George Lucas May Be Completely Evil 1036
gabec writes "Sci-fi Wire is reporting a couple rumors about the changes being made to the original Star Wars trilogy for its next release. That being that Natalie Portman may be being inserted into Episode VI: Return of the Jedi and that universally reviled Jar Jar Binks may be being inserted into Episode IV: A New Hope. May The Force forbid." Mind you this is reported as rumor, but it's so unsurprisingly possible...
Surprise, Surprise (Score:2, Interesting)
It'll make a ton of money, and maybe (just maybe) he'll fix his continuity problems.
GenericJoe
No need for hysteria (Score:5, Interesting)
Personally, I like the idea of this. It helps tie all 6 movies together and makes them seem like the series they are supposed to be. I mean, its not like he's totally changing the movie like he did with ANH and the Greedo scene.
I applaud his efforts (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Maybe interesting... (Score:3, Interesting)
You know, I'd buy them, if only I could. But you know what? I can't. I can buy the new versions of 4,5 and 6, but not the original versions. Lucas won't sell the originals anymore. So, no money from me, George.
Re:Special Special Edition (Score:2, Interesting)
For story continuity reasons, maybe. But the way they physically did it was awfully clunky. They had shot a scene of Han walking around a big fat guy wearing a weird costume. Not "Jabba" enough I guess. So later when they CG add Jabba, the body sizes are off. So Han has to walk on Jabba's tail to walk around him. Bad, clunky. OK, this guy wants to kill me, let me walk on him, but then again the CG Jabba doesn't have a reaction at all anyway to this guy walking on him, so what the hell. Worse, they have to CG elevate Han, so all of a sudden, he just pops up maybe 2 feet, then pops down, no natural ovement at all. Very clunky.
I also remember, maybe in a comic, that Luke and Leia kissed. Kinda icky since they're brother and sister. Just shows that Lucas never really thought the whole thing out, kinda shooting from the hip. That's not a bad thing, just don't confuse him with a story visionary.
Re:But why??? (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally I would LOVE for Lucas to tinker with ANY episode that he wants to. Barring a complete rewrite of the story I'll be chomping at the bit to see what layers of the story can be added.
If he blows it and introduces something new and corny I'll just watch my older VHS copy of the episode, no harm done. If he pulls a rabbit out of the hat and adds more depth, or better effects, or ties the story together better I'll eat it up.
Star Wars isn't sacred and written in stone. It's just a story, one of the most epic stories ever told. Obviously as time goes on the story will grow (fan fiction, Lucas himself) and evolve (remastering, etc.). Given the advances in technology I'd love to see all of the episodes stiched together seamlessly. How many of us wouldn't want to fiddle with the originals if we were in Lucas' position?
Who gives a damn? (Score:5, Interesting)
These six movies are a saga. They tell a long, complex story with lots of twists and turns. When Lucas comes up with what he thinks is a good idea, he puts it in the mix. If he has to change a couple of things around to fit it in, he does. Big deal. It's not like he's going to change his mind on Darth Vader being Luke's father.
He can do whatever he wants with his movies, and personally I think he's doing a fantastic job. All six movies will fit together as a cohesive whole when it's all said and done.
This ain't Shakespeare, folks. Even Tolkien went back and corrected some continuity problems after LotR was published. So get over it.
Re:Maybe interesting... (Score:2, Interesting)
I, for one, curl my lip every time I see Greedo make that first shot [jax-inter.net]. What was he trying to do?
Comment removed (Score:2, Interesting)
Different versions on DVD? (Score:5, Interesting)
Would there be any harm in doing this?
mark
Original, unedited sequels on DVD (Score:2, Interesting)
My brother was really into collecting movies before the advent of DVD, and somewhere along the line he grabbed laserdisc copies of The Star Wars trilogy. It's an awesome set, not the special edition. Not upgraded. If the non-special-edition movies aren't released on DVD, I'm really tempted to make a DVD copy of this set for my own use.
Would it be legal since I already own the trilogy on VHS? Would it be legal for me to make a copy for a friend that owns the trilogy on VHS?
Re:Look on the bright side (Score:2, Interesting)
Anyone else remember the scene in the Naboo cruiser where Jar-Jar popped the head off of the red droid? Said droid then went crazy around the droid bay while R2 and the others went up to fix the shield generators?
It was in the movie, but NOT in the VHS nor DVD editions.
Re:It's funny cause it's true (Score:2, Interesting)
But just so I understand, if the MPAA threatens an 'NC-17' rating for a film, that is covert censorship resulting in a movie being changed from the director's vision...but because YOU don't like something the director should cave in to whatever you want??
You know, it WAS a bummer that the Titanic sank and all those people died...kinda killed the romance; how about a re-write Mr. Cameron?
Not 9 Movies. No, really. Just 6. (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't discount the possibility that there could be more Star Wars movies after Episode III, but I personally don't think Lucas will want to put out the effort. Remember, he's going to be 61 years old when Episode 3 comes out, and productions of this magnitude take a huge amount of effort. I suppose he could act in more of a supervisory role and let someone else handle more of the day-to-day duties, but, the question of Lucas' talent aside, would such movies FEEL like "Star Wars"? Hard to see, the future is. Not to mention the fact that the story arc would be more or less unrelated to Eps. 1-6, and we probably wouldn't have the same emotional attachments we've formed with the characters we already know.
It has occurred to me that an "interim" movie would be possible, something that takes place between episodes 3 and 4 (call it "Star Wars: Rise of the Empire" with no "Episode N" part) that bridges the 20-year gap... maybe giving some details of the Empire's atrocities, Luke and Leia's upbringings, maybe Han's background, etc. Just a thought of my own.
Re:But why??? (Score:4, Interesting)
>
> people who can make a movie as physically engaging
> as episodes IV, V and II.
How about practicing what you preach? Lucas did not direct V, Irvin Kershner did.
Re:What about the originals? (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a two disk set (or two sided disk, depending on when you bought it). On the first side/disk are three different edits of the film: the original edit, the "special edition" they did for cable a few years back, and an extended edition (hidden behind an easter egg) that includes a few more scenes that aren't even in the special edition. What's great about it is everyone gets what they want: Cameron [imdb.com] can deliver the recut version he likes best, and fans can see the other two versions as well. (Cameron's preference apparently is the middle version, which is why the longest one is hidden behind an easter egg).
How do they jam three separate edits of a 152 minute movie on one DVD? They don't. They take advantage of the seamless branching functionality that has been in the DVD format all along, and re-use the sections of the flick that are unchanged from one edit to the other.
Now, the question is: is Lucas is smart enough to do this?
What about Owen and Beru? (Score:1, Interesting)
A new movie guideline (Score:2, Interesting)
(the masses rejoice)
-Jim