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January 14, 2016 at 8:35 pm |
I know it’s near impossible to narrow it down in a universe as rich as this, but here goes: As of now, who are your seven favourite characters in the Star Wars saga?
January 15, 2016 at 9:52 am |
That’s a tough one! Anakin/Vader and Leia are at the top of my list, but I guess you also have to fit in there Padme, Obi-Wan (in all of his incarnations), Luke, Han, Ahsoka, Artoo, Yoda, and the most magnificent bastard of them all, Palpatine. Am I over seven already? I don’t know how the Disney-era noobs fit into the grand scheme of things yet, but BB-8 rates the highest among them in my book.
January 16, 2016 at 12:00 am
Haha it really is tough, right? Whenever I do one of these Top # things it always feels like I’m giving about a three dozen more awesome characters the short shrift. I thought making it 7 rather than 5 would help, but wrong I was. Mine would probably be Palpatine (he really is just the most magnificent bastard, isn’t he?), Anakin/Vader, Qui-Gon, Yoda, Jabba, Obi-Wan, and Dooku. Love your Ahsoka pick though.
January 17, 2016 at 7:45 am
For me it’s likely (in no particular order) R2-D2, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Han Solo (May he rest in peace), Padmé Naberrie Amidala Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker, and CT-7567 AKA Captain Rex.
January 14, 2016 at 8:36 pm |
First!!
Just kidding.
My question is: What is the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden mynock?
No, no, sorry.
My REAL question is: What do you feel is the best way we can voice our concerns and criticisms of The Force Awakens without sounding like the basher crowd. There are obvious differences in context and situation, and yet the outcome is threatening dangerously to be the same, and if that happens we lose what little moral advantage we have.
January 14, 2016 at 8:37 pm |
Damn, took too long writing that “first” no longer applies….
January 14, 2016 at 9:00 pm
It’s OK, Adam. Someone had to be Anakin, and someone had to be Sebulba 😉
January 15, 2016 at 4:42 am
Hey, I love ol’ camelface!
January 15, 2016 at 10:13 am |
Here’s what you DON’T do:
1. Harass anyone associated with the film online with how much you hated it or blame the actors for basically doing their jobs.
2. Find people who loved the film and tell them why they’re wrong with reasons such as “you have no taste” or whenever they post a picture from the film respond with how much you loathed it, keeping it up even after people tell you to stop.
3. Send death threats.
4. Make exaggerated comments like, “they raped my childhood.”
5. Spend the rest of your life focused on bashing the film.
Other than that, one key thing is to take the heat and anger out of your comments. Are you just voicing your honest opinion or are you just trying to hurt the feelings of these other fans? There are some thoughtful but critical reviews of TFA online, like the one posted at Ferdy On Film. I noticed they all still managed to point out positive things about TFA even as so many negative reviews of the prequels were nothing but cheap take-downs and bash-fests. If you have to, sound more like Ferdy and less nerdy.
The other thing is, sometimes it’s just not the right venue and you have to remember for a lot of fans, Star Wars is basically a carnival ride and they’re not much invested in anything else. They don’t care, they don’t want to hear it. For other fans shellshocked by prequel bashers, they don’t want a repeat of it and they start to think any criticism means “oh, he’s one of those.” I know I’m shellshocked to the point where I don’t want to hear it anymore about the prequels, especially in light of TFA.
January 14, 2016 at 8:50 pm |
Are you starting to see a lot more positive comments about the prequels now that TFA is out?
January 15, 2016 at 10:17 am |
I posted recently about some in the media who have become appreciative of Lucas as an artist since TFA came out. I’ve seen a boost in likes of the SWPAS Facebook page and on other prequel-themed pages.
January 19, 2016 at 9:46 am
I have noticed that as well, all though the “covering fire” some have is very annoying.
January 14, 2016 at 10:18 pm |
I don’t believe this is really a question, but I desperately need to get it off my chest….. even though I rather not discuss it nor what anyone’s sympathy or empathy. Up until recently, (although it has been bugging me minorly) I have played within my mind the encounters with those who ridiculed and antagonized me for wearing a Jar Jar hat. It’s basically not the harsh remarks but how I handled them… I was a complete pushover. The three incidents (and people) that & who come to mind are the woman who said (I don’t remember word-for-word) something me “wearing that stupid costume & Jar Jar is the WORZT CHARACTER EVAR AND YOU KNOW IT!”. And my response was a bit childish, and she was like “you like Jar Jar?”.. than there was the older man (I assume in his 40s) who at first told me “you know you need to die… I mean, your Hat does, the character on you hat, head”. After I told him his argument was invalid, he got all sad-looking and said “I was a little boy who saw the original Star Wars in the theatre” and I informed him “I-I understate and I watched the original one first”. I was too nice to him, and to add insult to injury he said “Than you know who SHOT FIRST!”…. sigh…. seriously? How is this debate still going? Granted it was a funny joke in “Pixels” about Kennedy shooting first and the footage being edited, but… aaah… eehh… and even then I didn’t show any rage, I just told him the argument was a dead-horse and than left…. and I am sure most of you reading this (if you remember in another thread) knew this one was coming. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuughh….. I say hi to Mickey and a guy next to him (who I looks like an Early-20s version of Luke from Disney Channel’s Jessie and sounds like Sid the Sloth) pulls his lightsaber out, and tells me that I… or Jar Jar, “You ruined the franchise!” and I have no idea what to do, I put my hands out… but as you know, Jar Jar can’t use the force, as nerdboy pointed out… still STRIKES messa anyway.. “Nice costume, even if NO ONE likes Jar Jar” remarks the geek, as he waltzes off with a smile upon his face (I… think, It’s been half-a-year)…… I wonder why I don’t stand up for myself, or give harsh people a piece of my mind… but the reason why is also why I may never give a piece of my mind to anybody in physical-life: I am sensitive and too-caring. The lady who called my hat stupid showed some sort of forlorn-ish look in her eyes after I told her I do like Jar Jar, and she was like “ooh” and than walked off (and I know that I am like, saying like every now and than, but I am like not in the mood to make like a perfect essay and I am hope you like are like laughing from this run-on sentence in order to lighten up the mood……). I am afraid of coming off too harsh on anyone who is harsh upon me for my choice of costume. I mean, they would deserve it and should know better, but this feeling of guilt and consideration just rises up when I ponder about this. In addition, it may also be because of the faith I grew up with and have accepted personally. I should forgive others as Christ has forgiven me, and not sit upon my high Tauntaun. Anyway, I was in need to push this off of my chest and break down into this state of emotion…. sorry if this is long and much of a conflicting sob-story.
January 15, 2016 at 10:28 am |
Geek culture is filled with absolutely awful people and the more crowded cons become, the ruder they can be. With all of the attention on bullying and on grabby con goers harassing female cosplayers, stuff like this gets ignored.
I can understand situations where you’re so stunned, you blank out and then you feel bad about being unable to stick up for yourself later on. This may be a shameless society but perhaps dumping a little shame on these idiots might be the thing you need to do. Just say something like, “Ma’am/Sir, I am a total stranger minding my own business. Why are you taking the time to be rude to me like that? Just because I’m wearing a costume of a character you don’t like? How old are you again?” Make sure your message is, “Dude, you’re pathetic.” If the person is belligerent or drunk or something, just get away from that person as quickly as you can. If that person gets aggressive or threatening, contact security. If security refuses to do anything, go to the con desk and demand a refund because you were bullied and security refused to do anything about it. Most cons of any size now have an anti-harassment policy.
January 15, 2016 at 11:04 pm
Thank you… thank you. Backbone, I will (or am trying to) develop. And yes, these people aren’t just rude, but childish as well. And that is a factor of why I have recently questioned and escaped the Geek Culture (a discussion I have been meaning to write about). Anyway, so far just mean-spirited remarks (and being assaulted by the lightsaber), nothing to serious thankfully. Although I do wonder about any kid (10 and under mostly) who did dress as Jar Jar and go to “those” kind of conventions: still, I am sure security wouldn’t be that cruel…. hopefully. And although it isn’t retentive, everywhere else is full of more open, friendly, and appreciative people (like at Disneyland on the week of Force Awakens’ opening). So, as you stated some thread earlier, it is just a LOUD minority. And to digress further, thank you so much for creating this wonderful site (and socialmedia pages) and bringing all of us Saga fans together 😀
January 15, 2016 at 3:01 am |
What is your favourite SW movie, if you have one? Alternatively, what is your favourite movie outside of SW?
January 15, 2016 at 10:32 am |
I don’t really have a favorite per se which makes me very unusual among fans. ANH will always be the one that made me love the GFFA in the first place, ROTS is IMO the strongest artistically but each one contributes to building the story.
As for other favorites, I’d have to say the Indiana Jones movies, “Braveheart,” “Evil Dead 2” and “Army of Darkness,” “Beetlejuice,” Universal’s 1930s run of horror movies, and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” There are a lot of movies I like, mostly old.
January 15, 2016 at 9:58 am |
Do you have any information on what’s going on with “The Prequels Strike Back”? The goal was to release it before TFA came out, but when I search for it online, all I can find are links to the original funding campaign.
January 15, 2016 at 11:44 am |
I just saw the filmmaker’s comment on someone’s Facebook page that it is in the “polishing stage” and there is an 80 minute rough cut. They are also figuring out the legal issues with fair use (probably with regard to using anything from the SW films). Based on that, I’d say, “sometime this year.”
January 15, 2016 at 4:40 pm |
I think that they should have pushed to make real arguments in favour of the Prequels and of course make some critics about the Original as well, the whole Prequels Strike Back using only the Ringer theory as a base is rather weak.
If they post this movie they would be easy prey for the Original Star Wars fans and the media that backing them up, they need to expose the hypocrisy of the media as well, so that way everyone would point them out if when they make fallacy of a critic of the movie itself, so everyone would jump to the Original Star Wars fans throat for their stupidity, because they would be acting exactly like the documentary say that they would.
They would never would admit fault, they would never surrender or admit that they did anything wrong, or the career that they damage or the lives that they destroy, showing any-kind of weakness is a like jumping into a pool full of sharks without a cage for protection.
January 15, 2016 at 10:34 am |
First of all, thank you for all your work with the website. My question is: is there any way we can express our appreciation for the prequels, first of all to Disney? There are plenty of us, and I see many people are getting disappointed with how Disney very much avoids the prequels. If there is yet no way to address our concerns about it, then i think we should come up with an idea how to make one.
January 15, 2016 at 12:39 pm |
The two divisions we need to be worried about are the film division and licensing. The comics aren’t avoiding the prequels and neither is “Rebels.” I don’t know about the books because I quit reading them.
How to get their attention is a good question. It’s going to be harder now than it has been before because from their standpoint, the campaign for TFA worked and they lost nothing from ignoring or disparaging the prequels. The same goes for licensing. Disney’s reach in that respect is massive, far more than Lucasfilm ever was by its lonesome so I’m not sure if it is more worth our time to target particular licensees and pressure them or go right to the top. I’ve heard it said that if women wanted more Marvel merchandise for them, they needed to let the licensees know. The other side of that coin is fans have to BUY when those things are offered. Companies don’t make stuff out of principle or altruism. They make stuff to make money. Just as it took years for companies to realize they were leaving money on the table by not making female fan-friendly merchandise, it’s going to take time to convince companies they are doing the same by ignoring the prequels. It can’t just be a few cranks like me. It has to be a lot of people speaking out, contacting companies, and talking to reps at cons.
January 15, 2016 at 4:46 pm
I have seen that Rebels is trying to hard to be like the Clone Wars but in a OT setting, never the less, it rather pointless, hell, in The Siege of Lothal, they used voice of Earl Jones instead of the Hayden Christensen or the actor that was using was doing his voice in the Clone Wars, even with Tano and even Rex, Rebels would become a even larger nostalgia feast that Force Awakens was.
And of course there is the fact that Ezra crew-member are much more interesting than the main character, he try to hard to be a “bridge” between the Prequels and the OT.
January 15, 2016 at 10:55 pm
James Earl Jones voiced Vader in Revenge of the Sith, so your argument is invalid. If anything, Rebels is guilty of pandering to Clone Wars fans, what with Ahsoka, Rex, Hondo, and, later in Season 2, Cham Syndulla and…BUM BUM BUM! Darth Maul!
Also, isn’t Ezra the main character? So shouldn’t it be a good thing that he is interesting? Or do you think Kanan is the main character?
January 15, 2016 at 11:34 am |
I don’t remember but…Did you like the Force Awakens?
January 15, 2016 at 11:56 am |
My take on the film is buried somewhere on the open thread post from 12/18…in a nutshell, an entertaining enough sci-fi action flick but not an awesome SW film. Lucas’s touch is clearly missing and it’s just not the same without it. Also, since seeing the film I realize how nihilistic it is at its core yet I don’t think that’s what the filmmakers intended; ultimately they had to think fast of a way to continue the story and in many ways it was a film made to respond to what they believed fans wanted. It does have its charms and its merits and well, it has generated some amusing memes and cartoons on social media.
January 15, 2016 at 1:02 pm |
Two things I would like to know:
1) As an Indiana Jones fan, I have to ask this: What are your thoughts on another underrated Lucas film (no pun intended), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?
2) What is your stance on Rey’s parentage?
January 15, 2016 at 2:32 pm |
I liked KOTCS; there were some things I would’ve done differently and Shia LeBeouf is an irritating douche in real life but overall I liked the wistful quality of the film and it was the most life Ford had shown in years. He loves playing Indy and it showed.
I think Luke is Rey’s father. Interestingly enough someone PM’d the SWPAS FB page with a quote from an interview with Colin Trevorrow and he said “we’ve already met” Rey’s father. Ding, ding, ding. It’s also my theory that Rey’s mother was strong in the Force as well but is probably deceased.
January 15, 2016 at 2:41 pm
Thanks! I think it’s Luke, too!
January 15, 2016 at 4:12 pm
I admit one comment I made to my brother not that long after we saw The Force Awakens was “how likely do you think it is that the ‘big surprise’ is Rey isn’t Luke’s daughter?”
If, of course, she is, I can then get to wondering just what the odds are we’re either told straight out, or at least fully allowed to imagine, her mother’s name was that of a certain Expanded Universe character who was promoted very strongly by her fans and eventually got officially married to Luke. (I’m afraid that promotion wound up leaving me feeling sort of indifferent towards her, just as the whole “the novels are what Star Wars should be!” attitude kept me from going back to them when I worked up the courage to return to the movies themselves, but I have sort of wondered if the Expanded Universe fans could have been allowed to believe “Heir to the Empire” still took place in this latest continuation of the story…)
January 15, 2016 at 4:30 pm
LOL! That would be…controversial.
January 15, 2016 at 4:49 pm
There is no room for “Heir to the Empire” in the new canon. 🙁 But there is room for characters from Zahn’s (excellent) novels to show up. My thoughts are that she could be a reformed former Inquisitor. I also think Starkiller (Galen Marek from “The Force Unleashed) and Malorum (Ferus Olin’s enemy from “The Last of the Jedi) could be reintroduced in a similar way.
January 15, 2016 at 9:23 pm
Ugh…the last thing I want is for that “certain EU character” to be brought back in any capacity. Even if she’s long dead, the idea of that…character being legitimated in any way, shape or form is utterly revolting.
Some are speculating that Rey and Kylo Ren are in fact siblings, twin or otherwise…Leia and Han’s daughter was thought to be born dead when in fact Luke smuggled her far away to shield her from…something.
January 15, 2016 at 10:40 pm
Her name is MARA JADE SKYWALKER. What’s so bad about Mara?
January 16, 2016 at 10:30 pm
“My thoughts are that she could be a reformed former Inquisitor.”
Are Inquisitors even still canon? Can’t remember if they turn up outside the EU novels.
January 17, 2016 at 10:25 am
They play a big part in “Rebels”
January 15, 2016 at 10:52 pm |
There’s LOTS bad about her. And she is not, nor will she ever be, a Skywalker. That is all I am going to say.
January 15, 2016 at 10:59 pm
To each their own. But she is a Skywalker whether you like it or not. And that is all.
January 16, 2016 at 3:59 pm
Mara Jade kicks ass! You guys suck.
January 16, 2016 at 5:34 pm
No, no, I LOVE Mara Jade! I just respect maychild’s right to dislike her!
January 22, 2016 at 4:58 am
Actually you may be right, it come to the news today that Luke Skywalker would become gay, on in their crude words, a queer.
January 22, 2016 at 11:28 am
Wait, WHAT?
January 15, 2016 at 7:53 pm |
Hmmmmm, how do you feel about the whole canon/legends thing, now that TFA came out and we seem to have an idea of where “the new canon” wants to go with star wars. Do you miss any Legends material in particular? Or are you happy that Disney rebooted the EU?
Also would you recommend any other books/movies/tv shows that aren’t star wars related, but that you think a star wars fan might enjoy?
January 15, 2016 at 10:14 pm |
I gave up on the post-ROTJ EU eight years ago because I didn’t like the direction they took though periodically I would read stuff that didn’t take place in that time period. I read all of the Dark Horse comics until its license expired. I never had much invested in Legends because I viewed them as paid fan fiction. But I loved “Darth Plagueis” and a lot of the prequel-era Republic comics from Dark Horse.
Hmm…I’m looking forward to The X-Files coming back to t.v. a week from Sunday. I just started watching “The Shannara Chronicles” on MTV because I was a huge fan of Terry Brooks’s fantasy Shannara series. It’s not bad so far though they are obviously skewing it to a YA/teen soap audience. I’ve been watching “Sleepy Hollow” for three seasons now, but that one seems to be on death row. I like “Supergirl” on CBS. But above all, I am a massive fan of History’s “Vikings.” I think it’s the best show on television even if it doesn’t get all of the buzz. It’s got strong women, hunky men, lots of blood soaked battles, political maneuvering, and plenty of drama. Any one of the cast would be great in a Star Wars movie, though the guy who plays Ragnar is going to be in “World of Warcraft.” The fourth season starts on February 18, so you’ve got a few weeks yet to catch up.
January 16, 2016 at 8:30 pm
I’ve heard very good things about the “Vikings” show, though not from many people. It’s like a secretly great show apparently lol which is a shame. I’ll check it out
January 16, 2016 at 9:32 am |
Here’s a question: One of the biggest arguments some fans have made about the notorious ‘Han shot first’ change in the SE is that having Han wait to shoot “destroys Han’s character arc from selfish rogue to selfless hero.” Yet these same fans seem to have no problem with Han’s puzzling return to being a rogue in TFA, giving up his hard won allegiance to the Alliance to return to “what I’m good at.” So the question is, if the SE destroyed Han’s character arc, doesn’t TFA completely negate his character arc of the entire OT??? And why do the people who still complain about who shot first seemingly have no problem with Han’s Etch-a-sketch character reboot?
January 16, 2016 at 10:53 am |
I’m with you on this, Hunk a Junk. TFA told us that when things got bad, Luke and Han are the type to just cut and run.
Can anyone even make sense of Han’s thought processes, spending years wandering the stars, taking up irrelevant odd jobs from gangsters, and searching for his precious ship, all while the galaxy sinks into another war because his very own son turned to the Dark Side?
Then we have Han’s infamous last scene, where he didn’t exactly go out like a hero.
Really surprised that the fandom is absolutely OK with the way he was treated. I haven’t even heard any of the nerd rage you would expect from a development like that.
Guess they’ve got their priorities straight. It’s not the decisions he made with his life, or the way he goes out, that define his character. It’s whether or not he was able to pull the trigger 0.5 seconds before Greedo.
January 16, 2016 at 4:00 pm
I think Han went out like a father who still loves his son no matter what and I have no problem with that. I have a problem that we don’t get a chance to properly mourn, and the reaction from everyone else is stifled, but the death itself and the scene leading up to it was actually well-done.
And I can kind of understand feeling a bit defeatist when you break your back trying to save the galaxy only for history to repeat itself close to home. It’s not the story I would have told, but it does make sense.
January 16, 2016 at 3:24 pm |
Ahhh, good question. After seeing TFA, I started to question what narrative purpose was served by having Han estranged from Leia. What difference would it have made had Han and Chewie been out on a mission for the Resistance or picking up Chinese food when they magically stumbled across the Falcon? The answer most people would give is to show how much Han was traumatized by Ben’s turn to the Dark Side. They would point out tragedies like the death of a child or and addiction could tear apart couples and end marriages. From a real life standpoint, it is true these traumas could have a destructive effect on relationships. But not always. I’ve known couples who stayed together even after terrible things have happened to them and their families. And in any case, there seemed to be no anger at all between Han and Leia. They weren’t blaming each other or arguing or anything. It seemed like to me they still loved each other. So what was the deal? Then I realized the real reason was to make Han “cool” again by turning him back into a rogue and a smuggler. Except I’m not 14 anymore and as a middle aged woman it was a drag to see a man who abandoned his wife/the mother of his child when the chips were down, especially since the impression I’d had of the OT-3 was how ultra dedicated they were to each other and to their cause. I’m not married but what a horrible thought that your husband could up and abandon you like that. What makes it even more baffling were the moments of genuine character development; it’s like Han had progressed and regressed at the same time. He takes kindly to Rey and Finn, he guides them along, and there is that touching show of compassion and forgiveness as Kylo/Ben kills him, almost like Padmé insisting there was still good in Anakin in ROTS. But at the same time he never once apologized to Leia for what he did to her and he never showed any self reflection at going back to a low level criminal’s life. Maybe everyone’s still kind of mad at him because he becomes the first non-Jedi major character not to get a funeral in a SW film. Unless everyone’s waiting for that to happen in Ep. VIII too.
I know a lot of people would argue, “Well, that’s just the way Han is. He’s a rogue, a scoundrel!” Except he CHANGED. In ROTJ he stopped being a selfish bastard when he had the near death experience of being in carbonite and when his friends and his lover dropped everything to come save him. He was willing to give up Leia if being with Luke would’ve made her happier, not knowing the family connection of course. Changes should mean something in a character but because fandom is full of immature people, being “cool” is more important and to them, being a dedicated husband and friend is not cool. Which I find really sad.
January 16, 2016 at 4:08 pm
OOHH OOHH! What if…and I’m just crazy theory making here…what if Han’s “leaving” was just the cover story and he was ACTUALLY PLAYING THE OLD BEN TO REY’S LUKE THE WHOLE TIME! Watching from afar, being ready in case things happened.
I doubt they thought that far ahead, but what if, right?
January 16, 2016 at 4:10 pm
That would explain why there’s no bad blood, and the reunion between him and Leia was more “finally!” rather than “Where were you?!?”
January 16, 2016 at 4:33 pm
Exactly! It completely broke me out of the film to see Han’s character development over three films mostly jettisoned just so that they could return him to an almost ANH feeling Han. I read somewhere that in earlier iterations of the script, Finn and Rey were supposed to first encounter him in a bar and that he was more of washed up character. That would have been more logical given the backstory that they gave between ROTJ and TFA, and it could have been an interesting character arc to explore. I can totally see something awful like Ben’s corruption and betrayal destroying Han and Leia’s relationship, but you have to sell that story if you want to tell it and that means you can’t have a happy-go-lucky Han and a Han and Leia who seem mostly comfortable around each other when re-united. You need to see Han tormented by his failure and giving into despair – then you can pull him out of it and given him a redemption story arc leading up to his encounter with Ben.
January 16, 2016 at 10:16 pm
LP, this is tragic and well.. it does take away more defense from Force Awakens…. I mean, as you pointed it out, it destroys the development Han had from IV to VI. In fact, it reminds me of Poor Rumpelstiltskin/Mr Gold from Once Upon a Time. Whenever he finally stands on his own two legs and becomes a noble, the heartless writers just push him back down to his low-life antics. And as you stated, the fan-pandering of trying to make Han “cool” for the retro crowd just… well, now in my words, “spits on Lucas’ creation”. 😦 …. Oh how I wish George Lucas was in charge of this movie, or at least Dave Filoni.
January 18, 2016 at 11:27 am
I’d even say that Han started to change in ANH. Moreover, I always saw him as someone who valued friendship.
January 16, 2016 at 10:48 am |
What was your initial reaction and opinion now regarding the changes made in the Special Editions and subsequent re releases?
If there’s one thing you would change about TFA, what would it be?
January 16, 2016 at 3:36 pm |
I was fine with the changes in the Special Editions. For me it wasn’t just about Greedo shooting first, it was the opportunity to see a fully restored and remastered version of the OT on the big screen, giving younger fans the chance to experience SW in the theaters, freshening up the films for a new generation, and letting Lucas better realize his vision. The recycled bit from ROTJ in TESB and Luke’s “aaaaggh” (later taken out) kind of made me laugh but none of that stuff was upsetting at all to me. They were small things.
I loved that they included Naboo in the ROTJ DVD cut and that they put in younger Anakin. When I first heard rumors they were putting in a blue ghostie version of Hayden I thought, “Why?” But now I know it makes total sense and it allows the opportunity for Anakin’s blue ghost to return in this new trilogy, which a fan speculated Lucas might have already had in mind as far back as that decision in 2004. Interesting, no?
If there was any one thing I would change in TFA, see my answer to Hunk A Junk about Han and Leia.
January 16, 2016 at 8:28 pm |
How did you imagine the prequels in the 90’s, before seeing the first images of TPM ?
January 17, 2016 at 10:26 am |
I knew the films would have to cover what caused Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan would be featured prominently, and we would finally meet Luke and Leia’s mother. I figured the Emperor and Yoda would be in them too. That was really about it. I remember speculating with people as to whether there was some kind of love triangle with Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Luke and Leia’s mother that might have pushed Anakin to the Dark Side. But I didn’t have a lot of details in mind beyond that.
January 17, 2016 at 9:50 pm |
At the moment, do you think that Disney can improve for Episode VIII?
If Episode VIII is better, how would Saga fans preceive Episode VII in the long run?
There were some ideas that the conflict in Episode VII, with Leia using her own Superweapon in retaliation to Starkiller, what
Do you think Kylo Ren can be redeemed? Will the hateboy and mainstream media even allow him to be redeemed?
January 17, 2016 at 9:51 pm |
about the Leia question:
There were some ideas that the conflict in Episode VII, with Leia originally supposed to use her own Superweapon on First Order Star Destroyers in retaliation to Starkiller, what do you make of this?
January 18, 2016 at 10:27 am |
The thing with Ep. VIII is a lot of people seem to believe it will be the patch software for TFA. I hope there are things they can explain and they will try to weave the tapestry tighter with Eps I-VI as well as develop its own flavor. But on the other hand, this is Hollywood and the way it is in Hollywood is if it worked before, do it again.
It’s too early to say how TFA will be perceived over the long run though I suspect it will become more obvious there’s a break in technique between the Lucas-made part of the saga and the Disney canon.
The idea that the “good guys” have a super weapon and Leia is put into the position of using the same kind of weapon that destroyed Alderaan would have been a fascinating moral quandary. Do you use it now to stop something worse from happening? Or are you becoming the very thing you’ve spent your life fighting? But obviously that’s not what happens in the film
I give Kylo/Ben a 60-40 chance at redemption. Based on my own observations, people like the guy not so much because he’s evil and scary (he’s not scary) but because he’s “conflicted” and he is Han and Leia’s son. Then again classic character nihilism has been deemed acceptable by audiences so who knows? The real big bad is Volde-snoke.
January 18, 2016 at 2:44 am |
Who was your favorite character from The Force Awakens?
Also who is your favorite non movie character?
January 18, 2016 at 10:11 am |
Favorite character…BB-8, maybe?
Non-movie character…Ahsoka.
January 18, 2016 at 5:36 am |
Another question: Since Disney isn’t shy about protecting its copyright, and they’ve ordered videos of TFA content be taken down off sites as recently as a few days ago, why do you think they allow Red Letter Media to use their imagery without penalty when doing so is disruptive to their franchise and likely hurts its ability to market and make money off the PT films and merchandise?
January 18, 2016 at 10:36 am |
Fox still owns the prequel films and the OT, until 2020.
But RLM has a legal defense and that is “fair use” under U.S. copyright law. Fair use includes parody and satire, which is probably what RLM would claim is the purpose of its videos. It could also claim under fair use that the clips were used for commentary and artistic criticism or for educational purposes. I admit I’m a little fuzzy on whether to counter fair use claims one could say that it uses an excessive amount of footage from the films that would amount to an exhibition.