PT The Prequel Trilogy Interview Thread - Currently interviewing jaimestarr !)

TPM

1) Begin the story with Anakin and Obi-Wan at the ages they are in AOTC, i.e. around 19 and 35 respectively. I think that would have allowed for a better arc overall through the trilogy. I don’t think seeing Anakin as a child or Obi-Wan as an apprentice was particularly relevant to the main thrust of the story.
2) Long before TFA, I imagined in my head-canon that when Obi-Wan and Anakin meet, it was at the Lars Farm on Tattooine. Anakin lived there with his older sister Beru and her husband Owen Lars. Anakin was a skiff-driving, goggles-wearing scavenger (honestly) who came back one day to find Obi-Wan’s ship outside. Obi-Wan would have been there as part of some main plot quest or other and he needed Beru’s help, as she, Owen and Obi-Wan had been childhood friends.

AOTC
1) The Clone War should have formed the backdrop to all three films, like an epic war story
2) I would have liked a cliffhanger where at the end, Anakin’s fate was left unknown following a battle with Palpatine’s apprentice during Palpatine’s attempt to seduce him to the dark side. You wouldn’t know if he were dead or had gone with Palpatine etc (well the audience would, but the heroes would have assumed him killed) Padme would have had her children at this point also.

ROTS
1) I would have liked a three year story gap, where Padme’s children were now old enough to vaguely remember her, Leia anyway. I imagined a story like those tragic WW2 stories where the protagonists have to flee from the Nazis. Padme and the twins are escaping the Empire’s final onslaught and they end up being split up in the chaos. Luke ends up crash-landed on Dagobah with Yoda, awaiting to be rescued, and Leia ends up in an escape pod with her dying mother, only to be ultimately picked up by Bail Organa’s ship.
2) I would have liked Vader not to appear so helpless at the end during the suiting-up bit. I imagined a closing scene where the montage is showing the fates of Leia and Luke, but then scenes of a strong and defiant Vader pulling on his gauntlets, having his cape fitted to him, and him standing up, pulling his own helmet down onto his head himself. So he appears aggressive etc

 

Are you looking forward to any of the upcoming or current shows related to Star Wars like Resistance, Mandalorian, unnamed prequel show to Rogue One or the Rumored Obi Wan show? @Bob Effette

 

Absolutely looking forward to them. More the live action stuff anyway. I’m more excited these days by TV because of the quality, and the money that is being spent on shows. It would have been unheard of at one time for such a franchise to be “relegated” to TV, same for the A-list movie stars. But TV seems to be where it’s at.

I watched “Battle of the ********” and “The Battle of Winterfell” on GoT and it was like a realisation that we were seeing the kind of stuff that was formerly reserved for blockbuster movies.

So yeah, the Mandalorian, Cassian Andor and Obi-Wan shows are exciting prospects. It’s a good time to be a fan don’t you think?

 

I totally agree. Star Wars on TV has always had a special place pace in my heart as I was exactly the right age for The Clone Wars.

 

What director if any would you want to see direct a Star Wars movie who has not yet done so? @Bob Effette

 

George Miller

As much as I love Star Wars, the movie of 2015 for me was Mad Max: Fury Road.

 

Announcement

I will be extending this interview for a week as I am heading back to college so I want to give myself some time.

In the meantime please keep asking @Bob Effette questions

Were you ever into any video games and if you were what were they?

 

Are you kidding? lol I’ve been a gamer since the 80’s, starting out on ZX Spectrum and Commodore Vic 20 / C64. I’m a console gamer though mostly, having done the whole gamut of consoles, Nintendo, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, PlayStation, XBOX...

I’ve been a massive GTA fan for some time, and still play it at least once a week (rank 1064) but I’m just finishing off my second play through of Red Dead Redemption 2

I love The Elder Scrolls games too. Skyrim was awesome.

 

@Bob Effette

1) What do you think of GL saying Vader is a "pathetic" and do you agree with this interpretation?
2) Favorite movie genre, book, author, music (sw or not) ?
3) What did you think of Anakin/Padmé romance overall? If you didn't like it, what would you change?
4) Did your opinion of the PT change over time? How?
5) Favorite SW characters ?
6) What's your ideal SW story?
7) What's your opinion of the ST so far? If you don't like it, what would you change to make it better?

 

@Ancient Whills

1) What do you think of GL saying Vader is a "pathetic" and do you agree with this interpretation?
I don't see Vader as pathetic. He becomes a sympathetic person towards the end of his life as he begins to reflect because of Luke. I see him as a classical tragic figure now with hindsight. As a kid though, I was scared to death of him, jeez.

2) Favorite movie genre, book, author, music (sw or not) ?
Movies - sci-fi and fantasy. I love Star Wars obviously, Mad Max: Fury Road, Aliens, The Terminator, The Dark Crystal, Highlander etc
Books - I read a lot of non-fiction mostly. I like military accounts and books about WWII. I also like true crime books. I recently read "Iceman", about the mob hitman Richard Kuklinski.
Music - I have a wide and eclectic taste, I just like what I like, I don't care what genre it is. I'm currently going through a Queen period again.

3) What did you think of Anakin/Padmé romance overall? If you didn't like it, what would you change?
I thought it was very poorly executed, with toe-curling dialogue. I would change it by having it a bit less "intense" and generally having Anakin be a bit more likeable and easy going. I thought that he was depicted (in AOTC and ROTS) as too odd from the off. It would have been more of a tragedy to have had him fall from a starting point of being a more fun, carefree, affable guy. The romance should have been like it generally is for young people, fun

4) Did your opinion of the PT change over time? How?
Not really. I'm not overly keen on them tbh. I find them watchable, but I don't have much affection for them like I do for the OT and Rogue One. This is my personal opinion. I think that George Lucas is a fantastic ideas man, a real technical innovator and visionary, probably ahead of his time. He will go down in history as having created this epic franchise and pioneering the SFX technology to realise it...

...but I think that he is a terrible, terrible director, especially of people. I think that it is pretty well documented that his direction is pretty limited, and the performances of the characters in the prequels comes across as very plodding, stiff and awkward, as if they are simply reading lines back from an autocue. As above, the romance scenes especially are dire. His direction of the prequels vs ANH are worlds apart though.

5) Favorite SW characters ?
Han Solo, Darth Vader, Admiral Raddus, Cassian Andor, K-2SO, Lando

6) What's your ideal SW story?
I think we might get it in TROS. I was really excited for TLJ, because I saw a visual dictionary of the movie beforehand which described Luke's travelling clothes, his rain poncho, his walking stick, knapsack and, most intriguingly, his compass. With the knowledge from TFA that he had gone "looking for the first Jedi Temple" I figured that all this must point to some form of epic quest or galactic treasure hunt type affair. Alas, it wasn't to be. That's what I would love though.

7) What's your opinion of the ST so far? If you don't like it, what would you change to make it better?
TFA was serviceable, if a little uninspired and unoriginal. I really didn't care for TLJ at all, especially Luke's story arc. I wish I saw what all these people see in this installment when they declare it the best since TESB. I'm actually excited for TROS though.

 

@Bob Effette do you think we will ever see an episode 10-12? Or do you think this will be it for the main saga?

 

I think this could be it and any new movies become a new thing. They will be Star Wars: <Title> in style, no numbers.

I think that if Star Wars is to survive as a franchise, it needs to see if it can stand on its own without the "crutch" of OT nostalgia which a lot of current content seems to rely on. The Saga movies, Rogue One and Solo all seem to be heavily dependent on imagery, tropes and characters from the OT. The true test will be whether they can do something original under the Star Wars banner. I hope so.

 

Today is the last day to ask @Bob Effette questions so make sure to get them in.

What drew you the most towards liking the prequels? (Characters, politics etc

 

@Bob Effette I notice that the Chewbacca on your Avatar is the version portrayed in Solo: A Star Wars Story, judging by the sky in the background. Do you think Chewie, Han, Lando etc were done justice in that film?

 

The story of Anakin Skywalker’s downfall first and foremost. As said, I don’t think that it was executed quite as well as it could have been in terms of acting and dialogue, but the OT gave us one of the most intriguing story angles in modern fiction, and that was to tease us with the idea that Darth Vader, the villain, had actually been one of the good guys gone bad.

 

I only had two issues with Solo, the lighting in the picture and the (imo) out of place appearance of Darth Maul. I enjoyed the rest of it. Chewie, Han and Lando were all spot on I thought. Donald Glover’s casting especially was perfect.

I think that they missed a trick not including Jabba though, and it’s unlikely there will be a follow up which is a shame.

 

Thanks for all your questions. It's been fun answering them.

 

Thank you @Bob Effette for answering all our questions!

Will post new interview soon

 

Next up is @devilinthedetails

1.) How did you find the Jedi Council Forums?

2.) Why did you pick that for your username?

3.) What is your favorite moment from Star Wars?

4.) Are you excited for the future of the franchise

5.) What is your favorite deleted scene from the prequels?

 

@devilinthedetails
What is your earliest memory of Star Wars?

What was the first Star Wars book you read?

 

@devilinthedetails

Loved the Jedi Apprentice books also as well as the other ones by Watson.


I also notice that you’ve written quite a bit of fanfiction. What era is your favorite to explore?

 

In these contests, who would win and why?

1. 100m sprint - ROTJ era Leia or Rey?
2. Arm wrestling - Han Solo or Boba Fett?
3. Spelling contest - General Needa or Captain Piett?
4. Hide and Seek - Ewok or Jawa?
5. 25m freestyle swim - Luke or Anakin?
6. Rock, Paper, Scissors - Lando or Finn?
7. Cliff Diving - Poe or Wedge?
8. Downhill skiing - Chewbacca or Tarfful?
9. BMX half-pipe - ANH era General Dodonna or ANH era Ben Kenobi
10. Conkers - Boss Nass or Jabba the Hutt?