PT New Article| Ewan: "Quite difficult" when Prequels weren't "well received..."

So any actor that has been in a very successful film should not be allowed to speak their minds about their experiences on the film? Or their opinion of it?

I know that Viggo Mortensen had some less than flattering things to say about the second and third LotR films. That they were a "mess". And that PJ got too focused on effects.
Should he not be allowed to say that?

I know Mickey Rourke did not mince words about his experience with Iron Man 2 and his opinion of the execs of Marvel.

An actor badmouthing a film when it is being released, yeah that tends to be frowned upon a bit. Mostly because it could cost the studio money.
But years later? Bit different.

Bye.
Blackboard Monitor

 

No. And don't put words in my mouth.

 

Actors like McGregor and Mortensen can say whatever they want, like the rest of us. That doesn't mean anyone should be expected to automatically agree with them. Yet, the media behaves as if their opinions should be regarded the last word on any production they had worked on.

 

Who has said that?
What has been said here range from people suggesting that Ewan is lying or being paid by Disney to slam Lucas. Or that since he was paid, he should shut up.

Ewan can say what he likes and people can then decide if they agree with it or not.
And they can disagree with his opinion without calling him a liar or attacking him personally.

Ewan has a better insight in how the filming went than most of us here. But that does not make his words the be all and end all. Other people that worked on the film have spoken favorably of them and their opinion is just as valid.

Bye.
Old Stoneface

 

What is that number supposed to represent?

By EM's statement "universally not very much liked." which means that he is saying they are very much not liked by everyone. It's unusual that the general audience that goes to movies would make each of the prequels among the most successful movies ever in terms of box office if they "universally" didn't like them. Then all over again on home media (VHS, DVD, BD, digital), and TV sales.

This makes no sense because if they were not much liked by everyone then all the objective measures that would indicate this simply don't align. That's like saying that franchises contemporary to the prequels like LOTR, Spider-Man and Harry Potter (which went longer than any of them due to making 8 movies) are also universally not very much liked.

Domestic Box Office 1999 1st TPM [2nd The Sixth Sense]
Domestic Box Office 2002 2nd AOTC [1st Spider-Man 1]
Domestic Box Office 2005 1st ROTS [2nd Harry Potter 4]

What you can say is that they weren't as liked as the originals. That is not in dispute. You can also say they may or may not be as well liked overall as the Disney movies.

If you go by CinemaScore then you get a general overview of audience reaction. From all of those movies the mix is A-ish for all save for the B+ of TROS.

CinemaScore is the industry leader in measuring movie appeal among theatre audiences. Since 1978, CinemaScore has been polling moviegoers at major movie releases on opening night to collect demographic information and calculate a distinctive CinemaScore grade.

• The Phantom Menace: A-

• Attack of the Clones: A-

• Revenge of the Sith: A-

• The Force Awakens: A

• Rogue One: A

• The Last Jedi: A

• Solo: A-

• The Rise of Skywalker: B+

• LOTR: FOTR A-

• LOTR: TTT A

• LOTR:ROTK A+

• Spider-Man 1 A-

• Spider-Man 2 A-

• Spider-Man 3 B+

• Harry Potter 1 A

• Harry Potter 2 A+

• Harry Potter 3 A

• Harry Potter 4 A

• Harry Potter 5 A-

• Harry Potter 6 A-

• Harry Potter 7 A

• Harry Potter 8 A

 

Minor correction, AotC was third, Two Towers second and Spiderman first.

But I do agree, "Universal dislike" is not very accurate.
Mixed response for the first two and overall positive for the third I would say.

Bye.
The Guarding Dark

 

I only asked you a question? Do you think I should keep criticizing Ewan McGregor the way I've been doing? Or should I stop?

I only ask because I've repeatedly said I think Ewan McGregor should stop saying things I think are either unfair, unprofessional, or untrue, and you keep saying that means I'm trying to silence him. You keep criticizing me for saying these things, but you don't think I should stop saying them? Then what's the point of vocalizing such criticisms?

I think he shouldn't say things that are untrue. I also think he shouldn't disparage--in such terms as he has--the quality of the very movies that are responsible for the existence of the new series he is being paid a lot of money to star in. You can talk about the things he's talking about without casting it in such a derisive and dismissive way, as everyone at least seems to agree is the case here.

 

These are the things I am talking about. If you want to say that Ewan shouldn't say things are are untrue, I can get behind that.

 

Yeah, like Mark Hamill. Wait...we give him a free pass?

I am not claiming to 100% know anything. That's your bag.

 

I said . . . "the media". Whenever the media convey these articles or broadcasts featuring actors who make these comments on past project, they do so in a way in which the public should automatically accept their views as law. And by the way, I also said the following:

"Actors like McGregor and Mortensen can say whatever they want, like the rest of us."

 

based on what I read in the article, I don't think he was that harsh. He talked about it feeling tedious and not having as much to latch onto. There are dialougue concepts that aren't that shakespear, so I don't think he's much dissing the movies themselves.

 

Guys, your anger should be directed at the author of the article, not Ewan. The article was a sloppy hit piece, and the writer should be embarrassed. Stephen Glass would be proud. She basically lied about what Ewan said in the Hollywood Reporter article. He said nothing derogatory about the prequels themselves. He talked about how tough it was to act in front of the green screen. He has been saying that since 2002. Nothing new at all. And as far as the dialogue "not being Shakespeare", .... So???? George Lucas himself would agree!!! And the dialogue in the originals wasn't exactly Shakespeare either. Remember Alec Guiness's classic "rubbish dialogue" quote? How fitting. I bet this cruddy journalist doesnt know about that. Things hardly change, do they?

EDIT: Ah, sorry, I thought the OP was referencing this follow up to the article and not EW.

https://tv.avclub.com/ewan-mcgregor-promises-obi-wan-kenobi-wont-look-anythin-1846781229

But my larger point stands, direct your anger at the media personalities who are taking Ewan's comments out of context.

 

The crowd psychology: you want to play in Disney's Star "F...k George Lucas" Wars - say something nice about Lucas.

Ewan: "I don't want to be rude..."
"But you do. Revealed your opinion is."

True, all of it only makes people to leave the franchise. Including myself, by the way. I'm not going to watch this garbage. Glad that Hayden has got a work, anyway.

 

That makes no sense whatsoever. Starting from the absurd claim about Disney, to already deciding that something is garbage without having seen even one second of it.

 

I agree. Ewan's stance on the difficulty of acting in the films is not new information. In terms to their quality, he's said on other occasions that he's personally happy with how they turned out, particularly Revenge of the Sith and that he's happy to see younger fans come to him sharing their appreciation for those movies.

 

Folks, some of you are making mountains out of molehills. This is not a new phenomenon in SW Land: one can find contemporary quotes from the OT cast throwing shade at both their filming experiences and of the movies proper. (I distinctly recall a magazine interview in which Hamill aired his dissatisfaction with the just-released ROTJ, averring that it was more juvenile than he'd have liked.) If anything, it's heartening to see that McGregor's assessment has softened with time. He's seemed to have finally embraced being the 21st century iteration of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The only objectionable component to all this would be that bizarre follow-up Onion screed. It's clear that the author is annoyed that the Prequel Trilogy has been reassessed as of late, and feels duty-bound to remind everyone just how awful they are (i.e., how much she despises them, and that all the world ought to despise them as vehemently). Her piece is brief, but I wouldn't recommend wasting your precious minute reading it.

 

I also think he shouldn't say things that are unfair or unprofessional. This doesn't amount to an attempt to "silence" him (with my immense institutional power, I suppose). It's a critique of what he's saying.

My comments are made with a full understanding of the context.

 

I don't take McGregor's statement personally since I was more than aware of his feelings on the PT's production. I just hope this isn't the new "TFA marketing" scheme of reminding every interview how the PT "failed to incorporate the practical effects of the good ole days" and the weird anti-PT marketing that surrounded every piece of TFA pre-release media hype. If Hayden comes out talking about how "the PT failed Obi-Wan and Vader's story but this time we get to do it right," that's gonna be a problem worth analyzing. Of course, if something like that is said, it'll probably be more diplomatic than anything that literal, but still.

On the other hand, Liam Neeson about a year ago or so talked about how happy he was with the final product of TPM and thought it was a solid movie. And on the flip, Ian McDiarmid is not a big fan of ROTJ as a movie. So, McGregor's issues are not a HUGE deal imo.

 

I don't think Ewan said anything that sounds like anti-PT marketing. sadly what he is saying is likely more scars of the past.

Something to remember is that Ewan was very much aware of the negative feedback the PT got. and there was alot of it in media kicking the PT down while boosting the OT. the voices who liked the films were almost whispers in comparison to those who felt they needed to bash them constantly because they didn't meet their standard. and there are still some whose standards they still don't meet. like in the link below.

https://tv.avclub.com/ewan-mcgregor-promises-obi-wan-kenobi-wont-look-anythin-1846781229

This was the type of thing going around in 2007-2016. this is likely what he heard. ^^

And He said this back in 2019

And it must be hard to have spent several years being told your films suck, and then to go the complete other way and say oh all the stuff people said doesn't matter now. well all the talk of CGI, wooden dialogue and whatever. Ewan likely heard about that stuff alot. i mean Ahmed Best has only in recent years been given appreciation for his work in the PT. it tooks so many years to get to that point. years that can't really just be swept under a rug.

But on the plus side. in that interview he says he is aware how much the PT means to the younger fans. and how can he not know when he walked out infront of an audience over a year ago to screams of excitement that he was returning to play the character. if he isn't aware that the films had gained huge appreciation by now i dunno when he will. and he has also looked around at reactions online with people saying Disney better not recast and he says he has seen fan art of him as Obi Wan. so i think he knows. so again i think its just things that had been drilled into his head over the years that upset him.

And the blue/Green screen thing. thats all he was complaining really. that he had to work on alot of Blue/Green screens which wasn't fun to do when you don't have an environment to work in. or sometimes even real people around you.

 

I really can't blame McGregor, or any other actor who groused about their PT experience. Imagine you were working on Moulin Rouge!, singing and dancing with an engaged cast amid opulent sets, and then, when the party's finished, you transition right to Attack of the Clones, with nothing but green screens and Lucas dialogue-at-its-most-stilted for companions. That's gotta make you wonder why you pursued acting to begin with.

Look, I adore TPM and ROTS, but to actually film it? Forget about it. I'd rather be one of Bruce's "handlers" on the set of Jaws.

 

My thoughts are I’ve never seen McGregor say anything particularly interesting about SW or the process of making SW. I think he did an acceptable job in the PT but he’s not what makes those films great to me. And I didn’t care about his new series until I saw some other returning actors listed.

 

As the lead actor who gets the first credit then some blame should go to him for his part then because then he's the one who is also the lead on the set in terms of engaging the actors around him. The "stilted" dialogue is part of and parcel of Star Wars so that is a non-factor. Why exactly he would think that there is any problem with it I don't know. Going in to a project, and in Star Wars case a very well known one, then you know what you are getting in to.

As pointed out previously in this thread and many others these assertions about green and blue screen work are greatly exaggerated. Generally speaking he had many sets around him to give the environment when it was physically possible to do so. This idea that gets promoted that it was "nothing but screens" isn't the case. The point was that they built as much as they could because unlike now where they really can readily create virtual sets to work in that wasn't the case then. The more sets they built was far more cost efficient. Any "virtual" set was often a practical effects model that had to be built and shot. There was also a process where for reshoots they were able to recreate an already built and taken down set by taking tons of photos to cover angles then reconstruct it virtually.

In terms of EM for AOTC he worked on plenty of sets from Padme's apartment to the Coruscant chase on the street and in the club to the Jedi Council and training, Dex's diner, the Kamino platform, hallway and Jango's apartment and the Dooku hanger sequences. Obviously scenes in vehicles were just that in the built props like the speeders, fighters and gunship. There would be no expectation of having full on environments like they can do now. The environment there is that you're in the ship and the action is happening there as it rocks back and forth.

So that leaves something like two actually major sequences of mostly screen work: The Kamino meeting with the PM and clone inspection which is him walking around with a couple of actors saying the lines and walking around in a blue environment then the arena sequences fighting the CGI beasts then fighting the CGI droids.

 

When Ewan signed that contract it was for three films, two of which hadn't even been written yet. He hedged his bets and decided he didn't do so well. He's just sharing his experiences.

 

it's funny how he brings up the CGI, and many others have over the years.

I guess they missed the behind the scenes of all these Marvel movies and many others that are loaded with CGI
No, in "Civil War' they did not in fact film at an airport, and yes the end of "Endgame " is as animated as anything in the Prequels.

 

It's amazing to me how incredibly insecure people are about their opinions on space wizard movies. This (very mild) criticism from Ewan is not much different than much of what Alec Guiness said over the years about the OT films. Yet I have never seen people accuse Guiness of being unprofessional or coming up with wild conspiracy theories about him.

This entire thread is just another side of toxic fan culture. Might as well make a youtube video about how he was "forced to say this by Kathleen Kennedy!"