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Today, I thanked George Lucas...

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I didn't expect to. I didn't expect to walk away from today with my disdain for the Prequel Trilogy draining away without hesitation. Yes, I'm still upset with the changes to the Original Trilogy, and yes I don't think the Prequel Trilogy has a story of any kind of any worth, but I witnessed something today that redeemed those films for me for all time, and at the same time made me cry later - Yeah, a 27-year-old guy crying, but I'm OK admitting it. I encountered a very special little boy named Quinn.

I don't know the name of it, but Quinn is suffering from a rare, degenerative disease. He's only five years old but today is his birthday so he's six now. He's confined to a motorized wheelchair and he has a canine assistant companion, but though frail he still has the use of his upper body for now. If you look at his wheelchair, it isn't hard to spot the Star Wars stickers all over it. Quinn's favorite characters are Darth Maul, General Grievous, Darth Vader and Jango Fett. I guess he likes masks. In fact, that's what he lives and breathes is Star Wars - he's seen every film except Ep. III. What I didn't know was that children with Quinn's condition never live past the age of 8. But you'd never know this little boy has any fear. He is aware of his condition and he knows he is sick, but all he wants to do is play with Star Wars legos and talk about Jango Fett.

I admit, I have done my fair share of ragging on Lucas for the prequels and I do still stand firm on my position with the Original Trilogy, but I'll never ever write off the prequels again as completely meaningless - I can't anymore. The movie trilogy that spawned Jango Fett brings genuine daily joy to the face of a boy who is literally not long for this world. I don't know Quinn at all, and I probably won't see him again, but I connected with him enough, even if very briefly, to share in a mutual love of Star Wars, even if there is a generation gap and a Trilogy Gap between us. When I turned 6, I got the Millennium Falcon for my birthday. I've had 21 other birthdays since then. If Quinn is lucky, he'll have two more. Today, I found myself shoulder-deep in Star Wars figures and toys in my stored collection looking for that still-boxed Shadows of the Empire Slave I and mint Boba Fett figure I never opened, just collected. Along the way, I fould four other figures also. All of those toys are Quinn's now. I realized I didn't buy them for myself ten years ago - I bought them for the little boy I didn't know I'd meet today.

I can safely say that it was Irvin Kershner and Gary Kurtz with The Empire Strikes Back that made my childhood special. I admit that George Lucas had a hand in that too with Star Wars and Return of the Jedi. I know for a fact that today George Lucas is the man responsible for making Quinn's life a wondrous one every day. I've spent the past seven years angry at Lucas, but today it all went away in a moment as Quinn got his own toy ship for his 6th birthday, Slave I.

Thank you George Lucas for making Quinn's life a little less painful and a lot more magical.

Thanks for reading this - I'm not trying to pontificate or anything, but this just really affected me today and I thought if anyone would understand it would be all of you. Well, back to our regularly scheduled OT analysis...

Mike - nohandluke
"I turned it off! I don't wanna talk to her!"
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what is there to say to that but thank you for sharing such a touching story. I'll admit i've actually forgotten what it's like to view all of these movies through a child's eyes and no matter what I personally hate about any of their versions, it's true that children find joy in the amazing fantasy world gL has created. He's a strange guy and I don't understand quite why he is how he is towards his fans or the decisions he makes, but as you say in the end, he's responsible for bringing joy to all of us at some time in our lives and joy to that unfortunate child. I do respect that about george lucas even if I don't really like him anymore. and Jango fett is really cool....
He big in nothing important in good elephant.

"Miss you, I will, Original Trilogy..."

"Your midichlorians are weak, Old man." -Darth Vader 2007 super deluxe extra special dipped in chocolate sauce edition.

http://prequelsstink.ytmnd.com/
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What a terrific story, nohandluke. That was very beautiful.
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Yeah, that's a very beautiful story. No matter how George changes his films, there's still something about them that's amazing and inspiring. And I'm glad they bring happiness to people.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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What a great story. It helped me come to terms with something I've expreianced in the past years. A friend of mine loves the PT a lot, and I just couldn't understand why. He's a total PT fanatic, and I thought that was just downright wierd. The story you shared with us made me realize that even if we don't feel the same way, there is magic in the PT that some can experiance, a magic that can give people hope and have fun, and in the case of Quinn, experiance something that makes them truly happy in thier short time here.
Watch DarthEvil's Who Framed Darth Vader? video on YouTube!

You can also access the entire Horriffic Violence Theater Series from my Channel Page.
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Children have a way of enjoying things that is very special. They learn about the world and imagine things in a way where everythign is fresh and new to them. I wouldn't claim that the Star Wars prequels lack the ability to capture the mind in such a way. I was even able to enjoy the movies on that level.

But, still, you can have a movie be fun for kids and still have it be enjoyable for adults (like Star Wars, ESB, and Jedi to a lesser extent). I think that's the main point of criticism for George Lucas. Otherwise, I won't detract from the obviously redeemable elements he has created.

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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But also, not to dampen the magical mood around here, kids like a lot of stuff that is otherwise dumb. I mean I used to see kids playing with Wild Wild West and Batman and Robin action figures--does that validate such hideous films as those? No. Kids like poorly constructed entertainment like that. This is just an emotional reaction to a small kid entranced by flashy graphics and simplistic characterisation. I didn't want to post this earlier because this is a sweet, touching story, but some kid somewhere was also touched and had his life improved through the watching of Battlefield Earth as well. Star Wars was great because it touched old viewers as much as it did kids, so while the PT obviously has enough in it to semi-entertain some older folks and entertain most of the younger folks, the PT are still pale shadows (but shadows nonetheless i suppose).

Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there and bring everyone back down.

Bless you for giving him the toys though nohandluke, that is extremely sweet of you.
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That is a great reminder of what the "saga" really means to some people. I don't believe my own children would be into Star Wars as much if it weren't for the PT. Even today we were driving and they were in the back seat humming the Darth Vader music. It was quite touching to me but my oldest (8) kept calling him ANI....omg I wanted to shout at him to quit calling him that but this story has helped me understand why he was doing that now and I can except that. Thanks for the great story.
1000 Word Migraine
www.1kwordmigraine.com

An off topic site for an off topic world!
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Oooo... A George Lucas thankyou thread. First I thank the person who released this thread and

Thank you George Lucas for making 6 superb films.
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Thanks for posting that story. A wake up call for all of us I think.
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Well, let's not go overboard. I enjoy the prequels too, but it still doesn't totally get George off the hook for being a complete dick to all of us.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I have to say that the gusher/basher mentality really did get to me at one point and make me seriously hate every frame from the prequel movies, but viewing them without that baggage, I see the good in them. there is something from the Ot still there behind all the bad stuff. Good luck salvaging it, trooperman and all the rest making edits of the pt.

I'm sure the kid would love clone wars if he enjoyed attack of the clones.

He big in nothing important in good elephant.

"Miss you, I will, Original Trilogy..."

"Your midichlorians are weak, Old man." -Darth Vader 2007 super deluxe extra special dipped in chocolate sauce edition.

http://prequelsstink.ytmnd.com/