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The less Lucas has to do with the better

Star Wars creator George Lucas has said he has started work on a live-action TV series based on his sci-fi saga.

"It's about minor characters," he told the Los Angeles Times. "It's completely different. But it's a good idea, and it's going to be a lot of fun to do."

LucasFilm is also working on an animated TV series, expanded from its earlier Clone Wars shorts.

The half-hour cartoon series takes place between the events depicted in the Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith films.

The live-action TV series will take place in the Star Wars universe but will not feature the Skywalker family, as had previously been suggested.

Link: Star Wars TV Series

I hear that Lucas basically invented the technology required to manage his quiff.  Before Lucas, that magnitude of quiff simply wasn't possible.  He's currently working on a time machine, so that it's possible to go back in time and make sure that his quiff is up to scratch throughout all his incarnations on this earth.  (Plus, he's apparently going to work it so that his mother comes first during his conception scene.)

Y'see, I read that, and now I have to drive - not a good combination, I'm sure you'll appreciate.

Some more info on Aintitcool.com

Link: Star Wars TV series goodness

The starwars website has the trailer for the clone wars and it looks awsome but my PC is playing up again so I cant post the link.


When this live action series was first envisioned a few years ago the little brat who played Boba Fett was lined up to continue his role.

So more figures to add to my collection. Bastard Lucas.


V

i recently read somewhere that it will feature cameos of regular characters and there was a rumour and teaser poster that boba fett would play a part.

the cgi clone wars series looks ace!

I read the stuff from Aintitcool.  It sounds shit.

It does sound shit, doesn't it?  Fanwank of the highest order, much like Revenge of the Sith, really, and a recycyling of ideas and speculations that have been doing the rounds for years.  The scary bit is that the best thing about recent Star Wars has always been the anticipation, teasers, trailers and leaks.  If they can't make this TV series sound exciting before they even make it, god help us.  

I also don't understand why the new Clone Wars stuff isn't going to be made in the same brilliant style of the first three seasons - IMHO the best of the Prequel material, and the only medium in which Anakin came across as remotely likeable or interesting.  'Course much of the fun with the CW cartoons were the hints of what was to come, including the awesome Nelvaanian 'Ghost Hand' vision sequence, which Lucas himself could ony dream of having created.  

'Revenge of the Sith' bashing again.....it's too much for me to take......

 .....must....fight....urge....to....defend....episode....3....

Oh sod it, 'Revenge of the Sith' is great, anyone who says otherwise is just plain wrong.

So there.

Im sooo thick skinned now re- 'prequel bashing'. As a fan of 'some' of the 'expanded universe' I reckon the tv series will be great... Bounty hunters, space pirates, scumbags, galactic tyranny... Whats not to like?

Simon, I love Star Wars more than any gorwn man should, and RotS has much that is good about it (Superb opening 30 minutes, great lightsabre duel with lava backdrop, nice new planet in Utapau, emotion-tugging Order 66 sequence), but I can't get past the complete pointlessness of the three key moments that have plagued my dreams for 20 years - how did Obi-Wan defeat Vader?  What happened to Luke and Leia's mother? Why do Vader and the Emperor seem to discount Yoda?  None of these questions get any sort of an answer.  

Other than "how did Anakin fall?', which was admittedly answered even if it was in a pretty rushed fashion, and "what were the Clone Wars?", which had a good solid answer, I would have thought that these questions were the point of the whole Prequel enterprise, and RotS just failed to deliver.

If I could sum up my disapointment with the Prequels, it would come down to just one scene:  Padme dying for no good reason, just to tie up loose ends.  The fact that that scene is the climax of RotS damns that movie to 5th place (AotC takes 6th for its appalling love scenes).  Yes, you heard me right:  I prefer Phantom Menace to Revenge.  

She died of a broken heart!

(Oh, for frog's bake!)

And:

Proto-Vader: "I've been having some doubts."
Proto-Emperor: "Kill lots of children."
Proto-Vader: "Okay then."

Yeah, sure - a great movie.

I personally 'put up' with the love story, Ewoks, Jar Jar, plot holes and the like throughout both trilogys (and cant really defend 'em) because Im all about the evil Empire, bounty hunters and Sith Lords... and Tusken Raiders! If they got 'those' wrong I'd be a bit pissed off.

It's terrible when you realise the fact that the sole reason the Star Wars franchise continues to exist and Lucas still churns out this merchandise and fodder year after year is because in order for Lucas to continually fund his digital empire, there is a necessity for a major new Star Wars tie-in product to be released every 2 years.

Hence, after the films, plus the continuing games and comics, comes the T.V series which he can probably make cheaper and make even more money out of as it can continue for years and numerically produces more mielage of mediocre Star Wars "stories" for the dollar. Film is dead for Lucas because he can't make the massive savings and profits he'd like on such an expensive 2 hours of product anymore. Plus T.V. is a far better marketing tool than cinema.

If Lucasfilm didn't perpetually make Star Wars product -that provides the financial back up for digital facilities, games factory, studios et al., it may, and prabably would, lose it's foothold at the peak of the competitive world of the "digital" image industry to rival companies.

So the only reason Star Wars still has it's brand in our faces all the time is so Lucasfilm can be dominant in the digital cinema and soon, T.V. industry.

So much for heroic story ideals and defeating the empire.

While garageman is undoubtedly right, I'd be dishonest if I said that the prospect of no new Star Wars product wouldn't make me very unhappy.  Despite their many problems, I do enjoy the more recent novels, and the Knights of the Old Republic comic is quite excellent (if suffering a rough art patch lately).  There's life in the old dog yet, even if Lucas' motivations are less than pure...

After ROTJ and the mass merchandising for SW ceased to exist the way it dominated 77-84, bar a few games and gamebooks there was really bugger all til the Timothy Zhan novels, Dark Horses 'Marvel reprints and the Special Editions all about/ over a decade later. It was only when it was established that there was still a fanbase that Lucas even bothered considering returning to it. Theres loads of SW media available books, comics, models, games etc, some poo, others amazing...Lucasfilm can only 'perpetually make Star Wars product' while people still want it.

I have a great affection for Star Wars - and I always will.
It was a huge part of my childhood and flawed or not I enjoyed the prequels.
Watching the originals again (trust me I have seen these films a lot - think I have probably seen the prequels almost as much) I think they have similar flaws.

My fandom doesn't stretch to the novels etc, though I have read a small amount of the comic stories - Its the core material where my interests lie.
I'm not afflicted by the need to buy all the merchandise so don't really register with that particular argument - last time I saw one of the films at the cinema I didn't notice anyone forcing me to buy a Jedi Starfighter afterwards. Christmas with a Star Wars toy when I was a kid is a really happy memory for me - I wasn't the pawn of Lucas's marketing master plan....I just wanted to fly around the house with my Millenium Falcon - whats wrong with that? Why is that any different than getting Lego or Monopoly?

I have the odd thing now - but not a lot (ok, there may be a lightsabre or two knocking about....).

I'm not blind to the problems in the prequels - but when it comes down to it I just plain enjoy them - problems or not.
Sith pretty much answered all my childhood ponderings, I had more issue with Anakins rapid turn the first time I saw it....but I accepted it more after considering the time it actually took for him to get to that point (ok, It is still far too quick an escalation - but I can forgive the film at least that much).

Padmes death is the bad bit - not handled well - fair enough.

The rest was great - and I still think Sith stands up well with the originals - I don't wear rose tinted spectacles. A New Hope and Jedi suffer more than Empire.

Phantom Menace IS better than AOTC overall although the latter has some great moments (the Jango Fett set pieces are excellent and my favourite segments).

I think people are so quick to judge these films with the same old stock-criticism being rolled out - what happened to just being able to enjoy a decent bit of escapist action/adventure?

Anyway, I look forward to the TV series - and will give it a fair shot before heaping it with scorn.

Damn, said I wasn't going to defend it didn't I .....

^^^ Ditto... Apart from Phantom Menace being better AOTC! :P

Ach, it's worth defending, i'm probably being unnecessarily curmudgeonly.  I too enjoyed the Prequels a lot, and rewatch them regularly, and I'm also not immune to the faults of the originals (chunks of Jedi are almost unwatchable).  I think Phantom Menace works as a maginficently ambitious heroic failure, and I find I watch it more than the other two, which become increasingly "by the numbers".  Another of my beefs with Revenge is the complete sidelining of Jar Jar, which smacks of pandering to the fanboys to an unhealthy degree.  One scene wouldn't have killed anyone.  

I do honestly think that it wouldn't have taken much fiddling with the last 10 minutes to make Revenge a much, much better movie, and by association the whole Prequel project.  

One scene wouldn't have killed anyone

What, the scene where Jar Jar gets horribly murdered, thus explaining why he isn't seen in the original trilogy ;)

Starwars is my love, my life.

I dont see them as 6 films but one long one, and have had many heated discussions with friends collegues about holes and tech differences. My defence has been sometimes blind and stupid but in the end they are only films after all and made for our enjoyment. If they were crap and unenjoyable Lucas would be a poor man.

Who cares about the luvvy duvvy of ep2 or Jar Jar, a necessary evil. There is enough action throughout to compensate. Jar Jar needed to die though.

Ive just started to read the first Darth Bane book and have just found out another on is due soon.

Maybe they should've gone for the Sith Wars for the new series and opened that side of SW to those other than the devoted fan.

ESP was my fave
ROTS
ROTJ
AOTC
ANH
TPM Bottom of the pile.






V

I loved the first two prequels when I first saw them at the cinema. However, once I watched them at home the flaws soon became apparent. When Yoda fought Dracula in AotC I was the only person in a packed cinema not doubled over with laughter, and I was appalled that anyone would not take such a momentous occasion seriously. Once I saw this for a second time, I conceded that this scene was indeed, wank.

The first time I saw RotS I went in with low expextations, but once we saw the Clone Wars in full swing I was happy, and thought that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

Oh, but it was.

The scene where Anakin tells Padme "You look so ... beautiful" had me in stitches due to the colossally shit acting. I almost choked. I voiced this complaint on this board, provoking a response that Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher weren't that hot either. True, but at least I didn't want to set them on fire (since they're all mannequins they'd go up easily). More anti - classics followed as Nat, Hayden, Ewan and the gang hammed it up to the max.

"You've killed younglings". Younglings?

And don't forget "NNNNNNOOOOO"

As I came out of the cinema, I overheard a fellow customer commenting that there were "A few too many special effects". Erm, just "a few"?

***IMPORTANT READ THIS***
A couple of days later I decided that I had gone into the film the first time with an overly cynical frame of mind, so I tried to put my preconceptions to one side, but the movie still blew.

So to summarise: Revenge of the Sith? More like Gayvenge of the Gayith.

I couldn't find the Vader/QOTSA mash-up so this will have to do

So to summarise: Revenge of the Sith

Link: Sorry

 I have to say that i am not the biggest fan of the Star Wars films.I did see Star Wars just like everyone else did and i did enjoy it but it didnt leave much of an impression for any length of time.The following 2 films i saw as well.I enjoyed them but again i didnt think that they were great.

 I havent watched them since to my knowledge so that was that.Been there , done that , but didnt buy the T Shirt or the action figures.

 

 Anyway ,years later for reasons i cannot think of  as it defies all logic i went to the Cinema and watched the first of the prequels whatever it was called.

 For the first time ever i very nearly did walk out of the cinema.I just thought what the hell am i doing in here watching this ?

 I didnt walk out but i will never have anything to do with anything by George Lucas again.

I think the biggest mistake of the prequels was the portrayal, if you can even call it that, of the Jedi as the dumbest, most ineffective warriors ever.

The other big mistake was the utter travesty of a character known as Annakin Skywalker. I just wanted him to die at the end of ROTS.


By the end of the prequels you just knew Lucas didn't give a shit about story arcs or even plot points and making the bad guy be the most obvious person in the galaxy was insulting, even to kids.

...making the bad guy be the most obvious person in the galaxy was insulting, even to kids

Dunno about that, now.  I thought playing the Palpatine/Sidious thing straight was one of the braver and more successful things about the Prequels, not least because it gave the best actor out of the bunch two wonderfully hammy roles to play.  The idea that the much-vaunted Clone Wars were the creation of one man, and that both sides were led by the same man, and hence utterly and completely pointless, is still a pretty cold idea.

Personally, I was dreading some clone-based switcheroo twist at the last minute.

 I would be happy to watch the originals again anytime.Even if you are not a big fan there is no denying that they were good films.

  I found the Phantom Menace to be very tame and found the whole film very childish.There was just something lacking in it.There should not have been a comedy element in it.I am sure everyone knows what i am talking about.The very second that character appeared that was it for me.It was pathetic.

 I found the kid who played Anakin irritating.Ewan McGregor the same.The same goes for Liam Neeson surpringly enough as he is a good actor.They both seemed to lack any conviction in the parts they were playing.There was no depth to the characters.

 As for the Sith character i thought he was a joke as well.Just some guy in make up.Lets face it he hasnt become a screen icon the way darth Vader has.

 

He still garnered a decent following though.

I liked Darth Maul myself. I thought he was probably one of the best things about The Phantom Menace.

Overall I didn't dislike the prequels, but I agree they could and should have been better. What I found strange was that so many actors who are actually very good in other films were so cheesy in this. I wondered if the films were just hacked out without giving them time to practice and get into the role. Then one day when listening to the commentary of one of the films (I think it was RotS but I'm not sure) I hear Lucas talking about how the scrolling title sequence was inspired by old sci fi films he watched as a kid. He also said that other things including the acting style were inspired by that time.

In other words, all these good actors were purposeully hamming it up because he told them to. Isn't that sad?

Overall I still think the storyline of the prequels is great though. All the machinations of Darth Sidious playing two sides off each other was interesting. I even think AotC is underrated. True the Padme, Anakin scenes were utter pants (and we're not talking just Y fronts here but massive rocket powered long johns with cufflinks) but the detective time line with Obiwan, Jango Fett and the Clones was pretty good.

The quick decline of Vader in the last film though, I was disappointed in that. He just turned out to be a rather one dimensional chatacter.

I'm very much looking forward to the series though, I think it might have room to expand and do well. I hope they have other directors and writers appart from Lucas though. Well ok, his writing isn't too bad, but the directing I think should be left to someone else...

Wow. Got carried away there...

What I want to know is why they went with the Ewok's films and not Shadows of the Empire.

At a convention once my brother was talking to Jeremy Bulloch and found out Shadows was very close to being started but was scrapped at the last minute.


V

Funnily enough, we watched TPM at the weekend. I hadn't seen it for ages, and it was a lot better than I remembered- and I like the movie!
Fantastic pod race and the best lightsaber duel ever.

And I love the Yoda/Dooku fight. I LOVE it.
I honestly do not see why anyone with any sort of imagination would find it 'hilarious'.

On the subject of SW, does anyone know when/if the complete, all singing all dancing box set is coming out. I dont own any of the films on DVD as I have been waiting patiently for this to happen.



V

I'd bet my last Republic Datary that there'll never be an "ultimate" edition boxset in anything but name, and there certainly isn't one on the horizon for the 30th Anniversary year, which ends next May.  Then the waters will be muddied for a while with the new TV outings.  

Maybe the 10th Anniversary of Menace in 2009 or the 30th Anniversary of Empire, in 2010? Or worse, 30th Anniversary of Jedi in 2013?  That's plenty of time for SE's of all the Prequels to be released individually, then as a box set, then as double-disc sets with the original 'classic versions', then as a box set including the original Clone Wars cartoons and so forth.

::"I honestly do not see why anyone with any sort of imagination would find it 'hilarious'."

I watched that one in the cinema in Glasgow, with my sister's family.  It was packed with kids, and the entire cohort erupted in laughter during that scene.

Not "taking the piss" laughter, either.  It was just, obviously, genuinely funny.

That said, my favourite lightsaber fight in RotS was Yoda vs Palpatine, as it was the only scene which came close to capturing the desperation of the situation as opposed to a whole bunch of bullshit like "You KILLED YOUNGLINGS", "So this is how liberty dies, to thunderous applause" and "I stand for the Republic. FOR DEMOCRACY".

See, I loved Palpatine's 'I love democracy' speech.

Yeah, I loved Palpatine's speechifying too, and even Padme's only passable line in RotS, "thunderous applause".  But I nearly puked when Obi-Wan started in on his "My allegiance is to the Republic ... to DEMOC-RACY. " schtick.  Sweet cheeses, where did that come from?  What ever happened to the Will of the Force?  And then the weakest line line since "I hate sand": "...from my point of view, the Jedi are evil".  Well, there's total commitment to a new faith for ya.

'I hate sand' is horrible.
The one that annoys me most though is 'An ex-pecially dangerous Dug' from TPM.
Honestly- teaching him to say it right and do another take wouldn't have killed them.

Apparently there are three Star Wars prequels. Can anyone confirm this? I certainly don't recall seeing them.

Here's my two cents on the Star Wars prequels:

Despite its faults (and it has many), I really think that 'The Phantom Menace' is the only one of the prequel movies that has the spirit and feel of the original trilogy. It just feels more Star Wars-y than the other two. It's also the most beautiful of the prequels - the costume, concept and production design work is stunning.

I thought 'Attack of the Clones' was pretty bad - definitely the weakest entry in the Star Wars saga. The 'love' story was badly handled, the Coruscant (sp?) speeder chase sequence was derivative ('The Fifth Element' and 'Blade Runner' did this sort of thing much better), and having a young Boba Fett in the movie was just a terrible idea (any mystique that character had was totally destroyed by that lazy scriptwriting decision). However, the film redeems itself in the last 40 mins - the clone battle sequence is breathtaking and the Yoda/Dooku duel is stupidly enjoyable.

'Revenge of the Sith' was an improvement on AotC, but it was far from perfect. The Wookies may as well have not been in it at all (Chewie was shoehorned in as a fan pleaser, but he wasn't the same somehow) and many plot points were fudged (why did Padme die exactly?). The biggest problem I had with the film though was the artificiality of it all. The whole movie looked and felt synthetic. Because of this, the movie lacked the gravitas and epic quality it needed. For example, compare the Luke/Vader duel in ESB to the Obi-Wan/Anakin duel. The former was filmed on a sound-stage with a forced perspective backdrop and a couple of wind machines but somehow manages to look more epic and believable than the latter. Instead of thinking about lava rivers and pointless hover platforms, Lucas should've been concentrating on the characters and dialogue. But, that seems to be Lucas' problem doesn't it - he can't see past his box of digital tricks.
On the plus side though, the opening space battle was great (but not as great as the one in RotJ), the Palpatine speech in the opera house was (shock!) well written and performed, and the Vader transformation was well done (apart from the melodramatic "Nooooo!" bit). The final few minutes featuring the Blockade Runner and Star Destroyer sets sent a shiver up my spine - hearing John Williams' old scores also made me realise how lacklustre his prequel efforts are (Yeah, Duel of the Fates is superb, but how many other memorable pieces are there?).

Like many others who've commented, I feel that Lucas should take a backseat on the TV series. He should stay on board as producer/consultant and let some new writers/directors have a crack at it.
 

It's also the most beautiful of the prequels - the costume, concept and production design work is stunning.

Absolutely agree, the mounds of TPM making-of books are a magnificent showcase.  What always fascinates me is how much of it was model work or location-shot, vast acres of Theed and the Mos Espa Podrace circuit built in minature, swathes of Tunisia and Casserta imaginatively dressed or extended, when it's always tarred with the 'hopeless CGI' brush.  

I also love Neeson's Qui-Gon character, the only one who really measures up as a Jedi for me, and rehret whatever inexplicable reason caused his 'spirit' scenes to be cut from Revenge of the Sith.  Menace is at least a genuine attempt to do something new and something quite spectacular, even if it founders through a poor core decision re: Anakin's age (make him 13 and the whole thing starts to work), and truly horrid pacing and dialogue.

Really, if someone had just tidied up the dialogue a lot, and coached the performances a bit more strenuously, the Prequels wouldn't be half bad.

I mainly enjoyed the prequels, although they were obviously pretty flawed. Menace was a big dumb kids movie but I got into the spirit of it so that was fine, Clones was largely mince but had some good action scenes, and Sith was my favourite Star Wars movie since Empire.

I really enjoyed it from start to (almost) finish. Obviously Darth's dreadfully inneffectual howl of sorrow at the end was unintentionally hilarious, but I loved the rest of it. The only plot hole that bothered me whilst watching the prequels was the fact that R2-D2 seems to have lost most of his functions between the two trilogies. I was certain there would be a scene where he's damaged in an explosion and someone says something along the lines of "We can fix him up but he'll never be the droid he was" which would explain it all perfectly. See George, I should write your TV series!!!

Oh, I remembered something else I don't like about Sith actually. The already mentioned scene where Annakin tells Padme how beautiful she is made me laugh because in that moment where she turns round the usually incredibly beautiful Natalie Portman looks absolutely hideous. Dunno if lighting or make-up or hair is to blame but it was a bad moment to screw that up whatever it was.

I am a big pulp fan, but for me the prequels failed on most levels - except for the eye-candy.

The dialogue is cringe worthy, the acting laughable. The Anakin/Padme thing is absolutly unbelievable, and the transformation of Anakin to Vader didn´t made sense either (as it was portrayed). It was just plain laughable. It isn´t even a "good" bad movie, it is just plain bad. And this is sad.

For all this money they pumped in this movies, couldn´t they spare a couple dollar for a decent writer?

Okay then.  

Phantom menace - Best Lightsabre battle EVER!                        

This is true, although I personally prefer Luke finally beating nine shades of nerfherder out of his old man in Jedi, mainly because of the magnificent music, which even as I type I can hear building in my ears...

The dialogue is cringe worthy, the acting laughable.

Just the same as the original movies then.

If he could digitally insert Princess Leia in the gold bikini and gyrating in the background, the prequels would be far more enjoyable.

Just the same as the original movies then.

Mark, Carrie and Harry may of been amateurish, but at least they were likable mannequins, like Pinocchio, not fucking creepy and hollow like Nats and Hayds (and Ahnoldt's kid).

And as for the dialogue, at least in the original films we weren't given a whole heap of borderline fan-fic bullshit. In A New Hope we get "the Force". Fine, it's the source of all the Jedi's power, I can cope with that. But in TPM we get "midi-chlorians". I can understand what that means, but can a child? And even if I can understand what it means, why should I even be expected to care, when is that guy with horns going to do stuff?

My problem with the prequels is more or less the same problem I have with modern day Who. It's supposed to be an escapist romp, and to a certain extent it succeeds as such, but there's an overriding sense that the people behind the "magic" want us to believe that this is Big Important Stuff rather a bunch of people fighting for our enjoyment.

Anyways, I hope this show works.

I hope Lucas loses a shit load of money on this, however unlikely that is.

With gullable twats like me for mercandise I very much doubt he will be lacking in funds.



V

A little bit more info about the TV series, the animated series and the potential saga box-set.

Sounds like the series will become Boba Fett: The Wilderness Years.

Link: News from Reunion 2

100 hours of documentaries on the box set! I bet instead of all the sweet ones from years ago they'll be all new from the billionaire surrounded by yes men era.
I think deep down I want to still love Star Wars but I just can't do it.

I bought the three DVD's with the original original movies on while cheap, I think I got all three for £16.  And I've had them for a while and still haven't watched them.  I'm not sure I can.  No more for me!

No more for me!

That sums up my attitude too.

So tired of everything Star Wars, even the films i used to love.

I know what you mean.

George Lucas should plough his millions into a MIB-style memory zapper, or genetically engineering some Haitian guy with the same ability.

I think this looks bloody cool.

Link: Clone Wars

I was quite surprised to find out The Clone Wars was coming out in the cinema. I figured it would be a TV series, basically a 3-D continuation of the other series of the same name.

I wouldn't mind having a butchers though. Same for the live action series.

I'd been led to believe from other fansites that the cinema release was going to be a compilation of the first few episodes of the series, now it's looking like a completely separate story arc to lead into the series.

Makes more sense I guess. No point having a cinema release if it's just going to be on telly 2 months later.