Hopefully, the news is true
It’s not.
https://www.darkhorizons.com/kathleen-kennedy-says-im-not-retiring/
We’ll probably make an announcement months or a year out, and I have every intention of sticking around to help that person be successful. I’m already producing the Mandalorian movie, and Shawn Levy’s is after that.
Well, it’s her funeral.
Hopefully, the news is true, and Kathleen Kennedy will be leaving Lucasfilm soon (which could go a long way towards the eventual release of the actual Original Trilogy). But if, for some reason, she tries to hang around for longer, I will just have to take solace in the fact that she won’t live forever.
As it fights off an activist investor dead set on changing the company’s plans, the Bob Iger-led company touted its massive profits from two big bets over the past 15 years.
I for one wish him the best of luck changing the company’s plans.
“Help us Nelson Peltz, you’re our only hope.”
The “Darth Vader hunts down and terminates Jedi” movie sounds cool in concept, but would probably be hard to write in a compelling way. You’d need to establish the characters of Vader’s victims - and you can’t even use Obi-Wan as one of them. And as the third movie in a Trilogy, there’s just not really enough material that ties back into the pre-Vader story lines (stuff from Episode 1 and 2, like the Clone Wars, etc.) that also overlaps with a post-Vader Episode 3 murder-fest story-line. I think a story about Vader hunting down Jedi survivors would potentially be easier to implement as a series instead of a single movie, as it would necessarily require establishing new characters who are Vader’s victims before killing them off.
The real gold that could have been mined from the Prequels was the relationship/friendship between Anakin and Obi-Wan and Anakin’s heart-wrenching betrayal of his mentor and best friend. But bizarrely, that was barely explored in Lucas’ Prequels.
Are you really saying that there isn’t enough time in two whole movies to establish new characters worthy of being hunted down by Vader in a third movie? Because I’m pretty sure two movies is more than enough time (seeing as the vast majority of movies have to set up and payoff characters/plotlines within a single film and aren’t part of some bloated trilogy). And you say “there’s just not really enough material that ties back into the pre-Vader story lines (stuff from Episode 1 and 2, like the Clone Wars, etc.).” I think you’re missing the point. We wouldn’t be filling those first two movies with existing material from the current prequels/clone wars cartoons. We would be making two entirely different films and filling them with brand new stories/subplots/characters (with some old regulars, of course) which would set up the events of the third and final film (which wouldn’t be made up ENTIRELY of Vader’s rampages; i.e., the film wouldn’t be just one long hallway scene, but would be the culmination of all the various subplots and arcs set up in the previous two movies (which would now include all of the Anakin/Obi-Wan friendship/betrayal dynamics you mention that are indeed underexplored in Lucas’ prequels) with an admittedly heavy dose of hunting down the remaining Jedi and other threats to the Empire).
What would that movie look like, though? Who would the non-Vader characters be and what would they be doing other than getting killed?
You would still have Palpatine, Obi-Wan, Yoda, etc. plus whatever new characters get introduced. This is just a high-level overall plot summary. There’s plenty of other subplots that could exist simultaneously, but yes, quite a few people will likely get killed (that is just the nature of a story that is supposed to tell of the tragic rise of Darth Vader and a tyrannical galactic Empire). Characters that have been introduced in the first couple of films (and that we are now invested in) meeting their ends at the hands of a fallen Anakin Skywalker is the whole point. This is supposed to be a tragedy after all.
What Darth Vader was during the final few minutes of Rogue One is definitely how the classic looking Darth Vader should’ve been in the final 10 or so minutes of Revenge of the Sith.
I’ll do you one better. The entirety of Revenge of the Sith should have heavily featured the Rogue One hallway-scene Darth Vader. The Prequel Trilogy should have went something like…
Prequel 1: Anakin is already a young adult (great pilot) who meets and by the end of the movie goes off with Obi-Wan to fight in the Clone Wars (also already knows (or meets) and gets together with the future mother of his children before running off to war).
Prequel 2: Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting in the Clone Wars, conflicts arise, Anakin is seduced by the Darkside, fights Obi-Wan, becomes Darth Vader.
Prequel 3: Darth Vader purging Jedi.
One man’s chef’s kiss is another’s epic cringe
De gustibus non est disputandum.
I fixed that bit about Rogue One for you:
K2 has a lot of
dumb linesgreat sarcastic quips throughout. Donnie Yen is similarbut gets less to do, instead of being a truly spiritual figureand actually vies with K2 for “everyone’s favorite” character in the movie. Vader shows up and also hasa bunch ofone dumb lines(which initially bothered me, but doesn’t really anymore). He doesn’t need to be in the movie (but boy howdy, that Vader hallway scene at the end was Chef’s Kiss). Then there’s a whole ‘Rogue One’ call sign thing that somehow works (and by works, I mean to annoy the air traffic controller). I mean if the Alliance was consistently ruthless (as opposed to occasionally ruthless) they’d shoot down the crew to avoid a potential security breach, right? (I mean if they had turbo lasers on the pyramid on Yavin, that is) At this point it veers into theoldclassic dress up gag because it’s SW and I’msupposed to carepleasantly surprised they all die? (not that I was happy to see them all die, but it was a refreshing change of pace)
PT: Jar Jar (no explanation required), C-3PO (great in the OT, an absolute mockery in the PT), R2-D2 (by the end of the PT, it has become so ridiculous that R2 is literally fighting and destroying super battle droids) (or, if you prefer, you can literally insert any number of random CGI cartoon characters’ names here: _____________)
OT: Ewoks (I like Yub Nub, and in theory, the idea of smaller-stature creatures assisting in the fight against Imperial troops could have worked, but they should have kept more to the large-scale traps and less of the softly hurled rocks weakly bouncing off of armored soldiers) – Wait a minute, I wasn’t even considering the “Special” editions (that’s not REAL Star Wars); if I did, then the “Jedi Rocks” band would easily win the award for most annoying.
ST: Rey Palpatine Skywalker “Everything you can do (I can do better)!”
How will you be celebrating the 40th anniversary?
Barge Party at my house!!!
I don’t mind the SE versions all that much, but the Vader “No” scene at the end of the film drives me crazy. Is there any edit out there that only removes that sound? I’m wanting to introduce Star Wars to someone new (Lucas Canon only, no Disney garbage), but I can’t stand the idea of her seeing it for the first time with the ending ruined.
Any help would be awesome.
Really? You’re introducing Return of the Jedi to someone new and you’re afraid that “No” is going to ruin the ending for her? Well, I got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the particular “No” you are referring to won’t make her blink twice. The bad news is the absolutely horrendous “Jedi Rocks” dance number will have already tarnished her view of the movie (and then the Hayden force ghost can come along at the end and ruin that for her too).
My suggestion would be to show her the actual original trilogy and not the sub-par special editions if you want her to have as good an opinion of the movies as you are hoping for.
The ROTS duel was just 10 minutes of them waving their lightsabers around while the CGI scenery changed behind them. Not very compelling at all really.
- Leia’s chase scenes are ridiculous (she toddles around at three miles per hour and this somehow leads to extended chase scenes with grown adults). And speaking of Leia, while it’s fine that she is ultra-perceptive (like when she senses her cousin is afraid of his father and such), the long spiels she goes on are far too mature for what is still a very small child.
Haven’t been around 10-year-olds lately, have you?
Actually, I have. But if they wanted more realistic chases, they should have hired a different little girl to play Leia (because this little girl apparently doesn’t know how to run; it looks like she’s actually toddling around (my seven-year-old daughter runs faster than her)). They should at least have given her some sort of head start (or have her further away from her pursuers to start with), because what we got was her toddling away, her pursuers quickly closing the gap–quick cut, now she’s 30 feet away; her pursuers quickly close the gap again–quick cut, now she’s 30 feet away again (it’s like the chase scene in Hot Fuzz, only it’s not supposed to be a joke).
After watching the first two episodes, my overall opinion is it seems decent enough but my main gripes are:
Moses Ingram’s acting (just subpar acting on her part; my goodness, she has all of the charisma of a two by four…that is to say extremely wooden). And this is probably the biggest issue (because I’ve got a bad feeling that Reva is going to be playing an ever increasing role in the coming episodes and she just doesn’t seem to be a very good actor).
Leia’s chase scenes are ridiculous (she toddles around at three miles per hour and this somehow leads to extended chase scenes with grown adults). And speaking of Leia, while it’s fine that she is ultra-perceptive (like when she senses her cousin is afraid of his father and such), the long spiels she goes on are far too mature for what is still a very small child.
While I appreciate them trying to give Obi-Wan some sort of character arc, he is presented as far too down (feeble and afraid). I get it, he’s feeling bad because of the recent events (Anakin’s fall, the rise of the Empire, etc.), but c’mon, does he really need to be SO SAD AND AFRAID that he can barely use the force anymore, refusing (at first) to even go help Leia when she is kidnapped and can BARELY even bring himself to save her when she falls? I mean, he IS STILL a Jedi Master.
But, like I said, I’m enjoying it enough to continue watching (Ewan McGregor does a fine job as Obi-Wan, as usual), but hopefully they can tighten up a few things going forward.
Q: What do you think of the Sequel Trilogy?
A: I’m trying not to, kid.
When Obi-Wan first meets him in Episode I, Anakin should be a young adult in his twenties or so (and “already a great pilot”). Obi-Wan should be “amazed how strongly the Force was with him,” taking “it upon [himself] to train him as a Jedi.” They eventually would go off to fight in the clone wars (along the way, Anakin getting involved with Luke’s mother and coming under the spell of Palpatine) and by the end of Episode II, Anakin is “seduced by the Dark Side of the Force … and [becomes] Darth Vader.” And then Episode III is all Darth Vader running around hunting down and purging Jedi.
One of the biggest problems of the prequel trilogy is that George Lucas decided to waste an entire movie with Anakin being a small child. Not only is there no plausible way for such a young boy to meaningfully contribute to the story (without resorting to silliness), but it also uses up a full third of the trilogy to do so and sets the wrong tone for the rest of the films.
Of course, by this time in history, Lucas himself has already turned to the Dark Side (fully committing to the Special Editions and forsaking the original releases, overly obsessing over CGI, and most damning, insulating himself from any outside writing/directorial help or input and surrounding himself with those only capable of muttering “Yes, Mr. Lucas”). So, even if we had avoided a child Anakin, there is little hope that the prequels would have turned out significantly better. But maybe, just maybe, we could have got…something more.
The first season of The Mandalorian was decent, not great (and certainly not as outstanding as some have proclaimed). I mean, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of depth or stakes (with a lot of the weekly entries being very episodic and self-contained). There were some nice moments, sure (and the show’s rating gets a bit of a boost from being, you know, Star Wars), but overall I’d probably give it a “B” (because there have been many really, really good series in recent years on AMC, Netflix, etc. that I feel were quite a bit better). So, even though it has Star Wars on its side, I’ll just continue to watch and hope it improves next season.
I haven’t bought any Star Wars DVDs since purchasing the GOUT tin in 2006 (except for the Rogue One Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital HD combo set I bought from Target in 2017). If this new boxed set doesn’t include the original films, then I have absolutely no interest in it. Hell, I haven’t even watched any of the Special Editions since I first saw them when they were released in theaters in the 1990s (except for a few horrible tidbits here and there on the internet). So, until the unaltered original trilogy is released (or they make another good Star Wars movie like Rogue One), then I’ll just save my money for other things.
And as for George Lucas…All the criticism he’s received is just a natural consequence of his willful suppression of the original films. If it wasn’t for his insecurity and pettiness, he wouldn’t feel the need to try to diminish the originals in order to prop up his Special Editions (“Oh look, aren’t these new and shiny Star Wars movies so much better than those old, grainy originals?”).
Honestly, as I was watching this first episode, I kept thinking, “This really isn’t very good.” So, hopefully it improves over the next few episodes. It had a couple of decent moments, but I feel those were outnumbered by other scenes that were, let’s just say…lacking.
I think the best part was the introduction of IG-11 (even though they started milking the whole self-destruct joke way too often). Unfortunately, most scenes were merely mediocre, and the episode doesn’t start well with the rather clichéd and poorly done bar fight. Which is then followed by the frankly stupid monster-under-the-ice scene (it’s as if J.J. Abrams was writing this). Also, the numerous references/callbacks to things from the OT started to be a bit ridiculous (Kowakian monkey-lizards on a spit, the gatekeeper droid, handy-dandy carbon-freezing slabs, etc.).
But, since it’s Star Wars, I’ll keep watching and hoping it gets better.
Because that’s really taking the high road. 😕
Well, George Lucas is the one who charted this course for Lucasfilm. He is the sole reason for Lucasfilm’s current stance. So him not being there anymore doesn’t change the fact that he is the one who caused this mess. If he wasn’t so petty and insecure, he would have given the originals a proper release long ago. I can forgive him for making subpar prequels (people make bad movies all of the time…It’s unfortunate, but no big deal). I can even forgive him for the special editions (they’re just bad director’s cuts). When I saw them in theaters, I thought some of the changes (and especially some of the horrible added scenes) were bad, but who cares because they were obviously just adding every little bit of cut footage and the other bits just to have new Star Wars content in movies that everybody had already seen. But then George hears a bit of criticism about the changes and instead of just letting it go, he up and decides to double down on the changes and proclaim them gospel and the originals just unfinished rubbish to be not just discarded but actively suppressed.
We don’t know the bigger picture on this though. I doubt George was even texted on this one.
And I seriously doubt Criterion would touch the SE unless they could include the original version as well. If any company respects film fans, it’s them.
Oh, I know George wasn’t involved in this latest decision (he is out of the picture fortunately), but it is his legacy that lead to it.
So, I repeat…
“F*** you, George!”
Just when we thought they’ve turned around:
Reading that brings to mind what I recall saying when I originally read the Flannelled One’s first proclamation that the special editions were the real versions of the films and that he would actively suppress the originals…
“Well, F*** you, George!”
I bought this Original Trilogy VHS collection in the early 90s:
I bought each of the prequels when they came out on DVD.
I bought the 2006 GOUT DVD set for the OT bonus discs (still haven’t watched the specialer edition DVDs).
Lastly, I bought this Rogue One Blu-Ray, 3D, DVD, Digital combo pack:
Well, the Sail Barge I ordered came in.
It’s…kinda nice (so here are some photos and a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcD9fb9hyqM).
Star Destroyer Halloween Test Drive:
