STEVEN SPIELBERG: Here's the difference. The [background] matte paintings that you saw, let's say, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, when the carload of Nazis went off the cliff? Or the Pan Am clipper sitting in that obviously painted dockside waterfront? Our digital paintings now look like we were there on location. We have just as many matte-painting shots in this movie as we had in the other movies. The difference is, you won't even be able to tell that there's a brushstroke. For a while, I wanted to make them look bad, so they looked exactly like they did in the other movies.
I found this particularly interesting, what with the recent HD cable broadcasts..... I just fear that they're already well under way on the Indiana Jones SEs.....UGH
Oh, & i agree that the anticipation didn't affect the reaction to the prequels THAT much. Maybe a little, but the majority of the negativity was because they were just BAD movies. They had crappy acting, unbelievable dialogue, and a director who didn't give the actors ANY direction (seriously, watch the making of's). George just doesn't get it anymore. Technology is just a means to an end. It's the story & the CHARACTERS that are the heart of the movie. A heart that was totally lacking in the prequels.