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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Kenny Baker Will Be In Ep2 126

Posted by CmdrTaco from the contrary-to-other-rumors dept.
linderdm writes: "It looks like, once again, we have been subject to misinformation concerning Episode II. According to the Official Star Wars Web site, Kenny Baker will indeed be returning to act in Episode II, making him and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), the only two actors to appear in all of the Star Wars movies to date." Good to hear that the old bit was just a nasty rumor.
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Kenny Baker Will be in Ep2 More

Kenny Baker Will be in Ep2

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  • Re:Jedi Mind Trick (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    This isn't about the "Media" manipulating Slashdot this is about Slashdot not researching any story. They just heard that he wasn't going to be shooting in Australia. Slashdot jumped to the conclusion that he wasn't in it at all.
  • Actually, quite a few "real" news organizations DID print that he was ousted. Just another point that the media is quite full of flaws and mis-truths.

    Perhaps posters should check "THEIR" facts before replying.

    Vulgrin the MAD

  • The dark ages didn't come about in one generation. It took a lot longer than that. Say Vader was 40 or 50 in IV. Anakin Skywalker was 10 in I. It does NOT make sense for such rapid de-generation.

  • Re:The nature of the rumors is the most interestin (Score:3)

    by Enoch Root ( 57473 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @04:15AM (#814298)
    To paraphrase Commander Rick from Prisonners of Gravity (although he was speaking of Star Trek, it still applies):

    "The old Star Wars movies were made despite the System. The new movies are made by the System."

  • Oh my God... (Score:5)

    by Mtgman ( 195502 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @04:19AM (#814299)
    They've resurrected Kenny! You bastards!

    Steven
    --

  • As I see it, it works like this: you're making a 6-part film about Vietnam. Parts 4, 5 and 6 are set in the jungle. Lots of fighting, not any particularly high-tech stuff on show (especially on the rebel's side). Everything that is on show looks battle-worn and knackered.

    Then you make part 1, going back 30 years to look at the politics behind the fight. Hey presto, you're in the 1930's, where technology is less advanced BUT everything looks nicer and the story takes place in the centre of some major cities rather than in some southeast Asian jungle.

    Kinda makes WWII the Clone Wars, doesn't it?

  • Wow! (Score:1)

    by xonix7 ( 227592 )

    but he will be shot at one or all of the other locations.

    Sheesh! I didn't think he was THAT bad. Certainly not bad enough to get shot.

  • Doh! Forgot to plug a Nathalie Portman joke in there. Time for coffee...

    Incidentally, I expect hiding for 2000 years hasn't done wonders for your skin tone and nubile appeal? Or did you survive by being *gasp* naked and petrified?

  • Wow... I gotta stop telling people about stuff I read on Slashdot.
  • This assumes that just because for the past 100 years or so things have been moving forward that they always have and always will yes one generation is a bit fast but then again it is fiction. Also in your example this is a rebel force that has been at war for several years and is getting almost everything second hand in any case. Now in EP1 you have two rather well funded governments going at it (and they have not seen much action on either side) of course things are going to look better. Also suspend disbelief for a moment on the rate of decline. I could come up with several scenarios that would account for it in 30 to 40 years extreme depression, ongoing war for most of that time, and new research being shut down put them all together and it would do it. Now go back about 150 years in our own history. Think about what things were like now go back 200 years from now and think about what things where like. Now think about oh say London 200 years ago now think about say Vietnam 150 years ago. Which is going to seem more advanced? This rapid and almost worldwide movement forward that we have at the moment is *very* unusual in history.

  • These aren't the rumors... (Score:5)

    by Tyrannosaurus ( 203173 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @04:45AM (#814305)
    These aren't the rumors you're looking for.

    These aren't the rumors we're looking for

    You can go about your business

    You can go about your business

    Move along.

    Move along.

    ---


  • Q

    (until he passed away)

    (and I'm not talking about Star Trek)

    -------
  • Ahh.. Another anonymous moron.

    CGI has progressed to the point where a 'virtual' person can be added to a motion picture, and you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between them and the 'real' people.

    The 'unnaturalness' refered to is probably because the movement of such a virtual person is generally too smooth, and you're left sitting there wondering what it is that isn't quite right about the character.

    NecroPuppy
  • Perl is not exclusively Linux. Check the site they have it for Windoze and others
  • Kenny Baker will be in Ep2, but then again so will a CGI R2D2. Kenny Baker has been quoted as saying "Of course I am disappointed. I missed the chance to go to Australia with the cast. I'm not in the movie to the extent I was expecting and no one has really explained to me why... George Lucas always told me that R2D2 really came alive when I was inside him. If they don't use human beings these movies are in danger of looking like Disney cartoons... The progress in digital and computer technology has been frightening. It was light years on from when I was in the first Star Wars movie." (from Cinescape [cinescape.com]). He will be in it, but not as much as in Ep1, and certainly not as much as in the Original Trilogy.
  • As much as we love George, it's a messed up, disfunctional affair. He's become the geek dictator, at once a man thinking himself to be both like us and above us where he can look down with contempt. Look at the tone of the answer to this question posed to Rick McCallum, a producer on the film:

    Q: Is it true that George Lucas has been consulting with some fans who have web sites to get help with writing Episode II?

    A: Absolutely not. How ridiculous. George has a very clear vision about the story of Star Wars that he won't allow to be swayed by the whims of the Internet, the media, critics or anyone. The Internet rumors this time around are possibly even more funny and off base than they were for the first film.

    Actually give his audience what it wants to see? Hell no! Don't be stupid. What could they, the people paying to see his silly films, possibly know about what those films should be like? They'll line up days in advance to buy tickets regardless of how many Jar Jars we put in the next one.

    -Akikage
  • Yes...and he's rewarded a 4 Insightful for his "hard" effort at fabrication of a story. The old saying "if the world were fair, we'd all be dead".

  • You definitely watched Episode I too seldom ;-)
    Secenes featuring R2D2 can be found here [jedinet.com].
    Behind the scenes photos showing Kenny Baker at the Episode I set are here [jedinet.com] and there [jedinet.com].
  • It's all part of my "Beatles Theory," which goes something like: If the three remaining members of the Beatles gathered to record an album and instead produced 60 minutes of their bowel movements, it would *still* go platinum and *still* win them Grammy awards. That being said, even if George Lucas edits together the cutting-room-floor pieces of THX-1138 (the first one, not the one that was "released"), and named it "Star Wars Episode Two," he'd have a bajillion people in line to see it for the first two months.

    I admit, I was there in line for Episode 1 (which I've since convinced myself doesn't exist), but I've come to realize that not only has Lucas grown up (a painful surprise) but he's sold out just like Spielberg and Ford. Which makes me REALLY worry about any new Indiana Jones movie, despite any rumors I hear about it.

    -Chris
  • I only said that Perl runs on Linux.
  • This reminds me of things like Ford covering up problems with the Pinto and their tires.

    Cute.

    Ford's actions concerning the Pinto (back in the 70's) was utterly reprehensible. You will get no argument from me there.

    However, the way they handled this recent Firestone problem is more open and ethical than I've seen from any company in a long time!

    For those who are not up on the news... A recent Firestone tire has a flaw: if it heats up above 175 F (which is sometimes possible in southern states during the summer), ka-blooie. Ford uses that tire on their Explorer trucks. Although there have been no cases reported of accidents caused by this flaw, Ford and Firestone immediately put out a recall. The CEO of Ford has also bought up a shitload of prime-time TV spots to announce the recall, and they have committed millions to getting these tires replaced as fast as possible.

    I still think the Ford Explorer is a total piece of crap, no matter what tires are on it, but I gotta give props to both Firestone and Ford for going far beyond what was simply legally required of them.

  • There was this episode in which Micky's height did play an important role: Kramer and Micky had a job as body doubles for a TV series, with Micky doubling a young boy. The boy has grown taller. Micky resorts to using 'special' shoes.

    This seems to be a tabu among short people. A big no-no.

    So, a female short person is attracted to Micky ("there's something new about you") but Micky's nemesis finds out about the footwear, spills the beans, and Micky loses big time. He's now a pariah.

    A good episode.
  • Actually, I prefer the guy that hides behind the doors and goes "WOOOOSH..." everytime he opens and closes them.

    Man, its 400 years into the future and Labor Unions still are in control!

  • I was seven when Star Wars came out. It was cool then, it's cooler now; mostly because I can comprehend the storyline better as an adult.
  • ...they live? I take it you haven't seen the movie, read the book or know anything about the true story that the book is based on. And what does CGI have to do with no plot? I understand your point that CGI can be used as a replacement for a good story, but with the level of crap put out these days with and without flashy graphic effects, I don't think that's a fair comparison. A bad movie is going to be bad no matter how much money the studio throws at it (Godzilla). Oh, and "The Matrix" has relatively simple computer graphic effects. Most of the more spectacular effects are camera tricks or ropes and pulleys. I'll defend CGI and say it can bring more variety to film than without. I'm waiting for FFVII:The Movie to come out.

    -----
  • I was incorrect... so are you, though. Here's what a little googling through news sites produced:

    175F surface temp is not easy to accomplish north of the Mason-Dixon line. Nearly every documented case of tread separation has happened in the south. It ususally has to get over 100 degrees outside for this to happen.

    The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found out about the problem on Aug 3, and by Aug 9 Firestone had issues a recall on all 6.5 Million tires, even though there is evidence that some of the recalled models do not even have the defect in question. Confirmation from the NHTSA of 62 fatalities related to tire blow-outs (the vast majority of which were in Florida, Texas, and California) came on Aug 15.

    While making the tire was definately a f*-up, it reflects well on Firestone that they addressed it right away instead of trying to fight it and suppress it. I'm sure they had lawyers telling them that they could have disputed the claims.

  • Excuse the spelling, I am a product of the Canadian education system
    ---
  • I'll wait until the movie comes out on Videotape and watch it.
    -----------------------------
    1,2,3,4 Moderation has to Go!

  • Slashdot readers do it again... (Score:3)

    by SEE ( 7681 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @10:01AM (#814323) Homepage
    Tom of Tom's Hardware writes a critical review of the 1.13 gigahertz Pentium III, and posters claim that there's no problem ("no other reviewers detected it") and slam Tom for anti-Intel bias. Tom is then proven right with an Intel recall, and Tom gets slammed with a "he might have been right, but he's biased anyway".

    George Lucas is denounced for cutting Kenny Baker out of Episode 2, and a whole series of posts come out denouncing Lucas. Then it is announced that Lucas isn't doing that, and it is touted as proof that Lucas is as evil as the previous denunciations said.

    Now, I'm not saying Tom isn't biased, or that Lucas isn't evil. But it does seem that there are people who are awfully eager to denounce others at the drop of a hat, and who don't have enough courage to admit that they were wrong...

    Steven E. Ehrbar
  • let this be a lesson to you! Next time when checking for valid information...USE THE FORCE!

  • Slashdot Discussion Process:

    You forgot:

    • Post long-winded, self-righteous comments slamming the Slashdot process, as though it were a subscription news service with some quality guarantee (rather than what it really is and has always purported to be: a DISCUSSION group with topics of interest appealing to Nerds) in a lame, sarcastic attempt at pseudo-intellectual humor.

    and,

    • Post terse, smart-ass, acidic comments poking fun at other peoples ego-inflated posts.

  • I think it's just another case of, "/. reported it, it must be true!" Nothing new to see here, move along.

    OTOH, if this was George's doing, he's quite good at it. Kenny and Anthony are all that remain of the "good ol' days" of SW. George knows what SW fans would respond to.

  • Shame (Score:4)

    by Vanders ( 110092 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:54AM (#814327) Homepage
    I'm actually quiet upset that Mr Lucas has choosen to go with Kenny after all. I mean, when i heard that he had done the sensible thing, and gone with CGI, i was really looking forward to EP:2. After, all, if it was anything as good as EP:1, it's going to be briliant!

    George Lucas should reconsider his decision not to use CGI for R2D2. It's not fair to abuse Kenny any farther by forcing him into that tiny costume to play a robot any more, when CGI can deliver the results much cheaper, and create a far more realistic looking robot than a costum ever could.

    Oh well, i can only hope George comes to his senses.
  • What do you mean "the way things are going ..." ?

    Did you already read the script ??? LOL

    And thanks, one less person to crowd the line !
  • I have a fast internet connection, I wish there was some way that I could rent videos and view them over the internet.

    Anyone know of a website that does this?
  • he will end up with a finished Saga that just doesn't fit together well. Georgy told me he will keep re-editing parts 4-6 so that it all fits together smoothly. At least that what it sounded like, he was moaning and wriggling at the time. I had to pay for the casting in Indy IV somehow.
  • Why is it always the supporting cast that is most persistent?

    After all, the only actor to appear in as good as every Star Trek episode of every Star Trek series is Majel Barret (sp?) who "plays" the computer voice. :-)

  • I had a feeling this was being misreported when I read the original story, which featured this quote from Baker: "I'm not in the movie to the extent I was expecting and no one has really explained to me why..." Baker's statement implies that he knows he will be in *some* of Episode II but not as much as he would like. It wouldn't surprise me if someone just misheard or misinterpreted his statement at the beginning of all this. Likewise, the explanation on starwars.com, while not mentioning Baker's statement or the resultant confusion, has the answer between the lines: Baker will shoot his scenes when he "catches up with the Episode II production team in a few weeks" and that Kenny has always been "scheduled for a number of shots during the final week of shooting" - meaning he thought he was being left behind, and largely is, except for those few vital shots of R2 where his presence is required. At least that's what I gather.
  • Sweeeeet! When shoud I start camping out to buy my opening-day ticket?

    P.S. what a poor, poor, little disgruntled troll.
  • Hey, I'm the chick that lies all the time. On her back.
  • There are SOME good roles for short people. I don't recall any particular use of Danny Woodburn's height playing Micky Abbott on Seinfeld. He was just one of Kramer's friends.
  • (Score:2, Funny)
    I don't think it's funny lauging at shorter people.
    ---

  • Slashdot news (Score:5)

    by maggard ( 5579 ) <michael@michaelmaggard.com> on Thursday August 31, 2000 @05:00AM (#814337) Homepage Journal
    Slashdot Editorial Process:
    1. Read the inbox for geek-interest press-releases or rumors
    2. Post highest hit-rate-potential press-releases or rumors as 'news'
    3. Ignore previous iterations of exact same or reasonably similar postings
    4. Editorialize upon said rumors - note comments need be only marginally relevant and may contradict source material
    5. When caught out in a particularly egregious mistake make an addendum or simply recycle the correction as a new item some hours or days later
    Slashdot Discussion Process:
    • Post random messages regarding elves, libertarian politics, conspiracy theories, and actors
    • Attempt lame humor (it was funnier after a few hits in the dorm room)
    • Proudly state that you already invented this old chestnut yourself years ago but forgot to tell anyone or produce working code or finish all of the paperwork
    • Relate this to latest trendy SF novel or film ignoring or ignorent of their premise being as old as the genre
    • Comment how we don't need to hook up our toaster / blue-screen-of-death / MS is all inherent evil / anything Apple related is for goobers / usability is overhyped / pet OS or UI or chip or whatever does it better / what about insert-lame-ass-dead-project-thats-all-talk-here / linux is best / this doesn't work for linux folks / the site is slashdotted / it's a rumor secretly planted by the subject to increase buzz
    • Asume everyone reading /. is on your campus or town or region or country
    • *THE* law is US law and *THE* media is the TV programs you watch
    • Blithely assert bizarre statements are true 'in Europe' or other places that sound exotic
    • Post any other random thoughts you have no matter how irrelevant because it's *YOU* and everyone hangs on your every posting!
  • From what I understand, George Lucas WILL be using the computer generated R2 for most of the movie. You'll notice this artcile mentions that Kenny would be scheduled for a "few shots". In other words, he is still playing second fiddle to the cgi one.
  • Call me jaded, but I just have a hard time believing that George Lucas gives a damn about anything but the cash after I saw how much merchandising he allowed Episode I to get wrapped up in. Then again, maybe there is still good in him, and he is trying to avoid falling to the dark side.
  • I'm very glad that R2D2 is not going to be done with all-CGI in EP2, because, frankly, if EP1 CGI was state-of-the-art (I suspect it wasn't), then "the-art" isn't quite ready yet; some of the CGI in EP1 ranged from "not good enough" to "sucky".

    Some scenes that stand out in my mind as really bad; The announcer at the Pod Races: Cartoony in quality, totally bottomed-out my suspension of disbelief. . . The scene where queen Amidala's ship landed on Tatooine; the shadow cast on the ground looked like the drop-shadow filter from Alien Skin 2.1. . . The scene where the two Jedi sneak out of an air-duct into the landing bay of the trade-federation ship - can you say "poor understanding of physics"? While there was a lot of good stuff in this movie, there was also a lot of really, really bad stuff. Bad enough for me to think that the technolgy for CGI isn't quite ready to replace live actors for some time, even if the live actor is an R/C mockup. Sometimes, the old, tried-and-true methods are best.

    if it ain't broke, then fix it 'till it is!
  • CGI = Computer Generated Imagery
  • I don't know of any sites that you could rent movies on line, but if you like classic B-movies (they have the original Night of the Living Dead in streaming video in it's entirety), go to movieflix.com [movieflix.com]. If you like independent films, try atomfilms.com [atomfilms.com]. They have some pretty funny stuff there. Both sites are free.
  • I make a fucking JOKE and the Star Wars Movie and I get voted "troll"? Excuse me, but not everyone holds the opinion that the movie is "Holy" or something.
    -----------------------------
    1,2,3,4 Moderation has to Go!
  • You see, I had a feeling that Lucas has a soft spot in his heart for Kenny. My original theory on this [slashdot.org]...


    I know I'm milking the same joke twice, and I know a jedi craves not these things. Consider it influence of the dark side of the Force... Or maybe it's Bert's [fractalcow.com] fault.
  • To say the thruth I always wondered why they used an actor for R2D2 anyway. Do you remember those nifty remote guided robots radioshack used to sell? WOuldn't that have done the job?? Seriously the only way Mr Baker is acting when playing R2D2 is by his movements which could have easily been reproduced by a guided robot. Anyway... just my opinion...

  • There have been a mixture of robotic and "live" R2s. Even in the first movie there were some simple robotics used. Generally, three-legged R2s are robots, while ones standing and doing stuff have Kenny inside. If you look closely, you can see tubes from the body into the legs for Kennys feet!

    While I agree they could do a lot with robotics, shots like the one of R2 stretching up to see into Yoda's hut would be difficult and would probably require a specially constructed R2 for each shot!

    I'm glad Kenny's in Ep2. I met him once and he's a very nice man.

    James
  • Good to hear, I couldn't stand the way that CGI version of R2D2 moved about, it just didn't look natural.
  • Of course you've forgotten:
    • rant & rave about Slashdot's editors, Slashdot's readers, Slashdot's moderators, "old news" "Karma whores" and "life, don't talk to me about life".

    --

  • for example Jerry's discomfort at his (Jewish) dentist making Jewish jokes.

    That's becase Jerry is an anti-dentite!
  • Mom isn't watching right now, timmy. You can use bad words.

  • Slashdot (Score:5)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:33AM (#814351)
    News for Nerds. Stuff that is unverified.
  • Just about anything that ever comes out about the Star Wars movies is going to be a rumor. I don't think one rumor yet has been accurate. Look how many names were thrown around as a sure "lock" and "confirmed" to play Anakin. That is why sites like Dark Horizons CHECK THEIR FACTS.
  • True - it doesn't happen nearly as often, but if you try, it really isn't all that hard to get them that hot ;-) Certainly not within normal limits (speed, turning, etc)...

    I do think that Firestone acted as responsibly as they could in this situation, and I would applaud them for their actions. The defect seems limited to one plant during one stretch of time, but they did the 'right thing' by issuing the larger recall. Myself - I only buy Pirreli 8^)

    --

  • measuring geekiness in movies (Score:4)

    by jesterzog ( 189797 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:33AM (#814354) Journal

    making him and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), the only two actors to appear in all of the Star Wars movies to date."

    I guess you can really judge the geekiness of a movie when the only two guys that have a social life are a couple of robots. :)


    ===

  • "Horrible acting" in STAR WARS (Score:3)

    by hyacinthus ( 225989 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @11:23AM (#814355)
    Young Anakin was annoying at times, yes, but I don't think it's entirely just to blame this on the "horrible acting" of Jake Lloyd. (Aside: am I the only one who thinks of another child actor, Danny Lloyd, _alias_ "Danny Torrance" from Kubrick's THE SHINING, when I see Jake Lloyd? They even look a bit the same. And some might say that young Danny was every bit as annoying as young Ani.)

    It's fashionable too to scorn Mark Hamill for his horrible acting, especially in A NEW HOPE; but is this entirely Hamill's fault? He was quite good in another film which appeared a few years later, Sam Fuller's THE BIG RED ONE; but then Sam Fuller was a better director by far than Lucas.

    And this, I think, is the problem. To get good performances from actors, good direction helps, a lot. A good director can flog a decent performance out of a mediocre actor (consider Ray Liotta in Scorsese's GOODFELLAS, or Ryan O'Neal in Kubrick's BARRY LYNDON--they're good in those movies, and forgettable in almost anything else.)

    George Lucas, though...consider, for example, Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor in PHANTOM MENACE. Both have superb performances to their credits (e.g. SCHINDLER'S LIST for Neeson, TRAINSPOTTING for McGregor.) But, if you'd seen these actors for the first time in PHANTOM MENACE, would you have seen _anything_ which suggested that they had great talent? Hardly! I can only conjecture that so uninspiring was Lucas's direction that Neeson and McGregor didn't feel themselves called upon to expend more than the minimum effort needed to act out their parts.

    And now I'm remembering Hamill's words to the effect that if Lucas could make movies without actors, he would. I suspect that Lucas doesn't really know _how_ to direct actors, perhaps feels uncomfortable doing so; he'd rather play with computer graphics. It's not just the creation of fully animated characters like the androids or Jar Jar; if the IMDb is to be believed, Lucas also resorted to computerized "directing" (altering Natalie Portman's voice electronically, altering which way Jake Lloyd's eyes looked in a particular scene. And need I mention the alterations to the "Special Editions"?)

    I'm a little saddened. STAR WARS holds a special place in my heart, all the more so because I'm a latecomer to it (I first saw all three films, in their entirety, only upon the theatrical release of the Special Editions.) But THE PHANTOM MENACE left me with little hope for the second and third films. I'm pinning my big-budget fantasy-film dreams to Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS movies :]

    Hyacinthus
  • overclock r2d2 to make him more interesting then c3po

    I can only wonder what a robot's version of "I am Cornholio" is....

    =================================
  • Seriously the only way Mr Baker is acting when playing R2D2 is by his movements which could have easily been reproduced by a guided robot.

    I think there were some technical problems in getting a robot to act like a, erm, robot.
  • It wasn't necessarily the poor design of the characters (with NO thought at all to realism), nor was it the incredibly STUPID dialog - but the overall quality of the images was just too poor. The quality of the shading and animation, coupled with the unbelievability of the design concept, is what blew it more than anything else. The whole package was just stupid.

    if it ain't broke, then fix it 'till it is!

  • The nature of the rumors is the most interesting (Score:3)

    by Enoch Root ( 57473 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:57AM (#814359)
    With rumors like that, regardless of whether they're true or not, the fascinating aspect is what makes it spread around like wildfire.

    Consider some of the rumors floating around before Episode 1: the one that stuck up the most was that Lucas considered using a digital version of Sir Alec Guinness to play the young Obi-Wan. The fact the rumor spread around meant that people were excited at the upcoming special effects and dreamed of wild innovations.

    Now, post-Episode 1, we get rumors that even R2D2 will receive an unwanted CGI facelift. This goes to show that people are now jaded of SW special effects, and fear the movies are losing their dimension of humanity.

    By extension, these rumors then expose the bias a particular news source. How often do you see positive rumors about Episode 2, lately? What about the comments themselves?

  • Re:Slashdot should be changed from (Score:3)

    by vulgrin ( 70725 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:58AM (#814360) Homepage Journal
    I'm really confused about this whole "blacklash on slashdot" recently. People complaining that news items don't fit THEIR ideals for "news for nerds" or that Slashdot occasionally posts something that is wrong.

    First off, we "Nerds" are a pretty diverse group. Therefore your idea of "news" may not be the same as my idea of "news." If you are that pissed off about it, then DON'T READ THE TOPIC, let alone reply to it. It always amazes me how out of the way people go to make themselves and others around them miserable.

    Second, tell me if I'm wrong, but Slashdot is NOT an associated press. They produce news items based on submitted postings and interesting tidbits that they find. So if anyone is to blame on the content, blame yourselves. And if you don't go as far to submit a story to /. then don't complain about the content. If you want the content to be more "nerdy" then submit something. /. is NOT CNN, it is a COMMUNITY. I don't go to /. because I think they've checked all of the facts. (face it, even major world-wide news organizations cannot check their facts first, and if you think differently, why don't you try it out?)

    Of course, I'm being a hypocrite just by posting this, but I gotta vent my frustrations that have been building up for the past month. Sorry.

    Vulgrin the MAD
  • I believe the previous story came from imdb.com which is a pretty reliable and respected site. They are the one who had their information wrong and should be the ones to blame for stating rumor as fact... slashdot had no reason to assume they were wrong

    Josh
  • This is obviously another occurence of a situation that has happened all-too-often on Slashdot: The posting of false stories. Please, Rob, Hemos, timmy, JohnKatz (wherever you are), verify the source of the stories before you post it. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

    Slashdot is supposed to be "News for Nerds, Stuff that matters," not this technical tabloid for all the linux gnomes out there, like we've been seeing for the last six months.

  • Official Slashdot Screening Procedure (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    1. receive news from anonymous source
    2. post it
    3. read comments, fix broken URLs
    4. read comments, ignore "this is false", "wrong..bzzt", "here's proof this is wrong" type comments
    5. wait for non-anon source to refute article
    6. sit on it for a day or two
    7. post retraction
    8. rinse, repeat

  • ever since Lucas came up with Midiclorians, I don't know whats going on in his head...

    I think you're right. I always imagined the Force as more of a spiritual than biological/chemical thing. Anyway, back to the subject at hand.

    I'm actually glad Kenny is going to be inside R2 again, it will give the Saga a greater measure consistency. With all the technological changes happening in the real world, the Star Wars universe will seem extremely lopsided. Think about it - a universe that was more advanced in Episode I, II and III than in Episode IV, V and VI? That doesn't make a heck of a lot of sense, so it would be wise to at least take the precaution of making some parts of the story consistant in effects, character personalities, etc.

    Unlike a lot of Star Wars viewers, I didn't think Episode I was bad. I liked it, and I liked Jar Jar too. So sue me. "Midichlorians" were the thing that partially messed up the scope of the movie, for me.

    So really, yes. Even if a robot would be more "Realistic", they should keep Kenny in the role just for the sake of a constant in the series. If Lucas loses touch with elements of the previous movies and goes off on a cinemalogical tangent, he will end up with a finished Saga that just doesn't fit together well. He should avoid that at all costs!

  • Well, I thought I heard that while making the original movie Lucas did try something along these lines and it wasn't workable. Dunno if it would even make sense to do something like that at this point given the crap that flew into the fan about not using Kenny Baker in favor of CG R2. Seems like having Baker and Daniels still in the series is about the only thing Lucas has left to keep fans older than 11 happy.
  • Kenny says in the original article "I'm not in the movie to the extent that I had hoped". The new article says that he "will be catching up with the crew in a few weeks'. Sounds like he isn't going to be in the film to the extent he had hoped.

  • Judging from the story on starwars.com, it's not entirely clear whether Lucas is 100% disavowing this rumor or not. Take a close look at Lucas' exact words:

    "The robotics technology inside the Artoo models have advanced to the point where they can achieve most of the performance I need right along side the other actors. Still, there's an element of humanity to Artoo that comes from having Kenny Baker inside. We've always had Kenny scheduled for a number of shots during the final week of shooting at Elstree Studios."

    Lucas certainly isn't enthusiastically stating that only Kenny Baker can play R2D2. It sounds to me like Lucas is saying that most of the R2D2 shots can be done with robotic technology; he just wants Kenny to come in for a few specific shots that, for whatever reason, the robotics can't handle. (I'll leave speculation as to whether this is due to technical limitations or to avoid looking publicly like he was dumping Kenny Baker as an exercise for the reader.)

    Truth be told, for all the to-do about this story, my sentiments are mixed. While Baker made a great R2D2, Terry Gilliam makes a great point in his commentary track on the Criterion Collection DVD of Time Bandits [express.com], which Baker starred [imdb.com] in. He says that it's a shame that actors like Baker are forced by their height to spend their lives playing robots and Ewoks, hidden under costume and makeup, rather than playing actual human beings who just happen to be shorter than most. Something worth thinking about while we all wring our hands over whether Kenny gets to spend a week in a robot suit.


    -- Jason A. Lefkowitz

  • The scary thing is that sounds like the Microsoft fix-it-with-a-patch mentality.

    I think James Thurbur worte a short story about something like this. I forget the name of it, but I remember the moral was: "Don't get it right, just get it written."

  • First of all, anyone who is familiar with Star Wars knows that they do an extremely thorough job of keeping things secret, and most rumors that are posted on various sites are largely untrue. The only true source of information is starwars.com or interviews with George Lucas or Rick Madsen.

    As far as Episode 1 goes, I'm sick and tired of hearing people trash it. People who didn't like Episode 1 are simply not true Star Wars fans. Their either:

    a)fringe fans who see Star Wars as infantile and finally have an excuse to bash it and distance themselves from it, or
    b)people who were 5 years old when the old ones came out and were expecting the same magic they felt then, now.

    Get a grip people! Seeing the new Episodes isn't going to be as magical as when you were 5 because you've grown up now and your tastes have changed. The same age group who liked Star Wars when it first came out is liking the new Episodes. I haven't talked to one person under 12 who didn't like Episode One. If you're just a fringe fan, bashing Star Wars doesn't make you look cool any more than liking it does. Star Wars came out before I was born, and I've only come to like in the past couple of years. I really liked Episode 1, even if Jar Jar was a little annoying. I think the people who bash Episode 1 wouldn't have been happy no matter what the movie had ended up like.

  • Why the heck do people keep calling special effects 'CGI' around here? What the heck does the 'I' stand for?

    CGI stands for "Common Gateway Interface", and is for web pages. CG stands for "Computer Graphics" and is for special effects.

    Has someone come up with some clever meaning for the "I" so that they can ignore the difference between the two acronyms?

    I'd feel like I'm nitpicking except that every post I've seen mentions "CGI".

    --Lenny
  • Actually, this is one of the most lucid posts I've ever read, I think.

  • Re:Slashdot (Score:3)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @05:04AM (#814374) Homepage Journal
    News for Nerds. Stuff that is unverified.

    You make it sound like a bad thing! ;-)

    N00zPH145h:
    Sir Alec Guiness' was cloned before he died. The clone, named Skippy, will appear in Ep3 with the shocking revelation that he is [a legal gnome slips in and attempts to serve a C&D, but to his utter embarrassment realizes this isn't an Apple leak and slips back out again] Han Solo's father's cousin's mother's hyperdrive mechanic's valet's kid brother's best friend's lawn bowling partner! Needless to say, this comes as a stunner to everyone, including Natalie Portman [natalieportman.com] Sources close the story claim George Lucas vigorously denied this claim, retorting, "The clone's name is not Skippy, it's Fred!"

    Vote [dragonswest.com] Naked 2000
  • Oh, forgot:
    • What is - search engines confuse me!

  • Dammit Slashdot (Score:3)

    by bfree ( 113420 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @04:41AM (#814376)
    let this be a lesson to you! Next time when checking for valid information...USE THE SOURCE!
    And remind that Kurt the debian reviewer while your at it :-)
  • Midget keeps job.

    Right that's it ... this place officially sucks.
  • In particular, in 1979 it wasn't possible to place a controller inside a R2D2 sized body. Therefore, it had to be radio controlled. However, interference meant that it was not reliable enough to do much more than scoot around from place enough.

    Most of the shots with a 2 wheel mode R2D2 in the earlier films are using a model, while most of the 3 wheel mode shots are with Baker inside.

  • Computer Generated Image, oui?

  • What misinformation? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I don't see where this a correction or retraction of what was originally said:

    From the original IMDB article:
    [Baker] says, "Of course I am disappointed. I missed the chance to go to Australia with the cast. I'm not in the movie to the extent I was expecting and no one has really explained to me why..."

    From today's article at Starwars.com:
    Lucas said. "The robotics technology inside the Artoo models have advanced to the point where they can achieve most of the performance I need right along side the other actors. Still, there's an element of humanity to Artoo that comes from having Kenny Baker inside. We've always had Kenny scheduled for a number of shots during the final week of shooting at Elstree Studios."

    Nothing about these statements is mutally exclusive. Lucas' comments are only corrective for those that misread Baker's comments as meaning he wasn't going to be in Ep2 at all, which is clearly not what he said.

  • My brother once told me of a movie entitled "The Legend of the Loch Ness Monster" or something like that. He then said that it starred Ted Danson.

    My immediate response was, "Wow, that's a LOT of makeup!" :-)

    Regards,

    John

  • Kenny Baker's got balls of steel. Two of them.

    I think the best bit of Ep1 was when R2D2's chums were getting creamed on the stainless steel Royal Starship.
  • I think there were some technical problems in getting a robot to act like a, erm, robot.

    My understanding was that Kenny Baker is used mostly in the instances where R2D2 is acting like a human, such as when he bounces around and whistles to show excitement or unhappiness. In those cases, they had an R2 "suit" that KB got into and could put his feet just above where R2's wheels are. Especially towards the later movies, most of the shots where R2 drives around were remotes and just the closeups with human-like movements were done by Kenny Baker
  • Kenny was also in Amadeus, as an opera-singer of, er, diminished stature. Aparently he actually sung himself (as opposed to miming).
  • this is good. Wasn't the whole star wars saga supposed to be originally about the 2 droids (3po and r2)?

  • Robo World Cup (Score:4)

    by TeVi ( 128093 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:38AM (#814389) Homepage
    Cool! Will he appear in Robo World Cup [slashdot.org] as well now?

  • Recipe for R2D2: (Score:5)

    by Lonesmurf ( 88531 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:40AM (#814392) Homepage
    CGI Version:

    o 1 part Cylinder,
    o 1 part Sphere,
    o Various Cubes,
    o 1 part Chees-O(tM) blue and white random splotch texture map

    Instructions -

    1. Place Sphere on Cylinder.
    2. Place Cylinder and sphere on Rectangles
    3. Place Chees-O(tM) blue and white random splotch texture map on everything.
    4. Hit Frapee!

    Real life Version

    o 1 part trashcan
    o 1 part dome-thingy
    o Various size shoeboxes
    o VerySmallMan(tM) (note that midgets don't work in this recipe)
    o Silver and light blue spray paint.
    o Duct tape. Lots and lots of duct tape.

    Instructions:

    1. Place VerySmallMan(tM) in trashcan and place dome on top of trashcan. Seal with duct tape. Ignore ear shattering screams from VerySmallMan. Yes, he can breath, you did punch holes in the trashcan, right? RIGHT?
    2. Duct tape shoe boxes to trashcan.
    3. Spray paint.
    4. Frapee!

    Rami
    --
  • So, we've seen that Star Wars information has been mixed up recently. One thing becomes another, all in a blink of an eye. Poof! Pop! Bang! Does anyone else get the impression that somehow Lucas is pulling strings? Is the Lucas machine tweaking the media, like a puppet? (I doubt all this, but it is interesting, no?)

    This reminds me of things like Ford covering up problems with the Pinto and their tires. I mean, corporations have such power to manipulate the media. And, the media, Slashdot included, is very willing to help the spindoctors. How many times has a press release turned into "news", eh? Information, disinformation, ahh! What a pain in the arse. Who can we believe? Who should we believe?

    Damn, I'm just going to basically ignore any Star Wars news I read. Or any news for that matter. I'm heading back into the cave now...The Future Doesn't Need Us [wired.com] anyway.

    John S. Rhodes
    WebWord.com [webword.com] -- Industrial Strength Usability.
  • Crap! Now instead of being 'that chick who knows all the inside stuff' I'm gonna be 'that chick who lies all the time.'
    Grrrr....

    The Divine Creatrix in a Mortal Shell that stays Crunchy in Milk

  • Nitpick, but... (Score:3)

    by mblase ( 200735 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @05:24AM (#814404)
    ...making him and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), the only two actors to appear in all of the Star Wars movies to date.

    Isn't that a bit of a misnomer? After all, neither Kenny Baker nor Anthony Daniels actually appeared in either movie. Anthony wasn't even physically in Episode I, either, for that matter, just his voice.

  • ignoring or ignorent
    *ignorant*

    Correct spelling! :)

    Pope

    Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!

  • >. A recent Firestone tire has a flaw: if it heats up above 175 F (which is sometimes possible in southern states during the summer), ka-blooie. Ford uses that tire on their Explorer trucks. Although there have been no cases reported of accidents caused by this flaw, Ford and Firestone immediately put out a recall.

    Two quick points:
    the 175F+ tire temp can happen in northern states (i.e. Minnesota) in 95-100 degree weather, too...

    Two: As of several weeks ago, nearly 50 *deaths* were directly attributed to the tire failures. The newest government study looks to place that number somewhere between 70-90... No cases? I think you are quite misinformed....
    --
  • I must have missed one, however, that sounds like an interesting exploration of short person culture, rather than an explotation of his height. Seinfeld did explore other aspects of culture, for example Jerry's discomfort at his (Jewish) dentist making Jewish jokes.

  • More from the George Lucas rumor mill (Score:5)

    by Jon Erikson ( 198204 ) on Thursday August 31, 2000 @03:42AM (#814418)

    Why are people here naive enough to actually believe anything they hear about the next Star Wars movie? It seems blatently obvious that all of these rumours are being put about deliberately by Lucas and co. just to drum up extra interest in the film without paying for it.

    After all, he's already shown how little he cares for the people that buy his films with his DVD and "special edition" video policy, so what's a bit of public manipulation to him? Just ignore the hype, go see the film if you have to (it must be nice having fans that will go no matter how crap the film is) and then realise that it's another massively overhyped CGI-driven movie for ten year old kids with no tolerance for a plot.

    ---
    Jon E. Erikson

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