Scruffy

User Group: Members
Join date: 29-Nov-2005
Last activity: 31-May-2016
Posts: 625

Post History

Post: #240457
Topic: The Artistic Vision (TM Luca$hFilm)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240457/action/topic#240457
Time: 1-Sep-2006 4:54 PM

Originally posted by: Number20
The Star Trek idea I don't beleive, considering that Paramount had largely forgotten about Star Trek until Star Wars got big, and the Paramount execs were sitting around trying to figure out a sci-fi project they could come out with like Star Wars, and someone remembered Trek.

Not true. Google The God Thing, Planet of the Titans, and Phase II. It's just a weird combination of Lucas and Roddenberry myth, this idea that Star Wars revitalized science fiction then Roddenberry showed up at Paramount the next day with a shooting script and the Enterprise bridge crew in costume. In any case, for the rumor to be true, Lucas would have had to have made his inquiries in the early seventies, when Star Trek was (IIRC) still a force in syndication and an unlikely project for a budding auteur to take on.

Post: #240366
Topic: What did the Prequel Trilogy need?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240366/action/topic#240366
Time: 1-Sep-2006 12:14 PM

One of the recent reference books has a rendering of the Y-wing with its fuselage and nacelle cowling intact. Kind of neat. But the rebel materiel was never "scraps" ... Tagge (or was it Motti?) considered the Rebel Alliance "well-equipped" and a threat to the Imperial Starfleet. They did fight their way out of the ambush at Endor. New Republic official historians probably work hard to maintain the mystique of the Rebellion -- that the Galactic Civil War was a contest between unstoppable might and a small band of poorly-armed but courageous heroes. But the fact is they had a lot of support. So much so that the loss of an entire world barely fazed them. (That we know of, anyway.)

Post: #240343
Topic: Dr. M's Reinventing The Wheel Edition (PAL to NTSC+) (Released)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240343/action/topic#240343
Time: 1-Sep-2006 10:08 AM

My MySpleen account disappeared when I stopped using it months ago. Your lack of faith disturbs me and I will not pray to Leroy for you.

Post: #240334
Topic: The Artistic Vision (TM Luca$hFilm)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240334/action/topic#240334
Time: 1-Sep-2006 8:52 AM

I cannot confirm or deny what other properties Lucas might've been interested in -- I've always heard he wanted to buy the rights to Star Trek, which is about as un-Star Wars as space opera can get -- but I agree that he's more interested in fluff, marketing, and playing with new toys under the guise of "experimental film-making." That's not to say he's unaware of the more serious aspects that evolved in the OT or the gravity which they lend the films.

He put a few attempts at a moral or drama into the PT, but they fell flat -- as did his attempts to explain them in the media. "You see, Anakin's problem is he holds onto what he really wants, he can't let go, so he becomes evil." That's the kind of broad moralistic statement that withstands superficial scrutiny, but in the context of the film -- if you look at what Anakin was holding onto (the life of his wife) and why he was doing it (presumably love for her and his child) -- it doesn't hold water. (In fact, I don't think the statement withstands even superficial scrutiny. There's nothing inherently wrong with desiring things.)

Same thing with his grand statements about "how a democracy becomes a dictatorship." A ninja-magician cons a frog-donkey-man into giving a speech in the worst-constituted parliament ever seen on film, gets himself elected chancellor ("Chancellor! Me!"), connives to secretly raise two separate warring armies, and utilizes another ninja-magician to wipe out the last of his opposition. Again, there are some superficial similarities between this and other autocratic governments -- dictators tend to wipe out their opposition and take control of the armed forces -- but the memoirs of the Caesars this is not.

I suppose fluff is okay, if that's your thing, but these hare-brained attempts to imbue it with gravitas just make Lucas look foolish.

Post: #240327
Topic: Dr. M's Reinventing The Wheel Edition (PAL to NTSC+) (Released)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240327/action/topic#240327
Time: 1-Sep-2006 6:44 AM

Apparently only Demonoid members can download older torrents, and they're not letting me into their country club. Can anyone bludgeon these discs onto MySpleen, or convince Demonoid that I'm a model citizen worthy of their association? Or maybe--and this is unethical even for us and might not work--PM me the .torrent file? I will say a prayer to Leroy, God of Pudding, for you.

Post: #240226
Topic: What movies do you consider canon?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240226/action/topic#240226
Time: 31-Aug-2006 10:45 PM

In terms of the movies, the O-OT is canon. Some elements of the SE are kind of canon on the basis of their long history in the Star Wars tradition, e.g. Biggs and Jabba. Others, emphatically, are not. Oh, and the Holiday Special is canon. Chief Bast lives!

When I do think of the Prequels, I entertain certain ... unorthodox thoughts about them. Interpretations that some consider unnatural. And I have seen SW fanboys get enraged when I share these thoughts, even those that don't contradict filmic canon and are supported by EU "official LFL" canon. Go figure.

I am, of course, conversant with the multiple levels of canon used in the Holocron database and have no problem discussing Star Wars in terms of the aggregate mythology therein; I even like a great deal of the EU and consider part of my personal canon. But that's another thread, I guess.

Post: #240157
Topic: Star Trek gets better treatment than Star Wars...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/240157/action/topic#240157
Time: 31-Aug-2006 7:21 PM

Okuda's onboard? Then I am, too.

Post: #239625
Topic: Sending the SEs back
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239625/action/topic#239625
Time: 30-Aug-2006 3:25 AM

How would a donor's attitude towards a donated object affect the utility of that object to the recipient? One could argue that it's better to donate something that one hates if the recipient enjoys it; both parties are better off after the donation.

Post: #239526
Topic: NO OOT Box Set?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239526/action/topic#239526
Time: 29-Aug-2006 6:32 PM

No OOT Bot Sex? Well, Artoo uses that little arm to ... ohh, OOT Box Set. Yeah, these are individual releases. So far.

Post: #239401
Topic: Ducks in Star Wars?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239401/action/topic#239401
Time: 29-Aug-2006 8:37 AM

Originally posted by: Ozkeeper
SW universe is a weird place. Is a duck the only animal the SW universe shares with ours , either in image or in speech ?

Humans?

They have holographic images that fit on something the size of a floppy disk, but nothing like a home entertainment system where you can watch old episodes of Galactic Geographic, and see ducks laying eggs and migrating and other duck-related stuff or do they, and I just missed it?

I think the only home entertainment system we saw was in the Holiday Special. As for Galactic Geographic showing ducks, remember that there's millions of life-bearing worlds in the galaxy far, far away, and it's unlikely that ducks are important enough to be common knowledge where they don't occur naturally.

Besides in the bar in AOTC displaying droid-sports, are there any other screens displaying anything like entertainment in any of the movies? Or for that matter, anyone reading anything that would be the equivalent of a magazine? I guess they might have like a tablet that you can get the 'net on anywhere you go, so noone has things like magazines laying around the floor of their waiting rooms.

But that's how real people spend their time. Fictional people spend their time meditating or pontificating.

Post: #239344
Topic: Star Trek gets better treatment than Star Wars...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239344/action/topic#239344
Time: 29-Aug-2006 12:22 AM

But the new Connie and K-7 models seen in Trials and Tribbletions and In a Mirror Darkly are really, really good. We're not talking about adding in floating droids and rontos parading around Cestus III, just replacing some 60s opticals with better composites of faithfully recreated models. Maybe adding some gradients or highlights to the various energy cloud effects out there.

Star Trek was intended to be viewed on a color NTSC television. (There were a few film presentations, but it was always meant to be a TV show.) DVD pretty much saturates the quality available from such a set, so I'm happy with the TOS DVDs. The original episodes -- insofar as the DVDs reflect those -- will always be available, as long as there's one Trekkie left to make a copy of them. Now that we are "upgrading" from the producer's intended medium to something better, it may be appropriate to insert better visual effects.

What it will come down to is this: Will the new animators set out to make better-looking TOS material, or will they set out to make something new and jam it into TOS? How much restraint and faithfulness will they show?

In short, don't get angry yet. Get angry if they crop it to make it 16:9.

Post: #239334
Topic: Help Wanted: Can anyone do a STORMTROOPER imitation
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239334/action/topic#239334
Time: 29-Aug-2006 12:08 AM

How decent does the mike need to be? I imagine you'll be doing something to the audio to give it the filtered, radio broadcast effect that stormtroopers usually have?

Post: #239258
Topic: Star Trek gets better treatment than Star Wars...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239258/action/topic#239258
Time: 28-Aug-2006 8:43 PM

Originally posted by: Cable-X1
Ooops.....sorry about that. I meant to distinguish the two. Yeah, the series in its original form will be preserved on DVD while the changes will be on HD. Either way, you have a choice and both will be available for the ages in fine form.......unlike Star Wars.

Yup ... and when the "O-TOS" movement starts up, it'll be a snap to copy the old VFX scenes from the DVDs. None of this laserdisc stuff that's going on in SW fandom.

The Star Trek films are still sometimes getting fiddled with before they get put on DVD, but that's a whole 'nother matter.

Post: #239249
Topic: Star Trek gets better treatment than Star Wars...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239249/action/topic#239249
Time: 28-Aug-2006 8:15 PM

Originally posted by: Cable-X1

There you have it....the original Star Trek series is going to get an SFX overhaul AND the original versions WILL be preserved for all ages on HD.

That's not what it says. It says the new VFX will be on HD, and the old ones will be preserved on DVD. (And, by implication, through the samizdat network of OOP media traders.)

Post: #239222
Topic: What are you going to do with your SE discs?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239222/action/topic#239222
Time: 28-Aug-2006 5:06 PM

Doesn't anyone appreciate metonymy anymore? A guy that names his corporation after himself is just begging for some metonymy.

Post: #239219
Topic: Ducks in Star Wars?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239219/action/topic#239219
Time: 28-Aug-2006 5:00 PM

There have been ducks in Star Wars since "From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker" was published in 1976. I's no more surprising than humans or giant redwoods being in Star Wars. In fact, it's less surprising -- humans are a species, and ducks are a whole family.

Post: #239081
Topic: How George Lucas created the O-OT fanbase...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239081/action/topic#239081
Time: 28-Aug-2006 4:55 AM

So far, the superior specifications of Blu-ray have not been realized. All Blu-ray titles to date are 25GB, while HD DVD titles can be 30GB. (I don't know if 30GB discs make up the majority of HD DVD releases, but I suspect they do.) All Blu-ray titles to date have used MPEG-2, while HD DVD uses VC-1. HD DVD supports Dolby and DTS lossless audio, while the only mandatory lossless codec for Blu-Ray is PCM (yes, uncompressed)! And the current HD DVD players are half the price of Blu-ray players.

Eventually, Blu-ray probably will adopt an advanced video codec, and may produce affordable 50GB discs. But for now, they are widely considered inferior to their cousins. In any case, the vast majority of people are looking at them today with the same wariness they cast towards DVD eight years ago. DVD Video's going away, or at least stepping down from the number one spot, there's top-down pressure for that. It's just a matter of when.

Post: #239078
Topic: What are you going to do with your SE discs?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239078/action/topic#239078
Time: 28-Aug-2006 4:45 AM

I think Mielr suggested that back in June. I also think it would be more convenient for Lucasfilm's secretarial staff to throw away one medium-sized package instead of many small ones.

Post: #239070
Topic: What are you going to do with your SE discs?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239070/action/topic#239070
Time: 28-Aug-2006 3:11 AM

A few thousand? I think even a few dozen is very optimistic.

Post: #239036
Topic: 2006 OT DVD: Poll: So What are You Going to Do?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/239036/action/topic#239036
Time: 27-Aug-2006 11:42 PM

I plan on spending the rest of the night in, maybe writing something about a classic movie I saw yesterday. Old horror flick -- shot on 16mm, blown up to 35, distributed to theaters who cut it to shreds because of its "objectionable" content. The sound elements for all the cut scenes were lost. The existing scenes were in rough shape, and no one could afford/justify a full restoration. Its creator doesn't think it's a particularly good movie, is embarrassed by the amateur quality of the whole thing, and is letting other people remake it. And it still got a better treatment on DVD than the Star Wars Trilogy.

Oh, is that what you were asking about? Our plans regarding the upcoming release of old Star Wars video material? Not interested in that at all.

Post: #238979
Topic: Where Does it Actually Say that the DVDs are *NOT* Anamorphic?!?
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/238979/action/topic#238979
Time: 27-Aug-2006 6:56 PM

We've seen the screenshots. They're not anamorphic.

Post: #238859
Topic: Close call for "Attack of the Sith"
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/238859/action/topic#238859
Time: 27-Aug-2006 5:41 AM

Because Darth Mike can influence the midiclorians ... to create life. He can bring threads back to life.

Post: #238749
Topic: Star Wars: 30th Anniversary (2007 - New Box-set)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/238749/action/topic#238749
Time: 26-Aug-2006 5:57 PM

Actually, the latter COA is indicated. The former COA requires a significant investment (finding/striking a good print, scanning it, downrezzing for DVD, QA) and shuts off a future revenue stream (fanboys who think if they buy it the next one will be done right). The latter COA requires very little investment -- Lucas can pretty much use the same technique he's using now, bundling with an extant product and marketing it as something new. For all the releasing his does, he produces very little, and I expect this to continue. (Barring some technological singularity, like the sudden mass adoption of HD content.)

Post: #238733
Topic: Star Wars: 30th Anniversary (2007 - New Box-set)
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/238733/action/topic#238733
Time: 26-Aug-2006 4:39 PM

If Lucas can be convinced there is money to be made by spending what it takes to give the OOT a proper release, he will do so in the end.

On the other hand, if Lucas can be convinced there's money to be made by dicking around with the fans, releasing cheaply-made inferior products, bundling them to maximize revenue, and banging the "Last Chance to Own!" drum again and again, he'll continue doing that.

Which of these two courses of action are indicated by his historical and present activities?

Post: #238732
Topic: So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Link: https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/238732/action/topic#238732
Time: 26-Aug-2006 4:34 PM

Originally posted by: boris

And the funny thing is on any other DVD release people wouldn't even be aware that they used the same master tapes as were used for LD releases.

It's not that hard. Look at a DVD title. Is it non-anamorphic? Stereo sound? Is there a pre-existing laserdisc? If so, you've probably got a laserdisc port. Looking at my DVD collection, there is one that I know is an LD port (Criterion Silence of the Lambs), and another that I suspect is a port based on my criteria (1st edition Star Trek Generations).