Marooned Biker Scout

Juno Eclipse said:

Didn’t one of the fan editors from on here get invited up to Skywalker Ranch and very briefly met with Lucas or some of the execs around at the time?

It may have been the Phantom Editor themselves, I can’t quite remember. I remember reading a post on it at one of the older fan forums, and being surprised about the whole thing, and also envious.

According to some of the posts on here that was an editor called MagnoliaFan. It is listed in the ‘The Phantom Edit(s) - a catalyst for Star Wars fan edits’ section of An Index Of Projects & Help Thread for Star Wars Fan Edits and Other Projects.

But others like the Phantom Editor could also have been invited too?

‘Star Wars’ toy designer Mark Boudreaux dies

 
'Award-winning toy designer Mark Boudreaux, revered by “Star Wars” fans for designing the Millennium Falcon playset for Kenner Products, died May 14 at the age of 68 following a lengthy illness related to COVID-19.

Boudreaux spent 43 years designing toys, first for Kenner in Cincinnati, then for Hasbro in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, after Hasbro acquired Kenner and closed the Cincinnati offices in 2000.

He was honored as Toy Innovator of the Year in 2015 and inducted into the Toy Collector Hall of Fame. Boudreaux retired as Hasbro’s senior principal designer in 2020 and settled in Sharonville.

He was born in 1955 and grew up in Reading. After graduating from Moeller High School, he studied industrial design at the University of Cincinnati and secured a paid internship at Kenner in January 1977. A month later, Kenner made a deal with George Lucas to design toys based on his upcoming film, “Star Wars.”’
 

^ Mark Boudreaux designed the Star Wars Millennium Falcon vehicle playset for Kenner Products.

Ray Stevenson, Actor in ‘Punisher: War Zone,’ ‘RRR’ and ‘Thor’ Films, Dies at 58 - at Variety
 

 
'Ray Stevenson, the Irish actor who starred in films like “Punisher: War Zone,” “King Arthur,” the “Thor” films and shows like HBO’s “Rome” and the upcoming “Ahsoka” series,” died on Sunday in Italy, Variety has confirmed with his publicist. He was 58.

No cause of death was available.

Born in Northern Ireland on May 25, 1964, Stevenson began his career appearing on TV shows in the 1990s then began landing action roles in Hollywood films starting in the 2000s. His first major film role came in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004’s adventure movie “King Arthur,” where he played Dagonet, one of the Knights of the Round Table. In the film, his character sacrifices himself in battle to help Arthur (Clive Owen) and his brotherhood of warriors.’

and

‘In addition to “Ahsoka,” Stevenson’s posthumous credits will include the films “1242: Gateway to the West” and “Cassino in Ischia”’.
 

Poor guy, 58 is no age at all. RIP.

Spartacus01 said:

G&G-Fan said:

Servii said:

I was expecting it to be the Plinkett reviews. Nope, it’s the opposite lol

it’s the Ego the Living Planet of Prequel defenders

Channel72 said:

The Prequels are awesome because they’re stylistically designed to be that way.

G&G-Fan said:

Channel72 said:

The Prequels are awesome because they’re stylistically designed to be that way.

The Prequels are good because they quote shots better movies.

Marooned Biker Scout said:

thxlogofan17 said:

it’s hard for me to explain, so this video explains it for me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqnjzVX8EKA

Rick Worley?

You must be trolling? Or you would not have posted that the video was by him, and without saying it was by Rick Worley?

C;mon, your first post on an OT discussion forum is link to a video by Rick Worley

I’m not going to speak for the others, but I am commenting on the fact a “new” member’s first and only post on here is that to link to a video, by Rick Worley, and say nothing else.

In a discussion thread about the Prequels. To register and join here and just post a video. And that is it, because they cannot or will not discuss their own opinions. Again, in a discussion thread. That seems spamming, shilling or trolling for Rick Worley to me.

I think it is fair comment by myself. If you disagree, then fine.
 

Can I be honest? Can I be truly, brutally honest?

The attitude of many members of this forum towards those who defend the Prequel Trilogy is reprehensible in my opinion. Okay, this is an OT discussion forum. So what? Does that mean that one can’t be free to defend the Prequel Trilogy? Does that mean that one must only talk badly about those movies? I myself have been the subject of similar criticism in the past, and even though I didn’t say it openly, I was very annoyed by this. Just because I said that the dialogue isn’t as bad as everyone says, I was treated with condescension, and it was very annoying for me.

You all should stop acting like you have absolute truth, because it can be very irritating. Don’t get me wrong, to discuss and criticize other people’s arguments is absolutely okay. But to act like “Yeah bro, sure, you can continue to carry out your wrong opinions, but the rest of us, who are all superior, will continue to say things as they are” is very irritating.

You claim to be a friendly forum where everyone can express their opinions freely, and you even boast to have numerous Prequel fans on here. But paradoxically, every time that a Prequel fan who actually tries to defend the movies pops up, he gets overwhelmed with criticism and condescending, or he’s even accused of being a troll solely because he says things that are different from the common thought on here. It happened to me, it happened to Stardust1138, it happened to other people, and it’s going to happen over and over again, because this place has become an echo chamber.

I suggest you all to grow up and learn to respect other people’s opinions.

I would look up the history of this forum, and respect that history, the members on here, and their point of view based from this. If you choose to be on here as a Prequel fan, then expect to read criticism of them, of George’s choices and actions, the changes made to the OT to make them fit in with the Prequels, the suppression of the OOT, and so on.

Yes, there is “no absolute truth”, just members’ opinions. It is not an “echo chamber” on here, yet it is different from many other websites online, because it is mainly from the point of view of the Original Trilogy. It does not mean that there is no other opinions allowed, but they should be done with “a civility and respect”, according to the About, Help, and Welcome threads, and overall feel of this forum.

“every time that a Prequel fan who actually tries to defend the movies pops up, he gets overwhelmed with criticism and condescending, or he’s even accused of being a troll solely because he says things that are different from the common thought on here.” Sorry, I just haven’t seen this. I’ve read about the death threats and abuse, and we all know about OT fans being banned or “purged” from other sites for the crime of simply posting about the OOT, or George’s retcons and changes to history. But i haven’t seen criticism and condescension aimed at you, or any other Prequel fans, who are respected for their reasoned views and posts.
 

In short, calling out someone posting a shit Rick Worley video link as their first and only post in a discussion thread on the PT isn’t wrong. It is not going to get them respected, and it shouldn’t be. A pity the poster didn’t take the time to read up on, or about this website, before he posted. The “read first - post after” mantra still applies? Or show much respect themselves.

If there is any problem with that, it is with thxlogofan17.

fmalover said:

Marooned Biker Scout said:

Juno Eclipse said:

Am I glad George sold Lucasfilm to Disney? Well he sold out his own “independent” and “anti-film corp” way of doing things with that decision. Though from the Charlie Rose “White Slavers” interview he didn’t seem to have a high opinion of them. Plus, Disney’s history on this seems to be “profit over risk, rinse and repeat”

At least we didn’t get to see George retcon his own stories further with his latest vision for the Sequel films that would have made Leia as being “The Chosen One” instead of Anakin. Instead we get Favreau and Filoni retconning the EU instead.

So, I am glad he sold up, just not to Disney.

I’m more or less with this. Realistically, I’d have preferred to have seen George sell to a more independent company, with a background in taking risks with their projects. As fmalover posted above, companies with more creative freedom.

Ideally, it would have been great to see how Lucasfilm would have done as a worker owned co-op. With Lucasfilm not having to answer, or compromise with, anyone else.

What you’re suggesting is pretty much what Francis Ford Coppola was trying to do with American Zoetrope.

and with George too, at one time?

thxlogofan17 said:

it’s hard for me to explain, so this video explains it for me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqnjzVX8EKA

Rick Worley?

You must be trolling? Or you would not have posted that the video was by him, and not without saying it was by Rick Worley?

C;mon, your first post on an OT discussion forum is link to a video by Rick Worley, because you cannot or will not explain or discuss what you think of the Prequels yourself?

Isn’t that just sadly shilling or trolling for Rick Worley?

Ugh.
 

The Sequels Trilogy. Neither are good, but there at least there are no midichlorians, “chosen one” prophecies which damage what has come before, no Jar Jar, no unbelievable relationship written as a love story, no alterations to the Original Trilogy to “make them fit better” or be more in line with the Prequels, and no huge list of noticeable discrepancies and inconsistencies with the OT. Or the Jedi being written as being stupid or making stupid decisions because the plot has to go from A to B, to get to C or D, where Anakin turns against them in basically two scenes.

Or, as others have said, the PT’s nonsensical story, poor acting (from some good actors), dated visuals, flat direction and pace, with an overall meandering, slog-like feel, to watching them.

The Sequels lack of vision and coherency as a Trilogy really lets itself down, as well as TROS moving out break-neck speed to try and hide its flaws in the plot. But they are more amusing and interesting to watch, or two-thirds of the ST are, and the end 25 minutes of TROS.

Juno Eclipse said:

Am I glad George sold Lucasfilm to Disney? Well he sold out his own “independent” and “anti-film corp” way of doing things with that decision. Though from the Charlie Rose “White Slavers” interview he didn’t seem to have a high opinion of them. Plus, Disney’s history on this seems to be “profit over risk, rinse and repeat”

At least we didn’t get to see George retcon his own stories further with his latest vision for the Sequel films that would have made Leia as being “The Chosen One” instead of Anakin. Instead we get Favreau and Filoni retconning the EU instead.

So, I am glad he sold up, just not to Disney.

I’m more or less with this. Realistically, I’d have preferred to have seen George sell to a more independent company, with a background in taking risks with their projects. As fmalover posted above, companies with more creative freedom.

Ideally, it would have been great to see how Lucasfilm would have done as a worker owned co-op. With Lucasfilm not having to answer, or compromise with, anyone else.

LexX said:

StarkillerAG said:

LexX said:

I couldn’t care less about “Lucas canon” and so should everyone, that’s my point.

But he clearly cares, and that’s my point. It’s fine to have an opinion on what’s the “best” version, but the OP came in with a clear request, and I responded accordingly. You can’t expect to just force everyone to have the same taste that you do.

Clearly? He’s looking for a fan edit. He said he didn’t want Disney stuff and to my knowledge 1997 is GL’s official version as well, so not sure what your problem is. If I was forcing my taste then I wouldn’t recommend any SE version at all, I haven’t seen those in over 10 years. So stop dissing others’ opinion if they differ from your own. Thank you.

100% this too.

Dirge said:

darkmind said:

I don’t mind the SE versions all that much, but the Vader “No” scene at the end of the film drives me crazy. Is there any edit out there that only removes that sound? I’m wanting to introduce Star Wars to someone new (Lucas Canon only, no Disney garbage), but I can’t stand the idea of her seeing it for the first time with the ending ruined.

Any help would be awesome.

Really? You’re introducing Return of the Jedi to someone new and you’re afraid that “No” is going to ruin the ending for her? Well, I got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the particular “No” you are referring to won’t make her blink twice. The bad news is the absolutely horrendous “Jedi Rocks” dance number will have already tarnished her view of the movie (and then the Hayden force ghost can come along at the end and ruin that for her too).

My suggestion would be to show her the actual original trilogy and not the sub-par special editions if you want her to have as good an opinion of the movies as you are hoping for.

100% this.

Darkmind, If you like your friend, and want to introduce them to the most authentic version then surely it is the unaltered original versions all the way, for the benefit of that friend? If your friend likes them, then let them know about all the changes and different versions, and maybe even watch them later?

If you really want to show you friend the 2011 Special Edition then just “mute” the Vader “Nooooo” at the end! lol
Or make an edit of it yourself by changing the audio track?
 

It has been 6 months since your post. Did you friend enjoy the films, Darkmind? Which version did you them, and what did they think?

https://originaltrilogy.com/user/promotepoint/id/77642 - spam in their signature

Juno Eclipse said:

Marooned Biker Scout said:

Has any of the actors who played the Rebel soldiers on Endor been interviewed or spoke about it? Was there more footage of them in action filmed, but simply discarded in the editing room, and didn’t make the final cut?

Not that I know of. This could help in tracking down if anyone talked about more scenes in the Endor forest being shot:

^ there is another similar image of the rebel commandos with Luke on the Death Star too.
 

Those promo pics are kind of cool, but also a little WTF?! They certainly get the imagination flowing for possible story arcs, “what could have been”, or abandoned plot lines. Before settling back into them just being cool PR images.

Imagine that type of thing getting leaked today for the Disney+ Star Wars series? The meltdown of it all! 😃

Juno Eclipse said:

Channel72 said:

Mocata said:

Rushed isn’t the word I would choose considering how it drags in the middle. They should have just done something better there; both in terms of Yoda and Endor scenes.

Yeah, ironically the movie drags so badly once they get captured by the Ewoks. That’s when it’s time to change the channel.

Actually, I think a big problem is that the entire Endor ground team sequence is really just bland and visually uninspiring. It takes place in a boring forest in California that looks like a location where Star Wars fan-films are shot. Yeah, redwoods can be majestic and beautiful, but the cinematography never captures this. The whole sequence of meeting the Ewoks, going back to their village, etc. takes forever and barely anything interesting happens. And even after the battle begins, the small Imperial base with the shield generator is visually boring (something larger like that communications tower in Rogue One would be nicer). And throughout the entire battle, it always seems like Han, Leia and Chewie are the only Rebel Alliance fighters involved, because the camera almost never shows anyone else doing anything. It would help add some tension if we saw some of those other Rebel extras get killed, or at least participate. (Also, what were all those guys doing while the main trio was hanging out with Ewoks overnight?)

But the other two ending sequences (Luke vs. Vader and space battle above Endor) are so incredibly awesome that they compensate for the mediocrity of the ground battle. Also, the speeder bike chase is still pretty cool, as are the AT-STs (when they’re not tripping over logs).

Years ago I thought it would be something that George would address in one of his Special Edition releases. There has been many fan rumours of making the Ewoks more vicious, and that there may be some changes made to them, or more of them being added, being injured or killed (or lying still on the ground), although just blinking eyes was enough for George.

It wouldn’t have been an expensive or difficult thing to shoot: a few guys in Rebel uniforms and a few guys in stormtrooper outfits, a few Ewoks, an overall plan for an additional few minutes of footage, and a few days of filming. There are a number of cutaway scenes away from the main bunker, usually showing how the Ewoks took downs the AT-STs and troops. Any new scenes could have easily been cut into those.

The rebel soldiers on Endor do seem to disappear and re-appear in the fight scenes.

Has any of the actors who played the Rebel soldiers on Endor been interviewed or spoke about it? Was there more footage of them in action filmed, but simply discarded in the editing room, and didn’t make the final cut?

Emre1601 said:

“according to regular leaker MTTSH, the title of the movie will be Heir to the Empire”:

https://lrmonline.com/news/filonis-star-wars-film-to-be-titled-heir-to-the-empire-barside-buzz/

and the leaker themselves: https://twitter.com/MyTimeToShineH/status/1658472128189186049
 

I hope that is not the title. I can see it being the title. But I really hope it is not.

The same here. Nothing like retconning and ripping off from popular history as the creatives seem to be devoid of ideas and inspirations for new villains.

In my best Poe impression: “Somehow… Thrawn returned”.

https://originaltrilogy.com/user/jackiesmith5/id/77747
https://originaltrilogy.com/user/sanekguali/id/77837
https://originaltrilogy.com/user/nelfakim/id/77845
https://originaltrilogy.com/user/Hachiko/id/76847
https://originaltrilogy.com/user/wlodar/id/77217
https://originaltrilogy.com/user/feifeiihui/id/77840

Emre1601 said:

Disney Gallery: “The Making of Season 3” is out soon (though still next to nothing for Andor).

I’ll be giving that a miss. Maybe if some of you guys think it is a good watch I’ll change my mind. But they’ve been a little samey “PR type” shorts for a while.

According to Deadline, production for season 4 of Mandalorian may be delayed due to the writers’ strike:

https://deadline.com/2023/05/the-mandalorian-season-4-start-of-production-delayed-writers-strike-1235367725/

Obviously I’d have preferred to have heard Guinness’ voice in the Sequel Trilogy, Tantive3+1.

But like Fan_edit_fan posted, JJ seemed to be throwing around ideas last minute or off the cuff throughout, including the Emperor’s appearance in TROS according to Ian McDiaimid himself.

The TROS scene with Ewan’s voice as Kenobi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL3ZLxegIyE (3 minute video). Beware: contains TROS!

Yeah, Mocata is right. A nice touch for an easter egg, but really didn’t amount to anything.

It would be cool to hear Guinness’ voice being used again in the future. That voice AI seems to be getting better, and they likely have his back catalogue of vast work outside of Star Wars to pull from.

Maybe its is just cheaper and easier to get Ewan to do it, as daveybjones999 posted? Or one of the guys who played Obi-Wan in the animated series? The actor Jamie Costa seems to be highly rated for it too.
 

I do get what you mean by Kenobi feeling more like a Prequel than a bridge between the 2 trilogies, Emre. The fan service didn’t help on that, nor did Ewan doing an impression of the work he did 20 years ago, instead of bridging that work towards Alec Guinness’ Kenobi. But I doubt that was a thing they were even aiming to achieve.

Harmy’s Despecialized Editions for me.
 

Like many others, I’ll be looking forward to seeing the 4K77/80/83 preservations too, when 4K80 is released.

Juno Eclipse said:

Samuel-Wan Kenobi said:

we need the 1997 in 4k they are in a odd place only being on vhs and laserdisc while we can watch the original cut in 4k thanks to 4k77/80/83

It is strange that they have not had a high quality official release given the significance of these 1997 Special Editions.

Even for the 25th anniversary last year there didn’t seem to be much out there from Lucasfilm or the official websites celebrating or acknowledging this release.

I assumed it is something they are embarrassed about, from a technological standpoint? That some of the 1997 effects for this “The Final Cut” have dated far worse than supposed issues with the theatrical cuts, and were replaced themselves in later 2004/11//19 releases?

I’ve seen calls on here and on many other websites to release all the different versions of all the Star Wars films, even if only on the “Vintage Star Wars” section of Disney+, and it is kind of surprising they haven’t done this.

It would be a big win from the PR/fan point of view as well as the financial aspect fro many increase in subscribers, costing very little to do.

My guess is they don’t also don’t want to shine a light on all the made changes to the Original films? They prefer to obfuscate instead, muddy the waters? Play off changes from 2004 as being “40th anniversary” tributes like you highlighted in the “Modern Special Edition Revisionism” thread here, or the recent re-release of Retun of the Jedi being a “40th anniversary” release when it was like the 4th anniversary release? As most younger fans don’t know about that history of changes, or care much?

Similar to what Favreau inferred with his lame excuse a month ago, on why the theatrical cuts are not available?

Channel72 said:

NeverarGreat said:

I agree that this keeps the film from being a perfect stand-alone, but there is a mitigating factor in that we do see a lightsaber fight so the lightsaber as an object is paid-off. The fact that it belongs to Obi-wan isn’t to troubling to me. Star Wars is a universe of unbounded promise, so giving Luke a weapon that he doesn’t use in a fight only fires the mind to imagine him using it in a future battle against Vader.

I would argue that the setup for Kenobi’s lightsaber happens in the Mos Eisley cantina, when Kenobi slices off that guy’s arm. This sets up that Kenobi is some kind of skilled warrior with an exotic weapon from a romantic age in the past. The payoff happens when Kenobi takes out his lightsaber again to fight Vader.

But Luke’s lightsaber is setup separately, and the setup connects the lightsaber to the idea that Luke’s father was a Jedi Knight who specifically wanted Luke to inherit it. (Thus, the lightsaber serves as a physical manifestation of the “hero’s call” - calling Luke away from his mundane life to adventure.) But there’s never any pay off for this setup in A New Hope. It’s kind of like setting up Excalibur in the King Arthur legends, but then just forgetting about it.

A case could also be made the Kenobi himself is the physical manifestation of the “Heroes’ call”? Which would relegate the lightsaber to being a tool of that?

That is me just me thinking out aloud, rather than any claim with much thought to it, or substance.
 

Payoffs and attitudes in Star Wars with lightsabers can be a strange thing; Kenobi in the Prequels’ (“This weapon is your life” WTF?!), Rey’s vibes and the YounglingSlayer 3000 (in comparison to the Sith dagger that “horrible things have happened with this”!), and the underwhelming fete of the Darksaber in Mandalorian season 3 (after years of establishing and building up a significance and importance out of it).

An actor in the show says it will be coming out in November/December:

https://twitter.com/fifalasvegas17/status/1656518372601765889? (a 25 second video clip of the actor)
 

from https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1287675-star-wars-skeleton-crew-cast-adds-jaleel-white:

“I’m actually going to be in a new series on Disney+ starring Jude Law called Skeleton Crew,” White revealed. “Yeah, it’s coming out in … November/December, and it’s part of the Star Wars universe. So that’s a big change for me, man. I had to do two hours of makeup every day. I get to play a pirate.”

Juno Eclipse said:

Marooned Biker Scout said:

Lucas the Barbarian said:

While April of this year will mark the 10th anniversary of the Despecialized Editions, it will also have been 10 years since the last official copies of the original theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy (a mouthful, I know) were pressed and sent to retail stores. In April 2011, the 2006 GOUT DVDs ceased production, and were sold in stores up until September 2011, just before the Blu-rays were released.

Yes, the DVDs were an absolute JOKE of a product, but at least it meant the original versions were legally available to the general public in SOME form. While Harmy has done the community a HUGE favor by saving the greatest film trilogy of all time from becoming lost media and I can’t thank him enough, I also can’t help but feel like we lost something when the official releases went into the vault. It marked the end of an era when George’s Original Unaltered Trilogy was out in the open for all to buy, and the general public could view the three movies that made him so successful in the first place.

I never knew they were still pressing those DVDs in early 2011. Or selling them right up to the blu ray release, They really did take the biscuit with that “Limited Edition” text they put on those 2006 DVDs!

They even said “for a limited time” on the official trailer for the 2006 DVD: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmtnEQS8ICw

5 years being the “Limited Edition” and also “for a limited time” 😃

I knew I’d heard that somewhere before, but couldn’t quite place it. Thanks for that trailer post, some old memories in there. I hadn’t noticed they spent more time advertising the Lego Star Wars game in there than they did the unaltered cuts being in the release.
 

Edit: a 2011 thread on here, about the 2006 GOUT DVDs going out of print:

I heard the 2006 set with the GOUT is now gone…

Mocata said:

Unless there’s a game or an animated series the whole High Republic thing is a non-starter for me. I guess there’s something coming down the line but it should have been first before books and comics… not 3 years later.

Shit, yeah. A couple episodes of Visions, or even animation similar to Galaxy of Adventures or even Forces for Destiny would have made for an appealing visual introduction to the project. To “set the scene” and get more people interested?

I’m surprised they still haven’t done any High Republic era content for Visions, I thought it’d be ideal for this.

As you say, that Eclipse game and Acolyte series is likely just too late in the day for many. One of the many good points about the previous SOTE, 2003 Clone Wars, and TFU “multimedia projects” was that wide choice of media for each project to get fans into it.

Perhaps more will be interested in it when the whole publishing part of the High Republic has ended, and they know more of the content to pick and choose what they need, or want?

Lucas the Barbarian said:

While April of this year will mark the 10th anniversary of the Despecialized Editions, it will also have been 10 years since the last official copies of the original theatrical versions of the Original Trilogy (a mouthful, I know) were pressed and sent to retail stores. In April 2011, the 2006 GOUT DVDs ceased production, and were sold in stores up until September 2011, just before the Blu-rays were released.

Yes, the DVDs were an absolute JOKE of a product, but at least it meant the original versions were legally available to the general public in SOME form. While Harmy has done the community a HUGE favor by saving the greatest film trilogy of all time from becoming lost media and I can’t thank him enough, I also can’t help but feel like we lost something when the official releases went into the vault. It marked the end of an era when George’s Original Unaltered Trilogy was out in the open for all to buy, and the general public could view the three movies that made him so successful in the first place.

I never knew they were still pressing those DVDs in early 2011. Or selling them right up to the blu ray release, They really did take the biscuit with that “Limited Edition” text they put on those 2006 DVDs!

It is bizarre when you many fans see on reddit or social media be overjoyed that they have finally got hold of these 2006 GOUT DVDs, because they think it is the only way to the unaltered cuts. And they don’t know about Harmy’s Despecilaized, TN1’s 4K projects, or other projects on here and other similar websites.

And those poor 1997 Special Edition fans don’t even have their preferred cut of the OT on a digital release. Unless you count those very low quality VCDs.