Quote
Originally posted by: telex54
This is a little offtopic, but who gave Lucas the right to mess with Episodes V & VI for the "special edition's" in the first place? Last time I checked V was directed by Irvin Kershner, and VI was directed by Richard Marquand(who is deceased).
Simple legal issue. Since film is a collaborative medium, it is not protected copyright-wise in the same way as works of literature; hence, why so many films are in the public domain. As for the moral rights of the directors (which is the real issue here), Lucas could have simply had Kershner and Marquand waive their moral rights, which would mean that they had no say in how the film was altered. Case closed.