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justlnluck

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Join date
19-Sep-2004
Last activity
5-May-2005
Posts
37

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Post
#65987
Topic
George Lucas, I wish you would have a change of heart :(
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65987/action/topic#65987
Time
I did some more thinking about this, and realized that George Lucas would not be in the position he is today without the original movies. If he had released the StarWars movies in their current SE dvd editions, who is to say they would have been as successful? He became rich and successful because of the original movies and should respect them for what they are, even if he personally doesn't like them. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people who helped make the original movies love them and have no desire to see them changed.
Post
#65801
Topic
George Lucas, I wish you would have a change of heart :(
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65801/action/topic#65801
Time
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/20/film.qa.george.lucas.ap/index.html

GL: “I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be.”

Wasn’t the original trilogy refurbished back in 1996 in preparation for the 1997 SE’s? From the behind the scenes footage I’ve seen, it appears that the original prints were cleaned up before the CG effects were added. Also, if 20th Century Fox knows the great demand for the original trilogy, then I’m sure they would foot the bill rather than Lucas himself. All the movies I know of that have new extended versions that are more what the director intended always include the original theatrical releases on DVD. Why does Star Wars need to be different?

GL: “I'm the one who has to take responsibility for it. I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.”

The people throwing “rocks” are the OT fans. If the OT was made available, neither the OT fans nor the SE fans would be throwing “rocks”. Everyone would be happy.

And this is what bothers me the most…

Q: Do you pay much attention to fan reactions to your choices?

GL: "Not really. The movies are what the movies are. ... The thing about science-fiction fans and "Star Wars" fans is they're very independent-thinking people. They all think outside the box, but they all have very strong ideas about what should happen, and they think it should be their way. Which is fine, except I'm making the movies, so I should have it my way."

This shows the incredible disconnect that exists between George Lucas and Star Wars fans. Even though it is the fans that have made Lucas a multi-millionaire and given him the ability to live a luxurious lifestyle, he could care less. And what about the 1000’s of hard-working and talented individuals who heavily contributed to the original trilogy to make them into the great movies that they are? Shouldn’t they have a say?

Maybe Lucas is wealthy enough now to have complete control over the prequels, but many of the great ideas and events in the original trilogy were developed by other contributors. It was a very collaborative process.

This interview makes me very sad. His attitude makes me regret ever purchasing any of the star wars movies, various memorabilia, and toys that contributed to his wealth to which he offers no respect or gratitude to his faithful fans.

George Lucas, please have a change of heart.
Post
#65572
Topic
PG-13 Revenge of the Sith
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65572/action/topic#65572
Time
Quote
I first feel in love with digital effects after seeing the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park.


The CG in Jurassic park was ok. The raptors did look pretty realistic. But my favorite part of the movie, which scared me the most, was when Dr. Grant and the kids are attacked by the T-Rex outside of the jeep. This T-Rex was a full-sized motorized model that was so convincing because what we saw on camera actually existed in reality. It was tangible. If you watch near the end of the movie when the raptors are attacking the T-Rex, you will notice that the dinosaurs don't look as real because they were all drawn on the computer.

For me, CG objects still look too plastic-like to fit into live action scenes. Yes, CG gives a movie storyteller much more freedom in what scenes can be included and what type of characters can exist, but in a live action film, is it worth the sacrifice of realism?

I think watching a movie like the CG final fantasy movie is an awesome experience because it is amazing to see the amount of detail the artists were able to add to their drawings. But, for me, CG animation and live action film still exist as two separate artforms in two different realities.
Post
#65562
Topic
PG-13 Revenge of the Sith
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65562/action/topic#65562
Time
Quote
But I was thinking about it, and I've come to a sad conclusion: no matter what GL did, we would have the PTs, because they are not the movies we enjoyed, they are "something else". I mean, think about it, what would you do if you were asked to film the PTs? Would you do something better? I belive 90% of us here wouldn't...


Well if there had to be six movies...

I would have expanded the OT into six movies and continue to release them every 3 years from 1977-1992. The relationships between the characters were rich enough to be fleshed out into many more interesting episodes.

I think many of us who were born around the time of the OT and grew up watching it shared a vision of the story and developed a feel for what the Star Wars universe is all about. The problem is, the story and style of the OT was not soley designed by George Lucas himself. There were many other creative talents that determined how the movie turned out including screenwriters that revised the original scripts, influential special effects team members, directors, and a talented cast who brought the story to life.

Unfortunately, George Lucas made enough money from these movies to buy the entire franchise and take total control and surround himself with yes men. In every interview in the "making of" the TPM or ATOC videos, all I hear are people saying how everything must be approved by George Lucas and how he is such a genius and what a wonderful vision he has. If all the creative input is coming from ONE person, no wonder the PT's are not anywhere close to the originals.

If the dialog sounded more realistic and flowed better, if the acting was as good as the OT, and if they only used miniature models, costumes, and actual sets...if they only used computers to clean up matte lines and enhance the realism of the miniatures, then we would have a MUCH better PT.
Post
#65440
Topic
PG-13 Revenge of the Sith
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65440/action/topic#65440
Time
Darth and Jaster, good posts. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Jimbo, you sound like a pretty intelligent guy, so it surprises me that you welcome digital enhancements and digital characters like the PT yoda. Now don't get me wrong, CGI is a great artform. I really enjoy movies like Finding Nemo and Toy Story. But no matter how "pretty" CGI is, computer graphics have yet to reach the point of realism where they fit seamlessly with live action video. While I'm watching a movie, I want to forget reality and be immersed in the story's environment. The OT is so beautiful because it brings us a whole universe filled with objects and characters that seem remarkably tangible and real. Half the reason I could not enjoy TPM and ATOC was because every time a CGI object appeared on screen (about every scene), I recognized it as fake and was jolted back into reality and out of the story. The CG characters are especially disconcerting. How are you supposed to invest interest in a cartoon character that is supposed to exist in a live action universe?

Today, I was watching ESB preSE today and for every spaceship, creature, building, etc, I tried my best to look for details that made it stand out as fake. It wasn't easy. The stop motion effects of a couple wanton (sp?) running scenes and a background at Bespin (matte painting) appeared fake, but that was it! I have so much respect for the modelers that worked on the starwars movies. Miniature models with good motion capture will beat out current CG effects everytime, hands down.

The great thing about the OT is that the story only included special effects when it was possible to make them look realistic. If it couldn't be done with realistic miniatures, the story did not include the scene. Sure it might be fun to see Yoda use a lightsaber and fight, but if this cannot be done realistically (ie with a muppet), then it is simply not worth it. Unfortunately, George Lucas apparently feels CG effects look sufficiently realistic and has lets his movies include scenes that can only be done in the computer. Not only this, but he also now draws in objects that COULD be done as superior looking miniatures!

Now I know that movie costs have risen dramatically compared to the late 70's, early 80's. Perhaps good modelers are too costly to hire? But what I found interesting is that on the ESB commentary track, a special effects commentator mentioned that it took 9 months to do all of the special effects seen in ESB. But now with the PT, which is 90% CG, it takes 2 years post-production to do add all the effects and scenery for each movie. Time is money and it would seem 2 years of CG would still be at least as costly as 9 months of modeling.
Post
#65333
Topic
We need a Java Chatroom
Link
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/65333/action/topic#65333
Time
Hi everyone,
I've been lurking these forums for the past couple weeks and have enjoyed reading comments from people who share my thoughts on the original star wars trilogy. I think I am probably not the only one who has read the forums without posting. It would be great if there was a realtime java chatroom developed here that would allow anyone to join, even without registering. A chatroom would allow visitors, who may not feel like taking the time to write and post a message, to join in on conversations with ease. The accessibility of the chatroom, I believe, would bring even more fans of the originals to come here and discuss how they feel about these movies and what George Lucas is doing to them. What do you guys think?