I had forgotten about this little moment in history until I was watching my Weird Al concert DVD the other night.
http://www.theforce.net/rouser/miscellaneous/weirdal_jake.asp
Pity this wasn't the performance that was on the DVD.
DavidBrennan said:
I agree with Zombie that he was miscast and did a mediocre (not bad, in my opinion) job, but he did have an aggressive, rambunctious look to him as a boy which was probably the reason for his hiring. Really, I think that the character should've been AT LEAST 13 years old, for a variety of reasons. (Most especially that it's hard to say that an eight year old is "too attached" to things. Virtually all kids that age are very, very adaptive to whatever crazy situation they have to live through.)
But I also think that it's probably wrong of people to have such pity on anybody. So he was teased for this. Fine. We all get teased. God forbid you're ugly, or fat, or socially inept, or stupid. Kids get teased. Hell, ADULTS get teased. Instead of telling kids that they should live in the past and attempt to "heal the scarring" or whatever the psychological fad of the day is, we should say, "Ah dude, that sucks. I remember being teased for my acne and that my mom cut my hair. That really hurt me. Well, that's life. Let's move on."
It just sets a bad example for current kids (and adults) that they should let every tease (real or imagined) dictate their life. "Sticks and stones", remember.
The line between teasing and outright psychological bullying isn't very thick.
I saw a documentary on TCM a while back about child stars, and it's a miracle any of them who were interviewed survived to become normal well adjusted adults. We all remember the names of the one's who didn't.
Jake is going to have this movie following him around the rest of his life. Most kids don't have that to deal with on top of the usual pressures of growing up and trying to fit in. So you might want to cut him some slack?
Thanks for the update. I can't imagine the audio will give you any unusual problems.
I have received word that the item was won by one of our allies. I'm not at liberty to disclose any details at this time, so please don't ask.
Getting the gear to do a proper transfer will be the next hurdle.
Kids can be thoughtless and cruel.
Having a nice big bank account from TPM is probably the best revenge. ;)
I am not for caving into the PC police.
I simply fail to see whether a man is perceived as being femmy or not has anything to do with the quality of an animated tv show they work on.
I seem to recall there was some debate about the LD AC3 track sounding superior to the original DVD on alt.video.laserdisc back in the day.
There was certainly a belief that early DVD 5.1 soundtracks were being compromised to play better downmixed into Dolby Surround at the time.
It's a good rule of thumb not to say anything that can be misconstrued as disparaging about a person in mixed company. Especially on the internet.
Far too many people have crossed the line from criticizing a movie or show to attacking the person who made it, so people are quick to take offense these days. Especially if you use a word or phrase that has negative connotations.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=effeminate
I liked the CW movie, but YMMV.
It probably didn't help that Nemesis director Stuart Baird was not very familiar with Star Trek or TNG in general, and allegedly thought Geordi was an alien!
Having personally seen the Derann Super 8, I know what you mean. Puts the Ken Films digests to shame!
Didn't know the Laserdisc had any rot problems. There are several copies for sale at the LDDB. At least two are under a hundred bucks.
Pity the Hong Kong LD is full frame. Not that I've ever seen one for sale...
compyislife said:
As I posted in the memorabilia subforum, I'm going for this print. Luckily, my birthday was very recent, and I received a good sum of money. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to bid. I don't think I have transfer equipment that's nearly as good as Puggo's, but at least I've got one of these types of things:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VIDEO-TRANSFER-Telecine-8mm-Movies-Slides-Film-Digital-DVD-/330696325856?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cff097ae0
Hopefully, the quality will be beyond decent. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, though.
Now you tell me. ;)
I've tried the camcorder pointed at the wall thing before. Flickers like hell. ;)
georgec said:
I just simply don't care about Star Wars anymore. What that means is that nothing outside of the UOT or some of the 90s EU material interests me. The franchise is so bloated and worn out.
That's not to say that current SW material can't be interesting or well done. I hear good things about CW, but to be honest it all kind of sounds silly. "Savage Oppress"? Why not just name a character, "Bad Guy"?
Then there's the whole resurrecting Darth Maul thing that times with the 3D TPM release. An obvious stunt to rope in more people who didn't like the prequels yet can't turn away completely.
I digress.
One of the Dark Horse comics resurrected Maul several years ago, so the idea isn't all that new.
As there has been a feeling among some fans Maul was killed off way too soon, (there were even rumors Grievous was Maul) it was inevitable they'd find a way to bring him back.
The last time I dared subject myself to reading that blog, it seemed like the same handful of people were the only one's commenting on the posts. (Am I correct in recalling dissenting comments were not tolerated?) In any case, it's not worth fretting over.
If George had a problem with Mr. Pegg's opinions, I don't think he would even be hired in the first place.
One of Simon's comedy bits was on the Blu Ray bonus disc for crying out loud!
TServo2049 said:
He's also selling an anamorphic lens bracket for an extra $100. It says it's for an Elmo GS1200 or ST1200.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Elmo-Super-8-Anamorphic-Bracket-Kowa-Projector-Cinemascope-/180824588490?pt=US_Movie_Slide_Projectors&hash=item2a19fc40ca
Silverwook, if yours is a "__-1200" model then it can take 1200' reels. I know someone modified an ST-800 so it could run them, but I know nothing about film projection so I don't know how difficult it would be.
Now that I think of it, the 1200' length is actually a blessing in disguise. Since it's on two 1200' reels instead of four 600' reels, I'm assuming that theatrical reels 1-3 are on reel 1, and reels 4-6 are on reel 2. If you're not concerned with devaluing the print, you could cut the film at the original reel changes and make six 400' reels.
Thanks for the info. If I can find my take up reel that came with it, I'll know for certain. I had to spool a reel of a troublesome print onto it as it literally kept flying off the original reel.
Another idea I've been considering is finding out if I could get my Elmo built into one of these telecine units I've been seeing on Ebay as of late.
Don't know how the specs compare to Puggo's gear though.
xhonzi said:
SilverWook said:
Captain Eo has been back in Disney parks for a couple years now.
I don't know if it's in it's original 3D format, or one of the new systems.
It's the same as it was minus some of the practical room effects. There isn't a laser-light show on the ceiling during the movie anymore. The chairs still move up and down and I think the big light flashes are still there, but perhaps not.
The 3D projection is still dual (quad?) film projectors with linear polarizers. I was totally blown away by the 3D in EO in 1987. While I was blown away by the 80's-ness of it last summer, the 3D itself was full of crosstalk (ghosting or double-image) and doesn't compare to today's 3D presentations...
Though I do hope they release it on home video.
That's interesting, as the original presentation was 70mm. Getting new prints made probably isn't as easy now as it was in the 80's.
Good question!
The oscars have been notoriously screwy for not recognizing certain people's contributions to films. Look how long it took for Ray Harryhausen to get one.
SpilkaBilka said:
Mielr said:
I like the fact that some of the images are so different from the finished films--- they're fun to look at as "alternate" visions of the trilogy.
This may sound a little crazy, but I often fantasize about someone remaking Star Wars, but doing so with these "alternate" visions. Ie, remake the movie, but make the visuals as close to these McQuarrie illustrations as possible. Most important, try to get the feel. And of course, use some of the early scripts/story elements that I've been reading about in Secret History of Star Wars (amazing book!), which are absolutely fascinating to me. There are so many story versions with so many differences it's enough to make my head spin, but eg, have Father Skywalker and Vader be two different people.* I don't know if anyone could ever possibly pull something like this off better than I picture it in my head, but man it would be cool. Maybe it would work as an animated feature?
corellian77 said:
So cool, in fact, Kotobukiya made a statue of it:
Yes! I think it's so cool that they also made action figures based on the McQuarrie illustrations! http://www.sandtroopers.com/sandwatch/mcquarrie/ Beautiful work.
*(insane footnote about me: Star Wars is by far my favorite of the movies. And I love ESB, but I truly think the SW trilogy could have been so much more interesting, and could have shown us a much larger universe, if Vader was NOT Luke's father. When I watch Star Wars, I often pretend they are not related. I find it more enjoyable, but I am a weirdo).
I thought about McQuarrie figures back in 1978! Why didn't I write Kenner a letter? I still need to complete my set of those.
It's also a testament to the love of McQuarrie's designs that fans have been making helmets based on his work, even before the official concept Vader helmet came out.
http://www.starwarshelmets.com/mcquarrie-concept-darth-vader-helmets.htm
http://www.starwarshelmets.com/mcquarrie-concept-stormtrooper-armor-helmet.htm
http://www.starwarshelmets.com/fan-made-boba-fett-costume-armor-helmet.htm
I had a tiny forlorn hope before Episode III came out, that Anakin's first Vader suit would be the concept version.
The seller added a youtube clip to the auction.
I really need to lug my old Elmo projector out, and see if it can take those big monster reels.
My Dad never watched Star Wars, and this was back when it was almost inescapable. Given what happened when he took me to see The Black Hole, it's just as well! ;)
Circa 1990, I encountered a middle aged saleslady who apparently had no idea what Star Wars even was. And yet, she knew of Star Trek. That still freaks me out to this day.
There's a newspaper cartoon reproduced in "The Art of Star Wars" book, where two old geezers discuss the fact they are the only two people who haven't seen the movie. One pulls out a gun and shoots the other, proclaiming "Now I'm the only one!".
TV's Frink said:
*facepalm*
Forgot about that....but the line is too funny to take out.
How about leaving the line in, but put footage of the Dianoga over it?
Or Jar Jar. ;)
BTW, Frink, you may not be able to use this until Episode III, but keep it in mind.
McQuarrie's obit was on the CNN ticker. Pretty rare for a "behind the scenes" person to be mentioned.