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MagnoliaFan Edits: Ep I "Balance Of The Force", and Ep II "The Clone War" (Released) — Page 3

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oh, and one last thing--for those not wanting to be spoiled..I'd avoid this one:

I know what happens in George's III. Dooku is dead too quick to really change anything... and then, in his 5 minutes of screentime, they have to reveal him as a Sith yet again to the Jedi, or never make reference to him being a Sith again.


That would be choice b . The audience already knows from Episode II, and the Jedi already know. We don't HAVE to see them finally decide on it, with that 2 year gap and the audience's recognition of it, it helps narratively to jump ahead a couple steps. Lucas employed the same trick between ANH and ESB by having Vader track down Skywalker for blowing up the Death Star. We saw luke do it, so when ESB starts 2 years later, and Vader knows it too, it's easy to accept that he just figured it out in that space of time.

Same thing here. It's pretty obvious he's a sith. And Palpatine uses Dooku to help turn Skywalker. Skywalker's FINAL turn comes later in the film, but Dooku finally realizes too late in the movie what Palpatine is doing--and there's a lot of subtext you're going to lose if you make Dooku NOT a Sith. Palpatine is openly auditioning Anakin and Dooku much like he does Luke and Anakin in ROTJ. You lose THAT subtext as well if you make Dooku not a sith.
The Best Show You've Never Heard
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Bizzle - what cuts, edits and insertions did you enjoy in the MagnoliaFan Edits?

Have you thought about doing your own Edits of any of the SW films ? (if you were discontent with the GL versions)

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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I liked a good amount of what he did with Attack of the Clones, actually. As I said, it's kinda similar (but different) to what Burtt did with his IMAX edit. I think a good exercise would be to try to replicate that IMAX edit with maybe a couple additions (if the Imax edit doesn't make it onto a future DVD anyway) I thought the Padme's family stuff helped, and I preferred the Obi/Mace talk from the deleted scenes to the Yoda/Obi/Mace talk that eventually replaced that in the theatrical version.

As far as TPM goes..that I didn't like so much. I liked some of the IDEAS, but I'm not so sure magnolia's creative decisions there were really any better than Lucas'. The major problems with TPM can't be fixed with editing. you need to reshoot/recast. There's only so much you can do.

And aside from the Radio Dramas--nah, never really thought about re-editing Star Wars. I pretty much like em how they are, and what I don't like, I just fast forward past. I don't think I've watched ANY star wars movie all the way through in about 3 or 4 years. Even the original trilogy. I just kinda skip around. I find myself so familiar with these films that any slow points just seem to drag out THAT much longer. So I basically turn every viewing into a Star Wars Greatest Hits mixtape

I once helped write up a VERY extensive list of shots and cuts that you could make to edit Matrix Reloaded/Matrix Revolutions into one 3 hour movie, but never actually followed through with it--but i'm sure a couple other people have. Hell, I had fun just debating/brainstorming about what the cuts would do and what things we had to keep even if we didn't like them because removing them would weaken parts later on. Stuff like that. It became less of an excercise in editing and more an exercise in puzzle solving.
The Best Show You've Never Heard
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Very interesting work on the Radio Dramas, Bizzle.

That got me thinking, would it be possible to alter them in such a way as to include James Earl Jones as Vader? Is there THAT much extra dialogue from him that can't be lifted from the films? Other than the stuff with Leia at the beginning of the ANH drama, I don't think so, and that stuff should be edited out anyway. While we're at it, what about inserting Mark Hamill as Luke in the RotJ drama? And as much as I'd like to put Billy Dee in there too, his extra lines w/Han are just too good to edit.

As for Han and Leia, I think they're excellent, and even surpass Ford and Fisher at times.
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Bizzle, I think you missed a few things in the past here that is stemmign this whole misunderstanding...

The disclaimer at the beginning of Balance and CW, I have explained on here, is meant to separate these from George's saga. It's like SW infinities. My two edits are EU in the world of George's saga and his are EU to mine. It is entirely another point of view. That is why I keep arguing, "_______ hasn't happened yet and doesn't affect my film!" I never claimed to be trying to connect mine to George's OT as is.

There will be re-edits to all six films, though much less will be done to the plots of EP IV, V, and VI, just small nips and tucks will be made to preserve things like the "I am your father" thing, some new effects and selective use of certain effects from the SE and 2004 version, and some all new effects which are kind of what the SE should have done.

http://twitter.com/TheMagnoliaFan

http://www.youtube.com/user/magnoliafan78

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I look forward to your uniform take on the multiplicity of the classics.
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." - Goering.

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." - Goebbels.

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - Orwell.
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I received my MF DVDs Saturday. Everything you've heard about how they astronomically improve the prequels and feel like authentic Star Wars movies-its all true. Thank you MagnoliaFan for making watching the backstory an enjoyable exercise rather than the painful task it once was.

Here are some thoughts and ideas I had, as I’m sure you like feedback on such an extensive project (at least I would).

BALANCE OF THE FORCE

-I like the new title and crawl. An observation though, the text seems to curve up instead of roll back. Am I just imagining this or is it a bi-product of the program you used to re-write the crawl?
-I noticed in both edits you used fades as transitions for very small cuts, like when the Republic ship is approaching the TF Battleship. This feels very un-Star Wars, and I think quick cuts would be best.
-The subtitles are genius! Great job on the Battledroids too; they would have totall slipped my mind.
-Darkening up the Sidious hologram was a good idea, but it was a little *too* dark at times.
-I love your Jar-Jar! Now the Han Solo-esque character TPM desperately needed. The Gungan/Human dynamic was great too! This makes the film SO MUCH BETTER. And the Kyber Crystal!!!!! The new explanation of the life-debt was a little confusing though.
-Are you going to keep the new Jedi Mind Trick sound throughout your saga?
-Thanks for cutting down the Bongo scenes. Now you can imagine Jar-Jar *actually* helping them navigate through the planet core as well as forget the ridiculous amount of useless monsters.
-"This deal is getting worse all the time."
-The Cantina Song!
-Watto is a much more realistic slave owner here; I actually feel bad for Anakin now, unlike before. And his extra lines came from the Episode 1 Video Game, right?
-Jake Lloyd is SO much better with all the trimmed dialogue. This really strengthens the character if Anakin.
-I don’t recall the original sequence of dialogue at the Skywalker diner, but Anakin’s “Has anybody ever seen a podrace,” which before came after an awkward silence, seems rather random in your version of the conversation.
-Removing the midichlorines was an excellent move, but is does lead to these problems:
-The scene w/Qui-Gon checking Anakin's blood could have been totally deleted, as it is totally useless now and would make the re-inserted "Good Morning" scene make a lot more sense; Anakin just stayed w/his pod all night. As it is now, Anakin wakes up outside because...?
-Again, while I disagree with the midichlorine idea, I understand while something along those lines was necessary, and it shows itself in your version. Midichlorines were made as a scale of sorts to measure Jedi. Without them, why would Qui-Gon or anyone else for that matter believe Anakin to be the Chosen One?
-And following up on that point, I actually liked the virgin birth scenario, and it would still work fine w/in the context of the film. The only line that would have to be altered would be Qui-Gon’s, “I believe he may have been conceived by the midichlorines,” which is of course absent from your version, but all that’s needed is a sound bite of Neeson saying “The Force” and problem solved. “There’s something about this boy,” should have been left in as well. As it stands now, the whole prophecy/chosen one angle is very vague.
-Adding the Imperial March to the Sith scenes is no doubt very cool, but seeing it is Vader and the Empire’s theme, it really has no place here at the beginning of the saga.
-As much as I like Sidious’ alternate line, it really doesn’t fit in with the conversation at all. If it was altered to “AND soon the Republic will be under my control,” then it would make sense. I’m sure finding a Palpatine “and” sound bite wouldn’t be too hard.
-Great job with the podrace! I always found it to be rather boring and predictable, but your re-shuffling is awesome! Another thing: I never realized before watching BotF that there was no music in TPM’s podrace. No wonder it was so bland. And until Qui-Gon mentioned the Hutts to Watto, I had totally missed your omission of Jabba. Good call; I too want him to be a mysterious crime lord until he’s finally revealed in RotJ.
-The reverse frames of Obi-Wan could be flipped to look correct.
-While the goodbye to 3P0 is an understandable cut (acting wise), it’s comparable to Anakin and Padme just taking him w/out any discussion in AotC: they need some explanation. Maybe the scene could be adeptly trimmed salvaging the required exposition while scrapping the mediocre acting.
-GREAT re-insertion of the probe droid scene, a very natural flow. I always wondered why that scene was cut.
-Question: why was Windu’s “I do not believe the Sith could have returned without us knowing” trimmed?
-In the Senate scene, you took out Palpatine’s reference to Amidala being elected. I would agree with this, but there’s also her line of, “I was not elected to watch my people suffer and die…” as well as the extensive explanation of her political history in Episode II, so there’s really no way around the goofy 14-year old elected as queen thing.
-THANK YOU SO MUCH for trimming Anakin’s ‘cuteness’ in the space battle. It is so much cooler now.
-Very clever editing of Qui-Gon’s last words as well as Obi-Wan’s debriefing with Yoda. Now it really seems as though Ben “took it upon himself to train him as a Jedi,” instead of just doing it because that’s what Qui-Gon wanted. Although his drastic opinion change on the issue of Anakin is a bit odd, it’s better this way.
-I see where you were going with “Always two there are…” but if you were going to alter it, I think it would have been best to cut it down even more to, “Always two there are, a master, and an apprentice,” (like in the trailer!). “No less” seems silly w/out “no more.” (actually, the both sound silly, anyway!)

THE CLONE WAR

-Again, nice job with the new crawl, but the same technical glitch as before, if I wasn’t just imagining it that is.
-As for the title, I personally think “Dark Force Rising” would have been PERFECT for Episode II, as the future army of the Empire is created, Palpatine gains even more power, and the darkside is warping and taking over the Force from the Jedi. “The Clone War” doesn’t really start until the end of the film. But that’s just me…J
-Your editing of Anakin is again EXCELLENT, and he is a much stronger character because of it.
-Removing the changeling reference is good, as the plot point goes nowhere. However, I would have kept in this bit of dialogue and made it a witty joke by Obi-Wan:
Anakin: I think he is a she.
Obi-Wan: In that case, be extra careful.
-Your mix and match of the Naboo scenes worked really well, though I do think the waterfall/field scene could have been salvaged. Anakin expressing his political views is a nice window into the mind of Vader. Maybe end it with “Well, it if works.”
-I have no specific idea of how to do it, but re-editing of the analysis room, Diner, library, and younglings scenes would be very beneficial to the plot. Perhaps allow the droids to identify the dart after all, deleting the Diner scene, and having the library scene segue into the END of the younglings scene. Those stupid ‘cute’ kids figuring out something that should have been so obvious makes Obi-Wan look like an idiot. And the Diner is too much CGI and too 1950s; good riddance.
-If only the Lost Twenty scenes were available, those would be great to re-incorporate…
-On Kamino, when Obi-Wan surveys the Clonetroopers, I never understood why the Trade Federation March was used. The Imperial March would be PERFECT here.
-Why did you delete Jango’s reference to “Tyranus”? The name will have to be used in RotS, and it was never mentioned again in AotC, so what harm could it do?
-Is there a movie where Liam Neeson yells, “Noooooooo!” If so, the sound clip MUST be found and replace the HORRENDOUS impression heard by Yoda.
-As with young Anakin, trimming Boba’ lines helped a lot.
-I LOATHE the Droid Factory stuff, especially with 3P0 and R2. I would have left them on the ship, ending their plot with 3P0’s, “If they wanted our help they would have asked for it.” And as soon as Anakin and Padme get pushed out the door, have them be captured by Jango and the Geonosians.
-Something has to be done with Padme’s “I truly, deeply, love you.” Maybe just, “I love you”?
-Mace’s entrance in the arena is actually a shock now instead of, “Oh look, there’s Mace.” Clever edit.
-Dooku: I like how you made him just a rogue Jedi and not a Sith. After all he does say, “My Jedi powers are far beyond yours.” As for his saber, do you remember the rumors that he was to wield a flame-saber? Well, that’s exactly what it looks like in your version. The yellow doesn’t cover up all of the red, which makes for a very strange effect. Perhaps purple would work better? Not only technically, but symbolically as well. Dooku is a mix of Jedi and Sith: purple is a mix blue and red. And no, this wouldn’t mean Windu was evil. Actually, I always thought Yoda would have been best served with a yellow saber.
-Although the Dooku/Sidious scene was cool, it’s understandable why you cut it for your version. Not to mention it makes Dooku’s motives far less confusing.
-But why the re-shuffling of Clonetrooper footage on Coruscant?

As you can see, when I get into something I REALLY get into something. And MF, when I make suggestions on stuff, I’m just kind of bouncing it off you to see what you think, not necessarily saying it would be better. I have video editing aspirations myself and someday hope to acquire the technology to create such projects, so this sort of things really does pique my interest. Again, thanks for being such a hard-working fan. I can’t wait for RotS to come out so we can see your versions of Episodes III-VI!
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Magnolia - any news on the revising/fixing/altering of your 'The Clone War' dvd?

Will there be many changes?

A little patience goes a long way on this old-school Rebel base. If you are having issues finding what you are looking for, these will be of some help…

Welcome to the OriginalTrilogy.com | Introduce yourself in here | Useful info within : About : Help : Site Rules : Fan Project Rules : Announcements
How do I do this?’ on the OriginalTrilogy.com; some info & answers + FAQs - includes info on how to search for projects and threads on the OT•com

A Project Index for Star Wars Preservations (Harmy’s Despecialized & 4K77/80/83 etc) : A Project Index for Star Wars Fan Edits (adywan & Hal 9000 etc)

… and take your time to look around this site before posting - to get a feel for this place. Don’t just lazily make yet another thread asking for projects.

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"I know there was a movie called the Matrix, but I know nothing of this Trilogy you speak of...
There were no Matrix sequels... Lies, I tell you!"


Agreed. Matrix should have stood alone. The effects of the sequels are great, but the storyline is nowhere on the same level.

"If he could be turned, he would be a powerful ally."
Why the hell would the Emperor agree to Vader saying, "If I killed you, he would be an acceptable replacement"?


Well, he did say "ally", rather than "apprentice". Even before the Rule of two, it's clear that Vader wants to save Luke because he is his son, which is motivating him to act against the emperor. On top of this, Palps obviously sees Luke as a threat to be eliminated in the first place.

"According to George, the rule of two went into effect after the Sith were wiped out, which menas, the only way Yoda could possibly know about it would be if he, himself, were the Sith Master."

I agree this is a plot hole as well. I think Lucas just threw this in for the audience, and it's gonna be glossed over.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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How awesome would that be if Yoda was a sith master?!! Damn. And Luke thinks he training to learn the force, but Yoda's pushing towards the darkside. All part of his diabolical plan. We could add a scene after the Yub-Yub song and the Naboo celebration where Naboo blows up and Luke pulls out his saber gives into the dark side (after seeing a ghost of his dad, younger than him (hayden) and he cuts down all the ewoks in a rage like Anakin did with the sand people. Damn. Yoda a Sith Master...I like it. That better than Emperor/Senator Palpatine. Cool.
16 years I wait and this is what I get???
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I recently watched Balance of the Force (thanks Rikter), and while I have a bunch of notes I'd provide that would improve it in my eyes, I have to say that FUNDAMENTALLY, I find the re-writes Magnoliafan made to the script (mostly via alien dialogue) are brilliant. It's amazing how those few script changes re-frame the entire story and give it some actual gravity. The relationship between the Gungans and humans in particular benefits from the changes.

That said, listening to the actual audio that's replaced the alien speech is pretty grating after a while. At times the reversed foreign language tracks are pretty apparent for what they are, and it takes you out of the experience when you're hearing snippets of spanish. Also, the reversed lines clip off at the end in a way that just doesn't happen with ANY sort of speech. I assume it's just because some sentences start with hard consonants, and so when they're reversed they just end abruptly. If it were one alien race that had this problem, that'd be one thing, but after hearing it for an hour from both gungans and neimoidians, it's pretty annoying.

Also, because of the sheer amount of alien dialogue that your re-write requires, suddenly everyone in the movie seems like an expert in alien languages, answering races they've never met as if they were speaking English. Part of what was cool about Han speaking wookie was that you knew it was rare for a human to do... sort of similar with Anakin speaking Huttese. This isn't a huge deal though.

What I'd suggest is scrapping the sounds you currently have in place for the gungans and neimoidians entirely. Either find some new audio source (a la Burtt creating the Wookie language) or, and this will sound crazy, I know, get some actorly types and actually re-record the dialogue in a less annoying fashion than Lucas's version provided. You could either create an alien dialect this way, or just have it done in english with new character interpretations. I must admit a long-standing desire for the neimoidians to speak with British accents. I figured it would bridge them to the bumbling, second-tier imperials from the original trilogy, and it made sense to me that these creatures that longed to be in the good graces of Sidious's coming empire would learn to affect the coming Imperial tongue. Maybe that's a crazy idea, but hey.

I was eager to see what you were going to do with the two-headed announcer, and was sort of let down to hear the German track used for the Greg Proops part. Granted, I hate the Proops performance, but it's so obviously just the German track laid in there.

That said, your version of the pod race is f-ing PHENOMENAL! I was shocked and amazed at how thrilling it became once it was edited down and accentuated the clips from the dvd that focus on Anakin's intelligence rather than dull, pretty shots of racing in a desert. My favorite part.

Again, the script changes are really smart. With some more work, I think this can be hewn into something great. And if you ever need any help, I offer my services in any capacity you would need.
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That said, listening to the actual audio that's replaced the alien speech is pretty grating after a while.

This is really my only real problem with Magnoliafan's edit. Honestly, I understand the situation he's in. Unless he knows some talented voice actors and feels like redubbing all the alien lines, it's a much easier solution. That said though, I always find reversed dialogue instantly recognizable as such, and it pulls me out of the film a bit.

Also, because of the sheer amount of alien dialogue that your re-write requires, suddenly everyone in the movie seems like an expert in alien languages, answering races they've never met as if they were speaking English. Part of what was cool about Han speaking wookie was that you knew it was rare for a human to do... sort of similar with Anakin speaking Huttese. This isn't a huge deal though.


I have to disagree there. One of my favourite conceipts of the OT was that everybody seemed to understand eachother regardless of languge. Han/Greedo, Han/Chewie, Obiwan/Chewie, Lando/Nien Numb, Luke/Jabba. It's one of the things I missed in the prequels.


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I just got my MagnoliaFan DVDs today in the mail. Thanks, Rik.

I've already seen Balance, but haven't watched Clone War yet. I skipped around to parts of TCW and it looks good so far.
It doesn't seem as drastic as BOTF, but a definate improvment.

I wonder how he is going to handle Dooku in Episode III. Surely he'll have to be revealed as Sith eventually. We'll hafta see I guess.

My stance on revising fan edits.

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I just finished The Clone War.

Likewise as Balance of the Force, this is a distinct improvment on the film.

If someone ever requests that I show them "episode II", this is what I'll bring. Definatley.

From little things like deleting Obi-Wans odd comment "take a deep breath" and Anakin's "...for a senator, I mean", to making Dooku seem more and more like the rogue Jedi he was meant to be.
(Granted, the yellow saber effect isn't of professional quality, but DAMN good for any kind of fan attempt. Great work)

Balance of the Force and The Clone War are what I consider to be the true Episodes 1 and II.

EDIT: Holy Crap! I was letting the end credits play through as I typed the above. But as they were ending, there was a rather... "interesting" sound clip added to it.
I won't spoil it for those who don't have them yet.

And for those who have it but don't know... WATCH THE END OF THE END CREDITS ON THE CLONE WAR! Lol

My stance on revising fan edits.

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oh my! haha.. i nearly peed myself over that (on Clone War)... is there one on Balance as well? i never let it play to the end.

brilliant. freaking brilliant.
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So are the MagnoliaFan DVD's upsampled divx files? Or (mostly) uncompressed DVD source?

I read in the nfo that MagnoliaFan wasn't too hot on the DVD's being sold and a DVD could easily be constructed with the divx copy.

I hope this isnt the case.
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Originally posted by: Faid
So are the MagnoliaFan DVD's upsampled divx files? Or (mostly) uncompressed DVD source?

I read in the nfo that MagnoliaFan wasn't too hot on the DVD's being sold and a DVD could easily be constructed with the divx copy.

I hope this isnt the case.


- I posted the MagnoliaFan Episode I -

It's an XVID file and it can be converted to VCD or DVD if you want to watch it on your TV - MagFan said NOTHING about it being sold - I put in the NFO that I don't want this on eBay SO I'm NOT going to post the DVD versions.




“My skill are no longer as Mad as the once were” RiK

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Yes but is the DVD simply an upsampled divx file?
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the download version that i got is an avi file (divx xvid i don't know) of pretty bad quality. i wouldn't bother burning this to anything. watch it on a very small screen on your computer.

THEN go find someone who will send you it on DVD. the quality is pretty good (4.7 GB), the sound is 5.1 and the content is a breath of fresh air.

i watched "balance" last night and i am very cool with all of the fixes (except where qui-gon inexplicably takes anakin's blood to test it for infections, i just don't get that part [the whole metaclorians crap was thankfully removed.. as was the will of the force mumbo jumbo]).

i'll be watching Clone War tonight.



on that note, my girlfriend works on saturdays, and i usually treat that day as a day to bum around and watch movies. she asked me whic movies i was going to watch today and i said that i would be watching the new star wars re-edits that i got. and then she said (and i'm NOT making this up), "aww, i wanted to watch those too. i want to see what he did with them!" she wasn't a star wars fan before, and i certainly don't push it on people... i've got a *good* feeling about this...