Attack of the Clones 691
ramakant writes: "It looks like George Lucas has really sold out this time. If you thought Jar-Jar Binks was bad, MTV.com is running a story that a few members of 'NSYNC will be making cameos in Episode II. I think the target demographic for these films has changed a little since the original trilogy. Oh well, at least LOTR rocked." The MTV article says that NSYNC asked for the part; an article in a UK tabloid says Lucas asked them.
Big deal. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Big deal. (Score:4, Informative)
Easy... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Big deal. (Score:5, Funny)
Who can tell one extra from another?
Now, that gives a whole new meaning to the title of the movie!
Sounds bad (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Sounds bad (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Sounds bad (Score:5, Funny)
Hey, why are we bitching? We'll get to see 'NSane die!
Because it's only special effects?
Re:Because it's only special effects? (Score:5, Funny)
*ba-dum*
Re:Sounds bad (Score:4, Redundant)
A suggestion: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Sounds bad (Score:2, Insightful)
Isn't that what MTV's Celebrity DeathMatch is all about?
Who would once rather see wasted by Jango Fett? (Score:2, Troll)
Re:Who would once rather see wasted by Jango Fett? (Score:5, Funny)
George Lucas.
-Legion
note to self........ (Score:4, Funny)
Re:note to self........ (Score:2, Funny)
has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:4, Insightful)
I wouldn't call them just kid's movies (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:4, Insightful)
The young female dollar is the hardest to tap into, and thus the one most ripe for new market share.
The young female dollar worships celebrity. Get some celebrity in there and you might attract a 20% increase in the audience for Episode 2.
This is exactly how Star Wars should be! You either grow with your audience, or you stick with the fairy tale. In these celebrity soaked times its the only way to win! You need something the chicks will want to watch 250 times over aswell.
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:5, Insightful)
This gets bandied about every time Star Wars is mentioned. Especially after George Lucas used it to dismiss his fans' critisims from EP1. Star Wars is a kids movie. Anybody who claims otherwise are blinded by nostalgia.
I don't buy it.
Sure. I'm a sucker for nostalgia. There's lots of things I enjoy simply because I had enjoyed them in the past. But I can tell when I'm simply being nostalgic.
There are plenty of examples within movies (and television). I still enjoy the first 3 Star Wars movies. I was disappointed in the 4th (EP1). Even now, comparing all four on VHS I get the same reactions.
Distorted views through nostalgia lenses? Hardly. I used to enjoy some B-grade scifi, Buck Rogers, and The A Team. Now when I see these same works, I also see the small bits of why I thought they were so cool. But its also glaringly obvious why my father would roll his eyes and leave the room.
Good, if not great, works remain so even if they were origionally seized by a younger generation. And uninspired works remain... uninspired.
Star Wars was a suprise hit in an area that The Industry had, rightfully, disreguarded. It did something different and suceeded. Alas, that something is now lost to Lucas. He's sunk in to mediocraty. And his defense is our childhood.
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:5, Funny)
It also did more damage in the form of shards of glass lacerating his nose. He got me back by spraying oven cleaner in my eyes. I'm still amazed we got through childhood without permanently maiming one another.
-Legion
2 words (Score:2)
(PS- sounds like me and my younger sis when we were kids
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:2, Funny)
Bah! I made a REAL light saber!
Of course I was a hopeless clod with it.
But my life is now much more sedate since I chopped off an arm and both legs with it.
At least I didn't bleed out. Instant light saber cauterization's good stuff!
And if only I'd remembered to turn if off before I put it away.
Ah well. Who wants to have the ability to sire kids anyhow?
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:2, Insightful)
there's a rant somewhere about TSR doing this to D&D. girls dont want to watch dumb movies about fFunny boys with goofy robes run around playing swords. girls want to see their fFavorite cute people appear, even fFor a minute, in a movie. so lucas attempts to cash in on this. i say no fFoul. he's got to employ a hundred extras anyway, right? so what if 4 of them happen to be in a band? as long as it doesnt disrupt the fFlow of the plot, i dont care. and since lucas tends to be very stringent about his plot designs, i cant imagine he would radically alter the way the fFilm moves just to invent screen time fFor some random persons.
Re:has the targeted demographic really changed? (Score:4, Troll)
Four words, buddy:
Perhaps not the Bay City Rollers, but you've got Jefferson Starship, as well as your Art Carney, Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur and Diahann Carroll.
And really, what says "long time ago in a galaxy far far away" more than Bea Arthur? .
You miss the irony (Score:5, Funny)
Re:You miss the irony (Score:5, Funny)
urge to kill rising, rising... (Score:5, Funny)
Bring it on! (Score:5, Funny)
a) They don't talk, or "sing."
b) They get killed off post-haste.
Given these two rules, it would be quite enjoyable.
how bad (Score:2, Funny)
Who sold out? (Score:3, Funny)
Time for war. (Score:2)
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I see that it's time to put all of that first-person shooter training to work and invade Skywalker ranch. An unopened original Bubba Fett action figure to whoever brings me Lucas's head on a pike!
Re:Time for war. (Score:2)
Not even on your unopened box?
Jackass.
Okay, maybe I was wrong. (Score:2, Interesting)
I hate boy bands as much as the next guy. But 'NSYNC was darn funny in their Simpsons episode. They spent the whole 18 minutes making fun of themselves after all. They can't be ALL bad.
*beep* *beep*
Oh no! Our clothing is out of style by 15 minutes! Quickly, to bananna republic!
Ynav eht Nioj!
Re:Okay, maybe I was wrong. (Score:4, Interesting)
These shitheads are just a short lived trend, not that that matters. Looking at past movies you can see that huge stars, from outside the movie industry generally seem to make the movie worse.
Personally, I'm happiest when a movie doesn't have any huge names at all you usually get a more enjoyable experience because the actors don't carry the baggage that someone you've seen in a number of movies does.
Re:Okay, maybe I was wrong. (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm happiest when a movie doesn't have any huge names at all you usually get a more enjoyable experience because the actors don't carry the baggage that someone you've seen in a number of movies does.
Um...you don't see a contradiction here? If they're saying "who?" then there's no baggage.
I agree with Conan O'Brien: Lucas did it "to make C3PO look less gay."
That is, if he did it at all. I suspect the newspaper stories were sourced (uncredited) from ananova, which credits a fan site. Any Kubrick fans here? Do you remember the outrageous rumors about the plot of Eyes Wide Shut? There has not yet been any official source on this.
Re:Okay, maybe I was wrong. (Score:2)
Well, not in all cases, but in general the 'big stars' are the ones who can act. Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammel couldn't really, thats why they never ended up as big stars after Starwars (unlike Harrison Ford).
Good actors can act good (duh) and they make you forget that you've seen them before in other films.
Of course, it was kind of distracting when a friend pointed out that the elf lord in rivendale was the guy who played Agent Smith in the Matrix. It didn't bother me though, I mostly just thought it was cool
The Downward Spiral of Lucas (Score:5, Insightful)
About three years ago, I sat in a theater that was about to show "Wing Commander." Why? Because they were going to show the "Star Wars" trailer. As the lights darkened and the projector fired up, the words "Lucasfilms" showed up on the screen. That was all it took to get the entire crowd to erupt in a tremendous cheer.
Then, Ep I came out.
Recently, I sat in a theater awaiting LOTR. "Lucasfilms" showed up on the screen. The audience collectively yawned. We've already been burned once by Lucas; we're pretty sure that AOTC is going to suck. Jar Jar, a lame-ass title, and now N'Sync pretty much confirm that.
uh... a few seconds ruins a film? (Score:5, Insightful)
Get a grip... nobody will notice unless you freeze frame the future dvd and then who really cares...
If you want to make an opinion of the film before seeing it (which is kind of dumb) then at least do something like watch the trailers... which in my opinion are quite good!
Re:uh... a few seconds ruins a film? (Score:5, Interesting)
That's pretty fucking low, if you ask me. The market, and in fact the bottom line, has become a greater influence to Lucas' decisions than his creativity. Dis-fucking-gusting.
Re:uh... a few seconds ruins a film? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:uh... a few seconds ruins a film? (Score:3, Insightful)
>
> 1) doing something for the sole reason of attracting the 12 year old girl market, or
Yeah, and the first three movies had so much integrity. That's why it was so crucial to the plot to have Carrie Fisher in a bikini for the first act of the ROTJ. It wasn't for the sole reason of attracting the 12 year old boy market.
Everyone who is complaining about this should get over it. Lucas is putting in his daughters' favorite boy band, and they're going to die in a few seconds on film. What father wouldn't want to do that?
Umm, right. And Mark Hamill was from where? (Score:4, Troll)
Hamill wasn't exactly a Royal Shakespearean himself...
89. "Eight Is Enough" (1977) TV Series - David Bradford (1977)
90. City, The (1977) (TV) - Eugene Banks
91. Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence (1976) (TV) - Joe Celi
92. Eric (1975) (TV) - Paul Swensen
93. Delancey Street: The Crisis Within (1975) (TV) - Philip Donaldson
94. Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) (TV) - Ken Newkirk
95. "Texas Wheelers, The" (1974) TV Series - Doobie Wheeler
96. "Jeannie" (1973) TV Series (voice) - Corey Anders
97. "General Hospital" (1963) TV Series - Kent Murray
Re:Umm, right. And Mark Hamill was from where? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Umm, right. And Alec Guinness was from where? (Score:4, Insightful)
Maybe Lucas was more objective with himself in Star Wars 4: A New Hope. He was new (only one major film out, American Graffiti [imdb.com]), and under a tight budget. His other film in the genre, THX1138 [imdb.com] was well thought of but not widely distributed.
If somone wants to be an extra and be shot at, I don't care. It is if they actually have lines then I start to get concerned.
you hypocrites! (Score:5, Interesting)
so use the force or something. i never saw the movies.
Re:you hypocrites! (Score:3, Interesting)
Your implication is that it's about money (he wants to woo the young teen girl dollars), but what if it's not that at all? What if he was really telling the truth when he told an interviewer that his daughters are big N*Sync fans and asked him to find them parts in the film? If so, then he's doing what you're bemoaning that he's not doing; namely, he's putting in something just because he can. Since both extremes (he's doing it just for money, or doing it just for personal reasons) are feasible, I'm inclined to believe that the middle ground is most likely. What probably happened is this:
G. Lucas's daughters: "Put N*Sync in the next Star Wars!"
G. Lucas: "Hmm, why the heck not? It couldn't hurt ticket sales."
RING, RING
G. Lucas: "Hey, guy, offer a cameo to the boyz in the band."
N*Sync Agent: "Do you boyz want a cameo in AOTC? No acting and you'll all get shot early."
N*Sync (in harmony): "Damn Straight!"
Virg
LOL-LOTR (Score:5, Funny)
Re:LOL-LOTR (Score:3, Funny)
Simpsons cameo. (Score:5, Funny)
Justin Timberlake: "WORRRD!!!"
:)
"Yvan eht nioj" - Now that's catchy
Re:Simpsons cameo. (Score:3, Funny)
"Idej eht nioj"
Add to the confusion... (Score:5, Funny)
This would cause a mass confusion in the crowd as Star Wars geeks meet these strange creatures called "girls". I just wonder what happens if one of the geeks asks a teenie bopper if she wants to see his "light saber".
Episode 2 - 'N Sync Style (Score:5, Funny)
Vader - "Come, and we will rule the Empire as father and son."
Luke - "I don't want to be a fool for you. Just another player in your game for two. You may hate me but it ain't no lie. Bye, bye, bye."
Re:Episode 2 - 'N Sync Style (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Episode 2 - 'N Sync Style (Score:5, Funny)
Soundtrack (Score:2)
Seriously, I hope the Clone Edit (please let there be one) has Bye Bye Bye playing as they get killed.
The demographic hasn't changed. (Score:4, Insightful)
I mean, hey, let's look at that first triology for a second. We've got a love story between a princess and an outlaw (whose best friend, by the way, is a large, loveable hairy guy). That's classic fairy tale stuff. Then we've got the tale of a confused and tortured young man struggling to become a champion of good whilst laboring in the shadow of his evil father who, as it turns out, is still a pretty good guy himself.
I can't tell if this is a fairy tale or a soap opera. Frankly, there isn't much difference.
The point is, Lucas made a film that adults can - more or less - enjoy, but it's always been heavy on the childish side of things. The story and characters are easy to digest. It doesn't take a literary genius to understand that the Emporer was an evil mad man and Luke was the proverbial White Knight. The story is cut and dry.
But I will admit that including a boy band like NSync in the movie, even for a cameo, is bowing to market influence in a major way. Oh wait...there was Jar Jar and that whole "Pod Race To Sell Toys" scene in Episode I.
Re:The demographic hasn't changed. (Score:2)
Re:The demographic hasn't changed. (Score:3, Insightful)
In residence in university a few years ago we had an end-of-year party with some kids movies : The Princess Bride and The Dark Crystal. Everyone who had seen Princess Bride as a kid *loved* it, same with Dark Crystal - but those who hadn't seen them as children were indifferent, or downright hostile.
I think the same applies to Star Wars. People my age who see it for the first time are 50/50 on liking it - whereas people who have seen it as children love it - it obviously has children-appeal which then translates to nostalgia-appeal. When it first came out it was worth seeing just for the effects, and gained fans that way, but I don't see how modern Star Wars movies can hope to make the same splash in the PG-13 market as the originals did.
On the other hand, I think that "The only robot that can make beeps sound sarcastic" has far more appeal than JarJar to anyone over 8, and that Lucas should admit that while he won't neccessarily be making movie history again, he shouldn't toss our demographic aside with childrens-only appeal.
The demographic HAS changed. (Score:5, Insightful)
The fact is, Lucas did something once upon a time that was magic by creating something for people of all ages to love. You can't really say that about the new movies, something is missing. I think what's missing is both in Lucas and everyone else.
The target demographic of the original movies was not really children, but everyone. Kids don't understand the concept of a Republic vs. an Empire and what that means, or the sexual tension between Han and Leia. That stuff is in there for adults too. And don't forget the violence (which is present in all fairy tales by the way, pick up the Grimms if you don't believe me) which is relatively absent from episode 1. No dead gungans lying around, they're too fucking marketable! Even the Ewoks were slaughtered en masse. These "adult" concepts are things that are very real, that reach out to us and touch us from inside and connect us to the story long after the fantasy has faded away. Harry Potter does this. LOTR does this. Why not episode 1?
I wish I had an answer to these questions, but the fact is that Lucas is simply not targeting his demographic anymore. When he made the first movie, his priority was simply getting it made because he couldn't worry about anything else. Make the movie, and people will come. His demographic was the project itself. Now his demographic is what he thinks audiences will want from him, and he's bending things to this vision. He's not serving the story anymore, he's trying to serve us all, and in doing so he's cheating everyone of something that should have been great.
Bah... (Score:5, Insightful)
But one thing is for sure, he lost *ALL* my respect with Episode 1, This was clearly a "coup de cash" against his loyal fans. Not only he deceived us, it's not like if he was under-funded or he had to make tough choices (jarjar is the "living proof of poor judgment). Now, he's in it ONLY for the money, he lost his soul and his artistic taste for the movies the same way metallica lost it's artistic side for money in heavy metal music. He had all the time in the world to make a masterpiece, he had all the funding available, he had all the talent, he had enough people around him to tell him what was a good and a bad idea, I guess fans sometimes are really harsh but there's no forgiving for such blattant mistakes and misjudgement; he knew what his fans were expecting and he betted only on the CGI technical skills side (like most hollywood producers) to save the day.
You didn't see me crying when DiVX of his mastercrap went around the net, actually it even did some good; Remember when he commented on the editor that removed *EVERY* scenes where jarjar was? that it was illegal etc etc? Well, on a moral standpoint and to defend the same Trademark that Lucas is tarnishing by himself, I think it was the best thing that the internet and p2p technology could do to save the little content of the movie that wasn't half bad. It's still illegal though, but for someone who saw it at the theatre and gave in money like I did, I would have prefered paying an extra buck to see such a version.
At first, my thought was, maybe I was expecting too much, maybe I've lost that amazement feeling you get when you're younger and seeing something truely fantastic, but LOTR proved to me that it wasn't gone, and SWEP1 should have given me that same feeling if not better. I didn't have such a harsh judgment before seeing LOTR, but what I saw is that you CAN match a buttload of CGI, a good story and good acting and still amaze people... and that my friends, at any age.
Having NSYNC in there just shows the commercial side of lucas that has overtaken his artistic soul. What is it going to be? Big sync dance of Yoda and all his family? oh god, I can see riverdance comming for episode 3 and have a bunch of JarJar lapdansing for 10 minutes... oh and have him signing on top of that, and oh I can see vador joining the club and using the force to lift everybody in the air and and&#*H@IkKn3,22214m3,4
NO CARRIER
Re:Bah... (Score:5, Funny)
He is more machine than man now...
...given in to the dark side.
Re:Bah... (Score:5, Interesting)
And it worked, despite the fact that Lucas isn't a good writer. (He said so himself, long ago around the time of American Graffiti.) The script for Star Wars still isn't really very good. Watch the movie trying to be an objective bastard instead of a long-time fan and you'll see what I mean: most of the dialogue is pretty stilted, and even the direction is somewhat dubious--great visuals, to be sure, but the relatively inexperienced actors clearly weren't being given a lot of support from the man behind the camera. But what the movie had was, as Campbell would put it, "the power of myth"--and it had special effects and action sequences like none ever seen before. When Lucas first showed a private test screening to his friends, most of them thought it was terrible. The one who didn't? Steven Spielberg, who said, "This movie is going to go on to make a hundred million dollars."
And, lest people think I'm slamming Lucas a little too much, keep in mind that he neither wrote nor directed The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi; he only came up with the general stories. (He didn't even write the Star Wars novel that bears his name; it was actually ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster.) Almost everyone I know, including myself, thinks Empire was the best of the set--and I suspect that was largely due to Leigh Brackett's script. Almost everyone also seems to think Jedi was the weakest of the set--and I'd argue the things that drove most people nuts, from Luke and Leia being sisters to the insufferable Ewoks, were sadly part of Lucas's original story.
But at least then he still had the power of the first one propelling things forward. Now, George Lucas has become... George Lucas. Evidently he'd decided years ago that his original concept was background for the "new" story of Star Wars, and now he had the confidence to make it--because he knew that audiences had grown up with his mythology, and they'd flock to see his new work.
Lucas isn't selling out--he's becoming egotistical. He was part of a group before, not one lone visionary--what genius there was in Star Wars was a collective genius. Now we're getting pure, unadulterated Lucas. p.And the sad thing is, he's right: people will keep flocking to see it.
Re:Bah... (Score:3, Interesting)
ho ho ho ho!
Check out TheForce.net [theforce.net] and view some of the home-brewed films. They're in quicktime, but free for download. I shit you not when I say that I enjoyed some of the 15-25 minute shorts they had on there than I enjoyed SW:Ep1! I even watched one or two of the shorts a couple times, they were so well done. Better acting, plot, story, and a less flamboiant integration of CGI and reality. All that, and with the only budgets being people's own financial donations. Now shut your mouth, you uninformed n00b, before I have to slap you.
Target demographic (Score:5, Informative)
A New Hope didn't have a target demographic. Not at 600k budget.
The Empire Strikes Back tried the late teens target demographics. It didn't gross out as much as they had anticipated at the time. It caught on later in time.
The Return Of The Jedi targeted kids and up, in attempt to widen the audience. By that time, episode 5 had become a classic, and it caught on.
That's the "magic" formula that was used for episode 1, and don't expect anything for the next two episodes.
Target Audience (Score:2, Interesting)
This new travesty is a horrible perversion of what should be a beautiful thing, but at least it's in charachter. He told us what he wanted to do. He's doing it. Quit complaining that "the target demographic for these films has changed a little since the original trilogy," because at this point, you shouldn't expect anything less from the producer of Episode 1.
Yep, his kids named it and picked the cast. (Score:3, Funny)
"The boys got involved because producer GEORGE LUCAS's 13-year-old daughter Katie is a fan of the band and badgered her dad to give them a role."
Man, I wish MY dad would let me name movies and pick the cast!
This Summer, from Metro Home Video: Christina Ricci and Janeane Garofalo in "Hotter than Natalie with twice the hot grits"
www.matthewmiller.net [matthewmiller.net]
according to the sun article (Score:2, Funny)
But unfortunately for fans they are all bumped off within seconds by savage androids.
Well, I'd pay just to see that part! Sell out? More like savior! He knows what WE want to see!
Boycott (Score:2)
It's time to organize for a planned flop. No more Star Wars. This crap is ruining my image of the ORIGINAL movies. No more t-shirts, no more action figures, no more posters.
None, nada, nil!
Re:Boycott (Score:2)
Why does everything on
It'll probably be a decent movie, but it probably won't live up to your expectations. It'll probably be better than some movies you've seen and worse than others. It's a movie, deal with it.
"Organize a planned flop"? Pleeeeze. Organize it with yourself.
Lucas didn't sell out (Score:2, Funny)
It used to be about the music, man!
Yeah, but the trailer I saw was REALLY GOOD. (Score:2, Interesting)
That trailer actually gave me shivers in ways that NOTHING about the previous film was even remotely able.
To be honest, I have high hopes for this film. --We might actually see some good messages. How passion of any type can lead to the dark side. And, anyway, there's nothing quite like a good romance story when it's well told.
Weird about the boy-band members having cameos, although I'd venture to guess that this is a sly attempt to capture the female viewership fully and completely. Interesting ploy.
We'll have to see. I do sort of worry, though, that the new film might serve primarily to reinforce certain messed up societal ideals, a la "Titanic". --Including, of course, that the perfect boyfriend must now die of hypothermia in the North Atlantic in order to be properly acceptable to a girl.
Ah well. We'll just have to see, won't we.
Fingers crossed!
--Fantastic Lad
Nsync in Starwars EP2 (Score:3, Funny)
Missing Story (Score:3, Insightful)
The new movies don't seem focused on the story line. I mean, what have pod racers to do with Vaders character developement? Anyone see him race pods later in life? No? No duh.
Including the droids was a mistake. Later in life, did the just forget to mention what they knew about Vader? Duh. Lame.
It should come as no surprise that the next movie is a rental. If you go to the theater, don't complain here. IT WILL SUCK!
You have been warned.
Target Demographic: Lovelorn Teenage Girls (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd been rallying for another Indiana Jones movie for a few years now. This is the moment when I stop. As much respect as I have for the past accomplishments of Lucas and Co., I couldn't possibly tolerate the desecration of another franchise.
Re:Target Demographic: Lovelorn Teenage Girls (Score:3, Interesting)
LOTR:FOTR [imdb.com] has some modifications to widen the audience, but that was just to give a little more female identification. However, it is generating a lot of people who want to see it again who are far from being either traditional movie goers (teens) or LOTR fans. You don't have to bend over just to get a large fan-base if the starting material is good. The film wasn't even that expensive to make (if you divide the total budget by 3)
Please could someone explain this to Mr. Lucas.
Demographic Change? (Score:2, Redundant)
um...I was about 12 or 13 when I first saw Star Wars.
I don't think the demographic has changed, in fact, I think its still the same.
I'd like to see NSYNC... (Score:2)
While Lucas is at it, Natalie Portman could use some petrification.
Too bad... (Score:2)
Proof positive that if Lucas has too much creative control over his movies, he'll screw them up big time. The movies he does get creative control over get all sorts of weird midgets, furry creatures, or fart jokes.
Why I won't be seeing AotC in the cinemas (Score:2)
- Little green fire-fly like dots right through Mimic, plus an obvious cut/break/repair in the film.
- Cyclic digital distortion of the sound right through Hollow Man.
- Given wrong tickets and pointed to wrong theatre for Thir13en Ghosts (movie titles are no longer on cinema doors). Mistake not noticed until 15 minutes after correct movie started.
- Purchased discount pack of "Cinema Cash" only to find that the expiry date had been shortened to six months and for one of those months a normal ticket was cheaper.
- Projector setup incorrectly such that subtitles at the beginning of Replacement Killers were cut off so completely that the audience didn't notice there were any until one spanning two lines half-popped up.
- Waiting in theatre for The Mummy Returns to start and Tomb Raider begins -- this time I was in the right theatre.
That's all I can remember for now, but I'd say a good 60% of the movies I've seen in the last year or two have been screwed up by the cinema. If only the movies were actually good enough to be worth coping with the crap.Whats next? N'Binks? (Score:5, Funny)
This is so profoundly retarded that I'm having trouble, for one in my life, expressing my true feelings.
So, I called up the NIST and asked them to create a unit of measurement that accurately describes the ratio between retarded things and lame things. I proposed that 1.0 would be the standard ratio for something that would be equally retarded and lame, and suggested Episode II, George Lucas, and N'Sync might be good benchmarks from which to gauge this new standard. They agreed, with one stipulation. They wanted to put "mebi" on it somewhere, because there was a sale on "mebi"s this week..They overestimated public demand for them and had a whole bunch lying around they needed to get rid of.
Without further adue, Star Wars's ratio of lameness to retardedness will be measured in Mebijarjars, and more specifically, Episode II will be exactly 1.0 Mebijarjars if N'Sync happens to be in it. Ten bucks says Episode III will feature nothing but chimpanzee actors wearing garbage can lids on their heads beepy-boopy sounds dubbed over a laugh track supplied by the surviving members of Menudo.
Cheers, its meant to make you laugh,
Great Cinema STAR WARS (Score:2)
I sometimes get bewildered that people try to equate the star wars movies or storyline with anything resembling great cinema.... George Lucas and Co. are intent on creating.. err.. recreating mythology and plotlines that are universal.. when you hear that word.. universal, you should run.. the stories and character development take a back seat to effects and gimmicks.
Was I the only one who thought that Episode 4 (IV) sucked? At the time, it was amazing effects and a well thought out story, but the acting was sub-par at best, and the directing and cinematography were atrocious... Carrie Fisher (Remember Princess Leia??? - She wrote an Oscar winning film, Postcards from the edge, it got some sort of Oscar) - Her take on Lucas's Directing Skills - his range of direction was from "Faster!" to "More!".
Of course I am a fan, of course I had all the action figures, I was 8 years old. But that doesn't mean it was good... It was a good attempt.
When I hear people talking about the SW movies as a "franchise" or with some sort of reverence, I laugh out loud.. it was trash, and Episode one was trash. My wife bought me the DVD for Episode one, and I can't sit through it again, I either fall asleep because everyone has a stick up their butt and they are saying their lines as if they were reading them from cue-cards, or I get so disgusted with the shitty plot and the contrived gimmicks (R2-D2 owned by Anakin, C3PO built by Anakin? give me an EFFFING break!) and the inconsistancies with the original ethos... If you are going to make up the laws of a made-up universe, don't change them because it fits with the story... Don't even get me started about the Gungans.. Jar-Jar actually wasn't that bad, but can anyone explain to me why the Jedi didn't just go to the city first? what was with the 20 minute ride through the planet core?
Send in the Clowns is going to suck too, but I will buy my ticket like a good fan boy and sit and cheer when he gets the girl, and when the bad guys die, and when he becomes darth vader...
</rant>
The Movie Industry (Score:2)
Holy shit, get a grip (Score:5, Insightful)
At what point in this story do you figure at all? Don't bother saying anything about giving him your money, 'cause that was your choice. You don't want, you don't buy. Maybe if he came to your house and pointed a gun at your head to buy the DVD...
Why does Lucas have some kind of "commitment" to you, rather than say Tom Clancy or Michael Chrichton (sp?)? They all produce a product, yet where is the outrage that Timeline made obsolutely zero sense?! (Ok read, but bugger the science!)
"He's making the films for his kids! Burn him!" What, making a film for a bunch of whiny ass-monkeys would be a better choice? Sure, they are the luckiest kids on the planet, but still, I can't think of many motivations better than doing something for you kids.
If you don't like what he's doing, sure complain about how it could be better (I sure did), but don't get so excited about how "he owes us more" or "it doesn't match my vision" or "a dog could do it better". He doesn't owe you jack and if you think you can do better, go prove it.
End of long, dumb rant, but I'm kinda sick of people bitching like Star Wars was their exclusive birthright.
Re:Holy shit, get a grip (Score:2)
"O? Jou vant to know how stupeeed *I* zink ze American people are? I vil show you..."
It's insulting every single time a marketroid thinks that people are literally nothing but pavlovian dogs who will salivate at the ring of a bell. ESPECIALLY considering the more "intelligent" demographic that enjoyed the original SW. I had planned on at least checking it out, but frankly, I am insulted now. I won't watch it even on video. Perhaps I will "pirate" it just so that Lucasfilm will lose the not-going-to-happen-but-pretend-it-would-have sale, but that's as far as I'd go.
I'm sick of seeing this stupid argument! (Score:3, Interesting)
Sure, Lucas is breaking no law in becoming a total whore and letting some marketing committe script his movies. In the same way, a politician breaks no laws if he sells out his principles and does exactly what some tobacco company tells him to do. Breaking a trust which is not backed up by a contract is something anyone technically has a right to do. And just like no one is forcing you to buy any specific movie ticket, no one forces you to re-elect the backstabbing politician. Does that make this sort of behavior is alright?
Lucas, like some corporate-tool-politician, has shat on the heads of the very people who made him what he is. But it's worse than that in his case. You see, only Lucas can legally make the remaining movies in the Star Wars epic because he owns every last bit of Star Wars IP. There are plenty of directors out there who would be willing and able to finish the series well. Unfortunately, their doing so would be illegal. If LOTR had been made badly, I could have tried to make it again, though better. The future Star Wars movies will be made badly, but we have no recourse. We just have to take it, even if they're opportunistic, poll-driven, stroryless product placement ads (which they will be).
The Lucas of today makes me feel dirty for ever having liked Star Wars and for having spent every cent of my childhood allowance on those overpriced action figures. I imagine some people who voted for Nixon felt betrayed in the same way. Fine... I was a tool, a means to an end for some greedy bastard in whom I once had faith. Excuse me if I'm a little mad about that, but maybe being indignant about this sort of thing is a necessary part of self-respect.
This reminds me of Highlander... (Score:2)
Boy bands getting pasted... well its a good start. Maybee they could toss that Crusher kid from that other space show and let the bots (slowly) work him over too...
The damage done... (Score:5, Insightful)
To Quote Frodo.... (Score:2, Funny)
insert random stuff here to defeat the rassum-fassum-mumble-grumble lameness filter...
People seem to be forgetting... (Score:2, Insightful)
Sheesh, grow up. You guys all make it sound like there's going to be some big fuss about it. Hell, 99%+ of you won't even notice it when you watch the damn flick, even when you're LOOKING for them.
They're extras, and not only will you not hear them, you'll probably barely get more than a few frames of SEEING them as it is.
But if you want to all bitch about it like "Lucas fucking sucks, that sellout now makes movies for KIDS" or "goddamn, films are not pop culture" should just grow the hell up.
Besides, if you were N'Sync (or any other boy band), wouldn't YOU fight like hell to just have a walk-on in any Star Wars movie? Oh wait, I forgot. This is slashdot, and its practically a requirement to be biased against anything that isn't free or open source...
While they're at it... (Score:2)
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He hasn't sold out -- yet... (Score:2, Funny)
Star Whores is more like it. Feh.
Blamo (Score:2)
Slashdot demographics vs Star Wars target audience (Score:3)
Since we've established that the movie's target audience misses the Slashdot demographics by a mile, maybe it would be good judgement on the part of /. editors to not make a major story out of every stupid Star Wars rumor. They should seriously consider treating it the franchise more like they Dumbo and Barney (with a nostalgic and heavy heart for what the Star Wars prequels could have been). Slashdot is full of former Star Wars fans. With enough /. hype, there will surely be hundreds of readers who pay Lucas for a seat "just to see how bad it really is." And we don't owe him that. We may owe him a bit of ridicule, but more than that, we owe him some indifference. Since the commentators here seem to agree, I hope the editors are wise enough to show some restraint. "Star Wars sucks now" is no longer "News for Nerds."
Ugly typo in the first line (sorry--it's late!) (Score:2)
So, all you people who are panning Ep2.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Wouldn't it be a lot more quiet in here if all the rest of you would shut up?
I'll go see it. It'll have cool FX, lots of stuff will go boom, and I can pretend I'm a 12 yr old. Heck, at my age even a couple of hours of being a 12 yr old again will be worth it.
Do what I did next time, watch Ep 4. Watch it honestly, not in nostaliga mode. It's predictable, and geared for 12 yr olds. Gee, I seem to recall seeing commercials for Star Wars toys playing when I was 12, in between the cartoons. Maybe, just maybe, the movies aren't getting dumber, maybe we're getting older and have different tastes (I wouldn't say we're getting any smarter
Just some food for thought.
Minupla
Re:They get blasted though :) (Score:2, Funny)
The only upside to anything positive happening to N'Sync is that the Backstreet Boys have to be really pissed off that N'Sync is getting props instead of them.
Re:Target Demographic (Score:2)
The three most recent movies were for kids. I want a Star Wars movie that appeals to me but I'd settle for one that appealed to the original demographic. The taget did move. It happened in the 80's with the damn ewoks were given a starring role.
Re:Target Demographic (Score:3, Insightful)
It's either that, or the target demographic has narrowed. Star Wars was clearly marketed towards children AND adults, the former of whom will be entertained by ANYTHING with fur or robotic parts. Case in point is the Muppet Movie, which had furry muppets that kids could enjoy, while adults had fun with the witty dialogue. Newer movies leave the adults out of the equation, reasoning that the kids won't "get" the movie. But they're not there for the storyline -- they just want to see fur and robots (and if at all possible, furry robots!)
So for God's sake, market all you want towards the children, but at least give the adults a darn script that's worth listening to. Kids grow to understand it as they get older. That's how you MAKE a classic for christsake.
Re:This doesn't make sense... (Score:2)