PT Quote from Marquand about directing the PT

This is from an interview with Richard Marquand from 1984 (He died in 1987), but was asked about directing one of the future PT movies:

I heard you were interested in directing one of the Star Wars preludes?
That’s right. One, two and three are going to be very interesting − if George is ever able to start writing. Steven [Spielberg] and I would like to. It’s a very interesting part of the saga, the early days. The youth of Ben Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker is really important. It’s a very different world. Technology is different, means of communication are different. Sentiments are different. But it will take a long time, I’m afraid so. It’s just a fact we will have to face. Good things come in threes, and all good things come to an end. That’s just one of the realities of life. Your kids may see it.

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Read more: http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars/26133/richard-marquand-interview-return-of-the-jedi-star-wars#ixzz2XPtu9p00​

 

What a shame that this wasn't uncovered when the Prequels were being made... I might move this since its taken from the making of ROTJ and he talks about the saga, but I'm my tab so it will stay in here for now.

 

Wow, you're right SithStarSlayer, it is a real shame that the combined efforts of Spielberg and Marquand weren't able to use their talents for the PT. I imagine we would have had a very different scope of films.Though I will say I really enjoyed ROTS, obviously AOTC and TPM could have used another look from a different perspective.

 

I remember reading a quote from Spielberg either during Episode I or Episode II, and he said (paraphrasing), "I would love to direct one of the Prequels, but Star Wars is George's baby, so I don't think it will happen."

If you remember Lucas said he would only direct Episode I, but decided he wanted to direct the whole trilogy after Episode I. I think it just goes back to Lucas wanting to do everything with the PT movies, whereas he was more apt to delegate (directing, writing, etc) with the OT movies.

 

In the early 90's, Lucas actually said to many close friends that he had no intention of directing Episode I. He later joked that they (the likes of Spielberg and Coppola) pressured him into doing it against his own will. Ultimately, the biggest factor in him deciding to direct was his experience with the OT sequels. Regarding ESB (having so much of his own money riding on things coupled with less control over the production), and ROTJ (having to act as a day-to-day on-set presence and second unit director in order to assist someone unfamiliar with that type of production), Lucas went on to state "I came to realise it was just much easier to do these things by myself". And it's not entirely true to state that he delegated the writing duties out that much more during the PT than he did the OT. During TPM, he asked several collaborators to make input and suggestions (including Lawrence Kasdan), he got Jonathan Hales to co-write the screenplay for AOTC, and there was someone else (I can't remember their name off-hand) revealed as an uncredited co-writer on ROTS. In the end, Lucas contributed nearly as much to the OT scripts as he did the PT. The stories were all entirely his, and even though he didn't receive a screenplay credit on ESB, he rejected Leigh Brackett's first draft entirely - meaning he had to write the next draft on his own from scratch (a draft which doesn't differ dramatically from the final film).

 

Lucas wrote the main screenplays for all 3 PT movies, but had help tying up some dialogue from Jonathan Hales in AOTC. (If you ever get a chance, read the script before Hales came on board, the love story was even more cheesy!!) The biggest problem with ROTS script is Lucas didn't have one til one of the first days of shooting the movie (if you watch the documentary on the ROTS DVD, Lucas walks in to the actors and says, "We finally got a script!" And then the whole debacle of changing the context of the turn scene after shooting half the damn movie, yet not goig back and reshooting scenes in the new context. So you have some scenes where Anakin turned more because of the Jedi order, and some scenes where he turned because he wanted to save Padme from this supposed trick Palpatine knew.

Now of course Lucas wrote the original SW, but Kasdan was the MAIN writer on ESB and ROTS, where Lucas was the MAIN writer with help on the PT movies. So I disagree with you as I believe Lucas delegated alot more on the OT then he did with the PT movies.

 

Kasdan wrote a further draft of ESB based on Lucas' own independently-penned script. Both are much the same in essence (and the plot points and story is entirely Lucas'). Each draft beyond that were pretty much joint efforts. Kasdan was chiefly responsible for tightening up and polishing the dialogue but its debatable to say who, if either, contributed most to the script. The idea that Lucas completely delegated the writing duties for ESB and ROTJ distorts the truth in my opinion. They were collaborations (just as AOTC and ROTS were). Yes, each one was a collaboration of differing degrees, I grant you, but the point that is trying to be made here is that Lucas became less interested in other people's contributions by the time of the PT - a notion which, I think, can be disputed.

I also don't see at what point any of the scripts were finished as relevant to the discussion (though I have seen the docs).

PS: The uncredited writer on Episode III was Tom Stoppard.

 

I was talking about the interview.

 

I wish Lucas would have let someone other than himself direct the Prequels. It was apparent that Lucas was out of touch and too tolerant during the filming. I wish he was like how he was when he directed ANH, but it's obvious he wasn't that same guy since the seventies. Hence the reason he had Kirshner and Marquand direct V and VI.

 

He hired someone else for ESB because he found directing ANH too stressful (and no wonder). Add to that the fact he was financing the movie himself and setting up/expanding a whole bunch of companies to do it and it was the only practical decision (not to mention starting a family around the making of ROTJ). By the time TPM came along, he was a lot fresher and able to commit to directing again. If anything, I think he was a better by then. ROTS is arguably the best directed entry in the saga.

 

Great find! No bombshells in there, detail-wise, but it's still interesting to read actual talk about the PT from that far back - it's something of a reminder of an era when these films were going to be made not long after the OT, not to mention the fact that GL didn't simply toss SW aside after ROTJ was done, then just come back on a whim. He really did intend to make them one day, but come 1987 for so many of us, it didn't feel like it would ever happen.

There was a similar mention in an interview with Irvin Kershner from a few years ago when he mentioned that GL's plan for the PT circa 1980 was to begin production around 1987/88, IIRC. Star Wars: Episode I vs Batman in 1989?

And it could have had River Phoenix as Anakin...

 

Since Spielberg was (without a doubt, still is today) part of the Director's Guild, his involvement probably would've been minor and directing was out of the question. This occurred when Lucas wanted him to direct Return of the Jedi, but he couldn't because of the guild and Lucas' frustration with it (plus Lucas left).

Didn't Lucas ask Kershner to direct TPM at one point? Or was that just a rumor. I think the prequels were Lucas' projects and he wanted to direct/write them himself.

 

I disagree, ROTS is the WORST of the directed PT movies, as AOTC is a much better directed movie. ROTS just had the best plot points, so that is why it is so beloved by the fans because that is the pure redmeat of the PT.

The reason I say its the worst directed of the PT (as I stated in an earlier post) Lucas changed the turn scene and essentially changed the whole context of the movie after that, but didn't go back and re-shoot the other scenes. If you listen to the ROTS commentary, Lucas admits that he didn't like the original turn scene with Anakin as it fell flat in his opinion. Original, Anakin was supposed to turn more because of his distrust of the Jedi Order and power to run the galaxy. So what happens is Lucas rewrites the whole turn scene in which now Anakin is doing solely for saving Padme (Palpatines trick of cheating death), and then re-shoots several scenes before it.

The problem was he shot the whole 2nd half of the movie in the original context of Anakin turning, so those scenes come off as very jaded when you look at his motives. The whole Mustafar part was shot BEFORE he re-shot the turn scene, so you hear his conversation with Obiwan and Padme about running the universe and how the Jedi deceived him. That is why it makes sense for everything he did in the 2nd half of ROTS when it is all about power and distrust of the jedi order, but when you watch it in the context of him saving Padme, it makes no sense whatsoever?????

Sorry, but that is bad writing and bad directing, because you essentially have 2 different movies in ROTS: Before he changed the Turn Scene, and after he changed the turn scene, and that is why you have so many fans who never bought into Anakin's motives for turning to the darkside, simply because they don't understand it was changed during shooting, yet never reshot in that context!!!

 

Well I love it more these days for it's visual tone and iconography than it's script or story content. Like all of the PT movies, it could have been edited more competently, but some of the directorial choices Lucas made were inspired. Similar choices were made in the other movies too. I happen to think he improved as a director with each movie he made.

There's nothing objectively wrong with the decision being two-fold. Anakin joins Palpatine because Palpatine can offer the power to save his wife, and he justifies betraying the Jedi order along the way because he comes to believe they are corrupt. There is nothing illogical with this from a storytelling perspective. Such decisions are usually layered and are as much about justifying your own position through any perceived means as they are actual logic - "good is a point of view". I like that Lucas added a new dimension to the turn. I think it was weak in the original drafts (I like that it came more to mirror Luke's near-turn in ROTJ and death in ESB). And there would have been just as many holes and inconsistencies had it not been changed. It didn't alter "the whole context of the movie" dramatically either. He turned regardless. And it still makes perfect sense the way it is presented ("from a certain point of view"). All Lucas did, in his own words to Hayden on set was "give him a little bit more to go on". Regardless, your criticism here is of the writing more than the directing, and we're way off track.

"The Jedi turned against me" is not an entirely irrational thing to say under the circumstances. Anakin was Palpatine's personal representative on the Jedi Council. Like it or not, the Jedi tried to overthrow Palpatine and take control of the Republic (at least on a temporary basis; the details of which Anakin wasn't to know). As far as Anakin is concerned, all-throughout, his "loyalties lie with the Chancellor, and with the Senate..." That never changes. Of course, this was a philosophy temporarily shaken when he found out Palpatine was a Sith, but given Palpatine's rather choice words about the Sith not being so different to the Jedi - identifying their acceptance of attachments - and the Jedi Council's continuing refusal to put their trust in Anakin, you can see how these words start to conveniently play on his mind in justifying the decision to stand by Palpatine (even if this was initially motivated by saving Padme) and rationalise the Jedi as being those in the wrong. Remember, not only did they treat him as an outcast and ask him to things he didn't agree with, they did nothing to help save his Mother, and were merely telling him to "let go" of Padme... things he could not do.

That Anakin wants power predominantly to save those he loves does not mean he'd be immune to it's temptations in other regards. It's the same consistent flaw. Anakin's desire for complete power is entirely rooted in his desire to see others cheat death, avoid change and make things as he wants. He mentions such desire as early as Episode I - "I don't want things to change". And then there's this exchange from Episode II:

Padme: You're not all powerful, Ani.
Anakin: Well I should be. Someday I will be. I will even learn to stop people from dying.

They're one in the same thing. He wants to defy anything that might stand in his way... even nature. It's the end result of both arrogance and affection - two things he has in abundance (both which serve to his benefit and detriment on different occasions). Adding Padme's impending death to the turn only intensified elements that were already present.

As for ruling the galaxy, it's something he offers for both him and Padme. He knows her political passion and thinks such an offer will convince her to stay on side. It is not something he openly states to be seeking for himself at that point (although it's a natural inevitability based on the above).

 

The PT DID NOT need Spielberg's direction. I didn't miss Spielberg's input one bit. As for Richard Marquand . . . please! This is the guy who directed (allegedly) ROTJ. All I can say is thank goodness he didn't direct any of the PT movies.

Actually, I could see why he made the changes, when one consider that Anakin's inability to let go of emotional attachments has been focused upon since TPM. Even his rejection of Palpatine in ROTJ was due to his emotional ties to Luke.

 

Yeah the PT didn't need a guy like Spielberg who only directed Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET & Jurassic Park! Sometimes I wonder if I'm in bizarro world in these SW forums!

 

ROTS is arguably the best directed entry in the saga.
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in my opinion it is the worst directed in the Saga, most ambitious sure, but the acting had a lot to be desired IMO,

think of the love scenes in AOTC compared to "love has blinded you" and "Annie, I'm pregnant" scenes in ROTS.



DRush76 said: is the guy who directed (allegedly) ROTJ. All I can say is thank goodness he didn't direct any of the PT movies
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I prefer to show a bit more respect to the dead myself.

 

For the record, Tom Stoppard was supposedly uncredited script work on ROTS. Apparently he also did the same deal for "Last Crusade". I always felt some bits in "Sith" had a bit more elegance to the dialogue exchanges than the first two flicks, I'm thinking of how Palpy and Anakin bounce back in forth in the opera scene. Also "This is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause" sounds downright Shakesperian, one of Stoppard's influences.

 

Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Some parts of the PT were essentially directed by Spielberg - or at least heavily influenced by his unofficial input. Large segments of the Mustafar battle were his entire concept (the fight on the floating platforms is one prime example). He actually directed the pre-visualisation for this section, and Lucas continually referred to him (when speaking to the crew) as "our director".

And for the record, Spielberg has made some stinkers in his time too, even by his own admission.

 

You're totally right that he has a right to his opinion, and I have a total right to refute that opinion with facts to back it up. No doubt that Spielberg has had some stinkers, but to blindly say you don't want Spielberg to direct a SW film is disingenuous unless you give a reason why. He is one of the greatest directors of this era, at least give us a simple reason why he doesn't want him.

 

For the record, I don't necessarily agree with that opinion. I would have liked to see a Spielberg directed Star Wars film. I hoped he might want to do Episode VII. But if he had directed any of the films already made, I'd probably say ROTJ was the one he was best suited for (more so than any of the PT episodes).

 

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Beautiful interview; great find!

Loved the whole thing and have archived. Richard Marquand really comes across as a charming, sincere, thoughtful man.

I especially loved these remarks at the start:

"I was a great admirer of George Lucas’ work. I really loved American Graffiti and Star Wars. That was already a good step because it meant I was going to work in a friendly, collaborative atmosphere. Secondly, I am a tremendous Star Wars fan; I know the story means an enormous love to me. I love the characters. In a way, I felt like a young man who knows the music of Beethoven extremely well, and who is finally asked to play it with the London Symphonic Orchestra."

Such a shame his life was cut short at just 49.

It's just a personal opinion. Spielberg, in my estimation, is a technical genius (like Lucas), but unlike Lucas, he isn't so good with Kubrickian disenchantment, or subtle, skewered emotions. He seems to have pushed himself in recent years, but he's a different man pursuing a different vision. Tellingly, Lucas had his friend help out with the technical, spectacle-driven side of the PT (parts of ROTS), but it seems Lucas followed his own heart where the rest was concerned. "THX" and "American Graffiti" are cinematic paydirt that show or suggest the kind of thinking that went into Star Wars; while ostensibly exoteric, all of Lucas' films are actually quite esoteric: experimental symphonies; cubist paintings of light and sound.

 

I really wish that people would stop complaining and enjoy Episodes I, II and III for what they are.

 

It's also sad that he died so young.

 

I really woulda liked to have seen a Spielberg directed Star Wars flick and was kinda hoping he would have lined up for Episode 7. I honestly think Lucas actually asked Spielberg to do Ep. 2 (which woulda been my pick for the Spielberg one). I love "Sith" as directed by Lucas, but Spielberg crack at it could have been fun. However, there *is* some Spielberg in the movie. Lucas sent someone with a laptop over to his house and Spielberg worked on pre-visualization for the action sequences with Obi-Wan vs. Grevious chase & a bit of the Anakin/Obi-Wan duel. (I think the lava snapping the complex in half and them fighting ontop of it is all Spielberg)