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"Farenheit 9/21" by GQ magazine.
Michael Moore's controversial documentary has set hollywood ablaze with controversial pointedness at president Bush. There is another controversy raging concerning the greatest selling movie franchise of all time coming to DVD. The conflagration begins at Skywalker Ranch and ends in the home of John Q. Public. 9/21, The Original Trilogy Box set of Star Wars is slated for release. 27 years after Star Wars was released in theatres it will now be on DVD. Long awaited is a gross understatement. The OT box has set record for DVD sales with pre-orders and has not even hit the shelves yet. Controversy sells. And George Lucas is at the center of it. Devoted fans seem to be split over his continual changes to his classic trilogy. "Fanboys", as they are called at theforce.net website, tout his every move calling it sheer genius. But, there are others that do not see it that way. Fans of the most ardent nature have found a home at OriginalTrilogy.com where they have started a online petition to get their beloved Trilogy back in its theatrical form. Their forum's hottest topics is re-edits of Lucas' releases and ripping the Laserdisc release of 1995 to DVD-R.
Many changes have fueled the incindiary debate. For those that were disgusted by the1997 Special Edition, more changes seem to be in store for the new boxset release. One fan was quoted saying, "Greedo shoots first, not in my DVD player!" Greedo shooting first, a change that seemed to anger many fans softened the movie with overt political correctness in Lucas' Lunchbox Empire. A recent poll of over 40,000 people on the Game FAQs website had 57%, saying they will not purchase the set with nearly half of those, simply for all of the changes Lucas has committed to (along with the fact that there is no release of the originals).
Many fans have vowed to not buy this boxset, knowing of the changes. Some welcome them. But, many are still unaware. "What do you mean changes, the box set is labeled Star Wars Trilogy! It doesn't say Special Edition or Director's Cut...it is the same movies, right? I am buying the ones I saw as a kid, right?" The number of sales and the preception of deceipt has propelled more furvent debate over Lucas' changes. Lucas has vowed to never release his theatrical movie as they now have evolved into his "true vision". Ostracizing the fans that helped him build his "Empire" does not seem the wisest course, but this is a man that released the Phantom Menace after a 16 years hiatus. The fans, critics and the general public called it a failure and Jar-Jar Binks was their scapegoat.
Lucas may never fully grasp that his new trilogy while doing well at the box office is not as relevant as his originals. Some say he himself has succumb to the "dark side" of capitalism and banished what once seemed pure forever. The late 70's and early 80's seem forever intertwined with the Science Fiction Trilogy classic of Good vs. Evil. It defined a generation, became essential pop culture and spawned a billion dollar enterprise. "To have the original movies is to have a piece of my childhood back, like meeting an old friend or reading an old letter. Does he not understand what it means to us" A simple fan pleas.
Something like that maybe...just as a quick ramble of thoughts, a stream of conciousness if you will.
