ARParr

I'm opening a huge can of worms in my head here, but...

Without a doubt, many of my thoughts & feelings about TPM have changed drastically over the last twelve-or-so years.  How I felt about it in the beginning, (vs a couple of years after its release), was completely different from how I feel about that film now.

For many reasons, I hated it for years.  To be sure, it still has its faults, but now I appreciate & like it on a number of levels much more than I ever thought I would.

(Ironically, the film that I seem to hate, out of all 6, is AotC...)

Wow.  You guys are technical film gurus of the highest order.  Some of this stuff makes my head hurt, but it's very rigorous & impressive reading material.  (Even though I don't really understand a lot of the technical jargon & whatnot.  I suppose I could try to learn more about that aspect of film-making...)

walking_carpet said:

 dang...talk about bringing back memories.  those were cool sites;  had some great editorials :)

curious about your book.  look forward to hearing more about it.  hope its a successful release

Cosmic vindication!!!  Someone actually liked the writing I did back then!  (You know, I plan on posting some of those again at StarWarsRoadTrips.com once it's up.)  I really enjoy writing, and I put that to work in this book.  I think that people are going to find that it's very entertaining in addition to being informative.  I can't tell you how much comments like these mean to me.  They make me feel as though I've done the right thing by following through on this book, as difficult as the journey has been.  Basically, I've written it for you.

Be sure to visit & "Like" the Facebook page so that you'll automatically get all announcements about promotions, freebies, rewards, stories, etc.  That's going to be the easiest way for me to get the word out, even though Facebook is the devil...

Thanks again.  I'm eternally grateful.

- Adam

none said:

1)  Do you plan on any non-facebook page?  (some of us around here don't go to any facebook pages)  Do you have a publisher or is it self-published?

2)  Please let us know when it's available for pre-order.

 

3)  There's another book with 'A Galaxy Not So Far Away' as part of the title, have you heard from them?  http://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Not-Far-Away-Twenty-five/dp/B000H2N094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319075774&sr=8-1

and from the first post you can change the title, so if you want to switch to the book title, that might help people find the topic later on.

None,

1)  hey guys, i truly loathe Facebook.  I do.  I've had a personal page there for years and I literally never use it.  I find the whole concept ridiculous, and on top of that, I really don't like the mechanics of how it works.

Having said that, I found that I really have no choice but to utilize it for preliminary promotional purposes with regard to this book.  There are a few very practical and mechanical reasons why I had to do this.  Once the entire pre-release campaign is finished, most people will clearly see why I had to use Facebook the way I'm using right now.  (I admit that those reasons are clear as mud at the moment...)

So bear with me, and if you can stand it, just visit and "Like" that page.  (The "Liking" is very similar in function to subscribing to a thread like this.  You'll be kept up to speed w/ new announcements.)  I think that you'll find it to be pretty benign and unobnoxious.  I hope so, anyway.

2)  Well, it's not actually going to be available for pre-order in the traditional sense, but after thinking about it last night, I realized that there's a particular phase of the pre-release promotional campaign which will pretty much amount to a pre-order.  I'm not quite there yet, and don't want to spill all the details yet.  However, I will say this.  If you want to be kept up-to-date with all announcements, including that pre-orderish opportunity, you'll pretty much need to visit & "Like" the Facebook page.  That's going to be the easiest and most foolproof way for me to spread the word about the quasi-pre-order when it occurs in a week or two.  (I'll try to share about it on message boards, but I've got so much to do that it can be a little overwhelming, and very time-consuming.  I've got to focus on methods that are as efficient as possible.  It's just a reality that I've come to accept, good, bad or indifferent.)

3)  Wow.  I wasn't aware of that book, or that title.  It is a little disappointing because it makes mine less unique, but at this point I'm too far along to make any fundamental changes like that.  I still like the title I've chosen, and I do think that it fits very well with the subject matter of the book.  (Perhaps a little more apropos than this other use of it, I don't know.)

Anyway, thanks so much for your comments and questions.  I'll always do my best to explain everything that's going on, because in the end, this book is not only for me, but is intended for people exactly like those I'm finding on this site.  It only makes sense that I bring you guys into the fold as much as I can.  Thanks again, and please continue w/ comments, questions, criticisms, etc.

- Adam

georgec said:

SilverWook said:

Just when I though ROTS was the least tweaked this time out.

Some of these changes are so subliminal, I wonder why they are done.

Because f**k you, that's why.

That, my friends, is PRECISELY the reason why.  None other.

Twister,

ok, wow.  you're quickly becoming a favorite poster of mine.  many things to comment on here.

1st - shucks, and thanks for being interested.  i really do hope to give something back to the sw community with this whole project, and believe me, if i didn't really feel that it had real, lasting merit & value, i wouldn't have literally dragged it into existence after nearly 10 years.  (i've also gotten the opinions of a couple of people who will remain nameless here, but have been named and thanked in the book.  their personal & professional opinions are that this thing needs to see the light of day, and that it's rock-solid.  hearing that from these particular people, who are essentially the world's authorities on the subject, are what gave me the confidence i needed to follow through on this thing when NO ONE else believed in it.  there were some very bleak years, let me tell you.)  alas, i digress.

2nd - the first group of gifs was good, but this second selection is priceless.  those shots of heath ledger are disturbing.  what the hell is going on with that orange hair and that purple pimp blazer he's wearing??!!  and is he performing in some sort of amphitheater with that microphone?  someone has to explain this to me.  i obviously haven't seen the movie...

3rd - what is this nonsense i hear about a halo over obi-wan's head on the blu-rays?  i'm sorry, that's just plain bizarre.  i actually canceled my pre-order, but now my morbid curiosity may get the best of me and force me to go to ebay...

- adam

ah yes.  well, i'm certainly glad that we got that gender issue corrected.  now we can move on and concentrate on the issue of meaning.  I'm sort of wondering too, but my gut tells me that I'm on the right track.  (which, of course, is kinda disheartening, but that's the world we live in.  lol.)

(i think this place is growing on me, based upon my experience thus far, but until i figure out that mural-message-in-motion, the jury's still out...)

twister111 said:

 

ARParr said:

I have a SW book coming out this Fall, and I want you to know about it.

Ok, I guess I'm a moron, but my interpretation of the rather creative response-via-visual-aids shown above is that the poster isn't interested in the fact that I have a book coming out, nor is he interested in the book itself, so he's using the remote control to change the channel from me to something else presumably more worthy of his interest, right?  Or am I supposed to be reading this a different way?

certainly he gets points for creativity & artistic flair.  bravo.

Wow.  That's awesome.  So Gus made off with that stuff.  Very cool, indeed.  I've sure got some very unique things in my collection as well, but I sure don't have any structural elements from any of the sets!

doubleofive said:

 

Could one get access to the original Bunker location? Say, with a film crew and people dressed up as soldiers? ;-)

 

Hell yes you can access the location.  With whomever and whatever you wish to bring.  That's exactly the point of this whole thing!  It shows you precisely how to get there.  (And finding that one is a little bit of a challenge...)

Now for the bad news on that particular location...

Clearly, nothing remains of the Bunker whatsoever, but its footprint is still pretty damned obvious.  Still, just the fact that the location WASN'T actually destroyed over 20 years ago, (as we believed until just last year), is a big victory, bunker or no bunker.

And yeah, I'm getting much bang for my entertainment buck, so to speak, with regard to the reading material found in the blu-$*&@ disc threads.  Good stuff.  I'm glad I found this place.

Heil, I appreciate it.  Very much so

Yeah, about Muir Woods...

An interesting story.  In point of fact, NO scenes were ever filmed at Muir Woods.  All of the Endor shots took place north of Muir Woods, closer to the Oregon border in various parks.

(ALL the actual Endor locations are covered in detail in the book.  It's quite a chapter.)

Originally, everyone had believed the Endor Bunker location to have been destroyed over 20 years ago.  No one thought it existed anymore.  So... while we were in the San Fran area, we decided that Muir Woods would be a great place to visit, and at least get the Endor feel 10 mins north of San Fran, as opposed to having to drive northward for hours to the others spots.  (That would be another trip.)

As it turns out, the Endor Bunker location was NOT destroyed.  This discovery was just made about a year ago.   The location is included in the book in detail, along with all the other Endor shooting locations, which are well north of Muir Woods. 

And that's why Muir Woods is included.  It's not an actual shooting location, but it's convenient as hell, and really pretty.  We don't claim it to be anything more than it is, but it's certainly worth a visit, and makes for some damn fine pictures, and one heck of a beautiful hike.

Like I've said, (perhaps elsewhere), this book is pretty much a definitive resource on the subject of shooting and other sw-related locations in the US.  I'm pretty proud of the fact that it's infinitely more complete than anything else out there today, books and websites included.  (The overseas stuff is planned for the second edition, if this one is successful enough!!)

[and yeah.  once i got the word on the street about the blu-rays, well ahead of release day, i cancelled my pre-order.  still haven't bought them.  i'll pick 'em up on ebay at some point, i suppose.  fan edits, on the other hand, are freakin' amazing....]

- Adam

TV's Frink said:

 

ARParr said:

Hello all.  Yes, I'm new, and yes this is a plug, but it's not spam.
 

First post advertisement = spam

 

Frink,

I'll grant you that a first post advertisement is bound to put some people off.  However, it's not my intent to deluge w/ advertising & not contribute anything.  I know that I'm taking a risk with threads like this, but I've gotta get the word out to as many people as I can who might be even remotely interested in this project.  I just ask that you give me an opportunity, and at least consider this project I'm presenting.  You're free to take it or leave it, as you choose, but my goal is to contribute something worthwhile to fan community with this book, and the site that's going to go along with it.

(On a slightly unrelated note, how about the blu-rays?  I'll read the threads about them here tomorrow at the office, but I'm curious.  What's the general consensus here?  Worth buying?  Wait and get 'em on ebay?  Do tell.)

Adam 

In A Galaxy Not So Far Away... The Star Wars Filming Locations of the United States

Hello all.  Yes, I'm new, and yes this is a plug, but it's not spam.  It's quite legitimate.  My name's Adam & I used to run StarWarsFan.org & Prequel Watch from 1997 through 2005.  

I've taken a break from the fan community for a while, but I now have some huge news to share.

I have a SW book coming out this Fall, and I want you to know about it.  

My book about the Star Wars filming locations is hitting the streets Dec 1!  It's a complete reference guide

to all the shooting locations, (and many other SW-related spots), in the US.  We did all the research, travel 

& photography ourselves.  We've been to all the locations multiple times and have put together a book which 

has no rival.  We provide detailed routes & directions, reference photographs & illustrations, maps, 

travel tips, personal experiences, historical background info & much more.

Visit and "Like" my book's page on Facebook at the link below.  I've begun to post some photos, and will be

sharing more images & info in the weeks to come!  Take a look at it and spread the word to anyone you know

who might be interested in this book as well!  Thanks a million in advance.

http://www.facebook.com/starwarsroadtrips