main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Discussion DEADLINE: No More ‘Star Wars’ 3D Prequel Releases; Lucasfilm Passes To Focus On New Trilogy

Discussion in 'Archive: Disney Era Films' started by rezpen, Jan 28, 2013.

  1. DV75

    DV75 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 30, 2001
    Despite the obvious sense that Lucasfilm/Disney now have their hands full with EVII - I also think they are starting to somewhat distance themselves from the prequels as they begin and prepare the ST.

    Kennedy and JJ are well aware the prequels, however profitable, were not and continue to not be universally well received.

    There is still a longing and desire for a Star Wars closer to the OT and the ST will no doubt provide that. So, with that it doesn't make much sense to plug 3D releases of the latter two prequel movies despite the timeline and busy schedule involving EVII. I bet this played into the "postponement" of AOTC and ROTS 3D.
     
    Vale Man likes this.
  2. StoryHobbit

    StoryHobbit Jedi Padawan

    Registered:
    Jan 29, 2013
    I'll admit I'm disappointed but I'm still kind of ok with this because as long as they're giving appropriate attention to VII I'm happy. They have to do a good job, and anything they sacrifice so they can make a better movie, I'm ok with that.
     
  3. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Star Wars is what ignited my love for movies. My kids never had an equivalent generation-defining movie. For the most part, they're not very interested in cinema at all. They're unlikely to be a part of any new Star Wars generation. I'm sure they're not alone. The problem with Star Wars for kids is that it has a whiff of old people hanging around it. There's no way to get rid of that stench.
     
    Count Yubnub likes this.
  4. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Well that's why Lucasarts needs to get their act together. ;)
     
  5. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    To be fair, J.J. Abrams was able to clear the stench of old people off Trek. Like it or hate it, he accomplished something critical for that franchise. That's why Disney chose him. They need to get someone up in there with the deodorizer.
     
  6. yggdrasil311

    yggdrasil311 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 7, 2004
    I thought about it more. I am upset that this happened, but I reckon these will be shelved to allow hype to build again and for much more of a 3D install base to be around for in-home 3DTVs. It's just not really profitable nowadays, from a certain perspective.

    It's sorta like the IMAX 3D HFR. There is no repeat business for something like that, unless you see the movie multiple times in the theater. 99.999% of people do not have IMAX 3D HDF capable home units at home.

    So I'm saying that 3D is kinda a waste, for now. When more peops got 21x9 3DTVs in their homes (much like this) then we'll see.
     
  7. DARTH_BELO

    DARTH_BELO Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2003
    I would agree that the PT was not necessarily all that well-recieved among "true fan," "die-hard fan," "avid fan,"-whatever designating term we'd like to use there (I'm sure I'm getting the idea across). But as far as the general moviegoing public, the PT was quite enjoyed-especially by young people. For example, Every person I know-not considered SW fans like us-have seen them all, and they LOVE them all. They have no complaints about bad love scenes, Hayden being a "bad Anakin," wooden acting, etc. They just think of them as "cool movies." And many people I know even like *gasp* Jar-Jar! I know, I know-sacrelige! Right? Well maybe to the fan like us, but ask anyone and I don't think they'll give you a critique about how the whole "Sifo-Dyas being killed and Dooku aka Darth Tyranus ordering the clones" mystery was underdeveloped, and such things as that...

    I don't think that the crew making the ST are "deliberately" avoiding things similar to the PT like a rabid dog, JUST because it "sucked so much." The PT deserves acknowledgement just as much as the OT when it comes to the way they put together the story for the ST-if for no other reason than the amount of attention the PT got, what with merchandise, TV shows, etc...(That would be Disney's reason from a marketing standpoint, but MY reason would be continuity-making the saga, the WHOLE saga fit together.) There are many more fans to please here with this ST than JUST the OT fans. There's a whole fanbase out there that have been brought into SW by the PT....

    I think people in general enjoyed Episodes I-III much more than some give them credit for...
     
  8. DarthMane2

    DarthMane2 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2003
    I could care less about 3D releases, though I guess I could say I did want to see ESB again I guess.

    I'm more interested in getting unaltered Blu-Rays.
     
  9. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    Yeah... but is Trek really a hit among the kiddies? I mean, there are literally 2009 Trek toys still clogging up Toys R Us aisles on $2 clearance.
     
  10. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Trek wasn't a hit, period. $385 million worldwide return on a $150 million budget doesn't recoup the studio's production and marketing costs. Trek likely broke even on video, but the point of the exercise was to get that core demo into the seats, not kids.

    The stakes are a lot higher for Star Wars, and there's really not a lot of evidence that Abrams has what it takes.
     
    LawJedi likes this.
  11. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2012
    Well, the IMDb breakdown by age suggests "nuTrek" is rated just as highly with the younger generation as it is with the older ones:
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt
    However, there are relatively few votes from younger people.

    The same basically goes for "Super 8":
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650062/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt

    But yeah, you don't create a classic Star Wars movie by targeting it to the 40-year old sad whiner demographic.
     
    LawJedi likes this.
  12. DarthMane2

    DarthMane2 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2003
    I don't think that's accurate. Even if you don't want to call it a big hit, the movie did more then break even. Movies usually have to make double what they were budgeted to make money, because of marketing and such. Star Trek did that. After that, and once it hit video, it was just making money. So it was a hit.

    IT is also the highest grossing Star Trek film of all time. Really can't see how Star Trek can't be looked at as a major success in terms of money and for the franchise. Which in turn is attributed to JJ.
     
  13. Catsmeow

    Catsmeow Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 8, 2012
    Not a disappointment, however, I would have liked to have seen the OT rereleased into theaters.
     
  14. Gallandro

    Gallandro Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 8, 1998
    For a Star Trek film that was a monster hit and crossed over and drew general audiences like Star Trek's II&IV did. Remember the TNG films were averaging about $70 million domestically, and STXI certainly primed the pump for a bigger box office take for Into Darkness. Also given home video sales, which were very good, I'm sure Paramount was more than happy with the return on their investment.

    Yancy
     
  15. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    So all eyes on Into Darkness...
     
  16. Vale Man

    Vale Man Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 24, 2013
    Can't wait. It'll be hard makinmg the vibe of both franchises different due to his love of Star Wars and the use of ILM etc.
     
    vinsanity likes this.
  17. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    Generally, studios split the box office with the movie theaters, so they need double the production budget to get their money back. But that doesn't include marketing costs, which for big movies can be something like $150 million worldwide. Sony was rumored to have spent $350-400 million on production and marketing of Spider-Man 3.

    So according to the WSJ at least, the rule of thumb is 3x production budget in global box office to break even.
     
    LawJedi likes this.
  18. I_Died_Once

    I_Died_Once Jedi Master

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2005
    I think most of you are either lying, trolling, or out of your blessed minds...

    I'm highly disappointed that the prequel trilogy might not make it back to theaters, and I think its a huge loss for Lucasfilm, Fox, and the overall saga itself. All three of the prequel trilogies are sitting, in raw format in an office somewhere (in California, I think...) - Filming doesn't start until the summer, and the post-production crew won't start their work until after most of the new movie is filmed. Its not like they're going to go film NEW scenes for the prequel trilogies - converting the PT to 3D would be a nice something something to have either as try-outs for new production/special effects members, or something the post-production itself can go while waiting for work to begin on Episode VII. The costs of converting the PT is minimal, and would only help hype and keep the excitement alive building towards the release of Episode VII. The whole ordeal was digitized for crying out loud. So you run a post-process and convert the movie. Even if they don't BREAK NEW RECORDS and fail to squeeze hundreds of millions out of the movies, its not like they won't still come out ahead in the venture.

    It'll be good for hyping the saga, it'll be good for business as far as keeping their word on the matter - I know most of you here drink massive amounts of "Haterade" and think the PT was just horrible and an abomination to the saga, there are people who thought of them as decent enough movies, especially Revenge of the Sith - I think they're letting a dime hold up a dollar. Okay, so it might not be millions of dollars, but to be able to see the PT trilogy in 3D would be awesome, and I think you haters need to lay off.

    I saw TPM in 3D and it was great. Same movie, but to see Palpatine's hologram jump out of the screen like it did... it was awesome and now that the news of a new movie has leaked, it would be stupid of Fox and Lucasfilm NOT proceed forward. The costs of converting to 3d are minimal, they will make some money off of the project, and it'll only build towards more hype for the ST.
     
  19. I_Died_Once

    I_Died_Once Jedi Master

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2005
    I remember when Episode III came out feeling as if its the last movie of any significance to ever be released. (Long before news of Ep VII came to be) I was telling people "Everything else to come out from this point on will be trying to fill a big, big void, and they can quit making movies as far as I'm concerned"

    I'd rather go see the PT in 3d, in all their "horrible, crappy" glory over any of the GARBAGE they pass off as movies these days. Converting movies that are sitting on a hard drive somewhere, that are highly digitized, and the 3D objects are still sitting on a server somewhere - they can hire a couple of college students to change it over to 3D and offer college credits, for close to free. To say its not financially "feasible" is just hogwash. When people go to break down theater doors to see the OT and the PT, it'll have paid off. It'll pay off when they go to release the 3D home versions for folks to watch at home on their 3D home tv's. Even not breaking records and raking in hundreds of millions of dollars, they'll still bring in more than %50 of other movies out currently.

    Yeah, I'm disappointed. I was gonna go watch 'em all. Still will if they change their minds.
     
  20. Jabbadabbado

    Jabbadabbado Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 1999
    I think exposing AOTC to even more public ridicule would be terrible for the franchise. Clearly, they want to make a clean break from the PT. That's a great thing. Good for Star Wars. Good for Disney's bottom line.
     
    vinsanity likes this.
  21. LawJedi

    LawJedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2009
    The 3D releases were always backloaded, considering the order of release.
     
  22. Motterman

    Motterman Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2000
    I was kinda trying to make the same point in another thread, but it was clearly the wrong sub-forum. hehe...
     
    vinsanity likes this.
  23. Bad_Feeling

    Bad_Feeling Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2002
    There seems to be a lot of people who think that Disney/Lucasfilm are going to 'right the (percieved) wrongs' of the prequels with this new ST... However, you're forgetting that the prequels did amazing numbers especially when you consider merchandising. Disney may not want to 're-write' any 'wrongs', rather they may wish to further replicate the (financial) success of the prequels.

    I wouldn't build up the ST in your minds as being a 'saviour' to the franchise. It may only lead to the films not meeting your expectations... again.
     
  24. run_luke_run

    run_luke_run Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2004
    I think this is fantastic news.

    In fact, I'd be happier if they announced that all future 3d crap is cancelled.

    Then again, I'm one of those deluded Star Wars fans that actually enjoyed the prequels.
     
    I_Died_Once likes this.
  25. Ghost

    Ghost Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Oct 13, 2003
    Did anyone really want to see these movies in 3D... or just wanted to see the movies on the big screen again?
    I'm sure many theaters will show the first 6 movies, leading up to Episode 7's release.

    The 3D movies were a great idea to keep Star Wars active... before a Sequel Trilogy was announced.