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Who got their membership pkg and "letter" from George Lucas?

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Got my yearly (?) membership pkg from SW Insider today (seems to be filled with more and more advertising stuff every year- but the Bantha Tracks patch is cute).

Anyhow, there's also the requisite "letter" from GL (maybe it's up on starwars.com too, I don't know) but I found this paragraph interesting:

"Among many things I have to be thankful for are you, the fans. I know that some of you haven't liked every single thing that I've done with the saga, and that you have a strong sense of ownership over all things Star Wars. But take that passion and devotion and channel it into a creative project of your own. Today, with the Internet as a distribution vehicle and a desktop computer more than a match for the expensive editing tools of three decades ago, fan movie-makers have virtually unlimited options. And those of you who are artists or writers have a much easier way to put your work before the public too."

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Interesting.

I think his intention is to encourage fan films rather than fan edits - I certainly don't think he's condoning "the Internet as a distribution vehicle" for copyrighted works. However, "I know that some of you haven't liked every single thing that I've done" in the preceding sentence does suggest he is tolerant of Star Wars fan edits.

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Heh, well I'm happy he actually admits that we all don't like what he's done. Maybe he'll think of restoring the original films so they can at least exist alongside his edits.

"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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Originally posted by: Tiptup
Heh, well I'm happy he actually admits that we all don't like what he's done. Maybe he'll think of restoring the original films so they can at least exist alongside his edits.

That would be the greatest day in Star Wars history. But I'm wondering how much of this "letter" are Lucas's own words. He probably didn't write it himself, did he?
Fez: I am so excited about Star Whores.
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I have a respectful question Mielr, what is in SW insider that has any relevancy anymore? I picked up a couple of issues during the PT days to see what was going on with the upcoming movies, but I just don't understand why people keep funding Lucas every year for a movie series that is overwith?

Maybe someday people will stop funding Lucas's cash cow like the fans did in the 1980's after ROTJ when nobody cared about the Ewok & Droid Cartoons, and SW was what it was: 3 movies that formed the greatest trilogy of all-time. As long as Lucas keeps getting rich off of these side projects, I don't think he will ever care about the OOT, because he will believe there is a fanbase out there of Saga fans that he can keep happy who in turn keep him rich.

The bottom line about that letter is Lucas knows EXACTLY how we feel about the SE & PT movies, but he believes there is a big enough market of fans to offset the disgruntled OOT fans.

IMO.
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I didn't re-up my membership because I wasn't happy with where the whole fanclub was going. I am so sick of seeing pics of dorks in stormtrooper costumes marching around conventions. Star Wars fandom isn't about the films anymore but the fans themselves.
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Originally posted by: Sluggo
I am so sick of seeing pics of dorks in stormtrooper costumes marching around conventions. .


Those people seriously scare me sometimes. It is so sad now that when I tell someone I love the SW movies I have to say right after that, "But I am not one of those people that dress up when I go see the movies, and I also am not one of those people that like the newer movies with Jar Jar Binks."

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Originally posted by: Sluggo
I am so sick of seeing pics of dorks in stormtrooper costumes marching around conventions.


LOL

How true!
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Don't get me wrong, there ought to be a place for all kinds of fans, I just don't want to be in those kind of places. And currently, it is infesting the official site and the Insider. I had such high hopes for Hyperspace when they first started. New Biggs pictures. An exclusive video of an Episode 2 cut scene workprint. It was awesome.

Now all you get is exclusive crap you can buy and more EU crap. And thank hell Celebration IV is over. If I read another interview with a cartoonist or video game tester, I'm gonna hurl.
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Originally posted by: Sluggo
I didn't re-up my membership because I wasn't happy with where the whole fanclub was going. I am so sick of seeing pics of dorks in stormtrooper costumes marching around conventions. Star Wars fandom isn't about the films anymore but the fans themselves.


It's called free labor. They don't need to hire people to come to shows dressed in costume since they have fans that are willing to do it. For the record, I use to dress up for the movies and for the conventions. I may even do it again in the future. However, I'll never volunteer to work any of those shows again. Unless the show/event is specifically run by LFL, you're treated like dirt.

It's pretty obvious though that LFL considers those guys free labor. They know they're going to be at a show and pretty much coordinate everything with them. LFL does at least treat them well. It is a shame that that's all we really see in the insider anymore though. I too am getting quite sick of it.

Hell, I haven't participated in the Rebel Legion in years since, no matter how hard we worked or what we did, the 501st took all the "glory". I even saw a televised event recently where they made a Jedi a member of the 501st. What ever happened to the Rebel Legion?

You're right Sluggo. It's not about the films anymore. It's about using the fans to keep interest alive.
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The previous "dork" label obviously doesn't apply to you lordjedi!
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Its hopeless. The letter Lucas has sent you just states that he will never let the OOT see the light of day.
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Originally posted by: generalfrevious
Its hopeless. The letter Lucas has sent you just states that he will never let the OOT see the light of day.


Thanks for your optimism.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

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The thing about those strange Star Wars fans is that they're a copy of Trekkies. It's like George Lucas is trying to turn Star Wars into Star Trek. Something that is very enjoyable at points, but also something that is filled with a lot of crap and never seems to end. In that atmosphere, an average nobody walking around in a stormtrooper outfit is actually one of the high points.

"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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Originally posted by: CO
I have a respectful question Mielr, what is in SW insider that has any relevancy anymore? I picked up a couple of issues during the PT days to see what was going on with the upcoming movies, but I just don't understand why people keep funding Lucas every year for a movie series that is overwith?

I've considered letting my subscription lapse several times. I don't like the revisionist slant the magazine has taken, and I was really mad the time they bundled the magazine subscription w/Hyperspace and charged like $45 for it. But, I'm always afraid I'm going to miss something, so I've decided to keep it for now. However, they do send some nice items in the Fan Club membership pkg. One year we got a real animation cel used in the Ewoks cartoon series, there was a nice 25th anniversary ROTJ poster, novelty pens, patches, toys, pez dispensers, etc.

I started subscribing to Bantha Tracks in 1983 or '84, but I DID let my subscription lapse during the late 80's (when it was called Lucasfilm Fan Club magazine), but that was because there was almost zero Star Wars content during those years. But I agree that SWI is not the quality that it was 10 yrs and several publishers ago.

Originally posted by: Moth3r

I think his intention is to encourage fan films rather than fan edits - I certainly don't think he's condoning "the Internet as a distribution vehicle" for copyrighted works. However, "I know that some of you haven't liked every single thing that I've done" in the preceding sentence does suggest he is tolerant of Star Wars fan edits.
I don't know what to make of it. It's kind of ambiguous. You can definitely read a lot into it.

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I got that packet in the mail the other day. I'm still a member because of C4. I didn't bother to read the letter after seeing the crap thrown in with it.

Pretty interesting what he says there though. I take it to mean that he encourages original works by fans i.e. fan films, but then again he could be talking about non-SW stuff. Kind of hard to say. It's also kind of weird that at the end of the letter he refers to C4 and CE as if they haven't happened yet. He must have written it before May.

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Originally posted by: Sluggo
I had such high hopes for Hyperspace when they first started. New Biggs pictures. An exclusive video of an Episode 2 cut scene workprint. It was awesome.


If I may, what exactly did these entail? Were they included on the retail DVD at all?
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The video footage was a workprint of the cut sub-plot of a raid on an Geonosian battle ship to shut down the battle droids during the arena battle. The DVD might have a few stills, but this scene is not on any official video.
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I believe I heard about this. Wasn't it with Ki-Adi-Mundi?

<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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yup. the file is in the dvd-rom of DM, I believe.
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Anyways, the future of the OOT can be best explained by these two words: letterboxed Blu-ray
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I'm pretty sure Lucas was tactfully speaking out against fan-edits and the like: "I know you guys love my films and think you own them, but please put your creative energies into your own original projects." I was kind of surpised that he actually commented on the matter; seems kind of sad, like an acknowledgement that our edits and preservations are actually causing concern for him.

As far as the Insider goes, that magazine has been shit for years. When it first started in 1995 it was awesome, and into Episode I it was pretty cool too; they changed publishers in 2002 and it took a serious dive and I stopped reading it, but at least it was the only official source of info regarding the new films. Not only did it continue to slide in quality, but now that theres no new films whats the point? When it first started it had interviews with Hamill and the guy who played Red Leader, it had a report on the Lost Cut, it had Anthony Daniels Wonder Column, it had a lot of good features--the stuff on the new action figures, comics and conventions was in there but only as small, filler columns. Now its pretty much all there is, unless you want to know about some crappy prequel cross-section schematic. Whatever.

Star Wars fandom has become serious stupid since the prequels, and its really pushing me away. I had absolutely zero interest in C4 and you would think that its something fans should be interested in. But 100,000 nerds in stromtrooper costumes eager for footage from some new shitty computer game, a DVD screening of the fucked-up SE's and the PT, and a half-hearted panel with Rick McCallum isn't exactly thrilling. I was surprised to see that Lucas showed up but it was more of a courtesy "thank you and goodbye".