Chefelf.com Night Life: Interesting paragraph - Chefelf.com Night Life

Jump to content

Star Wars Fan Convention

  • (3 Pages)
  • +
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

Interesting paragraph from lucas' biography

#1 User is offline   Garth Vader Icon

  • Mini Boss
  • PipPip
  • Group: Junior Members
  • Posts: 123
  • Joined: 27-July 04

Posted 25 March 2005 - 10:48 AM

This is about the making of empire strikes back:

"As shooting lagged further behind, Lucas and Marcia arrived back in london. 'Paul Hirsch, the editor, had put together a rough assembly, and it was pretty slow', says Kurtz. 'George didn't like it at all'. In a fury, he attacked Kurtz, Kershner and Hirsch, raging, 'You're ruining my movie!' Over the next two days, he recut the whole film. throwing out the early wampa sequnce shot by Kurtz, and discarding almost all the love scenes. the result was a confused mess, going for action at every cut. 'It was awful', says Kurtz. 'It was chopped into tiny pieces, and everything was fast.'"

that last line is so relevant to the prequels it's almost unreal. i reckon without lucas' influence on everything from directing to editing, the prequels would've been great films, you can see it in that paragraph alone. in this case, kurtz and the editor Paul Hirsch told lucas to calm down, and convinced him they'd make another cut - the one you see today. I wonder how ESB would've turned out had lucas got his way in this one like he has in the prequels etc.

This post has been edited by Garth Vader: 25 March 2005 - 10:57 AM

0

#2 User is offline   Paladin Icon

  • Soothsayer
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 780
  • Joined: 29-December 03

Posted 25 March 2005 - 01:00 PM

I guess the only good Star Wars movie that George Lucas made was the first one... the rest would have been absolute crap if he was allowed to have a big role in it.

Of course, if you give him complete control, you get the prequel! yell.gif
0

#3 User is offline   Hannibal Icon

  • Legend
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Former Members
  • Posts: 1,013
  • Joined: 29-October 04
  • Country:United States

Posted 25 March 2005 - 01:19 PM

There is quite a bit more dirt like this in the biographies, this is not an isolated incident.
"Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities also has the power to make you commit atrocities."
~ Voltaire (1694-1778)


Enjoy this Tribute to Nazism...(Mp3)
0

#4 User is offline   littlejerryseinfeld Icon

  • Henchman
  • Pip
  • Group: Junior Members
  • Posts: 88
  • Joined: 26-October 04
  • Location:newport beach, CA
  • Country:United States

Posted 25 March 2005 - 01:20 PM

i don't know if editing alone could have saved the prequels. as the fantom edit shows, it would improve the movie - but the overall plot and dialogue are still horrible.
0

#5 User is offline   ernesttomlinson Icon

  • Level Boss
  • PipPipPip
  • Group: Junior Members
  • Posts: 342
  • Joined: 28-September 04

Posted 25 March 2005 - 02:12 PM

Marcia Lucas edited the first movie, didn't she? She and George Lucas hadn't split yet at the time of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK but perhaps they were already on the outs and that's why Lucas recut ESB the way he did, cutting out all of the romantic scenes. Just some irresponsible speculation here.
0

#6 User is offline   Paladin Icon

  • Soothsayer
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 780
  • Joined: 29-December 03

Posted 25 March 2005 - 02:19 PM

He cut out ALL the romance scenes? What was there going to be left of the movie? A bunch of people running away, and Luke being trained?
0

#7 User is offline   barend Icon

  • Anchor Head Anchor Man
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Crappy News Team
  • Posts: 11,839
  • Joined: 12-November 03
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Nieuw Holland
  • Interests:The Beers of Western Europe, Cognac, and constantly claiming the world would have been a better place if Napoleon had won.
  • Country:Australia

Posted 25 March 2005 - 10:00 PM

george lucas is just some dork who came up with an interesting galaxy...

what made the OT so good was the work the professionals involved did.
not him...

george is friends with and hung out some good directors...
for some reason he didn't realize there was a diference between hanging out with good directors and being one.

hugh hefner hangs arounf with playboy bunnies all day and all night, and that's cool, but i don't want to see him naked!

at least hugh understands that!!!

This post has been edited by barend: 25 March 2005 - 10:01 PM

0

#8 User is offline   Vwing Icon

  • Soothsayer
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Junior Members
  • Posts: 657
  • Joined: 31-October 03

Posted 25 March 2005 - 11:37 PM

may i ask what biography thats from?
0

#9 User is offline   Garth Vader Icon

  • Mini Boss
  • PipPip
  • Group: Junior Members
  • Posts: 123
  • Joined: 27-July 04

Posted 26 March 2005 - 01:30 PM

John Baxter's. also has some interesting larry kasdan quotes, saying that he had to completely re-write lucas' screenwriting drafts fo return of the jedi as they were "terrible".
0

#10 User is offline   CowboyCurtis Icon

  • Soothsayer
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 800
  • Joined: 11-February 04
  • Location:Minnesooota
  • Interests:I lose interest in more things each and every day as things grow more and more mediocre and substandard...
  • Country:United States

Posted 26 March 2005 - 03:14 PM

Similar quotes were in Pollack's "Skywalking."
Flying Ferret

Battle for the Galaxy--read the "other Star Wars"

All I know is I haven't seen the real prequels yet.
0

#11 User is offline   jariten Icon

  • making the nature scene
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 1,845
  • Joined: 18-August 04
  • Location:in the bin
  • Country:Nothing Selected

Posted 26 March 2005 - 05:48 PM

QUOTE
"As shooting lagged further behind, Lucas and Marcia arrived back in london. 'Paul Hirsch, the editor, had put together a rough assembly, and it was pretty slow', says Kurtz. 'George didn't like it at all'. In a fury, he attacked Kurtz, Kershner and Hirsch, raging, 'You're ruining my movie!' Over the next two days, he recut the whole film. throwing out the early wampa sequnce shot by Kurtz, and discarding almost all the love scenes. the result was a confused mess, going for action at every cut. 'It was awful', says Kurtz. 'It was chopped into tiny pieces, and everything was fast.'"


More nonsense from the self procalimed saviour of Star Wars. "Hey, remember me everyone? I wanted Han Solo to die in Jedi! Hey guys? Guys??"
0

#12 User is offline   Garth Vader Icon

  • Mini Boss
  • PipPip
  • Group: Junior Members
  • Posts: 123
  • Joined: 27-July 04

Posted 26 March 2005 - 06:22 PM

considering the quality of the prequels would you actually bet against that? it's one of the reasons why the gap in quality between empire and jedi is so vast - of all of the folk who worked on empire, editor hirsch, producer kurtz, director kershner, screenwriter kasdan - only one of them returned. wonder why?
0

#13 User is offline   CowboyCurtis Icon

  • Soothsayer
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 800
  • Joined: 11-February 04
  • Location:Minnesooota
  • Interests:I lose interest in more things each and every day as things grow more and more mediocre and substandard...
  • Country:United States

Posted 26 March 2005 - 06:59 PM

I love this.... Kurtz is wrong... Kasdan is wrong... they're ALL wrong but George Lucas.
Flying Ferret

Battle for the Galaxy--read the "other Star Wars"

All I know is I haven't seen the real prequels yet.
0

#14 User is offline   jariten Icon

  • making the nature scene
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 1,845
  • Joined: 18-August 04
  • Location:in the bin
  • Country:Nothing Selected

Posted 27 March 2005 - 06:39 AM

No, Kurtz isn't wrong as such, just manipulative. I do see him as a kind of figurehead representing the theft off Star Wars from the children who it was intended for to the sad 30-somethings who get exicted when words like DARK are used to describe Empire, who buy toys but dont open them, and who've convinced themselves over the years that SW is a DARK, COMPLEX masterpiece and HOW DARE Lucas point the franchise at kids! Hes surrounded by yes men! Get Kurtz back! He knew a thing or two about how to make it socially acceptable for me to like kids movies! Kurtz likes to imagine himself as attempting to make Star Wars into something it never was and never will be, and people are easy to convince when their heads are full of mis-remembered nostalga.
0

#15 User is offline   CowboyCurtis Icon

  • Soothsayer
  • PipPipPipPip
  • Group: Members
  • Posts: 800
  • Joined: 11-February 04
  • Location:Minnesooota
  • Interests:I lose interest in more things each and every day as things grow more and more mediocre and substandard...
  • Country:United States

Posted 27 March 2005 - 09:57 AM

Ooookay, then why is Lucas touting ROTS as "dark" and saying things like, "you probably shouldn't bring your kids?"

Hmm. I see. Just completely snub a fan base that has stuck with a franchise since childhood... a BUILT-IN fanbase. Brilliant strategy... just brilliant. The movies could've been made to cover ALL fan-bases, and there we go again about how "dark" a movie needs to be to appeal to only the 30 something. Again, I never asked for that. Again, ANH still appeals to me and not considered "dark" even though there are dark touches here and there.

The prequels were suppose to be dark anyway, especially with the knowledge we were given in the OT. Lucas said they were going to be dark umpteen years ago. He knew he wouldn't/shouldn't/couldn't really make "kiddie movies" anyway. And as you've conveniently forgotten, not just "kiddies" went to see Star Wars, it was a broader audience, and that's why it made more money.


And funny you call Kurtz "manipulative"? And Lucas is NOT!!??? You put out commericialization of Episode 1 with the (Quote) main villain (unquote) all over the media to suck people into the film, and yet he has the least lines, the least motivation, the least justification for his presence, and the least screen-time, and that's NOT manipulative!!??


Give me a break!
Flying Ferret

Battle for the Galaxy--read the "other Star Wars"

All I know is I haven't seen the real prequels yet.
0

  • (3 Pages)
  • +
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3


Fast Reply

  • Decrease editor size
  • Increase editor size