A&E will have a show featuring behind the scenes of Star Wars on 9.12.04 at 8 p.m. e.s.t.

A&E
http://www.aetv.com/global/listings/series_showcase.jsp?EGrpType=Series&Id=11470933&NetwCode=AEN

Star Wars
http://www.waidev1.com/www.aetn.com/star_wars/_live/index.php


It is the most popular space adventure of all time and one of the most groundbreaking sagas in Hollywood history. This two-hour A&E SPECIAL PRESENTATION: STAR WARS: EMPIRE OF DREAMS details how the phenomenon captured imaginations with an irresistible Force and catapulted three young performers to stardom – Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher. But the STAR WARS trilogy didn't just change the way we look at movies. It changed the way movies are made. What began as a galactic fairy tale became a success story beyond one man's wildest dreams. While George Lucas has remained true to his own vision, it's audiences everywhere who have reaped the rewards ever since May 1977 when moviegoers first caught sight of that galaxy far, far away. For Lucas, what began as a quest for creative freedom became a philosophy, a cultural phenomenon and his own empire of dreams.

The A&E SPECIAL PRESENTATION: STAR WARS: EMPIRE OF DREAMS features riveting movie clips and fascinating screen tests plus interviews with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and other cast members.

Is it just me or is the Star Wars link not working correctly period. Nothing loads in the grey area and the links at the bottom don't work.


www.waidev1.com/www.aetn.com/star_wars/_live/index.php

If you click on the title in the top left of the page, the text under did you know will change each time you click on it

Well, it's a wonder that some of our most favorite movies ever got made according to what I saw in this program. George was up against some unbelievable pressure and deadlines. Fox came within a week or so of pulling the plug on production because it was over budget and behind schedule. Can you imagine no Star Wars?

I think a longer version of this documentary is on the new DVD box set.

I'm not watching it. It's one movie I'd rather not spoil by knowing all the in's and out's.

I watched this tonight and what a treat it was. Id thought Id 'seen it all' on the Making of the Original (The ones that matter) Trilogy. It was very enjoyable and brought back some nice memories of being a wee-child and also kind of reminded me of why I want to make films.

There came a time when George Lucas lost his way. I think it happened with the introduction of the Ewoks. Others may say it was Phantom Menace. Still others might say it occurred when he decided to screw around with the original trilogy in spite of protests from the fans. I'm not sure Lucas any longer has a clue as to what makes a great movie. Those last two really stunk up the joint! I really wish he would stop going back and redoing the first two and leave them as they were. The stop motion in Empire was awesome. But Lucas is nothing if not a slave to technology. I don't know, the guy just really rubs me the wrong way. You get the feeling the only reason he's making movie nows is to cash in. His last two films struck me as being little more than two really expensive commercials- and lame ones at that.

I hate to say it, but I pretty much agree with all your points Brack. The first Star Wars was an absolute work of genius. The next two were pretty much what one might expect from Hollywood sequels. The recent ones were tough to even sit through.

Going back and changing the original movie with digital effects was obscene, and it really makes me sick to hear his justification for it. Thank god Orson Welles didn't see fit to "fix" Citizen Kane.

I enjoyed much of that TV special also, but basically it was just a long commercial for the release of the new box set...

"There came a time when George Lucas lost his way. I think it happened with the introduction of the Ewoks. Others may say it was Phantom Menace."

To read Gary Jenkins's Empire Building (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/080651941X/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/103-0458544-6195812?%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER), you'd think it was actually earlier still, just after the initial success of the first STAR WARS movie--or, he never had it at all, and all the great ideas came from his talented collaborators: writers Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, and producer Gary Kurtz, whom Lucas fired after The Empire Strikes Back. According to Jenkins, during the making of that film, Lucas was distressed with director Irvin Kershner's ponderous handling of the material, believing that the movie was too slow (his motto on the set of the first movie had been "faster, more intense"), at one point even taking the editing into his own hands, producing a manic-paced director's cut that Kurtz deemed unwatchable.

The book is riddled with errors of fact and has accreditation issues, lending it a rumor-tabloid feel. But its central thesis seems only to be reinforced with each new movie Lucas writes and directs. What's most disappointing about the prequels--and now the changes to the original films for the DVD release this month--is that the profound talent for mythical symbolization demonstrated in the first films seems to have evaporated from the new Lucas.

Who's looking forward to Indiana Jones 4 (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=18271)?

I agree that George really screwed up by adding all that digital effects crap to the originals along with all that followed and so did Spielberg doing the same with the re-release of ET. Those real ships and creatures, even though models, were shot so convincingly that I believed it then and still do now. CG just cannot give the realistic texture, shadows and presence that a real, physical model or puppet can. Who cares if it's a puppet. If it is performed well, it works! To this day, I have not seen any episode beyond Return of the Jedi and don't plan too. The only pleasing thing to look at in the latest films would be Natalie Portman.


I think A&E re-aired this thing back to back all night and into the early morning! Everytime I passed the channel since 8 p.m. it was there well until 2 a.m. every hour.

Has anyone else had problems with the Star Wars site not loading completely?

I consider the orignal STAR WARS one of the best films ever made. I was 7 when it came and it spoke to me in a powerful way. EMPIRE I thought was just as good and I enjoyed the Dark spin and low-point ending (Han being frozen ruined my 10 year old arse!).

Perhaps I was older when JEDI was released? I was 13. Those EWOKS were some of the most annoying creatures ever put on screen. IT was all just too damn cute for me. By 13 I was relishing in The Thing and The Road Warrior type films.

I too think George is a slave to technology and the cash. The CGI work done for the SPECIAL EDITION is horrible. STAR WARS was a serious film and not too cute if you know what I mean, but in the Special Edition you have HAN stepping on a ridiculous looking JABBAS tail, Luke and OBI WAN approaching MOS EISLEY and there are all of these lame things going on in the Town Square (Jawas falling off of dinosaur horses and crap).

The new STAR WARS films suck. Period. Too glossy, too cheesy, too much CGI and not enough cool. George hasnt really done ANYTHING cool since the original STAR WARS films and gets way too much credit for RAIDERS (The only real cool INDY film).

I wonder how he can from the coolness of THX, American Grafitti and STAR WARS to Howard the Duck and the lameness that is the current STAR WARS?

I am looking forward to INDY 4 but predict it will be bad. LAST CRUSADE was horrible (Did you know the original RAIDERS was nominated for BEST PICTURE?) and TEMPLE OF DOOM was average at best.

Oh well. Thank god for TARANTINO and INGLORIOUS BASTARDS!

"Luke and OBI WAN approaching MOS EISLEY and there are all of these lame things going on in the Town Square (Jawas falling off of dinosaur horses and crap)."

The introduction of the ronto creature into A New Hope was evidently a fix for a several irreparably damaged or missing frames of the original negative. When Luke's landspeeder pulls into town, while Obi-wan is being questioned by the local patrol, a ronto steps in front and covers the entire frame for a second or two. This is a "cover wipe," an old trick to marry two pieces of just slightly disjointed footage. (Cf. when Lea Thompson's character walks in front of the camera while Michael J. Fox hands an infant to himself in Back to the Future Part III.)

It's easy to imagine an editor, restorationist, or the like accidentally chopping some of these frames, and ILM coming to the rescue.

<<<but in the Special Edition you have HAN stepping on a ridiculous looking JABBAS tail,>>>

They filmed Jabba in the orginal cut. But, Jabba was a fat human. IIRC, you saw him crying in Return as the keeper of the Rancor at Jabba's palace. Han walked behind Jabba in that scene at Mos Eisley. So, when they added the Hutt as the new alien, they had to clip Han from the scene and 'climb' him over the tail. The only logical thing would be that he stepped on it. Dumb, but to add Jabba back after he changed from human to alien...

Should have just left that scene out. It didnt work as it was and almost ruins everything with it in.

I too think George is a slave to technology and the cash. The CGI work done for the SPECIAL EDITION is horrible. STAR WARS was a serious film and not too cute if you know what I mean

Well, that's open for debate.

However, if you go back and read anything Lucas has ever written about film, or hear him speak about film, or read about the making of his films would realize that he doesn't do anything for cash. If you think that he's made his changes to the original Star Wars out of greed, or he has made the new movies out of greed, you have seriously misjudged his character.

I don't where that rumor about Lucas taking editorial away from Kershner comes from. There never was a Kershner cut. Once principal photography was over, he really never had anything else to do with Empire - something he knew was going to happen going in. Lucas was in charge of editorial on Empire from the get go, just as he was for all of the Star Wars films. He has often said that he considers editorial the place where films are created and it is his favorite part of the filmmaking process.

the problem with the prequels (as a whole trilogy) has been that it kills the "surprise" of the identity darth vader and his relationship to luke skywalker. there's no point to making the prequels in the first place except to milk the franchise for all its worth. does lucas really need a new pair a shoes?

having said that i don't mind all of the changes lucas has made. i really like the new prints that get cleaner and cleaner with each iterative release! hopefully when HD-DVD comes out that'll be the "final edition" but meanwhile we'll have to contend with the SD-DVD edition.

as for bonus materials from the DVD release i'm glad they're including this behind the scenes special on the DVD, on the other hand it's almost like a cop out, just take what someone else has done and slap it on the bonus DVD. sounds to me like most of the bonus material specials.

"the problem with the prequels (as a whole trilogy) has been that it kills the 'surprise' of the identity darth vader and his relationship to luke skywalker."

True enough, if the prequels were meant to come in sequence before the original trilogy; but this story is being told, per classical precedent, in media res rather than ab initio. (See, for example, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Milton's Paradise Lost.) In other words, you're supposed to show your children A New Hope and its sequels before The Phantom Menace and its sequels--or, perhaps preferably, truncating the prequels to a summarization!

I think the general feeling from everyone is that the original trilogy was better than anything afterwards. It's usually the case for almost any artist...at least the ones I like.

Look at the Beatles? They did it when they were young, hungry and didn't know any better. Nothing after compares. Also, you can look at many other filmmakers, and artists....lives creep up and take over for people at some point. In that documentry last night Lucas talked about how the Stars Wars thing almost killed him. That usually will bring out something unique that can't be re-produced again later. Unless he wanted to set landminds on the set of future movies! Most artists are fighting for their lives in the beginning of their career. He was, and it shows. Later, he had kids and if you look at his work it reflects that quite simply. He lightened up a lot....to much for most of us.

My thoughts are that Lucas DOES love Star Wars. He must love it because he's making SIX movies about the damn story and dedicated a huge chunk of his life to it! No one on planet earth (or a galaxy far, far away?) would do something beyond ONCE if they didn't love it after it almost killed them the first time. Think about it. He let go and had others take over some roles for a few films, and now he's back in the directors seat. But, he's older...been through different things. It's just possible that the guy isn't the same person he was before.

He said something really interesting last night. He said that the whole Stae Wars story has played itself out in his life. He didn't want corporate crap in his life, but eventually he found himself the leader of the exact thing he ran away from....business.

Here is something really wacked out. But, when he said that I got this weird thought in my head. I literally imagined that in his mind....he's going to fight his own dark side when he completes the final "prequel". He's going to defy business logic and give away every single thing to his fans....all the raw footage! After it's all complete and out there in 2005...he's going to give us the raw footage from all the movies and let us edit our own version of the 6 films!! I know that sounds totally wacked, but I had this weird vision of him doing that and saying that he just wanted his vision out there first! Imagine if he releases all the raw footage in the public domain? That would probably be the coolest thing in the history of anything! All the clips, sound files, scores...everything any film student could ever dream of!

Then I woke up.

Murph

<<<-- Originally posted by Yi Fong Yu : the problem with the prequels (as a whole trilogy) has been that it kills the "surprise"...-->>>

Im not sure if this is the issue. Look at films such as Lord of the Rings trilogy. We knew exactly what was going to happen and it rocked. I think the new ones are just bad and cater towards 4 year olds.

i'm glad they're including this behind the scenes special on the DVD, on the other hand it's almost like a cop out, just take what someone else has done and slap it on the bonus DVD. sounds to me like most of the bonus material specials.

You've got that the wrong way around. The special was commissioned specifically for the DVD.

The truncated version was shown on A&E as part of the marketing blitz for the box set. The full special is 50 min. longer and goes into detail about the making of Empire and Jedi as well.

the problem with the prequels (as a whole trilogy) has been that it kills the "surprise" of the identity darth vader and his relationship to luke skywalker.

That presupposes that the Vader/Luke relationship is the only important part of the original trilogy and that the surprise of Empire is the most important piece of drama in the trilogy. In fact, the most important piece of drama occurs at the end of Jedi - when Luke has his confrontation with Vader on Endor and again on the Death Star. With the PT, those dramatic moments are given more power. And if that means a lessening of the surprise of Empire, whatever. I'll take real drama over a gimmick any day.

well there are many who didn't read the book, and there also many fans (like me) that are fanatics but still didn't see all the ends coming. it was quite a surprise when oliphaunts showed up in full battle gear in return of the king! one thing to imagine it another to actually see it! lotr is another total thread =).

as for prequels catering towards someone, then perhaps lucas is getting in touch with his inner child, he's making them for himself as much as for anyone. there are many mythic elements of phantom menace and attack of the clones that are still valid. just as people dumped on matrix reloaded+revolution as big fx fest but fail to see the most philosophical trilogy ever made people have overlooked the mythic/story elements of tpm, aotc and rots.

<<<-- Originally posted by John Hudson :
Im not sure if this is the issue. Look at films such as Lord of the Rings trilogy. We knew exactly what was going to happen and it rocked. I think the new ones are just bad and cater towards 4 year olds. -->>>

I guess the bottomline is that LUCAS can do whatever he wants.

: )

<<<-- Originally posted by John Hudson : I guess the bottomline is that LUCAS can do whatever he wants. -->>>

Of course. But I don't have to respect him for it. This talk about needing to "fix" inconsistencies in the original movie, or "restore" damaged film is just another apology. That film was brilliant and it also said something about its own era, how he dealt with the realities of budgets, etc. It had to stand completely on its own and did so brilliantly. Sure, restore the original colors, etc but don't "improve" it. If they can digitally create whole new scenes surely they can digitally restore a few damaged frames to look as close to the original as needed (if that's even necessary).

And if I understand correctly (not really into all this Star Wars stuff these days), Lucas has blocked release of the original version. Jeez, if you're making a box set then why not include BOTH versions at least?

Man I missed it, looks lik eit's airing again on Sunday. Yet another reason for tivo...

I caught Lucas w/ Charlie Rose the other night. He had some interesting things to say and responded to the added FX criticisms by saying that he did it mainly for himself - that is the way he wanted to the films to be originally. He said it was hard for him to watch the originals because they weren't finished in his eyes - he didn't have the technology to back then to complete them.

On another note, THX 1138 is playing on the big screen in San Francisco. I'm looking forward to catching it.

I just wish he would go back and redo Howard the Duck. I wonder if that turned out the way he wanted! :-) Then again, he was just the producer.

THX-1138 has never been released on DVD and the VHS tape is also out of issue I think. I've suspected this might be due to a planned re-release. Wish they would issue it on DVD - WITHOUT ANY "IMPROVEMENTS"!...

I think that all of the Star Wars movies should be left the way they were originally released because that's how we saw them then and how we know them now. However, just because that's what was released doesn't mean that is what was in George's head at that time, the way he really wanted it. As we all know by now, this is because of various reasons such as budget, deadlines, etc.. How would you like it if you had a vision knowing every aspect of what you wanted to include in the story and you just couldn't do it for the reasons above and/or because technology just wasn't quite there yet? To make things worse, it was released without these elements and that is what we came to know. It is very much like an adopted person growing to know and love the only parents they have ever known and then the biological parents show up and want to be a part of that person's life. There is going to be conflict. Unfortunately for George, we like what we have known for the past 20+ years and he wants to tamper with that. If he is going to do that, then he should give us the option of seeing any version we want to maintain the integrity of our memory and experience.

THX comes out on DVD tomorrow in a 2 DVD
"Director's Cut/Special Edition" with several documentaries and other bonuses. He's also releasing a single disc version titled the Original Theatrical Version but guess what? According to Ain't It Cool News the single disc is the same version as the one found in the 2 DVD collection, only without all the extra stuff. Harry Knowles says that you shouldn't buy this one thinking it is the original version that was in theaters because it looks like that version is "gone, gone, gone."

just came up with another thought.

outside of tv series (like babylon5), there has hardly been many films that have had as many creatures, planets and cultures of the races and vast epic feel of traveling across the galaxy as star wars. i tried very hard to think of one or a series of films but i could not think of any.

the first criterion is that the film has had to be an original work (like star wars) and not based off of tv like star trek films are rooted from its tv roots. also films based on books (like lord of the rings) don't count.

the second criterion is that it cannot come from lucas in any way shape or form (like willow, labrynth, etc.).

perhaps this is one of the formulas of success of star wars?

If they can digitally create whole new scenes surely they can digitally restore a few damaged frames to look as close to the original as needed (if that's even necessary).

Not always you can't. If the negative is gone the negative is gone and all the digital technology in the world won't bring it back.

i tried very hard to think of one or a series of films but i could not think of any.

Of course, it used to be all over the place with the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials, but those are long gone (though Stephen Sommers is going to make a new Flash Gordon).

There were some tries to ape Star Wars after it came out - Battle Beyond the Stars, Star Crash, things like that. Most of them were fairly low budget, and they were uniformly bad so naturally, they eventually died out.

One of the main reason that they are not made is that in the studio system, it would be incomparibly expensive to try to mount a similar production, without a guarntee of success. It's a testament to the leaness and meaness of Lucasfilm that they are able to bring these movies in at $100 million a piece. Recently Universal tried to do something similar with their Chronicles of Riddick and it was ridiculously expensive - close to $200 million and it didn't do so well at the box office. So there you are.

Unfortunately for George, we like what we have known for the past 20+ years and he wants to tamper with that. If he is going to do that, then he should give us the option of seeing any version we want to maintain the integrity of our memory and experience.

You've got to ask yourself some serious questions there, and then ask yourself what you would do in Lucas' place.

Does a creator have responsibility to his fans wishes? Does a creator have responsibility to his own wishes? Which responsibility is greater? What should the creator do when his wishes are in direct competition to his fans wishes?

Ultimately the artist makes the decisions. It has been my experience, however, that the majority does not like what LUCAS is doing. The new ones are horrible and the old ones are being tainted.

"Does a creator have responsibility to his fans wishes? Does a creator have responsibility to his own wishes?"

The secret message of myth is that the two cannot be disharmonious.

Ultimately the artist makes the decisions. It has been my experience, however, that the majority does not like what LUCAS is doing. The new ones are horrible and the old ones are being tainted.

Lucas clearly doesn't agree. So, the question is, if the majority of viewers don't like what he's doing (and that's debatable) should he immediatly change to please them, even if it is contrary to his fans? Or are his own artistic desires paramount? Which is the greater obligation?

"Does a creator have responsibility to his fans wishes? Does a creator have responsibility to his own wishes?"

The secret message of myth is that the two cannot be disharmonious.

And yet they clearly are in this case. What Lucas wishes for Star Wars is not the same as what many fans wish for Star Wars. Which is the greater obligation?

Watch that old movie The Fountainhead with Patricia Neal, Gary Cooper and Joseph Cotten sometime for an interesting (although hokey in a Hollywood way) examination of whether an artist is responsible to the masses (based on the Ayn Rand novel).

Something else just crossed my mind, cynic that I am. What are the copyright implications of Lucas' "improved" Star Wars film? Does the fact he's changed a certain percentage of it enable him to extend the copyright further? Or would the mere act of re-releasing it accomplish the same thing anyway?

Something else just crossed my mind, cynic that I am. What are the copyright implications of Lucas' "improved" Star Wars film? Does the fact he's changed a certain percentage of it enable him to extend the copyright further? Or would the mere act of re-releasing it accomplish the same thing anyway?

He doesn't even have to re-release it to extend his copyright (but it is good for the trademark). All he has to do is fill out the right paperwork.

All he has to do is keep renewing the copyright every so often and it will be his forever. Most likely, he has a provision in his will to transfer the copyright to his company and his children so that it will remain in the family in perpetuity, like Henson did with the Muppets and Tolkien did with Lord of the Rings.

ah but what really sux about that is the real estate can really be stingy. i don't think i'll ever see silmarillion adapted to the big screen (for profit) in my lifetime cause of that copyright, but i'd love to! i luv it more than hobbit+lotr.

i don't think i'll ever see silmarillion adapted to the big screen (for profit) in my lifetime cause of that copyright

I don't know. You might be able to do it as a mini-series for TV, but that's about it. Not for the big screen though. It's unadaptable for the big screen. You might be able to pick a story and turn it into the movie (like Beren, or Turin or something) but you'd never be able to do the whole thing. It's unadaptable. It would be like trying to do all of Greek mythology in one movie or set of movies.

yes and no. i think it's been about 90 years now but i think now would be a great time to bring the "serial-style" movie releases back. you can definitely do it with silmarillion, do a few number of movies. we already know the market is there cause of lord of the rings, but you have to do it just as good. plus it's difficult with sil cause there's no ONE central main character. it's quite vast... but i still see it as a really cinematic piece.

"i think now would be a great time to bring the 'serial-style' movie releases back"

It's called episodic television.

well no, in an episodic movie RELEASED in a cinema and NOT on television. and yesh we already know the XF is like a movie everyweek or six feet under felt like that (like this past season4) every episode is like a movie. but what i meant is literally make a serial of films released every so often like monthly, bimonthly, etc.

You could do a Discovery/BBC channel 'fake history' series based upon the Simillarion that would be about the same quality as the "Walking With Dinosaurs" series. It would be a roaring success.

lucas has answered:

AP: Why not release both the originals and special editions on DVD?

Lucas: The special edition, that's the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it's on VHS, if anybody wants it. ... I'm not going to spend the, we're talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn't really exist anymore. It's like this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be. I'm the one who has to take responsibility for it. I'm the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they're going to throw rocks at me, they're going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.

AP: Do you pay much attention to fan reactions to your choices?

Lucas: Not really. The movies are what the movies are. ... The thing about science-fiction fans and "Star Wars" fans is they're very independent-thinking people. They all think outside the box, but they all have very strong ideas about what should happen, and they think it should be their way. Which is fine, except I'm making the movies, so I should have it my way.
from: http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2004/09/15/star_wars_trilogy_debuts_on_dvd?pg=2

He really is a tool of Holmesian proportions.

But this may be a good thing. The profit motive will eventually induce him to re-release "the originals--like haven't seen them since 1977!" You can count on it.

I strongly doubt it. Lucas doesn't seem to do anything out of sheer need for money.

As far as that quote goes, I completely agree with him. If I showed a rough cut of my work to someone and then later showed them the final cut, and they liked the rough cut better but I liked the final cut better, well to bad for them. In the end, I'm going to tell my story my way.

Look Joshua, me and the millions of other kids who went to see that movie multiple times and then bought all those crappy plastic toys and trading cards are what made Lucas rich. All this nonsense about what it would have cost to release the original ("which is on VHS"!) is a load of crap. He should have been like Spielberg and given his fans both versions. Obviously he doesn't give a damn about the people who made him famous. He's a GENIUS. Yeah, right. Howard the Duck was pure genius. Phantom Menace is simply brilliant. Give me a break. This guy's ego is out of control. I don't know. He is who he is. Star Wars is good but it's no Dr. Strangelove. He can do whatever he wants to it. And besides, this gives me a good excuse not to give someone as arrogant as Lucas anymore of my money. There's a ton of better movies and directors who aren't fetishists for the latest technology but are instead concerned with the art of moviemaking. Lucas' most recent work proves the guy is clueless. Just my two cents. Sorry for the rant.

Brack

No apologies needed. I completely agree.

have you guys seen his THX1138? it's quite good. for a person that made that... i think he's still pretty kewl. we shall see what he's upto post episode iii.