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Attack of the Clones Leaked
dgris writes "ain't it cool is running a purported review of Epidsode II. Harry Knowles is claiming to have gotten a secret screening of the film while at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX. Short story: he loves it." Like the department sez: I'll believe it when I see it. After Phantom, I'm willing to wait a bit to see it.
And the publicity from this review is accidental too.
) Human Kind Vs Human Creation
) It'd be interesting to see how many humans would survive to serve us.
What? You say this guy saw the new Star Wars movie well before it was supposed to be displayed publically? And he has proof of this?
Wait, you mean he has no proof? You mean he gives no sources for his information? You mean everything he says is peripheral information about the film that could have been gleaned from the trailers? You mean that there's no reason to believe that this is real?
I'll also wager that tomorrow, we'll see a Slashdot story detailing how the review was "forcably removed" from the site by Lucasarts (who will deny any involvement, because they're not involved) and "pirated" copies of the text will circulate around the 'net, hyping up an already overhyped movie.
This is not the review you are looking for. You can go about your business. Move along.
I've been a follower of Harry for many years. When he was an unknown, he was a fantastic source for Episode I rumors. Now that he is 'famous' his connections have increased exponentially, and I find their reviews and rumors to be pretty reliable. I don't doubt he got to see it. A months ago they had a full script review and, surprise, the newest trailer confirms what they wrote. As to whether its any good, I have to agree with a previous poster that many reviews are more fanboy slobbering than reviews, but I'm a fanboy so I usually aggree with what they say!
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for slashdot.sig (129323052 bytes).
Yoda Says: Optimise JAVA code by inlining methods you can. Optimising slashdot karma by inlining article you cannot.
sigfault. comment dumped.
"Leaked copy" my cowardly yellow anonymous ass. "Planted copy" is more like it. Lucas is obviously scared by the success of the LOTR and Matrix franchises, and is desperate to drive up those opening weekend grosses (since that's all the big-budget movies really care about anymore), so he's pandering to the fans he drove away with "Phantom Menace" by having Knowles rave about "Clones" on the internet. Don't forget that Knowles is the same guy that raved over Phantom Menace, raved over the Emmerich/Devlin debacle Godzilla, raved over Armageddon and even admitted liking Battlefield Earth before later retracting the positive review. He's the go-to guy for studios that want to target the geek demographic, because he's the Mikey of the cinematic world.
(He'll also print anything on his tabloid website without bothering to fact-check in any capacity. I tested this once by making up the most outrageous thing possible and sending it to him in a drunken fit - do a search on aintitcool.com for "mammoth".)
I don't know Harry personally, but I'm a long-time reader of AICN. IMO, Harry's got a lot more integrity than that. I would find it very hard to believe that Harry faked a review.
He probably saw it. I won't argue that.
But his opinion is crap ever since he claimed that he "cried at the end of Armagedeon". What a sell out. They were his site's biggest sponsor at the time.
I shit you not.
Sad to tell, anyone who's followed Harry's fortunes over the years has seen him metamorphosise from a rebel outsider into a minor celebrity, feted by both individual directors and (gasp) Big Bad Studios just like any other influential mainstream reviewer. Even now, Harry still (very occasionally) gripes about mainstream reviewers, while at the same time accepting the exact same special access to sets and screenings. The only difference is that Harry explains exactly how the whole sordid business works, with reviewers buying themselves celebrity status by giving good review-bites that guarantee that their name will go up on a poster or trailer, thereby elevating them into more expensive and high class whores. And yet despite receiving the rewards, Harry would like us to believe that he is still untainted by the influence and can be trusted. This idea seems to flow from the fact that Harry explains the context behind each viewing (whether you want to hear it or not) and writes informally. It's superfically convincing, but the style of presentation is irrelevant other than for entertainment value, it's the substance that matters for a reviewer.
I am simply unwilling to believe the spy-games circumstances that Harry claims. If he has seen this film, it is with the full sanction of Lucasarts, on the implicit or explicit understanding that he would give it a rave review, and that he would imply that it was a rogue showing. And note carefully, he leaves us to infer that by describing his feelings (which nobody can prove or disprove), but never actually makes a factual statement to support it. You have a think about that.
Don't get me wrong. Perhaps it is a good movie and an honest review. But Harry can simply no longer be trusted. There are just too many examples of him raving about movies to which he has received special access for him to be a credible independent reviewer any more. I won't claim he has sold out, because he never claimed to want to be outside the system. In fact, he has made every effort to insinuate himself into the whole sorry cycle of review-reward, and I think this may very well be his crowning glory.
Sorry Harry, you used to be someone I could trust. Now you're just a shallow parody of Comic Book Guy. The circle is complete; now you are the studios' bitch. Ain't it ironic?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
It seems like something, once upon a time, someone would have said about Sony.
--Jimmy has fancy plans; and pants to match.
Guess the first and even the second weren't enough for him.
Fuck Slashdot
And your evidence that this happens "more than most would expect" is that you "read an article somewhere"?
Way to stamp out those charlatans, chief.
Patrick Doyle
I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
We have countless stories proclaiming that the MPAA is destroying Fair Use, that they're devil spawn, that thousands of loyal Slashdot readers are boycotting the MPAA....
But then, Star Wars comes out. Lord of the Rings comes out. Resident Evil comes out. And all of the sudden, you're forking over your hard-earned money to these devils.
I have not seen a movie (aside from free TV movies) in the past year and a half. And I won't. I have scruples.
Well, I know why I sometimes make an extra effort to see a showing on the first day.
Watching a movie on your tv and in a theater are obviously different experiences. But there is one really key difference. Seeing it in a theater is a community experience. When you know a movie is really good and will just rock you, it is a very different experience seeing it last show of the first night and a week or so later. Out in seattle there's a bunch of cinemas, maybe not the most by land area or population, but there are a lot. Most of them are near good, and occasionally cheap restaraunts and even near by. Some, like the most excellent Cinerama are not. The better the movie, especially on a friday night the parking can be brutal. And standing outside in the crisp night air, possibly getting rained on, for hours on end looses its charm just as quickly as one might imagine. But it's worth it. The people who are there understand that it is an event and they are invested in it. A setting like that is almost enough to make you cry during Pearl Harbor. No, not for that reason, stop being so cynical.
Basically, it's the same reason people put chocolate sauce on ice cream.
--Jimmy has fancy plans; and pants to match.
He said in the movie that a drug dealer approached Obi Wan and tried to sell him some Death sticks... I find it difficult to belive that George Lucas couldn't come up with a better name for a drug than DEATH STICKS! What did those annoying people at truth.com or whatever that play those anti smoking ads sponser this movie? Come on. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever read.
"Da ist ein Technölüst in mein Unterpanten!"
Possibly different people. Believe it or not, slashdot users are allowed to have different opinions from one another, even if it's rare to see them expressed.
One reason to see a film early in its run is the quality of the print. The print degrades with each showing due to scratches, wear and breakage.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Yeah, like the script, which he reviewed.
it is HIGHLY unlikely that he's seen the movie in its final form
Except that he's never been shown to be a liar before, so why risk it now?
Because, according to LFL, the movie still has a lot of post-production work (the CGI) to be done. In fact, the latest preview is missing a few key pieces...watch the last scene where 14 Jedi are on their last stand, surrounded by a lot of aliens and battle droids.
Perhaps that is why he said this in his review:
Aside from that, if you actually applied Occam's Razor as you claim, the simplest explanation is that he DID see the movie. Not that there is this major conspiracy for him to write a fake review.
"And like that
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly Slashdot visitors forget their animosity towards the MPAA.
And it never ceases to amaze me how a reader of slashdot can assume there is no plurality here, amongst at least half a million others. We don't all harbor a blinding hate of the MPAA.
I wish the MPAA would drop their stance on a lot of issues. They wish I would stop using DeCSS to view DVD's on alternate OS's. They wish I would stop using Morpheus to view certain things.
But that doesn't mean I won't go and entertain myself for $8.
I have not seen a movie (aside from free TV movies) in the past year and a half. And I won't. I have scruples.
You are free to protest it, just don't expect EVERYONE on slashdot to do the same. And because one part of slashdot is like you and complains loudly, don't expect another part of slashdot not to like and discuss upcoming movies.
"And like that
Listen to yourselves. You really think Lucasfilm aren't aware that the majority of the fan community has decided this film will suck? That Lucasfilm doesn't care what the mass of fans thinks about this upcoming film? That Lucasfilm isn't terrified that they won't break box office records opening weekend?
The ONLY way they can make the impact they want is to do everything in their power to make people see that the film isn't going to be crap. To that end - the latest trailer is an action packed monster that gives away the entire plot; they dragged Harry Knowles into a room and showed him a copy of the rough cut; they are willing to leak the entire plot if it will persuade the average Star Wars punter that he will see Star Wars regain its status as quality entertainment.
And you know what - I bet it'll have some effect. I'm more inclined to go see the film after the last trailer than I was after 'Forbidden Love'. I'm even more inclined to go see it after reading Harry's review. I'm probably not alone.
Why assume that Harry hasn't seen the film when it makes perfect sense for Lucasfilm to want him to see it? They just upped their box office receipts...
After being flown to New York City to see a sneak extravaganza premiere of "Godzilla," Knowles ranted and raved about how it was the greatest thing he'd ever seen.
A week later, he saw it again, on his own dime, and proceeded to trash the hell out of it.
AICN has ZERO integrity. Always had, always will.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
Judging by the quaility of the site, and what I know about SXSW, I'm not buying it. I'm not sure I understand how anyone at SXSW would have acquired a copy, and I'm further uncertain why this guy was so cool he got to see it. If you look at the comments after the review, I understand why he threw this together. The people who read his site often are all applauding him. So he's riding on a cloud right now because he is "so cool." Ain't that cool.
And if by the 1,000,000th of a percent of a chance that I'm wrong, oh well. The guy still needs to learn to use a smaller font.
Of course Palpatine is evil, doesn't anyone remember Return of the Jedi anymore? (whas it *that* bad?) Who's that dude zapping Luke with the magic bolts of lightening at the end of the film? Could it be.. "Emperor Palpatine"!?
Not to say that it's going to be bad, but let's put it all in perspective. True, Harry Knowles says that Episode II is great. But keep in mind that He said the same thing about Episode I.
What's worse, he likes Jar-Jar too. In quoting from his review of Episode I, "Meesa luvs him!".
So you can put me in the "I'll believe it when I see it" camp as well.
Oh...a worse name than Death Sticks? How about ATTACK OF THE CLONES?
In Soviet Russia, hot grits put YOU down THEIR pants.
I'm not so sure that it's a matter of people acting like fanboys of the movie, but most of us at Slashdot probably have something riding on Star Wars success. I'm willing to bet most of the people frequenting here have some interest in Sci-Fi. Star Wars has a way of expanding Sci-Fi to a greater audience, provided it doesn't suck. A greater appeal for sci-fi would certainly make a lot of our lives easier. If Star Wars ep 4 hadn't opened the doors to sci-fi, we'd all have to hide in shadows just to watch Doctor Who ;). If Episode II stinks, we won't be able to take our significant others to see the next one, or possibly any other sci-fi movie.
As for the computer industry, Ep2 could give it a serious boost. Digital artists would be more in demand and we may start to see more movies done entirely digital. If this happens, we could see a serious upgrade to theaters aka digital projectors. My hope is that one day movie theaters upgrade to the new projectors, it might mean an increase of frame rate (smoother motion...) is possible, and for viewing on a big screen that'd really be nice. Ep2 could help usher that in, but not if it sucks.
You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to feel the benefit of a good Star Wars movie. I have virtually no interest in seeing this movie, but I do hope for its succees anyway. It could mean a rather lucrative career for me.
"Derp de derp."
This discussion reminds me of David Brin's theory that Anakin "bringing balance to the force" is a means of defeating the two great evils terrorizing the Galaxy: The Sith and The Jedi Order. Essentially, the Jedi are elitist fascists that disrespect the inferior populace as much as the Sith - it's just that they have an attitude of nobliese oblige rather and aspirations of exploitation.
I hope this is developed, because in this context, Darth Vader is a hero - defeating both the Palpatine and Yoda and replacing the corrupt Jedi Order (I wonder if these celibates have as much problems as the Catholic Priesthood?) with something that's a bit more humanistic.
Perhaps in this context the Jedi Science of mitocholorians (sp?) is just another example of their internal corruption - they should be training everyone in the use of the force who show potential, and not attempting to exclude people like young Anakin who was considered too old to begin training.
144l. ph34r my 133t l3g4l 5k1lz!
This guys says he's seen a rough cut of episode 2.
Big deal.
I've seen final cuts of episode 4, 5 and 6!
And guess what? (SPOILER ALERT:) Vador is Luke's father!!