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Fang Zei

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14-Oct-2006
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16-Nov-2025
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Post
#314908
Topic
JEDI CON 2008-BEHIND THE SCENES CAST AND CREW INFO ON STAR WARS FILMING, DVDS AND OTHER BITS...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/314908/action/topic#314908
Time
lordjedi said:

I'm not giving them another cent until they release the movies individually and in a boxed set.


The funny thing is that this is exactly what I've been theorizing they're up to. Well, I guess it's more that I'm hoping it's what they're up to, especially if we're ever going to see the OT get the Blade Runner treatment.

I would also hope that George realizes there are those of us who saw the prequels on the big screen and would like the '99 cut of TPM. I'm willing to give the omission of the 35mm version of AOTC a pass, even though I never got around to seeing the DLP projection. I lived just barely within walking distance of the only theater in the Commonwealth of Virginia that was showing AOTC in DLP, but I saw AOTC on 35mm at Union Station in DC on May 16th and it was more than a month before I thought "hmmm, maybe I should see it in DLP." But by that point they'd already switched it out for the DLP of Scooby-Doo.
Post
#314871
Topic
Will your interest in the Star Wars universe be affected...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/314871/action/topic#314871
Time
At the end of the day, no, I guess it won't really. My cowclops v.2 transfers still serve me pretty well. Star Wars hasn't gotten a blu-ray release yet, but then again neither have 99.9 percent of the other movies out there. An actual new telecine from the old IP's would mean the possibility of watching an anamorphic dvd in A-grade quality instead of a 16:9-ized fan-made laserdisc-to-dvd transfer in C/B-grade quality. Lucas almost had me ready to give him some money back on May 3rd of '06.

I think an irony of Star Wars is that if it didn't have such a huge and active fandom, all of us here would probably have our coveted anamorphic transfers by now. Hell, we would've gotten them long ago. What has me worried in regards to this whole OOT on blu-ray matter is that I could easily see Lucas opting to only include the SE simply to keep everything "nice and neat." On the other hand, if he was that hardcore about keeping to his "vision," we wouldn't have gotten so much as a laserdisc transfer. I would hope that the money made off of that release has spoken adequately to LFL of the desire fans have for the original versions. I also hope that we would've gotten that "market saturation" comment either way, and that it doesn't have anything to do with how LFL is looking at the sales numbers. If they honestly expected it to do better than it did, their egos are even bigger than I imagined.

One thing is for sure, though. It isn't likely that we'll see these movies regarded just as movies and not the "little engine that could" story that we got on the Empire of Dreams doc. Don't get me wrong, I like watching that documentary, but that's still what it is. Anything is possible, though. That comment from McCallum about a hundred hours of documentaries has me fascinated, but even then he would still need to finally cave and give us what we all want in the form of a remastered OOT in order for it to sell a lot of copies (or am I just being naive?).
Post
#313872
Topic
So... your opinion of how much Lucas really had planned out?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/313872/action/topic#313872
Time
Mielr said:

As far as hating Lucas for what he's done to the series, I don't "hate" him, but I am royally pissed at him. The Prequels sort of sully the whole franchise- to the extent that they are able to. They're not taken as seriously and they're not as loved as the OT, so I guess they can only damage the legacy of the OT so much.

I'm far more upset about the Special Edition vs OOT situation, because I can
ignore the prequels, but it's hard to ignore the SEs since the OOT hasn't been
given a proper release.


and that's the funny part, I didn't have all that much of a problem with Star Wars in general until May of '06.

Seriously, even back in summer of '05 when my friend and I showed the OT to a friend of ours who'd never seen it before. I brought my silver box over to his place, we watched and it was awesome. awesome.

This is where I point to as evidence that Lucas has not 'ruined' the OT. It would take a whole lot more than that to ruin it.

Zombie, it sucks to read that and think of what might have been. On the other hand, it's interesting as hell to see how things worked and played themselves out. Seeing as how Lucas did end up coming back and doing the prequels, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing another Star Wars trilogy every couple of decades. I can't see Lucas being against this (at least in principle) and unless he writes it into his will there won't be anything he'll be able to do about it anyway. Heck, maybe he could even pitch a story for it and let other people write the screenplay. He has had some sort of involvement with the course of the EU. Maybe he would only end up insisting that Episodes VII and onward couldn't be made because of how he's re-worked them into the post-Jedi EU, but even then it would be cool for him to come up with a story within the midst of that (maybe that huge 100 year gap in the legacy era?) for 7, 8 and 9. After all, Lucas has always been working in the cinematic medium first and foremost.
Post
#313803
Topic
So... your opinion of how much Lucas really had planned out?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/313803/action/topic#313803
Time
While we're on the subject of the number of episodes, there's something I'd like to say.

The prequels are still just prequels at the end of the day. Even in '04 they still referred to the OT as "the trilogy," and something tells me they're going to release them all individually next time around with the option of getting it all in one big expensive set (ala Alien and Superman).

They're are some curiosities:

If he split one long story into three movies, why did he decide (early as May, 1980) that the prequels also warranted as many?

If he was in fact going to do 7 8 and 9, why was he starting in the middle?

Then there's Lucas' throw away line at the very beginning of the audio commentary for Revenge of the Sith about how everything in Star Wars is done in the style of a Saturday matinee serial which was told in 12 parts. Does the "12" have any special significance? In other words, does that mean we'll see episodes VII-XV someday? Or is he just saying that so we'll know how the old serials were usually in 12 parts sort of like how there are multiple Star Wars movies and each movie itself is serialized through the wipes? It's funny, I remember considering counting the number of wipes in that movie to see if it added up to 12, but then I got lazy / started skipping around and fast forwarding.

Here's the thing: I'm theoretically fine with Lucas' insistence of ROTJ being the end of the story, but only so long as the prequels are still just prequels. When Lucas said on the featurette that "when you watch IV, V and VI, he's still the chosen one" and they showed all that OT footage of Vader, I dunno, it all just seemed so out of place. Recently I saw an add for the movies showing on spiketv and they had I-II-III-IV-V-VI just like cinemax did. Again, out of place. Also, it makes me nostalgic as hell for when they would show the O-OT on USA back in the day.

Getting back to the question at hand, it does seem like Lucas used the prequels as on opportunity to do things he didn't in the OT. Episode III is full of that: battle over Coruscant, Wookiees, etc.

Ugh, I've gotta write my thoughts down as bullet points before I go on and type all this stuff. Now I'm forgetting whatever else it was that I was going to say.

I'll end with this:

I think it would be cool to one day see further episodes made, just as long as they aren't directed by Lucas (which they wouldn't be anyway, he's already said he's done with it). I'm intrigued by what could or could not be done regarding further episodes. I'm also intrigued as to the various reports over the years of how many more movies there could've been (five whole trilogies if you look at A New Hope as chapter 1 of a 12 part saga) and what they would've dealt with (stuff that got condensed into ROTJ).
Post
#312488
Topic
Anyone else here have a love/hate relation with Revenge of the sith ?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/312488/action/topic#312488
Time
Originally posted by: Baronlando
But back to Revenge of the Sith, it's almost 3 years old now, and kids seem to still be buying the toys, they must have done something right.


Like I said recently, I had to witness this shit firsthand several days a week when I was working at the Lego store. The only conclusion I could come to is that their parents are probably in their 30's and they all probably grew up with the original movies and therefore showed it to their kids.
Post
#312302
Topic
Anyone else here have a love/hate relation with Revenge of the sith ?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/312302/action/topic#312302
Time
Originally posted by: Baronlando
(If they ever release them, I wonder if many fans will buy them and then just fade away.)


Who says that isn't exactly what LFL is afraid of? Maybe I'm putting the OOT up on too high of a pedestal, but then again there was that quote from the Wired magazine guy back in September of '06, "they're not going to make the fan happy because the happy fan has everything he needs. They will kill the goose that laid the golden egg, they will cook it, they will eat it and they will sell the bones on Ebay."

I can't honestly say what I would or would not do, simply because I don't know the future. But when I take a huge step back and look at the big picture I would say that yes, I probably would fade away from Star Wars if the OOT were finally restored. I have other books to read and other movies to watch.

Like I said before, I'm becoming more and more convinced that Lucas has finally gotten the picture in regards to the place of the OOT. I'm being cautiously optimistic that we'll all finally get what we want for the next release, but I'm not holding my breath (as has often been said).
Post
#311588
Topic
How much longer will the format war last?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/311588/action/topic#311588
Time
Here's what the real temptation will be:

Just take a look at what happened with the '04 box set. It had (at the time) the highest single day sales in the history of dvd. I don't think it's a stretch to say that the vast majority of those people never so much as bothered to pop disc 4 into their player, to say nothing of the audio commentaries. People that have enough time to listen to and watch all of that are labeled as, well, people with too much time on their hands. Most people are too busy adding 5 more titles to their 600+ collection to bother with taking several days to watch bonus material. They just wanted it so they could finally have the movies on everyone's favorite format.

LFL could just as easily pull the same shit with the next release. They could pad it out with documentaries that they know no one except we on these forums will watch. Then they could intentionally neglect the OOT once again.

Hey, whatya say we plan on this: As soon as the next release is even announced, if it doesn't have more or less exactly what we want (a 1080p24 transfer of the OOT with at least a couple of audio options), we immediately start the new petition.

good idea? yes? no?

Oh, and zombie, I don't know how it's even entering into your head that LFL would do the next release this year. I'm surprised enough that they're finding room after Indy IV and Force Unleashed to wedge in The Clone Wars. There's no way in hell we're seeing the next release until the end of next year at the earliest. I also don't see it happening until after the much-rumored 3D re-release. If the JoBlo rumor of a Spring '09 date for the 3D ends up being true, I would say it's a pretty safe bet we're seeing the blu-ray in fall of '09, which would - of course - also be perfect timing for the live action show.
Post
#311398
Topic
How much longer will the format war last?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/311398/action/topic#311398
Time
In all seriousness, I'm becoming more and more convinced that we will finally see the OOT remastered for the next home video release (even if it's in the worse case scenario ADM described).

Maybe it's just delusions of grandeur (who am I kidding, that's exactly what it is), but that mention of wanting to put 100 hours of documentaries on the next release is making me think that they're going to give the movies the ultimate treatment, finally pull their heads out of the sand, and realize that people on the whole generally enjoy the OT significantly more than the prequels. This will translate to them giving each of the original films a five disc release while the prequels will only get two discs each at the most.

ps: yea, I'm really being delusional, but just let me dream for a moment.
Post
#311149
Topic
I'll give Episode One something...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/311149/action/topic#311149
Time
Originally posted by: Mielr
so maybe if I had been a child I would have more nostalgic feelings about the time period in which it was released, but I don't think I would have enjoyed the film any more.


Heh, you just described what my situation was. While I have memories from the hype and the actual screening of Episode I, part of the reason I remember that time so well is that May 19, 1999 was only a couple weeks before I finally got done with 8th grade and the nine years of schooling I was desperate to get done with. Getting another Star Wars movie was what made the light at the end of the tunnel all the brighter.

Also, it's funny you should use the word nostalgia, because I'm guessing you saw the originals during their original runs in the late 70's and early 80's, and I'm guessing you wouldn't describe that as nostalgia. This is where (and I'm sorry to bring it up for the ninth, no, tenth time) LFL completely missed the point of why we want the originals in good quality.
Post
#311147
Topic
Official: 'THE CLONE WARS' movie in Theaters 8/15/08
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/311147/action/topic#311147
Time
Didn't Lucas say after being asked by a reporter at the King Kong premiere back in December of '05 that he doesn't miss Star Wars all that much? Apparently he still misses how much money it's made for LFL over the years, because he's still at it. Releasing the GOUT less than a year after being quoted as saying that, it's just a tad annoying.

I take it the live action series is (as of right now) the last Star Wars project he'll ever have a hand in. I hope that means everyone here will finally get what we want in 2009 (or whenever they get around to airing the new show), and even if LFL waits until after that to do the next release, I still hope it has what we want in it.

Here's how I see it: Lucas can either move on from Star Wars and finally make us happy, or he can keep being stubborn and make us move on. The rumors I'm hearing are making me more and more convinced that we will finally get the ultimate set for the next release, and as a result you will see less and less complaining from me.
Post
#311135
Topic
I'll give Episode One something...
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/311135/action/topic#311135
Time
And an amazing soundtrack.

Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer had this routine on SNL where they'd play this weird couple who would do live music for whatever get-together they'd shown up to on each episode. One of them was in early May of '99. Anyway, part of the routine was that they'd say nice things between songs and will Ferrell would continue to play softly on the keyboard. When they were playing (both of them were on vocals), they would randomly switch from one new hit song to another. In the one I'm thinking of, they switch songs at one point and go "Duel of the Faaaaaaates!" and then start singing the fast tempo instrumental in doots. Even to this day, I think of that sketch and I crack up.

I'm not sure if the mtv premiere was the first time I ever heard DotF, but it probably was. I seem to recall seeing/hearing some of it in the end credits for either ET or Access Hollywood the night before (maybe it was the night after, it's been so long). It was cool to be able to hear some of the actual music from the movie before it came out, although even back then I understood the concept of a "single" and knew that what was in the movie wouldn't be in that exact form. I can still remember sitting in that theater (it's gone now!) back on the afternoon of May 19, 1999, and how I felt when those destroyer droids rolled out into the Naboo starfighter hangar to the tune of that music.

The lightsaber battle that followed really blew me away. Looking back on it today, a lot of that was probably more due to the sound than anything else, but it was still cool to see a new lightsaber battle up on the screen for the first time ever.
Post
#310632
Topic
Is George Lucas a fan of Star Wars?
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/310632/action/topic#310632
Time
Here's the funny thing:

-The original Star Wars was a medium budget movie where Lucas had to direct everything.
-Empire and Jedi were both big budget movies where Lucas basically handled the special effects himself and let someone else direct.
-The prequels were big budget movies where Lucas had to direct everything.

I think it would've been cooler if Star Wars '77 had been left as Lucas' final directorial work forever. Then, every 15 years or so, he would get three directors and a handful of writers to make another trilogy. In spite of how the prequels actually did turn out,* I'm still hoping that he (or whoever ends up in charge of Lucasfilm) follows that pattern if more movies ever do happen.

*and that the special editions even exist and we still don't have the originals in good quality
Post
#310558
Topic
Jim Ward steps down
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/310558/action/topic#310558
Time
By the way, I'm actually starting to think now that if and when Star Wars eventually hits blu-ray it'll have each movie sold separately, especially if McCallum really is serious about putting all those documentaries on there .... and especially since he also said that fans were clamoring for them to be made available individually (hence the '06 release). The funny thing is that this would make what Josh Griffin said way back when on that GOUT-centric episode of G4's Loop actually accurate: "Oh, come on, that ultimate box set is going to cost 200 dollars when it comes out!"

As has been said before, it would make sense to release this around when the live action show premieres. The only potential conflict I see - aside from them maybe not getting done putting it together by then - is Lucas trying to totally break away from Fox and/or the live action show getting distributed on tv by a company besides Fox.

ps: sorry I'm sounding like a broken record, I just like putting the puzzle pieces together as they become evident while speculating at the same time.
Post
#310325
Topic
Official: 'THE CLONE WARS' movie in Theaters 8/15/08
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/310325/action/topic#310325
Time
I don't see Lucas severing all ties with 20th Century Fox, or at least I hope not since that would put our chances of seeing a restored OOT anytime soon even further out of the realm of possibility.... unless criterion came up with a shitload of money to dumptruck on Lucas' driveway.

Also, that video footage from C4 was in 2.35:1. Is that what they're actually composing it in?

questions, questions
Post
#310321
Topic
Indiana Jones IV
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/310321/action/topic#310321
Time
Well, I have heard the argument that Spielberg was making a case for secular humanism with the ending of Last Crusade. Maybe he's trying to really drive the point home this time. Yea, I'd like to see this movie right here and now to find out what actually happens in it.

How do the puzzle pieces suddenly fit together so perfectly to suggest they're definitely going with that oft-rumored alien plotline? This story takes place after 1947. Are people just getting the idea that the big "unlocking" moment for Indy will be discovering that every mystical thing has been alien and that the Roswell ship will be the key? What if it takes the route that the story about little green men actually was just a story and that the actual truth is more along the lines of something fantastical/mythical like we saw in the other three movies?

Which draft of the script did the alien idea show up in anyway?

Oh, and I'm throwing in my opinion that space aliens in Indiana Jones would be just a tad bit more out of place than midichlorians in Star Wars.