Wanna write for the Star Wars live action Show?

[John Crichton]

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/651/651192p1.html

Got screenwriting chops? Go for it.

Any for those of us who will not be writing for the show, how about some more speculation? The article mentions a focus on bounty hunters (as previously rumored) but it's not solid. Could be interesting especially as it's the classic Star Wars era, after the Empire was founded.

I'm thinking that a focus on the start of the Rebellion would be cool. Throw in some political battles (like senators and delagates starting to push back against the oppression of the Emperor). And if there are going to be bounty hunters an important arc/episode has to have a Jedi hunt. Hell, I'd start the 2 hour pilot with that.

I'm hoping to see a more morally grey Star Wars for the show. The movies are great for big action scenes and some banter but to make it last over 20 hours they will need some substance. That, of course, depends on the budget and how many episodes will be in each season. If they do it like the major networks it will be 20-22. However, they may go the HBO/Showtime/FX route and do 13 eps and have a nice high budget for each.

Either way, I'm hyped.

 

[Truth Seeker]

YO Graham, it is your time!!!!

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

YO Graham, it is your time!!!!

I'm not writer. Or at least, not a TV writer. Besides, I think they'd want someone with experience and a little more age than I've got.

 

[Truth Seeker]

I'm not writer. Or at least, not a TV writer. Besides, I think they'd want someone with experience and a little more age than I've got.

Concept artist then?

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I'm hoping to see a more morally grey Star Wars for the show. The movies are great for big action scenes and some banter but to make it last over 20 hours they will need some substance.

I dunno. I've always liked the moral clarity of the Jedi/Sith divide. Jedi are the good guys, Sith are the bad guys. I think the universe would hold less appeal for me if we started seeing conniving Jedi or Sith-with-a-heart-of-gold.

I do suspect that either A) the main characters will not be Jedi, or B) they'll jettison the whole "love always leads to the Dark Side" bunk from the second trilogy. There simply has to be a romance in there somewhere.

 

[John Crichton]

I dunno. I've always liked the moral clarity of the Jedi/Sith divide. Jedi are the good guys, Sith are the bad guys. I think the universe would hold less appeal for me if we started seeing conniving Jedi or Sith-with-a-heart-of-gold.

I do suspect that either A) the main characters will not be Jedi, or B) they'll jettison the whole "love always leads to the Dark Side" bunk from the second trilogy. There simply has to be a romance in there somewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I like the easy divide but by the time the era the show is set in comes around it's basically no Jedi and some folks trying to restore freedome to the galaxy. I think that some of the more interesting aspects of the OT was Luke experimenting with the Dark Side in RotJ.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Don't get me wrong, I like the easy divide but by the time the era the show is set in comes around it's basically no Jedi and some folks trying to restore freedome to the galaxy. I think that some of the more interesting aspects of the OT was Luke experimenting with the Dark Side in RotJ.

Perhaps I haven't watched RotJ recently enough (though it's my favorite in the OT), but I don't ever recall "Luke experimenting with the Dark Side." I recall Luke being tempted by the Emperor to give in to the Dark Side, but I don't remember him experimenting. Am I forgetting something?

And if you remove Jedi/Sith from the equation ("it's basically no Jedi and some folks trying to restore freedom to the galaxy") then I'm not sure Star Wars has ever been anything but morally ambiguous. Han shot Greedo first, after all (and I refuse to believe otherwise, Lucas! ) And of course there's the classic "Stock Boys on the Death Star" moral question, as well.

I guess what I'm wondering is, what exactly are you hoping to see? More political maneuvering? More shady characters? Heroes making more questionable moral choices? Or something else entirely?

And on a side note, I'd be surprised if there are never any Jedi in the live-action show, regardless of what the producers/writers say now. Star Wars is Jedi. Trying to deny that never works out well.

 

[John Crichton]

Perhaps I haven't watched RotJ recently enough (though it's my favorite in the OT), but I don't ever recall "Luke experimenting with the Dark Side." I recall Luke being tempted by the Emperor to give in to the Dark Side, but I don't remember him experimenting. Am I forgetting something?

It wasn't huge but it was he did use the dark side when he was going to meet Jabba in his palace. He force-choked the 2 Gammorean Guards and did a dominate mind on the twi'lek to get him to take him to Jabba. Both are powered by the dark side. Again, not huge but he certainly wasn't walking the path of light at that point.

And if you remove Jedi/Sith from the equation ("it's basically no Jedi and some folks trying to restore freedom to the galaxy") then I'm not sure Star Wars has ever been anything but morally ambiguous. Han shot Greedo first, after all (and I refuse to believe otherwise, Lucas! ) And of course there's the classic "Stock Boys on the Death Star" moral question, as well.

I guess what I'm wondering is, what exactly are you hoping to see? More political maneuvering? More shady characters? Heroes making more questionable moral choices? Or something else entirely?

I'm basically looking for something that is still Star Wars, complete with good vs. evil battles and such while having the substance needed for a TV series. Star Wars, when done right, has always moved very quickly. And since they introduced the idea of focusing on bounty hunters I've kinda latched on to that idea. It would be cool to see a Han-like bounty hunter. The man who deals in blood-money deals but also has morals and a conscience. That alone will create some situations that aren't black and white. An example - he is paid to bring back a young man who stole a substantial amount of money. He's tracked down but upon capture it's found out that the money stolen was to be used to buy medicine for a small community who is desperate for it. The Empire ignores them and doesn't care about their suffering. And to top it off, the money was stolen from a fund that finances the transportation of slaves.

Stuff like that where the main character(s) have to make a choice and sometimes it's the right one and sometimes it's not. The Star Wars universe is very ripe and yes the Jedi are cool as hell but there is more to it than that. Without the colorful supporting characters, Luke is kinda boring. We got to see real Jedi in the new trilogy but that time is gone in the TV show.

And yeah, it would be cool to see the dark underbelly of the Hutt underworld and other types of organizations. They can't really interfere with the main storyline but they can add to it by starting there and branching off. We can visit the Rim and then the Core Worlds and everything in between. That's really what I want to see - simply more. Not just Sith vs Jedi but that should be there in small doses as well.

And on a side note, I'd be surprised if there are never any Jedi in the live-action show, regardless of what the producers/writers say now. Star Wars is Jedi. Trying to deny that never works out well.

I kinda like the idea of the bounty hunter going after a Jedi (or at least a padawan who got away) in either the pliot or a very important episode. It could just be the Star Wars GM in me but I think there are lots of possibilities here, especially since it's been established that some Jedi (not very powerful Jedi, but still some) avoided The Purge. If the show was set in a different era than I would expect it to focus on Jedi but not with the time period they have announced.

 

[Meloncov]

It wasn't huge but it was he did use the dark side when he was going to meet Jabba in his palace. He force-choked the 2 Gammorean Guards and did a dominate mind on the twi'lek to get him to take him to Jabba. Both are powered by the dark side.

Both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon use jedi mind tricks on multiple occasions. I sincerely doubt that it is a dark-side power.

 

[Starman]

It wasn't huge but it was he did use the dark side when he was going to meet Jabba in his palace. He force-choked the 2 Gammorean Guards and did a dominate mind on the twi'lek to get him to take him to Jabba. Both are powered by the dark side. Again, not huge but he certainly wasn't walking the path of light at that point.

Just because the RPG may list a power as a dark side power does not necessarily mean that Lucas considered it a dark side power. Luke did not kill the Gammoreans; he merely distracted them. I wouldn't call his use of the force on the Twi'lek a dominate mind ability so much as a mind trick. As Meloncov pointed out, that has been used several times by other Jedi, so I definitely don't think that was fueled by the dark side.