Will Star Wars movies ever go digital??

[Airship Ariadne]

Apparently the 3D version of the prequel trilogy are going to be shown at Celebration this year. These were reportedly completed and were set to be released before Disney bought Lucasfilm and shut down the release (they also cancelled the 3D version of Little Mermaid...they were just over teh glut of 3D movies apparently).

So if you are heading to Anaheim for Celebration, you can see episodes 1-3 in 3D...personally, I'd settle for non-altered episodes 4-6...or like a PP mentions, ones with SOME alterations.

The only one I just can't stand is Greedo shooting first....I even will stomach the new song in Jedi as the old song wasn't that great either...and at least they changed the end celebration from that annoying "Yub-Nub" Ewok song.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The only SE element that I really went in for was adding windows to cloud city. I'm hearing strong rumors that Disney wants to get the original unaltered films on blu-ray before The Force Awakens.

Getting the six films from Fox is a pretty simple cash negotiation. Easier than the Paramount/Marvel deal, probably.

That's what I had read...I think in movie buzz

And I also think a distribution buyout deal with fox is actually easier than you think...
Disney now owns all elements of Star Wars... Which means there is little angle for fox to hold distribution hostage. For what? There's no way they can make anything off it without giving the lion share back to Disney.

As opposed to Comcast... Who have a significant portion of their themepark business garnering what amounts to free advertising as their competitor puts out new materials and product to strenghthen their appeal.

Different animals.

As I said... The Lucas/mccallum junk was crap...to deny it or look for merit is silly... And papa Mickey is going to basically say "daddy is bringin you 2 billion fans back home"...

IF they can pull off the movie. Word around the net is the actors are saying its incredible...Abrams is fighting with the studio people behind the scenes...more to follow there.

FYI...I'm reading " how Star Wars conquered the world" and it is quite good...a must for thoughtful fans. ( and me too . )

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The "shuttle sequence" at the end esb is a Greek tragedy...

They took what is one of the best sequences of the whole film series - Johnny Williams driving score and visuals (along with the hyperspace/Akbar scenes in Jedi) - and interrupted it to provide blue screen crap with a couple of shots of extras in costumes.

Why? It was perfect before...and the "amazing" new shots looked rehashed, out of place, and useless.

The background visuals in the special edition were ok...anytime they changed the story it blew.

 

[Twin Dad]

Fox holds the distribution rights to 5 of the six movies until 2020, they have the rights to Episode 4 in perpetuity.

I know. I was in a rush trying to post before I had to wake the kids.

That's what I had read...I think in movie buzz

And I also think a distribution buyout deal with fox is actually easier than you think...
Disney now owns all elements of Star Wars... Which means there is little angle for fox to hold distribution hostage. For what? There's no way they can make anything off it without giving the lion share back to Disney.

As opposed to Comcast... Who have a significant portion of their themepark business garnering what amounts to free advertising as their competitor puts out new materials and product to strenghthen their appeal.

Different animals.

As I said... The Lucas/mccallum junk was crap...to deny it or look for merit is silly... And papa Mickey is going to basically say "daddy is bringin you 2 billion fans back home"...

IF they can pull off the movie. Word around the net is the actors are saying its incredible...Abrams is fighting with the studio people behind the scenes...more to follow there.

FYI...I'm reading " how Star Wars conquered the world" and it is quite good...a must for thoughtful fans. ( and me too . )

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on the prequels and the special editions.

I am surprised that the two sides haven't reached a deal yet. It's not like Fox would get a big cut anyways. I read they only get like 6-8% of the proceeds. I don't see why they wouldn't take a nice big check and call it a day before they lose the other 5 movies in 5 years.

I am very excited for the new films. I was thrilled that J.J. was brought in as director. The trailer looked awesome. I've read a lot of rumors and I've got a feeling that some of them are real and some are from the script that was scrapped to throw people off the scent. The concept art looks really cool. I'm not going to put a lot of stock into what the actors say. They are going out of their way to praise Abrams but that could just be a smoke screen. All I know is we have about 350 days to wait. And keep in mind, we never thought that day was going to come.

LoL, I'm curious if you've watched any of the new Rebels series or read Tarkin.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I read the first two book sets...20 years ago?

And then I decided the "EU" wasn't such a good thing. It never had the right " feel" and it had the potential to get out of control.

Where are we now?
Bad product and half thought stories all over the place...

And then george let it bleed up on the screen...the "trade federation"..."gungans"?

I swear he threw those down as he waited in the drive thru at Starbucks.

The quality was never there. And George tells you "it was meant that way...it was supposedly a 1930 stupido genre!!"

But yet still...those three movies with "inferior effects"...while not citizen Kane...had a little heart and with Alec Guiness and yoda...a little soul.

Why?
Gary Kurtz, Leigh bracket, Irvin kershner, Lawrence kasdan...

It wasnt a one man trip,..others
Did alot to make it work.
It wasnt "do whatever!!! Just sell it!!"

Just my take.

I like rebels...I have a 7 year old
And it's a good way to rev him up WITHOUT Jango Fett, wookie saturation, and jar jar

We'll see.

FYI...the 3D movie at the convention this year was announced today as only ep 3...the "passable" one with direct lead in to the "inferior" trilogy...

Draw your own conclusions there.

 

[ChipnDale79]

There are very easy solutions to this if you already have the media. Ask anyone who has a HTPC in their house.

Just curious, any idea how much it would cost to get something like this setup....ball park figure?

 

[Twin Dad]

I read the first two book sets...20 years ago?

And then I decided the "EU" wasn't such a good thing. It never had the right " feel" and it had the potential to get out of control.

Where are we now?
Bad product and half thought stories all over the place...

And then george let it bleed up on the screen...the "trade federation"..."gungans"?

I swear he threw those down as he waited in the drive thru at Starbucks.

The quality was never there. And George tells you "it was meant that way...it was supposedly a 1930 stupido genre!!"

But yet still...those three movies with "inferior effects"...while not citizen Kane...had a little heart and with Alec Guiness and yoda...a little soul.

Why?
Gary Kurtz, Leigh bracket, Irvin kershner, Lawrence kasdan...

It wasnt a one man trip,..others
Did alot to make it work.
It wasnt "do whatever!!! Just sell it!!"

Just my take.

I like rebels...I have a 7 year old
And it's a good way to rev him up WITHOUT Jango Fett, wookie saturation, and jar jar

We'll see.

FYI...the 3D movie at the convention this year was announced today as only ep 3...the "passable" one with direct lead in to the "inferior" trilogy...

Draw your own conclusions there.

I don't know where you're getting that I think the original trilogy is inferior. It the better of the two but the effects are dated. Heck you go back now and the second trilogy looks dated. The biggest difference in the two trilogies is that in the first one there were editors and in the second one there wasn't one. In the first trilogy the script was rewriten on set. That didn't happen the second time around and everything looked stiff. Also, no one was there to tell George to cut back on Jar-Jar, throw out the midichlorians, and rework the awkward romance scene in the Attack of the Clones. If those things were done you and many others wouldn't be going off on a tangent any time someone brings up the prequels.

I'm liking Rebels so far and so is my 6 year old. I still won't let him watch the Clone Wars. This series the violence is toned down but the themes we recognize from the saga are still there. Also, I know we're only six months into the new canon but I'm glad that everything is under the direction of one story group. The old EU had way too many moving parts and I seriously wondered how some of the stories got approved.

 

[Spacedog1975]

There is inherent flaw with prequels and this prequel trilogy. Well developed backstory makes for more interesting characters and situations. If you go back and tell that backstory, and don't develop a backstory that precedes it, it feels flat.

I do think the prequel trilogy could have been much improved with more directors, writers, and editors in the mix. With just Lucas guiding the whole enterprise it was kind of an indulgent mess.

Episode I might have made a good 20 minute prelude to Episode II, which needed its own work (dialogue, for one). There should have been a completely new Episode II that developed the clone war and a gradual darkening of Anakin. Episode III could have been mostly unchanged with such a bridge to support it. There would still need to be a better plan to explain the twins and the droids.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I get what your both saying and agree...

But the reality is all those flaws DID happen and made the once rock solid franchise...a tad shaky now. Not from money... The potential to maintain grip in the market.

I wasn't accusing anyone of saying the original movies were "inferior"...I was referencing george Lucas's flippant comments during the release of the "car wreck" trilogy about how "superior" his computers where... What a fool. Wheelie droids and gnats with guns and enough spaceships in the air to look like a jam on the 405.

I just don't like him very much. His lack of recognition of what a good movie ( let alone all the other junk including toys) looks like made it look like the whole first three movies was a hoax...or not done by the same guy.

That's were my "old Star Wars" anger comes from...I longed for more and then when it came it spoiled the mythos.

I just read "you have to hate Star Wars to make Star Wars"...which apparently is a common slogan at Lucasfilm and had been since 1976...
And I get it...you can hate the hurdles
And the corn but LOVE the idea behind it...

But it was treated like a whipped dog...

Which means now...it is imperative that Disney, Abrams, etc understand that it's their responsibility to repair first, then capitalize.

They didnt buy the keys to a Ferrari...they are your grandma's orthopedist about to replace her hip.

She could still be "good as new"

Another interesting factoid: anyone want to guess what a intelligent guess (first one I've seen broken down realistically) as to what the total haul of Star Wars had been? All products and tickets...not adjusted for inflation?

40 billion...

40

Lol...anyone want to have that cultural phenomenon discussion about Avatar again?
Frozen? I'll even take on Harry potter

 

[Twin Dad]

There is inherent flaw with prequels and this prequel trilogy. Well developed backstory makes for more interesting characters and situations. If you go back and tell that backstory, and don't develop a backstory that precedes it, it feels flat.

I do think the prequel trilogy could have been much improved with more directors, writers, and editors in the mix. With just Lucas guiding the whole enterprise it was kind of an indulgent mess.

Episode I might have made a good 20 minute prelude to Episode II, which needed its own work (dialogue, for one). There should have been a completely new Episode II that developed the clone war and a gradual darkening of Anakin. Episode III could have been mostly unchanged with such a bridge to support it. There would still need to be a better plan to explain the twins and the droids.

Darth Plagius is exactly what you're looking for. It introduces a lot of the players from the prequel trilogy and shows how they all fit together. Only problem is it came out 15 years too late. I don't even think the lack of a solid backstory was a problem. If you look back at the original trilogy, there's only a handful of ambiguous lines that give us any clue as to what happened. It fell to the execution of the story which was lacking in key spots.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Darth Plagius is exactly what you're looking for. It introduces a lot of the players from the prequel trilogy and shows how they all fit together. Only problem is it came out 15 years too late. I don't even think the lack of a solid backstory was a problem. If you look back at the original trilogy, there's only a handful of ambiguous lines that give us any clue as to what happened. It fell to the execution of the story which was lacking in key spots.

Like Jedi master sipha Dias?

Or yoda communing with qui gon jinn...just take his word for it

 

[Twin Dad]

I get what your both saying and agree...

But the reality is all those flaws DID happen and made the once rock solid franchise...a tad shaky now. Not from money... The potential to maintain grip in the market.

I wasn't accusing anyone of saying the original movies were "inferior"...I was referencing george Lucas's flippant comments during the release of the "car wreck" trilogy about how "superior" his computers where... What a fool. Wheelie droids and gnats with guns and enough spaceships in the air to look like a jam on the 405.

I just don't like him very much. His lack of recognition of what a good movie ( let alone all the other junk including toys) looks like made it look like the whole first three movies was a hoax...or not done by the same guy.

That's were my "old Star Wars" anger comes from...I longed for more and then when it came it spoiled the mythos.

I just read "you have to hate Star Wars to make Star Wars"...which apparently is a common slogan at Lucasfilm and had been since 1976...
And I get it...you can hate the hurdles
And the corn but LOVE the idea behind it...

But it was treated like a whipped dog...

Which means now...it is imperative that Disney, Abrams, etc understand that it's their responsibility to repair first, then capitalize.

They didnt buy the keys to a Ferrari...they are your grandma's orthopedist about to replace her hip.

She could still be "good as new"

Another interesting factoid: anyone want to guess what a intelligent guess (first one I've seen broken down realistically) as to what the total haul of Star Wars had been? All products and tickets...not adjusted for inflation?

40 billion...

40

Lol...anyone want to have that cultural phenomenon discussion about Avatar again?
Frozen? I'll even take on Harry potter

In short the young idealistic filmmaker came back to the magic fountain as a cynical middle aged businessman and tried to recapture the magic and it didn't work out so well.

I think you were right on Star Wars being on the downslope had Disney not bought it. The Clone Wars was coming to an end with no successor in sight. The EU, while still publishing books was running out of ideas. Lucas Arts was a shriveled husk. Then, whoosh. Disney comes in and takes over and injects new life and ideas into everything. You have new movies, TV shows, comics, and novels coming out that, for the first time, are all interconnected coming down the pipe. Now the $2.50 question and the one you keep hinting at it is, "Will the quality be there?" So far, Rebels has been a critical success. The two novels are solid. I'm not a big comic book guy so I can't speak to that but we'll see how those do. Everything J.J. has said tells me they got the right guy. It's going to be a long year waiting to find out if I'm right but that trailer looked really good.

 

[Twin Dad]

Like Jedi master sipha Dias?

Or yoda communing with qui gon jinn...just take his word for it

Both those questions were answered in the Clone Wars. Sypho Dias was also covered in Darth Plagius. I wasn't a fan of dropping the Qui-gon thing in at the end like they did. In the novel version of that scene they had the conversation between the two. That would have been sewn things up better.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Both those questions were answered in the Clone Wars. Sypho Dias was also covered in Darth Plagius. I wasn't a fan of dropping the Qui-gon thing in at the end like they did. In the novel version of that scene they had the conversation between the two. That would have been sewn things up better.

Which means...

They never should have been mentioned at all.

Films must stand on their own and complete their arcs...
It's a different, mass audience that can't be expected to watch 100 cartoon episodes or read novels to stop them from scratching their heads outside the amc...

If they didnt need actual stories... The. Michael bay can be the only director and we can fire everyone else.

But as you and others have highlighted - no film editors. That absolute, laughable junk should never have been in there...

So let me get this straight:

Obi wan finds 10 million man army... Whose template tries to kill him... Reports back to Samuel L and yoda... Who then gives "oh...that's
Interesting" sly grin when name of "purchaser" is mentioned...

Then says nothing, does nothing, jumps
In ninja gunship to use said army... Then runs them like a troop of circus clowns for
The next 10 years?

That is so laughable I can't believe it 13 years later.

Sci fi...space fantasy... That doesn't wash in any of it. The matrix is more believable as an audience.

 

[Twin Dad]

Which means...

They never should have been mentioned at all.

Films must stand on their own and complete their arcs...
It's a different, mass audience that can't be expected to watch 100 cartoon episodes or read novels to stop them from scratching their heads outside the amc...

If they didnt need actual stories... The. Michael bay can be the only director and we can fire everyone else.

But as you and others have highlighted - no film editors. That absolute, laughable junk should never have been in there...

So let me get this straight:

Obi wan finds 10 million man army... Whose template tries to kill him... Reports back to Samuel L and yoda... Who then gives "oh...that's
Interesting" sly grin when name of "purchaser" is mentioned...

Then says nothing, does nothing, jumps
In ninja gunship to use said army... Then runs them like a troop of circus clowns for
The next 10 years?

That is so laughable I can't believe it 13 years later.

Sci fi...space fantasy... That doesn't wash in any of it. The matrix is more believable as an audience.

They should have used the dialogue on screen because it explained a lot. Some of the ideas needed needed a bit more time to be explained properly. There was a great spot in Episode 3 when Anakin and Palpatine are at the opera talking about Plagius to explain Anakin's immaculate birth. Plagius wasn't just experimenting with cheating death. He was also working to create life from the Force. Add in one bloody line and a lot of the moaning from Episode I is put to bed.

A gift army falls into your lap at a moment of crisis, you're going to use it. As soon as the first battle is over and you realize the clone template was siding with the bad guys you stop using or at least phase out said clones because something ain't right. That's where the big flaw is.

 

[Spacedog1975]

I'm not sure that my backstory point is clear. Star Wars IV-VI work so well in part because there is a backstory that the creative crew understood without explicitly telling it.

Coming back years later and creating a backstory for Episode I is not the same. The creatives knew where the story was going, but not where it had been.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Or perhaps that no "crisis" was ever portrayed by the horrid directing and screenplay...

To say nothing of the "you want fries with that?" Hayden Christiansen...


I get what your saying...but you have to realize your filling in the blanks with geekdom - not something that could be understood
By the mainstream.

And I'm Still trying to figure out how a council of elders led by yoda gets outsmarted, taken advantage of, and 100% surprised. You would have thought that skywalker/vader managed to use the whole mystical energy to overpower them with palply...not "outsmart". If that's what they were trying to convey - epic fail there.

After all...as he said in "inferior puppet" form in empire...the dark side is not "stronger".

Eh...whatever. They cut the "birth of the rebellion " scene too... Which was a huge mistake. Even though it was poorly written/ acted.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm not sure that my backstory point is clear. Star Wars IV-VI work so well in part because there is a backstory that the creative crew understood without explicitly telling it.

Coming back years later and creating a backstory for Episode I is not the same. The creatives knew where the story was going, but not where it had been.

No...I hear that point as well.

Lucas always said he "never got a chance" to tell the backstory...

The backstory HAD to be well thought out, written, and filmed because the audience was expecting it to be well conceived... Everybody who lined up knew what happened.

Epic fail...all kinds of bad plot twists and loose ends...naive/obvious predicable developments... And then bad/ fake cgi - like maul, grievous, and pod racing - to try and put lipstick on the pig.

Heck - Lotr was filmed the same time... And even though the cgi was better...lots of it was fake looking too.
But...they used some actors in costumes and had a good book to draw from.

 

[Spacedog1975]

LOTR works because the characters and the story are engaging. The Hobbit prequel trilogy had problems too, but nothing on the order of Ep I-III.

 

[OKW Lover]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but folks may be interested in looking at http://www.disboards.com/threads/star-wars-digital-release-friday-april-10th.3397673/

Apparently the whole "Fox won't allow it" thing has been resolved.