Who SHOULD have directed the Prequels? Or at least one of them.

Anybody but George Lucas


I'm still trying to figure out why he actually cut the probe droid/Jira scene. I mean...why else would Qui-Gon and Ani be running in 140 degree heat? I think it was explained in TPM documentary that it was unnecessary because the audience was already aware of the droid. Ummm...ok, so why were they running in the Tatooine desert at high noon? Maybe Qui-Con subconsciously wanted to ditch him.

Good job, George.

 

Or maybe they just wanted to get off that rock? Would you hang around Tatooine any longer than you had to?
Plus, remember Amidala's "people were dying".

 

DarthHomer, DarthHomer, DarthHomer!!!

lol...Is there a single thing that you found to be flawed in that movie?

Running in the Tattoine desert is probably worse than going for a jog in Death Valley on the hottest day of the year.

I don't think a few minutes would've made that much of a difference for the queens people in all likelihood do you?

Besides, if time was that much of the essence then why didn't they just get a transport or one of those eopie things?

Come on, Homey.

Indulge me some more

 

I have to agree with the dragon. The theatrical edit is pretty screwy with this scene... when we last see them, they are not running or in any kind of hurry. Cut back to them, and they are running as if they are being chased. Sure enough, here comes Maul on the speeder bike. Huh? Did I miss something?

The audience is of course aware that the droid is around and Maul is lurking. But Qui-Gon doesn't, and that's what really matters. What causes his reaction? We are not shown (except in the deleted scene).

I have one more question. Why does Maul keep such a low profile? Why doesn't he just walk into Mos Espa and hunt down the crew? He just waits there at the outskirts. Are Sith that lazy?

 

Besides which, it was a 45 second scene for criminy's sake...and it was a good scene! (except for the old lady) I just thought it looked really cool to see Qui-Gon slice that probe droid!

I have one more question. Why does Maul keep such a low profile? Why doesn't he just walk into Mos Espa and hunt down the crew? He just waits there at the outskirts. Are Sith that lazy?

I thought about that too but I have to admit I think it would've been hard to work in. It's hard to imagine Darth Maul keeping a low profile anywhere. Another problem, I think, is that there's already so much screen time used up in this part of the film that it would be hard to work in Maul stocking them without it looking too contrived.

Ultimately, I would've been in favor of a more substantial dual between Obi-Wan and Maul before they left Tatooine. If anyone saw the nice layout in the February 1999 issue of Vanity Fair you'd know what I'm talking about. I got more inspiration from that stupid magazine layout than I got from the whole movie.

Sorry, Tokyo

I wanted so much to be able to back you up on that last one

I'll make it up to you...I promise

 

"Is there a single thing that you found to be flawed in that movie?"

Kryatt, if you read my posts you'd know I criticise TPM all the time. But I actually criticise it for logical reasons

 

If George Lucas or myself are unable to direct episode 3 I think Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) would be a good pick.

 

Kryatt, if you read my posts you'd know I criticise TPM all the time. But I actually criticise it for logical reasons

Homey, I've come to the firm conclusion that you are of a different universe...at least of a galaxy far far away...but it's not "the" galaxy that is far far away if you catch my meaning

j/k of course

 

Sorry, Tokyo

I wanted so much to be able to back you up on that last one

I'll make it up to you...I promise

read: I'll help you bash TPM, which we're supposed to talk about in the TPM forum, in another thread.

Kryatt -

I understand what you're saying about this scene, but I never had a problem with it. I got it the first time. It's an action adventure movie, they were about to go to war, and somebody already tried to kill them recently, they don't need a 45 second scene to set up why they're running, I'd be running too.

PT Anderson? exactly how does "raining frogs" help Star Wars? Boogie Nights was great because it was decadent. Magnolia was just too long and the ending...can you say "I ran out of good ideas on how to reslove the conflicts of the film so I'll make up something ridiculous to confuse the audience into thinking it had a higher meaning."

I can picture it now, "I couldn't find a reason to put Anakin in the Vader suit, So I had ILM make a CGI Jabba the Hutt fart on him and cause him to almost die, and then Tom Cruise came along and made hot monkey love to him until he fell to the darkside of The Forts" weak, just weak.

 

Lucas

 

Ultimately, I would've been in favor of a more substantial dual between Obi-Wan and Maul before they left Tatooine. If anyone saw the nice layout in the February 1999 issue of Vanity Fair you'd know what I'm talking about. I got more inspiration from that stupid magazine layout than I got from the whole movie.

That was a pretty sweet layout! That issue was from back before the dark times. Before the RELEASE.

Sorry, Tokyo

I wanted so much to be able to back you up on that last one

Naw, it's cool like that. I wasn't really complaining about Maul just tanning by his ship, but I've always wondered why he didn't just march right in and start busting around the city. Who would stop Maul? He was a freaking lord of the Sith!

Maul maybe should've concentrated on finding the Queen's parked spaceship, and hit that first (perhaps destroying it). Without a ride home, the gang would've really been screwed. That saber scene really should have been more dramatic than the pod race. I would argue that it's ultimately more important to the strength of the film. Who is Darth Maul? What is a Sith? What is dangerous about them? An early saber battle (faster, more intense) would have really answered these questions earlier... before the climax. The scene WAS filmed, right?

 

Anyone who knows how to direct actors, suppose that rules out lucas. Finchner would have been a great choice for the last one, Spielburg for the second, and oh what the hell how about ol George for the first just like he did last time.

 

I was always curious as to what an SW film would look like with David Lynch at the helm. I bet it would be fantastic. And before anyone replies with a Twin Peak-ish "treatment" of Episode III, consider that Lynch was considered to direct Return of the Jedi, and the man has recently directed a "G" movie. Who in the world makes "G" movies anymore!? David Lynch, that's who!

 

I agree in a different world I would have loved to see david lynch tackle rotj, Dune was a letdown for me, but we can only imagine what rotj would have been like

 

The only thing I regret it that GL didn't direct TESB and ROTJ.

 

Only 2 - The frogs falling from the sky were great. P. T. Anderson could have just ended the film but instead he made one of the most fantastic finishes ever. A good ending is something Ep. 3 could use, and I'm not taking about frogs or Hutt farts, but about a climax that interweaves and explains the characters stories well.

 

Jorg Sacul.

 

tokyoXtreme: That was a pretty sweet layout! That issue was from back before the dark times. Before the RELEASE.

Dark times indeed. TO take a tagline from
Platoon" (I think it's from there) :

"The first casualty of war is innocence." -- Describes me walking into the theater to watch TPM for the first time. Okay, joking guys/gushers. It wasn't THAT bad.

And I'm personally glad that George didn't direct ESB and ROTJ. Thank goodness. If you're wondering why you only have to read my past posts about my thoughts on George's directing. And please don't bring up American Graffitti and ANH again, I know they were great. He was just lucky he was working with a troupe of hungry, eager-to-please actors who did a wonderful job.

Last of all, I think a good director for EP3 shouldn't be a high-profile director like Ridley Scott or P.T. Anderson because their distinctive styles would clash with Star Wars. The best bet is to find a director who works well with actors or maybe even an actor who has directed before. Star Wars doesn't need another person with a bold visual style (since it already has that down) but SW needs a director who pays attention to acting, which has been one of the PT's glaring weaknesses.

 

Or perhaps the acting isn't bad, it just mimicks the old serial films that GL grew up with. Heaven forbid people in a galaxy far far away should act and speak a little differently than we do today. Also Heaven forbid GL not conform to the Hollywood style in every aspect of his filmaking.

JW00-- do you insult foreigners that don't speak "perfect" English like you do the acting and dialogue in SW?

EDIT: spelling

 

Old serial films. Old serial films. Old serial films.....there's that cushion statement again. Have YOU watched an old serial film before? I sure would love an example or two...

Did George tell Natalie to act like "those people in old serials" when he was coaching her on her performance? Natalie and Hayden most likely have never seen a serial in their life, so how can they "act" like it? (Worse still, Natalie still hasn't seen the OT yet probably. But that's for another thread...)

Someone brought up a good point before -- George Lucas goes through painstaking efforts to inject loftier mythological/literary elements into Star Wars, like courage, loyalty, faith, temptation, forbidden love, etc, etc....it's absurd to think George intentionally tried to hamper all these great things down with cheap acting more consistent with "Moon Men From Outer Space." Shouldn't Star Wars aim higher than that?

And who here gets a thrill out of acting "from old serials" when most of this generation has never even laid eyes or even know of their existence.

I'm not saying all the acting is bad in AOTC. Hayden had one or two shining moments, and Ewan has improved, and Chris Lee is great. Remember that scene when Ewan and Anakin argue over whether to save Padme. I just wanted more of that type of acting. Obviously I don't want them shouting in the whole film, but I wanted more feeling and enthusiasm. Christopher Lee is in one SW film and he can do it. Natalie is in two SW films and she still can't hit the right note, except the bland one.

JW00-- do you insult foreigners that don't speak "perfect" English like you do the acting and dialogue in SW?

No, I don't insult foreigners at all. And I resent you even suggesting that. How does criticizing acting in Star Wars equate to prejudicing foreigners?

 

JW00,

You seem to think that there is a right and wrong way to make movies, and that is where we disagree. Just because something is different, imho, doesn't mean it is bad. AOTC is a different kind of movie, and because it is I don't automatically assume it's bad.

GL has been critisized for bad dialogue and bad acting in all his SW films. I don't think that he is simply making the same mistakes over and over and over again. I don't think the dialogue and acting are mistakes, but rather, they are intentionally meant to be different from movies today. I wouldn't bash GL because he uses non-real spacecraft in SW, and I won't bash him for using dialogue from a galaxy far, far away. Think about all the different ways one can speak the English language-- and we're all from the same planet. Are we to believe that in a galaxy far, far away and a long time ago that everyone spoke just as we do today? GL wants SW to be timeless, so why would he write dialogue that fits into the 90's or 00's mold?

 

I think if Lucas released a Star Wars film with great acting and Oscar-calibre dialogue people would be really confused and say things like "What happened to that Star Wars feeling? Bring it back! Damn you, Lucas! Damn you to hell!"

 

Darth Homer,

You're forgetting about the people who would say that GL raped their childhood.

 

Think about all the different ways one can speak the English language-- and we're all from the same planet. Are we to believe that in a galaxy far, far away and a long time ago that everyone spoke just as we do today? GL wants SW to be timeless, so why would he write dialogue that fits into the 90's or 00's mold?

Never in my original post, or in any other post before that, did I complain that the characters in AOTC did not speak like us. In fact, I'm probably more open to other types of dialects, styles, patterns of speech or whatever you want to call it than most people here. I would never make some ignorant, crass complaint that "different = bad".

And what's wrong with Oscar-winning acting? People quickly assume Oscar-winning acting means over-the-top, sappy melodrama where they always throw their arms in the air and weep buckets, and give a stirring monologue or two.

There has been numerous Oscar-winning performances that have been honored because they showed believability, subtlety, and most importantly, they BECAME the character they were playing. Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar for a Best Supporting role in The Fugitive. He didn't weep buckets or give heavy-handed speeches in that role, he simply nailed down that character -- through mannerisms, voice inflections, and pure energy. We could see the effort and creativity he put into that role.

There's an axiom that says an actor should "convince the audience that the movie cannot survive without YOU." I don't think Natalie does this at all. She coasts through her role, and she's just as interchangable as the next actress. She's flat, empty, and she should've, and could've, been MUCH better.

Acting is being![/whiny voice] The best acting is when the actor dissapears into the role. It shouldn't draw attention or get snickers. Natalie, for the most part, sounds like she's reading script rehearsals rather than being a Senator in a Galaxy far, far away.

I'm going to let this acting issue rest. We'll agree to disagree. My complaints aren't even that major, so it's not worth going any further. I just want to make one thing clear -- I don't care if the SW characters spoke with all the accents in the world, but as long as they do it consistently well and convincingly.

Acting quality is very difficult to put into words. If what you saw was a great performance, that's fine. But what I saw is difficult to descirbe -- it's one of those things you can sense in your gut, and it rubs you in the wrong way, and even if you try to ignore it, you can't.

Oh well.......

 

All I know is that when I watch the OT I see Luke, Han and Leia and when I watch the PT I see Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme. Actors must be doing something right