OT: Near confirmation of Star Wars TV series

mixdj1 · Post by **mixdj1** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:12 am

I had read and posted a rumor a few months ago about the possiblility of a Star Wars TV series. Well, here is essentially confirmation straight from Lucas himself:

AP: After “Episode III,” will you ever revisit “Star Wars”?

Lucas: Ultimately, I’m going to probably move it into television and let other people take it. I’m sort of preserving the feature film part for what has happened and never go there again, but I can go off into various offshoots and things. You know, I’ve got offshoot novels, I’ve got offshoot comics. So it’s very easy to say, “Well, OK, that’s that genre, and I’ll find a really talented person to take it and create it.” Just like the comic books and the novels are somebody else’s way of doing it. I don’t mind that. Some of it might turn out to be pretty good. If I get the right people involved, it could be interesting.

The whole interview can be read here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6011380/

mixdj1

Fshguy · Post by **Fshguy** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:31 am

I'm not sure to be excited or scared...

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 9:48 am

Fshguy wrote:I'm not sure to be excited or scared...

Exactly. If only he had let other 'talented' people do these last 3 films...

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 10:38 am

There really only was one really good movie in the whole series so far, once you get past being awed by the special effects - The Empire Strikes Back. In the first 3 films you had adequate acting and generally mediocre dialogue married to incredible (for their time) special effects. The two most recent films have featured good (but not particularly outstanding) special effects married to dreadful dialogue and some outstandingly bad acting. Compared to the stilted and wooden acting of Natalie Portman, Carrie Fisher comes across like Meryl Streep.

I'm not sure a tv series couldn't be any worse than the last two travesties. At least I don't think it could. Could it...?

Best wishes,

Doug

anchester · Post by **anchester** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:39 pm

agreed....george lucas is the only guy to be able to turn mr. cool samuel jackson into mr wood.

lucas is a major has been...probably won't even see the 3rd one

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:42 pm

Spooky wrote:Exactly. If only he had let other 'talented' people do these last 3 films...

Amen.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:17 pm

I guess I just don't get it. Star Wars was huge to me when I was a kid. I remember back in '77 going to the theatre to see the first one ( or the fourth, depending on how you see it) and my little 7 year old mind was blown. I couldn't figure out how in the world they did some of the things they did. Where could I get a lightsaber like that? How long did it take them to build those enormous spaceships? How the heck does everybody know what Chewbacca is saying?

The other two films came and went, and I was there at both. Loved em. By 13 years of age, the Ewoks raised an eyebrow, but no big deal. I still didn't understand the whole thing, who was what, how they got to be that way...then the announcement of the prequel.

I was excited by the news, not so much in a "I've read every side story, comic book, and have the whole Star Wars collection" sort of way, but I looked forward to having some of my lingering questions answered. And I feel like, so far, I have.

Has it been the best acting in the world? No, but it's far from the worst. Call me a heretic, but aside from Harrison Ford, it's not that much different from the originals, now that I've seen them again. Some of Mark Hamill's dialogue is just pathetic whining. Seems fitting that his dad character does the same thing.

What I believe the prequels do a great job of is to close the gaps, finish the story. My wife and I watched the originals with a renewed excitement as we saw things that didn't make sense before suddenly become clear. That's a cool thing for a movie series to do.

I happen to enjoy the prequel movies, and am looking very forward to the third. I think the Jar Jar bashing people nitpick stuff to death. He's annoying, the Ewoks were a little too cutesy for my tastes, but some people take this stuff WAAAAAY too seriously. It is, after all, George Lucas' tale to tell, and I figure he can tell it any way he wants to. I've had fun with the series, but it's not the end all, be all, and...here comes the the bombshell.....

Empire Strikes Back is not the greatest movie of all time. Not even close. In nostalgia, maybe, but not in reality. I love the movies, all of them...but they're not the Second Coming...

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:29 pm

tealboy03 wrote: I guess I just don't get it. Star Wars was huge to me when I was a kid. I remember back in '77 going to the theatre to see the first one ( or the fourth, depending on how you see it) and my little 7 year old mind was blown. I couldn't figure out how in the world they did some of the things they did. Where could I get a lightsaber like that? How long did it take them to build those enormous spaceships? How the heck does everybody know what Chewbacca is saying?

The other two films came and went, and I was there at both. Loved em. By 13 years of age, the Ewoks raised an eyebrow, but no big deal. I still didn't understand the whole thing, who was what, how they got to be that way...then the announcement of the prequel.

I was excited by the news, not so much in a "I've read every side story, comic book, and have the whole Star Wars collection" sort of way, but I looked forward to having some of my lingering questions answered. And I feel like, so far, I have.

Has it been the best acting in the world? No, but it's far from the worst. Call me a heretic, but aside from Harrison Ford, it's not that much different from the originals, now that I've seen them again. Some of Mark Hamill's dialogue is just pathetic whining. Seems fitting that his dad character does the same thing.

What I believe the prequels do a great job of is to close the gaps, finish the story. My wife and I watched the originals with a renewed excitement as we saw things that didn't make sense before suddenly become clear. That's a cool thing for a movie series to do.

I happen to enjoy the prequel movies, and am looking very forward to the third. I think the Jar Jar bashing people nitpick stuff to death. He's annoying, the Ewoks were a little too cutesy for my tastes, but some people take this stuff WAAAAAY too seriously. It is, after all, George Lucas' tale to tell, and I figure he can tell it any way he wants to. I've had fun with the series, but it's not the end all, be all, and...here comes the the bombshell.....

Empire Strikes Back is not the greatest movie of all time. Not even close. In nostalgia, maybe, but not in reality. I love the movies, all of them...but they're not the Second Coming...

Teal,
You jumpin in my head man? I couldn't have said it better myself. I really enjoyed Episode I and II and look forward to Episode III. Jar Jar Binks annoyed me but he was hardly even a focal point of the movie. In fact, he actually made me laugh a few times in Episode I. If it wasn't for his voice nobody would have even had a problem with him at all. I think it's all just typical hype-machine repurcussions and people taking it way too seriously.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:40 pm

"You jumpin in my head man?"

...Jedi mind trick...

mixdj1 · Post by **mixdj1** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:41 pm

You can add me to the list of people that actually enjoyed Episodes I and II. Hell, I've seen Episode I at least as many times as I've watched the original trilogy (don't ask, it's a lot

) and in fact the scene with Darth Maul appearing and firing up his double bladed light saber still gives me goosebumps. I just don't get all the Lucas bashing. They are his movies and if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have had the originals or the prequels.

mixdj1

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:49 pm

" the scene with Darth Maul appearing and firing up his double bladed light saber still gives me goosebumps."

Holy Cow! The first time I saw that on a trailer, I almost geeked out..(ahem)...almost. The only thing I didn't like about Darth Maul is that he let himself get killed. I'd have loved to have seen a clone of him in Ep.II, but oh, well...damn Lucas-doesn't know anything about good filmmaking...

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:50 pm

Believe me, I wanted (and still want to) love Ep. I & II , it is just a bit difficult. To me, Ep. I is a complete dud. Absolutely NO character development. Sh*t, I seriously did not even know what Laim Neeson’s character’s name was until the second time seeing it. Jar Jar was unacceptable. He was in no way cleverly humorous like C3-PO and R2D2. Poo-poo and fart jokes do NOT belong in Star Wars. Sorry. I really don’t care about the acting all that much, I just think that it had absolutely no magic what-so-ever. The only redeeming scene was the Pod racing. Now that was original and cool and well directed.

You cannot argue that the first Star Wars was not pure magic coming together all at the right spots. It was just the right film at the right time with the right characters and casting. I understand that you can never re-create that since I think most of it was luck, however, you can build upon it better than the crap we got in Ep. I.

Episode II is better than one, but not by a whole lot. My first impression of it was excellent. I was thoroughly impressed at the theater opening night, but after my 2nd ad 3rd viewing I began to see the really bland/bad acting, bad effects (man, there are some things that look SO awesome, but others that looks so damn bad), meaningless sequences, ect… I have a hard time watching it now, although there are some very cool parts.

I just expected more with all the time he had to make these prequels. There are still little tiny moments of magic here and there, but nothing will ever compare to the originals. And I really don’t think it is my age making me more critical, hell, no kids in the 7-10 year old range freaked out about Ep’s I or II like we did back in the day. Not even close. Did any kids even care about these last two movies other than seeing it and thinking it was kind of cool? I understand that the times are different, but if Lucas pushed the boundaries of what could be accomplished back in the 70’s, why can’t he try to do that again in the 00’s? Just because technology is much more prevalent in the movies nowadays does not mean he can’t be even more original and creative than he was on the first three movies.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:55 pm

To-ma-to, to-mah-to, eh, spook?

To each his own, I guess...

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 7:20 pm

Spooky wrote:. . . but if Lucas pushed the boundaries of what could be accomplished back in the 70’s, why can’t he try to do that again in the 00’s? Just because technology is much more prevalent in the movies nowadays does not mean he can’t be even more original and creative than he was on the first three movies.

Well, to be fair, these new SW movies are pushing the technical boundaries as much if not ore than the first three. They are not entirly seuccessful with every trick they attempt, but they are so far more ambitious (again techincally) than anything else made, there is no comparison.

As to my preferences, I feel that Empire is the best one of them all by far. The screenplay was written by 2 people who were not George Lucas (one of whom is Larry Kasdan, a very successful screenwriter, and he's directed a couple movies I think are pretty darn good too, although he's made some duds) and directed by someone who was not George Lucas, but rather a man who generally made character-driven films. I don't think it's coincidence that it is the best film of the bunch.

The think that bothers me the most about the new moveis, frankly, is C3-PO. Whatever logic he came up with to justify his presence in these prequels just doesn't fly with me. Watching the first film (Ep3), there is no way it makes any sense (he's obviously never been to the desert planet before, he doesn't have a clue about no 'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' he's never heard the name "Skywalker,' you could go on and on. This to me is an indication of the kind of things that make the newer films a cut below.

But I still enjoy them for the technical show-pieces that they are. He is, really with the second 2, honestly trying an entirely different type of filmmaking than has really been done before, so I think he is still very visionary in terms of the technical stuff. I mean I think it's a joke the Matrix won the SPFX Oscar; Watto alone should have been enough to secure that puppy.

Oh, and i also should mention I am a sound freak, Ben Burtt was a hero fo mine when I was a kid, and some of the stuff he's doing with the new films is just as unbelievably amazing as he did with the first ones. OK so maybe I don't think he's the best picture editor, but the sound work in the new films is simply unsurpassed in quality or creativity.

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 7:53 pm

Tealboy03, i have a pretty similar view of the movies.

Here's my take on the whole deal. I was born in 81 and didn't see any of the movies in the theater. I only saw em on TV or VHS. I LOVED them as a kid and still love them. It took me many years to really understand what was going on. As a kid, i just liked em because they were cool. The idea of a lightsaber kicked major @$$. Now as an adult, i understand everything that is going on. I can point out the flaws (poor dialogue, an abundance of cheese, etc) and i can also see what makes them great, even by todays standards. Even though the dialogue is piss poor, the characters themselves and their interactions with eachother make it work. The actors, with Ford being the best, helped make the dialogue tolerable and sometimes fun.

The love story between Leah and Solo was much more interesting and fun than the one between Anakin and Padmea (or whatever her real name is, i forget). It's painful, and i mean truly painful to watch those love scenes in Ep. 2.

The humorous interactions between R2 and C3-P0 are pretty much non existant in the first two Episodes. There are a few moments here and there, but for the most part they are gone.

There is no Han Solo or comparable character in 1 and 2 and that alone is a major drawback.

Darth Vader was a great villian in the first films. He doesn't exist in the new ones. Nor is there any comparable villian in the new films. The future emperor just isn't all that menacing and while Darth Maul was pretty freakin cool, he had way too small of a role. I'd compare him more to Boba Fett than Vader.

So basically i think it's a problem with the lack of interesting characters in the new films. The original films had a ton of great fun characters to make of for shortcomings in other areas. THe new ones just don't have that. ANother draw back, and this could have easily been avoided, is the constant references to the original movies in a gimmicky way. Lucas was always trying to make connections between the old movies and new movies and it just didn't work. It detracted the from story. It made the whole movie seem more like a novelty than it's own seperate film. For example, C3-P0 didn't belong in the first one, Greedo as a kid, repetition of dialogue from the original films just to get a little laugh.

That's what i think is wrong with the new movies. The strengths of the new films are obviously the light saber duals. That was really the only great scene in the entire first movie. The second was a better movie all around but it still didn't really get fun until the last 45 mins or so. Now that i've seen all these movies many times, i would list them in this order

1) Empire: overall an awesome movie
2) New Hope: A little slow and too cheesy at point, but basically a pretty darn good movie. Also you have to give the credit for starting the whole thing and revolutionizing special effects.
3)Jedi: Most of the movie is just predictable yet it's still fun and the final half hour or so is great. The dual between luke and Vader is excellent.
4) Episode 2: It's really not THAT much worse than Jedi but the love scenes along ruin it

5) Episode 1: Hand down the worst. Almost wish it was never made

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:01 am

LAking wrote:Darth Vader was a great villian in the first films. He doesn't exist in the new ones. Nor is there any comparable villian in the new films. The future emperor just isn't all that menacing and while Darth Maul was pretty freakin cool, he had way too small of a role. I'd compare him more to Boba Fett than Vader.

I think there's no real villian because Anakin is the villian. The lack of any solid villian in Episodes I - II reeinforce how much of a villian Darth Vader truly was. Wow, I'm a fu#$ing geek squared.

scottdracula · Post by **scottdracula** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 11:10 am

I think the problem is that Lucas has no one left to tell him when something he's doing really sucks. Hes totally surrounded by yes men, who just kiss his ass and never say stuff like, "um george, maybe r2d2 shouldn't fly" and "havnig anakin build c3po is a bad idea."

I've pretty much given up all hope for the prequal trilogy. Unless ep 3 is utterly amazing, I'd say the ship has sailed for the new trilogy. Too much cgi, too much bad storytelling.

On the plus side, maybe someday Lucas's kids will take over and they'll do a better job than he did. I don't think they could do a WORSE job, so they really have nowhere to go but up.

just my 2 cents...

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:03 pm

Does anybody else have a bad SR flashback while looking at Scott's avatar or is it just me?

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:20 pm

The new Star Wars movies are pushing technical boundaries ??

The CGI in them is woeful - albeit not quite as woeful as the acting of the main characters (who would both float in a tropical storm), the abysmal dialogue and attempted characterisation, ludicrous 'comedy' characters (the person responsible for okaying Jar-Jar should be executed as a warning to others) and tedious plot.

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 12:37 pm

"The CGI in them is woeful"

Holy crap, dave! I shudder to think of the CGI you've seen that makes the beginning of the clone war in 2 "woeful"...or that makes Yoda look awful. What exactly does "woeful" mean to you?

scottdracula · Post by **scottdracula** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 4:28 pm

i think he just means that the cgi is rather fake looking. at least that's my take on it. cgi seems to work (sorta) when it enhances stuff that's already there, but when everything's enti rely cgi- it just looks like a cartoon.

but more to the point, i just don't see WHY there needs to be so much cgi. There wasn't ANY in the original trilogy and it's 50 times more enjoyable than this new one. I'm not saying there should be none in the new trilgoy but maybe a bit less. i think the special effect are supposed to enhance the story- not the other way around.

though i just relalized that if there WAS less cgi- then we'd notice more just how bad the acting is. So maybe we should be thanking george?