As I mentioned in the Legacy thread, my initial stance on this was in defense of the team. Like most of you, I have never actually met any of Team Negative One in person, but unlike most of you I have spoken at length with them on the phone and back and forth in hundreds of emails. They are all really nice people and we get along well and I will stay in touch with most of them. But the Team really is no more.
My personal goal has always been to create the best possible version of the Original Star Wars, and while the Silver Screen Edition is not that, I do believe that it is a very good way to experience the original Theatrical version. Star Wars in 1977/8 was not the shiny, grain free, HD experience you get when watching Harmy’s Despecialized Editions (which I actually think are fantastic, they bring Star Wars to a new level, and from what I have seen of it, Legacy Edition is even better).
In his thread, Mike Verta says we should leave restoration to the professionals, but let’s remember that it was “professionals” that gave us the 2004 DVDs and the 2011 Blu-rays. While I’m more than happy to leave Star Wars in Mike Verta’s hands, I still don’t trust those other “professionals”.
I’m hopeful that the media circus “Mr. Black” stirred up will help Mike’s pitch to Disney, and that ultimately something truly great will finally happen - not just an official release, but an official release of Legacy.
Where does that leave this project? Well, I am waiting on some (color correction) project files from another former member, and on Poita’s scan of the LPP. When they arrive I will complete the project by re-inserting the missing frames and making it Gout sync’d so that it will work with project threepio for subtitles and you can pick whichever audio stream(s) you prefer in order to mux them. I will do my best to sync the Original Spanish Theatrical Audio, and then upload a new 1080p MKV and author a blu-ray version and upload that too.
No time frame on any of this, but I’d like to get it done as soon as possible so that we can close this thread and move on. It’s left me with a bad taste in my mouth, which is a shame because I am quite proud of the project.