Slashdot Mirror
Star Wars EP1 On DVD Confirmed By Lucas
Bigmell was one of several people to write about a phone call George Lucas made to KROQ Radio in Los Angeles. Ain't-it-cool-news also had a piece running with the same information. In any case, it looks like a DVD is being worked on, with a September release date. Bonus material includes unfinished scenes from Episodes 4-6. Harry @ aintitcool also had a release date of Sept 12.
I can't believe it. All this time that we thought he was taking advantage of us geeks it was just a put on. I can't wait to get my hands on a dvd copy of that!!!!
Now we don't have to hear CmdrTaco whining anymore...well, at least not about this issue.
Hates people who have stupid little sigs
this movie sucked, but COOl- ---------
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
no, all that is is a vhs copy encoded onto a dvd..- ----------
------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
so what? the movie was bad. also, don't believe it 'til you see it...
Eric Aitala
www.f1m.com
It has been released on videocassette (e.g. VHS) but not on DVD (i.e. disc).
========
<sig>Guvf vf abg n frperg zrffntr
i seriously doubt that. maybse some pirate vcd on the street, but not the dvd. remember, most dvd players will play vcds
roche
Bah Humbug!
Does anyone else find it kinda hypocritical how /. is always so much against the MPAA and telling us to boycott them and the like, but then when news like this comes up, it creates such an excitement? "WOO! The DVD! Now I can go support the people who I was just saying are trying to screw us over!"
Pick a side, stay there... don't jump back and forth.
-- Dr. Eldarion --
First they are, then they aren't, then in 2005, now in September. It seems like Lucas has dropped a line and is slowly reeling it in.
A DVD release is customary of new movies, so how can they spice it up? They stir up their own controversy, by saying that they won't release it. Then once enough people become outraged over the news, far-off release dates are thrown out to lead us on. Once that news has settled, and everyone looks forward to waiting 5 years for it, they find out that it will actually be out in 6 months.
Sales will probably be triple of what they would if Lucas would release the DVD customarily. And every fan feels a spirit of gratitude to the man for not waiting 5 years to release it.
IMO, a ploy worthy of Microsoft.
Elsewhere I posted last week that I've been quietly boycotting the DVD industry due to the whole DeCSS issue, and not buying any DVD hardware. I mentioned that not having SW on DVD made it much easier, it's pretty much the only thing I'd care to see on DVD.
Well, so much for that... Someone else suggested that a better way to protest the DVD industry would be to get a player that does not use region locking, and buying used DVDs on secondary markets.
Ok, so where can I find a list of players on sale in the US that can officially, or unofficially, be unlocked?
--
You might have either seen a vhs-to-dvd copy
OR
The legally created, but illegal to be sold outside of South East Asia, VCD. I've seen the VCD boxed set here where I live.
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
And to think everyone pooh-poohed the petition!
I think that the reason why George Lucas has decided to do a DVD version of Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace is simple: there are now enough DVD players and DVD-ROM drives out there to justify the sales that can recoup the investment necessary to master this movie onto DVD (and make a nice, handsome profit).
With standalone players dropping under US$200 in price, DVD-ROM drives showing up on new computers AND new laptops in a big way, and this fall massive sales of Sony PlayStation 2's that can play DVD movies, not to mention lots of computer geeks wanting to see the movie just for its stunning technical details, I expect DVD sales of TPM to be at least 1 to 2 million copies in a matter of days.
In fact, now that it appears that Sony will most likely ship the US version of PlayStation 2 on September 9, 2000, wouldn't it be a heck of a tie-in for PS2 owners to get a discount coupon to buy the TPM DVD at the same time?
Raymond in Mountain View, CA
Why is everyone getting so excited about finally being able to buy a DVD of Star Wars ep1, when the MPAA (and its siamese twin the RIAA) are filing lawsuit after lawsuit against geeks to stop us from watching their stuff?
Hmmm?
You want to give them more money so they can buy more lawyers?
--
Pretend there is some witty statement here.
Now that I've forked out for the VHS version.. now he tells me I won't have to wait until the next eon for the DVD version...
... and at least I know IT will have a good storyline.
bah.... I don't really care anymore.. LOTR looks good
Do not spread "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0" over the internet, thank you.
This just goes to prove that Lucas is a genius! When I heard there was no DVD, I bought the tape. If I could have I would have avoided the tape and bought the DVD instead. Now there is a DVD and me... the poor dupe that I am... will JUST HAVE to go out and buy the DVD too. Lucas got two sales out of me even though I didn't go to the theater! I've been media-RAPED!
// Zarf //
Well, it's not like I didn't really expect it from George Lucas anyway.
-
[signature]
To think I will miss the first post for actually thinking...
No specific release date is definitely odd. But it got me to wondering, why publish a release date in the first place? If I get a release date two months in advance, I just forget about it until I see "In stores now" or my friends tell me how cool it is. Knowing that, say, Mortal Kombat IX-3 will be out in mid-October doesn't really matter to me in September....
~~~LXT~~~
Life is like a computer program: anything that can't happen, will.
DeCSS it! For those of us who downloaded the program before the injunction, this should be perfectly legal. Just refrain from distributing anything, and all will be well.
I have a strong belief in the Second Amendment.
--
J Perry Fecteau, 5-time Mr. Internet
Ejercisio Perfecto: from Geek to GOD in WEEKS!
--
And Justice for None
As far as the Aint-it-cool-news piece, I wouldn't put too much stock in it. First of all, this news comes second hand from a minimum-wage employee of a video store, not the greatest of sources. Also, on the very same page is someone else who seems much more reliable saying that there will be absolutely no DVD in the forseeable future. Furtheremore, Lucas has said time and time again that there will be no Star Wars DVDs until all 6 are finished, so I think it's a safe bet that we still have a long wait ahead of us.
So, does this include the deleted scene where Jar-Jar gets a light saber up the ars? Getting away from that for a moment, it still seems to be nothing more than a rumor. I'll believe it when I see it truly announced. I can't understand what would make Lucas come to his senses at this point in the game. Sure, there's buckets of money to be made by releasing each seperately, but he seems to be completely against the idea of releasing his works on digital medium here. I'll just hope it's true, and the $39.95 price is a hoax.
"There really is nothing quite like a shorn scrotum" - Dr. Evil
cant wait for the delux DVD collection of ALL the episodes
THX baby, yeah!
Atticka
(offtopic, this HTML thing is new to me, how do I stop the BOLD text?)
No sig here...
Sony (or some other bug name electronics manufacturer) probably came to him and gave him a nice suitcase of money to release the DVD sooner, in order to hook more first-time DVD player buyers for this xmas season.
The other (slightly more far-fetched) reason could be that he wants to sell as many digital copies as he can before high bandwidth and huge harddrive space allows (even more) people to pirate movies.
_______
2B1ASK1
According to The Force.net article dated Mon, Apr 17, 00 04:18:47 AM EDT
The Force.net
***Ronald Epstein, who runs the 'home theater forum' of the Digital Bits, confirmed that there won't be an Episode 1 DVD release this year (The editor of The Digital Bits, Bill Hunt, seems to have some undisclosed inside information about the upcoming Star Wars DVDs). According to Epstein, "There are specific reasons why a DVD release is still quite a ways off, though the intent has been announced". However, the final result will be worth the wait: "You will be absolutetly floored!".
***
Sharkey
www.badassmofo.com
Wait till you make a cool million selling it on VHS to people who would have waited to buy it on DVD. Then make another cool million by selling these same people the DVD.
Adam
But there is one angle that I feel is understated. DVD is a significant improvement in technology over CD's and VCD's. Sound and picture quality is very much improved. To the geek community, this is kind of tech is too important to be associated with encryption technology, to be locked up and used to control access.
Therein lies the central issue. We care enough about the tech to want to see content on it. That is why we protest against CSS and region locking. If DVD's weren't a technologically superior alternative to VCDs and current CD's nobody would care.
How many SW fans have jumped to buy the tape and will ALSO buy the DVD? If Lucas had released the DVD at the same time, he would have really cut the maximum profit his company will reap.
Gimme a break, this was a stunt to make yet MORE MONEY !
Episode I sucked, continue the boycott I say...
--Alain
I wouldn't be suprised if the lackluster sales of the Star Wars Episode 1 videotape has something to do with it.
I'm sure Lucas has some sort of budget set up for expected profits from his various retail enterprises and this one looks to be not returning as much as expected. Thus, while an Ep. 1 tape may not be a must-have an Ep. 1 *DVD*, particularly one with extra material, may well end up being a very big (and profitable) fish in that smaller pool.
I wouldn't be suprised if he tosses in some supplemental material on his DVD (character bios, alternate takes, production drawings, rotatable 3D models, etc.) and charges something extraordinary for it.
I don't read ACs: If a post isn't worth so much as a nom de plume to its author then I wont bother either.
Many people believed Lucas, and bought the VHS version under the false impression that a DVD version was not forthcoming. What Lucas should be required to do is offer all the poor saps who bought the VHS version an option to upgrade their copy to the superior DVD format.
I imagine that in 4-5 years Lucas is going to come out with a special edition DVD/VHS box set with all Star Wars movies. This means that if you listen to the marketing machine at Lucas films, and bought all of the versions of his Star Wars movies you'll have
If I did my addition and multiplication right, it means you'll have bought 16 copies of the various Star Wars movies for a total price of of at least $400. Pretty amazing.
Sig goes here
Having said that, I am all for Lucas to release a dvd of TPM. I have been waiting for one to come out since I saw TPM in the theatres. Let's hope this rumor is true (even if the Sept 12 date is wrong).
==
==
I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm sure it means something....
But, on second thought: DVD is definitely superior to VHS, but is DVD as it is today going to last as long as VHS did? For audio formats, there are now both SACD and DVD-Audio and it is not entirely clear which will prevail (if any). On the video side, specifications for hi-def video, as well as for recordable media are mostly nonexistent (for both technical, but mostly legal and economic reasons).
Then there are the (somewhat ridiculus) issues of encoding and regions. The main argument for regional coding is that companies do not want to lose revenues: for instance, the same movie that sells for $20 in the US, sells for about $10 in, say, India. Even though companies do have profits in India, they want to maximize the overall profits, esp. given the high production and distribution costs of today's films. So the argument is, more or less, that if they do not do that, they won't be able to stay in business. In the meantime, India (to use the same example) produces about 3-4 films per week, at much lower costs (and keep in mind that costs for SFX etc are but a fraction of the overall costs in making and distributing a movie...).
However, I don't think the coding schemes will last for long (even now, they seem to rely more on lawyers than on engineers to work ;-). And I do not think that Hollywood is unaware of this (even though they might seem to be). For instance, Lucas himself has been experimenting with various innovations to reduce costs. For instance, the technology for producing SFX might be an obvious one.
Also, Lucas was the first to experiment with digital distribution of films (the movie is transmitted to a hard disk at your local cinema and then projected -- the monstrous JVC-Hughes lightvalve projectors were used in the experiments, with excellent results). This practically eliminates the costs of producing (physical) copies of the film and allows for simultanous world-wide distribution (no need to share copies etc...)
So, I believe we will see a lot of changes in the near future and DVDs a few years from now might be entirely different from those of today. But, then again, if Lucas thinks he can make profit today as well as tomorrow... why not? In the meantime, we will satisfy our... addiction. ;-)
This is another example of Lucas giving up on his original dreams to make more money.
He realized he can release a regular dvd now, whicheveryone will buy, and then again the special one he originaly intended when all the movies are done and we will all buy that too.
Maybe if we are lucky the episode1 special edition will edit out jarjar...
I dont know why everyone is all excited about this, we havn't won anything.
NightHawk
Am I the only one that is getting really pissed at the marketing and timing decisions on DVD releases? I just bought the VHS of Episode 1, but I would have waited until September for a DVD version. I just saw that Disney is releasing a "Special Edition" of Tarzan, a month or so after the regular version. Is it just me or doesn't it seem like these groups are trying to milk buyers twice for the same thing? Now I can live with Special Editions coming out 1-2 years later, but within *MONTHS* of the first release? That is not an accident. I would buy the special editions, pay more money for them if they were offered up front, but I will not pay a second time for the same thing plus a little bit extra.
I'm waiting...
Still waiting...
I didn't think so. You are a thief and an ass.
I had an opportunity to see a pre-screening of Jedi, complete with a survey to fill out regarding the bits that were good or bad.
It was quite interesting to see the movie "in the rough", including half-finished special effects and lots of footage that didn't make it into the final cut.
Two extended scenes of note that were trimmed down in the final cut were Sy Snootles' song in Jabba's palace and Luke's electrocution by the Emperor's zappy fingers. Please, George, leave those on the cutting room floor where they belong. Sy Snootles' song lasted longer that Stairway to Heaven, and Luke's electric encounter was a movie in itself. You could almost smell roasted Jedi in the theater.
Yes, but will Circuit City be carrying the original Apex model that can do what you say? Because, according to this article, the Apex 600A has been modified so this cannot be done. So I'm guessing that, if Circuit City just got these back in stock, they will be moded models, and therefore not worth it.
==
==
I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm sure it means something....
Lucas is a marketing genius.
Let's face it. Who else could have released the same movie so many times and still make a huge profit?
Let's see, in home video only, the final version of Starwars, then the new version with new computer effects. He's only doing it again with this DVD contraversy. Most movies are released on both DVD and VHS at the same time, and now even more on DVD before VHS. So what does Lucas do? He releases SW:E1 on VHS ONLY, then waits till everybody has a copy and then releases the DVD with "extra" stuff on it. So every REAL SW fan has to go out and buy the DVD after they already own the VHS. It is a well thought plan out and all designed to take your money without you realizing it.
Axiom
George Lucas made me buy seven copies of the original trilogy! What a total bastard! There I was, innocently wandering the aisles of my local video store, when in walks George Lucas, carrying a board with a nail sticking out of it! He... he... oh god, the pain... Jeezus, people. No one is making you buy every version of the Star Wars trilogy. I'm one of the uberdorks who saw Ep. 1 multiple times DESPITE the digital tomfoolery (read: Jar Jar, who reminds me of that whore in Full Metal Jacket, dont ask me why), and I have yet to buy it on VHS? Why? Because I can wait until it comes out on DVD (yeah, even if I'm 60 when it happens). Don't bitch at George Lucas because of your lack of self-restraint. Bitch at him because he desperately needs a screenwriter.
Well, I just bought my Apex DVD player with the secret menu on eBay, so bring on that Ep1 DVD, I'm ready for it - heh heh heh
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
Considering Lucas has taken so long with the release, and that all countries have already shown the current episodes what are the chances that they release it as region zero? Okay it is probably 0%, though they could make a fair few friends if they did.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
damn it! all everyone talks about is DVD, or VHS!! I want a beta version!
The basic sleazeware produced in a drunken fury by a bunch of UCBerkeley grad students was still the core of BIND. --PV
__________________________________________________ ___
rooooar
I had made the painful decision to buycot the VHS release of TPM. I loved the movie, Jar-Jar and all, but I was not going to pay for this AWESOME movie on crappy VHS. Looks like I may end up being one of the lucky few to not get hosed with buying both the VHS and DVD versions.
On a side note... All of the SW movies have had annoying, to you and me, characters. Many found C3-PO very annoying, and what about those furry little Ewoks... Jar-Jar is just continueing that SW tradition. If not for Jar-Jar, my wife would have COMPLETELY hated the movie.
I think I would be in heaven if only I could find a Linux job.
Hey GL deserves much respect for his independence from the big studios. His methods are a great blueprint for "how to make art AND money without selling your soul to a huge lumbering corporation....FOX begged him to just receive a few scraps of the distribution revenue. I don't hesitate to support the man for those cojones!
I can't stand you fucking idiots. Yes, Slashdot is hypocritical, but not about this! Just because 90% of the comment posters say "boycott this!" doesn't mean the Slashdot admins are going to do it!!! You are so fucking ignorant and obtuse!
Honestly, I don't think any of the people who say "boycott this!" even boycott anything. They just want to sound cool so they say "I'm boycotting XYZ because of ABC!" and then go out and buy hundreds of XYZs. YOU ARE THE FUCKING HYPOCRITES, NOT SLASHDOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can anyone explain to me what the red maze was at the end? I know this is just a movie, but what was the point of this maze thing? Do the creatures on this planet normally create mazes with little chambers to run through in the middle of thier castle? I liked the whole garbage disposal idea on the starships in the first trilogy but it made sense to think they might dump junk in the middle of space. The red maze thing had no obvious purpose other than to create a setting for the chase scene. Why would all the doors open and close at the same time? I hope GL includes some alternate endings on the DVD when it comes out...but if the second movie ends anything like the first then I bet the lord of the rings will be the trilogy of the '00's
I need a TiVo for my car. Pause live traffic now.
Perfect timing for Lucas to make a load of cash. PS2's release date is Sept 9th.
I hope the DVD includes a No Jar Jar option, a No Racial Stereotype Muppet option and a feature that removes Jake Lloyd and substitues him with Haley Joel Osment (Sixth Sense). Seriously.
Lucas said that he was working on a dvd, but Episode 2 is taking to much of his time.
He also said thet he just finish writing Episode 2.
Both those statements indicate to me that the earlies DVD would be released is after Episode 3 is released.
FYI He also said that Filming of episode 2 begins in 8 weeks.If all the pre-filming work is done i.e. casting, production orginizatiion.etc... then I guess he could use the time to finish the DVD but I seriously doubt everything is ready to go for the shoot.
Of course DVD(for movies) is a suckers bet, but that discussion is for another topic.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
TPM has sold over 500,000 copies in just over a month. I fail to see how this could be viewed as anything but successful.
- Rev.
Those guys on KROQ are HUGE jokesters, they are also the people who thought someone was beating up someone from Radiohead .. Is this REALLY confirmed or just a rumor?
-meff
I think you only need to sell about 10,000 DVDs to simply break-even on retail sales. One company is making money on volumes of about 1200 on direct sales.
Just a note, if you really want The Phantom Menace that bad a whole lot of people are auctioning off the VCD version on EBay. Also a few people seem to be auctioning a wide screen DVD version from Hong Kong, in English with Janpanese and Chinese subtitles. I just happened to be browsing and was suprised to see this since I didn't think is was available on anything except VHS. According to the notes VCD only holds about 70 minutes so it has to come on two disc's instead of one. Also I'm not sure of the quality compared to DVD but if you've got to have it on disc now bidding seems to be about on average running about $40 for the VCD who knows how high it'll go for the DVD version.
realistically we all knew this was coming. Lucas doesn't live in the real world, he's far too engrossed with himself to see what consumer-level technology is doing. This is no shock, but I am surprised he caved so quickly. What a dick.
I know. The tape was released first so that everyone would go out and buy it and generate a ton of money for The Star Wars Empire. Then the DVD will be released later and everyone will, again, buy the DVD to give MORE money to The Star Wars Empire. George Lucas is a bad, bad man.
AICN is the worst of the worst when it comes to Fan-Boy hype.
Harry has gone to premieres and given rave reviews to a flick (ie Godzilla) then come back a few days later to publish a "retraction" or not quite-so-positive review.
AICN.com is in severe need of some Slash-style moderation. Once these raving fan-boys start getting and giving the smack, they might smarten up.
OTOH, I'll believe this DVD crap when I see it.
Does the first link in the story actually go anywhere? I got a big story about how much money studios are making off of DVD, nothing about Lucas phone call...
Pope
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
I was just in Taiwan for a week, and was bombarded with TV ads for episode I on VHS and DVD. If the DVD were illicit it wouldn't have been advertised on national TV. (It would have been easily available, mind you, but not advertised on TV.)
If you really dislike what's happening with the DeCSS issue, then it shouldn't matter what they release, you should stick to your beliefs.
It's easy to be for/against something that doesn't directly effect you. The real challenge doesn't come until you have to give up something for your beliefs.
If you give up a 'belief' the moment it becomes even slightly difficult or inconvenient, then you never really had those beliefs, did you?
Lets face it, a movie coming out on DVD is hardly something to compromise your principles for, especially one that you can get in a format that you(probably) already own.
This is in no way a flame against your beliefs, just pointing out the philosophical implications of your situation.
The fact that you buy a DVD player that can circumnavigate the region coding, doesn't mean you made strives to help the DeCSS issue, just that you found a way to placate your guilt. Now that I said that, I hope your guilt will be more difficult to placate. Yes, I'm a mean bastard, but I have to stand up for my beliefs.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I looked around on the net for prices on the LTBX edition of PM, and here's what I found:
Amazon.com: US$29.95
HMV.com: CAN$31.99
Bwah hah hah!
Sometimes, living in Canada can be good. Not that I'm buying VHS anymore, but good to know.
Pope
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
I simply wouldn't know what to do if Phantom Menace wasn't released on DVD. Thanks to Georgie, now all of us can be irritated and annoyed by Jar Jar in full digital sound and video! :)
:)
Thanks, but no thanks. I'll wait for Lucas to release a 100% Jar-Jar Free Directors Cut of the film. Oh wait, he already did. That was the 2-minute trailer.
Bowie J. Poag
Project Founder, PROPAGANDA For Linux (http://metalab.unc.edu/propaganda)
Bowie J. Poag
this is exactly why i have not seen episode one yet and exactly why i will not see any of the prequels until they are all released in a boxed set or on a single DVD. lucas must be the greediest person on the earth; first people rush out to buy the special VHS because there isnt going to be a DVD, and then after he's made about a billion dollars on that, he changes his mind and says he's going to make a DVD. then after you buy each episode on DVD, he'll release all of them on one big special DVD boxed set or something with special scenes of him going to the bathroom!!!
score: lucas-$$$$ you-bankrupt
If it can be done with DVD, what would be cool is to have the uncut version and special edition on the same DVD. Basically depending one which version you want to watch the player would be those scenes or the other. The only thing is that I reckon I am dreaming and that this probably not possible with current DVD format. I suppose the best next possibily would be for a double CD box with the original and special edition versions.
Then again if someone could get hold of the original reels, how about doing the job that Lucas will probably never do, ie transfering them to DVD?
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
I think I must be about the only person on the planet not to have seen the film. In fact, I've deliberately chosen not to watch it. The more the Star Wars mania continues, the more it'll continue to push me away from the notion. I hate hype. My basis for this reasoning is the popular vs good theory. A thing can either be one or the other. For example, the British Tabloid papers are popular - but they are not good journalism. Over hyped films (and this most certainly was one of them) will be at the bottom of my viewing list.
Give it 10 years, and I might watch it, on my Betamax video.....
M.
I think what happened was that the sales for the widescreen version of the VHS weren't as high as expected. Lucas and the folks at Fox and Lucasfilm probably expected that the DVD people would shell out the $35 for the widescreen "collector's edition" since we are willing to pay that much for DVD's anyway. He doesn't seem to understand that once you've had DVD, you don't go back. So he probably figured that in order to get any money from us DVD people before 2006 he'd have to release a DVD
He wants $39.99 for that DVD? Talk about greedy.
After the success of 'Star Wars: A New Hope' which netted GL "about 12 million after taxes" he has used the proceeds of each successive film (and the merchandising, don't flame; as I know) to fund the next flick. So using TPM as the main example is rather out of context; ESB would be more appropriate, and GL was not near as sure of an astounding return back then; so yes he was still taking an immense risk using his own money.
"If you're small time and then make it big without the studios 'help', then you deserve some respect, but when you have enough Liquid wealth to spend $200,000,000.00(US) on a movie, it's not that difficult."
Discounting his methods and success because they were so HUGE a success is rather illogical, no? Give the man respect not jealousy.
Thank You
Let's consider the options on whether to believe this. I figure there are two options:
Option one, Lucas decides to release the DVD version of Episode 1. By doing this, he goes back on several years of announcing there would be no DVD version until the series was complete. In addition, he decides not to make a general announcement but instead leaks the information to one distributor, forgoing the chance to make a big deal of the fact that this will indeed be the first Star Wars DVD released.
Option two, Suncoast messed up by announcing something that doesn't really exist, which happens all the time
Seriously, in all likelihood this is just a misunderstanding based on a mistake made at Suncoast.
What gets me is how retarded this whole thing about 'racism' is. Yeah, Jar Jar had an accent. Some people say it sounds Jamaican, but I don't see it. For the sake of argument, we'll say that it was meant to sound like that.
Then you've got the Trade Federation, with their strange accents. These I could see as having been based on Mandarin or something.
These characters are either considered 'bad/evil', or 'foolish/stupid'.
So what?
In the original trilogy, how did all of Vader's henchmen speak? In a very clear British accent. They were considered bad/evil type people. How did C3P0 speak? Something like a British butler, and he was the fool throughout the series. All of the 'good guys' more or less spoke with normal American accents - not exactly unexpected, given that these were American movies.
Why isn't anyone complaining about the unfair treatment of the British in the original trilogy? Because they are apparently fair game according to the PC crowd, and the British actually have a sense of humor and didn't care.
People seem intent on turning anything into a racial issue. Give me a break - there are plenty of cases of real racism and injustice out there to go after, you don't need to make them up.
- Jeff A. Campbell
- VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com)
- Jeff
GL was on KROQ radio(Los Angeles) and was asked about DVD. He said that it was "in the works. but Episode 2 is taking to much of his time" He said nothing about a release date, and I would presume(no fact in this at all) that it won't be released until after episode 2 at the earliest.
If any employee, outside the highest levels of management, knew of a release date you would here about it in the news.As sad as that is.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
"I'll have the steak, no marinade, rare, with baked potato, vegetables, and a salad with ranch dressing."
"Yes, and I'll have exactly what he's having, except I want my steak with no marinade, well done, with french fries instead of baked potato, no vegetables, and no salad."
Anyway, I couldn't help but think of this when you said "I loved all the Star Wars movies, except this one and Jedi." So basically, you hated half of them?
__________________________________________________ ___
rooooar
I am not discounting his methods, but rather, that they make a good blueprint.
The 12 million is not counting the money he got from his special effect/sound company that he made to do the effects for SW. This method will only work if your doing a series of movies, and you establish a large fan base, and the first one is a global phenomanum
I am not jealous of GL. I know that my talents are in a differant area of expertise, and whether or not he makes money doesn't effect me at all.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Every kid in America cried to Mommy and Daddy, "I want a Jar Jar Binx doll". The merchandising for his movies far outweighs the earnings he makes from the box office.
I've been seeing a lot of stories about whether or not EP1 will be on DVD. Quite frankly, I could care less. I'll never own it on anything other than a downloaded MPEG.
Calm down people, there is no news here. The phone call to KROQ said nothing about a due date for the DVD, all George said was that he was 'working on it' and that it would be released when it was ready. K&B should have the audio of the interview up some time this week (their web site is notoriously slow for being updated).
Think outside the... Hey, where'd the friggin' box go?
There is no way I'd ever buy any VHS tape no matter how much I enjoyed the movie, if the movie company refuses to release a DVD that's their problem. I might add I wouldn't buy The Phantom Menace even if it were on DVD now because the movie was really not very good.
Perhaps if you weren't an obnoxious twit you might have known that.
AP Newswire
Written by: Steve Case
DVD in the near future?
George lucas announced today that there will actually be a DVD by the end of this year for The Phantom Menace. He attributed all the delays to those damn aliens who had a master plot to delay The Phantom Menace because of pink energizer bunnies that would take over the world and everyone is 'out to get him.'
Rumors have been spreading around because of a master plot by the energizer bunnies to delay the DVD because they wanted to put in a lot of subliminal messages in there. They have already taken over many 'repsectable' organizations like the RIAA, MPAA, DVD Consortium, Microsoft, MADD, the United States government and Al Gore. Only one of the subliminal messages in the movie have been found. In the 39574th frame there is in block times new roman 1 billion pt font, in big letters that says 'JAR JAR SUX.' Apparently children ranging from 3-7 years old were not affected.
George Lucas explains, "The pink bunnies raided my home and screwed around with the movie, they also told me to not release the DVD. I've found out their secret plan, their weakness is someone saying 'Jar Jar is the best' in their prescen..."
I am now writing this story Mwhahaha. You see... I had this DVD version all out, but they TOOK OUT all of JAR JAR in the DVD version. I'm nearly completing the DVD version with Jar Jar binks and all his glory. If i shipped it before, there wouldn't BE any Jar Jar in the movie and I know that that would disappoint the fans.
Also, the pink bunnies took some parts out of the movie and the DVD version will have ALL of it in there. For example, they took out much of Anakin saying 'Yippie.' In the DVD, there will be 90 scenes in the movie where Anakin says Yippe. There will also be a special section where Queen Amidala is naked and petrified pouring hot grits down her pants screaming "FIRST POST! FIRST POST!" All these things take time and seeing that the pink bunnies thwarted my plan on releasing it along with the VHS, i must sadly say that this will be released at the end of the year. The planned release date is 12/32/00.
Often i was seen on television saying that there would NOT be a DVD version, although that was not really me, but rather a pink bunny in disguise. In all the interviews where I have said that there would not be a DVD until 2005, you can clearly see the pointy ears and the fluffy tail. I think the pink bunny is a special kind of Borg...
Some people call me crazy and greedy. I don't see why!
George Lucas
Sadly, the Star Wars news needs to be laid to rest. I didn't see TPM when it was released, because there was just too much hype, and I didn't want to get sucked in by it. I have great memories of the first three movies, so I was certainly eager to see it, but I didn't. I finally saw TPM recently and, in all honesty, there's only one thing that can be said about it: It's a bad movie.
The characters were flat; you didn't care about them at all. The acting was wooden, with no exceptions. The plot was poorly written and suspenseless. It jumped all over the place, throwing out names and terms like crazy, but I just didn't *care* about what was going on. The presentation waffled between trying to be complex--with all the diplomatic nonsense and so on--and trying to be a kids movie, with goofy characters that used comedy accents (Italian, Asian, JarJar's faux Jamaican). Nothing was played up like it should have been. Darth Maul was just sort of thrown into the plot in a casual way and didn't seem to fit. And yet he turned out to be in the climactic battle at the end? Strange. Anakin accidentally blows up the control ship to save the planet? Uh, I guess that was supposed to be the force guiding him but that was never brought up. An army is exterminating JarJar's people, yet he's making pratfalls throughout the scene. Come on, why didn't Saving Private Ryan bring out the vaudeville during battles? And that oh, so sophisticated droid army doesn't seem to have advanced beyond US revolutionary war tactics: get in a big line and march forward so to be easy targets.
The CG effects were nice, but they didn't save the rest of the movie. I like SF, but I have to admit that TPM was abysmal. To say otherwise would be to belittle the good movies I've seen in the last few years.
First Option: JAR JAR nuke option so i can watch JAR JAR blow up when he piss's me off. Second Option: JAR JAR mute option so i don't breake the DVD by accident after he is damn voice has annoy me to that point. Third Option: And a JAR JAR shutup button so i can make someone tell JAR JAR to know his role and shut his mouth!! Fourth Option: Change that damn boys voice he sounds like a girl.
I respect George Lucas for being able to parlay his work into a major industry / franchise. He was a trailblazer and still is, in terms of movie making technology i.e. special effects, digital movie making.
However his current work lacks good storytelling. A good plot / characters will naturally appeal to a large audience. I'm not asking for depth here, like American Beauty. A solid plot to hook you in. The Matrix had a pretty standard plot but a good enough one to hold all the rest together.
All too often this is forgotten and the audience ends up with special effects replacing plot. How many times have you come out of a theatre going, "Crap story but what about those effects !".
Additionally audiences are much more sophisticated than during the 70s. In this I think he greatly underestimates his audience. Even for kids, his claimed prime target for TPM.
Toy Story, Toy Story II, A Bug's Life, Alladin, all are children's films but have plots and story elements that interest everyone.
To be fair, Star Wars has been elevated to myth and GL has a very tall order to live up to. Its all too easy to disappoint. Not to mention having to fund the next two films.
In terms of merchandising, vote with your dollars. I'm holding out for the DVD and thats what I'm going to buy.
'Nuff said.
/* Andrew Fong - rogue programmer */
It is also out on LD (i.e. disc).
Looks and sounds great!
In the original trilogy, how did all of Vader's henchmen speak? In a very clear British accent. They were considered bad/evil type people. How did C3P0 speak? Something like a British butler, and he was the fool throughout the series. All of the 'good guys' more or less spoke with normal American accents
What about Obi-Wan? I don't think Sir Alec has an American accent.
Let's face it. A long time ago...the Star Wars franchise was untouchable. It was the greatest piece of sci-fi cinema to come along in a generation. It helped inspire countless children (and adults) to take up careers in filmaking, science, technology, swordfighting, whatever. It has held the imaginations of millions for over twenty years. Then something happened. In 1997, Lucas released the Special Edition of The Trilogy with "new and improved" scenes and special effects! This was the first step down the dark path. Many fans were really upset by some of the subtle changes Lucas made to his orignal films. And the overuse of (admit it) cheesy CGI graphics ruined the experience of seeing SW on the big screen again. (In my opinion, the scene with Jabba in the Mos Eisley hangar and the Greedo blaster shot were terrible miscalculations and should never have been redone) My demigod-like reverence for Lucas was shattered. But I was but a boy. I could never have forseen the disaster that was to be Episode I. While TPM was visually brilliant, the film itself overall is, ahem, very lacking. It took me a second time seeing it to realize what it was that felt so wrong about a movie that I had been anticipating for so long. It wasn't the Star Wars I grew up with. It was empty. It was lifeless. Lucas had turned a classic tale of adventure and empires into a kids movie meant to sell toys and tie-in products at Taco Bell. It was a tragic moment in filmdom for me and many others as well I am sure. I hope that Episodes II and III are REALLY something, because I think that Star Wars deserves better than that. As a kid who, in great part due to Star Wars, grew up to work with science and technology, I hope that the power of this great modern myth will live long enough to inspire a new generation. I will probably buy TPM on DVD when it comes out. Why? Because it is part of a saga that I still consider great. This saga will obviously have its weak moments. But I hope that this one has a few more good jolts left in it. Maybe George will quit worrying so much about money he doesn't need and get back to making good movies. God knows we need em.
I'm waiting for the FMD version to come out...
Please consider making an automatic monthly recurring donation to the EFF
that this was announced via a phone call to a radio staion ????
I have this image of Lando, at age seven, as a tough-talking gansta wanna-be, before learning that you can catch more flies with honey and evolving into soopa-slick Billy Dee.
"You say people gonna die? I'll tell you who's gonna die - it's always the white Naboo who start wars, and the black men who get killed. F**k that s**t, b***h, this n***a ain't fighting!"
I would have paid serious money to see that.
The Ain't-it-cool-news site has been updated. A guy from the inside said that Lucas is NOT planning on releasing a DVD before episodes 2-3 are finished. Of course, that source doesn't have much more credibility than the one that claimed some Suncoast said it was coming out Sept 12, except that it's much more probable.
--
47% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
I like to watch star wars when I'm washing my ass out in the sink. I have the TV positioned just outside the door so I can pick poo and watch TV too, ( hehe that rhymed ). I'm happy about the dvd thing too cause I like the playstation and picking me butt at the same time too.. which means I won't have to drag the playstation, tv, AND vcr,.. just the tv and playstation and I'll be able to watch it through the play station while i pick poo. Cool stuff!
rm -rf ~/.signature
How was 'The Phantom Menace' anyway...
My opinion is that it's Jar-jar.
Anyone else care to comment?
We all knew who the Dark Emporer was, that was obvious.
Anyway, I'm sure this subject has been talked about to death.
Let's suppose that there were 20 cut scenes from the original film. Now, how about if he divided the 20 cut scenes into four little piles (i.e 5 scenes a piece) and the made four different DVDs. Perhaps we could call them, "Red", "Blue", "Green", "Yellow".
Mr Mucas could then make four times as much money from Star Wars fans by saying things like, "Star Wars! Gotta got them all" :-)
M.
And yes, we will buy it... :-/
---
This message has been ROT-13 encrypted twice for higher security.
As i said three days ago.."Mid-September release" :)
I was just in Taiwan for a week, and was bombarded with TV ads for episode I on VHS and DVD. If the DVD were illicit it wouldn't have been advertised on national TV. (It would have been easily available, mind you, but not advertised on TV.)
The copyright laws in Taiwan are very different to over here. That's why it's so easy to pick up films or s/ware. Liam--
The opinions contained in this document are in no way expressed.
'Star Wars Episode One' for the cost of a street vendor hotdog! (Will cause about the same amount of intestinal vapor, too!)
My whole damn city is log jammed with those stupid cassettes. You can buy them in drug stores and gas stations, for crying out loud!
But the movie was so lousy, only geeks with no critical faculties whatsoever, (and 5 year olds), want them. So the city threatens to remain log jammed. Look for them to appear in your local bargain bin in two months.
-Garund
Get the DVD's and LD's of the first three films, and cut together your own Lucas-without-a-melted-brain copies of these classics!
Unfortunately, Phantom Mucus is not just damaged; it never worked in the first place.
Ehm ...
I sort of remember a TV spot advertising SW Episode 1 on DVD. Here in Italy. But I've seen it only once.
DISCLAIMER : My brain has no RAM left and is swapping furiously, like when running Netscape over X, with Gnome, on a 16 MB box.
Ciao
----
FB
Of course, this isn't the first time Lucas has dissapointed me. Don't get me started on the exclusion of the "yub-yub" song in the Special Edition Return of the Jedi. I refused to buy the whole set just because of that and when someone gave it to me for christmas, I went out and got the Digitally mastered Jedi and gave the SE Jedi back.
What good news! Now, when does the zero-day DivX rip come out? ;)
--Baelmix
Funny how it's released on Laserdisc first..
Funny how DVD sucks in the face of laserdisc.
Ohh, and no playback restriction crap...
Gotta love it.
granted I had to purchase on the web, and from Japan... but hey, I have it already and it's cool.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Let's see... I have 4,5,6 on laserdisc.
and episode 1 is going to show up today from Japan (english version 2 discs, pan&scan and widescreen) Why buy DVD and wait,wait,wait... while laserdisc players can be had for $50.00 on ebay from people running towards the DVD's. funny how pioneer is making a laserdisc/dvd combo player, telling me that the laserdisc is not going to die in too near of the future.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
A slight correction: not everyone was out yet to buy the VHS - here in Europe, sales only started now, so the warning comes timely.
Hurricane Application Group, Dept of Meteorology Control, Ministry of Proactive Defense
The URL in the above post should be http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,35178,00.ht ml. Don't know why it didn't show up properly.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
The Slashdot community does indeed say one thing, and do another, but that is merely a subset of what really happens which is that the Slashdot community says a couple dozen different things and does a few hundred different things.
Trees can't go dancing
So do them a big favor
Pretend dancing stinks!