Who else thinks the Jedi Council was a SCAM?!?

[LMP]

I think the screenplays are more of a problem than anything. There are stellar chunks of great filmmaking in there (Palps, the fall of the Jedi, the Clone Wars, the steps toward Anakin's downfall, not the execution), offset by retarded humor or lame plots (Episode I... a blockade for a trade tax? Really?)

Maybe if he directed Episode I, let's pretend it's in an alternate universe where it doesn't disappoint, then got two other directors to do II and III a la Empire and Jedi, then it would've been better.

They're better when you watch them muted actually.

 

[lazarus]

Lucas's directing, in terms of pacing and shot composition, is great. I don't know that any director would be able to improve on that with the exception of Spielberg, and even he doesn't really have the epic John Ford/Kurosawa thing down as well as George does. Certainly not Peter Jackson. Would you want to see shaky ZombieCam in Star Wars? What Lucas brings is a traditional, but very effective style of visual storytelling where the blocking of the actors and the compositions combined with the musical score tell you most of what you need to know emotionally, the dialogue really secondary.

The problem lies more with the direction of the actors, and if you notice the veterans tend to fare a lot better than the younger ones. Jake Lloyd, Natalie, and Hayden all had their moments, but they also had more than a handful of poor line readings. Lucas was probably too quick to print a take instead of pushing them to try a little harder. By contrast, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson and Ian McDiarmid were all about as good as you could ask for in a Star Wars film, because they all have theatre training. Samuel L. Jackson wasn't as reliable, but he's not as good of an actor as the other three.

 

[lazarus]

I don't feel like hunting down the Official SW thread, but has anyone seen the trailer for the animated Clone Wars film?

The quality of the thing I downloaded was pretty shitty, but it looked quite epic. Don't know if I agree with bringing Jabba the Hutt into the story again, but whatever.

I'm sure this will make more than Final Fantasy, but the question is, how much more? There are going to be a lot of people who draw the line at live action, and won't give a shit about going back and filling in the gaps of the story.

Kids are definitely going to want to see it, though.

Prediction: $150 million U.S.

 

[Lancemc]

I'll probably see The Clone Wars movie just for the hell of it. Could be interesting enough I suppose. Wasn't a big fan of the 2D animated Clone Wars series though.

I was watching parts of The Return of the King earlier. God damn I dislike Peter Jackson's direction. The whole thing felt like a B-movie given an astronomical budget...which isn't surprising given how Jackson got his start. What I'm trying to bring to the conversation I suppose, is how much things like that make me appreciate Lucas' cinematic eye. I may still really dislike the scripts and performances in the prequel films, but they're still often beautiful to watch and much more eloquently executed.

I really want to watch American Graffiti again.

 

[lazarus]

Did you ever watch THX?

 

[bono_212]

I'm just curious, maybe I should know the answer, but why DIDN'T Spielberg ever direct any of the movies? Because of the DAG problesm Lucas had/has?

 

[Lancemc]

Did you ever watch THX?

I did. Very impressive, but calls for a rewatch. Watching AG was just pure bliss though.

 

[lazarus]

That's a good question. I wouldn't begrudge George wanting to do Episode One himself, but it would have been much better received, I imagine, had S.S. shot it.

Return of the Jedi would seem to be the obvious fit for Spielberg, and I can't tell you why he didn't or wasn't asked. But David Lynch was!

 

[LMP]

That's a good question. I wouldn't begrudge George wanting to do Episode One himself, but it would have been much better received, I imagine, had S.S. shot it.

Return of the Jedi would seem to be the obvious fit for Spielberg, and I can't tell you why he didn't or wasn't asked. But David Lynch was!

Spielberg did work the pre-vis on Episode III, most notably the Obi-Wan vs. Anakin fight at the end.

In Empire of Dreams, they said Spielberg couldn't do it because of a DGA issue. David Lynch and David Cronenberg were both asked... there's not a chance in hell they would've done it anyway, but what if?

 

[bono_212]

That makes sense to me, it just seemed weird because aren't the two of them really good friends?

 

[lazarus]

Yes. And he's good friends with Coppola as well, who I think would have been a better fit with the grandeur of the material.

Coppola + Episode One =

 

[LMP]

That makes sense to me, it just seemed weird because aren't the two of them really good friends?

If it could've been done, I think Spielberg would've definitely directed Jedi. Maybe it would've been better, who knows?

 

[Lancemc]

Don't even get me thinking about Coppola directing Star Wars.

My mind can't fathom such amazingness.

 

[LMP]

He would've been a better choice for Episode II.

 

[Lancemc]

He should have done all of them.

 

[LMP]

Then his entire family would've been the cast.

I know he's not in the family, but Al Pacino as Mace would've been hilarious.

"This party's over... hoo-ah!"

 

[Lancemc]

Nicholas Cage as Obi-Wan?

 

[LMP]

Talia Shire as Shmi.

Fucking can't stand her in anything.

 

[lazarus]

Sofia Coppola as Padme:

"Ani?" (dies)

 

[phanan]

Lucas's directing, in terms of pacing and shot composition, is great. I don't know that any director would be able to improve on that with the exception of Spielberg, and even he doesn't really have the epic John Ford/Kurosawa thing down as well as George does. Certainly not Peter Jackson. Would you want to see shaky ZombieCam in Star Wars? What Lucas brings is a traditional, but very effective style of visual storytelling where the blocking of the actors and the compositions combined with the musical score tell you most of what you need to know emotionally, the dialogue really secondary.

The problem lies more with the direction of the actors, and if you notice the veterans tend to fare a lot better than the younger ones. Jake Lloyd, Natalie, and Hayden all had their moments, but they also had more than a handful of poor line readings. Lucas was probably too quick to print a take instead of pushing them to try a little harder. By contrast, Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson and Ian McDiarmid were all about as good as you could ask for in a Star Wars film, because they all have theatre training. Samuel L. Jackson wasn't as reliable, but he's not as good of an actor as the other three.

I agree with this.

Perhaps he should have had a co-director for certain scenes...

 

[phanan]

I don't feel like hunting down the Official SW thread, but has anyone seen the trailer for the animated Clone Wars film?

The quality of the thing I downloaded was pretty shitty, but it looked quite epic. Don't know if I agree with bringing Jabba the Hutt into the story again, but whatever.

I'm sure this will make more than Final Fantasy, but the question is, how much more? There are going to be a lot of people who draw the line at live action, and won't give a shit about going back and filling in the gaps of the story.

Kids are definitely going to want to see it, though.

Prediction: $150 million U.S.

I'll see it, as I'm that much of a Star Wars junkie.

I wouldn't be surprised if it reached $200 million in the U.S.