Lucasfilm and the Fan Film/Edit Crusade

Lucasfilm have always been open minded in respect to Fan Films and have never had a problem with Fan Edits either as long as they are never made for financial gain. There have only been a few that have crossed that line. LFL have been supportive of these offering competitions, sound effects and more online to get the creative juices flowing of their fan base. The fan edits on the other hand are very much down to speculation. Some have said that Lucas doesn't like fan edits - but no stops have been made to halt their production.

As much as we love the movies - there will always be fan films. As much as we love news and critique on the franchise - there will always be speculation. As long as there are the Special Editions - there will always be be fan edits and restorations.

It seems there is much debate on the whole controversy of fan edits. Do fan editors have a right changing movies? An uncountable number of fans didn't like SW offerings from the Special Editions to the PT. Some debate that since there has been constant refusal to release the original unaltered trilogy, fans have painstakingly restored the OTT in their own ways and released them in the digital world. Some debate that Special Edition changes were unnecessary and they bring there own versions forward as an option in the digital world as an alternative. For the hundreds of takes on a fan version of what they'd like to see - they offer these love letters in various forms paying tribute to something they love and unleash the into the digital world for free. Most tell you straight that you have to own the retail versions of films on DVD or Blu-Ray to get these versions.

Over the past 14 years - the ball started rolling. For every Phantom Edit - their were 100 imitations. For every restoration of the OT - there were fans scrambling to do better and most working on them and it becoming too much to finish their product.

The fan community in edits/fan films are like DJ's - they take a track and can either simply change the pitch, cue mark or remix them and turn them into a mash-up. Artists don't mind just as Lucasfilm is open to them.

There have been the two largest contenders out of them in the last 10 years: Adywan and Harmy...


Harmy's Despecialized Editions: He restored the SW Theatrical trilogy to the open world as an alternative. Many miss the SW they grew up with and don't want to keep wearing down their VHS cassettes or thinning LD restorations. Either way, Harmy has amassed both critical praise and debate.

Adywan's Revisited Saga: Many have seen his cut of A New Hope: Revisited and his take on the saga has amassed 33,000 fans already on Facebook which may seem like madness for a fan edit. Some love it. Some don't. But as of 19th February, I luckily managed to see a workprint of Adywan's Revisited cut The Empire Strikes Back and it is - without question - something very special even at 80% complete.

Now both of these fan editors have a fan base for something they love like most of us and they have dedicated time and effort to what they have produced. They simply offer a free alternative.

Some would say that it's not their place to do such edits - yet LFL fully are aware of them and hasn't slammed an cease and desist order on their doorsteps. Some would disagree and go to another S.E fan edit other than the official releases they already own because it's their preference.

What are your thoughts?

 

My thought is that Disney's ownership of LFL now might be ominous to these editors. I hope fan films can continue to circulate, but I fear the day will come when someone trying to watch Adywan's cut on youtube or other source will see 'removed by third party copyright'.

 

I have no problem with it as long as they are treated for what they are and be only for personal use.

 

Doesn't it fall under the fair use act of '76, provided it isn't being distributed for profit? In which case it's perfectly legal if the company who owns the product, in this case now... Disney... is ok with it, I believe.
I'm personally not interested in any fan edits, but more power to ya if you enjoy them. Though I do wish there was a middle ground between Adywan and the official versions... improved special effects and nothing else

 

Actually it doesn't. For example the Tolkien forum I'm on (lotrplaza) does not allow links posted to fancuts/fanedits (I made one myself, but was not allowed to announce it) because its actually copyright infringement. Lucas has actually be spectacularly cool with allowing fans to mess with his films, his universe, and even use his music in their fanfilms.

I agree. The only actual non-effects change I liked was his recut of the Vader vs Ben duel to make it look faster & better choreographed, plus adding the 'Battle of the Heroes' theme.

 

I've made my own edits of the three PT films.

I just cut out all the stuff i didn't like and rearranged a few things.

 

People have the right to do whatever they want with their own copies of media; with their own property. Concerning whether or not I personally have ever held any interest in such edits, why would I? I don’t engage cinema for cultural acceptance or to adhere to popular consensus as represented by fan edits. A film does not come from "the people". A work of art does not come from "the people". As a person who seeks art, what am I doing if I’m not engaging that which represents the artist? Nor does this principle change when I don't in fact care for whatever the film in question. For good or for bad, I'll take it as intended by the director, or creative authority, who made it.

 

Strikes me as an even less creative endeavor than fan fiction. Cool if people enjoy it, but I've never had the slightest interest in watching a fan edit.

 

Obviously your mileage may vary between individual cuts, but I've become quite fond of the idea.

I enjoyed Adywan's ANH more than any of the post 77 official releases, and I love having Harmy's Despecialised ANH to look back on as a curiosity.

Adywan's manages to hit a lot of the right notes for me. Less CGI dinosaur stupidity in the background of Mos Eisley, the original Han/Greedo sequence, actual fixed lightsaber effects, and his version of the Battle of Yavin (especially the furball with the TIE fighters) is so good that it's basically ruined the official version of that sequence for me. That said it isn't perfect - I really disliked the use of Battle of the Heroes during the duel on the Death Star, and I prefer the cut directly from Tarkin to the Death Star exploding over the shot of the Death Star winding up to fire and then the explosion.

I've also got L6wrtr's edit of Revenge of the Sith - I thought this was also better paced and cut together a lot more coherently than the official ROTS release.