Discussion Rick McCallum

My favorite SW movie is still ANH. ESB is overrated.

 

It isn't overrated, but ANH is beyond terrific itself.

 

Willow is better than ANH and ESB. Better action sequences, more convincing "gritty" visual design. And Sorsha in armor > bikini fun Barbie, I mean Leia.

 

Rick Mcculum got fired because how badly he handled Red Tails. George had to come in to do reshoots.

 

It is. Half of of the movie is a filler and almost nothing except Luke/Vader story is developed further. It works surprisingly well considering the lack of actual plot but it has implications for ROTJ.

 

Now that's a movie that's really underrated (I think it got more following after the video release).

 

That sounds closer to truth.

 

I think you should read up on what people usually mean when they use the term "filler". You may have that word confused with something else.

 

Filler is not necessary bad. It often gives a chance on doing something fun, if unrelated to the main storyline. I simply prefer a better plotted film like ANH (really, the only good plot in all six).

Anyway, it's overrated because its flaws are rarely mentioned (most of Han/Leia stuff is silly, for example, and while acting/dialogue is more consistently decent than other installments, it's still nothing to write home about).

 

They may be reasonable conjectures. We have no indication, rumor or otherwise, that he was fired. Only a bunch of creeping wishing it.

 

Oh, so Rick was DIRECTING Red Tails now was he? Doing reshoots were planned into the schedule. It was similar to how they did the PT. Write, shoot, edit, reshoot, etc.

All of you McCallum haters with "inside sources" need to back up your talk with some evidence.

Rick retired last Summer because the gig was Prequels, Red Tails, then Lucas' retirement. And remember, Lucas is still doing his own films. I wouldn't be shocked to see Rick produce those.

 

My insider source says that your insider source was fired for spreading lies.





"Now THIS is pod racing!"
/LM

 

I'm not totally sure where to respond to that but why, in your estimation, is half of the plot "filler"? In your view does good storytelling rely entirely on complex plot machinations? ESB is richer with theme and character work than any of the other Star Wars movies. It's so humanist in its approach that it's almost a Howard Hawks movie in space. It's one of the few that really stands on its own in the pantheon of great movies.

 

Same here.

 

Actually, the whole "filler"comment kind of boggles the mind. Empire is one of the leanest flicks I've ever seen.

 

Can we please get back on topic by bashing Rick McCallum for no good reason?

 

I don't know if I can do that. I can, however, criticize him for several good reasons.

 

*looks at calendar*

Yup, I didn't slip into the wayback machine. It's still 2012. Just checking.

 

I can appreciate a good debate about "which SW movie is the best". I can understand why ESB wouldn't be the best SW movie for some. But "filler" or "or no story at all".......man come on......ESB is the most "characters driven" SW movie by a mile and Kersh made it possible (you just have to read all the book and interview about ESB to understand this)......ESB plays the part of the middle troubled child perfectly....and all the main characters comes out of ESB changed (Even Lando, with little screen time).

ESB is like the Godfather 2, a sequel that drives the whole saga to a second level. ANH is like the first child, I will always love this movie with all my heart because it was love at first sight and you never know if you will be able to fall in love with the same intensity the second time around. ESB is a rare sequel that is as good as the original and then give you something else.

The whole mythology of SW comes from ESB, the Force has never been so interesting than through ESB Yoda.......even the whole character studying parf of Vader has never been so much more interesting than in the whole Bespin stretch of ESB.

You can call me that you prefer TPM to ESB, but never tell me that ESB is not character driven. It's only that, it's the middle part and there's no beginning and no ending. Same thing as with The Two Towers. You don't have to start or resolve anything, you give everything you got to the character.

And BTW, ESB is the most beautiffuly shot SW movie. Forget about the cgi fireworks color of the prequels. ESB is grounded in reality and when comes the fantasy (Yoday teachning, Bespin, even the Hoth part), you get to admire some of the most endearing shots of the whole saga (Yoda/Luke's training with the X-Wing, I am your Father sequence, The whole Solo Carbonite scene, Even the Battle of Hoth is masterfully framed, etc...)

I've studied in a movie school and the whole ESB arc (not as movie, but arc) was a recurrent example of how to take characters introduce earlier and make them more interesting. Through trials and humour, two things that are at the core of ESB.

 

McCallum struck me as a nice enough guy, but he also gave me "Hollywood schmoozer" vibes and was a bit too L.A. for my tastes. I didn't expect him to berate Lucas, but I think Lucas would have benefited from more constructive criticism than what McCallum was capable of.

Beyond that, McCallum brought Hales in to rewrite AOTC--we all thought, "Great! This will sort out the kinks in Lucas' writing!" Amazingly, it was the worst of the prequels, and so I also question McCallum's judgement when selecting talent.

 

Would you that it's believe it's been argued on these boards that ESB looks drab?

 

I'm not sure McCallum brought in anyone to rewrite anything without Lucas' approval or first suggestion.

 

Really? Because if there's one thing that defined McCallum's career, it was NOT being in LA or Hollywood.

 

I really can't, but I can understand that some would like the style of the prequels better.

 

It's a movie opinion. It's not tantamount to Holocaust denial.