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

ST I don't remember Phantom Menace being as big as Force Awakens

Discussion in 'Sequel Trilogy' started by BretHart, Jan 4, 2016.

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  1. Strongbow

    Strongbow Force Ghost star 5

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    Nov 6, 2014

    I'm not a chef, but I know if food tastes good to me or not. I'm not the kind of person who accepts something as good because someone tells me it's supposed to be.

    And I can;t think of anything Lucas wrote himself in the last 20 years I'd consider actually well-written. The closet is probably ROTS, and even that is burdened with a bunch of junk in it. The overall story saves it though. George works best in collaboration, IMO. His best work is when he comes up with the story, and Larry Kasdan writes the script. Empire and Raiders represent his best work, IMO, and both are in collaboration with Kasdan.
     
  2. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 18, 2015
    I've been around for every film in the saga. To answer the OP, I think TPM holds an edge over TFA; however, the hype for each in the OT was pretty huge. I suspect a lot of you all weren't around for that. ANH was easily one of the most anticipated movies of all-time when it came out.
     
  3. SkooterNB

    SkooterNB Jedi Grand Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2005
    Another thing is TPM not only had the hype of adults who had grown up with Star Wars, but also their kids who had watched it at home with them and those introduced to the saga in 95-98 with toys, special editions, THX releases.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
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  4. Sepra

    Sepra Force Ghost star 5

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    Jan 14, 2016
    I agree with this. Marketing was completely different in 1999 than it is now. Disney is a marketing machine, they have some of the best "marketeers" in the world and they really know their stuff, so to say that TFA wasn't hyped is kind of... naive I guess? It's just that it's hyped in a better, more targeted way to users based on what information Disney can get on them. The best kind of targeting is when you create an emotional resonance without that person feeling that it's "inauthentic". And I really think they succeeded here.

    In 1999 there was a lot of what I would think of as typical Star Wars hype, the t-shirts, the fast food tie-ins because that kind of thing worked the best. There also wasn't this glut of information on individual consumers so movie marketers at the time hit a wide range of people with a lot of overlapping messaging, and got a lot of people who were not ever going to be the targets, or weren't targeted in the way they prefer. So you get phrases like "hype" and the rest because you don't get that more personal feeling that the marketing is speaking to you in this way. Additionally, there wasn't the focus on authentic experiences in marketing that we have now, that's a fad that's come about with the younger millennials having more purchasing power.
     
  5. Evetssteve10

    Evetssteve10 Jedi Knight star 4

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    Sep 21, 2015
    Had TPM had the critical praise and really strong word of mouth that TFA had it would have had a longer hype life
     
  6. Winshen Cloudleaper

    Winshen Cloudleaper Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Dec 19, 2015
    Inappropriate analogy.
     
  7. obi-arin-kenobi

    obi-arin-kenobi Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jun 10, 2005
    Phantom Menace was everywhere. Bigger than anything, even industries outside its own. The internet was just only becoming normal amongst households.

    Popular products were different as well. Today things are more "social" media oriented. I know there are toys today, but back then it was as if it was xmad time and the theme was Star Wars. Banners, standups, everything. If you wanted Episode 1 toilet paper you could buy it.

    There were also massive city block lines. Times have changed and I have a hard time seeing this be allowed in this day and age--at least where I'm from. Gotta dig camping out and dealing with 40 degree rainy weather, using public washrooms, etc. Phantom Menace was a blast. There may never be something like it, ever.
     
  8. Gaston444

    Gaston444 Jedi Padawan star 1

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    Dec 19, 2015
    Regardless of the media available, the amount of people going to the movies in the late 1970s and early 80s was much greater than it is today. In terms of the size of the phenomenon, there is no comparison today to the OT...: The OT was in the news for months, even years on end... TFA is gone from the news as we speak... Maybe tickets sales were not so much from repeat viewings back then, so an actual broader base of the audience was involved... Plus it was all new back then.

    The entire content of television, and even of culture as a whole, including to a certain extent books, changed with ANH (by contrast the effect of TFA will be comparatively minuscule): Several shows appeared that were related in one way or another to SW, and other Sci-Fi shows like Space: 1999, and even Star Trek, enjoyed much longer runs on TV just because of Star Wars: I remember clearly re-runs of Space: 1999 as late as the late 80s, and Battestar Galactica would never even have existed without Star Wars.

    Even horror shows like Laurel's "Tales from the Darkside" probably owed a little something to Star Wars, creature effects and whatnot. There's nothing like that on TV today, and TFA will have zero impact on that...: There were several other shows similar to "Tales from the Darkside" in the 80s, not to mention the re-birth of the "Twillight Zone" series... You can see the waning of SW influence in the late 80s when all these fantasy shows disappeared from TV. The dull vampire/werewolves/creature shows we have today owe very little to true Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Instead, the 1992 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", .which was dull, unimportant little film (strangely enough, mostly deservedly forgotten today, it's the one with Kristy Swanson and Rugter Hauer), seems to have been the real precursor of all that crap... Probably that worthless, forgotten, almost obscure movie is one of the more influential films of all time...: It foreshadowed all that feminist-conscious crap we were subsequently deluged with... Even Matrix is somewhat closer to the vampire stuff, although it is better quality.

    Avatar and John Carter are really exceptions that would not be out of place in the 80s (or even early 20th century Sci-Fi books, which John Carter actually is): But John Carter was a failure, and these movies are really more the exception that confirms the rule...

    Compared to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the Prequel Trilogy had very little lasting impact... That is saying something...

    I would be very surprised if TFA had anywhere near the cultural clout to bring back real Sci-Fi and fantasy, because it is lacking two crucial elements: Originality and quality... At best it will match the PT in influence, which isn't saying much...

    Gaston
     
  9. Darth__Lobot

    Darth__Lobot Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Dec 29, 2015

    So you don't like the PT or TFA?

    Are you like a ANH, TESB guy? Or a whole OT guy?

    Just curious
     
  10. Sepra

    Sepra Force Ghost star 5

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    Jan 14, 2016
    You do realize that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a cult classic television show that ran for 7 seasons, engendered another cult classic spinoff that ran for 5 seasons, and was instrumental to the career of Joss Whedon, who is the current director of the last two Avengers movies? It's not like it was the little movie that could. And it didn't really ruin anything.

    I also watched Superbad last night, and there were a couple AOTC references in it. I've seen references to all of Star Wars including the prequels in other movies. So as it turns out, yes, the prequels do have some impact on other films, just as two television shows that inspired millions of fantasy fans for over 8 years also did.
     
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  11. MotherNature's SilverSeed

    MotherNature's SilverSeed Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Feb 4, 2013
    Unmoved beneficiary.
     
  12. Skillzwalker

    Skillzwalker Jedi Master star 3

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    Oct 24, 2015

    ANH was not anticipated much at all, it was released in 38 theatres. Once released it took off like wild fire though. However i am in Australia so it didnt get here until 78 and by then it was massively anticipated. It was a worldwide cultural phenomenum by then.

    As for TPM and TFA I would definitely say TPM was more anticipated, certainly the wait prior and build up was intense for a year or so up until release. TFA seemed to be much less intense UP UNTIL the trailer in October. From that point on the marketing and hype was extremely well managed by Disney to the point that it was built up to a similar level over the last 3-4 weeks.

    Clearly TFA has been received far better since release, thats not in question.
     
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  13. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 18, 2015
    It was highly anticipated. The small theater release had nothing to do with fan interest. It was because the theaters were leary because of the type of movie it was and not many of them ordered the film. The fan anticipation was huge.
     
  14. Skillzwalker

    Skillzwalker Jedi Master star 3

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    Oct 24, 2015

    No i am not. Correct me if I am wrong but you are saying that pre-release in 1977 ANH was one of the most anticipated movies of all time?? as in before it was released

    EDIT: If i am wrong explain to me this from Wiki "Star Wars debuted on Wednesday, May 25, 1977, in fewer than 32 theaters, and eight more on Thursday and Friday. Kurtz said in 2002, "That would be laughable today."
     
  15. Jedi Miester

    Jedi Miester Jedi Grand Master star 3

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    Sep 27, 1999
    TPM had just as much horse power as TFA.... its just that Disney has put SW in every store, living room, street corner, and used-car commercial. They actually out-merchandised the original king of merchandising!!!
     
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  16. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 18, 2015
    See my edited post.
     
  17. Skillzwalker

    Skillzwalker Jedi Master star 3

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    Oct 24, 2015
    haha just read this, bit off topic but found it funny

    "Lucas himself was not able to predict how successful Star Wars would be. After visiting the set of theSteven Spielberg–directed Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Lucas was sure Close Encounters would outperform the yet-to-be-released Star Wars at the box office. Spielberg disagreed, and felt Lucas's Star Wars would be the bigger hit. Lucas proposed they trade 2.5% of the profit on each other's films; Spielberg took the trade, and still receives 2.5% of the profits from Star Wars."
     
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  18. Sepra

    Sepra Force Ghost star 5

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    Jan 14, 2016
    Also why would you stand in line when you can pre-order your tickets on Fandango? No need for lines, just make sure you're at your computer at the right time. Maybe there would have been more stories about TFA lines and the like if pre-ordering wasn't an option.

    My theater in 1999 didn't have a line out the block, but I did wait in a very long line with my friends and some of us were dressed up. In 2015, I scanned my online ticket and just went to my assigned seat (which, to be fair, assigned seating isn't usual). That's not exactly a scintillating news story.
     
  19. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 18, 2015
    See? Spielberg knew.
     
  20. Skillzwalker

    Skillzwalker Jedi Master star 3

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    Oct 24, 2015

    I am not saying it wasn't anticipated at all, i am just saying it is nto even close to being one of the most anticipated movies of all time. I would argue ANY of the sequals and prequals were far more anticipated, as was the LOTR movies simply because millions more knew about the story. SFA knew about Star Wars and what it was prior to release.
     
  21. Skillzwalker

    Skillzwalker Jedi Master star 3

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    Oct 24, 2015

    Of course he did, he knew the story, the director (and his genius) and the production values. In other words he was one of about a handful of people that knew, plus the sci-fi crowd.
     
  22. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 18, 2015
    I disagree, but that's okay.;)
     
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  23. Skillzwalker

    Skillzwalker Jedi Master star 3

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    Oct 24, 2015

    fair enough. I would add if you said it was one of the most anticipated movies of all time on Australia I would definitely agree. Back in those days we had to wait 12 months beofre a movie got to our shores and Star Wars was by that stage clearly a WW phenom. Thankfully those days are gone, we even got to see TFA a day earlier than the US which I found quietly justified as a mild form of pay back ;)
     
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  24. Zenwalker

    Zenwalker Jedi Knight star 4

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    Dec 18, 2015
    Lol. That is too cool. ^:)^
     
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  25. ObiWanKnowsMe

    ObiWanKnowsMe Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 7, 2015
    I was shocked when TFA surpassed and blew out TPM box office numbers. But I guess that means people are seeing TFA like 5 or 6 times like me and I guess not too many repeatedly saw TPM
     
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