Basher Sanctuary Episode 4: A New Forum

I think it's hilarious and extreme good news that the SW DVDs did so poorly. What happened to them?

Bad word-of-mouth.

People who got suckered on the release date took them home and saw that abominable Hayden with his goofy grin lamely pasted onto the hind end of ROTJ. So they tell all their friends about this (and all the other inanities)...

And nobody buys them.

Good. Very, very good.

LSHB, you just gave me some Christmas ideas. I really want those pop cans. Seriously, who buys this stuff? Oh, the people who bought the DVDs.

I've watched ROTK:EE twice now, and both times I liked it better than the TE. And my second viewing was even better.

We need Peter Jackson to make the Hobbit--a 180-minute theatrical release and a 210-minute DVD release. It would be easy to cast. You need get only Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), and Andy Serkis (Gollum). Everyone else could be new. (We'd definitely need a younger actor to play Bilbo.)

Ah, well. At least the cartoon version of the Hobbit is watchable, unlike the cartoon versions of LOTR.

 

Still, who in the blazes is buying Brother Bear? And Cheaper by the Dozen?

They're movies you can throw on for the kids to keep 'em quiet for a couple of hours. When you need movies for that purpose, you're probably not gonna bother upgrading OT VHS tapes to DVDs just for picture quality and widescreen-ness.



With that said -- I wish it was easier to get YTD ranks on that site (say, in one convenient list at the end of the year... or am I just missing the button for that?) -- I certainly agree that the lists do reveal something about the purchase habits of consumers...

Seems the Indiana Jones collection (4 discs) finished 2003 in 25th place, with T2T:EE (again, 4 discs) finishing said year in 16th (whereas the TE came in 3rd place). These are movies that have had considerable love from the public, but when said public has had the opportunity to buy it beforehand, buying a 4-disc package does not become their priority.

I myself donate a healthy amount to the DVD industry, so purchasing the odd 4-disc set doesn't faze me, but apparently I'm not in the majority. Go figure But boy this doesn't bode well for the 10-disc Matrix



In any case, thanks for the link Neimoidian -- I just may keep an eye on it for all sorts of reasons.


In other news, I can't figure out if this hat is a genuine attempt by the merchandiser to be hip and cool and funky-fresh, or if it's an ironic bit of humor in hat form. If the latter, this is brilliant.



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

I wouldn't say nobody buys the OT DVDs, but I expected them to do a lot better.

a2dmusic: I suspect the real answer is that the PT and the SEs have killed people's interest in SW as a whole.

Yep, that's my guess, too. People got burned by the prequels pretty badly.

 

The DVDs...now that was the missed opportunity of 2004. Of course, Lucas would never see the relatively "low" sales as a failure - the sheer number of casual fans who bought them, not knowing what they were getting into, must have convinced him of their success. However, the questionable marketing surrounding the box set, with LFL's flat-out refusal to confirm whether any further changes had been made, will haunt Lucas for some time to come.

As will comments like "I'm sorry you fell in love with a half-completed film" and "If anyone wants the other film, it's on VHS". 2004 has been a sad year for those of us who believed that Lucas still had some respect for his fans.

 

Ugh, the new spoilers are really, really awful. Just terrible, and ruin OT motivations completely.

Fortunately, I really don't care much anymore. This mess isn't worth the time and energy to contemplate.

 

Lucas has spit in the face of the fans of his movies for quite a while now and I'm surprised that the OT on DVD has done as well as it has. I know I haven't been tempted in the least to buy the movies that Lucas has used to sucker brain washed fans out of their money. Making us pay for a movie advertising web site is rediculous enough. Putting out inferior DVDs and saying, "to bad for you people who made me rich, now I own you and you take the crumbs that I feed you and deal with it, and make me even richer" is even worse. What's pitiful is that people are actually putting more money in Luca$' pocket and giving him all the power.

Just think, if nobody bought Luca$' inferior DVDs, he would be forced to give us the originals.

 

Just think, if nobody bought Luca$' inferior DVDs, he would be forced to give us the originals.

Do you think? I rather suspect that he would dig his heels in even further and deny that the Original Editions ever existed.

 

It's obvious to even the most dimwitted individual who holds an advanced degree in Jim Wardian Sociological Demographic Whoring that the inability of the Star Wars DVD 2004 v.1.1.2 Set to surpass Brother Bear is the result of a diabolical conspiracy between:

1) The media;

2) Supposed "fans" who after following Star Wars reverently for 20 years suddenly turned on it after a few dozen changes they didn't like to everything and then being told it was their fault;

3) The RAND Corporation;

4) The estate of the late John Denver; and

5) The Hollywood Establishment.


The goal of this collusion is clear: to bring down the influence and company of the independent Artist Formerly Known as Lucas, who wishes nothing more than to continue his enormously popular independent projects. Jealousy is an ugly thing, and all the nation is jealous of the amazing success The Artist has reaped from his seminal works which were wholly his ideas and sprang into being, Athena-like, without reference to anything that had ever gone before.

Here is how you can help:

1) Obey.

2) Obey.

3) Keep buying.

4) Goto 1.

 

I've written an 'update' for my Star Wars Humour Rewrites, in good old George R. (Revision) Lucas style.
It's the very important Dagobah scenes in Return of the Jedi.
This time it includes some minor Episode 3 spoilers/rumours/speculation/bashes. Mostly speculation and bashes, because I don't really follow spoilers.

You can read it HERE. My other humour rewrites can also be read there.
It's not yet on my own site, which is also in serious need of an update.
I guess I could also post it in the 'rewrite the OT' thread in the classic trilogy forum, if I can find that thread.

Let me know what you guys and girls think.

 

Cool, an update of Sillyname's rewrites! I am going to read them right away!

 

I just read the latest spoilers.



Good grief this stuff is bad.

All we have left to hope for is a good-looking space battle and a cool Anakin-Kenobi duel.

As for ROTS as a whole, stick a fork in it.

 

Yes, Binary its time to give up that fleeting hope we had that Ep. 3 might be good as an independent film.

Lucasfilm just doesn't have the heart.

Again, I'll pull out the LOTR reference. If you watch the ROTK EE commentaries, you'll see that everyone is so emmersed in telling the story that they are willing to sacrifice mind, body and spirit.

The heart of the movie is the passion of Jackson, Boyens (and the other one), for the story. The visuals are just a means to an end. Over at Lucasfilm, all they can do is laud there CGI department for such story KILLING wonders as Jar Jar Binks, Yo-da-man, and the emotionally stagnant and unreal sets of Kamino and Naboo.

Congratulations guys! You've just killed interest in the world's most popular franchise.

And now they haven't invested enough in the right parts of their story to truly make a fun 3rd movie.
Artistic malaise has set in...and how could it not? How would any of us feel as actors if we spent two movies talking about crap that is just going to be dropped in the third film?

GL

 

Where do you guys find these terrible spoilers of which you speak?

If they are as bad as you say, is there anyone in the history of sci-fi or fantasy (maybe even in movies) that pays as little attention to continuity as Lucas? (Maybe Star Trek)

 

Big one on the first page of 3SA that keeps coming to the top.

Bah.

 

They all keep coming to the top. Could you kindly pm me a link to the specific thread?

Thanks!

 

They all keep coming to the top. Could you kindly pm me a link to the specific thread?

Look for the one that actually manages to justify, in its way, putting Hayden in ROTJ... at the complete and utter expense of Darth Vader as... well, anything.

I also suspect that this kind of thing is the last nail in the coffin of the hope that Lucas would even have the O-OT released again. It's going to run too afoul of his new "vision."

&*@^&*^*$&*@&*$)@@+=^@!!!!!!

 

Ahh...

A brief update from the life of Quix:

Finals are done. Just turned in my grades, and failed about twelve people for not showing up for class and/or plagiarizing their final papers. My work is done for a few weeks.

Still haven't bought the DVD box set, and, oddly enough, I manage to sleep well at night. I'm saving money for the VHS-DVD converter to make my own box set of the movies I actually enjoyed, not this revisionist crap that's been making its way out since 1997. The joy of purity...

Still haven't seen the ROTK:EE, but everyone I know who has it have given it rave reviews. I might have to treat myself.

Quit my job at the hospital - it was getting too unsafe. 30+ antisocial and violent patients with 4 staff, 3 of whom are either under five feet tall or over the age of 60 and don't leave the nurses' station. Enough of that nonsense, I'll be an academic for a while instead. Plus it feels good to have my weekends free again. I've even managed a social life...

Happy Chrismahanukwanzaka/Festivus to everyone, and to all a good night!

 

Quix,

You're a democrat! Whooee!

Too bad you had to quit your job, but congrats on the social life!

Congrats on finishing your finals and ditto on the holidays!

Make the time to see ROTK-EE.

 

and failed about twelve people for not showing up for class and/or plagiarizing their final papers.

Oh sweet God, this sort of crap drives me nuts.

(When the STUDENTS try to pull this crap, mind you -- this is certainly not a criticism of Quix, the reverse in fact!)



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

From the latest Homing Beacon. Please note that although both Yoda and Darth Sidious are Level 9, Yoda receives a +5 to his armor class due to his high Dexterity and the fact that he only exists in CGI form. Sidious is also impressive given that he somehow takes over the Senate despite his -3 Charisma.
Oh, and Anakin's Padawan Vest is +1 Save v. Hitting Empty Boxes When Falling Off Slow-Moving Speeder.


How does one quantify fighting prowess, and does such a quantity have any practical value? When Stunt Coordinator and Sword Master Nick Gillard sets down to script a lightsaber duel, he needs to have some guage as to how competent the combatants are. On equal-footing, such ranking could easily determine the victor. Star Wars duels, however, rarely occur on equal footing or level ground.

"The fighting has evolved in these last three movies considerably," says Gillard. "George Lucas works on a system of levels. So, on The Phantom Menace Obi-Wan would have been like a level six or seven. Now that we're on Episode III he's actually a level eight. When you move up the levels, it affects the style of fighting."

The level is not necessarily an indication of the performer's talent, but it takes a truly gifted and physically skilled actor to play a powerful Jedi combatant. "Hayden Christensen is one of the best there is," says Gillard. "I've seen hundreds of sword fighters, people who do it for a living, and he leaves them all in his wake. His style has changed a bit since Episode II, when he was only a level seven. On this he's a level nine."

Also a factor in Gillard's development is backstory of the Jedi warriors. The training lineage does show up in the crafting of duels and action. "There's a line of training through Darth Tyranus and Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Anakin. You can follow that line, and there's an aggressive fault in that line. Mace isn't of that line, and that allows you to give him unique talents."

For the curious, Gillard does not reveal any Jedi who has achieved level ten. The highest is nine, occupied by a small number of capable sword masters, including Yoda and Darth Sidious. At so high a ranking, it comes down to individual fighting styles as well as the circumstances of the surroundings that make a difference.

 

Thanks, Adam. I'm glad it's not my PT bashing crap that drives you nuts.

Thanks, Sami. The Force is telling me that, despite always being in motion, beer is in my future...

 

Heh, LSHB, while I think there is merit in Gilliard and Lucas' way of keeping all this straight to plan the fights, it disappoints me that he couldn't work in a Spinal Tap reference someplace.

"This Sith goes to eleven..."



Rick McCallum loves you!

 

Quix,

Beer, huh? I prefer tequila!

I still work at a hospital, but in the Plant Ops dept. We keep the hospital up and running.

EDIT:

LSBH,

Great post!

 

Anybody happen to catch the trailer's for Tim Burton's Willy Wonka and Bruce Willis' Sin City? Very good stuff. Lots of promising film projects coming our way to help ease the pain of watching Star Wars descend into mediocrity.

And don't forget Batman Begins... featuring Liam Neeson as Qui-Go - oops, I mean Henri Ducard, Bruce Wayne's mentor.

 

MF.com has the novel/movie, so they have been leaking spoilers every day for the past few days.

Are links allowed? EDIT it out if it isn't

MF.com

Some of the spoilers are nauseating.

Also, I just saw the latest Making of Documentary on miniatures (don't ask how ), and wasn't too impressed with the GIANT TREE and the GIANT SINK HOLE but the lava planet looked very cool. Mustafar looks like Mordor with a lot more lava flow. We'll see how it stacks up in 5 months. Kudos to ILM.