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Info: Filmmaker Looking For Star Wars Faneditors - The People Vs. George Lucas

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Here's more:

 

Dear Faneditors:

I'm the director of a unique documentary feature scheduled for release in the Spring of 2010 and titled THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS (http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com). The Man Behind The Mask (STAR WARS 30s SILENT EDITION) encouraged me to post on this forum, because we're looking to interview as many STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES faneditors as possible for our film.

THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS delves into the impassioned feelings and opinions expressed by fans and foes of legendary screen icon George Lucas, and the many debates surrounding his legacy. We've already interviewed a number of close George Lucas collaborators and industry professionals, including the legendary Gary Kurtz, Sandy Lieberson (former Head of Production at 20th Century Fox),
Dale Pollock (author of SKYWALKING), Producer Anthony Waye (JAMES BOND 007), and David Prowse OBE (aka Darth Vader), to name a few.

You can view our latest teaser trailer at the following link: http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com/trailer

Again, I'd like to talk specifically to those of you who have created fanedits of George Lucas' films. I'm also hoping to get in touch with Mike J. Nichols and ADYWAN; so any leads would be much appreciated.

You can contact me via email at alexandre@peoplevsgeorge.com, and I'd be delighted to answer any questions you might have about the project.

I hope to hear from many of you very soon!

Cheers,
Alexandre
--
Alexandre O. Philippe
Writer/Director
The People vs. George Lucas
An Exhibit A Picture
alexandre@peoplevsgeorge.com
http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com
http://www.myspace.com/peoplevsgeorge
http://www.youtube.com/peoplevsgeorge
Become our friend/fan on Facebook!

Cashiers du Cinemart - The Only Magazine That Matters
http://www.cashiersducinemart.com

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Someone call ADYWAN NAOW!!!!!

The person your searching for simply does not exist

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 (Edited)

I don't know if this is such a good idea... Shouldn't we keep fanediting on the "down low" as much as possible? I know Lucasfilm probably knows full well about fan edits, but I just wonder if too much exposure would make the movie companies take a second look at all of the legal issues, etc.

Perhaps I'm being too paranoid, though.

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 (Edited)

Also I'm not sure if now's the time.

With so many interesting projects (not all of which are Lucas related) on the go this is just the sort of publicity that could bring the legal blast doors slamming down and kill them off.

Most editors of Lucas aren't against him but are ironically more for his work than he is, these edits are essentially an act of salvage more than protest.

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SpaceOddity said:

I don't know if this is such a good idea... Shouldn't we keep fanediting on the "down low" as much as possible? I know Lucasfilm probably knows full well about fan edits, but I just wonder if too much exposure would make the movie companies take a second look at all of the legal issues, etc.

Perhaps I'm being too paranoid, though.

 

You can never be TOO paranoid....  ;)

Perhaps it can wait until Adywan's FINISHED the whole saga?

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I'm kinda hoping that people like Adywan stay away from this documentary... it just seems like a film about causing unnecessary commotion. 

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Have people even bothered to LOOK at the content of this documentary first before forming an opinon on it?

This is not a 100% "Bashing Lucas" film - it gives both sides of the George Lucas issue an equal share of film to discuss and give voice to their praises or condemnations of Lucas and his work, his decisions, and the path that he's decided on for the SW legacy.

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JasonN said:God, have people even bothered to LOOK at the content of this documentary first before forming an opinon on it? This is not a 100% "Bashing Lucas" film - it gives both sides of the George Lucas issue an equal share of film to discuss and give voice to their praises or condemnations of Lucas and his work, his decisions, and the path that he's decided on for the SW legacy.

Nobody on here has suggested that the documentary is Lucas bashing, I think it is reasonable for people not to want to be seen as such though, especially if it impacts on the creative work people are doing here (look what happened to Fanedit.org which went out of it's way to discourage piracy and encourage the purchase of the original source materials but still had to remove all of it's links).

So far Lucasfilm has encouraged fan films and not actively pursued fan editors (just people selling edits).

If this documentary puts what goes on here and on related sites under a Lucasentric spot light that attitude might change.

 

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 (Edited)

Since some people appear genuinely concerned about this documentary, here are some answers that the director gave on fanedit.org's forum to the questions we had for him:

peoplevsgeorge said:

 1- Will your documentary be totally "against" Lucas oriented, or is there room for kind words about him here and there?

PvsG isn’t a Lucas-bashing exercise. Instead, I’m on a journey to explore a cultural phenomenon like no other. Let me explain. A few years ago, I made a documentary about Klingon speakers, and I was exposed to STAR TREK fandom, which I think is very different from STAR WARS fandom in many ways. I don’t want to generalize, of course; but there’s a strong sense to me that STAR TREK fans, almost universally, tend to idolize Gene Roddenberry--not in a sectarian sense, of course; but you don’t really hear STAR TREK fans complain much about Gene Roddenberry’s legacy.

George Lucas fans, on the other hand, tend to have mixed feelings about him. Put two of them in a room together, and they’ll start arguing about the Special Editions, Boba Fett, the Midichlorians, whether or not George owes them a DVD release of the restored Original Trilogy, INDIANA JONES 4, HOWARD THE DUCK, you name it! George Lucas fans love to argue and complain about George Lucas. Google the words I hate Gene Roddenberry, and you’ll find only four search results. Google I hate George Lucas, and 1,240 hits come up! That’s a staggering stat; but how does one explain it? There’s definitely a sense out there that Lucasfilm has turned into a kind of “evil empire”; and I think that George Lucas has given the fans plenty of reasons to complain, so we're talking about a unique and fascinating cultural phenomenon, which I felt needed to be explored in a documentary. As you probably know, not too long ago, Trey Parker and Matt Stone dedicated an entire SOUTH PARK episode to the rape of Indiana Jones by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Whether you’re talking about parody, satire or serious commentary, that kind of material is out there. And it’s absolutely worth investigating as a singular cultural phenomenon.

Here’s the thing: I can clearly understand both sides of the argument, and that’s why I’m so passionate about making sure that they are equally heard. This is a very complex subject matter, and it goes far deeper than why a great majority of people from my generation seem to hate Jar Jar Binks with a passion. It’s about pop culture. It’s about stardom and fandom. It’s about whether or not an artist should have the right to alter his work once it’s been legitimized by the public as an integral component of our world heritage. It’s about the transformation of a young, idealistic filmmaker into the most powerful mogul in movie history. It’s about the transformation of a creative genius, the influence of fame and fortune on his work, and the complex relationship between a man who once could do no wrong and his polarized fans. So you can expect a final product that will go much deeper than our catchy title suggests, and I believe it will shed light on the numerous controversies that people around the world seem eager to discuss on a daily basis. And, yes, I'd like fanedits to be an integral component of the film.

 

2- What made you think about including a fanedit part in your documentary?

The simple fact that there are so many talented editors out there willing to "take matters into their own hands", so to speak, intrigues me a great deal. I'm sure some of you do it for sheer love of the SW movies; but it appears that some of you do it to improve upon the movies that disappointed you. Either way you look at it, it all relates to how you feel about George and his work, and that's why I believe there should be a segment about fanedits in our doc.

 

3-  Do faneditors have to appear "on camera"? How much anonymity are faneditors allowed to have?

If you'd rather be anonymous, feel free to appear backlit, wear a mask, or distort your voice. I really don't mind. The important thing is the content of the interview, and I want all faneditors to be 100% comfortable with the process. I realize how legally tricky fanedits are for their creators, and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize you in any way. That said, you should know that we’re hoping to bring Stanford Law on board our project (they specialize in Fair Use); and while it may not be legal for faneditors to distribute their work, it may be perfectly legal for a documentarian like myself to show excerpts from fanedits to make a point in our documentary (and, therefore, to indirectly show your work to the world). But understand this: I WILL NOT use ANY excerpts from your or anybody else’s fanedits in our doc UNLESS we get legal confirmation that they are safe to use AND if the faneditors themselves grant us permission to use their work. So you really have nothing to worry about.

 

4- What elements about fanedited SW films are you looking to cover (Jar-Jar Binks, Midiclorians, "Losing the will to live", etc)?

We're really looking to cover all relevant aspects of fanedited SW films, so I wouldn't want to give you any restrictions. Obviously, our doc is about George Lucas, and I'm curious to know how fanedits are a reflection of how you feel about his work. Specifically, why did you make the edits and changes you made?

 

5- Is there a deadline to send you videos or things like that?

Yes, the deadline is September 30, 2009. Just go to our website (http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com) for submission information, and don't hesitate to email me directly if you have any questions. Needless to say, the earlier I receive your submission, the better for me; as I'm already sorting through hundreds of hours of footage!

 

6- Will the "Howard the duck" embarrassment of a movie be discussed in your movie?

You can count on it! :D

 

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I am getting involved. JD

Me too. We'll see where it goes.

I really don't see how a little part about fanedits in a documentary could be such a bad thing. A lot of people already know fanedits exits, but they don't always know how far some edits goes.

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I watched the trailer the other day and thought it looked cool.  Now that you guys are getting involved, I'm going to have to have it!

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I would get involved but all my fan edits look bad.

"The other versions will disappear. Even the 35 million tapes of Star Wars out there won’t last more than 30 or 40 years. A hundred years from now, the only version of the movie that anyone will remember will be the DVD version [of the Special Edition], and you’ll be able to project it on a 20’ by 40’ screen with perfect quality. I think it’s the director’s prerogative, not the studio’s to go back and reinvent a movie." - George Lucas

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