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

PT The Fantastic Ian McDiarmid

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by Darthkarma, May 18, 2002.

  1. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    This needs to happen! In fact, it's pretty much the only thing that would make me watch it.

    Sorry, but I have no love for Disney or Abrams, and I think the new movie is going to be a trainwreck. YMMV, of course.
     
    mes520 likes this.
  2. Hans-Olo

    Hans-Olo Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2003
    It is with great reluctance für Disney agrees to these thaughts.

    F.I.G.S
     
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  3. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Disney doesn't care about anyone's thoughts about this. They care about one thing: $$$$$. :rolleyes:

    *pushes Hans-Olo off of cliff*
     
  4. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    I just showed Kittendaddy the Porter scene from That Scottish Play. I just pulled it up on YouTube and said, "This is from 1978. Watch this and tell me who it is.".

    His first guess? Phil Collins. I was like... what? Phil Collins? Seriously?? :rolleyes:

    Then he said he had no idea who it was, so I said, "No, ignore what he looks like and ignore the accent, and just listen to the voice.".

    He got it right away, LOL! [face_laugh]

    PS. Phil Collins looked nothing like that in 1978... or ever, really! :p
     
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  5. Hans-Olo

    Hans-Olo Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Feb 12, 2003
    No one can push me oft the cliff, mwuahahaha...

    *force-farts kittenmommy through für halls oft für FIGS Tempel*
     
  6. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001

    You forget who you're dealing with here. Your puny farts are no match for the TRUE POWER of the Dark Side!

    *Force hurls Hans-Olo off a cliff with a negligent wave of my hand*
     
  7. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    Only thing I gotta say at this point is that my Gen Y generation needs an actor as great as Ian McDiarmid. We have a few great actresses, but we need a great actor as good as him.
     
  8. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
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  9. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    You mean when he was sick and delivering those lines at the opera? I'm sorry I'm confused.
     
  10. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001

    Yeah, but I think Darth Sidious/The Emperor does that a lot, though.
     
  11. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    Oh, yeah! That voice. I see you. Lol.
     
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  12. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001

    That's it! :D
     
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  13. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    The way McDiarmid did it during ROTJ and again during the prequels (ROTS especially) made him sound reptilian. McDiarmid even said that he looked reptilian or like a toad, and that helped inspire the voice when he filmed ROTJ. Lucas didn't tell him anything about Palpatine except that he was "a Sith," which didn't mean much to the actor. He had to form his own opinions, and he concluded that Palpatine had no redeeming qualities other than his sense of humor. He later said Palpatine had no redeeming qualities except liking the opera in the prequels. Lol. Oh, gosh. If he got to portray him in any EU material, he would have said, "Yes. This is the Hitler of Star Wars. I knew him was irredeemably evil with a relentless black heart, but to kill his own family and to resent Plagueis for getting the better him instead of truly missing his flawed family was one of the many things that inspired this lifelong rampage and tyranny. The guy is a beast." I mentioned in another thread that I liked how subtle and manipulative Ian Abercrombie was in his portrayal and how terrifying and, well, insidious Tim Curry was in his. Sam Witwer seems to be channeling how McDiarmid originally handled Palpatine's voice in ROTJ. Witwer does so in The Force Unleashed and Rebels. The only problem is that Palpatine sounds quite Russian. While it is true that Palpatine does sound unique and scary in ROTJ and ROTS, I can't say I ever thought of him as sounding Russian. He's not General Grievous. Lol. (Makes me prefer his performance as the emotional, damaged, ambitious, and selfish Darth Maul over his take on Palpatine. I like how he's authoritarian, but the accent...)
     
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  14. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001

    Whoa, wait. What?? When did all this happen?? :eek:

    I haven't read any of the EU books... looks like I missed a real doozy!
     
  15. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    Oh, sorry. I suppose I assume that most people have read or heard about the EU stories. Good thing I wrote it that way to pique your interest rather than giving more than that. A good place to start, Kittenmommy, would be James Luceno's Darth Plagueis. It's a great philosophy book. It examines the Sith way of thinking, from the ancient Sith, to the Sith of Darth Bane's line, to Plagueis and Sidious/Palpatine. Plagueis is a really fascinating character, a banker with twisted morals and a fear of death. Not sure which is the most interesting character in the book: Hego Damask/Darth Plagueis or Sidious/Palpatine. I favor the Grey Jedi/New Jedi worldview myself, and so I don't espouse any Sith views. But we have to admit that it is interesting. (Philosophy and comparative religious studies were my minors in college.)

    Well, now that I've delved into too much of this EU stuff on a PT thread, let me get back to the topic. I recall a few months ago that people were complaining about how Ian McDiarmid was over-the-top in his performance of Palpatine, particularly during his fight with Windu and the aftermath. I dispute this notion. He is a stage actor, and he was probably acting as he would onstage. The facial expressions and voice were probably melodramatic because he was not used to having a camera in front of him. It's meant for an audience in theatre instead of a movie-going audience. And Palpatine is a manipulative liar who loves to cultivate life-forms for the purposes of making them his slaves, ruling them, torturing them, or killing them...or more than one of those. He was manipulating both Windu and Anakin in that scene, and, well, he is manipulating almost everyone in TCW and in the EU: allies, servants, and enemies. It's pathological, I imagine. I doubt Palpatine only does it out of what he would consider necessity. McDiarmid seems like a very kind, generous man, as well as very intelligent, which is good because his character is one of the most disturbing and darkest characters I've ever seen in literature or on screen. Nice contrast.

     
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  16. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Well, I know what I'll be ordering from Amazon next! :cool:

    I know I'm coming dangerously close to heresy here, but I could've done without ever seeing Sidious with a lightsaber. Yoda too, really.

    And yeah, every fight involving Sidious was ridiculously over-the-top. It was just too much.

    Oh, I don't blame Ian for the ridiculousness. I blame the person with the initials "GL", because no one told him, "No, dude. No. That's just absolutely ridiculous!". [face_rofl]

    Oh, absolutely. Palpatine is a walking, talking encyclopedia of psychiatric disorders. Add that to the fact that he's a natural master manipulator, and... yeah.

    I doubt it too. He'd do it for fun. He'd do it just because he can.

    I know. He's amazing! :D


    And from what i've heard from people who've actually met/encountered him IRL, he really is a nice person. Which is awesome to hear, because a lot of actors/celebrities really aren't.

    [/quote]

    Why, thank you! [face_love]

    Edit: Just went to Amazon. "Buy now with 1-click?" Yes, please! :D
     
  17. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    OK, you guys, I'm a complete idiot.

    I ordered Darth Plagueis from Amazon, and I've been waiting for it to show up in my mailbox. It hasn't.

    So, I went to my order history. It's not there!

    I then looked up my credit card statement online. There was a charge from Amazon for the Kindle edition ofDarth Plagueis. I don't want the Kindle edition, but it appears I've got it now, LOL.

    So, the book I just couldn't wait to get? Well, it seems I could have started reading it last Wednesday.

    I am an idiot! [face_rofl]

    Edit: Speaking of idiots... is that supposed to be a young Palpatine kneeling on the book's cover? Because it sure doesn't look anything like Ian McDiarmid did when he was young. And it's not like there aren't pictures/videos of him from those years. I just want to find that artist and say to him/her, "You had ONE JOB...". :rolleyes:
     
  18. DamonD

    DamonD Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 2002
    It is indeed meant to be a young Palpatine. Instead it appears to be a young James Cameron, possibly wondering how on earth he ended up in this situation.

    Ah well, the blessed features of The God are divine indeed and difficult to reproduce. The God alone knows how long it took us to get the statues right in the FIGS Temple, although all the double-dealings, explosions and marching battle droids around them did make it tough for the sculptors to concentrate I suppose.
     
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  19. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001
    Now that's quite an amazing mental picture! :p

    Yeah, we probably should've eliminated at least some of those distractions... but making it easy for them isn't as much fun, you know? :cool:
     
  20. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2013
     
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  21. LottDodd

    LottDodd Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2002
    **Kneels before the great Statue of IAN for the first time in ages.


    My fellow FIGS... I am about to embark on a great adventure.
    As some of you may know, I am an actor. I walk in IAN's PATH. HE inspires me, and I try to add a touch of IAN in every role I play.
    I have been cast in a dream role, second only to being in the New Star Wars... I can say nothing about it other than it is a legendary project, directed by the man who was offered to direct RotJ (and therefore MCDIARMID!) before Marquand.

    I could use all my fellow FIGS positive energy right now.
    This wacky community of IAN loving Star Wars fans has been very special to me over the years, and I would like to share this small moment of success with you.

    FIGS: can make you more powerful than you can possibly imagine.
     
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  22. kittenmommy

    kittenmommy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2001

    *bows before you*
     
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  23. redlightning

    redlightning Jedi Knight star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 1, 2014
    When Palpatine declared himself Emperor, should he really have used his scary and dark voice that Sidious does? Presenting himself with his normal chancellor persona would've seemed more convincing into granting him that power. The poor helpless, now scarred old man seemed better this time.
     
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  24. Seagoat

    Seagoat Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 25, 2013
    I don't think it was really scary and dark so much as he sounded wounded, perhaps demoralized (which was a ruse, of course) and then speaking with a powerful conviction
     
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  25. DamonD

    DamonD Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 2002
    Sending you my (late) well wishes with that, LottDodd. We shall watch your career with great interest!
     
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