Lucas Returning to Digital Animation

deadwood writes "It seems Lucas is creating a Digital Animation studio as a subsidiary of ILM, according to this Yahoo! article.
Lucasfilm Animation is created roughly 17 years after George Lucas sold Pixar to Steve Jobs. I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?"

Comments

let me answer that for you

[EpsCylonB]

I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?

Let me answer that for you... No.

Re:let me answer that for you

[JustAGuyNamedStu]

I'm not too big into 'Wars, but the last news I heard was that 7-9 WERE NOT going to be made.. Also, that whole "1-3 sucking" thing could convince one to NOT fix something if it is not broken..

Re:let me answer that for you

[ThundaGaiden]

If I had mod points I would have upped you to a 5 :) ... but on the other hand some people might raise
a further observation of would Episodes VII-IX be
a good idea regardless of who did the sfx ... NO :P

Truthfully I hated Ep1 , Ep2 was alot better and
I'm hoping for Ep3 to be good because it's so
close to tying in with Ep IV (The 1st 3 don't
deserve roman numeral imho)

Re:let me answer that for you

[Gortbusters.org]

Awww come on, don't you want to see The AniWars?

Re:let me answer that for you

[Anonymous Coward]

They are making more episodes after the first three are finished?

Text of Article

[Anonymous Coward]

Director Lucas Forms Digital Animation Unit
Mon May 12, 6:21 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following the path of Pixar Animation Studios, Dreamworks and other filmmakers, "Stars Wars" creator George Lucas (news) is forming a new group to make computer-animated films, a spokeswoman said on Monday.

The unit, called Lucasfilm Animation, is an offshoot of his special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, that has been a pioneer in the field of digital effects and works on Lucas' own "Star Wars" films.

Lynne Hale, spokeswoman for his San Rafael, California-based Lucasfilm Ltd., said the new unit was "still in its beginning stages" and did not even have a project to talk about.

As a result, details were limited. Hale confirmed that Lucasfilm Animation will be formed from a nine-person team housed with Industrial Light & Magic. The new division will be headed by senior vice president Patty Blau.

Lucas is a vocal proponent of using digitally produced and computerized special effects in the movies. His companies have been active in designing new cameras for shooting digital films, and his most recent "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" was shot in the digital format.

Until now, however, he has lacked a production company dedicated to making computerized animation movies such as "Shrek," "Monsters, Inc." or last year's "Ice Age."

Those three films have been smash hits with combined global ticket sales of $1.36 billion. On its own, "Monsters, Inc.," which was produced by Pixar and The Walt Disney Co., raked in $529 million in global ticket sales.

Lucas is no stranger to digital animation. Indeed, Pixar had been Lucasfilm's computer graphics division 17 years ago before Lucas sold it to Apple Computer's Steve Jobs (news - web sites) for $10 million.

Pixar now has a market capitalization of roughly $3.2 billion

Lucas, too, has tried to mount efforts to make digitally animated movies, such as a version of "Frankenstein" that was scrapped by Universal Pictures in 1999.

Re:Text of Article

[maxbang]

Thanks - I was afraid Yahoo might get slashdotted.

Re:Text of Article

[kubrick]

That's been modded funny, but yahoo.com.au was showing a Red Hat Apache default install page at its base URL today... :)

Re:Text of Article

[maxbang]

...and I'm sure they were updating their homepage with a story about Stephen King's death, right? ;)

Re:Text of Article

[bburns]

If the text of the article was not repeated in the discussion, I would not have read it.

Re:Text of Article

[ehiris]

The reason this got posted here is so that people like me actually get to scan through the article and not only through the posts that get modded funny.

Re:Text of Article

[Anonymous Coward]

This informative post inspired me to setup a mirror of the article on my cable modem hosted server at home.

Re:Text of Article

[Anonymous Coward]

so you're lazy, who cares.

Re:Text of Article

[kubrick]

No, I'm serious! I should have taken a screenshot... although that could have been faked, too. :) Main yahoo address was working fine, and yahoo.com.au seems to just redirect to au.yahoo.com in the normal course of things.

Red Hat 7.2, I think, although all the links to Apache documentation from the page brought up Yahoo's customized 404 page.

(I use Debian, BTW, so this isn't some sort of twisted advocacy thing.)

Why digital?

[Anonymous Coward]

Can't people just draw by hand anymore?

What has this country come to?

It's sad!

Re:Why digital?

[ahector]

Of course we can still draw by hand.

In fact a lot of drawing by hand is involved in CG films (Pixar, etc.)-- they do all of the initial design (characters, environments) on paper-- and they storyboard the whole movie out (complete with rough voice overs, sound, etc.) just like they do for most traditionally animated and even live action movies.

It's just another medium for artists to use.

Re:Why digital?

[uberdave]

People can't do anything by hand anymore. Lego and Meccanno have both gone to pre-designed models (if you can even *find* Meccanno). Radio Shack doesn't sell Electronics Kits, or electronic components anymore. "Do-It-Yourself" somehow got left behind in the dim mists of the 20th century.

Re:Why digital?

[Kadagan AU]

You know, it's also sad that you were modded to funny. Maybe you meant it as a joke, but there is some great truth in that statement. My college room mate was majoring in graphic design, and was very dissapointed at the strong emphasis on computers, and hardly any on hand drawing. I believe that both hand animation and cg are great mediums, but it seems that one is not used much anymore. I wish that they would both stay in heavy use. we need a hand animated MegaTokyo movie dammit!

~Jon

Re:Why digital?

[Anonymous Coward]

Achieving the high frame rates that the public has come to expect was deemed to be too terrible a strain on the animator's wrists. With the dramatic rise of workers comp claims, expect hand drawn animation to become a thing of the past.

Re:Why digital?

[WowTIP]

Well, most animated series are still drawn by hand, many of them in South Korea. Others, like Futurama are mostly drawn by hand, but use CG for complex shots such as spaceships in flight. IIRC, there was some hype about Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" being the first animated feature film using this CG combined with hand drawn animations for the ballroom scenes.

Re:Why digital?

[Anonymous Coward]

Teach a few /. monkeys how to draw. Excessive masturbation has made their wrists incredibly strong.

Re:Why digital?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's retarded. All films are made at 24fps. It's exactly the same as when Snow White was made. Film projectors != ATI 9700.

Re:Why digital?

[seanpecor]

Do it yourself is going strong! A digital animation studio represents DIY taken to the extreme: Meticulously crafted artificial intelligence developed by I.T. mathematicians and physicists. Thousands upon thousands of source code lines. Hundreds of networked computers. Dozens and dozens of people toiling long hours in CAD and Modeling user interfaces. All working together to create an aural and visual feast to satiate both artists and engineers alike. This stuff ain't your daddies circuit bread board or torque wrench. The digital DIY arena would twist your daddy's mind until he was nothing but a quivering pile of goo in the middle of his woodshop.

Re:Why digital?

[dazed-n-confused]

Read the title: 'digital' = by finger, not by hand.

That's why it's four times faster to animate something digitally than it would be to do the same job by hand (five times faster if the animator uses their thumbs, too).

Re:Why digital?

[mblase]

Can't people just draw by hand anymore?

Well, I tried drawing this reply on my monitor with a pencil, but for some reason the computer wouldn't remember it and I had to type it instead.

Re:Why digital?

[gpinzone]

Disney's "Oliver and Company" used cgi wire frames that got "painted over" by the animators to look more realistic. I also seem to remember the cartoon "Galaxy Rangers" combined CGI with animation.

I don't have any direct evidence to back it up, but I'll be floored if the Japanese didn't do it first.

Re:Why digital?

[malf-uk]

People can't do anything by hand anymore.

I'm so glad I've grown out of making wank jokes.

Re:Why digital?

[joshsisk]

Huh? All three Radio Shacks near my house still sell components.

Re:Why digital?

[mugnyte]

What got left behind was ineffeciency. Nobody WANTS to do much by hand anymore when they toil and struggle to animate true depth, gravity and flow to things like cloth and hair. Even Disney had actors dancing for Cinderella over which they sketched.

Computers can help with all that, but as any modern animation house knows, they don't make a good story or look on their own.

If what you are missing is the concept of physical labor over computer tweaking, then so be it. But don't be fooled into thinking no less research and thought goes into making a modern animation then in ye' olden days.

You want more physical labor to create a film? Go recreate a godzilla movie. That'll smack down your need for tinkering with your hands.

mug

Re:Why digital?

[Anonymous Coward]

Try this link for hand drawn.

http://www.intothematrix.com/

Re:Why digital?

[Forager]

I'm an animation student at one of the better art schools in the US, and one thing you'll find is universally true for art students (ESPECIALLY students of digital media) is that they HATE to learn the basics. You would be amazed at the number of my fellow animation students here who have absolutely ZERO interest (or ability) in drawing. Most animation students here are part of the 3d pack (I'm one of the very few 2d/3d crossover character animators) and when any one of them is asked to draw something they inevitably whine about how "I don't need to know this, I'm going to do it on the computer!"

This is equally true of our other students. A few months ago on our official school forum a graphic design student was complaining that the teachers were all interested in instructing us on the fundamentals. He started the thread as a rallying cry for people who didn't want to be bothered with the basics -- they were asking that students be allowed to immediately jump into the advanced stuff. I tore him up one side and down the other, but his response was that I was buying into "their" philosophy, that I needed to transcend that and not think about my grades, etc.

Needless to say, with people like that around here, it amazes me that we're still rated as one of the better art colleges out there. But there are some people around here who are still trying to be artists first, and animators/graphic designers/etc second. CG and hand animation really are great media, but as others have said, they are just that: different media. The root of all visual art -- be it film, animation, jewlery, fashion, illustration, sculpture, whatever -- is drawing. There was never a great artist who couldn't draw. Any and every artist can benefit from drawing.

(Brief aside: Megatokyo's artist could use a few classes on character design, and his character's are volumetrically pretty flat, but they do come up with some FUNNY stuff over there sometimes. A hand-animated MT movie would be interesting, but on an artistic level it would take a decent overhaul of the series to get it looking good.)

Peace,
-A.

PLEASE NOOO!!!

[TrollBridge]

"I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?"

Hasn't he done enough to us already???

Re:PLEASE NOOO!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucas said that when Episode III was done, that would be the end of Star Wars. He wasn't making any more Star Wars movies, nor would he allow anyone else to make pictures in that universe.

Re:PLEASE NOOO!!!

[Thud457]

Seeing Lucas' attitude towards the integrity of his own works, (jeeze, another South Park flashback!) I think it only fitting that his legacy be overrun by a biblical proliferation of the crudest, most inane universe of slash fiction the internet has ever seen.

And furries. Using SW skins in The SIMs. To do very nasty things to each other.

duh

[JeffSh]

Atleast jar jar would be dead by Episode 7.

<obligatory jar jar joke>

Re:duh

[Synic]

Yoda is still alive, what makes you thinka powerful evil like Jar Jar wouldn't be alive too? The dark side of the schwartz is strong with his bumbling and offensive dialogue.

Re:duh

[Anonymous Coward]

Error: Unable to find closing tag.

Re:duh

[Synic]

Errr. Alive in spirit anyway. A haunting Jar Jar spirit would be awful.

Re:duh

[Joe the Lesser]

Instead we get to have animated ewoks...

Re:duh

[Anonymous Coward]

little did we know of the 400+ year lifespan of the arg forget what spieces they where =/

Re:duh

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought Jar-Jar was already dead by Edisode 4...

Re:duh

[gpinzone]

Remember the Slashdot story a while back with Lucas planning on re-releasing the Episodes 4-6 again with Natalie Portman and Jar Jar added? A Google search came up empty. Anyone have a link?

Re:duh

[kurosawdust]

For the love of God, close the Jar-Jar tag!!! We dont want him getting out!

Star Wars = 6

[TheScream]

I have read several times of Lucas stating that he will not be making any more Star Wars films after episodes 1 - 6 are complete.

I do hope he does though, or at least licences someone to.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[El_Servas]

At least I want to be able to buy the "sixology" (with an 'i', not 'e') on DVD... some super premium deadfunkgangstagarageinyourfaceandyourassslamdance shocking edition or something like that.

Yeah, it would be nice.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[WeirdKid]

Nobody believes me, but I SWEAR I read an article in a special section of the Detroit Free Press just before Episode V came out that said there would indeed be NINE EPISODES. The article said they would be group into a "trilogy of trilogies". The article also said he was going to do them in the order 4-5-6-7-8-9-1-2-3. When Episode I was announced, I just assumed Lucas scaled back his ambitions for Star Wars. I knew I should have saved that section. Anyone work at the Detroit Free Press?

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

I think the Detroit Free Press must have gotten it wrong. I believe Lucas originally had a general idea of a nine story sequence but he's since said, in many places and it has been widely reported, that only six will be made.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[mccalli]

Nobody believes me, but I SWEAR I read an article...that said there would indeed be NINE EPISODES.

I believe you. I'm in the wrong country to be reading the Detroit Free Press, but I remember the nine films-spiel at roughly the time Empire was ready. Couldn't give you a source though - at that time it would probably have been my then-local paper, The Star (in Sheffield, UK).

Cheers,
Ian

Re:Star Wars = 6

[gfxguy]

You'll get it, but you'll have to wait.

First, the second trilogy will be finished and then released on DVD, one at a time.

Second, the boxed set of the second trilogy.

Third, the special edition boxed set of the second trilogy.

Fourth, individual releases, one at a time, of the original trilogy ("enhanced" version, of course, don't expect to ever really get the original).

Fifth: The "combo" packs. You'll be able to buy special combo editions of ANH and ESB, or ESB and ROTJ, or ANH and ROTJ, but not all three.

Sixth, the boxed set of the original trilogy.

Seventh, the special edition boxed set will be simultaneously released with the re-release of the second trilogy which will have additional commentary and material that, by that point, no one will ever listen to.

Eighth, the "six pack" will be released.

Ninth, the special edition "six pack".

Tenth, the special edition "six pack" with extra commentary that, by that point, no one will ever listen to, and Jaba/Jar Jar bookends (that's right, a "true" fan will buy both the Jaba set and the Jar Jar set - don't call yourself a "real" Star Wars fan if you don't). Anticipated release date: May 21, 2020.

As for me, as soon as I buy a DVD recorder I'll be making DVD versions of the ORIGINAL tapes. Bastards. Han shot first, what's the big deal? PC morons.

Worst fear: Lucas will find a way to live on in some computer/mechanical fashion and keep making movies without any help.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

Exactly the reason I haven't purchased Episode I or II (ignoring the fact that they were mediocre movies at best); I want to own the entire collection in a nice little package. Of course, this is a case for digital delivery of products that obviously should be done this way. Think about it, buy the initial release and then when all ten special editions are released over the next two years, you just download the updates for a nominal fee. Consumer is happy!

Exactly the reason why it won't happen. Why sell the consumer one product and update it when you can sell the consumer almost the same product ten times. But, you know, in a perfect world and whatnot...

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Anonymous Coward]

That was reported all over the country (yes, I'm old enough to remember) not just in the Detroit paper, so you remember correctly.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Ayandia]

The six movies, plus two discs of "Special Features" and the box set could have a nice layout with a letter on each disc.

[ S T A R W A R S ]

It'd be just lovely, and a perfect way to motivate George Lucas to stop torturing all the cash he can out of the series.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[mark_lybarger]

lucas will die sometime and some schmuck will most likely take over the business. that person will make 3 more star wars movies if george lucas doesn't make them. hell, they'll probably be better than eps. 1-3.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[irving47]

Yeah, I think that's right, too. I think it was going to be 4,5,6,1,2,3,7,8,9
I would have sworn I even saw 7,8,9 mentioned on starwars.com a few years ago, when you could hover over each episode that had been made to select it, with the unmade ones there as a placeholder or something.
Anyone else remember that?

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Thud457]

" Han shot first "

Is that available on a XXXL Hanes T at thinkgeek?
That statement says worlds about Lucas, Hollywood, and America today.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Anonymous Coward]

If you thought that they were mediocre movies, why do you want to purchase them at all?

Is it because you're a good little consumer who does as he's told by the big pictures on the billboards, and the moving pictures on the little box? 'cos it sure sounds like it to me!

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Anonymous Coward]

Eleventh, PROFIT!!!

Re:Star Wars = 6

[gpinzone]

As for me, as soon as I buy a DVD recorder I'll be making DVD versions of the ORIGINAL tapes. Bastards. Han shot first, what's the big deal? PC morons.

That's a good point. It would be trivial to put the original version on a different angle. You could choose which version you want to watch. Somehow I doubt GL ego will allow him to give the fans such an option when the DVDs eventually do come out.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd be willing to pay DVD prices to anyone who can make a high quality (well as high as you can get coming from magnetic tape) DVD copy of the Original 'Han Shot First' edition. Lucas will never see another cent of my money. Better believe I'm downloading Ep 3.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[djward]

Heh. My laserdiscs of the original trilogy are pretty sweet. 3.1 surround, DVD-quality THX-remastered video - and they're the real original versions, the release just before the "Special Edition" came out. Not to mention BEAUTIFUL LP-sized cover art...

Hrm, it would be trivial to rip these and burn to DVD...

Re:Star Wars = 6

[spreer]

Yup

Re:Star Wars = 6

[bigdavex]

Hrm, it would be trivial to rip these and burn to DVD...

In your PC's Laserdisk drive? :-)
Wouldn't you have to re-encode it?

Re:Star Wars = 6

[MrTangent]

Imagine, for a moment, someone as brilliant as David Finch, Darren Aronofsky, Mark Romanek, Sam Mendes, Chris Cunningham or Terry Gilliam directing Star Wars films (or the Wachowski Brothers!). Too bad Lucas didn't hire another director to film Episodes 1-3, while he remained on board in control of everything else. The new films would have been a lot better had he done that. With that said, Episodes 4-6 are still brilliant and quite innovative (except for the Ewoks, whom I generally loathe) and the Darth Tyranus/Obi-Wan/Anakin/Yoda fight at the end of Episode 2 made up for the fact that Episode 1 and 2 were less than stellar. Hell, even the Darth Maul/Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn battle was awesome. I'm a sucker for Jedi/Sith battles though.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[someguy456]

I believe that Lucas had also said that he would not be making Episodes I-III a while ago.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Holi]

Thanks for the link.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[banzai51]

I remember that story! My friends and I talked about it for a week.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[djward]

Since it's an analog video signal on the LD, I'd run it out to a video capture card. Or maybe through a DV deck into the computer by Firewire. It'd just be encoding, not reencoding.

Re:Star Wars = 6

[Cowclops]

Heres a thought though... if they did a multi branching version of it, the old footage/sound wouldn't necessarily match up with the new footage. They would have to update the original footage shots to 5.1 so that the audio from both versions "fits" and fix up all the errors like R2D2 black & white in outerspace, or the transparency problem in the battle of Hoth. And if they go through and make these changes to the original shots, is it still the "original edition" anymore? I think the only way to keep it consistent is to go back and use the exact same film they used to make the Definitive Collection laserdiscs and have it on a separate disc, or have a branching semi-special edition with the option to not watch the added scenes. (The latter option surely couldn't be considered the "original version.") They made a LOT of changes ranging from small to huge, it is just a matter of how big of a change it takes before it goes from the relm of "original trilogy" to "special edition." A true original edition branched with the special edition on the same disc would be completely unfeasible. And anyway, I already made DVDs of the Definitive Collection laserdiscs. Its not as trivial as "Oh just rip it and write it" but I think what I did came out pretty good.

I can just see it

[Zoop]

We find out that Ewoks and Jar-jar form a new, dark empire who crush the evil alliance of script-leakers and Kazaa users.

Re:I can just see it

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, Jar Jar Binks is just the ancestor of the Shadows.....

Nooo!!!

[mccalli]

Mr Lucas and I used to have an admirable arrangement. I gave him money, and he gave me good films.

In recent years however, he's rather been letting down his side of the bargain. I still gave him money, but he gave dross in return. It seems that most of the reason he's given me dross is because of an obsession with digital filmaking - looks like he's much more interested in the technology behind the film than in the film itself these days.

Bah. Bring back model-making and puppetry, and hire a decent set of writers...

Cheers,
Ian

Re:Nooo!!!

[mattgarnsey]

he's altering the deal. pray he doesn't alter it any further.

Re:Nooo!!!

[Acidic_Diarrhea]

Well, you're right - Episodes I and II were disappointments. As much as I wanted to enjoy them the way I enjoyed IV - VI, I couldn't. That being said, some artists only have a few great works in them. I think it might be safe to assume that Lucas has used up his stock so at least he's pushing the technology so that future teams will have digital film as the standard, rather than the costly alternative. It seems clear that Lucas has lost his vision and that when I think of Star Wars, it will only be IV - VI, but perhaps someday when the copyright period is over, some kid will create a new Star Wars film that rivals Empire; oh wait...copyright extends infinitely thanks to Congress and Disney now; my bad.

Re:Nooo!!!

[GS11_Pus]

...and hire a decent set of writers...

Bingo. To me, the real problem with TPM and AOTC was not the overuse of special effects (which was a problem, just not the real problem). It was the awful^3 script.

The best SW movie was Empire Strikes Back. Lucas didn't direct (Irvin Kershner) or write (Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan) that one, and, surprise, it was the best one.

I think the true turning point was the scene in Return of the Jedi where Luke and Leia are talking on that bridge on Endor. Leia is saying, "You have this power? I don't understand." (or words to that effect). It is such poorly written crap. Of course, Brackett didn't figure in on that script, though Lucas did.

Anyway, who really gives a shit anymore what George Lucas is doing? The guy is a flat out joke. AOTC was so pitifully bad that surely he has lost all credibility with the masses.

Hasn't he? Hello?

Re:Nooo!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Hasn't he? Hello?

Yes.

Nevertheless, I'm going to see the Episode III .

Re:Nooo!!!

[blinder]

First... full disclosure: I am a supporter of George Lucas, and have enjoyed (completely) EP I and II and am eagerly awaiting EP III... and am old enough to remember the first time I saw EP IV (on opening weekend).

Now, to my post.
There's something folks need to understand about Mr. Lucas. He makes films to satisfy his own desire to tell the stories he wants to tell and do it the way he wants to do it.. and if that just so happens to be something you like, then great... if not... well... George isn't going to loose any sleep over it.

He's truly an independant, and does things his way. I'm not saying that critics are not entitled to do what they do... but I believe that there's a fundamental misunderstanding folks have, and that GL isn't going to change or modify this story or how he tells the story to satisfy the critics or even the audience. Look at EP III... it won't have a happy ending, it will be dark and it will be full of simple dialog and amazing (stunning IMHO) effects and probably the best LS duels yet shot.... and still there will be critics (haters) that will blame GL for "raping" their childhood and going on and on how *they* were let down and how "violated" they will feel.

Its all pretty laughable.

Re:Nooo!!!

[ahector]

I don't think using CG and bluescreens is what killed Starwars. Like you said, it's the weak, boring stories of Ep's 1 & 2 (and I'd even venture to say the crappy ending of Jedi) that ruin the films.

I think it is possible to use digitial filmmaking to create amazing visuals that complement a great movie underneath (plot, characters, acting, etc).

Think about Eps 1 & 2 with a crappy story AND crappy claymation and puppets! How bad would that be? :-)

Re:Nooo!!!

[Divide By Zero]

In recent years however, he's rather been letting down his side of the bargain. I still gave him money

I think this might be the root of the problem.

Lucas is reaping Star Wars eps 4-6 to this day. He's created SUCH a successful franchise with SO much to offer (backstory, novels, merchandising merchandising merchandising (where the real money from the movie is made) ) that he doesn't HAVE to make a good movie any more.

How many times have you heard "Yeah, I know it's gonna be crap, but it's Star Wars, so I -have- to see it"? I dig the whole universe, I loved the original three movies, and I hope against hope that the next movie will be better. I know I'm not alone in this either. The reason everybody's so hard on the "prequel episodes" is that they have so much to live up to.

The first few movies were easy to write. The story wrote itself - it's a classic fairy tale. Boy from nowhere has family killed, gets swept up in epic adventure, leads David force against Goliath evil and wins. It's compelling, it's familiar, it's what you go to the movies for. Now he has to work backwards, setting up Goliath, David, Boy, etc. It's not as easy. Plot lines get a little sketchy, character motivations aren't as obvious, and lousy acting (Hayden Christensen stands out) just compounds the problem. It feels like Lucas is just using the technical wizardry (It's not Industrial Light and MAGIC for nothing) to try to make up for it. A crappy movie's a crappy movie, but special effects can make it at least worth checking out.

It's not that Lucas or the writers are slacking off - it's that they set the bar high and can't get back there now.

Re:Nooo!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Lets not forget that it was Irvin Kershner, not Lucas, who directed the best star wars episode. After Return of the Jedi came out, Irvin was quoted as saying somthing along the lines of "If I had known it was going to be that bad, I would have directed it myself."

Re:Nooo!!!

[ahector]

All of the "betrayal" stuff aside-- people still have a right to bash what they think is bad filmmaking.

Unfortunately, nobody votes with their dollars. Everyone still plays to see Starwars even if they hate it now because they still have some glimmer of hope deep down inside of them.

Re:Nooo!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Do not call up that which you can't put down.

Re:Nooo!!!

[Kelz]

He has a decent set of writers already, he just doesn't use them.

They are called fan authors and they write a great many of excellent books that far surpass the so-called writing of his films. Why is it that filmmakers, and while we're on the subject, game developers, think they can write a better storyline than a proffesional author?!

Re:Nooo!!!

[NanoGator]

" He makes films to satisfy his own desire to tell the stories he wants to tell and do it the way he wants to do it.. and if that just so happens to be something you like, then great... if not... well... George isn't going to loose any sleep over it."

Lotsa Pepsi endorsements brewing over a film created by a 'truely indpendent' director.

Re:Nooo!!!

[macaddict]

Actually, I thought AOTC was pretty good--if you cut out all of the scenes featuring Anakin.

I like the parts with Obi-Wan discovering the clones and the back story of Boba Fett. There was a lot of potential for a good movie there.

Unfortunately, we were subjected to the horror that is teen-aged Anakin Skywalker and the so-called "love story". Padme is supposed to be smart and mature, but she comes across as brainless and clueless when she suddenly falls for this whining, self-centered brat. There is no chemistry between the actors, so it's even more unbelievable. Whiny Luke is funny, but whiny Anakin is nauseating. I will be cheering when Obi-Wan dumps the snotty little brat into the lava pit (or whatever)!

Re:Nooo!!!

[WatertonMan]

Recent years he's been letting you down? Where were you for Howard the Duck or those two Ewok movies?

Re:Nooo!!!

[blinder]

I'm sorry, this is completely irrelevant. Has pepsi or any of the other (thousands) of endorsements somehow bastardized the star wars universe? No, I don't think so.

Because GL makes a HUGE amount of money off of his work... this some how corrupts the process and thus rendering GL not an independant (meaning he compromises his story and methods in an attempt to further gain endorsement deals)? Absurd.

Oh wait, that's right only those residing in the depths of IFC or Sundance are the only ones who can truly call themselves independants. Ugh. You can't possibly be an independant AND make a profit. I forgot the rules.

Re:Nooo!!!

[GS11_Pus]

Actually, I thought AOTC was pretty good -- if you cut out all of the scenes featuring Anakin.

Heh, yeah, ditch the main character and you're fine.

Seriously, I agree with you totally. The only scene in the movie that I really enjoyed was Obi-Wan on that rainy planet discovering the clones. I thought that the clones being based off of Boba Fett's dad was a little cheesy -- clearly Lucas was trying to capitalize on Boba Fett's popularity. And the aliens in that scene were a clear cut ripoff of Spielburg's AI.

So even the best scene in the movie had some serious flaws. As for the love *cough* scenes... yeah, they were truly pathetic. I have died a little each day since seeing that movie.

If it were me, Padme would have rejected Anakin and he would have raped her. That would have signified his journey down the dark side and would explain the pregnancy resulting in Luke and Leia. It would not, however, look good on a lunch box.

Re:Nooo!!!

[NanoGator]

" Ugh. You can't possibly be an independant AND make a profit. I forgot the rules."

Never said nor implied that. What I am implying is that the Star Wars movies of late are marketing stunts. Not only are they timed to get the ever critical 'summer opening', but they also come out with a TON of merchandising that often precedes the release of the movie.

This isn't a matter of "oh you have to make no money to be a true independent", it's a matter of Lucas creating movies not from his heart, but from his wallet. He used to be a really talented guy. These days, there's no inspiration motivating him except for technology.

Re:Nooo!!!

[ashitaka]

If it were me, Padme would have rejected Anakin and he would have raped her. That would have signified his journey down the dark side and would explain the pregnancy resulting in Luke and Leia.

George! George! I've got this GREAT hook for Episode III!

Re:Nooo!!!

[banzai51]

You're right. That was always my secret hope: that they would eventually get remade right. But you know with Lucas' ego that it wouldn't happen until after his dealth.

Re:Nooo!!!

[Gleng]

This deal's getting worse all the time.

Re:Nooo!!!

[nyseal]

No cut on you, but I don't think ANY movie(s) after 4-6 could have lived up to the expectations that they set precedent with. From a completely benign point of view, movies 1-3 are the prequels to an awesome (yet predictable) movie series in which the movie filming techniques have improved faster than the storyline (thanks for the 10 year break, George). I think if 1 & 2 were released today on their own merits we wouldn't be so harsh to judge; just like if 4-6 were released today we'd be like....'WTF?...are you serious?' Either way, they're just different and 'ole George is just trying to finish up the series, which needs definate closure....even for a prequel. I know I'll go see it!

Re:Nooo!!!

[nyseal]

I agree. I saw IV SIXTEEN times when it was released; back then it was almost like a contest with your friends to see who could see it the most. I still have almost 3/4 of the movie memorized to this day. I too, liked 1 & 2 and will definately pay to see 3.

Good deal

[welthqa]

10 million for ILM? i didn't realize how cheap they got it for. any of these digital movies are the real money makers. they're grossing as much as any tom cruise film and they don't have to dish out 25million to a single actor, i'm sure voice actors don't get this much, even if they are big names.
Besides, you get to justify new computer stuff for your business. ;)

Re:Good deal

[welthqa]

errata. ILM should be Pixar.

everything else is the same. kinda

Re:Good deal

[ahector]

What about all the money they have to dish out for the kind of technology it takes to put together a CG film? You can't just sit down and make this kind of stuff on your PC at home.

Not to mention the team of animators (more than you have working on a traditionally animated film).

I'm not saying that CG film is rediculously expensive, but I would imagine it is on par with some live action films. And some CG films have been very expensive. Square lost a boatload of money when Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within bombed; it meant the death of their "Square Films" group (or whatever it was called) and majorly affected their video game business.

Re:Good deal

[Anonymous Coward]

Square lost a lot of money on the Final Fantasy movie because they had the same problem Lucas has had in the last few years. All pretty technology with a shitty story.

Re:Good deal

[malducin]

They won't have to dish out too much. The new division will be mainly composed of people from ILM. They just need to establish a separate pipeline. But they will use the same machines, software and people that usually do the VFX. Remember that ILM had a Commercials Divisions, which was kind of independent but still contained inside ILM. Their Digital Productions division, which was trying to do this animated films, was entirely housed inside ILM.

Re:Good deal

[Anonymous Coward]

... and they don't have to dish out 25million to a single actor, i'm sure voice actors don't get this much, even if they are big names.

Wrong. Billy Crystal is a Jew.

Re:Good deal

[malducin]

Well that was 1986, and no small change then. You have to remember that was also around the time Lucas got divorced from Marcia. The group (the Lucasfilm Computer Graphics Division) that formed Pixar was not composed of hundreds of people either, it was a small dedicated group maybe around 30 or 40 people (depends also how you count, like the people involved in EditDroid or SoundDroid which remained part of the Lucas empier for a few more years). Also back then CG animation for entertainment was ostly relegated to TV commercials, it took almost 10 years for Pixar to get Toy Story out and Disney had a lot of reservations, it was far from proven. Back then it was a very good deal for all parties involved, Lucas, Jobs and Ed Catmull.

ILM also got other stuff besides the money. They got an agreement with Pixar that they would be the first facility to get access to any technology developed by Pixar, mainly PRMan. ILM also get deals from other vendors, SGI in particular with their JEDI agreement (which just expired or is about to). They are one of the beta sites for Alias/Wavefront so they get new versions of Maya, and they had at least an agreement with Softimage (don't remember its exact nature).

But you are right if they setup a good distribution deal they could reap huge rewards. It's still a risky proposition.

Yoda?

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucasfilm Animation is created roughly 17 years after

Did Yoda write this post?

Re:Yoda?

[CodeHog]

After 17 years created was Lucasfilm is more Yoda like don't you think?

Re:Yoda?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. My post that will be.

Dear God No!

[FatRatBastard]

I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?

Dear god no! It wasn't the technology that was the problem with I, II (and, no-doubt, III), but piss-poor stories. It wouldn't have mattered if Lucas did I, II, III, VII, VIII, or IX as live action, animation, stick figures, a puppet show, or Kabuki theatre unless he has a plot that doesn't suck the sweat of a dead donkey's balls they'd still stink.

Re:Dear God No!

[InvaderSkooge]

But I REALLY LIKE Kabuki.

Re:Dear God No!

[Tarindel]

It wasn't the technology that was the problem with I, II (and, no-doubt, III), but piss-poor stories

It's not even that the concepts behind the stories were so bad. It's that the screenplay adaptions of the stories were absolutely horrid and the casting was worse (with a couple notable exceptions). Then, to make matters worse, Lucas decided to aim Episode I at youngsters in an attempt to capture the imagination of a new generation (via devices such as Jar Jar and the overly-long video-game-influenced pod racing scenes). However, in reality he not only failed at this, he also managed to upset a fairly large portion of his ever-aging fanbase.

The reason Pixar succeeds so well is simple. It's not because the stories are all that fabulous - because in reality they're pretty simple. It's because they're well written, have a great mix of humor/action/etc, and most of all, they have an awful lot of heart.

The best thing that could happen to this unit is for Lucas not to have any control over it. At this point in his career, he should stick to what he's good at, which is the technical side of film-making.

Re:Dear God No!

[Anonymous Coward]

Wouldn't it be interesting to see if a dead donkey actually did sweat from it's balls?

Re:Dear God No!

[Conspir8or]

Who are your notable casting exceptions? Mine would be MacGregor and McDiarmid. I would say Lee also, but I can't get past the pain of hearing him mouth such shitty lines to soak in his performance.

Also, continuing bonus points to Andy "Watto" Secombe's voice talent.

Re:Dear God No!

[MurghMakni]

To add to what you are saying, the movies were terrible because there was no character development at all and it was impossible to understand the (poorly written) dialog. Episode I is a case in point, there is tons of dialog about trade guilds etc, none of which you can hear, because of music, accents, or effects noise. I find that hearing the dialog in a movie helps me enjoy it more. Lucas sent the message that the dialog was un-important by making it impossible to hear.

Re:Dear God No!

[senor_burt]

Actually, the Timothy Zahn novels got official Lucas sanction. They took place 5 years after RotJ and were pretty solid.

The dialog was good - he captured the characters, the plot was good, he stuck to the metronome, and you could practically hear John Williams in the background.

We should be so lucky for Eps. VII-IX to be that good.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-ur l/index=books&field-author=Zahn%2C%20Timothy/104-3 439851-1544729

Re:Dear God No!

[malducin]

I don't know why people assume that the projects will be Star Wars related. ILM has created many independent shorts (more or less the wayPixar started) over the years. There was Synchonicity at SIGGRAPH 2000, and Work in Progress and The Moving Pyramid at SIGGRAPH 2001. The artists there work from time to time in their own little projects, as shown in the ILMajan session at SIGGRAPH 96. Heck, in the article you can se that they were working on the ill-fated Frankenstein and tried to do Curious George.

You can see a couple of those shorts here:

Work in Progress
How to Make Hollywood Cheese
Work in Progress
The Moving Pyramid

Re:Dear God No!

[CaseyB]

It's that the screenplay adaptions of the stories were absolutely horrid and the casting was worse (with a couple notable exceptions).

It wasn't the casting. ALL of the principle actors (with the exception of Jake Lloyd) have done some *very* good work in the past. Hence, for them all to suck as badly as they did, there really isn't any place to lay the blame other than the director.

The imcompetence necessary to ruin the performances of that many good actors so consistently is utterly mind-boggling.

Re:Dear God No!

[Anonymous Coward]

If he had cast a decent actor as a 17-year-old Anakin in Episode I, and not gotten confused with Queen/Princess/Senator (either one or the other, for god's sake) it would have pretty much fixed the problems with the plot and the dialogue.

Re:Dear God No!

[SuiteSisterMary]

Problem being, Lucas then went and made Ep.2, and invalidated the Zahn trilogy.

In Zahn's trilogy, one of the main ideas is that the Clone Wars were started by some third party, and the Old Republic fought them off. Palpatine then started the shift into the Empire.

It goes from there, and I'll refrain from discussing to avoid spoiling anything for new readers, but the novels no longer make sense, thanks to Ep.2.

Re:Dear God No!

[Anonymous Coward]

There are plenty of good plots to choose from.

Timothy Zahn's trilogy about Admiral Thrawn would make a fairly decent set of movies, and so would the Jedi Academy trilogy.

Re:Dear God No!

[Anonymous Coward]

but the novels no longer make sense, thanks to Ep.2.

So? The original trilogy doesn't even make sense anymore, courtesy of Eps 1 and 2. I don't think continuity is very high on Mr Lucas's hitlist.

"No 3PO! *I* am your maker!"
"That's not true! Oh dear! We're doomed!"

Re:Dear God No!

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree. It's not the tech, it's the plot. Episodes 4, 5 and 6 were good stories told in a sci-fi backdrop. In episodes 1 and 2, he created a beautiful looking sci-fi world and then tossed a story in.

Nine-Man Team

[Anonymous Coward]

Lucasfilm Animation will be formed from a nine-person team

If they divide the profits from something of Monsters Inc. caliber among nine people, it's a better deal than playing for NBA!

Re:Nine-Man Team

[Anonymous Coward]

Nine people means nine people who will "do lunch" and "greenlight". All actual work will be contracted out. Needless to say, the actual creative people will have contracts that give them a share of the "profits" - as calculated via standard Hollywood accounting principles.

Lucas

[mattboston]

already stated that there is no episode 7, 8 or 9.

Re:Lucas

[Anonymous Coward]

Mankind already stated that such statements depend from the money involved.

All the CG in the world...

[Guano_Jim]

...won't help a bit if your script sucks. Films like Monsters, Inc. succeeded not because they show off the latest and greatest in rendering power, but because they have an engaging story and interesting characters.

You could have done Monsters, Inc with sock puppets and it still would have been entertaining.

Lucas hasn't recently shown that he can deliver the plots and characters that are necessary to make an animated film work.

Re:All the CG in the world...

[cei]

You could have done Monsters, Inc with sock puppets and it still would have been entertaining.

Yeah, and you could call it Shrek. Really, for a movie that did so well in the box office, Shrek's animation was piss poor compared to Monsters, Inc. which came out the same year.

Re:All the CG in the world...

[rjung2k]

Shrek was funny, but its "hip" humor will be drawing embarassed winces in a few years. Monsters Inc. will still be enjoyable twenty years down the road.

Re:All the CG in the world...

[mnemonic_]

God, when will people realize how redundant this is? Yes, it's true, story matters in a movie. When will people stop saying this?

Re:All the CG in the world...

[burns210]

"You could have done Monsters, Inc with sock puppets and it still would have been entertaining. "

No, it wouldn't have.

Great - Just What We Need

[Dark Paladin]

Star Wars VII: The Further Adventures of Star Wars

Luke: Hey, everybody!
New Republic Senate: Luke!

(Luke walks up to the bar. Leia is standing behind it.)

Leia: Hey, Luke. How was work today? (He pours him a cup of coffee and pulls 2 cinnamon buns from her hair.)

Luke: Same old. Showed up, got tempted by the Dark Side, and my Dad kept going on about how when he was my age, he was already married with two unknown children out there.

Leia: (Rolls her eyes to the laugh track.) I think he just wants to become a grandfather before the Glowing Blue Light fades away.

(The bar door opens. The audience cheers as Han Solo walks into the room.)

Han: Heyyyy! (He hits the jukebox with a fist, making a holo-projector of dancing aliens appear.) Has anybody seen my blaster? (He pulls out a walkie-talkie from his side pocket.) I woke up in the Millenium Falcon with this strapped to my side.

Leia: I did that - you never call me when you're suppose to. I swear, you and that Wookie are having some weird love affair behind my back.

Han: How did you know? I mean, that's just silly, even though his fur is as soft as silk, and.... (He clears his throat.) Anyway, I brought you a present.

Leia: Another gold bikini?

Han: No... (He opens the door. There stands the former Queen/Senator/Love Puppy to Darth Vader - Amidala!)

Leia/Luke: Mom? We thought you were dead!

Amidala: No, your father had me frozen in carbonite, hoping to come back to me someday when the Emporer was dead.

Han: You could say she was naked and petrified.

(Laugh track and the audience goes "ahhhh" as Luke/Leia/Amidala/Han hug.)

Big titles: In Episode VIII, watch as C3PO remembers that he was made by Anakin, and could have saved everybody a lot of time by telling Uncle Owen and Luke Skywalker where he came from!

Now, imagine this animated. Scary, huh?

Re:Great - Just What We Need

[Phroggy]

Good lord, Star Wars as a sitcom, that's really not right.

Only on Slashdot would Amidala naked and petrified be funny, and many here don't even remember why.

Re:Great - Just What We Need

[Dossy]

Dude, I think you've got a boxoffice smash on your hands! Lucas should hire you to write scripts.

Of course, they should also hire Nick Park to do the movies in stop-motion claymation.

Wallace: "Grommit! We forgot the force! Use the force, Grommit!"

-- Dossy

Re:Great - Just What We Need

[Anonymous Coward]

StarWars is a sitcom. A bad one at that. George Lucas wishes he had thought of Cheers!

Re:Great - Just What We Need

[geekoid]

damn, that was funny.

"Han: You could say she was naked and petrified."

Excellent use of slashdot history.

Re:Great - Just What We Need

[Thud457]

History repeats itself:
First as news
Then a movie of the week
Then as a miniseries
and finally degenerating into a sitcom.

Ack.

[keyne9]

Do we really need more Jar Jar Binks wannabes?!

A few things...

[Palshife]

1. George Lucas has had a "digital animation" firm for years. It's called Industrial Light and Magic. You may also remember them doing really _good_ special effects too, what with the models and the puppets.

2. George Lucas is not making episodes VII-IX. He has admitted this several times, most notably during the pre-interviews from the special edition VHS tapes.

3. Unless the man actually gets his ass in gear for III, you can bet your ass that nobody will give a damn, especially us geeks. Not that it really matters, as I already care so little.

Re:A few things...

[Anonymous Coward]

You may also remember them doing really _good_ special effects too..

..in such films as Attack of the fifty foot women and Starwars : Attack of the CG floppy eared things.
..what with the models and the puppets.

..and the CG and flames and the flaven glaven!

I had a dangerous thought right now ..

[ciupman]

.. like .. a digital Mark Hammil ?

Re:I had a dangerous thought right now ..

[Anonymous Coward]

Or maybe Lucas should take a cue from his buddy Spielberg and digitally replace the entire cast with walkie talkies.

Howard The Duck

[tjansen]

Please make a Howard The Duck sequel. That would rock! But maybe Howard should rap, the times have changed...

Re:Howard The Duck

[ciupman]

You are kidding right? You must be the only one who liked that crap !! That movie was a major flop on Lucas carreer .. and no one make sequels from flops ..

Re:Howard The Duck

[Anonymous Coward]

Come one, this was the master piece by the man who brought us the Ewoks! How can anyone not love these 80s movies?

A more in-depth article at LA Times.

[Trunks]

You can find a more in-depth article on the matter here, use nopass/nopass to get by the reg if you have to.

While people are busy grousing about Star Wars, there's plenty of other material Lucas already has access to that would make a great movie. Anyone who has played the LucasArts adventure game Grim Fandango would agree it would make a kickass feature film. Glottis > Shrek. ;)

Have a look at this petition ...

[zonix]

looks like he's much more interested in the technology behind the film than in the film itself these days

I agree! And it's not too late to let him know either - everybody, take a look at this petition.

He has stated that in his eyes the special editions of episodes IV to VI are the official versions. This is totally insane! Let's have the Original Trilogy as well, after all it's more $$$ for you, Mr. Lucas!

z

Re:Have a look at this petition ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Why bother? If Lucas cared what you and I thought he would have hired some good writers and a good director after Ep 1 and limit his involvement in the process to overveiws and the occasional spot check to make sure things were on course.

The Emporor has dissolved the Senate man, the only way to stop Lucas now is to toss him down an open reactor core shaft.

Some Fanboy better equipped than I will evertually make a high quality rip of the Original OT and I'll get my hands on a DVD Burner, and forget the last 20 odd years of Lucas bungling ever happened.

Re:Have a look at this petition ...

[m1chael]

stop buying the princess lay-her blowup dolls then. because he doesnt care about the plot, all he ever cared about was selling merchandise and you just paid for his lastest catalog.

Why not?

[NetDanzr]

It can't be any worse than Episode I and II. And, after all, Lucas gives absolutely no freedom to his actors, so replacing them with animated characters wouldn't change a thing.

Re:Why not?

[gosand]

It can't be any worse than Episode I and II. And, after all, Lucas gives absolutely no freedom to his actors, so replacing them with animated characters wouldn't change a thing.

Sure it would - they would be, well, animated. As opposed to the plethora of wooden zombies in I and II, at least it would be *something*.

So it seems he likes the delivery to be either deadpan or goofy. At least if they were all animated he would have to do less rework to turn them into a cartoon on Nickelodeon or whatever else he has in the works to completely ruin the series.

Yeah, I'm bitter - didn't you see Episode I and II?

Re:Why not?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure they can't be any worse, but with Lucas's recent record of making bad movies, they can't be any better. It's bad enough he's making the prequels, I don't want him to ruin our beloved Star Wars more than he already has.

Tired of the Ep 1/2 complaints.

[Randolpho]

I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?

Well, I for one, hope Lucas goes ahead with some post-Return of the Jedi movies.

I'm also quite tired of the people who bitch about how great the first trilogy was and how boring/stupid the second trilogy is turning out to be. Look, Star Wars (the first one) was not that great a movie. But we loved it anyway, because it was cool. Empire was darker, and we loved it too. Jedi had Ewoks, and they were annoyingly cute, but we still loved the damn movie! Why? Because it was still really damn cool!

Now I will grant you that Jar-Jar got a little anoying at times, but on the whole, Episode 1 and 2 were damn cool movies. So what if Anakin and Jar-Jar bumbled their way through to victories in Ep1? They were not the stars of movie, folks. The stars showed up to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and they found they were all out of bubble gum. Although Qui-Gon found a piece right there at the end, and that was a bit disappointing.

So, to those who think Ep1 and Ep2 somehow sullied their memories of the original trilogy, I say go watch the trilogy again. I mean, really watch it. Watch all the bad acting and bumbled lines. Watch the melodrama and sap. Watch the forced and often unfunny humor given us through the C3PO/R2D2 banter. And then go enjoy Episodes 1 and 2 for what they are: damn cool action flicks.

Re:Tired of the Ep 1/2 complaints.

[geekoid]

No, they were bad movies.
The acting is worse then the first three. Considering the first three had mark hamill, thats saying somthing.

He changed the universe. Thats bad story telling. It's his universe to change, but that doesn't make it good story telling.

The dialog. 4,5,6, all had quotable dialog. 1,2 did not.

1,2 pail compared to other action flicks. I think this is very important. 4 was the action flick of its time. 5,6 some what so.

Re:Tired of the Ep 1/2 complaints.

[m1chael]

C3PO annoyer droid at your annoying service.

Re:Tired of the Ep 1/2 complaints.

[cparisi]

Hmm.

I think the C3PO/R2D2 banter is hilarious, esp. in Episode II. (C3P0: "this is such a drag!")

Also, I think Jar Jar is funny. I even think the fart jokes are funny in EP I. (well, fart jokes *are* funny)

I was 10 when the first one came out and did not give a crap about dialog and acting. I was so pumped after seeing it, and SW has forever dominated my destiny! I have the same mindset when I see the new ones.

Disclaimer:

I am a huge Star Wars fan and have a juvenile sense of humor! (seriously)

Re:Tired of the Ep 1/2 complaints.

[banzai51]

Considering the first three had mark hamill, thats saying somthing.

Come on! Mark Hamill is ideally suited to play the clueless farmboy. His range may not extend much beyond that, but can you think of anyone better?

Re:Tired of the Ep 1/2 complaints.

[Mattwolf7]

Keanu Reeves! He is just plain clueless. "Whoa"

(BTW: I Love the Matrix, its his clueless that makes it work.)

Further Episodes

[ackthpt]

I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?"

Aside from, "No", IIRC George Lucas has dismissed doing the later episodes, as they have already been extensively explored in books. If you haven't noticed, the books on the Star Wars movie episodes follow the film to market, not precede it.

Imagine George changing the ending, in typical shitty Hollywood-fashion, of one book to make it into a movie and *fanfare* leave the ending in suspense! *raspberry* (For my money, Hollywood should STOP doing that and focus on films true to the original story.)

If To Kill a Mockingbird was filmed today, Atticus Finch would probably look like Rambo and be mowing the jury down with an AK47, a la Kill Mo' Mockingbird*, just because everyone (all those trapped in American Lit. classes or the three or four of us who liked the book and read it anway) already knows how it ended in the book.

* Reference to Bloom County

Re:Further Episodes

[JayBlalock]

Aside from, "No", IIRC George Lucas has dismissed doing the later episodes, as they have already been extensively explored in books. If you haven't noticed, the books on the Star Wars movie episodes follow the film to market, not precede it. Well, if you read interviews starting in the early 80s, Lucas has flip-flopped more times than I can count on whether there'll be a 7-9. That being said, I'm pretty sure there won't be. The "plan" for awhile was that the books were going to cover the 25-odd years inbetween Ep 6 and Ep 7. Which is why the Bantam novels had a very definiate cutoff point. (once Han and Leia's kids had become Jedi themselves) When Del Rey took over and started making more books continuing on, THAT was considered the death knell for a third trilogy. Yes. I AM a Star Wars geek.

Re:Further Episodes

[AceM2]

I forget who did the interview, if I could find it I would, but.. It was where Lucas was comparing himself to Peter Jackson, he said something to the effect of (if not exactly) Peter is making three movies out of one book, and I [Lucas] am making nine movies out of one book. At the time I didn't see many people commenting on it, maybe I just didn't look hard enough, but it seemed really weird..

Re:Further Episodes

[maxbang]

If To Kill a Mockingbird was filmed today, Atticus Finch would probably look like Rambo and be mowing the jury down with an AK47, a la Kill Mo' Mockingbird...

Sounds like a Homer Simpson/Mel Gibson collaboration. Count me in!

Re:Further Episodes

[cens0r]

There are no 7-9. You see the story originally didn't end in ROTJ and Luke and Leia were not related. When Luke confonted vader in episode 6, he was orginally supposed to fail. The Luke's sister (the other yoda spoke of) was the only chance to save the day. 7-9 were about her redeeming luke and anakin. George decided at some point (either during ESB or before ROTJ) to scrap those ideas and make it end in episode 6.

Re:Further Episodes

[Bingo Foo]

Yeah, but Peter Jackson was working from a book that is pretty universally accepted as a piece of literature. Lucas is working from what we are supposed to believe is some secret plan he has had in his own head for thirty years.

Uh No

[JoeCotellese]

I'm guessing that most here would let out a resounding NOOOOOOOOOOO.

ILM animated short...

[Trunks]

Oh yeah, one last link to an animated short from ILM. I'm not sure if this was done by the same group of people who split off to join Lucas Animation or not.

Re:ILM animated short...

[malducin]

Well those shorts were done by an Animation division inside ILM. It's not like they spit off completely, though they did operate semi-independently, much like ILM Commercial Productions. It's very probable that some of the people involved will start forming the new division inside ILM. Patty Blau has been at ILM for ages, she is in the perfect position to head it. Tom Bertino, one of ILM's Animation Directors and director of Work in Progress, was slated to direct the first ILM animated feature. If you check the credits of the short, they are composed of regular ILM folk. It's not split off, just a separate pipeline. The production team (dierctors, producers, etc.) will be separate, but the artists wil be from ILM. When ILM had Commercial Production going on, many of the artists switched back and forth between the VFX pipeline and the Commercials pipeline. For example, Hans Uhlig, who directed the Synchronicity short, besides working in commercials also has worked on films like The Perfect Storm and I believe Dreamcatcher. Mary Beth Hagerty (now at Radium) worked on commercials like the First Union ones but also worked on Episode 2.

Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[Uttles]

and less animation for any new star wars films. I feel like I'm watching a video game with silly characters when I watch the new episodes.

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[Anonymous Coward]

It's amazing that the stop motion and models from the orignal trilogy integrate so much better with live action than the CGI. There is a feel of movie craftsmanship when you have real artists sculpting figures and enviroments rather than having engineers plaster on textures on a CAD program. I'd also like to see a return of plain of 35mm film than the "too clean" look of these digital cameras.

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[finkployd]

Hear Hear!

I just watched the star wars trilogy for the first time in ages last weekend, and I was struck by how much more realistic the models looked than the CG stuff in ep 1 and 2. Maybe because they were "real" (small, but actual physical objects). Oddly, the CG stuff in LOTR looked fine to me, and blended into the rest of the film seamlessly, so who knows.

I can't put my finger on "why" exactly, that is just how I feel.

Finkployd

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[tuffy]

Oddly, the CG stuff in LOTR looked fine to me, and blended into the rest of the film seamlessly, so who knows.

I can't put my finger on "why" exactly, that is just how I feel.

LotR uses *a lot* of models (the Rivendell wide shots, certain shots of the towering statues, etc.). That, along with the less fantastical surroundings helps the movies to look more "real". And since the entire trilogy is already digitally re-colorized, the CGI effects can be blended better.

Of course, it helps that the LotR films are better written than the latest Star Wars installments, which means the effects don't have to carry the film so much :)

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[codefool]

Of course, it helps that the LotR films are better written than the latest Star Wars installments, which means the effects don't have to carry the film so much :)

Hear, hear! This is exactly why I'm not bothering to see the other SW films. Lucas can't write. Period. He expects special effects to carry the film. This worked with the original trilogy because no one had ever seen such things before - so we were much more interested in watching the movie than paying attention to the story. Now all the SFX are common, and we expect (demand?) more for our movie-going dollar than just a bunch of CGI stuff.

Give us a story and we'll go back to the theatre.

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[malducin]

You do know that both Prequel movies were two of the biggest model shots in ILM history right? Except for Lucas insistence on the CG clone troopers it was up to the supervisors to come up with the best approach. Not convinced? Read this (or the Cinefex article among other things):

Brave New Worlds

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[Uttles]

well that's interesting. It still looked like a bunch of cartoons to me.

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[donglekey]

I think what you are referring to is not less animation, but less compositing. So many images were taken to form some of the shots, that they can't help but look like they were not shot at the same time.

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[malducin]

Well but that happens in all movies. The question then is about fairness. Sure there were shots in Ep. 2 that made my teeth grind, like the wide water shots in Kamino. But on avrage most of it was good. There are teeth grinders in other movies by other studios too. What about the wargs and Frodo underwater in the marshes in LOTR:TTT. I've hear even many people complain about the hobbits on Treebeard walk in the night. Besides it's the same there too in some instances, film the actors blue screen, film miniatures, create CG and composite them together. On average too most shots were great but certainly not "perfect" (whatever that would mean). It happens all the time to everyone.

Re:Actually, I'd prefer Lucas use more models

[donglekey]

Definitly. I think it is more noticeable in Episode 2 because there are so many less than subtle composites constantly throughout the whole movie, and possibly because many scenes are bright and the colors are also very saturated, giving what the original poster said as cartoon like.

Where "Star Wars" should go next....

[PortHaven]

A 2 yr Television series....

That follows the ups and downs of a tramp freighter captain and his crew...

It'd be cool cause we'd see all the planets and homeworlds of the various races....

The question would be "when" it should take place. Personally, I think immediately after ROTJ. When the galaxy is in chaos....

Re:Where "Star Wars" should go next....

[MasterRa]

Sounds good to me. I'd like to see it. If someone could take it on.. and they should be able to. Find a good writier to do it.. i'd say Lucas, but he officially retired some time ago, and wasn't even gonna do Ep2.. If it was well written and had at least fairly good effects (and that shouldnt' be hard), i think it would make a pretty good show..

Re:Where "Star Wars" should go next....

[SuperGrut]

Man that is a good idea. They just need to make it more exciting than star trek. Setting it after ROTJ is cool too since you do not know what might happen.

Lucas is just learning:

[Thud457]

What Gerry Anderson understood full well thirty years ago: Actors can be a real pain in the ass for director / producers.

Re:Lucas is just learning:

[Croaker]

Yeah... because to get truely wooden performances, you need puppets.

Maybe Lucas should switch to making movies with no characters in them whatsoever. He can then dispense with his really awful dialog. Stick to "Triumph of the Will" like marching scenes and space ships blowing up, George.

Re:Lucas is just learning:

[ashitaka]

... because to get truely[sic] wooden performances, you need puppets.

You haven't seen UFO or Space 1999 have you?

Ah, but Zienia Merton was a cutie.

Re:Lucas is just learning:

[Anonymous Coward]

was that an argument for something? if so, what's your point?

Re:Lucas is just learning:

[cqnn]

Untitled

Probably he saw Thunderbirds first:

http://www.thunderbirdsonline.co.uk

Interestingly enough Gerry Anderson later used similar
Super-Marionation techniques for those other series:

http://www.tvcentury21.com/personnel/c21-con-sat-e xhibition.html

Google cached Here

Regarding episodes 7-9

[mooZENDog]

I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?

Probably not as first projects, it's like handing an extremely important contract to the 17-year old trainee (who happens to be the son of the company's chairman).

Regardless of if the last three episodes are to be made into films or not (I predict that they will... eventually at least). I remember reading books which purported to continue the films' plotline (there was a renegade Empire general, and a jedi training camp, and Leia had twins who were uber-powerful jedi), but although these books were officially sanctioned books in the series of nine, AFAIK they wern't written by Lucas and so may not get the seal of approval to actually become films.

Anyone out there know anything else about this?

Re:Regarding episodes 7-9

[ColdGrits]

You are referring to Timothy Zahn's excellent trilogy "Heir To The Empire", "Dark Force Rising", "The Last Command".

They were excellent - easily THE best of all the post-Ep6 books written to date, and the only ones to come up with anything remotely interesting and new (his other pair of SW books toward the end of that timeline are also damned good - actually resolving the Empire thing and pointing things off in a new direction - sadly no other authors had the courage to work with this).

The books are officially sanctioned by GL & Lucasfilm.

They'd be damned good as films too, but who knows? Actually, those 3 plus Zahn's final 2 woudl make for a cracking ending to the SW saga.

LOL

[Anonymous Coward]

(n/t)

Not Even Going to Read /. Posts

[nemski]

Without reading the article -- a requirement for all /.ers -- I'll take it one step further and not read the posts because most, if not all, posts will bash Lucas for making crappy movies and Jar Jar.

Off-topic

[sputnik73]

I think that in your signature you are making the claim that just as mutants are persecuted in the X-Men universe, Arabs are in our universe. But let's consider the Marvel universe for a moment. Some of the mutants running around loose have vast powers that could end the world quite easily or at least bring forth destruction that could kill many, many people. A single human being cannot kill all the people on a given continent; even leaders with nuclear weapons are given this power by the people around them who support them (in the case of dictators, who have bodyguards that support them) or freely elected officials. Thus, mutant registration and, in the case of mutants with far too much power, Sentinel intervention is not neccescarily a bad thing. I know that in the X-Men universe, the X-Men fight against this and so mutant registration and the ilk are considered bad since the good guys don't like it but think about it a little bit. People aren't generally allowed to walk around a mall with swords or flamethrowers so why should Psylocke, Wolverine, or Pyro be allowed to do the same? You say that because they were born this way, they have no choice and therefore you can't stop them. I say that because they were born this way, I have no choice. It's all about the common good.

So, bringing this around to Arabs - I'm not proposing a round up BUT systems where immigrants from the Middle East are monitored are not a bad thing. Screening based on race and origin are also not a bad thing. Your signature isn't very verbose about exactly what you mean so this is all I will write for now.

This is Logical for Lucas

[dfn5]

I mean if he can't hire real actors for his crap films anymore it makes sense that he will have to make virtual actors himself.

Lucas to return...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, and I am sure it will be real top shelf stuff.

Exactly

[Lysol]

there are a few parts of ep 3 where my girlfriend and i roll on the floor laughing because the acting/writing is soooooo bad.

the first one is where anakin says something like "i hate sand, it's rough, it's coarse and it gets all over the place; not like you, your soft and smooth..."

the second part is when amidala falls out of the fighter towards the end when they're chasing dooku. when the shot returns and a trooper approaches to ask her if she's alright she's like "uhhhhh, yah....". and then all the sudden it's like, DOING, time for action.

surely this are trivial annoyances or whatever, but they are just the tip of the suckage compared to 4-6; 5, obviously being the best.

i've said this before, but when lucas came out at some mpaa meeting saying that the likes of kazaa would hurt blockbuster directors/writers/etc and would force them to not write anymore big movies i was like, fine, so be it. with scripts and writing that bad, i'll stick with the indie flicks.

star wars and lucas have passed their day. i dont really expect anything good from ep 3, unfortunately.

Ninja!

[geekoid]

"Please do not tip the Ninjas."

The plural for Ninja is Ninja
ex:
Fish:Fish
Lego:Lego
Ninja:Ninja

As punishment, you must sing the Ninja song!

Re:Ninja!

[cfwillis]

Actually, Lego is an adjective so there is no plural. Or if you wish:

Lego block:Lego blocks
Lego set:Lego sets

Re:Ninja!

[Finuvir]

I've always considered Lego to be a mass noun, rather than a counting noun. Like water; you don't have one water/two waters, you have some water. Likewise you have some Lego. This is different to, say, sheep, where you have one sheep/two sheep, but it's still a counting noun. I don't know about the Danish word Lego though, but it shouldn't affect how the word is used in English.

Re:Ninja!

[geekoid]

I guess Lego is the company name, so what you are counting is Lego building blocks, not Lego companies.

or, as the count would say:

one lego building block, ha ha ha
two, two lego building blocks, ha ha ha
three, three lego building blocks, ha ha ha ...

Hollywood fundamentally misunderstands:

[Thud457]

This is the root of all the angst that the public (well, us) is experiencing with the *AA at all levels.

Here it is:
Storytelling is a two way process, once you tell a story, it belongs to everyone.
This is the way things have been since people sat around fires telling stories to educate and entertain.
You can't just lock it up with copyright.
You can't just go back and change things.

Lucas has bought into the Hollywood model, where he is god and owns everything. Gotta get that deal with Taco Bell to give away toys with their Pepsi. Gotta milk every dollar you can out of the story.

Re:Hollywood fundamentally misunderstands:

[cparisi]

once you tell a story, it belongs to everyone.

I do not agree. The latest Spiderman movie was a retelling of the spiderman story. I had no problem with it. Even the LOTR movie was a re-telling of the story, and I am glad they did that too.

Embellishing a story as time passes is one of the hallmarks of story telling! Back when a story was told word-of-mouth, each story-teller would add his own style and change the text a bit!

I see nothing wrong with it.

Re:Hollywood fundamentally misunderstands:

[Anonymous Coward]

You've got a valid point.
It's natural to embellish / recast the story when it's retold.
The trick is to do it in such a way that it's an improvement.

For the love of Yoda

[UnknowingFool]

I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?

Do or do not. There is no try.

At this point, I wouldn't watch them anyway.

Re:For the love of Yoda

[spiffistan]

do not or do not, there is no do.

But now...

[Lester67]

He can make really crappy movies and not destroy an actors career with it.

Re:IV-VI sucked too

[Thud457]

Hey!

I liked Buck Rogers!

(Or are you mocking Battlestar Galactica?

mmmmm, LEA THOMPSON, when she was still cute!

[Thud457]

"That movie was a major flop on Lucas carrer"

So, knowing Lucas, he should feel that he has to "fix" it!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAH AHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHA! You're doomed! Doomed, I tell ya!

Ep 7-9 came out like, 8 years ago...

[LordYUK]

Correct me if I am wrong, and I very well might be, but if I remember correctly, absolutely NO ONE but Lucas was allowed to make any kind of post Ep 6 Star Wars add-ons until the series was liscensed to Timothy Zahn, who wrote the "official" sequels, in Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and "I cant remember the third book".

From what the flaps of the book said, this was the official "lucas sanctioned" sequel to RotJ. For anyone that is interested in SW, these books are awesome, and the story is light years ahead of the original trilogy, but thats probably because the books are easily 4 or 5 times as long.

If the original voices (as many as are available) came back to do an animated version of these, I'd see each one at least 5 or 6 times in the theatre.

Oh, and another thing, I dont think Lucas COULD pen 7-9 right now even if he wanted to. Just check out a local bookstore, there are TONS of post RotJ books... it would throw the whole thing out of whack...

Re:Ep 7-9 came out like, 8 years ago...

[SuiteSisterMary]

Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, followed by a bunch of CRAP from various people, such as the Jedi Search trilogy. Then, Zahn came back with Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future, where he attempted to FIX the entire run of novels. Then, they moved forward about ten years, went into the 'Expanded Universe' era with the Solo kids a bit more grown up, and a brand new menace from outside the Galaxy comes in.....

Re:Ep 7-9 came out like, 8 years ago...

[SaraSmith]

Why does everyone hate the Jedi Academy trilogy? I think they're some of the best, aside from Zahn's books of course. It seemed like the right way to go to me, Luke Skywalker training more Jedi... I thought the books were fun to read, had some of the humor the original movies had...

If Lucas is smart

[Kelz]

he'll base the new episodes off the fantastic (and much better written than his scripts) books that spawned after return of the jedi. Heck it'll probably even increase profits from his videogame division by increasing sales of the excellent Jedi Knight II game because it would create interest in the post ROTJ world. You guys DON'T think it would be cool to see Thrawn in a movie?

Re:If Lucas is smart

[MasterRa]

I'd be up to it. Movies, TV shows.. the Expanded Universe has some VERY good stories (and some very bad ones.. i'm sure some of you have read Splinter of the Minds Eye - heh). And Thrawn would be nice to see. His bodyguard, too..

Pixar does exactly what Lucas can't, right?

[ianscot]

The biggest strength Pixar has is that it really hones the personality of a character with tiny little well-considered style points. The writing's okay, it's not completely rote Disney crap, but it's the little stuff in a character like Woody that makes it work.

Think of that first short with the lamp, way back -- who'd have thought they could make it so expressive? Or all those birds on the line; they all look alike, but the little character touches set each one apart.

George Lucas, on the other hand, can have someone like Samuel L. Jackson in a movie and make him deeply boring -- even as a Jedi Freakin' Knight! Does anyone think Lucas improves his actors? Anyone? Does he direct for nice little character touches??

What George wants this splinter company to do is make huge, distractingly detailed landscapes and gratuitously gigantic battle scenes. Take a look at the battle at the end of Episode II; that's what he thinks computer animation is about. He's as bad with character touches as any director out there.

Re:Pixar does exactly what Lucas can't, right?

[Anonymous Coward]

The writing's okay, it's not completely rote Disney crap

Actually, I would claim that the writing in Pixar's films is better than the writing in just about any other film released around the same time (ie, summer).

Re:Pixar does exactly what Lucas can't, right?

[Anonymous Coward]

"The writing's okay, it's not completely rote Disney crap"

That's because Disney didn't write or make them, they just distributed them.

No worries about that

[gosand]

We find out that Ewoks and Jar-jar form a new, dark empire who crush the evil alliance of script-leakers and Kazaa users.

I think Lucas is effectively taking care of this evil alliance simply by making more movies. You know your movies suck when nobody on Kazaa wants them.

Lucas=overrated

[wardk]

what has this guy DONE? so he created some cheesy but lovable episodes like two decades ago... everything he's done lately is absolutely horrendous. beyond horrendous.

face it, he's embarrassing himself...

I guess on the positive side, maybe he'll hire some animation people that can create something of actual worth. alas he'll probably produce blatant (and stupendously inferior)pixar ripoffs....

yaaawwwwwwnnnnnnnnnn

ok, flame away

Re:Lucas=overrated

[hcduvall]

Oh sure, the parent post is flamebaity, but he's right. Most of Lucas' ideas are high production serials or genre pics. This isn't bad just 'cause (but neither is it holy writ, or indicative of our cultural heroic subconscious whatsists). Indiana Jones, Willow, even Howard the Duck, all of that are pretty simple stuff (which for the most part I like- don't like the duck).

We love some of his work, you can argue he captured a zeigiest (sp) or something, but his track record is pretty skimpy the past decade or two as a creative force. And as a creative force he was never that innovative.

But he's grown an ego that matches his success, and that is embarassing. But so is the little fan cult glow. He can do wrong- and you are allowed to say that. you're even allowed to say you enjoyed it (even if it is crap). its not like he's apple...

Re:Lucas=overrated

[m1chael]

then stop watching his movies.

Re:Lucas=overrated

[wardk]

ok...damn, I forgot he did the Indiana Jones things, I liked those....

but holey smokes, the last two star wars were legacy killers....

as nike said...

[Anonymous Coward]

just do it!

Doing It By Hand

[Mad Man]

was Re: Why Digital?

People can't do anything by hand anymore.

I can think of at least one thing Slashdotters can , and have to, do by hand...

Re:Doing It By Hand

[evilpenguin]

This is an aside (and not a criticism of your witticism), but have you noticed how many people who post on slashdot do so in a manner that suggests they are not slashdotters? Have you noticed that sometimes this is done by registered users?

Re:Doing It By Hand

[Anonymous Coward]

I can think of at least one thing Slashdotters can , and have to, do by hand...

Yeah, you probably mean typing up boring, irritating, usless, painfully failed attempts at being witty like yours. Geez, some of you people spend more time saying standard stuff about cliche stuff than actually discuss. Get a life, this automatically makes you a more useful netizen too. If you don't want to be useful (doing something you like and sharing it in some way, adding input to discussion) but just entertain yourself by wasting other peoples time, well, fuck you.

OH JESUS

[cap'n foolsy]

oh my god, i actually clicked on the link to the article and read it! am i banned from slashdot now? :(

anyhoo, back to the subject. so they're making a new division solely for animated films? that's great - shrek is currently one of my favorite movies and i thought ice age was funny, yet oddly touching. if they keep it up they can certainly expect to keep me going back to watch their films. now if only they can keep lucas from taking part in actually *writing* anything...

Episode2

[tjhanley]

Wasn't Episode 2 already only computer animation?

Midichlorians

[Anonymous Coward]

That's all I need to say.

Ep IV was the same story we've seen done before. Downtrodden young person finds out he (or she) is secretly better than everyone else instead of worthless/boring. This is the same story as the Potter novels, Spy Kids, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, The Princess Diaries and countless other stories.

It's a decent plotline (it sure gets enough use) and the point of it is to give hope to those who feel their life is worth nothing.

The point of the story is that everyone can be worth something. You just need to go out and do something with your life.

But this story is ruined when Lucas switches the ability to use The Force from a mystical thing that anyone could have in us, to merely a bunch of midichlorians (a thinly covered version of the weird mitochondria stories) which you either have or don't have a birth. If you don't have them, then you truly are forever to be low. That's the revised explanation Ep I gave us.

When a movie is poorly written enough to invalidate the plotline of a good movie with it, then it is bad.

Same deal with Highlander II. In Highlander I, the immortals are dueling for the prize. They must be pretty damn important since they are all important and everything and are dueling for a prize the rest of us cannot have. And they have this mystical energy in them...

But in Highlander II, the story is rewritten. Now they are interstellar criminals brought here in a prison ship. Presumably they are banished to a backwater planet (ours). And as a further punishment they are given immortality. Does that make any sense to you? Not only is Highlander II a lousy story, but it ruins the story of Highlander I.

No, you are mistaken. Ep I sucked. Ep II sucked too.

Yes, Ep IV-VI have faults in them, I'm not going to deny that. But taken on their own they work a whole lot better than the two new films.

Re:Midichlorians

[cparisi]

But this story is ruined when Lucas switches the ability to use The Force from a mystical thing that anyone could have in us, to merely a bunch of midichlorians (a thinly covered version of the weird mitochondria stories) which you either have or don't have a birth. If you don't have them, then you truly are forever to be low. That's the revised explanation Ep I gave us.

For one thing, according to Qui-Gon, everyone has midichlorians, they are in all life. Some have more than others. In theory, everyone has *some* level of force ability. The people with less force ability just need to work harder, and will have less ability. You always need some base level of ability. No matter how hard most people work, they will never be as good as Michael Jordan at basketball!

Luke was not good that the Force because he practiced or was lucky. He was the son of Darth Vader! Like father like son. Genetics played a role in it from the beginning.

The mystical nature is still there in that we have no idea how the midichlorians realy work or what the force really is.

Re:Midichlorians

[nyseal]

But that's exactly the point now, isn't it. EP 1&2 can't be taken on their own merits nowadays because we already know the end result. That's the problem with prequels. If GL didn't have the cult following on this series that he's enjoyed since 1979, EP 1&2 might enjoy a different following. People tend to have good memories and I don't think 1&2 would get bashed so much if we never saw the last 3; IMHO.

Re:Midichlorians

[Anonymous Coward]

That's all I need to say.

You said it right, buddy.

When that term popped up in Episode I, I felt like I was watching a bad Star Trek episode -- and no offense to Star Trek. Providing a biological explanation for The Force was bizarre. I half expected Bones McCoy to make a cameo with his tricorder beeping and phasers at the ready.

I think one real problem is that George Lucas has three kids who are between the ages of 8 and 18. In an effort to be a "socially responsible parent", he's watered down his stories into overly-children-friendly mush and has lost his rebellious-teenage-adolescence edge. Thus, Jar-Jar Binks was an appropriate character to entertain a ten year old, but it left adults gagging.

The other problem is evident when watching the behind-the-scenes documentary on the Clone Wars DVD. Lucas has succeeded in surrounding himself with the most submissive breed of sycophants in the world, and spends way too much time critiquing and reviewing almost every frame of the computer graphics animation. For example, one animator uses a physics simulator to compute how Yoda's robe will flutter around during the finale light saber duel. But when Lucas sees the animation, he's displeased, and asks the animator to tone down the robe, even though such a change would disobey the Laws of Physics. Back and forth, back and forth, they spend several minutes listening to George Lucas critique what amounts to about 3 seconds of animation on the film; blink, and you'll miss it. Lucas seems like a nice guy, but in the back of my mind, I'm wondering if he spent as much time and energy improving his script rather than nit-picking the hell out of the visuals, maybe the movie would have been worth seeing. I remember tons of lines from Star Wars, but not one piece of memorable dialogue emerged from the Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. Where is Lawrence Kasdan when you need him...

The result? Somebody mentioned in one of the movie trade papers today that Attack of the Clones earned Lucasfilm $25 million. One executive quipped something to the effect, "That's a rounding error at Fox films".

Ep 1 and 2 quotes...

[Dethpickle]

"Wesa all oudda da boombas..."

"I'm in charge of security here, m' lady..."


Doesn't get much better than that.

Episode VII-IX

[Jedi Holocron]

Yup...Lucas will do these right after he finishes up Howard The Duck 2.

Let me hold my breath....

Everyone has it all wrong

[Anonymous Coward]

We get SW X-XII and then when the technology gets better we might see VII-XI....Sheesh!

so..

[Hard_Code]

"I wonder if Episode VII-IX would be a good choice as first projects?"

So now the additional 2 dimensions can be added to the characters, cool. Mee-sa likee.

Re:so..

[m1chael]

unfortunately you cant add dimensions to to plot so easily. but it might add more deepth to the characters.

no such thing

[Anonymous Coward]

if you've watched the later interviews, there is no episode 9. there's only episode 7 and 8.

i know i know, back in 1970 there was an episode 9, but there's not such thing anymore, never happened, never was part of the original story according to lucas.

Lucas is a hack. that should be apparent with episode 1 and 2, the selling of Pixar (smart move), disowning howard the duck, and making the bounty hunter in the bar scene shoot first. anything with the lucas name on it after the indiana jones series. Lucas pre-1990 good, Lucas post, terrible.

just a rant.

What about making one of the Lucas Arts Games?

[RedDrake]

Hey, maybe this would be a good opportunity to get a Full Throttle movie!

"When I'm on the road, I'm invincible..."

good 'history,' bad story

[squibix]

It's not even that the concepts behind the stories were so bad. It's that the screenplay adaptions of the stories were absolutely horrid...

Indeed. It almost seems like Lucas thought up the whole story a while ago, big-picture-wise, but now can't be bothered to actually write a script that could be filmed as a watchable movie. He would have done better to write a history book, Time-Life style, about the 'Rise and Fall of the Galactic Repuplic.' Or something.

What? Episodes I-II were already animated.

[blair1q]

Except for the fabulous CGI, the whole thing was made with wooden puppets, as far as I could tell.

Because

[Groo Wanderer]

It would change a lot, all for the better. The wooden, expressionless faces of the main 'actors' would be a huge step up from the episode 2 'actors'. Just think, the 'Sound of Music with large pregnant space-water buffalo' scene would improve by.... errr ... lightyears with actors that are only so bad that they are 'wooden'. The dialog could be replaced by an atari 800 running SAM (look it up, I am to lazy to find a link) for more believable emotional tone. Digital animation can only be a win/win for Lucas after epidode 2.

-Charlie

(I usually put a disclaimer here saying 'this is only sarcasm', but in this case that really doesn't aply. Sad.)

No Vision?

[Kircle]

This is just another example where Lucas lacked the vision to see where digital technologies were heading, selling off Pixar only to form a new animations studio two decades later.

You're Hired!

[macthulhu]

I've got to tell you... I liked Episode VII much more than Episode I. Better dialogue AND Han Solo!

Wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

The Star Wars of the 70s/80s had truly unprecedented action direction and revolutionary special effects. Today's offerings seem overdone to most; the Matrix seems much more innovative and interesting by comparison.

The performances in the original trilogy were worlds better. A lot of people bash Hayden Christensen for his work, but I think it's probably just hard to get into character when every single shot has complex SFX. Lucas needs to pay more attention to directing his actors and less attention being a "digital visionary."

Lucas needs to learn to write

[Anonymous Coward]

Newsflash: Lucas takes screenwriting class at Paloma Community College. Improvement in quality of films expected to skyrocket. Harrison Ford withdraws critical comments.

no VII - IX but ...

[willtsmith]

Perhaps Lucas could go back even farther and explore the evolution of the Jedi (where Yoda is the protaginist instead of a crumpled old grumpy man).

Actually, I think TV (Sci-Fi channel) would be a natural place to do some films about the new Jedi's under Luke.

Re:no VII - IX but ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps, but just as long as Lucas does nothing but fund them, and lets some people with actual skill do the work. Lucas lost his ability to write/direct/cast well years ago.

OLD news

[Mac_8100_g3]

this was news yesterday. it's history today why did it take 24 hours to get posted to /. ? *yawn*

Pixar stories.

[ashitaka]

The reason Pixar succeeds so well is simple. It's not because the stories are all that fabulous - because in reality they're pretty simple.

Three words: For the Birds.

Star Lords, Attack of the Orcs

[Dr. Evil]

"The hour is later than you think young jedi -- the army of the dark side is massing and Sauron will control the senate!"

Count Duku and Saruman are the same character. It is distractingly painful.

Re:Star Lords, Attack of the Orcs

[ceswiedler]

Yes, but so are Magneto and Gandalf!

Re:Star Lords, Attack of the Orcs

[Dr. Evil]

Excellent point :-)

The similarities in plot devices between Attack of the Clones and the two towers are a little strange though. Magneto doesn't raise an army of clones/orcs for the Empire/Sauron.

The X-men don't have a showdown at Helm's Deep/that stupid desert arena. Yeah, they do have a sort-of showdown, but there's no "army" involved (military henchmen excepted).

They even have a good-guy trapped and tortured in Orthanc/Ducu's stronghold slowly revealing bad-guy plot thing happening. Xavier was captured and controled, it is similar on the surface, but it is used differently as a plot device.

Although IMHO the most disappointing part of Attack of the Clones was that big battle at the end. Lucas sets up this huge and impossible battle... sort of like Helm's Deep. The Jedi/men are outnumbered and don't stand a chance. Tolkien sent in reenforcements... Lucas pulled a G.I. Joe and had the Jedi win by brute force... staggeringly dumb.

Yeah they're all written for kids, but I'm sure any kid over 8 would look on Lucas' work skeptically.

Re:Star Lords, Attack of the Orcs

[Dr. Evil]

I'm sure any kid over 8 would look on Lucas' work skeptically.

Not to say they wouldn't like it, they would just have playground arguments about how it was "unrealistic".

why Lucas sold Pixar

[peter303]

In the mid 1980s Pixar was basically a computer hardware company making nifty graphics accelerators for volume visualization. Since this was not the core business of LucasFilm either Pixar would would have to compete with the parent company for development capital and perhaps one or both would be shortchanged. So Lucus spun his computer divisions off hoping they could making money expanding to other markets like medical imaging, oil exploration, etc. However, in the mid-1980s UNIX graphics workstations like Apollo, HP and Sun were caught up to Pixar's hardware. The crucial insight of Job's purchase was that Pixar's graphics expertise was unparalleled, so the hardware was dumped and they never looked back.

Re:let me answer that for you sugarbitch

[Anonymous Coward]

ep 1-3 are sucking hard. i agree with you on that.

but whats with this fucking cliche "'Wars'" Cant you just say star wars, or star wars franchise, or star wars franchise designed solely to make George Fat Fuck Pedophile Cant Even Stay Married Loser Who Adpopted HIs Kids Because He Cant Even Stay Hard Enought To Fuck A Woman Because Anuses Excite Him So Much.

and whats with the all caps. WERE NOT. you some sort of fucking authority or some shit?

So Lucas is out of story ideas, eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

sounds like he's late to the game too...

ILM -- when it absolutely, positively has to be the least film for the most money....

wrong data

[Down8]

There is, and never will be any episodes 7-9. Lucas has said this before. Stop spreading the rumor, geek.

-bZj

Crossing our series, CmdrTaco?

[Mac Degger]

I mean, we all know 7-of-9 was a Trekkie :)