CosmicBills Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 He took money out of his own pocket to budget the entire movie 274408[/snapback] Every movie he has made for Lucas Films, starting with Episode VI, he paid for entirely himself. He did it that way to make sure he held onto all the rights to the property plus the merchendising. The only thing Fox pays for is the distribution. If nothing else, Lucas is a very keen business man. ILR and Skywalker Sound (both companies he created) make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Not to mention Lucas Arts and Lucas Films. You have to love what Lucas said near the end of the interview, he said he can't wait to do a bunch of small movies that no one will go see. "You want to get to a point where you can afford to fail" is how he put it I think...kinda odd, but also true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Ah, thanks for clearing that up for me. 274910[/snapback] No worries. I am a movie nerd. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkwwjd Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 I have a friend who works at Skywalker Ranch for ILM. He is one of the main artists that does the concept work for Lucas on the SW films. There is a book coming out in April called Visionaries that are the main eight artist doing some concept work that fills in background on the whole SW universe. Anyway, Alex was the supervisor for all of Yoda's CG artwork in EP II. While I know some people weren't impressed with the whirling dervish yoda in his fight with Dooku (that is the story that Lucas wanted), the seemlessness of the animation was some of the best we have ever seen. This time around, Alex was one of the main supervisors on the opening space battle, which is supposed to be the grandest space sequence ever filmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCBillsFan Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Natalie Portman is a BABE!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Lucas wrote this episode, but it's the first one he turned over to a script doctor (I forget her name at the moment...but she is one of the best in Hollywood). Script Doctor's don't change the plot or story at all, they punch up scenes and dialogue. Word is she re-wrote virtually everyline of the dialogue (with Lucas's approval of course). It was a big step for Lucas that people thought he wouldn't take. You won't see her (or any script doctor's) names in credits though. The guild doesn't award writing credits for doctoring. 274908[/snapback] I thought he had used a script doctor for some of the original three...It was clear that he refused to use one for Ep I and II, but I thought I had read there was some doctoring done on at least Empire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Every movie he has made for Lucas Films, starting with Episode VI, he paid for entirely himself. He did it that way to make sure he held onto all the rights to the property plus the merchendising. The only thing Fox pays for is the distribution. If nothing else, Lucas is a very keen business man. ILR and Skywalker Sound (both companies he created) make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Not to mention Lucas Arts and Lucas Films. You have to love what Lucas said near the end of the interview, he said he can't wait to do a bunch of small movies that no one will go see. "You want to get to a point where you can afford to fail" is how he put it I think...kinda odd, but also true. 274913[/snapback] That's exactly why his tinkering with the films doesn't bother me as much as it does other people. From the very beginning he's been adamant about doing things the way he wanted them done.......he's on record from the '80s saying that he didnt' feel the first three films were complete since there were limitations in the technology. I admire the guy for all that he's done.....and whatever films he makes from this point forward I'll definitely be checking out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 I thought he had used a script doctor for some of the original three...It was clear that he refused to use one for Ep I and II, but I thought I had read there was some doctoring done on at least Empire... 275096[/snapback] For Episodes V and VI Lucas actually turned over the entire script to new writers (in V it was Bracked and Kasdan, in VI it was all Kasdan). Lucas did the story, but left the actual writing to Kasdan. So you are right, it's just a minor technicality really. A doctor doesn't really change anything structurally, they mainly focus on dialogue and sequencing etc. Where as with Kasdan Lucas basically said, "here's the story I want to tell, go write it". If that makes sense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gross Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 For Episodes V and VI Lucas actually turned over the entire script to new writers (in V it was Bracked and Kasdan, in VI it was all Kasdan). Lucas did the story, but left the actual writing to Kasdan. So you are right, it's just a minor technicality really. A doctor doesn't really change anything structurally, they mainly focus on dialogue and sequencing etc. Where as with Kasdan Lucas basically said, "here's the story I want to tell, go write it". If that makes sense... 275369[/snapback] Yeah, much more sense. I just knew that V and VI were not all Lucas' words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicBills Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 That's exactly why his tinkering with the films doesn't bother me as much as it does other people. From the very beginning he's been adamant about doing things the way he wanted them done.......he's on record from the '80s saying that he didnt' feel the first three films were complete since there were limitations in the technology. I admire the guy for all that he's done.....and whatever films he makes from this point forward I'll definitely be checking out. 275158[/snapback] I'm a fan of his work as well. His creativity and imagination changed the way movies are made, produced and marketed today. It is very difficult to find a man who has changed the face of the business as much as Lucas has over the past 30 years. While people may agrue (maybe rightfully so) about his talents as a writer and director, his ambition, imagination and business sense is beyond comparison. IMO anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 WOW!! Tempremental! Mom take away your light saber again????????? tell me you can read? "obie" as in Obie wan? you do know of him right????? 274902[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 tell me you can read? "obie" as in Obie wan? you do know of him right????? 274902[/snapback] No, actually I've never heard of Obie-wan.........Obie is Garfield's dog. OBI-Wan Kenobi, now him I know. Obviously both of us can read, but only one of us can spell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 For Episodes V and VI Lucas actually turned over the entire script to new writers (in V it was Bracked and Kasdan, in VI it was all Kasdan). Lucas did the story, but left the actual writing to Kasdan. So you are right, it's just a minor technicality really. A doctor doesn't really change anything structurally, they mainly focus on dialogue and sequencing etc. Where as with Kasdan Lucas basically said, "here's the story I want to tell, go write it". If that makes sense... 275369[/snapback] Lucas also didn't direct Episodes V or VI. In the case of Empire Strikes Back, it's pretty well known that Lucas and director Irvin Kershner did not get along at all and that Lucas hated a lot of the decisions he made. He learned his lesson in time for Jedi and hired a director who was a little more interested in King George's input. Of course, Empire is the best Star Wars movie..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 No, actually I've never heard of Obie-wan.........Obie is Garfield's dog. OBI-Wan Kenobi, now him I know. Obviously both of us can read, but only one of us can spell. 275390[/snapback] Odie is the dog in the Garfield comic strips. Odie fan club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Of course, Empire is the best Star Wars movie..... 275401[/snapback] Yep.....by no small margin, either IMHO. Great film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Lucas also didn't direct Episodes V or VI. In the case of Empire Strikes Back, it's pretty well known that Lucas and director Irvin Kershner did not get along at all and that Lucas hated a lot of the decisions he made. He learned his lesson in time for Jedi and hired a director who was a little more interested in King George's input. Of course, Empire is the best Star Wars movie..... 275401[/snapback] Interesting side note: Kershner originally didn't want to direct the movie and had to be convinced by Lucas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Odie is the dog in the Garfield comic strips.Odie fan club 275405[/snapback] OKay, so neither of us can spell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Lucas also didn't direct Episodes V or VI. In the case of Empire Strikes Back, it's pretty well known that Lucas and director Irvin Kershner did not get along at all and that Lucas hated a lot of the decisions he made. He learned his lesson in time for Jedi and hired a director who was a little more interested in King George's input. Of course, Empire is the best Star Wars movie..... 275401[/snapback] More on Lucas' fall to the Dark Side, so to speak... Gary Kurtz Interview IGNFF: When you talk about the development of Star Wars and the transition in tone through Empire and Return of the Jedi and now eventually what happened with Episode I, do you think that George's storytelling became more simplistic, or less mature? How would you characterize the elements that you saw emerging with the difficulties that were happening towards the end of Empire and what eventually led to Return of the Jedi? KURTZ: I think it became simpler. You don't need complicated interpersonal relationships, you don't need difficult dramatic structures for this kind of story. Empire, in a way, is a typical second act of a three-act play. It's the problem act – everybody has problems, everybody has difficulties that they're trying to get out of, and usually the end of the second act is you're leaving everybody in deep sh--. And, in a sense, Empire does that. Luke's hand is cut off, and Han Solo is frozen and he's off somewhere – all of the key elements are left unresolved. It's very rare that you see a feature film that ends that way and is satisfactory. We were a bit afraid of that whole concept. Knowing that there was going to be a third film obviously helped, but still – that wasn't going to be for another three years, so the idea of presenting this to an audience and having them accept it was a scary proposition. I had never done it before. It seemed to work, though. It seemed to work quite well. The audience was very satisfied, and anticipated the next part. I think part of the reason that they were satisfied was because they were satisfied with the characters themselves. The characters seemed believable in the story. Star Wars, the first film, is very much a comic book story. It's a very archetypal standard story about a hero coming of age and engaging with the world and trying to right some wrongs – and all of those things worked very, very effectively – but the dialogue is fairly pedestrian as far as movies go, and the adventure is carried along by interesting side bars and some of the individual effects... and the fact that it's kind of a rollercoaster ride in a sense, with very, very archetypal energy, so that you can associate with the key character elements very, very easily. There's a lot of undercurrent in Star Wars that, if you take it on the surface, a four-year-old can really enjoy it – but there's a lot else going on, under there. In that sense it's multi-layered, and Empire is as well. That's the thing that bothered me a bit about Jedi and certainly about Episode I, is that those layers, those subtexts – they're all gone. They're not there. You accept what's there on the screen – it either works for you as a surface adventure, or it doesn't. But that's all there is. There's nothing to ponder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 Yep.....by no small margin, either IMHO. Great film. For me, the greatest part of SW was the sequence in ROTJ with Luke, Vader, and the Emperor. I mean, to have the most evil man in the universe give up his life for his son... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 More on Lucas' fall to the Dark Side, so to speak... Gary Kurtz Interview 275418[/snapback] I disagree that there is nothing going on under the surface of Ep.I........there is a TON going on, actually. The entire point of that film - in terms of 'under the surface' - is to begin putting the pieces in place for what will happen in Ep. III. I think what people fail to do is keep the OT in mind with regard to the prequels. If you think in terms of the landscape during the time of Ep. IV, the prequels make much more sense. They also become much more interesting. Palpatine is the puppet master, and he's active from Ep.I all the way up through to where he meets his destiny in ROTJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajzepp Posted March 15, 2005 Share Posted March 15, 2005 For me, the greatest part of SW was the sequence in ROTJ with Luke, Vader, and the Emperor. I mean, to have the most evil man in the universe give up his life for his son... 275421[/snapback] I actually agree with you.......that was arguably the most dramatic sequence in any of the films. Too bad there were Ewoks interspersed throughout it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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