If you haven't already...SIGN IT! :)

[Eridanis]

Scooting this to Movies, where it's no longer OT.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Sounds like a perfect reason to sign the petition to me.

Already done a few weeks ago. There are a few of these floating around online, and my name is on more than one of them.

 

[KnowTheToe]

Already done a few weeks ago. There are a few of these floating around online, and my name is on more than one of them.

Mine too

 

[kkoie]

Well I for one prefer the new editions to the origonal versions. and would hope that those are made available on dvd.

Course I read somewhere a rumor that the OT's that will be released will not be the origonal versions nor the special editions, and had a slew of things that were going to be changed or edited or added.

 

[Umbran]

Okay, I'm playing Devil's Advocate here...

To turn his back on the fans that put him where he is today is a slap in the face.

That works both ways. To lose all respect for a man because he wants to stick to an artistic vision that simply couldn't be met earlier is a slap in his face.

Yes, we fans put him where he is today, but again, that works both ways. We gave him lots of money. He gave us entertainment, dreams, and a culture-changing experience. There's a darned good question here - Which of us owes more to the other?

He is a guy who makes money, but he also makes films, a form of art. And there's a balance to be struck. If the artist completely ignores the audience, the art suffers, yes. But if the artist panders too much to the audience, to what will sell, you get Xanth. You get Survivor. In short, you get drek.

If the new versions of these films are a betrayal, then so are the original films. The new edits are different from what we're used to, yes. But part of the thing that made the originals great is that they were different from what we were used to!

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

No way I'm signing this- the new versions KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES!!!!

In fact, I heard a rumor that further editing and changes were going to be made- bring it Lucas, you've got a fan here.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

That works both ways. To lose all respect for a man because he wants to stick to an artistic vision that simply couldn't be met earlier is a slap in his face.

Yes, we fans put him where he is today, but again, that works both ways. We gave him lots of money. He gave us entertainment, dreams, and a culture-changing experience. There's a darned good question here - Which of us owes more to the other?

He is a guy who makes money, but he also makes films, a form of art. And there's a balance to be struck. If the artist completely ignores the audience, the art suffers, yes. But if the artist panders too much to the audience, to what will sell, you get Xanth. You get Survivor. In short, you get drek.

If the new versions of these films are a betrayal, then so are the original films. The new edits are different from what we're used to, yes. But part of the thing that made the originals great is that they were different from what we were used to!

My issues with Lucas are not so much that he changed the films, but that he refuses to acknowledge that there are people out there who think that the originals were better. To just say "This is what they are now, the originals will never be seen again, end of story" is a pretty pompous stand to take. You don't just slam the door shut on your fans like that.

 

[Henry]

...When E2 was on the way, there was an interview with him the paper. He went on about how actually "everyone" liked E1 and it was the media that made up the idea that some fans thought it was weak/stupid/offensive/etc. It was spooky to read what the man was saying. It was like he had lost the ability to hear anything he didn't want to.

Considering that both EP1 and Ep2 made hundreds of millions of dollars in the theater, and tens of millions more on video, he's got a basis for his beliefs. However, not admitting that MANY fans found something wrong with both of them is not being honest with himself. The media wasn't the engineer of "The Phantom Edit" - a fan was. thousands of Web sites proclaiming "Lucas SUKS" doesn't paint a completely rosy picture, either. But I liked them, just not as much as the versions of my childhood.

 

[Wombat]

Being in the SF Bay Area and knowing a couple of Lucas-nuts, I must pass along these rumours (note the word rumours, not facts):

The "Original Trilogy" will be out on DVD next year in a package similar to the one they are doing for Indiana Jones -- 4 discs, with the fourth being "extras" and "making of" stuff

BUT

Lucas is also "re-editing" the material again and there is a chance that **shudder** Jar-Jar will make an appearance in Episode IV.

Like I said, only rumours, but I've heard these rumours from four different people out here...

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I gave up when I saw Episode 1.

I loved the soundtrack, but I kept imagining a crossover with Fargo starring Jar Jar and the wood chipper... And have no desire to rush out to the theaters when Episode 3 comes ot.

As for the pod race that ate up so much time, I read it as merchandising for an arcade or computer game.

The Auld Grump, it's things like what happened to the Star Wars series that make me a grump.