Posted by
CowboyNeal
on from the jar-jar-is-sounding-better dept.
Cortices writes "Here is a story recently posted on aint-it-cool-news telling of a rumor that Leo DiCaprio would be playing Anakin Skywalker in the next Star Wars movie. Opinions seem to be mixed on the subject but I for one am not all that crazy about the idea. "
I hope not. I haven't seen that many movies of Leo's, but I haven't been particularly impressed.
He just doesn't strike me as the young adult version of Anakin Skywalker, unless Anakin is supposed to come off as whining, everyone wished he would get killed type. -- Winston Yen
-- -- Winston Yen
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that
genius has it's limits."
I agree that Luke was a whiney brat, but for some reason or other, I didn't wish that he got killed. Sometimes I would wish that he'd shut up, but not die.:)
Anyway, is Anakin supposed to be like Luke exactly? I haven't kept up with all the books, rumors, etc. that might have shed a little more light on young Anakin, but I always thought of him as being more on the cocky, overconfident side. Something like the character of Maverick from TopGun, except instead of bouncing back from a bad situation, he slips over to the Dark Side. (I guess I'm getting this impression from Obi-Wan's comment saying Luke's father was a great fighter pilot in Star Wars.)
-- Winston Yen
-- -- Winston Yen
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that
genius has it's limits."
The queenie already has a contract for the next 2 movies, doesn't she? So it will look really stupid if the queen is 17 and Anakin is 7 in one movie, and then in the next movie Anakin is 25 and the queen is 19. I know we have to suspend disbelief with sci fi, but something like that is just way too far out to happen. It's just a rumor; I doubt they'd get someone as old as Leo to play Anakin if they're going to use the same queen.
-----BEGIN ANNOYING SIG BLOCK----- Evan
-- rooooar
Jar Jar doesn't look so bad now, eh?
by
Trunks
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· Score: 5
Wouldn't it be funny if Lucas decided to get back at all the Jar Jar bashing (he's NOT for the older age groups, yet people can't seem to accept that) by casting Leo for Anakin. If this WAS true, I bet everyone would turn around and start yelling "WE LOVE JAR JAR.":) Lucas has also said that Episode 2 was supposed to be the "romantic" one...maybe he's thinking he could use Leo to draw all the ladies to watch...worked for Titanic after all.
The really really bad thing would be if Lucas does cast him, he'd be in both Ep2 and Ep3. Ick! The bright side (if you can call it that) of Leo being casted is that we see him fall into a molten pit in Ep3.:) He's not big enough to be Vader I think anyway, way too scrawny.
*BaronCarlos thought that George Lucas didn't want type cast actors playing the roles of his Saga/Drama.* Leo, is just that, a type cast punk. Me thinks that this is a viscious rumor in the wake of the premier of the Phantom Menace.
And, someone correct me if I'm wrong, The Second feature is already in development. Correct? *Carlos: Exit Stage Right*
"Geeks, Where would you be without them?"
-- *Carlos: Exit Stage Right*
"Geeks, Where would you be without them?"
"Got Linux?"
Typecast actors?!? He didn't want typecast actors!?!? When I saw Samuel L. Jackson all I could think about was his biblical line in Pulp Fiction. "The boy is dangerous. You won't train him, Qui-Gon. If you try to train him without the counsel's permission, then you will know my name is the lord when I lay my vengance upon thee."
-- ---
A Jesus Fish eating a Darwin Fish only proves Darwin's point.
If your only exposure to DiCaprio was Titanic, than sure, you're going to be hell bent on killing him before he ruins Episode 2. If, however, you have seen his other work, you, like me, will be sceptical but not horrified. If you've seen "Basketball Diaries," "This Boys Life," or "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," DiCaprio distinguishes himself as a great actor for someone his age. Lucas has always said, "I don't cast stars, I make them" so I have a feeling if DiCaprio is going to be in the movie, it will be a sort-of cameo like Samuel Jackson in Ep1. You never know though, he does look like he could be the father of Luke.
i wouldnt write this off so quick. i imagine 90% of the posts to this thread will be "leo decrapio" and some reference to the old lady in titanic. but i think we've all seen lucas' casting abilites enough to be able to tell he wont make this decision if it will be a poor one. we have also seen his directing abilities enough to be able to say that if anyone can turn leo into a good actor, he can. im not saying he's the best actor for the job.. im just saying.. who can play a teenage anikin well? i cant think of one good teenage white male actor. (and i think george did a great job with jake lloyd. or he got lucky..)
His best casting job was Harrison Ford. Next was Liam Neeson and Ewan Macgregor. Then Billy Dee Williams, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Natalie Portman...And he's directed FOUR movies. And Mark Hamill still isn't a good actor, Carrie Fisher is a writer, and Billy Dee hasn't worked since 1990 or thereabouts. Harrison Ford almost wasn't cast in Star Wars, and Liam, Ewan, and Natalie were all good/decent actors before Phantom Menace.
Who here REALLY wants to share the opening night theaters with not only fellow geeks, but hordes of young teen females screaming and drooling over him? Gack.
Of course, imagine the box office sales..
Lets all do Lucas a favor and list off actors that could do the role who AREN'T Leo. I'm sure we could come across far better actors who aren't hearthrobs.
If they don't fit into the film, so what! In every film there must the little cute animal(s), that gives something to complain for the audience, or they'd start to complain about the film. This because people are never happy.
Besides, the ewoks are cute, and if I wouldn't like to live with them (this for my boyfriend;), I still can watch the movie and feel happy about them.
If you others are so adult, try to remember how it felt to look at a cute little animal when you were 5 years old!
My opinion is that the movie was over-anticipated, way too much hype. However, it was a great movie, and the annoying things like Jar Jar just make it that much better. Mark Hammil annoys the hell out of me-but I will end up watching the original trilogy over and over, just like I always do. And for everyone who didn't like TPM-guess what? Not everyone liked New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and since Return of the Jedi is the only one I am old enough to remember seeing in a theater-I know for a fact that there was plenty of bitching about that one (damn Ewoks!) And as far as the complaining about all the hype going on outside of the theater-I seem to remember seeing nothing but Ewoks for about two years after ROTJ-I can even remember getting up on Saturday mornings and watching the cartoon.
I'm sure that we would have had just as much nit-picking back then as we do now-unfortunately the most powerful PC was a Commodore 64-so there were no inside scoops (and gossip), no Quicktime video clips, no online discussions-Lucas just did it, and everyone left him alone-and we are all thankful of it now.
So if the rumor is true-it won't really matter how we feel about it right now. Lucas will do what he thinks is best, and fifteen years from now it will become an obession for OUR children....
We've all gotten very accustomed to a democratic form of government here at/. Rob has been most accommodating to the pressures generated onto him by his viewing public.
Let's stop a minute to realize that George Lucas is NOT Rob Malda. Lucas has something in mind, and come hell or high water, he will tell us HIS story. If the studios couldn't bastardize HIS VISION, (except maybe that mitochlorian abomination and virgin-birth) then why should it be swayed by a bunch of whining geeks who have nothing better to do than contemplate the lineage of a fictitious character.
Lucas has a particular story in mind.
Anakin is destined to become Vader. He starts out as a sweet, innocent and exceptional kid, the seed of prophecy. What better way to turn him to the Dark Side than to make him a lover, to make him completely opposite of what he is to be. And then make his reasons for becoming the anti-thesis of his former self truly tragic. DiCaprio has played romantic characters before, and he's done a decent job judging by how all the teen girls swoon at his name. He'd be coming into familiar territory; he's being type-cast.
And what better way to make the audience feel for the character than to feel for the actor? And to his credit, DiCaprio has the looks of young Luke.
As for Jar Jar - to everything there is a reason. A HUGE part of Lucas' profit comes from toys. Kids buy toys. Kids like cute, goofy characters. Jar Jar is already the most marketed character of them all. There's a Jar Jar 3D adventure game for Krissakes!
Yes, the adults notice Maul and Jinn, and buy the 10$ book and discuss the philosophy of the Jedi over Cappuccino. But it's the kids who nag mom and dad to buy them the entire collection of action figures, all the coloring books and play-doh fun factories with the Jar Jar shaped cookie-cutters.
Like everyone else in the world, Lucas is in it for the money, and he's making it HIS way. More power to him, I say. And if you don't like it, don't go see the movie another dozen times.
--
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
Re:The lack of maturity of slashdotters
by
Pendulum
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· Score: 4
I would say we're just not used to it yet. I mean, I was born in '77, and can't imagine a world w/o Star Wars. Episode 1 is as good as the others, particularly after you've seen it the second time, and the third, and the fourth... well, it just keeps on getting better. I admit, Anakin's "Yipeeee!" still grates my nerves, but Luke's whiny "But I was going to Toshi station to pick up those power converters" is just as bad.
But you barely even notice how annoying Luke is, or C3P0, because you're so used to it (well, I speak for myself here). They're beautiful, and I guarantee that most people who are out there right now bitching about Anakin or JarJar will embrace the film in the end, and years from now will be saying to someone "Well, everybody hated the movie because of JarJar at first, but not me, because I saw the true value of the film..."
Leo? Well, yes and no. I am a chick and therefor qualify as an expert on this whole Leo DiCaprio thing. Also my college roomate budgeted her OSAP (Ontario Student Loan) carefully to allow for maximum veiwing of Titanic. He'll be okay, if the rumour's true. That's my opinion. Eventually we will grow to love him, or whoever is cast in the role. George certainly doesn't need to pick him to bring people in. He's got us. We're hooked. I'm going to put hundreds of $$ in that man's pocket, I'm sure. I already have. Lack of maturity? Yes. But what did you expect? We're all kids when it comes to this storyline. It's a fairy tale. And unless there is an hour-long segment of monkies rubbing their own feces all over each other, I'm going to love the next two movies. After seriously bitching about them for a week or two, of course.
You forgot Sir Alec Guiness
by
ENOENT
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· Score: 3
What can I say? I think that Sir Alec Guiness saved Episode IV from being a simple shoot-em-up, blow-up-things-in-space movie. Ford was fun, but Guiness made it all seem more meaningful.
Yeah, but the kid did a pretty good job acting. The kid is also not immediately recognizable to most people, so you think "This is anakin skywalker." With Leonardo DiCaprio, you think "This is Leonardo DiCaprio," not "This is anakin skywalker," as you're supposed to be thinking.
I personally liked Anakin's performance in Episode 1. I do not like anything that Leonardo DiCaprio has been in.
Re:Amazing! -- It's a lie
by
Simeon2000
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· Score: 2
"A) George Lucas isn't *stupid*. He got where he was by making bright moves and not following the herd. Besides, people hire people like Leo DiCap to try to generate publicity for their movie (STARRING xxxxx!!). Somehow, I think that Star Wars isn't really in need of generated publicity."
This is true, Lucas ISN'T stupid. He has to know who to go to to "Show him the money". Why is each movie in the trilogy in the top 10 grossing films of all time? Answer: Geeks.
Who buys all the toys? Geeks. Who watches each movie in the film 4-5 times just to get to catch the little flaws? Geeks. Who buys every little revision in VHS and DVD? Geeks.
So then, here's my take on why Lucas might use DiCaprio... he already has us. We are his "automatic customer base". Like someone said earlier, he could make the next film "Jar Jar's Revenge" and we'd still go see it. So he already has us. But, Lucas is a man like everybody else. He wants to see more green. What's the only film that grossed more than SW? Titanic.
Why did Titanic make mucho dinero? DiCaprio. Every little giggly teenaged girl who reads all of the Teeny-Bopper magazines got together with their girlfriends and went to see THAT movie at least 15 times... per weekend. They all wished they were that girl in the movie... whatever her name was.
So there you have it... by casting DiCaprio, the next SW may (in Lucas' mind) be the top grossing film of all time... but he would be forgetting one thing. He may lose his original "customer base"... geeks. Why? WE DESPISE LEONARDO DICAPRIO types, and all other iconized Hollywood manufactured actors. He is the epitome of the anti-geek.
Yes, George, you may gain a slew of new female SW converts by casting Leo in Anakin's role... but at the risk of losing your most faithful subjects... geeks. But then again... even WE couldn't propel SW to the money machine Titanic was... so maybe he won't mind losing us. Just my thoughts. ----- if ($anyone_cares) {print "Just Another Perl Newbie"}
-- warn "Just Another Perl User" if $anyone_cares;
Anyone seen "The Basketball Diaries"? Good flick, and DiCaprio did an excellent job in that, even as a kid.
Sure, he was a schmuck in Titanic. But Jim Cameron never lets his actors steal the show-- the acting from Cameron's movies usually comes out looking second-rate no matter who's in them.
And I guarantee George Lucas is planning for a somewhat whiny character for Anakin Skywalker in the second one (Remember Luke in "A New Hope"? Same deal).
So I think DiCaprio might be a pretty good fit. Jeez, a guy does one cheezy movie so he can get absurdly rich and get hot chicks, and everyone writes him off? C'mon.
I agree -- in fact, Leo would probably be an excellent choice. If you've seen _What's_Eating_Gilbert_Grape_ or _This_Boys_Life_, you know that he has talent. He could do a brilliant job as a hero falling to the Dark Side.
And as far as attracting teen-age girls, I'm sure he will. Financially, I don't think Lucas could make a better choice. There will be a love story with Anakin and his wife. Why not cast someone you know up front has the sex appeal to make a billion dollar movie?? I wouldn't even be surprised if Kate Winslet was brought in also as the future Mrs. Skywalker. If recastings work for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, it should work for Leo and Kate as well. Once again, "True love, pre-destined to end in tragedy..."
Um.. look at the kid that they cast as Anakin in the PM. Look at Luke. You're saying that Leo doesn't fit with the blonde wimpy look? Jeese, you'd almost get the feeling folks here are threatened by the fact that Leo seems to be a pretty popular young entertainer. I'm not saying he's a wonderful actor, but I do think that he looks the part. And for those of you threatening not to see the movie.. right, if you're affected so greatly by this decision, then you're so into Star Wars that you'd see it even if it was an hour and a half of Lucas dancing about the screen naked with a light saber.;)
After getting over my initial bout of nausea at the thought of Leonardo playing the essence of the Dark Side (it's tough enough imagining the little kid growing up to be James Earl Jones, but Leonardo.. as Jar-Jar would say, "How wude!"), I actually allowed my brain to start working.
Lucas is in the inital stages of writing the screenplay for Episode 2. He's said so himself, when questioned about the rumors floating around about Episode 2 and casting and what-not. The chances that Leonardo was being interviewed for it are doubtful at best. Lucas has also been rumored to be working on a new Indiana Jones. Perhaps Leonardo is being interviewed for that. Guess what? That idea is just as baseless as Leonardo playing Anakin.
Lucas was recently interviewed about the hype surrounding Star Wars and said it's pretty much ridiculous. People are now throwing themselves into a frenzy over a rumored interview. Can't we finish dissecting the first movie before we start in on the second?
The biggest problem with Leo for the role, is that in BIG mainstream films e.g. Titanic and, Romeo and Juliet, Leo's acting ability is lost to the film's story. In films that are more intimate is where he does good work. I personally would choose Nicolas Cage. Looking at the variety of roles Cage has done in both personality and physicality e.g. Raising Arizona, Leaving Las Vegas, Con Air, I think he would perform quite well.
-- Shawn
Do I detect a hint of JEALOUSY?
by
spun
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· Score: 3
Look, I'm really sorry that you aren't popular and wish you had girls drooling over you like Leo does, but that's no excuse for making him out to be, what? worse than the worst actor around, a human abomination, I mean, come on, some of these posts are a little over the top. He's just an actor. Star Wars is just a movie series. Why do you all care so much?
-- -
None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
1. Mark Hammil could be brought back to play Anikin in Ep.3 - family resemblence 2. Buba Fett becomes a major character, played by Mike Meyers (we get to see him out of the armor for the first time) 3. We discover that Storm Troopers are really Gunguns under that armor.
I actually like Leo, and think he could do a good turn at making Annakin go from innocent to evil. Don't judge him from Titanic, though I think he did decent acting - he was given crap dialogue. Judge him instead from his better roles, like in Basketball Diaries or What's Eating Gilbert Grape?.
Now personally I wish Lucas wouldn't use any name actors at all, but that's not going to happen.
Very crowded thread, may just be lost in the noise. Oh well.
I don't see why people can't stand Jar Jar; sure, he's annoying and irritating, but I'm pretty sure he was designed that way. IMHO, Jar Jar is representative and symbolic of the klutzy, clumsy, graceless, tactless, and inept teenager we all were, at some time or another. Or we were the misfit in grade school no one would hang out with, who got banished to the far side of the playground stuck with a book and waiting for recess to end. Or the person always picked last for dodgeball, forced onto the unlucky team who had too few players, or was always the benchwarmer during pickup baseball games.
I would think people could pick up on the fact. Perhaps if/. had existed 20 years ago, we'd see some very similar complaining about how wimpy and stupid Luke was, and how he ruined the movie, or how much they hated C3P0. I don't know, but I think Jar Jar was a very important part of the film, if only because of that message I picked out, and I hope to see more of him, to see him mature and grow out of his klutziness.
-AS
--
-AS
*Pikachu*
Natalie Portman will be 21 real soon...
by
Anonymous+Shepherd
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· Score: 2
So by the time EP II comes out, she may very well be 21, and at least 19 when they start filming next year. I mean, she was a 17 year old playing a 14 year old's part!
With a bit of make up, the right clothes, she should have no problem looking her age. I mean, she will be her age, right?
I had qualms going into TPM because I knew that Jackson was going to be in the movie. I knew who he was, and frankly, I thought that it would make it that much more difficult to believe his character because of it. Now, Liam Neason (sp is probably very off) was another character that others may have known well. I didn't realize who it was untill after the movie was over and someone told me. At which point, I thought to myself "Oh yeah! Hey, that is the same guy!" But I can just picture myself now, stepping out of the theatre for SW II, and whimpering every time I think of Anakin and associate Growing Pains, and a spoiled twip being glad that he wasn't nominated for any Oscars due to his performance in some disaster movie because he "didn't want to take all of the glory away from the other actors and actresses". How sad can we be?
-- something clever
Methinks everyone has become too selfish.
by
Phantasmagoria
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· Score: 5
I spent the past 3 hours reading commments on Slashdot and other sites regarding TPM, Decaprio, and everything else related to Star Wars. If there is anything I learned from this, it's that everyone has become just too selfish. Everyone wants it to be MY Star Wars movie. "TPM sucked hard because it wasn't what I expected", etc. etc. etc. What people need to realize is that one cannot please everyone - if that is what George Lucas tries to do, he will fail because that is impossible. And so he did what was right: He did what HE WANTED TO DO. Guys! Star Wars was dreamed up by him. He created it, he defined it. This is his baby, and he is doing what he wants to with it. And that is why I am cheering him on. Any artist will tell you that artists don't produce work that they think the general public will like. They produce what they want to, what they dream up, what they find interesting or intriguing. And that is what George Lucas is doing. If you read Lucus's biography or the history of the making of A New Hope, you'll see that George was in great difficulties when making it. They were underbudgeted and way behind in the technology they needed to do what George Lucas wanted to. Yet he went on to make his fantasy come to life. In the new trilogy, George Lucas is continuing to do what he should as an artist: Experiment with his latest tools and produce work that HE finds interesting. Now he has all the kool CGI technology he could only dream of back in the 80's.
One thing that I believed that has corrupted the movie industry is that fact that it has almost all but stopped being an art form. I hear all these screams about this and that person being money hungry and doing so and so just to juice the money machine some more. But the same people who are complaing about this are also, without losing any breath, critisizing TPM because it didn't cater to what THEY thought the movie should have been. When people go to an art gallery or a play, they don't criticize the work because THEY didn't like it. The artist isn't trying to please them, he is trying to please himself, and then let others enjoy his work at the same time. If you don't like TPM, why whine? Lucas wasn't making the movie for you. Yes, I realize he has his fans and he wants to please them, but that should not define his work. X is a fan of Y because X likes what Y makes, NOT because Y makes what X wants Y to make.
I'd also like to talk about specific points that I've seen come up over and over. (1) The plot sucked. My question is why do you think it sucked? Because it didn't have deep philosophical aspects? Because it didn't have deep character development? Excuse me, but Star Wars is a stort of space battles, princesses, and heroes "saving the galaxy" (I quote). And that is how I look at it and love it - as a fantastic story of good and evil and their constant strife. Remember A New Hope? Probably the most character development that took place was for C-Threepio. Only in TESB and ROTJ did Lucas go deeper into the story. He is doing exactly the same here. (2) Jar Jar should be crucified. Jar Jar was there for 2 reasons, one because TPM is a movie for all ages and like C-Threepio, comic relief is always welcome. I understand that his carribean accent turned some people off, but hey! so what. The other bigger reason was that Lucas wanted to experiment with fully CGI characters, and Jar Jar was his test-pilot. Lucas obviously had a lot of fun in this movie. He have different species different accents - the underwater creatures more carribean/african, the traders more european. And then there was the Queens hairdo. All fun stuff. This movie is not supposed to be very serious plotwise, it is just an introduction to all the characters who are going to be important very soon (alas, two years ain't soon enough!).
I have written far too much for a simple "comment" already, but I need to cover one more point: (3) Dicaprio Hmmm. First of all, we have no idea what Anakin is supposed to be like in Episode 2. No I don't care how many times you have watched the movies, or read the comics/books, or analyzed everything else. Lucas is writing the story and he can doing anything. For all we know Anakin might have been an annoying but cute starfighter teen-idol with girls flocking him everywhere! Or he might have been a quiet starfighter pilot that people looked up to with awe and mystery. Whatever. If you don't what DiCaprio because you hate the annoying 14-year-olds that keep swooning over him, then your argument is baseless. If you say his physical characteristics don't match, that too is wrong because Anakin wasn't necessarily a big guy as a teen. As for acting, well, we'll have to see.
Before I end I repeat. Give Lucas a break. Let him do what I loves doing. And let us have as much of a great time as he is by enjoying it with him, or just leave him be. I am a Star Wars fan, yes, but not a blind fanatic like a lot of people. I've grown up with Lucas's movies and I respect him for producing kewl stuff, but I am in no position to criticize his work if I don't like it. He does, and that is what matters.
------------------
-- Loban Amaan Rahman ==> Anagram of ==> Aha! An Abnormal Man!
...I mean this far before Episode I came out we were inundated with Kenneth Branagh as Obi-Wan and Charleton Heston rumors, and we can see how accurate those were.
--
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
The lack of maturity of slashdotters
by
Jish
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· Score: 4
I like reading the stories on slashdot, but in the last couple weeks I have become totally disgusted with the users of slashdot.
You fit all the immature whiny nerd images I can think of. You start off cool by liking something as brilliant as the Star Wars trilogy and then don't have the maturity or intelligence to handle the new films at all. 95% of the discussion on Jar Jar and Anakin et al has been whiny crap from people complaining that certain parts of these movies aren't how THEY would have planned them.
What happened to your faith in George Lucas and the story itself? You loved what he did with the other movies and now when he is inspired to continue the saga you rip him to shreads. I think you should all take a step back and realize you aren't the only ones in the world and that your little nitpicks are stupid, selfish, and annoying to the rest of us.
In terms of Leonardo DiCaprio. Before Titanic he was regarded as one of the premiere young actors. Films such as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "The Basketball Diaries" being two of his critically acclaimed roles. Even Woody Allen casted him in his last movie because he was a good ACTOR, not to get girls to see the film.
I think this rumor is probably not true but if he was cast he would probably be one of the better actual actors to be in a Star Wars film. You people should like this especially because of some of your whining about Jake Lloyd's Anakin in TPM. And in terms of him tainting the role? I mean come on... Titanic was one movie... unfortunately it gave him a reputation and became something horrible in terms of what it did to our countries movie industry. However, for you people to turn against the possibility of this casting just based on this one movie is shortsighted, ignorant, and again immature.
I know some people here are not like the majority of posters but I just really wanted to get this out because a lot of the people here need to grow the hell up
Someone will probably beat me to it, but Ep. 2 needs someone who 1) can pull off looking like Jake Lloyd at 15, and 2) has no trouble with Anakin's inevitable seduction by the Dark Side.
So if DeCaprio's not the guy, he's probably on the short list of capable actors who meet both criteria.
My doubts about this rumor, if I gave it much thought, would focus on 1) DeCaprio's inevitable price tag and Lucas' willingness to pay it, and 2) DeCaprio avoiding wrecking himself on monster binges long enough to get through filming.
Of course, Carrie Fisher did alright in three movies whilst coked up pretty heavily (so I hear).
-- _____
The antidote to bad speech is not censorship, but more speech.
It says that 'Nardo has been seen at the Ranch. It *speculates* the he was because Lucas wants him to play Skywalker. That part is wildly uncomfirmed .
Slashdot Mirror
I hope not. I haven't seen that many movies of Leo's, but I haven't been particularly impressed.
He just doesn't strike me as the young adult version of Anakin Skywalker, unless Anakin is supposed to come off as whining, everyone wished he would get killed type.
-- Winston Yen
-- Winston Yen
"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits."
-----BEGIN ANNOYING SIG BLOCK-----
Evan
rooooar
Wouldn't it be funny if Lucas decided to get back at all the Jar Jar bashing (he's NOT for the older age groups, yet people can't seem to accept that) by casting Leo for Anakin. If this WAS true, I bet everyone would turn around and start yelling "WE LOVE JAR JAR." :) Lucas has also said that Episode 2 was supposed to be the "romantic" one...maybe he's thinking he could use Leo to draw all the ladies to watch...worked for Titanic after all.
:) He's not big enough to be Vader I think anyway, way too scrawny.
The really really bad thing would be if Lucas does cast him, he'd be in both Ep2 and Ep3. Ick! The bright side (if you can call it that) of Leo being casted is that we see him fall into a molten pit in Ep3.
This post sponsored by Ninja Burger. "
Leo, is just that, a type cast punk. Me thinks that this is a viscious rumor in the wake of the premier of the Phantom Menace.
And, someone correct me if I'm wrong, The Second feature is already in development. Correct?
*Carlos: Exit Stage Right*
"Geeks, Where would you be without them?"
*Carlos: Exit Stage Right*
"Geeks, Where would you be without them?"
"Got Linux?"
If your only exposure to DiCaprio was Titanic, than sure, you're going to be hell bent on killing him before he ruins Episode 2. If, however, you have seen his other work, you, like me, will be sceptical but not horrified. If you've seen "Basketball Diaries," "This Boys Life," or "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," DiCaprio distinguishes himself as a great actor for someone his age. Lucas has always said, "I don't cast stars, I make them" so I have a feeling if DiCaprio is going to be in the movie, it will be a sort-of cameo like Samuel Jackson in Ep1. You never know though, he does look like he could be the father of Luke.
Log
Who here REALLY wants to share the opening night theaters with not only fellow geeks, but hordes of young teen females screaming and drooling over him? Gack.
Of course, imagine the box office sales..
Lets all do Lucas a favor and list off actors that could do the role who AREN'T Leo. I'm sure we could come across far better actors who aren't hearthrobs.
What better way to transform Anakin into Vader than to make the entire viewing audience hate him? Leo will make the villification a simple process.
Well, *now* we know why Anakin turns to the Dark Side!
If they don't fit into the film, so what! In every film there must the little cute animal(s), that gives something to complain for the audience, or they'd start to complain about the film. This because people are never happy.
Besides, the ewoks are cute, and if I wouldn't like to live with them (this for my boyfriend;), I still can watch the movie and feel happy about them.
If you others are so adult, try to remember how it felt to look at a cute little animal when you were 5 years old!
My opinion is that the movie was over-anticipated, way too much hype. However, it was a great movie, and the annoying things like Jar Jar just make it that much better. Mark Hammil annoys the hell out of me-but I will end up watching the original trilogy over and over, just like I always do. And for everyone who didn't like TPM-guess what? Not everyone liked New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and since Return of the Jedi is the only one I am old enough to remember seeing in a theater-I know for a fact that there was plenty of bitching about that one (damn Ewoks!) And as far as the complaining about all the hype going on outside of the theater-I seem to remember seeing nothing but Ewoks for about two years after ROTJ-I can even remember getting up on Saturday mornings and watching the cartoon.
I'm sure that we would have had just as much nit-picking back then as we do now-unfortunately the most powerful PC was a Commodore 64-so there were no inside scoops (and gossip), no Quicktime video clips, no online discussions-Lucas just did it, and everyone left him alone-and we are all thankful of it now.
So if the rumor is true-it won't really matter how we feel about it right now. Lucas will do what he thinks is best, and fifteen years from now it will become an obession for OUR children....
Folks,
/. Rob has been most accommodating to the pressures generated onto him by his viewing public.
We've all gotten very accustomed to a democratic form of government here at
Let's stop a minute to realize that George Lucas is NOT Rob Malda. Lucas has something in mind, and come hell or high water, he will tell us HIS story. If the studios couldn't bastardize HIS VISION, (except maybe that mitochlorian abomination and virgin-birth) then why should it be swayed by a bunch of whining geeks who have nothing better to do than contemplate the lineage of a fictitious character.
Lucas has a particular story in mind.
Anakin is destined to become Vader. He starts out as a sweet, innocent and exceptional kid, the seed of prophecy. What better way to turn him to the Dark Side than to make him a lover, to make him completely opposite of what he is to be. And then make his reasons for becoming the anti-thesis of his former self truly tragic. DiCaprio has played romantic characters before, and he's done a decent job judging by how all the teen girls swoon at his name. He'd be coming into familiar territory; he's being type-cast.
And what better way to make the audience feel for the character than to feel for the actor? And to his credit, DiCaprio has the looks of young Luke.
As for Jar Jar - to everything there is a reason. A HUGE part of Lucas' profit comes from toys. Kids buy toys. Kids like cute, goofy characters. Jar Jar is already the most marketed character of them all. There's a Jar Jar 3D adventure game for Krissakes!
Yes, the adults notice Maul and Jinn, and buy the 10$ book and discuss the philosophy of the Jedi over Cappuccino. But it's the kids who nag mom and dad to buy them the entire collection of action figures, all the coloring books and play-doh fun factories with the Jar Jar shaped cookie-cutters.
Like everyone else in the world, Lucas is in it for the money, and he's making it HIS way. More power to him, I say. And if you don't like it, don't go see the movie another dozen times.
-- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
I would say we're just not used to it yet. I mean, I was born in '77, and can't imagine a world w/o Star Wars. Episode 1 is as good as the others, particularly after you've seen it the second time, and the third, and the fourth... well, it just keeps on getting better. I admit, Anakin's "Yipeeee!" still grates my nerves, but Luke's whiny "But I was going to Toshi station to pick up those power converters" is just as bad.
But you barely even notice how annoying Luke is, or C3P0, because you're so used to it (well, I speak for myself here). They're beautiful, and I guarantee that most people who are out there right now bitching about Anakin or JarJar will embrace the film in the end, and years from now will be saying to someone "Well, everybody hated the movie because of JarJar at first, but not me, because I saw the true value of the film..."
Leo? Well, yes and no. I am a chick and therefor qualify as an expert on this whole Leo DiCaprio thing. Also my college roomate budgeted her OSAP (Ontario Student Loan) carefully to allow for maximum veiwing of Titanic. He'll be okay, if the rumour's true. That's my opinion.
Eventually we will grow to love him, or whoever is cast in the role. George certainly doesn't need to pick him to bring people in. He's got us. We're hooked. I'm going to put hundreds of $$ in that man's pocket, I'm sure. I already have.
Lack of maturity? Yes. But what did you expect? We're all kids when it comes to this storyline. It's a fairy tale. And unless there is an hour-long segment of monkies rubbing their own feces all over each other, I'm going to love the next two movies. After seriously bitching about them for a week or two, of course.
What can I say? I think that Sir Alec Guiness saved Episode IV from being a simple shoot-em-up, blow-up-things-in-space movie. Ford was fun, but Guiness made it all seem more meaningful.
That's "Mr. Soulless Automaton" to you, Bub.
Yeah, but the kid did a pretty good job acting. The kid is also not immediately recognizable to most people, so you think "This is anakin skywalker." With Leonardo DiCaprio, you think "This is Leonardo DiCaprio," not "This is anakin skywalker," as you're supposed to be thinking.
I personally liked Anakin's performance in Episode 1. I do not like anything that Leonardo DiCaprio has been in.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
"A) George Lucas isn't *stupid*. He got where he was by making bright moves and not following the herd. Besides, people hire people like
Leo DiCap to try to generate publicity for their movie (STARRING xxxxx!!). Somehow, I think that Star Wars isn't really in need of generated publicity."
This is true, Lucas ISN'T stupid. He has to know who to go to to "Show him the money". Why is each movie in the trilogy in the top 10 grossing films of all time? Answer: Geeks.
Who buys all the toys? Geeks. Who watches each movie in the film 4-5 times just to get to catch the little flaws? Geeks. Who buys every little revision in VHS and DVD? Geeks.
So then, here's my take on why Lucas might use DiCaprio... he already has us. We are his "automatic customer base". Like someone said earlier, he could make the next film "Jar Jar's Revenge" and we'd still go see it. So he already has us. But, Lucas is a man like everybody else. He wants to see more green. What's the only film that grossed more than SW? Titanic.
Why did Titanic make mucho dinero? DiCaprio. Every little giggly teenaged girl who reads all of the Teeny-Bopper magazines got together with their girlfriends and went to see THAT movie at least 15 times... per weekend. They all wished they were that girl in the movie... whatever her name was.
So there you have it... by casting DiCaprio, the next SW may (in Lucas' mind) be the top grossing film of all time... but he would be forgetting one thing. He may lose his original "customer base"... geeks. Why? WE DESPISE LEONARDO DICAPRIO types, and all other iconized Hollywood manufactured actors. He is the epitome of the anti-geek.
Yes, George, you may gain a slew of new female SW converts by casting Leo in Anakin's role... but at the risk of losing your most faithful subjects... geeks. But then again... even WE couldn't propel SW to the money machine Titanic was... so maybe he won't mind losing us. Just my thoughts.
----- if ($anyone_cares) {print "Just Another Perl Newbie"}
warn "Just Another Perl User" if $anyone_cares;
Anyone seen "The Basketball Diaries"? Good flick, and DiCaprio did an excellent job in that, even as a kid.
Sure, he was a schmuck in Titanic. But Jim Cameron never lets his actors steal the show-- the acting from Cameron's movies usually comes out looking second-rate no matter who's in them.
And I guarantee George Lucas is planning for a somewhat whiny character for Anakin Skywalker in the second one (Remember Luke in "A New Hope"? Same deal).
So I think DiCaprio might be a pretty good fit. Jeez, a guy does one cheezy movie so he can get absurdly rich and get hot chicks, and everyone writes him off? C'mon.
Mid
And as far as attracting teen-age girls, I'm sure he will. Financially, I don't think Lucas could make a better choice. There will be a love story with Anakin and his wife. Why not cast someone you know up front has the sex appeal to make a billion dollar movie?? I wouldn't even be surprised if Kate Winslet was brought in also as the future Mrs. Skywalker. If recastings work for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, it should work for Leo and Kate as well. Once again, "True love, pre-destined to end in tragedy..."
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-- Rock
-- http://home.att.net/~rocq
- - -
"The sixth sick shiek's sixth sheep's sick."
Um.. look at the kid that they cast as Anakin in the PM. Look at Luke. You're saying that Leo doesn't fit with the blonde wimpy look? Jeese, you'd almost get the feeling folks here are threatened by the fact that Leo seems to be a pretty popular young entertainer. I'm not saying he's a wonderful actor, but I do think that he looks the part. And for those of you threatening not to see the movie.. right, if you're affected so greatly by this decision, then you're so into Star Wars that you'd see it even if it was an hour and a half of Lucas dancing about the screen naked with a light saber. ;)
--Loki77
After getting over my initial bout of nausea at the thought of Leonardo playing the essence of the Dark Side (it's tough enough imagining the little kid growing up to be James Earl Jones, but Leonardo .. as Jar-Jar would say, "How wude!"), I actually allowed my brain to start working.
Lucas is in the inital stages of writing the screenplay for Episode 2. He's said so himself, when questioned about the rumors floating around about Episode 2 and casting and what-not. The chances that Leonardo was being interviewed for it are doubtful at best. Lucas has also been rumored to be working on a new Indiana Jones. Perhaps Leonardo is being interviewed for that. Guess what? That idea is just as baseless as Leonardo playing Anakin.
Lucas was recently interviewed about the hype surrounding Star Wars and said it's pretty much ridiculous. People are now throwing themselves into a frenzy over a rumored interview. Can't we finish dissecting the first movie before we start in on the second?
What about Macaulay Caulkin? Hmm? :)
The biggest problem with Leo for the role, is that in BIG mainstream films e.g. Titanic and, Romeo and Juliet, Leo's acting ability is lost to the film's story. In films that are more intimate is where he does good work. I personally would choose Nicolas Cage. Looking at the variety of roles Cage has done in both personality and physicality e.g. Raising Arizona, Leaving Las Vegas, Con Air, I think he would perform quite well.
Shawn
Look, I'm really sorry that you aren't popular and wish you had girls drooling over you like Leo does, but that's no excuse for making him out to be, what? worse than the worst actor around, a human abomination, I mean, come on, some of these posts are a little over the top. He's just an actor. Star Wars is just a movie series. Why do you all care so much?
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
1. Mark Hammil could be brought back to play Anikin in Ep.3 - family resemblence
2. Buba Fett becomes a major character, played by Mike Meyers (we get to see him out of the armor for the first time)
3. We discover that Storm Troopers are really Gunguns under that armor.
I actually like Leo, and think he could do a good turn at making Annakin go from innocent to evil.
Don't judge him from Titanic, though I think he did decent acting - he was given crap dialogue. Judge him instead from his better roles, like in Basketball Diaries or What's Eating Gilbert Grape?.
Now personally I wish Lucas wouldn't use any name actors at all, but that's not going to happen.
Better living through money.
Very crowded thread, may just be lost in the noise. Oh well.
/. had existed 20 years ago, we'd see some very similar complaining about how wimpy and stupid Luke was, and how he ruined the movie, or how much they hated C3P0. I don't know, but I think Jar Jar was a very important part of the film, if only because of that message I picked out, and I hope to see more of him, to see him mature and grow out of his klutziness.
I don't see why people can't stand Jar Jar; sure, he's annoying and irritating, but I'm pretty sure he was designed that way. IMHO, Jar Jar is representative and symbolic of the klutzy, clumsy, graceless, tactless, and inept teenager we all were, at some time or another. Or we were the misfit in grade school no one would hang out with, who got banished to the far side of the playground stuck with a book and waiting for recess to end. Or the person always picked last for dodgeball, forced onto the unlucky team who had too few players, or was always the benchwarmer during pickup baseball games.
I would think people could pick up on the fact. Perhaps if
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
She turns 18 in 13 days...
see Countdown to Legality
So by the time EP II comes out, she may very well be 21, and at least 19 when they start filming next year. I mean, she was a 17 year old playing a 14 year old's part!
With a bit of make up, the right clothes, she should have no problem looking her age. I mean, she will be her age, right?
-AS
-AS
*Pikachu*
I had qualms going into TPM because I knew that Jackson was going to be in the movie. I knew who he was, and frankly, I thought that it would make it that much more difficult to believe his character because of it. Now, Liam Neason (sp is probably very off) was another character that others may have known well. I didn't realize who it was untill after the movie was over and someone told me. At which point, I thought to myself "Oh yeah! Hey, that is the same guy!" But I can just picture myself now, stepping out of the theatre for SW II, and whimpering every time I think of Anakin and associate Growing Pains, and a spoiled twip being glad that he wasn't nominated for any Oscars due to his performance in some disaster movie because he "didn't want to take all of the glory away from the other actors and actresses". How sad can we be?
something clever
I spent the past 3 hours reading commments on Slashdot and other sites regarding TPM, Decaprio, and everything else related to Star Wars. If there is anything I learned from this, it's that everyone has become just too selfish. Everyone wants it to be MY Star Wars movie. "TPM sucked hard because it wasn't what I expected", etc. etc. etc. What people need to realize is that one cannot please everyone - if that is what George Lucas tries to do, he will fail because that is impossible. And so he did what was right: He did what HE WANTED TO DO. Guys! Star Wars was dreamed up by him. He created it, he defined it. This is his baby, and he is doing what he wants to with it. And that is why I am cheering him on. Any artist will tell you that artists don't produce work that they think the general public will like. They produce what they want to, what they dream up, what they find interesting or intriguing. And that is what George Lucas is doing. If you read Lucus's biography or the history of the making of A New Hope, you'll see that George was in great difficulties when making it. They were underbudgeted and way behind in the technology they needed to do what George Lucas wanted to. Yet he went on to make his fantasy come to life. In the new trilogy, George Lucas is continuing to do what he should as an artist: Experiment with his latest tools and produce work that HE finds interesting. Now he has all the kool CGI technology he could only dream of back in the 80's.
One thing that I believed that has corrupted the movie industry is that fact that it has almost all but stopped being an art form. I hear all these screams about this and that person being money hungry and doing so and so just to juice the money machine some more. But the same people who are complaing about this are also, without losing any breath, critisizing TPM because it didn't cater to what THEY thought the movie should have been. When people go to an art gallery or a play, they don't criticize the work because THEY didn't like it. The artist isn't trying to please them, he is trying to please himself, and then let others enjoy his work at the same time. If you don't like TPM, why whine? Lucas wasn't making the movie for you. Yes, I realize he has his fans and he wants to please them, but that should not define his work. X is a fan of Y because X likes what Y makes, NOT because Y makes what X wants Y to make.
I'd also like to talk about specific points that I've seen come up over and over. (1) The plot sucked. My question is why do you think it sucked? Because it didn't have deep philosophical aspects? Because it didn't have deep character development? Excuse me, but Star Wars is a stort of space battles, princesses, and heroes "saving the galaxy" (I quote). And that is how I look at it and love it - as a fantastic story of good and evil and their constant strife. Remember A New Hope? Probably the most character development that took place was for C-Threepio. Only in TESB and ROTJ did Lucas go deeper into the story. He is doing exactly the same here. (2) Jar Jar should be crucified. Jar Jar was there for 2 reasons, one because TPM is a movie for all ages and like C-Threepio, comic relief is always welcome. I understand that his carribean accent turned some people off, but hey! so what. The other bigger reason was that Lucas wanted to experiment with fully CGI characters, and Jar Jar was his test-pilot. Lucas obviously had a lot of fun in this movie. He have different species different accents - the underwater creatures more carribean/african, the traders more european. And then there was the Queens hairdo. All fun stuff. This movie is not supposed to be very serious plotwise, it is just an introduction to all the characters who are going to be important very soon (alas, two years ain't soon enough!).
I have written far too much for a simple "comment" already, but I need to cover one more point: (3) Dicaprio Hmmm. First of all, we have no idea what Anakin is supposed to be like in Episode 2. No I don't care how many times you have watched the movies, or read the comics/books, or analyzed everything else. Lucas is writing the story and he can doing anything. For all we know Anakin might have been an annoying but cute starfighter teen-idol with girls flocking him everywhere! Or he might have been a quiet starfighter pilot that people looked up to with awe and mystery. Whatever. If you don't what DiCaprio because you hate the annoying 14-year-olds that keep swooning over him, then your argument is baseless. If you say his physical characteristics don't match, that too is wrong because Anakin wasn't necessarily a big guy as a teen. As for acting, well, we'll have to see.
Before I end I repeat. Give Lucas a break. Let him do what I loves doing. And let us have as much of a great time as he is by enjoying it with him, or just leave him be. I am a Star Wars fan, yes, but not a blind fanatic like a lot of people. I've grown up with Lucas's movies and I respect him for producing kewl stuff, but I am in no position to criticize his work if I don't like it. He does, and that is what matters.
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Loban Amaan Rahman ==> Anagram of ==> Aha! An Abnormal Man!
...I mean this far before Episode I came out we were inundated with Kenneth Branagh as Obi-Wan and Charleton Heston rumors, and we can see how accurate those were.
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
I like reading the stories on slashdot, but in the last couple weeks I have become totally disgusted with the users of slashdot.
You fit all the immature whiny nerd images I can think of. You start off cool by liking something as brilliant as the Star Wars trilogy and then don't have the maturity or intelligence to handle the new films at all. 95% of the discussion on Jar Jar and Anakin et al has been whiny crap from people complaining that certain parts of these movies aren't how THEY would have planned them.
What happened to your faith in George Lucas and the story itself? You loved what he did with the other movies and now when he is inspired to continue the saga you rip him to shreads. I think you should all take a step back and realize you aren't the only ones in the world and that your little nitpicks are stupid, selfish, and annoying to the rest of us.
In terms of Leonardo DiCaprio. Before Titanic he was regarded as one of the premiere young actors. Films such as "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "The Basketball Diaries" being two of his critically acclaimed roles. Even Woody Allen casted him in his last movie because he was a good ACTOR, not to get girls to see the film.
I think this rumor is probably not true but if he was cast he would probably be one of the better actual actors to be in a Star Wars film. You people should like this especially because of some of your whining about Jake Lloyd's Anakin in TPM. And in terms of him tainting the role? I mean come on... Titanic was one movie... unfortunately it gave him a reputation and became something horrible in terms of what it did to our countries movie industry. However, for you people to turn against the possibility of this casting just based on this one movie is shortsighted, ignorant, and again immature.
I know some people here are not like the majority of posters but I just really wanted to get this out because a lot of the people here need to grow the hell up
Josh
Someone will probably beat me to it, but Ep. 2 needs someone who 1) can pull off looking like Jake Lloyd at 15, and 2) has no trouble with Anakin's inevitable seduction by the Dark Side.
So if DeCaprio's not the guy, he's probably on the short list of capable actors who meet both criteria.
My doubts about this rumor, if I gave it much thought, would focus on 1) DeCaprio's inevitable price tag and Lucas' willingness to pay it, and 2) DeCaprio avoiding wrecking himself on monster binges long enough to get through filming.
Of course, Carrie Fisher did alright in three movies whilst coked up pretty heavily (so I hear).
_____
The antidote to bad speech is not censorship, but more speech.
It says that 'Nardo has been seen at the Ranch.
It *speculates* the he was because Lucas wants him to play Skywalker. That part is wildly uncomfirmed .
The search effects the results.
That was my very first thought on seeing this.
I will literally never see that movie if DiCrapio the Wonder Boy of Hollywood makes it into the movie.
I think he is too old to play a teenaged Anakin, though. This smells like just a rumor to me. And rumors that smell this bad usually aren't true.
If only "common" sense was actually that common...