Star Wars Episode III

[Munkay]

After reading this article, I'm even more skeptical about Episode III.

Lucas defends his 'Titanic in Space'

Staff and agencies
Monday March 21, 2005

George Lucas is not worried whether fans will like Revenge of the Sith, the final chapter in his latest trilogy of Star Wars films.

Describing Revenge of the Sith as "Titanic in Space", Lucas said the movie, which charts Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader, was a "tearjerker".

"It's not like the old Star Wars," he told cinema owners at the ShoWest convention. "This one's a little bit more emotional."

He added: "It will be received in a way that none of us can expect. I feel that I've made the movie the best I can and it turned out the way I wanted it to be, so I'm happy.

"I never try to anticipate what the world's going to think or even worry about whether they're going to like it or not. That's not my job, to make people like my movies."

"Obviously, fans would love to see a movie about Darth Vader running around killing people," said Lucas. "I'm not telling that story, and I'm not interested in that. That's not what the movie is."

The movie begins with a huge space battle as Anakin and his fellow Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobe fight to secure the release of the kidnapped chancellor of the republic, Palpatine. After the chancellor is released Anakin is sent to spy on him by the Jedi council, leaving the path open for his seduction.

Titanic in Space? <_<

(I'll play a bit of a devil's advocate here)

"That's not my job, to make people like my movies." Pardon me, but last time I checked Lucas was an independent film maker making movies for the cliche saying
"the love of art." You'll have one hell of a time convincing me the production of episode I, II, and III were anything but giant cash cows waiting to be used.

He's precisely able to do whatever he wants because no matter what he films, he'll make millions on his investment. Episode IV, V, and VI were spectacular. I'm not the biggest star wars fan out there, but I know a good triology and a good series when I see it.

It appears Episode I, II and III will be the most discontinuous trilogy ever created.

I don't want to sit on some high horse and nit pick movie reviews. I've never been that person, nor do I want to be. But something about his statement that he does not need to stay loyal to the essence of the first three films made my blood pressure rise. If you're continuing a story with a specific style and plot line, how can anyone have such disregard for continuity of the original art form? For the sake of art would imply adhering to the original art its built upon.

What are lurkers thoughts on this? On Episode III in general? Or on the entire series?

Cheers,

Munk

[Jeunemaitre]

Titanic in Space?&nbsp; <_<

Run away! Run Away!

It seems like what we're going to get with Episode III is the same thing we got in the third installment of the Matrix series. Everything we expect to happen will happen in completely un-exceptional circumstances. People who need to die will in fact be killed. People who need to pass through unspeakable transformations as they loose touch with their "humanity" will do so. In short, the required story elements will be perfectly satisfied while the audience is left perfectly unsatisfied.

I guess we'll have to wait and see the depth of disappointment. :mellow:

[jahcs]

*jahcs attempts to suppress all expectations to avoid being disappointed*

(Which is pretty sad considering what they charge for movies and what the Star Wars Universe has been built into.)

George Lucas cannot walk on water, as evidenced by the tripe that was Episode 1. I'll still be in line to see Episode 3, in the hopes it provides some continuity, closure, and some special effects eye candy. Still, my expectations meter will barely be registering as I walk into the theater.

[Occhidiangela]

After reading this article, I'm even more skeptical about Episode III.
Titanic in Space?&nbsp; <_<

(I'll play a bit of a devil's advocate here)

"That's not my job, to make people like my movies."

Pardon me, but last time I checked Lucas was an independent film maker making movies for the cliche saying "the love of art."&nbsp; You'll have one hell of a time convincing me the production of episode I, II, and III were anything but giant cash cows waiting to be used.

He's precisely able to do whatever he wants because no matter what he films, he'll make millions on his investment.&nbsp; Episode IV, V, and VI were spectacular.&nbsp; I'm not the biggest star wars fan out there, but I know a good triology and a good series when I see it.

It appears Episode I, II and III will be the most discontinuous trilogy ever created.

I don't want to sit on some high horse and nit pick movie reviews.&nbsp; I've never been that person, nor do I want to be.&nbsp; But something about his statement that he does not need to stay loyal to the essence of the first three films made my blood pressure rise.&nbsp; If you're continuing a story with a specific style and plot line, how can anyone have such disregard for continuity of the original art form?&nbsp; For the sake of art would imply adhering to the original art its built upon.

What are lurkers thoughts on this?&nbsp; On Episode III in general? Or on the entire series?

Cheers,

Munk
[right][snapback]71393[/snapback][/right]

Star Wars III. My son wants to see it, I will take him to it. I am hoping against hope that Jar Jar Binks will die a horrible and messy death at the hands of one of Palpatine's henchmen. Probably a vain wish. :(

Lucas has a history of putting partially fleshed out stories on film, with good special effects. I do not feel as loyal to Star Wars as I do to, say, Lord of the Rings. :D Or Conan the Barbarian, written by Rober Howard.

Lucas and a real author (Chris XXX, forget for the moment) put out in book form the sequels to "Willow" which involves the saga of Elora Dannan. The first couple were pretty good, have not read them all. Even a good book is hard to put on film.

Lucas is working with a format that underplays the strengths of his talent pool and emphasizes the weak links. Hayden Christensen beats Keanu Reeves for "the wooden actor Oscar." Ewen McGreror and Liam Neesam could carry Episode I against the madness of Jar Jar binks and choppy story line. Episode II was . . . *shudders.* Nice special effects, thank goodness for the Yoda on Crack scene near the end. I don't know if Natale Portman is a good actress or not, I did like her role as young protectee in "The Professional" but she did not have to carry that film.

The "Matrix" parallel is apt. I don't see how Lucas will produce a plotline that satisfies. Starting in the middle and going prequel is, IMO, a difficult story telling approach. I don't see special effects being able to salvage a cobbled together story line.

If Lucas is promising "The Titanic," I think he refers to the dollars he hopes to pull in. :whistling: Titanic to was OK. At best. It had the virtue of having a historical story to work from.

Star Wars has . . . the mind of George Lucas. *shudders again* At least it should have good special effects, which seem any more to be less special than when there was less CGI.

Occhi

[Any1]

Well, George "money-bags" Lucas will not be getting any of my hard earned cash. Lucas was probably marginally interested in the story and characters when he made "Star Wars" and "Empire Strikes back". Everyhting since has gone very badly in that universe. He completely squandered the talented actors he had collected for episode I & II (I saw both on cable TV). I see no reason for a change in Episode III. All this hoopla about a darker story is just a calculated marketing ploy to get the maximum return for his "investment".

[Mithrandir]

I'm not a big huge Star Wars geek - I've seen episodes IV to VI multiple times and enjoyed them - but even in my view, with no huge glossy-eyed Star Wars hopes going into them, I and II were pretty horrible movies. III is shaping up to be a train wreck of epic proportions. It's really kinda weird how Lucas seemingly either just doesn't give a flying #$%& about his fans or is so deluded that he actually thinks he is doing something positive for the Star Wars universe.

Either way, someone really, really needed to slap some sense into him when he first decided, "You know what, I think we should hire all these crappy actors and - just for #$%&s and giggles - throw in a character named 'Jar Jar Binks'." There's a reason that even great authors have editors.

In any case, Hollywood in general seems to be taking a nose dive at the moment. Check out this review of the Jurassic Park 4 second draft (scroll about 1/4th of the way down). I know that the first three Jurassic Parks weren't that great, and I'm of the opinion that Spielberg is very overrated, but for chrissake that's his "mother of all ideas"? The movie industry is doomed between that and Episode III being "Titantic in space".

Only Sin City keeps my faith alive. Oh where art though, Sin City?

[jahcs]

Say it aint so, Mithrandir, say it aint so. :huh:

[Sir_Die_alot]

It seems like what we're going to get with Episode III is the same thing we got in the third installment of the Matrix series.
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I don't expect much but I'm hoping it won't be this bad. The Matrix sequels were bad, I mean so bad I didn't even bother to see number 3 in theaters, and when I finally saw it I felt more than justified in missing it. I'm no professional writer but even I could have written a better plot line than the one they came up with. Hell, I can think of 2 or 3 that would have added some real story closure to the series instead of the 'Okay now what?' ending we got.

IMO just these few things need to happen and I'll get what I paied for at the theater:

Storyline nessesary things
- Anakin turns to the dark side. If his parting words to Kenobi are that Anakin is dead and that his new self "Vader" killed him would be a good touch, but something this witty might be too much to hope for.
- Padme gets pregnant.
- Padme has some kind of interaction with Bail Organa. Just some proof she knows the guy. :P
Others
- Some "Oh wow!" special effect/fight scenes.
- Anakin kills Duku. (His first loss can not stand! Besides I seem to remember seeing a shot that hinted at this :) )
- Anakin kills at least one light side jedi as proof of his turning to the dark side. Mace Windu would be a perfect chioce, this role as yet has been pretty pointless for how much screen time he gets. Enough with showing off the actor, DO something to him. B)

That's not much to work into a movie, especially since most of it is pre-established.

[Hammerskjold]

SW really is his own sandbox, something he always wanted from the beginning. And I still respect his editing abilities in the past. Not to mention his drive and focus.

Having said that, ep1-2 and some of his re-workings on ep4-6 makes me thinks he's been seduced by the 'technology for technology sake' siren call.

I will see ep3 with my friends, but I have a suspicion I will be sitting down for a feature length tech\cgi animation demo. Kind of like the time I did the same for ep 1 and 2 and Matrix 2-3. ;)

[jahcs]

Mr. Lucas has also done some things to target certain audiences. In several interviews he talked about how much he liked Jar Jar Binks and how the kids would love him. Jar Jar needs to get up close and personal with the wrong side of an airlock. Kids and adults like Star Wars because it's aliens, space battles, and lightsabers. Adults don't like Star Wars because of oxygen thieves like Jar Jar.

Star Wars used to have an edge to it. The Bad Guys were bad. The good guys were desperate and dammit, Han Shoots First! In Episode 1 the bad guys were almost comical in their ineptness and you couldn't root for Anakin or Jar Jar. Episode 2 had enough eye candy and the fact it was made simply as a way to get to Episode 3 allowed me to ignore that the film had no edge.

Any prominent character turning to the Dark Side should have a real edge to it. Darth Vader was sinister in Episode 4. Here's to hoping Anakin becomes sinister and not psychotic or whiney in Episode 3. But, as I said, my expectation meter is set to low.

[Hammerskjold]

>Mr. Lucas has also done some things to target certain audiences. In several interviews he talked about how much he liked Jar Jar Binks and how the kids would love him.

Yeah, I agree. I still stand behind the idea of 'his sandbox, his rules', but it really is getting to the silly point where I almost think he does things out of spite. And I don't quite believe he makes these movies only for himself. If that is true, why bother showing them at theatres at all?

>b]Han Shoots First![/b]

Heh, if his obsession with re-working things to death continues, eh I mean renovate. There will be multiple versions including:

- Han beats Greedo in a game of rock paper scissors.
- Han pulls out a walkie talkie out of his holster and blasts Greedo to pieces.
- Han Solo giving a stuffed Ewok to Greedo as a token of peace and friendship.
- Han Solo digitally replaced by Christopher Walken. The part of Greedo is also digitally replaced by Steve Buscemi.

[whyBish]

Lucas is working with a format that underplays the strengths of his talent pool and emphasizes the weak links.&nbsp; Hayden Christensen beats Keanu Reeves for "the wooden actor Oscar."&nbsp;

If Lucas is promising "The Titanic," I think he refers to the dollars he hopes to pull in.[right][snapback]71401[/snapback][/right]

1) Calling him an actor is generous, he's a guy that says lines <_<
2) The only thing Titanic about it is the ego of Lucas.
3) When are titanic 2->6 coming out? :P

</cynic>

[Occhidiangela]

2)&nbsp; The only thing Titanic about it is the ego of Lucas.
3)&nbsp; When are titanic 2->6 coming out?&nbsp; :P
</cynic>
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2. I gather that the budget is pretty big, titanic even. CGI costs money. :)

3. Regarding The Titanic and its possible sequels. From where I sit, SOS, . . . - - - . . . (the international distress signal) means Save Our Souls, not Soap Opera, Sappy. :P

The way I figure it, Hollywood will fund The Maine, The Andrea Doria, The Mary Rose, The Lusitania, and The Soryu as "ships that sink" II through VI. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jude Law, or a suitable beefcake will pursue a series of increasingly plump starlets as the absurdity of "it's all about me" in a shipwreck achieves its apotheosis in The Titanic Episode VI: Soryu. This massively budgeted film will be co-directed by "King of the World" Cameron and Oliver Stone. Needless to say, historical facts will be ignored.

There will be female sailors on Japanese warships, with the romantic lead played by Haidozo Sumimasen. She will star as Pokki Yummiguti, the daughter of a Geisha and a Sumo Wrestler who favors her father. The wrestling heiress is the love interest, across rank and class lines, of LCDR Tanaka of the Imperial Fleet (nephew of RADM Tanaka of the Midway Invasion Fleet) during the Battle of Midway's lead up. His assignment to Soryu as Admiral Nagumo's Combat Staff Liaison allows him to both serve his Admiral and continue in his doomed, illicit romance. All the while, he reveals the problems of the Japanese battle plan while in the evenings he accumulates considerable wealth with his nightly "Go, for serious money" matches against the hapless wardroom of Soryu. Since he is a member of the Air Fleet's combat staff, his penchant for gambling, poor eyesight and bad judgement can now be revealed as contributing causes to the Imperial Fleet's Midway debacle. )

As a sign that the Titanic series is over, and as cross genre foreshadowing, Pokky will be horribly burned on the Soryu's flight deck (where she is an ammo handler) as fuel and ammunition goes off after the attack by LCDR Leslie's SDB Dauntless dive bombers. We last see her on Soryu in the hands of a Japanes damage controlman, who wears a fireman's mask eerily similar to Darth Vader's. As he lowers her into a life boat, he mutters something in Japanese, which the subtitles will show as "At least this battle did not take place in the Sea of Okotsk, where the Icebergs float!" (What he really says is "I need to make more than scale for this crap.")

Soryu in her prime
Soryu was struck by three bombs, neatly placed from fore to aft, exploding near all elevators, destroying all planes and ammunition stored on and beside the planes, and was out of the action by 1040, ten minutes after the last Yorktown planes had pulled up. Five minutes later, abandon ship was sounded, and Captain Yanagimoto committed suicide by plunging into the raging fires. Attempts to keep her afloat were made, but shortly after 1920 (7:20 PM) she finally slid into her watery grave.

The movie closes in Hollywood, years later, in streets filled with folks wearing platform shoes and leisure suits. Pokky parks her AMC Pacer, wearing her usual Geisha kimono and a Vaderesque Kibuki mask, in front of a tall building. She enters the glass doors and walks up a flight of stairs to enter a Hollywood producer's office in hopes of landing a role. The name on the door is George Lucas.

The movie soundtracks will win many awards. Mr Cameron will insist that Celine Dione sing the lead song for each film. Even so, James Horner will salvage each sound track in spite of the skinny screamer's inclusion.

Occhi

[Walkiry]

What are lurkers thoughts on this?&nbsp; On Episode III in general? Or on the entire series?
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I liked the original, watched Episode I on the cinema, watched Episode II when a friend rented it, and don't expect to see Episode III unless it crosses my path in an equally cash-free form. Even then, I better not have something better to do with my time.

[Minionman]

That's all unlesss someone makes a comedy out of it first. There's a Dave Barry article that I took the idea from, and it's pretty funny by itself, but I could see a whole movie making fun of romances based on the "Titanic floats again" idea.

[Obi2Kenobi]

I'm going to see this one as soon as the rush in the theatres dies down. If it is as bad as some are saying it will be, I'll have to change my name or something. I've already got a few in mind. :(

/edit: I'm sure someone will be willing to change my name for me (again... muhahahaha). :shuriken:

[Nystul]

Titanic to was OK.&nbsp; At best.&nbsp; It had the virtue of having a historical story to work from.
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It's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's something people will still be watching decades from now. I know people who paid to see Titanic 5 or 10 times, who probably haven't been to 5-10 movies since. Undoubtedly, it was (and still is) one of the highest quality productions ever, but it is more debatable as to whether the plot and acting were good enough to live up to the production.

As for Star Wars Episode 3, I'm not too excited about it. I'll probably see it eventually, but my expectations are pretty firmly grounded. The prequels were doomed from the start, and I honestly believe at this point that there is nothing Lucas could have done to make these movies good enough for Star Wars fans. It's like trying to make a sequel to the Wizard of Oz. No matter what approach you take to it, people are going to hate you for it.

[Rhydderch Hael]

Drape a second-rate romance novel's plot around a WWII naval battle? Bah, it'll never happen...

[Count Duckula]

Drape a second-rate romance novel's plot around a WWII naval battle? Bah, it'll never happen...
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*watches Pearl Harbor on HDTV* "What, Rhydd? Can't hear ya over this glurge! Can you talk a little louder, please?"

While I'm waiting for him to get back to me on that, I remember growing up with IV-VI. I've got DVD bootlegs of Lucas' premier VHS tapes, and I'm perfectly happy. I'll probably see III with my parents (on their nickel) like I did with I and II, but Star Wars for me is starting where it did consisting of what it did.

Han shot first.

And I know it's technically correct, but the Death Star destructions didn't need rings! It looked SO much better to have the first one seem like an implosion and the second one crumble apart. It had MEANING.

If I ever made a film, I wouldn't sacrifice meaning for content. (I'm turning into a film snob from all those film classes. Occhi would be proud--we've been analyzing westerns!)

[Rhydderch Hael]

*watches Pearl Harbor on HDTV* "What, Rhydd? Can't hear ya over this glurge! Can you talk a little louder, please?"[right][snapback]71651[/snapback][/right]

I see, for once, my reputation for off-key sarcasm has not preceded me.