Will anyone stand up to George Lucas?

[Flexor the Mighty!]

The thing that amuses me is that if George Lucas were to release Star Wars Episode 3 on DVD, and then release a special edition a few months later with added scenes, people would be screaming in outrage and calling him a money-grubbing bastard.

Yet, Peter Jackson is doing the same thing with Lord of the Rings, and people love him for it.

That's because in the past few years, it's become fashionable to make George Lucas out to be the antichrist, while Peter Jackson is the greatest director in movie history.

I thought this bears repeating.

For each flick three different DVD sets, theatrical, EE, and EE boxed set with bonus DVD and bookends.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

The thing that amuses me is that if George Lucas were to release Star Wars Episode 3 on DVD, and then release a special edition a few months later with added scenes, people would be screaming in outrage and calling him a money-grubbing bastard.

Yet, Peter Jackson is doing the same thing with Lord of the Rings, and people love him for it.

To be fair, Jackson doesn't tout the EEs as "new, improved, and definitive" the way Star Wars re-releases are marketed. He calls the theatrical versions the real version and the EEs the version for geeks like himself who dig all that stuff. Plus, BOTH versions are available. He's not producing versions that a large portion of his fanbase likes less to the exclusion of others. That's a substantial difference, as well.

 

[Garmorn]

I allways get a chuckle out of these E1-3 are horriable rants. Lucus him self said in an interview (on the orginal VHS tape) that if he had done the first three before the second three no one would have watched them because they would not have been worth watching.

 

[barsoomcore]

If George Lucas were to release Star Wars Episode 3 on DVD, and then release a special edition a few months later with added scenes, people would be screaming in outrage and calling him a money-grubbing bastard.

Well, as a prediction that's worth as much as any other -- nothing.

We'll see how people react when Lucas does release them.

I suspect we'll see, like we did with Indiana Jones, box sets of either the two trilogies each or all six together -- in order to get people to buy all the movies just to get the ones they like. But hey, there's another prediction for you. Worth just as much as any other.



But I promise not to call him a money-grubbing bastard.

 

[Goodsport]

He got lucky with Star Wars. It's one of those films where everything came together at the right moment in history. And then he stepped back and gave Empire to a talented team and let them look after it. And since then?

Well, I would say the Indiana Jones trilogy (all three films hit theaters after Empire)... although your point is still pretty valid since while Lucas co-wrote the first and third (and wrote the second) IJ films, he still handed them over to a very talented team to film.

Also, don't forget that Return of the Jedi also wasn't directed by Lucas. but by Richard Marquand.

Personally, I liked Parts 1 and 2 well enough, although I would agree that there's something missing from them that the original trilogy had.


-G

 

[Kai Lord]

The thing that amuses me is that if George Lucas were to release Star Wars Episode 3 on DVD, and then release a special edition a few months later with added scenes, people would be screaming in outrage and calling him a money-grubbing bastard.

You're just guessing. And you're guess goes against the fact that Lucas has released a dozen different versions of the original trilogy on VHS and laserdisc, and fans happily bought them up each time. Screams of outrage? I think not.

Yet, Peter Jackson is doing the same thing with Lord of the Rings, and people love him for it.

PJ destroyed the original negative for the theatrical releases of the LOTR films and will never release them again? That bastard!

 

[Dark Jezter]

You're just guessing. And you're guess goes against the fact that Lucas has released a dozen different versions of the original trilogy on VHS and laserdisc, and fans happily bought them up each time.

There's a difference between reprints and new editions that feature new footage, Kai Lord.

I've got two VHS tapes of the original Star Wars. One version has Luke, Leia, and Han on the cover. The other has a picture of Darth Vader's helmet. Other than that, the two movies are identical. The only reason I got a newer VHS tape was because my older one was so worn out that it was nearly unwatchable.

AFAIK, there are only two versions of the original Star Wars trilogy out there. The originals, and the Special Editions which were came out in 1997. Other than that, the only differences between the various VHS and Laserdisc editions are video and audio quality.

Screams of outrage? I think not.

You should have heard people howling when GL decided to release The Phantom Menace on DVD. "What!? He's releasing it on DVD already? Less than two years ago he released it on VHS only! He's just doing this to milk the fans out of more money!"

PJ destroyed the original negative for the theatrical releases of the LOTR films and will never release them again? That bastard!

Did you even read my post, Kai Lord? I was presenting a hypothetical situation where George Lucas released Episode 3 on DVD followed by an Extended Edition a few months later. I didn't mention anything even remotely resembling PJ destroying the theatrical prints of the LotR movies and only releasing extended editions afterwards.

 

[Kai Lord]

There's a difference between reprints and new editions that feature new footage, Kai Lord.

Yep and that's what almost every Star Wars fan wants. A reprint of the old movies on DVD.

You should have heard people howling when GL decided to release The Phantom Menace on DVD. "What!? He's releasing it on DVD already? Less than two years ago he released it on VHS only! He's just doing this to milk the fans out of more money!"

Oh you mean when he stated that TPM wouldn't be on DVD until 2006, then released it on VHS, waited for everyone who wanted it to buy the tape, then announced the upcoming DVD release a few months later?

Not remotely close to PJ announcing both versions of the LOTR DVD's before either one hit shelves, with a coupon for one included with the other.

Did you even read my post, Kai Lord? I was presenting a hypothetical situation where George Lucas released Episode 3 on DVD followed by an Extended Edition a few months later. I didn't mention anything even remotely resembling PJ destroying the theatrical prints of the LotR movies and only releasing extended editions afterwards.

Well that's what George has done. And that's what annoys people.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Yep and that's what almost every Star Wars fan wants. A reprint of the old movies on DVD.

When you say "most Star Wars fans", are you basing that on actual market research, or extremely vocal internet fanboys who are outraged over the scene where Greedo shoots first?

Oh you mean when he stated that TPM wouldn't be on DVD until 2006, then released it on VHS, waited for everyone who wanted it to buy the tape, then announced the upcoming DVD release a few months later?

Yep, that's it. It's all part of George Lucas' evil plan to screw money out of people who have an obsessive/compulsive need to buy everything with the Star Wars logo on it.

Although it was amusing to watch the reactions on internet forums over the whole TPM DVD issue. First, they were flaming GL because he decided to release it on VHS only. Then, when he decided to release the DVD sooner than he intitially stated he would, they flamed him again.

Well that's what George has done. And that's what annoys people.

Because George Lucas is the devil, and everything Peter Jackson touches turns to gold.

 

[Welverin]

Oh you mean when he stated that TPM wouldn't be on DVD until 2006, then released it on VHS, waited for everyone who wanted it to buy the tape, then announced the upcoming DVD release a few months later?

He had no intention of releasing it on DVD until after Ep3 was done but fans whined so damn much he changed his mind and gave them what they wanted, then a different group of fans whined about him releasing them after they bought it on tape.

I was presenting a hypothetical situation where George Lucas released Episode 3 on DVD followed by an Extended Edition a few months later. I didn't mention anything even remotely resembling PJ destroying the theatrical prints of the LotR movies and only releasing extended editions afterwards.

There is an important distinction between what happened with Ep1 and the LotR movies. With LotR the extended version were announced before the theatrical version was released (I believe they were even announced at the same time).