^ https://www.starwars.com/news/7-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-mos-eisley-cantina
Apologies if these have already been posted (please delete if they been posted before in this thread, mods)
Star Wars themed Channel 5 Weather Forecast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qslJQUMc9yA - 40 seconds long.
(a UK tv channel - probably the best thing thing they’ve ever screened)
‘John Powell Reveals Tracklist For Deluxe Edition of Solo: A Star Wars Story Soundtrack’:
One of the pluses from Solo for me was the soundtrack, and so should be cool to have a 35 track version of it.
#MakeSolo2Happen 😃
A bit of a bump, but I think it is one worthwhile given the topic 😃
Much of this isn’t about George Lucas’ suppression of the OT films as such, but about people in and around Star Wars wanting the unaltered theatrical version to be available. Or questioning why some of the changes to the OT were actually done.
People mentioned in this lengthy post below:
Gary Kurtz
Lorne Peterson
Phil Tippett
John Knoll
Denis Muren
Ben Burtt
John Williams
Jim Ward
Rick McCallum
Kathleen Kennedy
Mark Hamill
JJ Abrams
Paul Hirsch
Pablo Hidalgo
Simon Pegg
Oscar Isaac
Peyton Reed
From oojason’s George Lucas: Star Wars Creator, Unreliable Narrator & Time Travelling Revisionist… thread, Category 28:
'28 • What do people who worked on the unaltered Original Trilogy films think of the various Special Editions?'…
Some interviews & quotes from people who worked on the Original Trilogy films and what they think of the alterations made to the films via the various Special Editions (as well as a few people who have worked at Lucasfilm since)…
'Gary Kurtz - on the Star Wars Special Edition’ youtube video, - by gordongecko1975 (aka OT•com member Haarspalter)
^ From an ‘interview with Gary Kurtz back in 2002’ (by Ken Plume) article from the A Site Called Fred website. The snippet images above are taken from Page 9 of the interview.
'Another 2006 DVD release also has Peterson grinning these days: When we spoke in mid-2005, he had lamented the fact that the original, pre-Special Edition trilogy had not been released in a digital format. That changed this fall, and he says it does mean something special.
“It’s almost unimaginable to think of the (original) Star Wars films sitting somewhere and rotting within your own lifetime,” he said.’
^ The above text, and more information can be found in the link below…
Sculpting His Journey: An interview with Star Wars model maker Lorne Peterson - article from the Fields Edge website (interview by John Booth).
'Last night the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX held a very special screening of Jurassic Park and flew in Phil Tippett, one of the visual effects masterminds behind the film, for a Q&A, which ended up being the surprise highlight of the night. Tippett was candid and honest as usual.
Questions came regarding the new Star Wars Blu Rays, since they were on everyone’s minds as of late. Tippett, you may recall, began his career as one of the original artists at ILM when it opened up shop. He provided the stop-animation for Star Wars (the 3D chess board), and performed the stop-animation for the AT-AT Imperial Walkers and the Taun-Taun’s in Empire Strikes Back, and the Rancor puppeteering on Return of the Jedi, among other duties. It didn’t take long before he was asked about Lucas’ endless tinkering with all the pioneering visual effects work on the films, and Tippett, perhaps not surprisingly, hates the changes as much as fans.
“They’re shit,” he says about the Special Editions. He calls them unnecessary, citing as one example Lucas’ choice to shoot Mos Eisely originally as a barren bordertown that recalled similar locales in Sergio Leone westerns. Now, he says, it’s “filled with a bunch of…CGI shit.”
He shares an additional anecdote with the website regarding a conversation between Lucas and Return of the Jedi director Richard Marquand that’s pretty amusing (“What we’re doing now is kind of like a cross between Benji and what we did on Empire Strikes Back”, Lucas told him)'.
Article can be found at: http://www.movies.com/movie-news/phil-tippett-star-wars/4324
^ The above text, and more information can be found in the link below…
Site News - section article from the Save Star Wars website.
‘Mondo Mystery Movie #2: Q&A (Part 2)’ youtube video, - by Crab Rangoon - a Q&A with Phil Tippett after a screening of ‘Jurassic Park’, from 2011.
^ the above image is taken from Pages 279 & 280 of the ‘Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Summer’ book by Tom Shone (an amazon link to the book).
'I came up with a list of probably about 25 shots of spaceships, mainly during the dog fight sequence at the end of the original film, that we never quite had right. There’s big giant map lines showing, there’s huge black, or gray things that are just in the shot, they shouldn’t be in it. It just made it look real funky, and I was all for fixing that stuff up. That’s what I where I thought it was going to end, I wasn’t getting anything with plots or anything like that.
But my thought always was that the originals will always be there, this would be like the original there and then you’d have this, you could look at like this was what they meant to do at that time. That’s not what happened, George just was really sort of making them like forever and apparently just wants one version out there forever. I agree that it’s too bad there isn’t the handwriting of how you were in 1983, and how you thought the movie should look or something. But an artist can do what he wants, and that’s what George is doing. So there are, you know, you got the laser disk around, and maybe sometime the stuff will come back. I don’t know. There are still very nice prints around of those original films, so it’s not like they’re gone.’
^ The above text, and more information can be found in the link below…
Dennis Muren on Making ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, the Special Editions, and Directing ‘Star Tours’ - article from the Collider website.
More from Denis Muren…
^ the above screenshot image is taken from a 2008 interview with Denis Muren at Lightsabre.co.uk - available via the Internet Archive.
^ The above image, and more information, is taken from the article linked to below…
‘Voice of RD-D2 speaks out on film trickery’ - a 2009 article from the News AU website.
^ The above screenshot image is taken from the full article linked to below…
‘Star Wars 20th Anniversary: Interview with John Williams’ - a 1997 article from Film Score Monthly on the JWFan site.
On a slightly different tangent, the Lucasfilm Vice President acknowledging that ‘a truly countless number of fans’ want to see the theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy (after the 2004 DVD release of the Special Editions)…
Jim Ward: “Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters,” said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. “We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we’re very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars.”
^ The above text, screenshot, and more information can be found in the link below…
This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD - 3rd May, 2006 article from the Star Wars official website.
From a 2012 interview on the Collider website with Rick McCallum, where he expresses his own view that he hopes the unaltered version of the Original Trilogy is indeed released, and that he hopes George also decides to release the classic original version - “I think that’s a decision he (George) has to come to on his own as time comes by”.
Interviewer: Episode I recently came out on Blu-ray, and you guys are getting ready to do a 3D re-release. Obviously I’m a fan of you guys, I’m a fan of Star Wars and I know that George likes to tinker and change. Is the 3D re-release any different than what just came out on Blu-ray or is it the same movie just in 3D?
McCallum: It’s the same movie in 3D.
Interviewer: Do you think we’ll ever get the original trilogy and the prequels without any changes on Blu-ray, or is it never gonna happen?
Rick McCallum: I would have to answer that officially it’s never gonna happen, but you never know with George. It’s one of the constant things that—let’s put it this way, it changes always. You never know.
Interviewer: Yeah I mean personally, as I’ve said many times on the site I have no problems with George changing the films, I just think it would be great if he would release the originals and that way everyone could have it, but that’s just me.
Rick McCallum: I know, but I understand that completely. It’s just a question I can’t answer. Obviously I have my own personal feelings, I hope that he does it, but I don’t have major arguments with him about it. I think that’s a decision he has to come to on his own as time comes by.
^ the full interview can be found here - Producer Rick McCallum Talks RED TAILS and Live-Action STAR WARS TV Series; Describes Show as “EMPIRE STRIKES BACK on Steroids”
^ taken from a 2012 'Henry Thomas and Kathleen Kennedy Talk E.T. The Extra-Terrestial, Jurassic Park 4, Lincoln, Steven Spielberg, and More interview at the Collider website…
Interviewer: “When it came out on DVD, there was the special edition version that had some notable changes (walkie-talkies in the government agents hands instead of guns, sanctifying certain dialogue exchanges) but the Blu-ray reverts back to the original version. What brought about that decision?”
Kathleen Kennedy: “To be perfectly honest, I think Steven always regretted having made the decision to do anything to the film. I think he was feeling a certain amount of pressure to be politically correct. And then he realized that it maybe wasn’t the correct [decision]. I think most fans and most people who like classic movies that have stood the test of time, don’t want them to be tinkered with”.
^ Well, we would just like to be able to have the option of buying and watching the old untinkered classic Original Trilogy movies on a quality modern digital format.
and some information and quotes that I have found floating around the internet…
More Kathleen Kennedy…
The much misunderstood quote of “I haven’t touched those. (both interviewer and Kathleen Kennedy laugh) You kidding? Those will always remain his.” being used as an reason (wrongfully) as to why Lucasfilm will not release the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy:-
The full audio interview of the ‘Steele Wars Podcast’, conducted in a media line event for ‘The Last Jedi’ at Celebration 2017, can be found below. The section with Kathleen Kennedy starts at 12m 45s:-
https://omny.fm/shows/steele-wars/ep-131-3-star-wars-celebration-orlando-day-2-the-l (21 minutes long)
The relevant section of the interview is at 15m 32s…
Interviewer: “A lot has been said about the pass over to Disney, but Star Wars is film of changes… it has evolved over time. Uh, is there like, a contractual or a handshake agreement that the films are locked in their current form?”.
Kathleen Kennedy: “No, there is no-one actually locking us into anything. In fact, the beauty of this relationship with The Walt Disney Company is they have been absolutely fantastic at standing back and pretty much letting us do what we want.”
Interviewer: “Sorry, I mean like the… the vision of George’s final cut of the film that he left us with? Like whether that might be altered over time?”
Kathleen Kennedy: “I haven’t touched those. (both interviewer and Kathleen Kennedy laugh) You kidding? Those will always remain his.”
From the above conversation it is quite obvious that Kathleen Kennedy is talking about not making any further changes to the Original Trilogy - and is not talking about the unaltered theatrical version of the Original Trilogy.
^ more information on this can be found in this thread:-
Kathleen Kennedy Shuts Down any Hope for Unaltered Release (not really) - a 2012 thread by SpooneyToe11240
^ the above “But like my son and a lot of fans says, we’d love to see the original, pre-fixes. Just the way it was in 1977.” quote is taken from this following article:-
‘Star Wars Mark Hamill admits George Lucas made one change to Empire Strikes Back that made “no sense”’…
‘J.J. Abrams is calling for the original versions of ‘Star Wars’ to be released’
https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1204960815821946880?s=21 (with video of interview with JJ Abrams)
‘Exclusive: J.J. Abrams Wants The Original Versions Of Star Wars Released’ (full article & interview):-
The “Star Wars” trilogy hasn’t been seen in its original form since 1997
https://nowthisnews.com/pop/jj-abrams-wants-the-original-versions-of-star-wars-released
“I guess it’s what George Lucas wanted, and that’s what he did, and so I respect that, although I also feel like there’s something about the original theatrical version that was, you know, for so many people […] the thing they loved as it was,” Abrams told NowThis in an exclusive interview. “And so, you know, it would be great to have that available for a mainstream audience.”
^ all credit to Vin for this.
^ a screenshot from ‘The Filmunentaries Podcast’ interview with Paul Hirsch - https://twitter.com/StarWarsVisComp/status/1282434281315467265
"Paul Hirsch on @jamieswb’s podcast in regards to the SE Jabba scene: “I don’t regret anything being out, I just regret things coming back in!”
The full podcast of Jamie Benning’s interview of ‘4 - Paul Hirsch - Oscar Winning Film Editor’ can be found here (and is free and simple to listen to):-
with more episodes here: https://soundcloud.com/user-159527521 & https://twitter.com/jamieswb
^ the above screenshot is taken from the following article:-
‘The Original Theatrical STAR WARS Trilogy Will Never Get an HD Re-release Because of George Lucas’…
(Pablo’s tweet are protected, so I couldn’t just post up a screenshot of the tweets, hence the screenshot of an article quoting them.)
It would be fantastic to find more quotes from other people in and around Star Wars - as well as any more of the cast, crew and talent who worked on the Original films.
If anyone finds any quotes, videos or screenshots, please post them in here!
Especially quotes from the likes of Gareth Edwards and Rian Johnson, who have all been rumored to have been on record as wanting the unaltered theatrical version on the Original Trilogy released, or not understanding why the Special Editions have so many changes made to them over time, on record before they worked on Star Wars films themselves.
And last but in no way least, Marcia Lucas, of course.
4th November Edit:
I found an old OT•com thread on Simon Pegg’s thoughts on some of the changes made to the Original Trilogy (from his own twitter account between August 31st and September 4th, 2011). Inside the thread are some quotes from him:-
StarWars Insider: Simon Pegg Interview - a 2011 thread, by Master Sifo-Dyas
31 August: ‘I’m hearing some rumblings about supposed audio additions to the original trilogy on the Star Wars Blu-Rays. Is this a hoax? Suspect it is’.
31 August: ‘Wasn’t going to buy them anyway. Not even going to watch borrowed copies now. The only thing I’d buy is the original, original three on blu’.
31 August: ‘Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame’.
31 August: ‘Can’t believe it still bothers me. It’s like getting upset because a dead relative’s corpse has rotted a bit more’.
31 August: ‘I wonder if George Lucas will ever replace himself with CGI. He should do. He’s a muppet’.
4 September: ‘My final word on the SW Blu-Rays. When they hit the shelves, just say NOOOOOOOOOO!’
^ The quotes by Simon Pegg also appear in a post by Moth3r, here - in the 2010 ‘Star Wars coming to Blu Ray’ thread.
and this from Oscar Isaac on the OOT and Lucas making changes to the classic Star Wars films…
'Speaking to the Huffington Post, Isaac echoed the views of fans and critics who have wondered why Star Wars required the addition of a squealing CGI Jabba, or whether the revised version of Return of the Jedi might have reasonably dispensed with irritating new digital members of the Max Rebo Band for scenes at the Hutt gangster’s palace. The actor defended Lucas’s right “as an artist” to make the alterations, but said the original movies were “awesome”.
“There’s a part of me that appreciates that he doesn’t really care if people are upset about it,” said the American actor, who will take an unspecified role in Episode VII. “He wants to go back and do stuff, whatever".
“But as a fan, I’d much rather go back and watch the old thing, because it’s a product of the time. It’s what did you do at the time with the things that you had. And that’s what made that movie so amazing. At that time with that technology he made this thing and it was fucking awesome. So, you know, to go back and kind of tweak it with new stuff, it doesn’t make it more interesting for me as a watcher. It makes it less interesting, but I can’t fault him for doing that.”’
^ ‘Oscar Isaac says tinkering with Star Wars trilogy made films “less interesting”’ - a 2014 thread by danny_boy
^ https://twitter.com/MrPeytonReed/status/911024440766582784
I just sat through season 3 opener for Discovery and was disappointed. A lot going on in it from the end of season 2, yet just didn’t feel any interest or engagement with it. I think I could have simply turned it off half way through and not bothered to watch the rest of the episode, and I haven’t done that since some of the bad Voyager episodes aired.
I’m hoping episode 2 will be better, though not holding out much hope. Feels a little weird as I easily and fully got into Picard.
Edit: Since the first couple of episodes I’ve really enjoyed this season (just watched the 6th episode) so far 😃
I like them, and refreshing to see the theatrical posters for each film used on the front cover 😃
‘4000° Plasma Lightsaber Build (retractable blade!)’:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC6J4T_hUKg - the Hacksmith YouTube channel (19 mins)
&
‘4000° Lightsaber Test (cuts anything!)’:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey_EjSzKFWQ - the Hacksmith YouTube channel (11 mins)
It is a bit ‘Ghostbusters meets Star Wars’ with the backpack on, but still very cool 😃
A few other quality YouTube channels making a lot of cool Star Wars themed stuff:-
The Smugglers Room : https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSmugglersRoom/videos
I Like To Make Stuff : https://www.youtube.com/c/Iliketomakestuff/videos
The Rebel Base Build : https://www.youtube.com/c/JCulley3D/videos (and for a few other film & tv series)
Black Market Outpost : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOvMPdpgezpyZ2A1GQZGchA/videos
A post for requesting political discussion to be allowed again on the OT.com
I appreciate and respect the previous decision of Jay and mods to ban the discussion of politics on the site a couple of years ago. It seems the multiple requests, warnings, temp-locks, post deletions, temp-bans, and even a fresh political thread, all aimed at improving the level to some sort of civil and decent political discourse were repeatedly ignored and went unheeded.
Yet, many of those members involved from that time are no longer on here on site. This is a more civil and welcoming place than that era, and there was some genuine and quality debate and points of view taking place in the political discussions at times (in amongst the shite, grudges and drama).
It would give also the ‘Off Topic’ a welcome boost to the number of discussions taking place in there. Maybe with more interest and footfall in the political threads people will take notice of some of the other cool threads in there too.
Would it be possible for the moderation staff to consider whether to allow political discussions on the site again?
If the ‘shitposts’ or antics of the past were to return, the moderation could simply re-instate the banning of discussion politics once again.
I fully respect and understand the decision should the mods decide not to bring political discussion back. Just thought I’d ask.
Gonk, you’re being trolled, lad.
Memory_001 doesn’t know how things work on this site… yet hasn’t bothered to look around to see how it does - or bothered to read up on it in either.
And he’ll likely continue to post across all 3 threads about the same project, continuing to claim it was never released, when anyone reading through the threads can clearly see it was.
Keep your help for those who genuinely want it 👍
Is there a thread on here similar to doubleofive’s comprehensive ‘Complete Comparison of Special Edition Visual Changes’ - but for the audio changes and release information?
Or a main ‘audio in the OT’ discussion thread?
So much on this great site is about the visual changes and releases… though am struggling to find threads and information on the audio changes.
(I know oojason had started on an ‘Index Thread’ of OT audio over time - and another a couple of other Index Thread projects - but they seem unlikely to ever happen now.)
‘When you want to play Nintendo but you can’t because you live in Australia’
I think he has already nailed the ‘powerslide’ in Mario Kart! Another course smashed 😃
If there isn’t a SOTME thread around here, there should be.
ooj knocked these up for inclusion in the new ‘The EU Index’ thread he was working on (is splitting the ‘The Expanded Universe & General Star Wars Discussion’ into two sections still going ahead?):-
• Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye - review and thoughts (2007 thread)
• My first step into a larger world… Splinter Of The Mind’s Eye (2007 thread)
• Star Wars: The Alan Dean Foster Trilogy (2011 thread)
• Alan Dean Foster Books? (2010 thread)
• Ideas: Splinter of the Mind’s Eye - and other fan films wishlist (2013 thread in ‘Star Wars Fan Edits’)
and I think SOTME also features a little in these more generic threads:-
• George Lucas: Unreliable Narrator & Time Travelling Revisionist… (in ‘2. The Changing Number of Episodes in the Star Wars Saga’)
• Favorite Star Wars Book? (2010 thread)
• Star Wars Books. Good Recommendations? (2015 thread)
• Best Books (2007 thread)
• What you’re reading now: EU style (2006 thread)
• Expanded Universe Novel Discussion (2004 thread)
• Does anyone care about the ‘extended universe’? (2011 thread)
• How the expanded universe ruined the original trilogy (2012 thread)
• If Star Wars flopped… (2006 thread)
• Where to enter EU? (2007 thread)
and some other more ‘general EU book’ threads as well. Most of these are already listed in the current ‘EU & Gen SW index’ thread.
He even persuaded me to give SOTME another read it again, and am glad he did 😃 Quite surprised nobody has done a ‘fan film’ or animated version of it.
US President Donald Trump says he and his wife Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.
The ‘Empire Strikes Back’ is back in the cinemas for the US…
https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1306994972135026689 (official Star Wars website):-
‘The Empire Strikes Back in theaters on September 25! See showtimes and celebrate the 40th anniversary: Fandango link’
Though beware, if it is the same as what they did in the UK not so long ago… it will actually be the 2011 blu ray version being shown. Despite it being advertised, or inferred, on the poster and other advertising spiel that it the 40th Anniversary/original 1980 version…
I imagine ‘celebrate the 40th Annniversary of Empire Strikes Back by watching the 2011 version of it’ would not have had the same impact 😉
Members can edit their thread titles:
^ Click on the ‘Edit’ button next to the ‘Subscribe’ button and you get a title of the thread bar appear under ‘Topic Title’. Make any title chnges - and then click on the ‘Save Changes’ button.
Before the prequels were released, I envisioned a lot more of Vader hunting down Jedi. Now that we have Anakin’s backstory, I’m not sure a movie with Vader as the central character would fit well. I think instead you would have to make something centered around a group of Jedi who survived Order 66 and are being hunted by Vader. Focus on and build those characters, then let Vader do what he does best, be the menacing villain who inspires fear. That sounds a lot like Rogue One with more Jedi, so maybe that wouldn’t fit well either.
Perhaps Vader best left to surprise cameos that leave us wanting more.
A ‘Jedi Purge’ movie would be sweet in that it would probably be the last ‘big’ unexplored issue of what happened between ROTS and SW’77 that would be of interest to main audiences? Chris Nolan doing it would likely bring a new spin or approach to how it could be done or filmed.
Though like you, I’d prefer minimal-to-cameo Vader being involved or seen.
Bounty hunters for sure, crime lords, defectors and doule-agents, and some of the characters from Solo & Rogue One in differing and new environments as well. The seeds or birth of the Rebellion as it were. Frightened or oppresssed every-day folk too scared to help the few remaining Jedi in hiding - or those having no choice to get involved on behalf of the Empire…
I liked it and wouldn’t mind seeing more - though maybe clip the speech of the actors if you do? (it can be quite difficult to make out what stormtroopers are saying to each other at the best of times, even more so when they talk in long sentences 😃)
I hope you do more of these.
I don’t know if there’s a thread somewhere but Empire of Dreams has a “we changed stuff” disclaimer at the start now. Presumably because it now includes the pink saber from 2004 and the Ewok eyelids from 2011, amongst other things.
but which is George’s ‘Final Cut’ or ‘one true vision’ of the Empire Of Dreams? 😉
Seriously, how many versions of Empire Of Dreams are there?
Looks great to me, and much easier to find projects and information.
‘The Jedi Archives’ are now complete 😉
Any Leverkusen fans around?
I’m not a fan of them (liverpool for me) - though do enjoy watching Die Werkself. We get many of the Bundesliga games here in the UK on BT Sport, and also by other means 😉 Felt for you guys missing out so narrowly on Champions League qualification this season.
A clinical display and performance over Rangers in the Europa League was pretty impressive, and I hope you do the same vs Inter in the Quarters 😃
^ a 2015 article from The New York Times.
The blurb (it is a lengthy article - though one worth reading in full; below is a snippet):-
'Mr. Lucas always knew his audience. In April 1977, the month before “Star Wars” opened, American Film magazine ran an interview in which he talked about who he wanted to reach. “Rather than do some angry, socially relevant film,” he said, “I realized that there was another relevance that is even more important — dreams and fantasies, getting children to believe there is more to life than garbage and killing and all that real stuff like stealing hubcaps — that you could still sit and dream about exotic lands and strange creatures.” His influences were a postmodern grab bag, from samurai films to “John Carter of Mars.” (Years later, Joseph Campbell was worked into the conversation, too.) Crucially, Mr. Lucas said, “I wanted to make a children’s movie, to go the Disney route.”
He specifically sought out science-fiction fans for “Star Wars,” and 20th Century Fox, its distributor, advised exhibitors to use science-fiction displays in public libraries to reach youngsters on summer break. Fox also urged exhibitors to try to rope in college students in language suggesting that this was a flick meant to be seen in an altered state: “If ever a motion picture was guaranteed to catch and send the imagination of college students soaring, it’s ‘Star Wars.’ ” Figuratively or through a cloud of smoke, the audience soared, and so did the box-office receipts. The film was a smash, conquering the public and critics — in May 1977, Time crowned it the year’s best — and remained in theaters throughout 1977, reopening in ’78 and in successive years. (Most studio movies now are in theaters for about four months.)’
'Mr. Lucas’s true genius may be in marketing, including of his vision. Like other filmmakers who came of age in the 1960s, when American directors became auteurs, he has strong views on authorship. In a 1997 interview with Wired, he addressed the studios’ and artists’ rights, arguing that a copyright should belong to “the artist” of a film and not the large corporation that owns it. “I solved the problem by owning my own copyright,” Mr. Lucas said, “so nobody can screw around with my stuff. Nobody can take ‘Star Wars’ and make Yoda walk, because I own it.” When asked about the changes that he had made to his earlier work, including to “Star Wars,” he said: “It’s my artistic vision. If I want to go back and change it, it’s my business, not somebody else’s.”
He could not be more wrong. If the past four decades have made anything clear, “Star Wars” the phenomenon doesn’t belong to Mr. Lucas or a studio, no matter what the copyright states: It is owned by the fans who — aided and abetted by him and his expansive empire — turned it into a sensation, a passion, a cult and, for some, a lifestyle. In 1977, when the first movie opened, a fan could buy tie-in promotional toys, T-shirts, posters, masks, books, comics and children’s costumes. And no wonder: It was a film, as Mr. Lucas said in 1980, written with “visions of R2-D2 mugs and little windup robots.” As the decades and sequels opened and closed, those mugs and toys multiplied into a seemingly infinitely expanding emporium of desire, a “Star Wars” alternative reality in which you could live, play (online and off) and dream.
In its narrative simplicity — its good versus evil morality, its cheerfully blank hero and bang-bang action — “Star Wars” became the ultimate toy, one that fans could spin in all sorts of directions. Its universe was at once specific and so broad that it inspired fan fiction in every imaginable form, tone and medium from comics to novels and movies. Years before the popularization of the idea of participatory culture, a term for those who are at once pop-culture consumers and contributors, “Star Wars” fans had staked their claim on this world. That engagement sometimes took Mr. Lucas aback. “It’s always amazing to me when people take them so seriously,” he is quoted as saying in Dale Pollock’s essential book “Skywalking” (1983). His movies, Mr. Lucas also said then, are “kind of dumb.” (In turn, the fans have lashed out at him, including for digitally fiddling with “A New Hope.”)
In the years since, Mr. Lucas has clearly embraced his destiny as a force. And while it may seem strange, given his hatred of the studios, that he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, he found it a perfect home. Mr. Lucas helped shape modern conglomerate cinema, to borrow a term from Mr. Schatz, but it was Disney that really pioneered cradle-to-grave entertainment. In 1929, Walt Disney sold the rights to use Mickey Mouse (soon called the “million dollar mouse”) on children’s writing tablets, signing his first licensing contract a year later. “The sale of a doll to any member of a household,” Roy Disney, Walt’s brother, said, “is a daily advertisement in that household for our cartoons and keeps them all ‘Mickey Mouse Minded.’ ” As it turns out, though, the real Force is the mouse that roared.’
One day, I plan to make enough spare time so I can actually site down and read through this awesome thread.
Great work, mods!
Ron Cobb, a Designer on Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Alien, Dies at 83:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/ron-cobb-a-designer-on-star-wars-back-to-the-future-1845130929
Fantastic twitter thread on some of Ron Cobb’s work - https://twitter.com/TheSpaceshipper/status/1308071692296740864
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ron-cobb-dead-designer-alien-ship-back-future-delorean-was-83-1149219
www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2020/sep/22/ron-cobb-films-in-pictures-alien-back-to-the-future?
www.lambiek.net/artists/c/cobb_ron.htm
www.highsnobiety.com/p/ron-cobb-concept-designer-alien-star-wars
https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/09/r-i-p-ron-cobb
www.multiversitycomics.com/news/ron-cobb-obit
Mark Hamill on Rob Cobb - https://twitter.com/hamillhimself/status/1308204108449345536
Wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Cobb
Ron’s own website - http://roncobb.net
I am a little disappointed that Chase hasn’t posted upside down in this thread, like a true Aussie would have! 😉
