Was talking with a friend about the Star Wars release and changes and a friend says in ANH, Obi-wan line was changed from "And he was a good friend" to "Annie (as Padme called Anakin) was a good friend". I have yet to watch ANH but I never heard about this. Did my dumb friend hear wrong? Should I no longer be friends with a person like this?
1. Obi-Wan never called Anakin "Ani". Ever. Post-TPM, only Padme used that nickname. 2. I haven't heard about this either, and I don't have the Blu-Rays yet so someone else will have to confirm, but I'm not sure why Lucas would do a voice-over on Ben's dialogue (particularly since Sir Alec is one with the Force now) to have Ben give Anakin a nickname that Obi-Wan never used in the prequels. 3. You're really asking us how to handle your friendships? Do what yhou feel is right, of course.
I'm pretty sure with a little tinkering from THX, the "And" and "he" from the original dialogue could be merged to make "Annie". That being said, just like 1983, I have not heard of this change before. And I'm not inclined to get the blu-rays any time soon.
Your friend heard wrong. Ben said, "And he was a good friend." Honestly, if you're going to let a little error like mishearing a line ruin a friendship, then I can't help you.
I've been debating whether to hear it as "Ani" since TPM came out. I think it would be a strange nickname for a manly man like Obi-Wan to use for his manly man padawan/drinking buddy, though.
Obi-Wan never calls him "Ani", not in the prequels or at any other point in the entire saga. I don't think Lucas even had the name "Anakin" set in stone until writing ROTJ. I know the name Anakin (Starkiller) appears in some of his very early rough drafts when he had the whole story arc crammed into one huge story draft, but it was never used as Darth Vader's true name on screen or on a shooting script until ROTJ.
GL did state in a 1977 interview with Rolling Stone that "Luke's father is named Annikin". Nevertheless, Obi-Wan's line is "And he was a good friend."
You're right, it is in ESB...but not the ESB I grew up with. I don't remember the Rolling Stones article verbatim, been over fifteen years ago since I read it, but I'll take your word for it that GL's quote about ANNIKIN is in there. Cheers, all! Mr. K
Turns out it's from a private 1977 conversation quoted in Rinzler's MOSW, not the Rolling Stone article. Here's the quote: "When the Jedi tried to restore order, Darth Vader was still one of the Jedi. What he would do is catch the Jedi off-guard and, using his knowledge of the Force, he would kill the Jedi without them realizing what was happening. They trusted him and they didn't realize he was the murderer who was decimating their ranks. At the height of the Jedi, there were several hundred thousand. At the time of the Rebellion, most of them were killed. The Emperor had some strong forces rally behind him, as well, in terms of the army and the Imperial forces that he'd been building up secretly. The Jedi were so outnumbered that they fled and were tracked down. They tried to regroup, but they were eventually massacred by one of the special elite forces led by Darth Vader. Eventually, only a few, including Ben and Luke's father, were left. Luke's father is named Annikin."
