thejediknighthusezni

   Apropo of nothing,

   If 3PO belonged to Padme's family, instead of being built by Ani, he could be traded to Watto in exchange for the slave's (echo ROTJ.) Could then be bought by Lars along with Shmi.

    The continuity error with Owen never bothered me. I didn't notice it while watching the film. I've rationalized it away by thinking Owen didn't live at the farm, he was only an occasional visitor to that very remote place.

     I've had some fun on 'The Movies You've Seen' thread.

     I'd like to expand on that a bit. 

     This thread is for discussing the films you want to see. Imagine that you are the head of a production company, or even LFL. What would you green-light? Why? 

    Any genre. Remakes, loose adaptations and re-imaginings are game.

    I'll start:

    I have two. They would be based upon the greatest and the most important SF novels (IMHO) in all history.

    The Greatest: OSC's 'Ender's Game' (1984). The captivating parable of childhood and young adulthood; of how the environment controls our development far more than we can effect it.  Produced with modern FX, and in a way that is true to the tone of the novel, it could be a stunning, surpassing achievement.

     The Most Important:  GO's '1984'.  It's frighteningly ironic that, just when it is more vital than ever before, this magnificent work is being removed from HS and university reading lists. Intrusive technology that can leave all of us completely vulnerable, organizations throughout the west that dare to be far more collectivist than at any time during the cold war, corporations that are perfectly willing to find excuses to intrude or dissemble on behalf of those with the most controlling impulses,  all of these parties willing to continue down the ever steepening slope, and the word "terrorism" to "justify" it all. 

    The greatest misconception about '1984' is that GO was warning us about what could happen. That is true, but only part of the truth. Rather, he was alerting us to what is happenning- at this moment- at any modern moment. He was describing the inborn and conditioned mechanisms that drive people to use modern techniques to seek power-UNLIMITED POWER-without end. WS tells his torturer that there are more rational ways of dealing with him and he is promptly tormented yet more for missing the point entirely. The point is that, for people who start down the path of controlling all in the name of some greater good, a point will be reached when it is no longer sufficient to hold potential power. At a point, only the exercise of actual power to intrude in the most minute and intimate ways in the life of another can be acceptable. "Power corrupts...." It was also a tale about the effect such total survaillance has upon the observed- Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. There's no escape from it. The more intensive the observation, the more radical the course of the observed is altered. How utterly warping it is to the individuals trapped in such intolerably inhuman conditions.

    I believe '84 would have to be re-imagined (the date, for one thing.) It would also have to appeal to a large audience. I'm thinking of an all CG animated "rockumentary." 2034. It is a tale about people removed from normal human capacities. They are dazed and laconic and "unreal". CG could be a virtue in such a setting. There would have to be more action and a faster pace. WS and Julia coud be in their early twenties. It could be the aftermath of the war on terrorism. It seems to me that the material also lends itself to some powerful potential hard rock lyrics and music.

     Well, those are mine.  :) 

   In this conception, Lando is from a nomadic tribe of mercenaries. They fight for systems in exchange for mineral rights. They are French African based, maybe a slightly alien appearance. At the end of WWII, French Africans fought in great numbers. In the PT, They arm old freighters and are very careful to select causes that the Jedi don't oppose and maybe, quieltly, even endorse (present at Naboo.)

   I agree that it is incredible that GL had Father and Sister worked out before '76.

   I think it is even more incredible that he went into production of ANH without solving the basic relationships to Luke and without resolving the triangle dilemma. :)

    To finish with ESB...

     Fate Unknown-------No dialog from scouts- masked, unknown. expo to PL from CO----speeder rolls in celebration-----test of cannon, subtle until fired-----Plan for defense in CC. XO "If the storm continues and the empire comes in light armored speeders...(Yeah, 'Captain Obvious' moment;)" CO "We must hope they have no respect for us."----- CO pep talk, Beautiful day for a fight (LBH).------Forward scout laying with T-T on it's side. CC"We have your position, Scout 4, Report the position of the walkers. S4 looks upward "They're just about standing on me!!" CC" Fall back to the perimeter, Scout 4." S-4 mounts and T-T runs howling.----- Cloud City central upward spire? Leia quarters?-_-Luke removes STs surrounding Leia.Vader almost recaptures Leia. V speaks of disturbance in Force. Luke steps in to cover PL's escape-----LC goes after Han, meets Leia on the way.----Then they give expo during the duel where Luke is injured. That's it.     If I think of anything I missed, I'll post an edit here.    :)

    Edit:   Leia on Falcon, before kiss "Please stop calling me that. The Royal House of Organa takes girls from poor circumstances and raises them for diplomatic service. Gives titles for stature." (or some such) ;/ 

    Edit:   If LC is killed at Cloud City trying to rescue Han, Wedge could take the Falcon.

    Edit:   Keep as much sense of Dunkirk-Trondheim as possible. Attatchment to history and the historical action dramas.

    Edit:  "Never make two women share the same kitchen." -Vacation home developers   ;)

    Edit:   The Falcon might be able to make one jump. It might over or under shoot the destination ('DB'.)

    Edit:   LC was difficult. Blasted over the side of cloud city? Dies on Tat? Killed in star battle? It's a remake proposal, not a re-imagining. I thought I was already taking things far. If LC had a parent or spouse/love interest, there would be someone else to fly the Falcon. LC could die anywhere-even on Endor. Or, the parent could be lost or survive too ;/ :\ I don't know. Trying to stay with what has been established.

    Edit:   In the project conception I thought of Han as being in his mid-twenties. This creates an age disparity with Lando in his late thirties or early fourties (a General in ROTJ). I thought Lando might have an informal position with the rebs (no rank or same as Han) and they could both be the  same age. Or, if early forties, work in a 'ROTLA' ref. I was trying to speed and simplify the Jabba rescue sequence. If Lando was of lower rank we wouldn't see him telling off the Admiral.

   On to ESB...

    ESB is a magnificent achievement, one of the greatest films ever made. I love it nearly as much as ANH.

    ESB does, IMHO, present three great flaws: 

     First, the derailment of the triangle grand story arc. Second, Luke is presented as weak and needing assistance from the outset, relieved only by the speeder sequence. Third, the space worm gullet that is nearly perfect for human habitation. 

     I wish that 'Das Boot' had been released in '78. I suspect that we would have seen larger and more frightening Minoks, with larger sucker teeth, crawling on the outer hull. "Veeeere ZINNKIIING....!" inside. Han could "Charge the hull" to drive them off but that reveals their location and upsets the cave.

   Dramatically, it might work better if Luke is presented as heroic, admired, succeeding in all, and then he goes to his great fall. To strengthen Luke,  Luke could succeed in his self-assigned mission to find the probe. The Taun-Taun sticks it's head up instead of Chewie. Luke shoots, then reports danger over com. Then-WAMPA!. Could have other rebels go out with Han and barely crawl back into cave. Luke gives fighter pilots the briefing and pep talk before going to lead the speeders. Luke makes it clear that he's drawing fire away from the others (B of Midway). BOTB. Luke gives a pep talk to speeder pilots as they get into X-wings. Luke leads the last fighters in defense of the last transports and peels off as the others jump into hyperspace. Then Luke is reduced to a learner who advances quickly but fails important tests.

     ANH was the first act. It established the characters perfectly. The opening sequences of ESB are there to re-present what has been established- to pick up where we left off. At the end of ANH, Han is a hero, informally attatched. Luke is the greatest hero, the greatest pilot and the greatest leader of the last remnants of the fighters. Leia is 'Princess of the Heavens', a civilian dignitary, and a covert operative who has obviously had small arms and operations training. The trouble with presenting Luke as weaker is that he is not as much a potential rival to Han. The trouble with 'Air Marshall Organa' (aside from being 21 and already having three more-than-full-time jobs and being as though Princess Elizabeth had appeared at Patton's HQ and told him how to deploy his forces;) is that she becomes the ultimate "One of the boys" while stealing thunder from Luke.

     There were three tremendous problems in maintaining the triangle arc. First, I'm sure they didn't want people (especially the kids) to hate Han for stealing Leia. Second, bro-sis. Third, Luke was the center of ANH, they needed to elevate Han and Leia as much as possible.

     ESB needed to end with us believing that there was about an equal possibility that Leia would wind up with either Han or Luke. This must have been GL's original intent (two kisses, she risks her life to save him, together in the end{as the celestial twins}.) I, for one, was about certain that Leia would go with Han (I love you/I know was part of the problem- though I wouldn't trade it for anything.) Leia is the leading lady and center of the triangle. She must be presented as an unobtainable demi-goddess. The center of the universe. The true McGuffin. She is not there to fight the empire. Her only function, throughout the entire OT, is to make Han and Luke as miserable as possible with worry for her and for each other.

    To get the triangle grand arc back on track:

     In the beginning, after probe fall and mounted scout, we could see 3PO and R2 moving through white corridors. Rebels in white uniform and white helmets could be running past them with determination. Are they on their way to battle? We round a corner and see they are rushing to form an honor guard in front of a transport ship. Then Leia steps out wearing a half length, exotic, elegant but spacey coat with high winter riding boots and scarf. Every bit a princess and high dignitary. Suddenly, a huge ,hairy, roaring and whining monster pushes it's way through the guard to reach the princess. It looks like she's going to be ripped apart. She turns and smiles and strokes him until he's quiet (the nordic demi-goddess who can tame the most ferocious wolves.) The CO and XO step forward and PL asks about Luke and Han. She reviews the guard as Han enters. The purpose is to show us PL is definitely not one of the boys, that she is away from them for long periods and she is of much higher status when she is with them (in this conception it is only one year ABY.)

    We next see PL in the CC worried for Luke and telling him to hurry back. While they are both out, She is seen having special concern for Luke. We see them talking in the med center. We see Leia and Luke hugging and speaking together before the battle. We see PL worried as Luke takes off. We see her frightened for Luke during battle.

    PL is like a minister of defense. She is consulted by the CO as a formality, but with all the regal dignity in the galaxy she tells him "Evacuation must be at your discretion, General." She only takes command of the CC because all of the command officers are killed or unavailable. She waits until the sector is cleared and then orders the spiking of the cannon- an enormous explosion that destroys two walkers. "Imperial troops at the north gate!! Imperial troops at thsssss" Leia orders "Sound the general retreat!" It sounds and we see a general collapse of rebel resistance. She is dragged out of the CC while  the staff tells her to go and she tells the guard to take them to their transports. If she needs more action, she could blast a trooper on the way out. Otherwise, Cloud City should be enough.

     The only time Leia is reduced is when she's repairing The Falcon. She must be stripped of her princess attire. She is wearing one of Han's work shirts. By Cloud City, She's back to Princess. They are met by Han's friend, Landa Calrijianne (I keed:). We see PL on a balcony outside of the lounge. She is looking over dark storm clouds and lightnings and deep chasms between the clouds. At the same time, there is thunder and lightning on dagobah with Luke (Luke intercut is PT). She is wearing a beautiful dress that presents her as The Goddess of the Skies. She goes in and discusses their worry for Luke with Han. Luke succeeds in rescuing Leia with his new powers.

     I have other possible slight improvements. Later :)

    For ANH...

    I'll suggest things for mood, alusions, dialog and costume and sets in a post for the entire OT.

     These are just offhand, small suggestions.

    -Luke and the hopper--there are opportunities for dropping more exposition about history, prior relationship between Leia and the droids and twins on the ship--3PO auto-memory wipe might be a running gag *grabs head* "Oh! It's happened again."-- STs might have more dialogue, funny but menacing (troopers) throughout film (DS "have you..")-- a living snake dragon, practical? winds down a rail track?---See if sequence of escape pod to the farm can be tightened, (they don't seperate? only threaten to?)---argument about hopper LS/UO no Biggs---impoff drops expo about X-wings being the only hyperdrive fighters and local system defenses---Luke carries light sabre then drops it while falling to his knees (this one's informed by PT)---Mos Eisly is the capitol, Tat only has a few million inhabitants? Jabba rules from the slime planet of Hutta (capitol city a slimey Chicago?)---separate because they might be sensed by Vader on DS, two force weilders can't hide themselves well when together---Vader senses something from Leia---detention block "Would you prefer to crawl back into your cell, highness?" from novel---"Into the chute, flyboys"---More 'JAWS' in garbage compactor, Han "Everybody just calm dowwAAHH!!" everybody yelps as goofy but terrifying and toothy head pops up---New DS like a small, industrial, airless coruscant?(PT), crater is the inactive HS exhaust outlet?? Beams just rise out of surface??? DS is to be Emperor's new ride, like "flagship" ---imps find base on their own, no tracker---Leia begs for a different planet not her own????;/---Vader stunt mask tinted transparent---duel something between ANH and ROTS over chasms---Luke rescues Ben???? injured or not????---Leia calculates tragectory of DS--- "Your reward lies on Yavin. It will last as long as they do."---Luke makes two squadron friends in briefing, one lives---Leia's home world the target??? like GL original???---Ben in sick bay/ coaches Luke through Force?--- Ben is wing leader shot by Vader? lives or doesn't?--- Each squadron has control officer and tech support officer at a holo console. control O seated, she sounds off during roll call, get to know her a little, helps fighters?--- Short hyper jump to DS so all fighters are X-wings--- Ben over one shoulder and 3PO or General of Yavin and Hoth over other shoulder?--- Chewie gets a med- oh wait, nvm :)

     Edit: Might make the jamming of the targeting comps a greater concern during the runs. It keeps throwing off slightly. Luke gets frustrated with it as well as coached by Ben.

    I'm sure I don't have the post count to justify creating my own threads, but here goes...

    For my first thread, I thought I would present to SW fans the most outrageous of concepts. :)

     This thread is for concepts beyond what can be accomplished in a fan-edit, where a remake would be required. The entire SW6 saga, even the OT, is open for reconsideration 8-0. All are welcome to contribute.

    When I first came here, I only meant to make a few suggestions for fanedits. I thought I could drop the suggestions in a unique manner that would cause faneditors to just take the points- without worrying about me. Then, I thought it would be nice to develope some thoughts further and - "In for a penny...."

     Why remakes? Three reasons: First, even the most excellent can be improved. Second, the SW6 (including the OT) contain serious flaws. Third, I believe that, if a remake of the OT could be accomplished to at least equal the originals, those new films could belong to the younger generations in the same way that the OOT will forever belong to my generation.    

    In release order, a remake of the SW6:

    What is the OT? I began playing a game in '77 to guess where GL was taking us (and from where he had developed his story.) In '83, the game  turned into a project to try to improve an already maginificent tale. The first thing I did (with the help of some screenwriting primers) was to try to understand exactly what it was I was working with.

    I came to the conclusion that the OT was actually two grand story arcs, intertwined.

     The first grand arc was about the relationship between father and son (F-S). Luke redeems his father and thus completes his hero's journey. Ben and Yoda are logistical. They exist to deliver what is needed to propel Luke to his confrontation. Ben even sacrifices his life ("Escape is not his plan") to ensure that Luke cannot fall to the dark side.  F-S was handled brilliantly. Lucas&Co deserve the highest praise. Let's set F-S aside for awhile. 

    The second arc was the love triangle between Luke, Leia and Han. This is the most perfect love triangle that I know of in cinema. Luke and Leia would give their lives for each other, Han and Leia also. Han and Luke would each sacrifice his life to save the other. Would Rhett or Ashely do that? 

    The triangle grand arc was introduced perfectly in ANH. In the very last image of ANH, we see a perfect representation of the triangle. We see them standing in triangular formation with Leia in her place at the center and raised above the other two. Every thing we see in the OT that isn't specifically there to serve the  F-S arc (Yoda), is there to serve the triangle grand arc. The droids provide an outside POV and Lando helps to make it possible for the grand arcs to find their conclusion. The triangle is not there to fight the empire. The entire empire- all of the SDs and STs and AT-ATs-everything- is there to give the triangle opportunities to interact with each other in very dramatic ways. F-S aside, the sub-arcs for Han, Luke and Leia are there to resolve the place of each with respect to the other two.

     In ESB, the triangle was almost entirely derailed while they are on Hoth. Han and Luke demonstrated that they loved each other like brothers. Sparks were flying furiously between Leia and Han. Hoth is the last opportunity for L&L to interact, before the very end. There is effectively no interaction between Luke and Leia there. They don't say one word to each other. It's true we get the impression, visually, that they care, but that isn't nearly enough to sustain one side of a triangle. If one side collapses, the entire structure falls. Half of the OT fell upon Hoth. It's a testament to the genius of the creators and the power of F-S that ESB could carry through and become exquisite in spite of this. 

    By ROTJ, the loss of half the story becomes noticable. It wasn't just the cutesyness of the ewoks that took some of the sense of gravity and grand purpose from that film. Again, the brilliance of the creators, with their even more powerful presentation of F-S, carried that film to greatness

    It's understandable, no doubt inevitable, that a problem like this emerged, given the production challenges and difficult subject matter.

    I will address that problem. But before that, I will suggest some possible slight improvements to the nearly perfect (for what it is) ANH. :)   

   Oh, one ref to coruscant I completely missed before seeing it here :o)

   Obi is in pretty good shape after  the fight. I thought he might bear some physical scars from the encounter back to the core. Provide some expo as to why Yoda and others can overcome limits when the Force flows. Why he can fight Palpy.

   A (slightly) less radical edit would be to have Obi sacrifice himself and his fighter to save the younger and more powerful Jedi for the mission. Thought that in the battle, Obi could meneuver his ship behind Ani's to take the hits (B of Midway.) Ani could take charge of the mission, but it seems like Obi's lost. A desolate "I've lost wing leader, I'm going in." over the coms. Then the hero reappears at the last moment to save Ani and Obi survives.

  Could each squadron have it's own control officer at the command center (B of Britain) Mostly female? Different holo stations for controls and for commanders. Create sense of larger battle. I like the idea of doing everything possible to recreate that WWII, and before vibe. :)

 That's all I can remember for ANH. I'm sure others have mentioned my remaining points before. :)

EDIT: Oh- In the DS conference, "They are a threat" guy could drop the expo about X-wings and why the systems can resist. :)

   That must all be on the BD :o)

    I'm thinking some very faint foreshadowing of the twins might work in the case of Vader. Esp. If alternates and deleted BR extras provide more.

    In Tat orbit, Vader could stop and say something like "I know there's something... more than one...?" On the DS a vague mention of multiple disturbances and in reference to Leia "Even some who are not adepts can can show remarkable ability to draw strength from the Force.

     I thought Tarkin could say something like "Everything about you is illigitimate-adopted daughter of the rebellion." Ben's reason for seperating was that together they were making too strong of an impression, so he went off to deactivate the beam (maybe sensed that luke would seek Leia, too.) Ben or Leia (hologram) mentioned that Leia came to Tat because she sensed she could find help there. (These are probably beyond fanedits.) :)

^ My rationale was that no one else could ever match Sir Alec's performance, anyway. Might as well go in a different direction.

I'll give the most radical iteration. It can be walked back easily.

   Ben survives the DS duel, is rescued by Luke, but is too injured to participate in the battle of Yavin. He coaches Luke through it with the Force. In ESB, he is still recovering and on a mission for the rebel leadership on the opposite side of the galaxy from Hoth. He tells Luke through the Force to find Yoda. Yoda gives some expo about Force ghosts. Ben contacts Luke through the Force to tell him that he couldn't reach cloud city before Luke.

    I'm not sayin' I ever intended to get that rad, just trying to make things consistent with past impressions and what seemed like past GL iterations.

   I thought the tie between the trilogies was great. I was confessing failure in the guessing game.

   Before ROTS, the game seemed like "pre-plagairism" that, in the very unlikely event that there was some shred of truth in something, could be a spoiler for some people.

    In my SWU conception, the DS was not an innovation, it was the first time that a galactic power could pull together the resources (through confiscatory taxation and pillaging) to harness such planet destroying energy. (sorta PT)

    I tried to work 3PO into the history (not so much R2. He seemed new, but I suppose "new" could be very relative in a "timeless" U.) I thought there might be some kind of security program that automatically flushed his memory of compromising info about his former masters the moment he is salvaged or purchased by others (why he knew about the princess, then didn't) After ROTJ, I thought he might have been owned by the mother's family for several generations (Lady Jessica/Princess Leia.)

     I thought the new R2 might have limited hover capability. Avoids draining power cells.

     I thought non-hyperspace capable fighters would be launched from pan-galactic warship "carriers".

     That's all I can remember about PT tech.  :)

   ^ I saw that on FE.org a while back. Great concept.

 I'm confusing all these versions. 'Thornbirds' "GWTW' sort of aproach with music to cover action beyond main characters. Min time version. Crawl rewrites galore. I like em all. Sorry for being muddled about it. :)

    Yeah, no reveal until later might work. just the ship in the background.

     TBH, at this point, I'm fishing for info. Wondering whether anyone here knows somebody who knows somebody who knows whether the additional LS/UO dialogue about the empire in orbit was filmed, still usable, might be on the BR (prompted by the B&W trailor I saw here of LS watching battle next to vaporator.)

     In an edit for min time and for enthusiasts, I'd say drop em on the planet as quickly as possible or bypass alltogether. 

     If a couple of minutes can be spared in a longer edit, newbs and casual viewers might need some expo about the Force and situation. The expo might be dropped while the intercut  manace is building against them.

     The reason for 3 crawls is to explain the switch from queen to senator. I've tried and failed to find another way, such as making PA a senator from the start. If someone else could find a solution.... Otherwise, have fun writing crawls :)

     The only part of 3PO that is definitely out of place in a more grim edit, IMHO, is the arena exclamations and smiling green tentacles.

      Any edit have R2 simply pushing 3PO over and then letting himself fall (ala ROTJ) and then picking up action after he lands?

    I love the PT visuals. Makes me want an "adult SF buff" version of I and II

    Instead of saving time...

    Maybe the crawl in Ep I could state that the seperatist leader, the mysterious Dukoo, is creating clones and that the Feds are playing a double game, threatening to join the seperatists with their droid army if the senate doesn't let them have their way on Naboo.

    Maybe alien dialgue could be added in Ep I and Ep II senate to reinforce (silhouette dialogue of Jedi too?) Maybe cut the part of the clones in ST armor on Kamino. Make it seem like the clones are for the seperatists. At the last moment, in the arena, we learn they are for the Republic.    

     The silhouette idea could work well, I think

      If someone wants to bypass the baseship business.

     OW and QG are in the foreground on the bridge, backs to us?

      Alter the audio of their baseship expo so it sounds like their backs are turned?

      Ship is shot and has to make a crash landing beyond Theed?

      Show crew in cockpit with battle damage and smoke and battledroids appearing in foreground to arrest them with forest out the window? Then show QG running?

     Introduce mysterious boy, seen from the back, in council examination?

     Trying to guess. :)  

   Anyway,

    My flights of fancy began in '77, when watching the film and reading the extra info in the novelization. I wanted to see more and understand how things came to be. I couldn't wait for the sequel. When it came, much was uncovered. I wanted to discover even more.

    I wanted the PT for the exposition. "Exposition dump", while maintaining pace, tension and coherence for the newbies, is incredibly difficult. 'Matrix' is an outstanding example of dumping philosophical, technological, and spiritual concepts "on-the-fly." The genius of the OT was the way it could maintain itself with minimal expo. It created a sense of magic and unknown and made us wish for more.

     The SWU needed to be in a state of techno-stasis. It was very important to my speculation and the eventual conclusion (I am going to tie all this together *shock*.)

     In my conception, hyperdrive was the central factor. The clones were a consequence. From the foundation of The Republic, the "PAX JEDIACA" was based upon the Jedi Order's guarantee that the systems could not develope hyperdrive capable warships ('Dune' and pre-'14.) The systems could only maintain local (non-hyperspace capable), defensive warships and ion cannon "Coastal Artillery" (these defenses were why the empire could not establish complete control.)

    I thought the X-wings could be very special as the only fighters with hyper-drive (before ROTJ.) They were commissioned for exclusive use by the Jedi. When things started falling apart, the aero-space corporation started making them in the thousands for systems that wanted a more robust defense. 

This might work for a fan-edit,  (radical)

    First time I saw ANH,  I was caught up slightly by Luke and the X-wing. It was a little like going from an old bi-wing canvas and wood crop-duster and hopping into the cockpit of a F15 fighter jet.  The novelization gave a little exposition on that, but the movie only gave suggestions of Luke's ability.

     What if our first glimpse of Luke is of him in daredevil low-level flight of some sub-orbital "hopper""?  At first, we only see a giant insect (OX mask and helmet) and an insect like craft. We have no idea whether it is another scary enemy or what it's business is. The pilot sees the battle on a cockpit display and is so drawn to the battle that it hurls it's little craft upward. The craft roars and alarms start to wail until it reaches apogee and the pilot pulls out binoculars to look at the ships. Then the craft suffers a blow-out or something and falls. The pilot saves the ship at the last possible moment before crash. Then we see the pilot pull off the mask and the monster is really a teen-aged farm boy.  

   Just wonderin',

   123222? HD DVD9?

xhonzi said:

Moth3r- You had me there for a second!  Switzzzk watch indeed!

     I don't know where else to put this. I'll try to make it fit here.

    In '83, I tried to come up with a conception of the SWU that fit exactly with what I saw on the screen and GL's approach. I'm more a history buff than a cinephile,so history was a dominant influence.

    From the start, I imagined the SWU as technologically stagnant. No real advances whatsoever for thousands of years.

   The galaxy was an island. It would have been too difficult, for some reason, to navigate beyond. Maybe because their galaxy was charted and explored. They could not calculate in good time safely jumping into another galaxy.

      Computer is on the fritz again. Bye :)

miker71 said:

I'd let George do the story and assuming he came up with The Phantom Menace, I'd story edit like crazy and open with an older class Star Destroyer launching a pod down onto Tatooine - it lands and Darth Maul emerges.

      Actually, I think this approach has a lot of potential. My inclination has been to begin with a 16 to 18 year old Ani. However, if the Leading Lady is also 9 or 10, that could work well.

    I have a wild theory (probably projection) about the developement of TPM:

    By '94, GL had narrowed things down to two different storylines.

   The first, Ani is 9 years old and 'ET' plays a great influence. 'ET' was wildly successful because it was both a beloved pet and the new neighbor kid that moved in, became best friend, and then had to move away. Everyone could relate and feel deeply for it. Parents loved seeing it beside their children. I think Padme was supposed to be that "Angel."

    The second story line was quite different. The focus was on the female's "Hero's Journey." 'JOA' served as the primary influence. In this, I suspect that Padme was 14 and Ani was to be 14-18. She is a "Knight" and possibly a Force wielder (sounding familiar?)

   Why were these two storylines merged? I have a sneaking suspicion that a cute little film from '87 had something to do with it. I think GL saw 'Adventures In Babysitting' and thought it was one of the few nearly perfect screenplays and also a premier example of the female "Hero's Journey." Chris sets out to rescue a weaker friend, collects a company of  mischievous creatures, is menaced by a lecherous dark knight on a red steed, must overcome or befriend other ne'er-do-wells to protect her little ones, and must find her true prince and "marry" this son of the immortals in the end.

    'AIB' also had a heartwarming little sub-plot. The boy, a few years younger, falling madly puppy-dog in love with the teen-aged babysitter. It's the sort of thing nearly everyone can relate to, in a bittersweet way.

    I think GL wanted to have it all, raising his Leading Lady to Queen in the process. 

   I drank up the PBS docs. More recently, 'Empire Of Dreams' was enjoyable and I appreciated my PT bonus discs very much. 'Beneath The Dome' was a howl.