JasonN

ben_danger said:

are you going to attempt any of the more drastic cuts as demonstrated in the FAN-O-MATIC?

From what I've seen of the Fan-O-Matic (I've only watched the first 3 videos), the only ideas that we both share is that I might possibly move the "Yoda's death on Daigobah" sequence to the beginning of the film before the arrival on Tatooine and some restructuring of the Tatooine scenes; I'm also toying with the idea of completely removing the "Obi-Wan talks to Luke" scene that follows it.

(note, though, that none of these edits have been 100% decided on yet)

This is not an attempt at making the SE of Return of the Jedi closer to it’s original theatrical version - I am simply trying to make Jedi into what I feel would be a better film, one that is closer to what the story was originally planned to be (and no, I do not buy the canonical “Lucas history” of the SW film series)

Changes/Cuts

• Leia is NOT Luke’s sister: relationship now takes on a slight romantic undertone
  As far as I am concerned, the “Leia is Luke’s twin” plot twist is one of the worse re-writings/retconings that I’ve seen in a serial film series. By all accounts, she was never written as nor ever intended to be the main character’s twin or the “Other” mentioned by Yoda; the reason WHY she became that was due to Lucas’s fear of not being able to make more Episodes/Chapters of the series (which would include a prequel trilogy and two more trilogies series FOLLOWING the Original Trilogy), so he decided to “wrap up” any and all plot points in RofJ.

• removal of the Leia/Han romance subplot
  The main reason why I’m cutting the Han/Leia romance is because by getting rid of the “Twin Sister” subplot from the story, the relationship between Luke and Leia seems to take on a more romantic ‘undertone’ than what was there previously. The way that I look at it is that during the years following the events of Empire Strikes Back (and yes, I say years because this fanedit’s story is taking place 4-5 years after ESB… I still can’t believe that Jedi’s story took place just one year after ESB: the characters definitely look more than a year older), the two characters’ relationship developed a lot further than what the audience saw onscreen. Plus, there were plans at one point that if Harrison Ford had not come back to play Han in the final film, there would’ve been a brief (but unsuccessful in the end) romance between Leia and Luke, so there was always a possibility of such a relationship existing in the original material.

• reduce Han Solo’s “nice guy humor”

• reduce Darth Vader’s and the Emperor’s constant “Turn to the Dark Side” speeches

• reduce Luke’s constant “There is good in him” speeches

• reinstating Sebastian Shaw into the film as the older Anakin

• reduce the role of the Ewoks (along with their “humor”)

• remove/reduce the “music video/big-lipped alien singer” sequence at Jabba’s palace

• miscellaneous other tweaks and cuts

JediChad said:

I'd love to see a copy of Attack of the Federation if any kind soul out there wouldn't mind helping a fellow out?

 I haven't released it yet - I want to finish all 3 Prequels first so that I can release them all together.

Odd, for some reason, it posted twice...

Bingowings said:

There is still a lot of unused and deleted material that as yet has never seen the light of day.

I think the scene is a good one it could be trimmed a bit but Padme needs more screen time in ROTS she is far too passive a character in the theatrical cut and it is difficult to feel the tragedy of her death when she is such an absent presence. 

After some scene rearranging, I might be able to keep that scene after all - I placed the "Padme in Palpatine's Office" scene just after Obi-Wan starts chasing Grevious and drops his lightsaber. I also moved the "Anakin confronts Palpatine" scene to just after Obi-Wan defeats Grevious, which is then followed by Anakin going straight to Mace to tell him about Palpatine being a Sith lord (so he's not waiting around forever before he talks to Mace about the Sith threat).

Watched the edit tonight on my hdtv and surround system and for the most part I think it turned out pretty great, but there are a few things that need to be tweaked:

- a few scene transitions need to be changed

- I'm back on the fence about cutting the "Palpatine's Office" deleted scene which I had reinstated previously: it has a few interesting ideas to it (Padme's growing distrust of Palpatine, Palpatine sewing seeds of doubt in Anakin over Padme, etc.), but I feel like the scene is too much of a "slow-spot" that the film doesn't need at that point. Also, I don't know how effective the "Anakin grows suspicious of Padme" subplot is at that point of the story - he should only become suspicious/jealous/accusing at the climax where he's fully turned to the Dark Side.

(perhaps in an earlier draft of the script/film that subplot would've had more of a depth and impact to the story, but it's not present in the footage of the "official Lucas" cut of the film: another indication to me that RotS was rewritten and re-edited during production of the film)

Finished rending the mpv and ac3 files for The Black Knight Rises, so I'm burning a test DVD of the edit to watch later tonight. :)

I will probably be making a "Faneditor Scene Commentary" video for both EP2 and EP3 discussing the changes that I've made to those two film (since I've done several changes/edits to those two films that are somewhat different from other Prequel edits, such as Dooku still being a Jedi and removing the Yoda/Sidious duel).

DarkFather said:I loved the scene showing Vader's Sith eyes, personally.

 Visually, it's kinda cool, but what bothered me about it was the context - so Anakin has Sith-eyes when he's murdering aliens and droids, but not when he attempts to kill his wife and best friend/mentor???

Little update on the "Anakin Chooses the Dark Side" sequence that I showed - I've removed Sidious's "Unlimited Power!" line from the scene, so now it's just him yelling out as he fries Mace with lightning.

Also for the scene where Anakin is attacking the Separatists on Mustafar, I removed the shot of him looking back into the camera with "Sith eye" (a scene that always bothered me in the original RotS).

Since some people appear genuinely concerned about this documentary, here are some answers that the director gave on fanedit.org's forum to the questions we had for him:

peoplevsgeorge said:

 1- Will your documentary be totally "against" Lucas oriented, or is there room for kind words about him here and there?

PvsG isn’t a Lucas-bashing exercise. Instead, I’m on a journey to explore a cultural phenomenon like no other. Let me explain. A few years ago, I made a documentary about Klingon speakers, and I was exposed to STAR TREK fandom, which I think is very different from STAR WARS fandom in many ways. I don’t want to generalize, of course; but there’s a strong sense to me that STAR TREK fans, almost universally, tend to idolize Gene Roddenberry--not in a sectarian sense, of course; but you don’t really hear STAR TREK fans complain much about Gene Roddenberry’s legacy.

George Lucas fans, on the other hand, tend to have mixed feelings about him. Put two of them in a room together, and they’ll start arguing about the Special Editions, Boba Fett, the Midichlorians, whether or not George owes them a DVD release of the restored Original Trilogy, INDIANA JONES 4, HOWARD THE DUCK, you name it! George Lucas fans love to argue and complain about George Lucas. Google the words I hate Gene Roddenberry, and you’ll find only four search results. Google I hate George Lucas, and 1,240 hits come up! That’s a staggering stat; but how does one explain it? There’s definitely a sense out there that Lucasfilm has turned into a kind of “evil empire”; and I think that George Lucas has given the fans plenty of reasons to complain, so we're talking about a unique and fascinating cultural phenomenon, which I felt needed to be explored in a documentary. As you probably know, not too long ago, Trey Parker and Matt Stone dedicated an entire SOUTH PARK episode to the rape of Indiana Jones by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Whether you’re talking about parody, satire or serious commentary, that kind of material is out there. And it’s absolutely worth investigating as a singular cultural phenomenon.

Here’s the thing: I can clearly understand both sides of the argument, and that’s why I’m so passionate about making sure that they are equally heard. This is a very complex subject matter, and it goes far deeper than why a great majority of people from my generation seem to hate Jar Jar Binks with a passion. It’s about pop culture. It’s about stardom and fandom. It’s about whether or not an artist should have the right to alter his work once it’s been legitimized by the public as an integral component of our world heritage. It’s about the transformation of a young, idealistic filmmaker into the most powerful mogul in movie history. It’s about the transformation of a creative genius, the influence of fame and fortune on his work, and the complex relationship between a man who once could do no wrong and his polarized fans. So you can expect a final product that will go much deeper than our catchy title suggests, and I believe it will shed light on the numerous controversies that people around the world seem eager to discuss on a daily basis. And, yes, I'd like fanedits to be an integral component of the film.

 

2- What made you think about including a fanedit part in your documentary?

The simple fact that there are so many talented editors out there willing to "take matters into their own hands", so to speak, intrigues me a great deal. I'm sure some of you do it for sheer love of the SW movies; but it appears that some of you do it to improve upon the movies that disappointed you. Either way you look at it, it all relates to how you feel about George and his work, and that's why I believe there should be a segment about fanedits in our doc.

 

3-  Do faneditors have to appear "on camera"? How much anonymity are faneditors allowed to have?

If you'd rather be anonymous, feel free to appear backlit, wear a mask, or distort your voice. I really don't mind. The important thing is the content of the interview, and I want all faneditors to be 100% comfortable with the process. I realize how legally tricky fanedits are for their creators, and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize you in any way. That said, you should know that we’re hoping to bring Stanford Law on board our project (they specialize in Fair Use); and while it may not be legal for faneditors to distribute their work, it may be perfectly legal for a documentarian like myself to show excerpts from fanedits to make a point in our documentary (and, therefore, to indirectly show your work to the world). But understand this: I WILL NOT use ANY excerpts from your or anybody else’s fanedits in our doc UNLESS we get legal confirmation that they are safe to use AND if the faneditors themselves grant us permission to use their work. So you really have nothing to worry about.

 

4- What elements about fanedited SW films are you looking to cover (Jar-Jar Binks, Midiclorians, "Losing the will to live", etc)?

We're really looking to cover all relevant aspects of fanedited SW films, so I wouldn't want to give you any restrictions. Obviously, our doc is about George Lucas, and I'm curious to know how fanedits are a reflection of how you feel about his work. Specifically, why did you make the edits and changes you made?

 

5- Is there a deadline to send you videos or things like that?

Yes, the deadline is September 30, 2009. Just go to our website (http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com) for submission information, and don't hesitate to email me directly if you have any questions. Needless to say, the earlier I receive your submission, the better for me; as I'm already sorting through hundreds of hours of footage!

 

6- Will the "Howard the duck" embarrassment of a movie be discussed in your movie?

You can count on it! :D

Have people even bothered to LOOK at the content of this documentary first before forming an opinon on it?

This is not a 100% "Bashing Lucas" film - it gives both sides of the George Lucas issue an equal share of film to discuss and give voice to their praises or condemnations of Lucas and his work, his decisions, and the path that he's decided on for the SW legacy.

Master Qui-Gon: By the end of the month, hopefully (need to send the DVD to another person to upload it online).

A re-edit of the "Mace VS Palpatine" sequence in EP3, as well as the following scenes where Anakin betrays the Jedi and chooses the Dark Side (which he's already decided on when he returns to Palpatine's office):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YIOTNVWlA0

The DVD version of SW: Attack of the Federation is complete, I'm back working on the last two Prequel films.

This is a test edit for EP3, where Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Palpatine are captured by the rayshields, but I've removed R2-D2 from the scene. I was really bothered by how Lucas treated R2-D2 as a "clown" in the movie's beginning, as well as the overusage of R2's "scream" sound effect (also that stupid "Eh-Oh!"... god damn it, Lucas, you made R2-D2 sound like a damn Teletubbie...):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FeQSsHzSGQ

Star Wars: Attack of the Federation (formerly known as Episode 1: The Phantom Menace) has been 100% completed and I'm rendering the mpv and ac3 files for the DVD9 version right now. :)

Darth Piccolo said:

here is a rough edit i did of anakin's turn to the dark side to be better paced share you thougts or anyone with good video and sound editing skills to make it flow better in cuts

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?pi=0&ps=20&sf=added&sa=0&sq=&dm=1

 

 Umm... those are my videos, not yours...

Bingowings said:

I meant the "At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi, at last we will have our revenge" scene, I'm now assuming that will be gone as will the Dooku/Sidious scene in "Twilight".

Oh, I see - no, I'm keeping that scene in, but I'm removing Sidious's face and pitching his voice to be lower.

The Dooku/Sidious scene from Twilight of the Republic, however, has been removed.

Bingowings said:

JasonN said:

Test composite for the last scene of Sidious in the film (without his face showing):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgM8GbfjS3A

So will you remove the balcony scene altogether or morph the hood to hide all of Palpatine's face?

 

 If you mean the scene where the Sidious hologram is on that "spider-walker" thing talking to the Viceroy about the upcoming battle and he says "Wipe them out", I've removed that scene from the film.

Test composite for the last scene of Sidious in the film (without his face showing):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgM8GbfjS3A 

Octorox said:

ThrowgnCpr said:  

I don't think he was referring to a feature that would identify or allude to it being Palpatine, but rather just wanting to see some evil looking eyes (akin to some sith) peering through.  Either way, I dont think it makes a difference, though from your test shots, the last was the most realistic/believable, and this had no eyes at all.  So I say leave them out.

precisely. We never even see Palpatine with the sith eyes anyway. I just mean some glowing jawa style sith eyes under the hood.

No, I'm fully aware that he meant Sidious's "Sith" eyes and not Palpatine's: I experimented with having "Sith eyes" in the black cowl a long time ago and, to be perfectly honest, it looked pretty damn stupid with just the eyes and no face (and I don't ever want to associate the look of the Jawas with a dark lord of the Sith like Sidious).

I'm very happy with how the cowl/hood currently looks (with the inside just descending into blackness) and have no plans to change it further.

Octorox said:

I'm thinking that we should see Sidious's "sith eyes" there in the darkness.

Eh, no - the whole point is of those edits to keep Sidious's identity (and face ) a secret until the third and last film of the trilogy (The Black Knight Rises).

The "Sidious" composites tests are an older version - here's an updated version of the scene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmUhvT_A9g

(and yes, I'm aware that his face is still visible in the reflection on the table - it has since been removed from the final composite)

Current version of the first "Obi-Wan/Anakin VS Dooku" duel at the end of Twilight of the Republic (AotC):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3drH6KQw-c

(NOTE: I still haven't rotoscoped Dooku's lightsaber for this fight, which will be purple in the final edit):

Master Qui-Gon said:

I like the idea of painting Sidious' face completely black,
this way he really looks like a phantom, as the original title of the movie proposes.

So I prefer the "Mysterious Identity of Sidious" test edits to the "updated Sidious scene".

But  Sidious' neck sould be painted black, too!

I still have some further refining to do on Sidious's "shadow face" - I've been busy most of yesterday and today editing the Pod Race and beginning of the Naboo Battle.

And this is a quick editing test that I just rendered out to get opinions on, but this is Dooku's escape from Twilight of the Republic (AotC) WITHOUT FIGHTING YODA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xvpf3uaMeA

I havn't rotoscoped Dooku's lightsaber nor have I composited Yoda out of the final shot, but I having trouble deciding whether or not I should at least include Yoda's force duel with Dooku or if the sequence works better without Yoda in the scene at all, so I wanted to hear what others think of it.