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Why is there so much hatred for the prequels here?

#121 User is offline   barend Icon

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Posted 10 April 2006 - 11:58 PM

and then some
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#122 User is offline   civilian_number_two Icon

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Posted 11 April 2006 - 01:09 AM

Jariten, Lucas said numerous times when he was planning the nine-part series, when he renamed STAR WARS, etc, that the droids would be the only characters in the entire series. He also said that originally he'd planned to be telling the story from the point of view of an impartial race, the Whills, who were retelling it long after it had happened. The latter notion he dropped long before STAR WARS, and the former, yeah, you're right. It's a bad idea. But he did say it. I actually have magazines in my home that contain these words, but I couldn't be bothered to scan them. I will dig them up some day and cite them if you're really doubtful, but yes, this is in popular memory because it actually happened.
"I had a lot of different ideas. At one point, Luke, Leia and Ben were all going to be little people, and we did screen tests to see if we could do that." -George Lucas, in STAR WARS: the Annotated Screenplays (p197).
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#123 User is offline   Little Nippatiz Icon

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Post icon  Posted 11 April 2006 - 12:04 PM

I was going to jump into this fun debate with proof from my Stars Wars collection of interviews from the day about whose eyes see what in the saga, etc, etc, etc,--but got quickly side tracked by an old American Cinematographer Magazine from 83' that not only quoted from George that "there are going to be 3 trilogies" ( 9 films ) and he had a notebook full of notes of what Luke would be up to in the future.
But also, one section goes deeply into George instructing "Jedi" director Richard Marquand that "both hands always must be used when fighting with a light saber because of the energy and weight involved when ignited".
George must not of seen the PT (in his mind) with the Jedi Flag Teams performing before the judges.

Anyway, after going through that fasinating bit of Lucas lore of hyprocracy as he now sits on his throne of lies, I didn't care what I was originally looking for, and satisfied with that find.
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#124 User is offline   barend Icon

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Posted 11 April 2006 - 06:20 PM

the best laid plans of mice and rats
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#125 User is offline   jariten Icon

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Posted 12 April 2006 - 01:12 AM

QUOTE (civilian_number_two @ Apr 11 2006, 01:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Jariten, Lucas said numerous times when he was planning the nine-part series, when he renamed STAR WARS, etc, that the droids would be the only characters in the entire series.


Yes, but this isn’t the point I’m disputing. What I’m taking to task is the idea that the OT (at whoevers behest) was related from the droids POV, and so this was something else that the PT corrupted by failing to carry through with the idea. As I keep saying, it only ever worked for ANH, and even then only partially.
Anyway Despondent, you really should watch Hidden Fortress if you get the chance. The wipes Kurasawa used are eerily reminiscent of you-know-what too.

QUOTE
Anyway, after going through that fasinating bit of Lucas lore of hyprocracy as he now sits on his throne of lies...


...

This post has been edited by jariten: 12 April 2006 - 01:13 AM

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#126 User is offline   civilian_number_two Icon

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Posted 12 April 2006 - 02:04 AM

Fairenough Jariten. I misunderstood your point. Yes, the stories are in fact NOT told from the droids' point of view, but we have to agree that in the OT the droids were present long enough or in contact with the cental characters so that they could be the tellers of the stories. This sure didn't happen in THE PHANTOM MENACE, where one of the droids played a minor role and the other was introduced to create a faux-nostalgic "cool" moment. I assume it didn't happen in the other two either, and the droids were under-utilized if the point was to show them as the narrators.
"I had a lot of different ideas. At one point, Luke, Leia and Ben were all going to be little people, and we did screen tests to see if we could do that." -George Lucas, in STAR WARS: the Annotated Screenplays (p197).
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#127 User is offline   Casual Fan Icon

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Posted 12 April 2006 - 08:40 PM

To be fair, up until the "Throne Room" scene in ROTJ, a droid is present in every scene in the OT that involves one of the major "good" characters.

I don't know how you could do this in an even well-crafted set of prequels without making it look contrived. You would certainly have to establish that their memory has been wiped at the end, which Lucas did for the one that can communicate in English. But there is enough room for criticism for how Lucas actually used the droids, once he decided to include them. C-3PO should have been employed at the Senate from the the start, where he would have seen a good deal of the plot and where a protocol droid actually would have been useful!

This post has been edited by Casual Fan: 12 April 2006 - 08:41 PM

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#128 User is offline   Despondent Icon

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Posted 12 April 2006 - 09:10 PM

tongue.gif positively. All but the part about him speaking English, right? Doesn't he speak Human?
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#129 User is offline   Revan-47 Icon

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Posted 13 April 2006 - 08:16 PM

Galactic Basic
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#130 User is offline   Just another wretched fan Icon

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Posted 14 April 2006 - 01:31 AM

If it helps, i think the quote about the series following the droids was in The Making of Star Wars video. The one that ends with what the actors think the sequel will be about. Carrie Fisher drops the spoiler that it will be set on an ice planet.

Sorry if i ruined the plot for anybody.

This post has been edited by Just another wretched fan: 14 April 2006 - 01:31 AM

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#131 User is offline   KurganX Icon

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Posted 14 April 2006 - 07:43 PM

I believe he also repeats the line in the ANH DVD commentary during the scene where the droids are walking around on Tatooine something to the effect of "I always/originally intended..."

Then again, you know even the Hidden Fortress is not told such that the two bumbling guys are present in every scene. "Told from their point of view" in movies often isn't completely literally, but it implies some kind of focus on these characters, when TPM can't really be said to be from their point of view at all. ANH is the strongest candidate for it, so anyway, I wonder why Lucas says it at all, because he implies it applies to ALL the movies he intended to make. Of course maybe he just forgot to say "I intended it, but dropped it after I finished the first movie."

The Hidden Fortress is not exactly like Star Wars of course (or vice versa), and it is only one of many influences of the Star Wars movies. Flash Gordon is another acknowledged influence by Lucas himself as well as spagetti Westerns and other Saturday Matinee serials, and other people have pointed out other probable influences (like the Dune books, which of course was inspired by Seven Pillars of Wisdom and Foundation Trilogy; the Adventures of Robin Hood, King Arthur, etc.).

You can even see modern influences in the prequel movies: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Dragon; Titanic; Lord of the Rings (the Peter Jackson version); Pearl Harbor...


Anyway, there was a huge page of collected Lucas quotes about the other "episodes" posted awhile back I can't remember if it was in this forum or another. But it was great to see it and prove to people who claimed this or that never happened (ie: Lucas himself). I didn't read the entire thing so I don't know if it has two specific quotes about the droids thing, but I'm sure it's probably in there, what with all the other stuff.

I also don't have a copy of the "Star Wars Annotated Screenplays" but if anyone does, that might be a good place to check as well. Check the date on it of course, because if it's a late edition it might already have retconned some of his comments... but who knows. wink.gif
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#132 User is offline   Despondent Icon

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Posted 14 April 2006 - 08:16 PM

QUOTE (KurganX @ Apr 14 2006, 07:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I also don't have a copy of the "Star Wars Annotated Screenplays" but if anyone does, that might be a good place to check as well. Check the date on it of course, because if it's a late edition it might already have retconned some of his comments... but who knows. wink.gif

Doubtful, but plausible. I have a 1979 printing of The Art of Star Wars, which includes the script (Revised fourth draft, 1/15/76) along with the art. When it was re, re-released (the book, specifically) after the SE's, rather than have to lay out the pages again and maintain flow, the new stuff was just tacked on at the end.

It would have been a lot of work to redo the book, sure. Rather, I suppose it was the amazingly detailed LFL team at work emulating that tacked-on feel the of the newer scenes and special effects.


Back to your book. it's probably safely out of print. tongue.gif
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