the crimes of george lucas ('90s on)

also i saw a re-release of AG with my dad in '78 and explained to him that driving around aimlessly on a Saturday night was something I'd read about kids in California doing.

<3 babymorbz explaining to his dad the cultural underlyings of films they saw together

Kinda wish that this were really the case:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BMgegut3UM

American Graffiti rocks no question.

here's the 'unspecialized' original Jabba party scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TNRyhF8qwA

the music wasn't much better tbh!

are you kidding, that song is great! frenetic, tight, almost no-wave. like james chance or something.

mm i like Nub Yub at the end of the 80s Jedi and was horrified by the new age waffley bollocks they replaced it with but this track never made much of an impact really.

original jedi song is great! yub nub also rules.

i like that the jabba party music sounds exotic; in the special editions it's this really shitty cartoon blues shit

no l'ap ti nek, no credibility

In some special somewhere the original English language version of that track was playing before Ben Burtt did the Huttese thing to it and it's a total aerobics anthem. The chorus is literally "I'm shaping up and working out!"

Okay so HERE'S something weird. First, a video we all know and love (perhaps):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqyIaNWP0T0

So it turns out there's a slew of sources claiming Lucas directed this! A bit of further scrounging asserts that Lucasfilm Commercial Productions definitely produced it but there's a debate as to whether it was Lucas himself who did this or some dude named Steven Würnitzer. Anyone have any more info? (As da croupier said elsewhere, he always figured Fincher directed it.)

cite slew

Guess he's definitely giving up on directing forever, because it was my understanding that he was going to direct this:

Fans have long known that the daring aerobatics of World War II were a major inspiration in the making of the space battles in the Star Wars saga. George Lucas and his production team have captured the rush of aerial dogfights aboard P-51 Mustangs while telling an inspiring story based on real events in the next major motion picture production from Lucasfilm: Red Tails.

A high-flying action epic inspired by the heroic exploits of the first all African-American aerial combat unit, Red Tails will launch on January 20, 2012, released by Twentieth Century Fox. Produced by Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson, the gripping WWII action movie is directed by Anthony Hemingway ("Treme," "The Wire," "Battlestar Galactica").

"I am humbled and honored to direct the story of the Tuskegee Airmen -- heroes who have paved the way so others could have the opportunity to pursue their dreams," said Hemingway. "To be selected by George Lucas and Rick to direct this film was more than my wildest dreams come true. It's been a blessing to work with them, along with the amazingly talented artists at Industrial Light & Magic. I've grown a lot on many levels from this experience. As director, I had the fortune to work with a highly skilled crew from the Czech Republic, U.K. and the U.S., along with a remarkably talented group of actors. The resonant beauty, strength and dedication of our heroes is reflected in the powerful ensemble cast."

Red Tails stars Oscar® winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire), Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (Crash), Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Nate Parker (The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters), David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Tristan Wilds ("90210"), Grammy® Award winner Cliff Smith aka Method Man ("The Wire"), Kevin Phillips (Pride), Rick Otto ("The Wire"), Lee Tergesen (Monster), Andre Royo ("Heroes"), Grammy-Award winner Ne-Yo (Stomp the Yard), Elijah Kelley (Hairspray), Marcus T. Paulk (Take the Lead), Leslie Odom Jr. ("Grey's Anatomy"), Michael B. Jordan ("Friday Night Lights," Chronicle) and Daniela Ruah ("NCIS").

"I've wanted to do this film for a great many years," said George Lucas, executive producer of Red Tails. "So it is especially gratifying to see it all come together. It has been a real pleasure to work with Anthony and the extraordinary cast on a project that we all passionately believe in. The Tuskegee Airmen were such superb pilots that it was essential for us to create visual effects that would live up to their heroism and put audiences in the cockpit with them. They were only in their early 20s when they performed these amazing feats," Lucas added. "They became the best of the best--the top guns. It is an honor to bring to the screen a story inspired by their heroics."

http://starwars.com/themovies/redtails/redtails_sm.jpg

http://starwars.com/themovies/redtails/redtails2_sm.jpg

i remember samuel jackson being attached as a director (and actor?) a few years ago so i think lucas gave up on wanting to direct a while ago. (or maybe just decided that a black person should direct it?)

"Hi, Rick, it's George. Do I know any black people besides Billy Dee and Sam Jackson? I don't? Can you find me some, please?"

+ dude who played Jar Jar

Lucas may or may not be aware that a non-CGI person played Jar Jar.

lol @ Meth being in this

unrelated:

apparently all requests for philanthropy/charity donations from ILM have to be addressed specifically to George Lucas lol. I'm sure he personally reads every single one.

What's wrong with your FAAAAACE is giving me extreme LOLs today for some reason.

george lucas is straight trolling now: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/51019

I love when this thread gets revived. "What has he done now?" i chuckle to myself

Anyway i guess George is going for a "it's like poetry, it rhymes" moment here

I like the idea of calling James Earl Jones back just to overdub a "noooo!"

A+

nah when he did the one at the end of the third prequel george said 'ey james how about you do another couple dozen of those, i'll pepper them across the old films over the next thirty years.'

Hah omfg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGaSxSuB2vY&feature=player_embedded#at=36

It takes a certain kind of fuck-you chutzpah to take one of the THE most hated bits of the prequels and deliberately infect the originals with it

From the same source. I must have spent a full 5 minutes lol-ing at this last night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0EUjobdavw

Yeah, this is well past "improving my vision of the universe" and into "fuck you loyal fans" territory.

But there seems to be a lot of chatter that those are both fake.

Star Wars is ruined forever

I mean, it is, and thats not hyperbole. Its ruined because it is completely impossible to purchase the original, theatrically released versions in a watchable format.

captain, my who-gives-a-shit readouts are through the roof!!

So glad you've taken time to post then.

Yeah, this is well past "improving my vision of the universe" and into "fuck you loyal fans" territory.

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Thursday, September 1, 2011 8:56 AM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

no, it isn't. i think it's stupid, but if anything it just confirms that lucas thinks of star wars and everything in it as a big old model trainset in his basement. his to tinker with as he pleases. and just like old men and their trainsets, the more he tinkers, the more myopic he gets, and the less interesting it all is to everyone else.

to extend the old man with new toy thing a bit more: he seems giddy about the fact that it's now so EASY to reach into film and change things. when he was a student, he had to actually cut film and move it around to make edits. i think that he's still, even now, just ~blown away~ that film isn't even film anymore, and can be mutable up until (or even past) the release date. his mistake is in thinking that that is necessarily a good idea.

Its ruined because it is completely impossible to purchase the original, theatrically released versions in a watchable format.

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Thursday, September 1, 2011 9:05 AM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is otm, though.

i'm secretly grateful that all these new bullshitty movies drained my enthusiasm for SW because now i can go "well it is a bit silly," but i would at least like to be able to see the actual original things that got me so pumped in the first place.

That clip of of the "krayt dragon call" is the funniest fucking thing I think I will see all day today

Thats true, and a pretty good analogy. I just don't understand why he just can't leave the older versions available for us to purchase. Its not like it would cause him to make less money or something.

Basically, I just look at something like Ridley Scott's Blu-Ray set for Blade Runner with 5(!) different versions of the film. Its hard not to look at this as a "fuck you", when he knows what people are clamoring for but doesn't give a shit about releasing it.

(xpost)

I'm sure when you're 85 the original edits will be released via "Help me, Obi-Wan" hologram.

but i would at least like to be able to see the actual original things that got me so pumped in the first place.

I mean, this is key. I'd love to show my kid the originals some day.

LIFE SIZED SATANIC DOLL USED AS MASTURBATION TOY FOR AMERICA'S YOUTH

one day the unfuckedup oroginal will be released - I proimise

I think we still have the originals on VHS

omg Mark is that link for real

The Darth Vader "Nooooo!" thing is just so clunky and stupid and idiotic. I really don't see why he doesn't just dig out all the cut scenes from the first film and clean them up and put them back in. Stuff like Luke hanging around with his friends is actually kinda dull and detracting from the pacing of the original movies, but not nearly as distracting as some of the new stuff he's put in. Anyone want to chime in on the R2D2 rock? I haven't seen that yet, but yeah, sounds like a good way to waste millions of dollars. Putting a digital rock in somewhere.

Thats true, and a pretty good analogy. I just don't understand why he just can't leave the older versions available for us to purchase. Its not like it would cause him to make less money or something.

Basically, I just look at something like Ridley Scott's Blu-Ray set for Blade Runner with 5(!) different versions of the film. Its hard not to look at this as a "fuck you", when he knows what people are clamoring for but doesn't give a shit about releasing it.

yeah, this is where i smell whiffs of anti-fandom w/lucas, i guess. a criterion-style remastering of the originals, in high-def, w/o whizz-bang special effects, would totally sell. so he either doesn't care about making money (i really think he doesn't at this point, why would you), doesn't want the originals to be seen anymore now that he's made changes (likely), or actively holds in contempt fans that think the originals are better ("they don't get it").

likely all three

well also Lucas is making the mistake of thinking people love his artistic/creative vision when what people actually loved was how he got around/adjusted to/circumvented technical limitations that got in the way of his artistic vision, something that becomes more and more apparent as he goes back to all of these movies and retinkers them into what he REALLY wanted all along

wait i thought you could buy the og 3 on dvd? or is that not 'a watchable format' for you nerds?

haha, true! xp

also, thing is, to hear my parents tell it, it wasn't the actual nuts and bolts of his creative vision that was appealing, it was that it got into a movie at all, ever.

SW was the first time joe moviegoer got a taste of competently done space opera. i mean, it's kinda like ppl (non-nerds) going nuts for the LOTR movies. like whoah i've never read the books but this shit is EPIC and COOL and its like dude this is nothing new, it just happens to be in a movie now

a hoy hoy - you can buy versions of the OG trilogy on DVD that have the original versions on a bonus disc, but even a 5 year-old would tell you they are unwatchable.

From an Amazon review:
The picture & sound are intentionally presented in mediocre quality. These DVD's are transferred from the exact same videotape used to create the laserdisc release in 1993. That means a non-anamorphic, muddy, letterboxed picture that will have to be zoomed in to fill widescreen TVs or computer monitors. Lucasfilm refuses to fulfill the basic minimum standards of a current DVD release and make a new transfer. The quality of this DVD presentation will not live up to that of such timeless classics as Caddyshack II & Ishtar.

We have a 52" screen at home and they took up maybe a quarter of our screen. If I zoomed in, it was blurry to the point of making me nauseous trying to watch.