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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Official Info Sir Derek Jacobi wants to be in Episode VII

Discussion in 'Archive: Disney Era Films' started by fenton, Nov 26, 2012.

  1. fenton

    fenton Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 29, 2001
  2. darthcaedus1138

    darthcaedus1138 Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 13, 2007
  3. KED12345

    KED12345 Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 10, 2012
    More proof that everyone and their mothers wants to be in Star Wars.
     
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  4. TtheForceHurts

    TtheForceHurts Jedi Master star 4

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    Jan 28, 2010
    He could play an aged General Madine;)
     
  5. Bazinga'd

    Bazinga'd Saga / WNU Manager - Knights of LAJ star 7 Staff Member Manager

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    Nov 1, 2012
  6. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

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    Sep 3, 2012
    Well, whatever he does, he does very well -- good luck to him! :)
     
  7. DarthBrian

    DarthBrian Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Apr 9, 2002
    He's one of my favorite actors so I'd love for him to be in Star Wars.
     
  8. Pfluegermeister

    Pfluegermeister Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jun 30, 2003
    I will of course not dignify the actual subject of the thread: of course any actor will answer yes if asked if they would like to be in Star Wars, and they'll conjure up some pseudo-intellectual reason why they should be there; all that really matters is that they want to be there. It'd be far more interesting to hear from the actors who wouldn't want to be in these films, and hear their reasons why.

    But I think the example of Jacobi can be used to provide a teachable moment here about comedy relief characters. If you haven't seen I, Claudius, see it. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Just see it. And then think carefully about the character he plays: a man viewed by all the world as a fool, as an idiot, as the butt of a joke, as the man with a speech impediment; yet a man possessed of a deeper, more profound eloquence, of a stronger will, of a greater intelligence and wisdom, than any ever dared to guess he had in him when circumstance obliged him to rise to the occasion. And most importantly, you like this man and you accept his place in the grand historical drama he has been granted the honor of witnessing. He is comedy relief, the archetype of the fool, made to slip on the proverbial banana peel, that much is true - but he endears himself to the audience rather than alienating himself from it. And when he finds himself suddenly entrusted with governmental responsibility, the audience never questions it.

    Now think about Jar Jar, and imagine just how much different all could have been had that character been written with the example of Jacobi's character portrait in mind. I'm not saying Jacobi should have played Binks; I'm saying the character of Binks should have been written fundamentally differently, in a way that would have largely achieved the same story beats the final character did, but made him a real personality rather than a gimmick. The reason it didn't work was not because I didn't or wouldn't accept comedy relief characters in Star Wars; it didn't work because he was all comedy relief (and I might add that the definition of comedy is apparently very broad) and no character. Ultimately the difference between the characters of Claudius Caesar and Jar Jar Binks is that the former was written and played as a person first and a joke second; the latter was written as a joke first and as a person second - and it was a pretty damned distant second.
     
  9. The Hellhammer

    The Hellhammer Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 2012
    Comparing Claudius with Jar Jar would've gotten you a midnight visit from the Praetorian Guard...

    That being said, I, Claudius is a damn good series on so many levels.
     
  10. Echo-07

    Echo-07 Jedi Master star 4

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    Nov 9, 2012
    Not saying I'd like to see the Thrawn characters show up in the ST but if they did he could play that old Jedi that was captive and I can't remember his name. Offhand he looks like he could play an Imperial dignitary or a Senator.

    Side not -- I don't remember this many actors lobbying to be in the PT. I remmeber SLJ but there's been about a dsozen already for the ST.
     
  11. SithLord_1270

    SithLord_1270 Jedi Knight star 3

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    Nov 5, 2008
    He's an excellent actor! Wouldn't mind seeing him in an SW. Maybe as Paelleon(sp?) if they want to bring that character into it.
     
  12. DarthMane2

    DarthMane2 Force Ghost star 5

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    Sep 20, 2003
    All for it. He could play force ghost obi- wan, a senator, chancellor, an admiral. There are so many roles he could play.
     
  13. fishtailsam

    fishtailsam Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jul 30, 2003
    Yes please!
     
  14. Tim Battershell

    Tim Battershell Jedi Master star 5

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    Sep 3, 2012
    Trivia, but I've heard it said that he had a real tonsure when he played Cadfael - dedication, or what?
     
  15. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

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    Oct 1, 2012
    Good. Every trilogy needs a British thespian. And Sir Derek Jacobi sounds like he has to eat.

    But yeah, great actor—I, Claudius; Cadfael. And he's done genre stuff in the past; he was in the second Underworld movie.
     
  16. bergstrom

    bergstrom Jedi Master star 2

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    Jan 26, 2004
    Now of all the silly casting ideas and names putting their name forwars, this is ONE that is actually plausible. Wow, never thought of him until I saw the thread but I'd actually be damn fine with him in it, great if he is, it would add an air of authority or mastery to whatever role he is in, although when u look at him (and I love the pic of him above), I'd like to see him on the good side, peace ambassador or something or mentor to someone. Hmm, intriguing.
     
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  17. Darth_Kiryan

    Darth_Kiryan Jedi Master star 4

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    Mar 13, 2009
    I know its not happening, but he could play Joruus C'Boath:p



    but in all honesty, he is worth way more than that.
     
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  18. I Are The Internets

    I Are The Internets Shelf of Shame Host star 9 VIP - Game Host

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    Nov 20, 2012
    Anyone see the Branagh version of Hamlet? Jacobi played a fantastically sleazy Claudius. I could totally see him as a corrupt politician of some sort.
     
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  19. Disciple-of-Tython

    Disciple-of-Tython Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 12, 2006
    No to Kenobi but definitely welcome to another role in the new trilogy.
     
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  20. solojones

    solojones Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 27, 2000
    A lot of people want to be in Star Wars, but it's fantastic when you have someone of Sir Derek's caliber openly asking to be cast. Star Wars is still and can still be a respectable property. I completely agree with him that he'd be a great McKellan or Stewart type figure. I also just love that he wants to do it and decided to just put that out there.

    I don't envy the producers of this film trying to figure out who to cast. But it's good to know they have their pick.
     
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  21. Pfluegermeister

    Pfluegermeister Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 30, 2003
    Can I really be honest about something?

    All we've managed to do here is basically agree that Sir Derek Jacobi is a highly accomplished actor and we'd like to see him in things. Fair enough. But isn't this all just so much nonsense? All he's done is say he'd like to be in it; how much comment does that even deserve?

    For that matter, how much comment does damn near anything posted in this forum deserve? It's been less than a month since the announcement that there would even be new films, so there's really nothing to discuss in these kind of threads. And I don't believe in just speculating for its own sake, because I know that it has absolutely nothing - nothing - to do with what the people at LFL are actually planning, and will be rendered entirely moot by whatever gets announced officially down the road. There's no point on having a long discussion over Jacobi being in these films because we don't know a damned thing about them, and we certainly don't know that he's been cast in them. Shouldn't there just be a single thread strictly focused on the people in the acting community who want to throw their hats in the ring, and call it done? The rest need to be closed and consolidated immediately.

    Now I'll agree that there have been instances in the past of actors lobbying successfully for a role in Star Wars: Samuel Jackson pushed for and got a role in the prequels, and a decently sized one at that (and frankly, I would have picked Jacobi over Jackson for that role; that entire affair is proof positive that even if an actor wants to be in it, maybe sometimes he shouldn't have what he wants if it serves as a detriment to the film). But until we got word of his casting it was all so much bluster from an actor on the outside looking in. The information that he wanted in was worth absolutely nothing; the information that he was ultimately cast was worth something, but before that announcement it was just so much begging from another actor wanting a job - until the possible becomes actual, it is only a distraction, and a rather pathetic one at that.

    You can argue that this forum is supposed to be for speculation all you want, but when we're spinning our wheels on non-issues like this, it's a waste of time and energy. I don't care about who wants to be in it; I don't care who fans want to see in it; and I certainly don't care if the role is gonna be some EU character that most of the general audience won't know from Adam (if I've heard one person insist on seeing characters from the Thrawn books, I've heard a horde of them); I care about what I'm going to see, about who's going to be in it, about what their role's going to be, not on what I want. What the heck right do I have acting like people in a major entertainment conglomerate should listen to my advice? Who the heck am I? I'm just Joe Blow from Florida; my advice is worth a gnat's crap and that's about it. I could want there to be a role for, say, Michael Fassbender in these films all day and night, but no matter how many times I say it here, am I going to get it? Of course not. And all I'll have done for my trouble is just make myself look like an idiot who spends way too much time thinking about Michael Fassbender. Tell me who is going to be in it, and in what role, and then we'll talk. All else is just that stupid "Charlton-Heston-as-Yoda" crap all over again (remember that little embarrassment?).

    It all comes off looking like a sad farce, particularly when, in an atmosphere where the primary factor is a lack of hard facts, anybody can just say anything, largely to get people's goat. This is why we have a forum now where people can say they want AC/DC or Metallica music in these films with an apparently straight face. This absolutely unfunny comedy needs to be shut down. We need sanity restored to this forum; I've been getting the distinct impression that the asylum is now being run by the lunatics solely.
     
  22. solojones

    solojones Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 27, 2000
    Obviously our speculation has nothing to do with what will happen at LFL. Anyone with sense knows that. And since they have an outline for at least the first film, there may not even be any kind of character appropriate for Jacobi or anyone else saying they'd love to be in it.

    But that doesn't make speculation any less fun. It's ultimately pointless, sure, and if you get married to your own ideas too much it can be a problem. But it's precisely because we don't actually know anything that such fanciful speculations are entertaining.
     
  23. El_Machete12

    El_Machete12 Jedi Master star 2

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    Oct 30, 2012
    Maybe actors are happy Lucas isn't directing? Lol.
     
  24. solojones

    solojones Chosen One star 10

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    Sep 27, 2000
    I'm sure they're happy at that prospect, sure. He has a reputation at being a terrible actors' director. And not a good dialogue writer. So really, actors are probably interested for the same reasons a lot of us fans are intrigued by the possibilities for this film.
     
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  25. Pro Scoundrel

    Pro Scoundrel New Films Expert At Modding Casual star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    I'm all for this.