Mike O

It's a legitimate question. If the OOT came out again, I'd watch in a heartbeat, and I certainly share the desires if everyone here in hoping that it'll come out. But I just have trouble seeing past the bullsht right now, all of this stuff has taken the magic away. If the originals come out and I can finally just watch them properly for what that they are, it'd probably come back to me. 

In all seriousness, I do wish the guy the best. I hate many of his artistic decisions, but as a person, he's done well by me, especially with his philanthropy. I applaud him for giving to those in need, and I hope that he finds happiness in his own life.

Laserschwert said:

Well, I haven't heard of this before, and since the search-function on this board is as helpful as flushing the toilet, I don't know if you have:

Teaser

Trailer

Yeah, with all due respect to Mr. Sylvester, I kind of wish he'd redesign the forums, but of course if he did that, it would probably mean jettisoning everything that's here now.

I don't remember the last time I watched the OOT, it's been years. What's happened to the franchise has become such a bitter point for me that I've divorced myself from all things Star Wars, and haven't watch since at least 2004 or so, if not longer. I try not watch Indiana Jones stuff either, blockbusters always hang in the specter of the films Lucas says "don't exist anymore," they all sadly remind me of Star Wars though. I know, I know seek therapy :p. But the joy has been sucked out of it for me.

I keep hoping vainly that with the loss of profits Disney have suffered from John Carter of Mars and The Lone Ranger, they'll consider releasing the OOT properly. While I'm at it, I wish for a billion dollars, a Cadillac, world peace, a date with a supermodel who loves nerds, a new home theater system, and a Star Trek transporter.

Unfortunately, all of my comments have that new name now for some reason, and there doest appear to be any way to unfuck it. Just fuck you Google. 

OK, deep calming breaths. I wanted to comment on a video. YouTube linked me in with my parents Google Plus account, which I did not know existed, and now my username has changed. The whole family has one e-mail account. I have my own e-mail account now, but I haven't switched everything over yet, so YouTube does everything through the central one that I signed up with a long time ago. I do not want my username to change. If that was what I wanted my fucking username to be, that's what I would have made my fucking username! I don't suppose I can change it BACK?!

EDIT: Apparently, you can change it back within 14 days. Luckily, I was able to. Until it fucks up something else again.

Having said that, if the fans flock to see this and continue to support Disney's various Star Wars projects rather than boycott them en masse to make a statement about the OOT, then.....Ah, hell then it won't make any difference anyway.

I don't suppose that we can actually take this idea to Jay and have the whole thing taken seriously to give our cause a serious push now that all of the stuff that's happened lately has happened.

Mielr said:

 

SilverWook said:

Baronlando said:

From what I've heard, sales of any blu ray that isn't a new release have been shockingly low, and not getting significantly better. I don't see how that can continue for too long but I'd like to be wrong. Supposedly even always-reliable titles like Wizard of Oz and Godfather fell way, way below projections. 

Oz is out of print right now, and Warners is going to milk it for the 75th anniversary next year. Maybe somebody will find some lost footage by then.

Blu-ray players are super cheap now ($69 is not unusual) and will eventually replace DVD-only players altogether (why would anyone buy one now?)

DVD releases are also being subtly phased out as the studios trump their new blu-ray releases.

I think what's happening is just that people aren't replacing their old DVD editions with blu-rays, they're only buying titles on blu-ray that they don't already own on DVD. It's understandable, because in many cases the DVDs still look pretty good.

"OZ" had a pretty stellar DVD release several years back ('05?) which I think probably hurt sales for the recent DVD & Blu-ray release.

I doubt they'll find any more lost "OZ" footage, unfortunately, aside from what's already been released. In those days they were pretty thorough when it came to destroying stuff they felt was unneeded. But who knows....;-)

 

Regular BR players may be, but the region free issue is way more complicated than it was on DVD and more pricey as well. 

Davnes007 said:

Moncynnes said:

Ponder this:

 

Which will get a DVD release first?  The Star Wars Holiday Special or Disney's Song of the South?

 

Discuss.

Song of The South - Because it's worth watching.

You know, I understand their reticence to release Song of the South, but couldn't they do an online special-order exclusive thing where adults with credit cards could buy it?

bkev said:

But who's there to say no to him this time? Is he not still to be surrounded by yes-men?

Well, what it sounds like is that he sold it outright and therefore shouldn't be involved directly. Now, as for what Lucas put into the contract, none of us know...

georgec said:

Mike O said:

I thought George was out of the picture altogether?

OK, well I wasn't dumb enough to actually think that, but that's what most of the press has made it sound like.

nightstalkerpoet said:

As for what's missing on that FAQ 

-Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford have both expressed interest in being in the next film. Carrie Fisher has not taken a position.

-J.J. Abrams isn't interested in being director. Neither are Steven Spielberg, Zack Snyder, or Quentin Tarantino.

-George has a completed 50 page treatment.

... Trying to find more.

I thought George was out of the picture altogether?

msycamore said:

SilverWook said:

I asked about THX over at the HTF, and was told it probably resides with American Zoetrope.

It looks like it's Warner Bros who owns it along with the distribution rights going by the DVD/Bluray cases of the 2004 cut, no mention of Lucasfilm at all. But I guess that American Zoetrope have a say in it as well. There really should be a petition started in order to get the 1971 studio cut and 1978 restored cut released.

I agree with this. Apparently, the DVD doesn't even mention the changes in he documentary or the commentary. The changes to Raiders and American Graffiti may be minor, but the ones for THX 1138 aren't. We should raise awareness. I wonder if its Lucas holding that up, or if a release of the originals just isn't seen as profitable. There's a joke thread over in off-topic about expanding the petition for this site on social media, but if someone was willing got ale it more seriously, we should start a grassroots movement here. Star Wars OOT, AG, ROTLA, and THX are all issue which loom over this; Lucas has made a serious issue here regarding revisionist history and film preservation, especially with the Library of Congress issue and denying the AFI the screening of the original prints. This is an important issue, and I think more should he done to raise it. We SHOULD fire up Twitter, Facebook, etc. and try to make some noise with celebrities and publications and try to get the word out. 

SilverWook said:

I asked about THX over at the HTF, and was told it probably resides with American Zoetrope. Universal probably retains AG, and Paramount keeps the existing Indy films.

Do they just keep the distribution rights or the films outright? I wonder what's been the deal with those changes.dis they get commissioned by Lucas or Speilberg? Wonder if we'll ever see them again. 

SilverWook said:

I asked about THX over at the HTF, and was told it probably resides with American Zoetrope. Universal probably retains AG, and Paramount keeps the existing Indy films.

So, in other words, no :(. 

AuggieBenDoggie said:

 

Tuxsam said:

Is this reliable? It looks like they nailed the 3D releases.

 

Marketsaw is a reliable source, but they are not the only ones giving out that same news. I think Aint it cool.com has the same news also.

 

 

Mike O said:

Did they restore the OOT before the creation of the SEs? Where would they get prints if they didn't? Splice it together? Which audio mix would they use? How would they remix it? Where would they draw the line in the changes made prior to the SEs? Would they recomposite effects or use the old ones? Garbage mattes? Way too many questions. And who is SuperShadow?

 

Lucasfilm went back to the original negatives, cleaned it up, and recomposited certain elements, and made a HD digital masters for the 97 special editions, before any new FX work was added. Some of this has already been address by Rick Maccullum for the video release of the 97 SE's. All the original film elements still exist today, including the original negative, and it's still not to far gone to be used again. It can still be color corrected. They did it for the 97 special editions, and it can be done again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhLUdy3RDpM

 

The FX work was done digitally, That means the print was scanned into a server ( or some disc based system ) for ILM to add the new FX work. Then that was exported to the editing dept to composite and edit everything together digitally. Then that was reprinted on analog film.

The master copy for the OUT audio is in analog. All the sound elements were recorded on tape. Later on they were digitized. No one recordes a master copy soundtrack in Dolby, DTS ( now known as DATASAT DIGITAL SOUND) or SDDS. Studios have to contract out for that. The studio soundtrack masters today are recorded digitally as uncompressed audio files, and they stay that way through the editing process. And the soundtrack files are stored as uncompressed audio files for later use.

 

 

Mike O said:

I'm genuinely not trying to be an asshole or anything, but why should we believe you about your "sources?" Who are they? Will Harris be involved? Where would they get original film elements? This is so many years in the future, who's to say that it'll happen anyway? Who's to say that Lucas didn't put some sort of cast-iron clause in his contract to forever lock out the OOT? Especially given what's happened with the Library of Congress situation.

 

 

You have the right to believe anything you want to.

 

 

Any word on the other Lucas properties they've acquired? Any plans for the theatrical cuts of THX 1138, American Graffiti, or Raiders? Any idea when this is in the pipeline for release? Any time soon?

AuggieBenDoggie said:

You have the right to believe anything you want to.

Hey, I'd love to believe you, it's just that as an OOT fan, I've been so burned lately, and this news seems to have come out of nowhere and not yet have been officially reported, that I'm skeptical. I'd would love few things less in this world than to be wrong. I'm not trying to be a dick or anything, you've just come claiming all my dreams may come true in the near future, and I haven't seen it officially reported anywhere as yet. If this is really coming in the near future, I'll be happy as can be. And if you're really telling us the truth, I doth my cap to you, and I hope for all of the best. I don't want to be confrontational, it just sounds way too good to be true.

Imrahil said:

Bingowings said:

Alexrd said:

Bingowings said:

Alexrd said:

Bingowings said:

I liked the Vong.

The idea of living beings that are not connected to the Force is ignoring the most basic "rules" of Star Wars. The idea of an enemy coming from another galaxy opens a whole can of worms and is too far-fetched for me to accept. So is living spaceships and the like.

I'd stay away from most of the classics of science fiction and space opera if I were you then.

Can't see the correlation.

Most of the classics of science fiction and space opera have organic ships and intergalactic invasions in them at some point.

If you find these concepts far-fetched you will not enjoy those classics.

You keep saying this.  Let's see:

2001 - nope

Foundation Trilogy - nope

Dune - nope

Martian Chroicles - nope

Anything by William Gibson - nope

I mean, this is just off the top of my head.

The only thing I can think of at all that has these living ships you're talking about is stuff like Babylon 5 or Starship Troopers.

FarScape had a living ship. Starship Troopers the novel may have, the film didn't.

skyjedi2005 said:

Is there someone these days as good as Lawrence Kasdan in his prime when he wrote Empire and Raiders?

Good question, no one comes to mind, actually.

AntcuFaalb said:

Even if the new movies are objectively better than the OT, they will still lack that late 70s/early 80s aesthetic that so many of us love. :-(

Yeah, I agree that CG doesn't have the physical weigh of "real" FX, but we're sort of pining for horse and buggies here, I mean everything is done with CG now, that doesn't mean CG can be used well. I mean, lets face it, the era is gone. I miss it too, but so it goes. It hardly means the films can't be good.

bkev said:

^This. You definitely have to think about this when considering the sequel trilogy. It will suffer the same way many thought Prometheus did design-wise, no matter what. Hell, even the prequels did (and I actually rather liked some of the designs for the ships/locations [though not all, of course].)

I always think of Live Free or Die Hard. I like the it, but I think that the CG (and the director) gives everything such a cartoonish quality that it robs the series of the physical punch it had. Effects techniques and film aesthetics are just different now, you can shake the camera and nick your frames, but the world doesn't look like that anymore. As for Prometheus, it's the same. It's a beautifully designed film (albeit one with an incoherent screenplay, but that's for another time), but it doesn't have the grime that Alien had.

Brad Bird. That is all.

Wexter said:

Don't know about episode IX, but my sources with Disney tell me that Michael Bay is set to direct episode 7. We are in for an epic tale of love, CGI and explosions.

Also, Rolland Emmerich is in talks for episode 8. Kinda fitting since there is supposed to be an alien landing in the movie, which is pretty much his area. Also, Boomer the dog will make an appearance as Dewback #7.

Please not Michael Bay. Dear God, please no. Or Roland Emmerich.

skyjedi2005 said:

Besides he is doing Bayformers 4 with Spielberg and rumoured Marky Mark Wahlberg.

That and the long delayed Ninja Turtles from space concept.

A Bayformers supposedly without Shia Lebouf what could go wrong,lol.

Gomu69 said:

Wexter said:

Don't know about episode IX, but my sources with Disney tell me that Michael Bay is set to direct episode 7. We are in for an epic tale of love, CGI and explosions.

Also, Rolland Emmerich is in talks for episode 8. Kinda fitting since there is supposed to be an alien landing in the movie, which is pretty much his area. Also, Boomer the dog will make an appearance as Dewback #7.

I can't think of someone nowadays besides Lucas I would NOT want to take the helm of SW more than Michael Bay D:

Yes, he's a friend of Lucas, so that's possible, but it would only bode the worst, IMO. Hopefully, he'll be too busy with the new Transformers project, and hopefully that'll get the rest of Animated onto DVD in widescreen, at least. Maybe then something good could come from it. I'm sincerely hoping you're kidding though. Very, very sincerely.

cbaka said:

wabid said:

cbaka said:

Matthew Vaughn directed 8 movies, a good movies, but he has his 'touch' like the ones cited above...you're right about Stardust, it's his the best one.

What 8 movies has he directed?  Stardust isn't his "Best" movie, for that I would go to Layer Cake.  Stardust shows he can direct epic adventure fantasy.

sorry, involved in a creative way, as producer, director, Layer Cake is a good one, but i prefer Stardust.

Everyone seems to like Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, for reasons I admit I do not grasp. I'm not a fan of Vaughn, though he did say on The Treatment that he was an avid SW fan, so they may consider him.

AuggieBenDoggie said:

From sources that I have heard from, expect restored prints of the OUT to surface in the near future folks. This could possibly be the same year episode 7 comes out.

Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. Then maybe the theatrical versionof THX 1138 and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Zeta Project season two, and Gargoyles season two, part two will come out, then someone will discover cold fusion.

Brooks said:

AuggieBenDoggie said:

From sources that I have heard from, expect restored prints of the OUT to surface in the near future folks. This could possibly be the same year episode 7 comes out.

I keep reading on different forums about "sources" saying we'll get OUT.  Is anyone able to supply any firm info on this?  Who are these sources?  You don't have to name them but maybe let us know if they're somebody with legitimate inside knowledge?

Last time we heard this, I was ecstatic enough to dance in the streets, and then the "restoration" turned out to be the old LD transfers. Lets not get our hopes up, even if there was some legitimate reason to believe this.

Davnes007 said:

AuggieBenDoggie said:

From sources that I have heard from, expect restored prints of the OUT to surface in the near future folks. This could possibly be the same year episode 7 comes out.

But, will the colors be fixed?

And, will it have Dolby sound?

 

 

 

Brooks said:

I keep reading on different forums about "sources" saying we'll get OUT.  Is anyone able to supply any firm info on this?  Who are these sources?...

The 'sources' are the internet, and it's all coming from SuperShadow.

Did the restore the OOT before the creation of the SEs? Where would they get prints if they didn't? Splice it together? Which audio mix would they use? How would they remix it? Where would they draw the line in the changes made prior to the SEs? Would they recomposite effects or use the old ones? Garbage mattes? Way too many questions. And who is SuperShadow?

ThiefCobbler4ever said:

My thoughts on this deal: I don't like it.

Disney owning Lucasfilm is a major bad move and I don't like Disney handling Star Wars (less Lucasfilm will keep Star Wars to themselves). If anything, Fox should've gotten the Star Wars franchise hands down.

And there's no need for VII-IX or any spin off films! The 6 film saga is perfect and the film storyline doesn't need to continue. I worry about this :(

Well, then we're always entitled not to watch it. Whether you think the franchise has been beyond repair ever since ROTJ, or whether you think that the franchise still has many more avenues to be explored, who care? You can just choose not to watch what you don't like. It's what I DO like that hasn't been released properly which I care about.

AuggieBenDoggie said:

Brooks said:

I keep reading on different forums about "sources" saying we'll get OUT.  Is anyone able to supply any firm info on this?  Who are these sources?  You don't have to name them but maybe let us know if they're somebody with legitimate inside knowledge?

Nothing has been officially announced. My connections come from the theatrical venues, 3D and 2D so there are really no names that can be quoted; however, these sources have good connections with the House of Mouse.

 

Davnes007 said:

But, will the colors be fixed?

And, will it have Dolby sound?

The negative that the 1997 Special editions were made from has the correct colors. The blue cast the we see in the blurays and DVD's was a post process done for the video release. But who knows, Di$ney may want to do a complete restoration from the original film elements.

As far as sound goes I expect to see a 7.1 DTS Master Audio track and with any luck, an original 2.0 track.

 

I'm genuinely not trying to be an asshole or anything, but why should we believe you about your "sources?" Who are they? Will Harris be involved? Where would they get original film elements? This is so many years in the future, who's to say that it'll happen anyway? Who's to say that Lucas didn't put some sort of cast-iron clause in his contract to forever lock out the OOT? Especially given what's happened with the Library of Congress situation.

Warbler said:

I just want to know one thing:  will they release the OOT on blu ray? 

Probably not. But you probably know as much as the rest of us do.

thecolorsblend said:

AuggieBenDoggie said:

 

As far as sound goes I expect to see a 7.1 DTS Master Audio track and with any luck, an original 2.0 track.

To me, the original soundtrack(s) should be just as important as the original video. This should be a top priority for all of us.

For those more technically-minded, can those old school soundtrack just be slapped on to a Blu Ray or DVD or would they need a lot of work before being ready to listen to?

Assuming it would, who would care? Who besides purists would ever even put anything other than the surround sound mix on for any reason? More to the point, that means if they put it on there, there's the question of if it would be restored. Granting that this does happen, there're tons of factors

Listen, I'm certainly bitter about Lucas' treatment of the OOT (and THX 1138, which is also never coming out again), but the fact of the matter is, that's fiction. Giving that much money to charity is a very real thing, and he deserves full congratulations for giving to a good cause and those in need. I give him full credit for, and my hat is off.

greedo said:

Could be worse, what if it's Michael Bay.

Don't even fucking joke about that, I have enough nightmares as it is.

Tyrphanax said:

Oldfan said:

Lucas is a strange one. On the one hand he is clearly a very generous man. He is a very intelligent businessman. I like his stance on the importance of education and his desire to help it improve any way he can. And he also has demonstrated in the past his desire to protect films so that future generations can enjoy them.

Yet then look at what he has done to the fans regarding the original trilogy.  You can't even catch the originals on tv anymore for crying out loud, since he won't allow it. Why does he have such hate for us all? Granted we have thrown a lot of hate his way over recent years. But much of that is because he's denying us the one thing we've been asking for since the dawn of DVD. Many of us were bitter, or have become bitter over the years, about the quality of the prequels. That cannot be undone. But I think we can all agree that if he had released this recent blu-ray collection with the original trilogy intact, as originally released, all would have been forgiven. Instead he's given us another reason to feel like he hates us.

 

Yeah, I was reflecting on the Duality of George Lucas tonight, myself.

It's really interesting, and I don't think I can name another person who is so universally loved and a cause of frustration for so many people at the same time.

I don't think most of us would say we hate the man (perhaps in a fit of rage over the latest change in the latest boxed set for the latest year), or that we wish him ill, especially in light of his charitable work and other such; in fact, from my time here and other, similar places, I feel like we all think he's a good man, and we are all grateful for creating something that is such a big part of our lives and film history, and it's because of those reasons that places like this, and things like the petition and all the fan vitriol exist.

But at the same time, I don't (personally) know a single person who is not also ridiculously frustrated by his insistent, admitted intentional suppression of the original versions of his films and apparent lack of concern about the quality of the prequels and therefore the "health" of his intellectual property. I don't know a single person who doesn't feel some sense of betrayal and anger and alienation at the whole fiasco, that an entire portion of their childhood is being destroyed and some feel it so deeply that they can't handle it and just renounce the entire franchise.

And, again at the same time, I don't know a single person who doesn't want to be able to go back to loving Lucas, patch things up, and hand him their hard-earned money for a copy of the unaltered original films and just be done with it all.

It really is an incredibly fascinating dichotomy.

Listen, I'm certainly bitter about Lucas' treatment of the OOT (and THX, which is also never coming out again), but the fact of the matter is, that's fiction. Giving that much money to charity is a very real thing, and he deserves full congratulations for giving to a good cause and those in need. I give him full credit for, and my hat is off.

Major kudos to George for donating such an insane amount of money to charity. I disagree with a lot of what the man does, by there's no denying he's giving a lot to a good cause, and that's always something that merits congratulations. So more power to him for doing something selfless for others.