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Hooterdear

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Join date
22-Dec-2014
Last activity
18-Jun-2020
Posts
34

Post History

Post
#784926
Topic
How would you prepare your Star Wars marathon? (Drinks, Gimmicks, Decoration etc.)
Time

Here was my rundown:

I began with the obligatory, "forget everything you know about Star Wars - names, images, cultural artifcacts, etc."

I showed a video of the Star Trek intro with lame effects

I then showed a "Top 20 70's sci-fi films" video - detailing the lack of a physical villain the audience can hate, the heavy-handed social and philosophical agendas, many are allegorical and "clean space"

Then I kinda began a story... "So its Summer '76 and you visit your cousin in San Diego. He has a crazy-looking poster he got from a comic convention a few months earlier." I then pull out the Howard Chaykin poster.

"This lingers with you until you see Rocky on Christmas night. A trailer for that cool poster comes up." (We watch it) "It's weird but still has potential. With your Christmas money you go to purchase the novelization" (Show him the book with the McQuarrie art on front, skim a few pages). "Luke Skywalker - cool name"

"Back at school a friend has the first issue. Its awesome. Can the movie live up to it??"

I show him a few pics of the lines that some of you had to stand in to watch it. I queued up Jonno's video, threw in a vintage Dolby intro and we were off the the despecialized edition. I'm thinking I can eventually use -1's print version to be more accurate for the first-time-in-77 effect I am going for.

After the movie, I was going to go into detail about the groundbreaking effects from ILM, the great music and editing, themes, etc. I also wanted to show him some of the test reactions from the pre-screening floating around the internets. But we ran out of time.

Like I said, though, he loved it!

Post
#784847
Topic
How would you prepare your Star Wars marathon? (Drinks, Gimmicks, Decoration etc.)
Time

Jonno,

I peaked around and found a newer version of your video on vimeo. I actually edited out a couple commercials and a trailer, but my friends really got into it.

And actually, he liked my presentation so much that he has asked me to teach it in his college courses!

I talked about the state of sci-fi in film and the depressing social events of the 70's but I'm looking for more. Does anyone know of any good resources that discuss how Star Wars changed the artistic and cultural landscape in '77?

Post
#784180
Topic
How would you prepare your Star Wars marathon? (Drinks, Gimmicks, Decoration etc.)
Time

Jonno,

I think the Secret Cinema route is a bit too consuming for me right now, but it would be awesome. Your '77 intro video is pretty great. I think I may have to use it if its alright. I do wish there was a US version, but the world aint perfect.

I hope to show it to him tomorrow, so I'll let you know how things go!

Post
#784002
Topic
How would you prepare your Star Wars marathon? (Drinks, Gimmicks, Decoration etc.)
Time

So getting back to the OP, I plan on showing SW to a friend who has never watched it. I am making it an interactive experience that goes through the chronology of what it was like before May 77.

So first I will show him the special effects of old space shows and movies (Star Trek [shudder]). Then I will show him what sci-fi films were like in the 70's - propagandistic, survivalist.

Then I will be guiding him through the amount of promotional material, beginning with the Chakin poster, then the trailer, novelization, radio spots, comic book, etc.

He is a Humanities professor so for him never to have seen it is terrible in it of itself, but he should appreciate everything surrounding this piece of art.

Post
#780890
Topic
Why the future SW films concern me
Time

doubleofive said:

I'd rather have the directors who grew up as fans of the originals and are inspired by the "well-established, trusted directors" than those directors. Most of them are also into their own franchises or outgrew franchises years ago. I mean, look at Ridley Scott. He came back to a franchise he created and made "Prometheus". Do we want that in our Star Wars?

 I don't disagree with you. Lucas went back to his franchise and look what we got. It's funny you mention Scott because after watching Star Wars he said, "I want to do that" and made Alien and Blade Runner.

Post
#780884
Topic
Why the future SW films concern me
Time

Ok. Everybody. I realize that the first sentence is a little sensationalist. I originally wrote this for a more general readership, not the die-hard of die-hard fans. I'm not scared like it keeps me up at night or I take meds to calm me down (those are for the voices in my head).

I am very much looking forward to the upcoming films by some talented directors. I avoid all things VII so as to fully enjoy it in December. That said, I still don't like that Disney is finding the flavor of the month directors to make them. I think I like Abrams more than others, I've been on the Rian Johnson bandwagon since opening night of Brick, and I watch The Lego Movie about once a week (thanks to my kids). However, I would be more excited about announcements of well-established, trusted directors. Do I want old-timers exclusively? No. But I don't want guys who have only done two or three movies exclusively, either. Balance... in the force... or something like that. 

Anchorhead, thanks for the chart but I don't think it is completely comparable. If you were to make a chart of fresh directors who made sequels and we can see how well those turned out (James Cameron and Aliens, for example), then I think that would be a better prediction.

Post
#780722
Topic
Why the future SW films concern me
Time

DominicCobb said:

This is dumb as shit. First of all *Trevorrow is not directing Episode IX, at least not yet. And Josh Trank is directing absolutely nothing ever again, Star Wars or otherwise. 

Dismissing Lucas's inexperience when he made the original is silly. Also, let's not forget that the three worst Star Wars films were made by the director with the most experience.

Sure, Kersh was in the business for awhile, but he made absolutely nothing of note before Empire. Same goes for Marquand. If someone with their credentials were hired for a new Star Wars film, I bet you wouldn't trust them either.

What's funny is if you look at most of those "established" filmmakers you listed, most of them made a big film like Star Wars when they were still a "fresh face."

The main reason why veteran directors aren't being hired is that veteran directors want to make their own stuff. Christopher Nolan made the Dark Knight trilogy and it was brilliant, and now he wants to move on to tell his own stories.

I know Marvel uses young directors because they can control them, but I think it's the opposite with Lucasfilm. They want fresh faces because they want fresh talent and fresh ideas. 

Look no further than Abrams, who took the script Lucasfilm gave him and completely rewrote it with Kasdan. (Abrams, by the way, is possibly the most qualified director in the business to make a Star Wars film.)

So yeah no.

 

I could dispute everything you said, because I don't think I agree with any of it. I don't think it's "dumb as shit"- It was a coherent thought written by a university graduate and the math and spelling was all correct. 

Post
#780637
Topic
Why the future SW films concern me
Time

            I am scared for the future of Star Wars. The original film in ‘77, the original trilogy, the moments of the prequel trilogy, and the continuing stories throughout the saga are a dominant force (heh) in a culture, not to mention to me, personally. There is a lot at stake with the upcoming trilogy for Lucasfilm, Disney, the fans, and the film industry in general. But there is one thing that bothers me more than anything else: inexperience.  

Here is rundown of confirmed and rumored directors for the upcoming Star Wars films:

Film

Director

Age

Directorial Debut

Number of films

VII

JJ Abrams

49

2006

4

IIX

Rian Johnson

41

2005

3

IX

Colin Trevarrow

39

2012

2

Rogue One

Gareth Edwards

40

2010

2

???

Josh Trank

31

2012

2

Han Solo

Phil Lord, Chris Miller

39

2009

4

           

An average of the seven directors shows an age of 39 years old,  directing fewer than three films, and who began their directing careers just six years ago. Now the filmography between these filmmakers has made generally-liked movies – Super8, Looper, Monsters, The Lego Movie – movies I’ve enjoyed. However, even though they could knock them out of the park, I still do not trust these men to make a solid Star Wars movie. So I have to wonder what the logic is by Kathleen Kennedy and the Disney leadership that they make these moves. Or to put it another way, why not hire within the plethora of veteran directors who have a proven track record of +20 years? A small sample of recognized and established are the following: Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Joe Johnston, James Cameron, Wolfgang Peterson, David Fincher, Mel Gibson, Robert Redford, Frank Darabont, Kathryn Bigelow, Fernando Ferreira Meirelles, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Sam Mendes, Guillermo del Toro, Denis Villeneuve, Jonathan Demme, Brian De Palma, Joe Wright, Sam Raimi, Danny Boyle, and Andrew Niccol.

            Disney’s argument could be that they have more control over the less-experienced directors. With a veteran, there is a greater potential for unwanted back-and-forth arguing with story, scenes, and look of the films. The auteur in some of the aforementioned directors may want things their way (although we are not talking about the Terrence Malicks or von Triers of filmmaking). With just two films under a couple of these guys’ belts does not instill confidence in me.   

            A related concern of mine is that they only have experience in the sci-fi genre. Although that helps with the eye-candy that we are beginning to see with every new VII image released, are we all not concerned with the storyline? The precedent was set with Irvin Kershner for Empire Strikes Back – arguably the best of the six feature films.  Because his specialty was not in the sci-fi genre but rather in drama, he brought out the best in each character, climaxing in the greatest reveal in cinematic history. A shining example of this is the Harry Potter franchise. The Boston Globe wrote a good comparison of the four directors of those films. None of them had sci-fi/fantasy experience, but they understood drama. Four directors on the younger side (to appease the Disney execs) who I can see handling both action and drama well (a la Kershner) are Sophia Coppola, Steve McQueen, Jonathan Glazer, and Garth Jennings. Admittedly, the Potter movies’ drama might have been a little heavy-handed, but they no doubt brought an exponential maturity to the films – something that the directors of the upcoming Star Wars films do not yet have.

Post
#773142
Topic
Design failures (and successes) of the PT
Time

Is this just some ploy to have us watch the PT again, darth_ender (aka George Lucas!!)?

Going from my memory...

I didn't think Darth Maul looked bad at all. In fact, Iain McCaig was the only designer I really like. They should have followed his stuff more closely.

Maybe if Coruscant wasn't too CGI-looking I would like it better.

I, too, think the podracer designs were pretty cool, as was the look of the incomplete C3PO (though, of course, what is he doing being created by a 6-year old boy?)

And... I remember absolutely nothing but the ending from ROTS. For better or for worse.

Post
#766032
Topic
Star Wars: Rogue One - * Non Spoiler Discussion Thread *
Time

My two cents.

I highly doubt there will be no mention of the Force or jedis. I actually assume that there could be plenty of screen time to see the Force at work. But even if there isn't, the SW universe is so full of familiar designs, mythology, lineages, terms, and geography that we'll feel right at home.

What I am curious about is Leia's involvement. This is based on the opening conversation between Vader and her. For a reminder:

                                     LEIA
                         Lord Vader, I should have known.
                         Only you could be so bold. The
                         Imperial Senate will not sit for
                         this, when they hear you've attacked
                         a diplomatic...

                                     VADER
                         Don't play games with me, Your
                         Highness. You weren't on any mercy
                         mission this time. Several
                         transmissions were beamed to this
                         ship by Rebel spies. I want to know
                         what happened to the plans they sent
                         you.

                                     LEIA
                         I don't know what you're talking
                         about. I'm a member of the Imperial
                         Senate on a diplomatic mission to
                         Alderaan...

                                     VADER
                         You're a part of the Rebel Alliance...
                         and a traitor. Take her away!

Also, when C3-P0 says, "there's no escape for the princess this time", it makes think that there were times prior to the capture of the Tantive IV that the two had met.

Was this territory covered in the EU at all? Has someone written about Vader's and Leia's relationship prior to ANH? It sure seems like they are well acquainted with each other and that she is well acquainted with the rebels. If vader is to be in it, she should be too, especially since she is involved in the rebellion. I doubt the film would end with someone in one ship sending the plans to people in a ship, neither of which we had seen on screen.

Post
#764185
Topic
Adventures in Raising the Next Generation of Original Star Wars Fans
Time

I tried, I really did. My son is five and I'm waiting a year for him to watch ESB to fully grasp the father-son connection. Until then I watch Star Wars with him over and over. But in my excitement, I couldn't help to pull him over to the computer screen to watch the new teaser today. It was the *REDACTED* that made me yell in my head, "What have I done?!"

I hope he turns out ok.

Post
#755954
Topic
Episode VII: The Force Awakens - Discussion * <strong>SPOILER THREAD</strong> *
Time

After watching the trailer dozens of times, I believe that what Kylo Ren is turning his lightsaber on for is on the left part of the screen of the first few frames we see him. It could be a downed ship or something, but that's what I think it is.
Don't look at this pic to look for it, but watch the trailer a few times and you may begin to see things.
Kylo Ren