Star Wars 2.0 - Part 1.5 Chapter III: Revenge of the Thread - Part 4

[Lord]

Aparently Steven Spielberg was once supposed to direct Return of the Jedi, it's a shame he didn't do it because the story seemed to fit his tone

 

[Still Wynning]

*looks at original Star Wars box office gross*

Hm. 700 million. That's very, very good.

*realizes it's 700 million in 1977 dollars*

F**********************************K.

Adjusted for inflation, it's over 2 billion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NefM2gVo9mw
[YT]NefM2gVo9mw[/YT]

 

[Lord]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NefM2gVo9mw
[YT]NefM2gVo9mw[/YT]

 

[Balthus Dire]

Aparently Steven Spielberg was once supposed to direct Return of the Jedi, it's a shame he didn't do it because the story seemed to fit his tone

I remember back when the prequels were in production, there was talk that Spielberg offered to direct them, and Lucas equated it to Lucas directing Indiana Jones so Spielberg let up.

 

[Teelie]

And now we're all wondering what kind of magic Spielberg could've brought to the prequels.

 

[Lord]

If i remember well Spielberg helped direct some scenes in Revenge of the Sith

 

[Lord]

What do you guys think of the original ideas for what the star wars saga was going to be after Empire Strikes Back had not been for Gary Kurtz and George Lucas parting ways:

Gary Kurtz producer of ANH & ESB revealed the original plans for the sequels in 1999 to fans:
Episode VI was not to have a second Death Star, and Han was to be killed off in the final battle against the Empire. Luke was to confront Vader only to go on with life alone.
The third trilogy starting with Episode VII was to deal with Luke's life as a Jedi.
Episode VIII was to deal with Luke's sister (not Leia) coming from another part of the galaxy and Luke was to become a Jedi Master and pass on his training to her.
Episode IX was to feature the appearance of the Emperor and have Luke and his sister confront him on the Imperial Capital Planet of Had Abbadon, possibly bringing about the Return of the Republic and the Jedi Order.

The idea of Luke and his sister fighting the emperor together is a little similar to the idea used in the Thrawn Trilogy of having Luke and Mara Jade fighting a Dark Jedi with similar powers to the emperor

 

[LostSon88]

I recall reading years ago that the original idea for ROTJ, Leia was not Luke's sister and the sequel trilogy would've revolved around Luke's search for her in addition to his Jedi life.

Only to discover that she had become the new apprentice of the resurrected Emperor.

As previously mentioned, it would have ended with a showdown with the Skywalker twins vs. a younger, resurrected Emperor.

Mara Jade is the inspiration of what his sister would've been.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Why is everyone so focused on the Directing? Yes the directing was piss poor - and it was just as piss poor in Star Wars (the original) as it was in Revenge of the Sith. Remember, the director is in charge of getting the best out of the actors - and the actors Lucas was working with were all great actors, but most of their worst performances over the length of their career was under Lucas.
Here's how I'd rank the directing:
Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
The rest.

In terms of cinematography (handled by the DOP), here's how I would rank it:
Revenge of the Sith
Empire Strikes Back
Attack of the Clones
The Phantom Menace / Return of the Jedi
Star Wars

In terms of music composition (which is how the emotions in a scene can be fully exploited)
Revenge of the Sith
Empire Strikes Back / Star Wars
Phantom Menace
Return of the Jedi / Attack of the Clones

Now for editing - which decides the pacing of the film:
Revenge of the Sith
The Empire Strikes Back
The Rest

In terms of story, everything is there, so I'll jump straight to the script writing (screenplay editing aside):
The Empire Strikes Back / Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars
Return of the Jedi
Attack of the Clones
The Phantom Menace


So please don't just try to think that a single director could have fixed it when there are so many factors (many that I didn't even mention) that decided how well the films were done.

 

[Lord]

I think that was good and bad for George's life as a film director, the good, it became one of the best film franchises ever i must say that it was that generation's Lord of the Rings as Harry Potter is today's Star Wars, the bad is that after that George Lucas decided to drop his life as a film director and pass the rest of his life editing his star wars saga.
I mean, he had potencial, his 2 movie before STar Wars are now considered classics too, that's what got him so lazzy and is the reason the Prequels weren't as good as they could have been

 

[Still Wynning]

I was just using that to get across a reaction. Sheesh.

 

[LostSon88]

Aparently Steven Spielberg was once supposed to direct Return of the Jedi, it's a shame he didn't do it because the story seemed to fit his tone

He was Lucas' top choice. Unfortunately, he was a member of the Directors Guild (which Lucas isn't) so he basically couldn't even if he wanted to.

 

[Still Wynning]

If i remember well Spielberg helped direct some scenes in Revenge of the Sith

Didn't he storyboard the scene with Emperor Palpatine and Yoda fighting in the Senate?

I've always wondered, because, visually, it seems to stand out from the rest of the film.

 

[Bim]

What do you guys think of the original ideas for what the star wars saga was going to be after Empire Strikes Back had not been for Gary Kurtz and George Lucas parting ways:

Thank god they parted ways then lol. What we got sounds better to me.

I think Spielberg also helped with parts of the Mustafar duel. In one of the documentaries in ROTS George mentions how he would blame some of the stuff on Steven so people wouldnt complain as much. He was definitely involved in some capacity.

And yeah, the story is that Spielberg was the first choice for directing ROTJ but with Lucas' isues with the guild it didnt happen. I read somewhere also (cant remember where atm) that when the time for the PT came, Coppola, Spielberg and his other director friends told George he should be the one to direct them, no one else.

 

[Lord]

Sincerelly, it's a shame they parted way because some things could have made Return of the Jedi more interesting, Han dying, while some fans could be against it, it would have made the movie darker and more serious.
Another trilogy could have been interesting too, and lets not forget that the guy that parted ways with George Lucas helped develop most of the spiritualistic and mistyc stuff from the originals.
They parted ways when George became unsatisfied with Empire Strikes Back.

 

[the amazing fro]

I read Spielberg directed the Grievous chase on Utapau but a lot of it was cut.

 

[8wid]

His directing skills are crap, but he has been an awesome producer, creative advisor, and CEO essentially. But the success of Star Wars caught him completely off guard and it was more responsibility to meet the cultural impact than one person could handle. especially when the prequel trilogy was announced.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

As I said before, the downfall of the prequels was not just the directing, but mainly the writing. Even if Spielberg directed it, it would've just been the same thing but acted well.

 

[Teelie]

What do you guys think of the original ideas for what the star wars saga was going to be after Empire Strikes Back had not been for Gary Kurtz and George Lucas parting ways:


The idea of Luke and his sister fighting the emperor together is a little similar to the idea used in the Thrawn Trilogy of having Luke and Mara Jade fighting a Dark Jedi with similar powers to the emperor

It does have a cliff notes feel to the Thrawn Trilogy which makes sense as I believe Zahn got background information and material from Lucas Films. Finding out Leia was not Luke's sister, or that he had another sister feels too much like drawing from the same hat; we've already seen that once, why see it again?

That Zahn changed it to a non-relative worked better and IMO the entire premise of a cleaner like that (Emperor's Hand) worked better in the long run.

Killing off Han would have been a great emotional gambit and depending on how it played off even better. His death would be the epitome of the noble sacrifice and left Leia to figure out how to go on alone after losing him.

Although having the Emperor return from the not-so-dead feels cliched even for the era. Had it been another Sith or someone who aspired to that level would work more. Again, Zahn found a work around with a Dark Jedi here.

I wonder if we will ever see a sequel series or not. Lucas can always change his mind and do a 30-40 years later sequel similar to how he did a 20 years prior prequel although I hope this time it's better executed.

 

[CelticPredator]

The politics were important to include, since it makes the most since as to how Palpatine would come into power and build himself up. It's brilliant that he uses the Senate building to get the entire galaxy's approval of him. For years they've come to know him, and once he tells his tale, they sympathize and support him.

Now the more political stuff in the beginning isn't the strongest storytelling element or rather wasn't executed the best, but I see the scheme of it.

They could've made it less boring, and dry. It always bothered me as a kid, and it bothers me now.

I get it. But these are films made for kids, and anyone who likes being a kid at heart or something like that. Nothing gets the kid in me pumping like a good ol' fasion vote of no confidence debate!

I think the entire series could've done away with it, and just got right to the point. The whole trade route, trade federation thing never made much sense to me.

 

[CelticPredator]

As I said before, the downfall of the prequels was not just the directing, but mainly the writing. Even if Spielberg directed it, it would've just been the same thing but acted well.

You do realize that directing involves directing the actors, just as much as the visual style...right?

You do realize Spielberg knows how to get people to act...right?

Hence...it would've been a better film. Because improv on the set happens all the time.

They could've axed the "Sand is rough" bit, for something more romantic, and less creepy. That's what good directors do. They allow the scene to bloom from itself. It can be the same, or it could become something new, and different.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

You do realize that directing involves directing the actors, just as much as the visual style...right?

You do realize Spielberg knows how to get people to act...right?

Hence...it would've been a better film. Because improv on the set happens all the time.

They could've axed the "Sand is rough" bit, for something more romantic, and less creepy. That's what good directors do. They allow the scene to bloom from itself. It can be the same, or it could become something new, and different.

Spielberg would OBVIOUSLY have been a better choice, but you seem to have missed my point completely. Even if Spielberg directed it, the film's reception might have only been better by like 5-10%, because believe it or not, even Spielberg has done ****** films - a perfect example being Indy 4.

YES the prequels needed a better director, but above all else, they needed a better writer.

 

[Teelie]

Most of Spielberg's bad films had Lucas involved too. Just saying. Lucas is not some god among filmmakers any more than Spielberg is but the way some of you act, he can do no wrong.

 

[bullets]

The dialogue in the love scenes are terrible but one could argue Anakin is inexperienced and prone to say foolish things like that. Also there's no where to turn for relationship advice. He's surround by asexual people.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Spielberg would OBVIOUSLY have been a better choice, but you seem to have missed my point completely. Even if Spielberg directed it, the film's reception might have only been better by like 5-10%, because believe it or not, even Spielberg has done ****** films - a perfect example being Indy 4.

YES the prequels needed a better director, but above all else, they needed a better writer.

Most of Spielberg's bad films had Lucas involved too. Just saying. Lucas is not some god among filmmakers any more than Spielberg is but the way some of you act, he can do no wrong.

I used Indy 4 as an example because Lucas still WROTE it, and regardless of Spielberg's Directing, the movie was ****.

God, it's like everyone infatuated with Spielberg arise to defend him where a battle is not waged.

My point is that the MAIN problem with the Prequels is the WRITING. I am NOT saying that the Directing wasn't bad - the Directing WAS BAD, but the WRITING was FAR WORSE.

For the love of God people... Inference really isn't that hard when the meaning of a message is blatantly obvious and written straight out.