nightstalkerpoet

Use the force, Brooks. And find me, you will :D

As for more details, not yet. However, if they're trying to secure writers for films 8 and 9, they are probably looking at this as the whole trilogy rather than just Episode 7. Hopefully this means they are looking for a long term crew, and possibly means they are considering LOTR style continuous filming. 

Easter, I really don't think it helps the flow of discussion if you're not willing to actually discuss - making a comment, but not following up, tends to draw out the purist in many of us, believing you don't have adequate supporting evidence. While this is "originaltrilogy.com", people here are actually quite open to discussing things civilly, despite having opposing viewpoints. I'd suggest you put yourself out there... I mean, consider this:

I've made these points about myself very clear:

• I love the light saber battle with Yoda from AotC.
• Under the crap, AotC is my favorite SW film.
• I'm working on a serious edit of TPM with Jar Jar as the main character.
• I believe Yoda could be replaced by cgi in the OT effectively.
• I believe editors doing SAGA edits should mold the PT to the OT, but also the OT to the PT.
• I think the original Krayt Dragon Call blends in too much with the score.
• I don't really care if Han shoots first or not.
• I'm rather fond of Ewoks.

Those may be quite different from many around here... but without conflicting viewpoints, this forum for discussion becomes sorely lacking in discussion. I've found in the past few years that the internet as a whole has come to this realization - too many forums and sites collapsed and died, taking with them the few trolls that sat around and did nothing but agree with each other.

Just something to consider.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/05/04/kasdan-lucas-tinkering

Not sure our views will be represented well there... 

I don't think the philosophy really is wrong. I think the execution of the philosophy is wrong.

RotS is vastly improved simply by injecting the deleted Birth of the Rebellion scenes back in - I personally would love to see the included Jar Jar scene where Palpatine thanks him for putting him into power. If you're going to include the politics in the plot, you can't skimp on it it. The Birth of the Rebellion is the most directly OT relevant set of politics, and also the most interesting.

When good FINISHED material such as that is left on the cutting room floor, I have to believe that there are things in the vault that can greatly improve these movies.

As for the AotC effects... my problem with them is the flat nature of them. RotS really got a handle on making CG interact well with actors on screen (without looking cartoonish), and I think AotC could benefit from it - just look at the huge gathering of clone troopers at the end of AotC to see the problem with the effects.

And seriously - I don't think it's fair to point fingers at Hayden. When you watch a film, all you're seeing is a mashup of the director's vision of what the performance should be. You can't simply judge months and months worth of filmed performances by four hours of on screen footage.

You could edit down someones life to only bad days, arguments, a single road rage incident and rare offensive comments, and with that limited view assume that they are an awful person. But you can't jump to that conclusion, because those 10 bad days in an entire year don't show you the single mom who works two jobs so that she can afford to put her daughter in ballet classes, works in a soup kitchen in her free time, and hasn't taken a day for herself in years. It's all very skewed to the people higher up's vision.

I definitely understand on some of the vocal parts - but really, if you watch most kids things these days, that is kind of the vocal style used to amuse them.

It's nice to see some actual support for this. I'm rather surprised considering the general dislike of the character. I'm hoping to complete this and release it alongside my other edit The Phantom Hour, which takes the opposite approach, removing all Gungans, and ditching Jar Jar on Coruscant.

Considering it is planned to be a Kids movie, should I have the crawl narrated? Male or female voice? I'm thinking along the lines of the original Power Rangers movie crawl - that's actually the tone I'm aiming for with the whole project, tbh.

It occurs to me every time I watch the Red Letter Media review that Plinkett is wrong when he says there is no main character in TPM. 

Jar Jar Binks is the main character - the problem is noone wants to admit it.

Consider this - Jar Jar begins the film displaced, a sad bumbling fool who wishes to return to the home he's been exiled from. On top of that, now his planet is being invaded by the trade federation. Suddenly, two wise Jedi show up and instantly give him an opportunity to make a difference by leading them to his home. The Jedi have saved his life, and he is now their servant, giving him a solid reason he has to tag along. We learn that the Naboo and the Gungans don't get along. In the sub ride, we learn more of Jar Jar's back story.

Suddenly, they've saved the Queen and shot off into space. They land on Tatooine, where Jar Jar befriends a young slave boy, attempts to help with a few things, and continues to struggle with his inadequacies. The boy saves the day (as Jar Jar cheers), and they head to Coruscant.

The Queen decides to return home when she can't get help on Coruscant, and Jar Jar is excited to go back. But there's a twist. The Queen has a plan, and she wants Jar Jar's help!

They get back, and Jar Jar helps find the rest of the Gungans. This meeting begins deplomacy between the nations and Jar Jar almost single handedly brings them together, burying the feud.

Jar Jar is now recognized as a hero among his people, and promoted to General. He then helps lead his people against the battle droids, a battle which is ultimately won. He has now regained his place among his people, united the Naboo and the Gungans, and helped save the planet (and helped the jedi in their mission, resolving his debt) - he is among those most highly honored in the final parade.

... That, folks... is a decent narrative, focused on a kid friendly protagonist. And it spans the entire film.

MY PLAN: I'm going to create an edit that, rather than get rid of Jar Jar, embraces him in a way that creates a children's film. Most of the politics will be gone, along with quite a bit of Anakin's back story. Darth Maul may not even show up in the film. I think it's possible, and could actually make a decent film, if mapped out right.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks, Jaitea. I'm not great with photo editing :) Now I want to see him in the PT :P

It's really not so awful in green :)

He might, if he had access to all of the outtakes. :)

I know a lot of people think that the PT should be completely remade, but I really don't see it happening any time soon. I do think this idea could be viable though. I know that people think it's only fanboys that gripe about the PT, but I'm sure a LOT more people would jump on the bandwagon if given any other option.

Disney should try this:

Pull out the original work files for the PT. Every take of every scene. All original CGI files.

Give it to a competent director/editor/producer team.

Re-render the CGI with better detail and integration. AotC SHOULD look better than it does.

Find better takes/pull out a better performace from what's already there. People are always complaining about Jar Jar/Anakin... but honestly, there is one take that stands out as a sore thumb for me... when Padme meets Anakin, her line "You're a slave?" is god awful. We know she is capable of better. There has to be something better in the archives. And I truly think you could fix Hayden's Anakin.

And come on - The Birth of the Rebellion scenes are complete. Put the best subplot of RotS back in!

CGI is cheaper (and better) than ever, and with all photography complete...

I have to disagree... the trailer for The Old Republic looked anything but cheap. Parts of it were so well rendered it was difficult to remember it was completely CG.

It could be possible to do it well.. but I do think that I'd prefer the ST to be live action for one reason: I want things kept small. CG comes with too much temptation to go over the top.

Well... considering that their Grandfather WAS just bacteria, etc. wouldn't that mean that the genetic combinations, especially in the male line, would be be extremely limited. It's actually very likely he'd look almost exactly the same :P

Please don't kill me... but I figured I'd throw this out there...

Jake Lloyd has been royally screwed by his performance in Star Wars Episode 1 - Generally due to awful, age inappropriate dialog ("Yippeeee!" anyone?)

Now that he is old enough, would Jake Lloyd be a decent contender as Luke's son or protege?

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'm actually decently hopeful for Episode 7 with Michael Arndt writing.

Things like writing out Bo Peep (and quite a few other toys) could have been disastrous in Toy Story 3, but it was handled with so much class. The story was boiled down to its essentials, leaving the bare minimum to carry it forward in a natural progression. THIS is what we needed with the PT, which could have done just fine without excessive amounts (or even the inclusion) of Yoda, the droids, Chewbacca, Anakin in Vader Costume, Jango and Boba Fett, Jabba, ET, a (deleted) Greedo scene, and anyone else ought not have been there.

Play nice.

I have seen a few edits that took the prologue to the crawl approach... and it is just awful. It really takes you out of the film.

I will say though, a fall of vader montage in RotJ might not be awful, so long as you placed it within the constructs of the film. Perhaps a scene where Vader is meditating, thinking about Luke, and flashes of happiness with Padme, the death of his mother, "No, I need him" - cutting off Mace's arm, and his original duel with Obi Wan could be used, interspersed with shots of Luke's face. It would have to be short so as to not detract though.

The lightsaber construction scene is 1080p on the Bluray... I think so anyway...  never thought to actually check...

Maybe third times the charm (pretty sure I've asked this twice already in this thread, with no response)

Have either of you, (Bingo and mk2k) seen Spence's RotJ final edit? It really is a nice start to the direction you can take the beginning of RotJ. Just throw in the lightsaber construction scene, maybe a few of the new shots of Lando signaling, etc, and I think you're just about there.

... I hope the good the better parts of her resume factor into these new Star Wars movies rather than this:

The Last Airbender (executive producer) 

I know it's one thing, but DAMN that is an awful movie!

muddyknees2000 said:

do you not think that GL might have put something in the contract that prohibits any release of what he sees as inferior versions of his films? 

Since they are both publicly traded companies, shouldn't that contract be subject to public record laws? 

Distribution simply means the right to distribute (and make money from) any release that they are given - the actual footage for the release (with the exception of some commentary/special features) is complete before they get their hands on it. That puts the OUT in Disney's hands to restore, and simply means that they are forced to deliver the finished product to be released through Fox.

Ultimately, I would assume this sets fan projects up to be targeted from two different directions - illegal distribution (which fanedits are not... but who knows how they'll view that) effects both companies equally, and it is in the interests of both Fox and Disney to protect their assets.

However, it is my belief that fan projects help rather than hinder, and the business savvy people at these companies probably know this. Sure, Disney sued some daycare for painting Disney characters on the wall, but that is well within their rights when they sell wallpaper and posters and wall decals. They could never sell edits, and as such aren't missing out on profits from this particular area of fandom.

In that chain of events, throw in Justin Bruening as Jacen Solo. I know he's a bit old but I think he could pull it off - I've enjoyed watching him in Switched at Birth.

 Perhaps, in a non-EU timeline, the ST could focus on Luke training Jacen. Go with the familiar turn to the dark side theme, with Ep 7 combining the best elements of Eps 1 and 4 to establish the relationships. In Episode 8, build up controversy between Jacen and Luke, show Jacen leaning towards the dark side, argumentative, etc. and have him give up on being a Jedi and disappear at the end of the film. In Episode 9, Luke tracks Jacen across the Galaxy. At the end of the film, there can be a light saber battle between Jacen and Luke, where Jacen obviously has the upper hand. He begins to toy with Luke, and eventually goes for the killing blow, stopping at the last second with a change of heart, then helping drag Luke to safety (insert cliche self destruct sequence with timer).

 This combines Anakin's fall to the dark side with Luke's self-redemption by not killing Vader in RotJ. Keeps the story in line with the rest of the Saga, ultimately tying up the whole thing and showing that someone truly could be completely redeemed of the Dark Side. Sure, Anakin was at the end, but you never got to see him do anything good in a post-Vader life. Of course, you'd need another driving plot device (Yuuzhan Vong invasion perhaps) in the background.

New interview with Lucas biographer:

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/star-wars-7-8-and-9-are-most-exciting-says-george-lucas-biographer-exclusive-63006

While researching his book, Dale Pollock, author of the unauthorized Lucas biography, “Skywalking: The Life And Films Of George Lucas,” was allowed to read the outlines to the 12 stories written by the filmmaker but was required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

 

“The three most exciting stories were 7, 8 and 9. They had propulsive action, really interesting new worlds, new characters. I remember thinking, ‘I want to see these 3 movies.’”

 

The next in the series, he said, involve Luke Skywalker in his 30s and 40s, but Lucas was unlikely to turn to Mark Hamill, who played Luke in the original but whose performance left the director dissatisfied.

The best way that I can see this panning out is a trilogy of rebuilding the republic. It never made sense to me that the Empire would fail instantly the second Palpatine died. This could be set after a full civil war has been finished. Show Luke entering the Jedi temple to restore the Order, Leia as Chancellor working to re establish the Senate, and Han/Chewy/Lando leading the rebuilding of Coruscant, which has fallen into disrepair.

With the ST now looming, there is the potential for more scenes involving Hayden as Anakin's ghost. Will this effect your decision to restore Sebastian Shaw to the end of RotJ?