-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
If Brad Bird directs, count me in.
If not, they can keep their star wars to themselves.
If not, they can keep their star wars to themselves.
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Star Wars Episode 7 - Thread of Pre-Production
- Thread starter Ape Gone Insane
- Start date
shira
Member
BB out officially long time ago/far far away
Why is Brad Bird the key to star wars? Nothing suggests he would even be good at it.
-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
Shame. Arndt writing got me a bit excited and I was hoping they'd team him up with Bird.
But it looks like no one really wants to touch it for some reason.
When I look at these two new producers/writers for ep. VIII and IX, I am left unimpressed.
But it looks like no one really wants to touch it for some reason.
When I look at these two new producers/writers for ep. VIII and IX, I am left unimpressed.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Disney would have to work out a deal with Fox, who still holds distribution rights to the first six movies. Not saying it can't happen, just that it'll have to happen first before you see Blu-Rays.
And so far as the ORIGINAL versions on Blu-Ray goes? That's a little different. From what I understand, none of the scans Lucasfilm had for hi-def transfer were of the originals. I believe they scanned in the Special Editions, and then cleaned up those scans, and added digital effects to those for the 2004 DVD releases.
Now, that's not to say Disney/Lucasfilm couldn't spring for the cost in digitally restoring the cuts/color timing/special effects to their pre-97 status. But I don't know how much is really in it for them to do that.
Also, there's no fucking way they give this to Joseph Kosinski. He had his shot and he botched it hard. You don't faceplant on Tron and then have Kathleen Kennedy hand you Star Wars.
kavinsky said:
That Lawrence Kasdan. Super unimpressive when it comes to Star Wars.
There are non special edition cuts still out there. I guarantee you they would be easy enough to borrow if the purpose was the put out the non special edition original trilogy.
-Plasma Reus-
Service guarantees member status
Touche. Late night here and I make no excuses. Thought I read Lawrence as a last name.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Oh, I know there are fan-edits/restorations featuring upscaled (nicely upscaled) workarounds to restore the originals.
But the number of prints - and CLEAN prints, at that - from which Disney/Lucasfilm could source a proper 4k scan? Not too far away from zero. Private collectors who do still have 35mm prints aren't to eager to get in contact w/ Lucasfilm, either, for obvious reasons.
It'd likely be easier for Disney/Lucasfilm to work from the masters they just used on the blu-rays, and digitally apply retro-fixes to match it to the originals, than it would be to try and re-scan materials they don't have access to.
[edit] side problem, but won't matter until probably another 10 years or so: When Lucas shot Episodes II & III digitally, the cameras he used couldn't actually produce a 4k image. Episode III was 2K, and Episode II, if I remember correctly, maxed out at 1080p. Meaning the only difference between the camera image and the blu-ray of Attack of the Clones is the compression algorithm.
Basically, there's a future coming in which the four oldest Star Wars movies will have more visual information, and will thus look better than the two newest Star Wars movies - at least until 7,8,9 comes out.
It'd be a Kasdan script based off the 40 page treatment from Arndt based off the Lucas outline. So not exactly Kasdan alone, nor is he directing or anything.
Also, it wouldn't surprise me if Disney throw another writer or two or three at this once Kasdan/Kinberg have their cracks at it if the script still needs work. Basically doing the James Bond model where they have scripts going for the next two movies at once.
Anticitizen One
Banned
Tron legacy is superior to the original. Something that most of Hollywood doesn't understand about sequels.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
This would be pretty unprecedented for a Star Wars series - none of the movies had a rock-solid plan in place before filming, and the arcs were essentially all "written as we go along" - including the originals. The plethora of behind the scenes materials that's come out since, especially the giant "Making Of" books by J.W. Rinzler, definitely speak to that.
This would be the first series where they know exactly what points each movie needs to hit, and the screenplays will likely be written at the same time, with knowledge of the stories helping feed/refine the storytelling aspects in each script.
Essentially - it'd be closer to how the Lord of the Rings scripts were written, if not how they were produced/shot.
Anticitizen One said:
I won't disagree, but I'll say the margin of difference between the two is not THAT thick. And the original is not that good a movie. It's very poorly paced, and often pretty but boring. Tron: Legacy is prettier, but only marginally improves on the ratio of "fun" to "boring"
If Im not mistaken, there are proper prints still out there, and were even offered to Lucas at one point to use, and he refused.
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
I'm pretty sure Sith is only 1080p, too. But it was 4:4:4, which was an improvement from Clones.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I remember a couple people posturing as such in various aficionado threads, and I remember the guy who restored Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" offering his time and expertise to Lowry Digital when they got the job to clean up the original trilogy - but nobody actually said "Hey Lucasfilm! I've got a really clean print you can use!"
Mostly because they're not supposed to have those.
Also, it's not as easy as just scanning a print from 1977/1981. There's a LOT that goes into making a good scan, and again - a lot of those materials simply don't exist anymore. The last restoration basically had its negative printed with the 97 Special Edition changes on them, if I remember correctly.
Thanks for the catch. Sith definitely looks a lot better than Clones does.
He directed The Incredibles and the Iron Giant, and Mission Impossible 4 didn't completely suck. Therefore GAF likes him and he's the man for the job.
Or something. There are plenty of directors out there with awesome track records who would be just as qualified, but for whatever reason Bird is getting thrown around like only he can make Star Wars awesome again.
I will always love him for The Incredibles and Iron Giant.
I just really dont believe Lucas doesnt have the originals. Maybe its just the little kid in me who fell in love with A Galaxy far,far away, but some part of me has to believe Lucas never fully turned to the dark side.
The original negatives still exist. Don't believe Lucas' lies.
If he wanted a restoration of the originals to happen, it would happen. Problem is... he doesn't.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I'm pretty sure they don't. There's prints of the original trilogy at the Library of Congress (or at least Star Wars) but I really do believe the original negatives are toast, and the 97 special editions are the last stored negatives Lucasfilm has on hand.
Which is all sorts of fucked up considering the man partnered with Scorsese on a massive film restoration campaign for quite a long period of time.
Nevertheless - it's still not like it's impossible. It's just a matter of retro-fixing the current scans to look like the original cuts. I would imagine that would be cheaper than if it turned out the original negatives still did exist anywhere, which they likely don't.
Fix The Scientist
Member
A friend just told me favreau was officially confirmed as director and i nearly flipped my desk in rage, sweet relief now that I've checked online and it's not true (yet)
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
The changes are mostly to visual effects shots.
I mentioned it in one of these threads, but all of the individual film elements of those effects shots are archived, too. (or at least were in 1997) The quality of those elements is considerably higher than that of the final negatives. (Vistavision)
If Paramount can be bothered to restore the entire Star Trek: The Next Generation series from motion control elements, then I don't think it's a stretch for Star Wars.
shira
Member
I wish he would at least go back and retrofit all the computer screens so they look a little more modern. Don't really care about the rest. It can be the original or special editions.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Believing anything Lucas says about anything is akin to trusting a Sith lord. To paraphrase Lucas some years ago "There will be no more Star Wars films made, I have left strict instructions regarding this issue for when I die". Now to paraphrase Lucas a few weeks back "I have always envisioned more star wars".
I'd buy unedited Blu-Rays for sure. I actually have the SE on DVD, but for some reason it's the fullscreen edition, so I'm looking to upgrade.
I really, really, really hope that these next movies are good. I so want to love Star Wars again. I want there to be magic in that series that I haven't felt in years, if not decades. I feel like the last thing Star Wars that really touched me was KOTOR. I think that goes to show there's room for more SW things then just the original movies.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
It's not like I open my mouth next to that dude's butthole and wait for him to unleash hot mud and lies into my waiting gullet, man. There's a LOT of stuff about these films, and their behind-the-scenes stories, that he doesn't touch, write, or involve himself in. WAY more than there is involving him, or including him in its production.
It's not like I saw a Leonard Maltin interview with the guy and said "WELP, that must be it then!"
There are plenty of other sources for information than Lucas. Hell, this thread is pretty enlightening. I didn't know until Taj said something about the original effects elements definitely being archived. Now, considering most of Star Wars ISN'T special effects, re-scanning those original elements, marrying them to the 4k scans they currently have - there's a really good possibility that's an endeavor Disney wouldn't mind undertaking, as he pointed out.
Aaron Strife
Banned
Empire of Dreams had some nice footage of the original non-Episode IV opening crawl and some other scenes (that were altered in the special editions - unaltered in the documentary), although it's certainly possible they wouldn't have the whole thing.
I was joking dude, hence the equating him to a fictional bad guy. I know there is more to it than what George Lucas says.
But
Even back then I thought this looked like shit, and that was when I never knew that this scene wasn't an actual part of the original. (Looking back, I think I saw the OG trilogy without SE stuff at a drive-in, but I was too young to remember much.)
TAJ
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
It would also mean redoing the compositing for those shots, but like I said they did it for TNG.
It wouldn't be 100% true to the original. It would look better, but in a way that wouldn't bother me at all. You've actually already seen what it would look like. Many shots from the SEs were simple recomposites, especially on Hoth, which was a compositing nightmare in 1980.
But
Even back then I thought this looked like shit, and that was when I never knew that this scene wasn't an actual part of the original. (Looking back, I think I saw the OG trilogy without SE stuff at a drive-in, but I was too young to remember much.)
I agree it looks bad, but it doesnt really hurt a re watch for me. Greedo shooting first is just on another level of bad.
Me too, but SE Jaba in a New Hope looks like shit. Han shooting first is bullshit. There's a lot of stuff that is shit.
It looks so fucking stupid and fake to me. It kind of almost ruins Jaba even by the time I get to Jedi when marathon rewatching them. He looks like such a fucking asshole here, and the least threatening sack of shit ever.
It looks so fucking stupid and fake to me. It kind of almost ruins Jaba even by the time I get to Jedi when marathon rewatching them. He looks like such a fucking asshole here, and the least threatening sack of shit ever.
Ape Gone Insane
Member
There seems to be a huge obsession with Brad Bird in this thread. The guy has directed one live action film in a completely different genre and that was ... decent.
As for the special editions, it's been a while since I've saw the two editions. I can understand the dislike of Greedo shooting first in the set up of Han's character, but I can't say I really "get" the other complaints.
It wasn't a particularly high bar that it had to live up to considering the original Tron was pretty shit outside of being 'good looking for its time' (and it's aged horribly). The only appealing aspects of Legacy were the visuals and Daft Punk soundtrack, it was an audio-visual feast but aside from that, pretty bland.
As for the special editions, it's been a while since I've saw the two editions. I can understand the dislike of Greedo shooting first in the set up of Han's character, but I can't say I really "get" the other complaints.
It wasn't a particularly high bar that it had to live up to considering the original Tron was pretty shit outside of being 'good looking for its time' (and it's aged horribly). The only appealing aspects of Legacy were the visuals and Daft Punk soundtrack, it was an audio-visual feast but aside from that, pretty bland.
Are Lawrence Kasdan, Simon Kinberg Being Courted To Script ‘Star Wars’ Pics 2 and 3?
EDIT: Apparently, it's a done deal.
EDIT: Apparently, it's a done deal.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Directing animation and live action isn't that big a leap, especially when it's pretty well known a majority of the special effects/sets will be animated anyway. It's still a matter of knowing where to put the camera, when to move the camera, how to light the shots and how to elicit the performances from the actors. It's done a little differently in animation than it is in live action, but many of the same skills transfer over.
It's not as if doing animation means you don't count as an actual filmmaker. Nor is it as if not doing films in a similar genre means you're unfit to work in that genre. There is a lot of stuff in Iron Giant and Incredibles (and Ratatouille, even) that would translate really well to Star Wars.
A good example: The two people most credited with Empire Strikes Back's success are Irvin Kershner, best known for "Return of a Man Called Horse" and "Loving," and Lawrence Kasdan, who had written "Continental Divide."
If they had been hired to write/direct a Star Wars movie in say, 2004, under the same circumstances? The shitstorm that would have spun up would pull trees out by their roots.
shira
Member
Gotta sell those Kinect games.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Idris Elba.
Me too. I've seen both the originals and 2004 editions, frankly, i find the SE best. Sure, it has some issues (Han shot first) but it just feels better (better backrounds, effects, small stuff) than the original AND it does not have those shitty mistakes 2004 editions have (color timing errors, really bad).
I don't mind adding or modifying stuff, i just hate sloppy, technically bad stuff.
I am actually, now that i think of this, really exited to see more Star Wars, i'm just worrying how it will affect the Expanded Universe. I like that too. Mostly. I'll be fine if post-Jedi EU is overwritten, as long as there is no explanation for it (no time travel, just make films canon and already published EU alternate 'verse). If there is an explanation, it would be really bad thing. Seriously. Fuck time travel.
The Bookerman
Member
I love Empire and What Irvin Kershner did with it, but jeez, Robocop 2... Not exactly top notch filmmaking.
Anticitizen One
Banned
lmao @ the "noooo". What compels Lucas do this stuff? Does he do it intentionally to get a rise out of his fanbase? he has to
Count of Monte Sawed-Off
un33dab@dpu$$y
Not sure how to feel about Kasdan. He was probably responsible for a lot of what worked in the original trilogy. But he also made Dreamcatcher which was a horrible horrible movie, worse than even the fucking prequel trilogy somehow.
I mean, the effects won awards for Pete's sake, why change them? Lucas seems to be the harshest critic of his own work. He thinks nothing is ever good enough for this franchise, and he tries to "update" them to fit his vision, which many would argue has definitely perverted over the years. I think there's some resentment towards fans, but I don't ever think whenever he made these changes, or made the new movies, he ever thought he was doing things to hurt these games. He just kind of lost touch.
The funny thing is that at the time, that shit probably looked "good." At the time. In 1997. In 2012, or the future, the original effects will have aged a ton more gracefully, especially when people understand the time period in which they were made. There's a charm and technical prowess behind them. The problem with CG, for the most part, is that a lot of it is used as carte-blanche to completely show off effects. This is wrong. The reason why Jabba looks so freaking awesome in Jedi isn't because they show him clear as day and just let you see it all, it's because he's in this fucking weirdo lighting that not only sets the tone of scene and surroundings, but it also hides the faults and the "fakeness" of it.
Most of this CG stuff looks like fucking out of place dogshit because graphic designers have no idea what the fuck mood or setting is. They just make the polygons go. Then there's the point where George (or whatever director) could say "no, I want it this way" that couldn't translate to the graphic designer's brain, so we got "good enough" for the time, and dogshit in the future.
Ape Gone Insane
Member
Has anyone tried the Machete Order? Episode 4, 5 then 2, 3 and then 6 (omitting 1 completely).
The blog puts forward a very persuasive argument for it: http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/
The blog puts forward a very persuasive argument for it: http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/