so many things about how GL was unhappy with Kersh as a director for ESB- it must really piss him off that everybody seems to love ESB the most (fans AND cast).

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Originally posted by: jack Spencer Jr
You know, the more I think about it, the more pissed I get. This helps explain the SE. Lucas was treating them as effects movies, and nothing more. If the Star Wars movies were just eye candy popcorn flicks, then updating the effects would be a good move. Over time, the effects would look dated, so they would need updating to keep them fresh. And if effects was the only reason to watch the movies, then minor changes to the story wouldn't matter because the story was crap anyway, so any change is likely to be for the better.

Unfortunately, Star Wars is much more than a special effects flick and Lucas simply fails to recognize this.



So true, and sadly most Pt fans don't get this and that is how SW has changed. The OT is one of the rare instances of a movie that is considered a 'popcorn' movie that is suppose to be fun to watch that became something much more. That is the great thing about the OT is they are fun movies but have a great drama and good story with great characters all in one package. And it is so rare back then and even today to get that combination into what I now call the summer blockbuster. Most movies get upstaged by effects and that is the selling point and the characters and story take a back seat, but in the OT, the effects are just icing on the cake. If the story and characters and even the mythology didn't hold up after all these years, I wouldn't be wasting my time trying to get them in their original form. To me SW is nothing about effects, even though it revolutionized them at the time it came out. Kinda ironic?
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Originally posted by: jack Spencer Jr
there were literally hundreds of Star Wars wanna be's in the last thirty years, and only a handful even come close. The main reason was that many of the other movies had piss poor stories and relied on the special effects to hold the audience interest. And it did for an opening weekend and then tapered off and then no one bothered to think of them much after that. With this approach, Lucas has made Star Wars into the worst knock off of Star Wars. This boggles the mind.


Heh, that's very true. The worst tragedy of the prequels is how they unintentionally turn the Star Wars universe into a caricature of itself! I suppose can't get angry at Lucas (well, beyond his arrogance anyways). I suppose he's doing the best he can, but what a freakin' let down.

That reminds me: how many times during the 90's did we here about how such-and-such movie was "the Star Wars for the next generation" in their stupid ads?! The OT is the Star Wars for the next generation. Hopefully Lucas will reaize that as well and give its fans access to every version of the great films and not just his latest edits.

Otherwise, about the PT story, the more I think about it, the more I believe that it shouldn't have been about Anakin or the actual Clone Wars at all. At the most it should have had Obiwan at a young age and the Palpatine's rise to a place of power (with foreshadowings), but otherwise with completely different characters and none of this the-saga-is-about-Darth-Vader plot nonsense. Darth Vader is one of the greatest villains ever and should not have had his mystique ruined.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005