#i actually think george lucas and the clone wars team did a great job

[radiosummons]

Not to compare apples to oranges or whatever in regards to fictional characters' trauma, but Anakin wouldn't have been able to handle even 1/4 of what Obi-Wan went through.

Look, I’m an Anakin stan myself. He’s not my number one blorbo, but I do adore him and purely for the fact that he’s a goddamn fucking mess. But I can’t help but feel like some of the more extreme Anakin stans keep missing the point of the prequels/Clone Wars as a whole. That being: Darth Vader could not exist without Anakin.

I only bring up Obi-Wan because a lot of the takes I’ve seen from people trying to defend Anakin from any speck of criticism tends to almost always revolve around his trauma/shitty life experience. And, like ... he’s not unique in that aspect. If anything, Obi-Wan shares a very sad, almost mirror-like amount of experiences with him.

For example:

-Obi-Wan was a slave. A lot of characters in the Star Wars universe were slaves.

Anakin was a slave!

((Update to the above: someone asked for clarification on this point, and I made a lengthy response in my reply/reblog. If my reply is too difficult to find down the road, I can add that bit here. Otherwise, the short version of the above isn't that Obi-wan's trauma is more valid than Anakin's. Just that 1) Anakin being a slave is not unique in the world of Star Wars and 2) Obi-wan and Anakin do share similar traumas but react very differently to said traumas)).

-Obi-Wan’s father figure (Qui-Gon) died in his arms.

Anakin’s mother died in his arms!

-Obi-Wan lost the love of his life. Who also died in his arms. Who also, strangely enough, did not die because of anything he did.

Anakin lost the love of his life!

Anakin was criticized by the Jedi Order for his inability to let go of others!

-Obi-Wan was criticized by the Jedi Council and his peers for his attachments to Qui-Gon, Anakin, Ashoka, Quinlan, Satine, etc, etc. The Jedi did not condemn him (or Anakin) for forming these attachments. He learned to let go of those he loved when their time came, no matter what form that took, i.e. death or simply them choosing to take their own paths without him in their lives.

Anakin had anger issues that made it difficult for him to form proper relationships!

-Obi-Wan had horrendous anger issues. Qui-Gon initially refused to taken him on as a padawan specifically because he had a horrifc temper. He learned to control his anger so that it would no longer control him. 

Anakin was being targeted and tempted by a Sith!

-Obi-Wan was directly targeted by multiple Sith at multiple instances throughout his life. They all at one point or another tried to force him into using the Dark Side (Maul, in particular), or tried to convince him to leave the Jedi Order and become a Sith (Count Dooku, mostly, but also Asajj). He didn’t. 

Palpatine manipulated Anakin!

-Obi-Wan was also manipulated by Palpatine. Everyone in the fucking galaxy was manipulated by Palpatine. Anakin is not special. 

I could go on and on and on. This is just a small list of one to one comparisons, but like ... this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the absolute amount of horrendous shit that Obi-Wan has gone through, even prior to Order 66. I’m not saying that Anakin’s trauma isn’t valid, nor am I trying to say that Obi-Wan is a better character than Anakin because of how much more he has gone through in comparison.

My point is this: At no point, did Obi-Wan give into the Dark Side or become a Sith. Despite the actual living hell that his life was, he never ever ever turned to the Dark Side. A lot of people like to say he came close when he faced off against Maul during the episode “Revival,” and I can definitely see where people are coming from. But he didn’t.

In the grand scheme of things, Anakin does not have a fucking excuse for becoming a Sith Lord. Not that he (or any other Sith for that matter) ever had a valid excuse to begin with. But holy fuck, my guy. If someone like Obi-Wan, who literally has not known a single day of peace, can still somehow manage to keep themselves from giving into the temptation of becoming the emobiement of all things evil, especially in response to great emotional pain ... like, my guy, there really is no fucking excuse. 

[elljayvee]

buckle up I've been thinking about this because of this post by @padmestrilogy

because it managed to clarify some things about the strategic worldbuilding of the prequels and how that worldbuilding -- which IS present! -- is failed by the storytelling level in a lot of places.

It goes like this: what if the strategic worldbuilding of the Prequel Trilogy is "There are bad wizards, who work secretly, and good wizards, who work openly. Long ago, the good wizards agreed to become an arm of the government."

Now your strategic worldbuilding is aligned with your metaphor, George Lucas, let's go. That makes your operational level things like "The Jedi are not in control of what jobs they do" and "Politics interferes with work that the Jedi probably should be doing" and "The Jedi keep being sent into Situations by the government". You will 100% get things like the Trade Federation's "I'm not going in there with two Jedi" and their worries about forcing a settlement with this sort of operational environment.

You will ALSO lead very naturally into tactical worldbuilding such as Dooku's choices (image by @425599167)

Legends canon has Dooku leading a strike team, with faulty Senate intelligence, on Galidraan. This strike team kills most of Jango Fett's Haat'ade; a number of Jedi are also killed. This sets up a lot of the mess of the Clone Wars, and it is grounded in the mess caused by the strategic and operational worldbuilding levels. Dooku has a VERY good reason to object to the Jedi's ties to the Senate, and to the Senate as a whole, and a really, really clear story to point to.

We don't get that story in the Prequel Trilogy, though. We get a few hints of it -- Dooku isn't shy about telling people his point of view -- but this is a tactical worldbuilding failure + storytelling failure that something like the Legends canon isn't explicit. And no -- you don't have to go back in time all the way to Galidraan for that! You can still start with The Phantom Menace timeline, but make other storytelling choices.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon could talk about how their assignment to negotiate an end to the blockade was another Senate intelligence failure that almost got Jedi killed, for example -- HOW did no one know about the invasion force until the Jedi discovered it on the invasion ship itself? We spend time with the Senate, and with the Council, but it isn't till Attack of the Clones that we see the government actually pressuring the Jedi to do something they don't want to do. But a lot of it is there -- you can see the shape of it, in the metaphor Lucas is using -- it's just not made explicit. You have so many hints: Sidious saying "I will make it legal" about the invasion -- that all but states that Sidious is within the government in some way. Great! Our worldbuilding says that the Jedi are vulnerable to the government in certain ways, and here's a bad guy clearly embedded in the government! Now we're up against the storytelling decision of...this gets dropped on the floor. Except. It didn't HAVE to be dropped on the floor. Sidious is playing both sides against each other, and could have continued to do that ON SCREEN instead of everyone ending up in a shaggy dog story about how to get a broken starship off of Tatooine. The bad wizard is working secretly, just as the worldbuilding implies.

If you view The Phantom Menace through the lens of the above strategic and operational worldbuilding, you can see a set of things that flow from and don't flow from that worldbuilding. Some things that do: Obi-Wan complaining that he has a bad feeling about something elusive, Sidious's government role, choosing a Hutt-controlled planet over literally any Republic planet, Palpatine's shenanigans in the Senate and manipulation of Amidala, Qui-Gon's death. But because no one seems to NOTICE any of these things -- except Obi-Wan, who is outright told to ignore his noticing of these things -- they end up obscured in the storytelling. Which leads me to the things that DON'T flow from the worldbuilding. One of the big ones is that Maul's initial appearances (on Coruscant and Tatooine) really fall apart at this level. Maul talks about at last letting the Jedi know the Sith have returned -- ok, why. Why would the Sith want this, at this moment? It works better for Palpatine's whole scheme if he gets Amidala to Coruscant alive and gets her to spearhead the removal of Valorum; killing her and the Jedi on Tatooine is straight-up worse for his public persona and ability to manipulate the government! The only reason Maul goes to Tatooine is to give Qui-Gon something to tell the Council about. This is a bad reason.

Now, a darksider, maybe-Sith, turning up on Naboo the second time -- THAT, as with Qui-Gon's death, can definitely flow from the worldbuilding. Senate intelligence failed to see that a darksider was at work! The Jedi were blindsided! A Jedi Master is dead as a result, and --

hey look at that, we're back to Dooku's choices. His former padawan has just been killed due to that damn government control/inadequate intelligence issue that he's already mad about, that he himself has suffered under.

My point being, TPM is missing story beats that flow from the worldbuilding in a TON of spots, and those missing beats obscure what's actually going on in ways that make the whole movie feel kind of pointless and unsatisfying. Missing story beats continue into the next two movies, which leads to a trilogy that genuinely could have been good but instead is a mess.

Anakin Skywalker is like 50 cans of worms I haven't opened yet, but he is (among other things) a cautionary tale about sick systems and high control environments, and fits into a secondary layer of metaphor and worldbuilding about how a) institutions co-opted by government won't save you but b) neither will violent revolution because bad actors are going co-opt that too. In this essay, I will--

I've been reading Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, and it's gotten me thinking about how worldbuilding is multilayered, and about how a failure of one layer of the worldbuilding can negatively impact the book, even if the other layers of the worldbuilding work.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, so I'm going to talk about it more broadly instead. In my day job, one of the things I do is planning/plan development, and we talk about plans broadly as strategic, operational, and tactical. I think, in many ways, worldbuilding functions the same way.

Strategic worldbuilding, as I think of it, is how the world as a whole works. It's that vampires exist and broadly how vampires exist and interact with the world, unrelated to the characters or (sometimes) to the organizations that the characters are part of. It's the ongoing war between Earth and Mars; it's the fact that every left-handed person woke up with magic 35 years ago; it's Victorian-era London except every twelfth day it rains frogs. It's the world, in the broadest sense.

Operational worldbuilding is the organizations--the stuff that people as a whole are doing/have made within the context of that strategic-level world. For The Hunger Games, I'd probably put the post-apocalyptic nature of the world and even the existence/structure of the districts as the strategic level and the construct of the Hunger Games as the operational level: the post-apocalyptic nature of the world and the districts are the overall world that they live in, and the Hunger Games are the construct that were created as a response.

Tactical worldbuilding is, in my mind, character building--and, specifically, how the characters (especially but not exclusively the main characters) exist within the context of the world. In The Hunger Games, Katniss has experience in hunting, foraging, wilderness survival, etc. because of the context of the world that she grew up in (post-apocalyptic, district structure, Hunger Games, etc.). This sort of worldbuilding, to me, isn't about the personality part of the characterization but about the context of the character.

Each one of these layers can fail independently, even if the other ones succeed. When I think of an operational worldbuilding failure, I think of Divergent, where they took a post-apocalyptic world and set up an orgnaizational structure that didn't make any sense, where people are prescribed to like 6 jobs that don't in any way cover what's required to run a modern civilization--or even to run the society that they're shown as running. The society that they present can't exist as written in the world that they're presented as existing in--or if they can, I never could figure out how when reading the book (or watching the film).

So operational worldbuilding failures can happen when the organizations or societies that are presented don't seem like they could function in the context that they are presented in or when they just don't make any sense for what they are trying to accomplish. If the story can't reasonably answer why is this organization built this way or why do they do what they do then I see it as an organizational worldbuilding failure.

For tactical worldbuilding failures, I think of stories where characters have skillsets that conveniently match up with what they need to solve the problems of the plot but don't actually match their background or experience. If Katniss had been from an urban area and never set foot in a forest, it wouldn't have worked to have her as she was.

In this way (as in planning), the tactical level should align with the operational level which should align with the strategic level--you should be able to trace from one to the next and understand how things exist in the context of each other.

For that reason, strategic worldbuilding failures are the vaguest to explain, but I think of them like this: if it either 1) is so internally inconsistent that it starts to fall apart or 2) leaves the reader going this doesn't make any sense at all then it's probably failed.

[bedlamsbard]

@comentter asked about the TCW series finale

Sorry if I don't remember, but did you ever talk about the last 2 episodes of TCW? I only remember the motion capture thing from the first 2 of the arc. I was annoyed at the changes to the story they previously established in the novel and Rebels (which included Rex and Ahsoka splitting up) and for some reason I can't figure out, it didn't feel like a real ending to me...

I don’t think I’ve talked about it past expressing my annoyance about using Sam Jackson!Mace and Hayden Christensen!Anakin during Ahsoka’s vision. (WHICH I AM VERY ANNOYED ABOUT.)

I don’t have particularly strong feelings about Shattered/Victory & Death -- I think they’re two of the better episodes of S7, but I think S7 is honestly the weakest of all TCW as far as theme and story arc go.  They are also, unfortunately, probably the most aggravating case in S7 of throwing out previously established canon from Johnston’s Ahsoka novel and from Rebels.  And like, there’s not really all that much to throw out! So you mostly have to work to do it!

(Under a cut because this got long and honestly I probably forgot stuff since I haven’t rewatched in a while.)

The big difference is, obviously, the change in location from Mandalore (I believe the novel either strongly implies or outright states it’s in the middle of the battle?) to the ship.  Putting aside Filoni’s comments from SWCE a few years ago about Ahsoka teaming up with giant wolves (I think it’s extremely likely that that was wistful thinking and concept art on his part, rather than George Lucas’s actual plan), the advantage of putting Order 66 on a star destroyer in hyperspace is that it’s about as confined a space as you can get with no escape.  And that works pretty well in the actual episodes -- it’s a nice callback to “Brain Invaders,” as well, though I’m not sure it was done deliberately.  It also limits the number of moving parts available, so rather than having to worry about Mandalorians on both sides (and civilians...would have liked to see those in the Siege eps...that’s a different rant), all that the audience has to worry about are Ahsoka (and Rex, later on), the clones, and the wild card, Maul. Which admittedly is done very well -- like, the way the clones turn on Ahsoka?  Terrifying!  I don’t think they really played into the claustrophobic atmosphere of being trapped on a ship in hyperspace with no way out enough; I actually do think Brain Invaders and A Test of Strength, and even the flashback scenes in Jedi Fallen Order, did it better.  (Not even ONE scene of crawling through the vents? are you even Star Wars?)  On the one hand, it’s been done before, do you really have to do it again?  On the other...y’all made the decision to do this.

I actually hate that Ahsoka has the ~vision of Anakin’s fall -- it’s very jarring, it makes no continuity sense (in all honesty, it’s the sort of thing I’d expect from the ST, so maybe in that context it does make continuity sense, lol), and I think to some extent that it weakens her later reaction to Vader/Anakin?  Also, as I’ve said before I’m very, very aural and pretty sensitive to character voices: the decision to use Jackson!Mace and Christensen!Anakin, even with Hayden transitioning into Matt Lanter, threw me out so badly that the scene lost all emotional impact.  This is a me problem.  Most people I know were just happy that Hayden was getting acknowledged.  Which is honestly not a great storytelling method, we want to tell the story and not acknowledge other actors. But again: this is a me problem.

I really do love the rising sense of tension from the beginning of the episode to the actual Order 66 moment.  It’s just genuinely terrifying, since the audience knows what’s coming all along.

Maul -- *flips hand*  I love Maul.  I think these two eps did a really good job at showing how terrifying Maul can be, even without a lightsaber -- especially without a lightsaber, rather.  I was a little hesitant initially about Maul being able to destroy the hyperdrive with the Force alone, but after thinking about it for a day or so (back when the ep aired, last May) I was fine with it.  I think Maul’s the one character for whom that kind of sheer power is believable, going back to his TCW debut -- if you ever look at spider-Maul closely (and Sam and Dave talk about this in the commentary to that arc), you’ll notice that some of the pieces of metal on his spider body aren’t actually attached, they’re hovering nearby; he’s holding his spider body together with the Force itself.

Rex. The other big departure from canon, because of his “we all had a choice / I didn’t betray my Jedi” comments in Rebels.  From a storytelling POV, this is the most dramatic possible route to go, and it makes sense that they did it.  I think it was either @alexkablob or @mylordshesacactus who said back when that it works well that Rex can’t shake off the command from the chip, that none of the clones are immune to it, because otherwise it looks like none of the other clones cared as much about their Jedi as Rex did about Ahsoka.  I do genuinely wonder if back in the original plan for the remaining two seasons of TCW, there was a scene where Rex had his chip removed, given that comment from Rebels. (And I’ve talked before about changes made from the ~original TCW scripts used for the Rebels backstory to the actual S7 and Mando, though admittedly in that context it was about Ahsoka.)  If originally the plan was for the Order 66 sequence to take place on Mandalore, then that suggests the unlikelihood (though not impossiblity) of Rex and Ahsoka removing his chip.  Given the arcs that we actually got in S7 there was no place to do it...I really do wonder what was in some of the scripts that have been talked about elsewhere but didn’t make the cut for S7.

(God, the one I actually really wanted was the Rex and Artoo’s Excellent Adventure one, I’ll be bitter about this forever.)

I assume Ahsoka and Rex split up afterwards -- the fake grave from Ahsoka was kind of weird to me, tbh, so I’m fine with them not going that way, but.  *shrug*  It is what it is.

The end is...fine. Like, emotional!  I had an emotion! They wanted me to have an emotion! My TCW and Ahsoka feelings have been broken for a while now so my emotions definitely were not what they would have been even two or three years ago.  (And I mean this by when the ep actually aired, not what my emotions are now; they haven’t really changed that much.  Well, my resentment grew, but it is what it is.)

I think...I just recently saw again the comment from Filoni about this, so it’s on my mind -- one of the major problems with S7 across the board, and honestly highlighted in the finale (which, again, is great), is that according to Filoni, TCW was always about Rex and Ahsoka, so S7 had to be about Rex, then about Ahsoka, then about Rex and Ahsoka, together.

TCW is not about Rex and Ahsoka.

That’s not to say that Rex and Ahsoka aren’t main characters, because manifestly they are, but the previous six seasons of TCW are not about Rex and Ahsoka.  At its core, TCW is about Anakin Skywalker, in the same way that the PT is about Anakin Skywalker (and the OT, to a different extent); TCW’s big strength compared to the films, however, has always been that it has the space to go beyond Anakin’s immediate story and deal with everything else going on in the galaxy, some of which overlaps with Anakin and some of which doesn’t.  The choice to make S7 three four-episode arcs has the side effect of narrowing the universe and limiting the stories told -- S6 is, I think, only one ep longer but feels like it’s a full season, because it’s a mixed bag of arcs of varying lengths, with a number of different foci.  Some of the claustrophobic feel of the focus on Rex and Ahsoka works for the finale because of the actual setting of the episodes, on the very claustrophobic ship, but on the other hand...thematically the whole season feels off because Filoni’s interests are very different from Lucas’s (and while we all love to give Filoni credit for everything in TCW, Lucas was showrunning it and all the really weird and controversial stuff in TCW, including Ahsoka, Satine, Mortis, and Maul, all came straight from George Lucas).  The finale feels aggressively narrow as a result -- which on the one hand, works, because yeah, it’s kind of neat and makes sense that Rex and Ahsoka don’t know anything else about what’s going on in the larger galaxy or if anyone else is alive.  On the other hand, it...doesn’t work.  (For me, obvs! Your mileage will vary!)

[buzzdixonwriter]

A Long But Not Pointless Ramble In Which We Discuss Sci-Fi Flicks

We’re gonna ramble around a bunch of connected topics, so pour yourself a cuppa and enjoy the ride.

. . .

I’m a big fan of 1950s sci-fi B-movies.

Years ago, when I was chatting with the late film historian Bill Warren on this, he made a pertinent observation:  1950s sci-fi B-movies tend to be more fondly remembered than most better mounted and more professionally executed sci-fi films that came afterwards.

There’s a couple of three reasons for this:

The shock of the new -- most of those films pioneered a brand new genre and style, looking far different from previous genre offerings such as Flash Gordon or Things To Come.  As such, they score branding points by being first, even if later examples are better made.

They possess a certain naïve charm -- by and large they’re not sophisticated nor exceptionally well thought out (though when they do demonstrate flashes of intellect, it’s always a delight).  One feels these films are being made up on the fly (and in a certain sense, they were; see (1) above) and in an odd manner they prove more innocent and thus more fun than those that came later.

Most of them were cheap -- this combines with points (1) & (2) to force most 1950s sci-fi B-movies to focus tightly on one idea / one image to sell the film.  As a result there’s a startling clarity of vision in even the most flimsy of productions that’s lacking in later, more elaborate movies.  The weaker examples of this genre are those films trying to cover more ground than their cheaper cousins.

. . .

Two cases in point:  Jack Arnold’s Tarantula for Universal is a technically better made movie than Bert I. Gordon’s The Spider for AIP, but Tarantula loses focus, dawdling about on character development and sub-plots instead of concentrating on the big ass spider.

The Spider is far weaker in the script / performances / production value departments, but who gives a %#@& ? -- it’s got a big ass spider tearing up the countryside for most of the picture.

Not to put down Arnold and his effects crew’s efforts; they ingeniously figured out a way to not only get their tarantula to realistically crawl over uneven landscapes but actually cast a shadow as it did so, heightening the realism.

Gordon, conversely, simple shot his spider in front of still photos; the shots look as crude as they sound.

But The Spider delivers what Tarantula only teases:  An attack by said big ass spider on a population center.  Tarantula famously ends with an uncredited Clint Eastwood napalming the monster in the desert on the outskirts of town; The Spider actually goes rampaging through its town, and features one of the most iconic shots of any sci-fi movie:  As the big ass spider bears down on her, a terrified woman slams her car door shut on her skirt and in her panic tries to tug it loose instead of simply opening the door again.

George Lucas crowds the screen with thousands of furiously dogfighting CGI starships and that lacks the gut punching impact of that one simple terrifying shot. 

. . .

An even more pertinent example can be found in the oeuvre of Irving Block and Jack Rabin (I know, you’re going “Who?”  Patience, young jedi; all will be explained below).

Block and Rabin (along with Louis DeWitt, their silent 3rd partner) ran a small special effects house in Hollywood in the late 1940s-50s with an interesting strategy for drumming up business.

They’d devise an interesting yet inexpensive (i.e., clever but cheap) special effects technique, build a story around it, then pitch that story to low budget movie producers with the proviso their firm would be hired to do the special effects for the final film.

This resulted in a number of low budget sci-fi films built around the kernel of an interesting visual, and while they night not have been great examples of the cinematic art, hey certainly created a number of memorable scenes and images from little more than scotch tape and rubber bands.

Unknown World was their take on Jules Verne’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth (no dinosaurs but then again, no Pat Boone, so they came out ahead on that one); Atomic Submarine pitted the US Navy against a UFO; Kronos featured a wholly unique alien invader; and War Of The Satellites staged an epic space opera on a bargain basement budget.

All noteworthy 1950s sci-fi B-movies, but ironically it was the film where their strategy failed -- or rather, only proved 50% successful -- that stands out.

Figuring out how to make footprints appear as if by magic, Block and Rabin devised a story about a spaceship landing on a planet of invisible monsters (as they pointed out, the great thing about invisible monsters is that even the cheapest production can afford millions of ‘em).

Their agent sent the pitch around to all the usual suspects at that time in the low budget indie film universe but, learning another studio not know for low budget sci-fi wanted to hop on the band wagon, sent it there as well.

That studio bought the idea, thanked Block and Rabin for their input, but said they’d let their own B-movie unit team handle the special effects,

And that’s how MGM made Forbidden Planet.

. . .

Today Forbidden Planet is a much beloved classic of the genre, but when released it proved a bit of a disappointment.

Oh, it made money (then and now, studios refuse to fund a production unless they already know in advance they will recoup their expenses and make a profit in advance of actual production) but it didn’t do anywhere near the business they hoped.

Part of this was timing -- it came out after dozens of lesser / cheaper films crowded the market -- but part of it is paradox:  It’s just too damn good.

No bones about it, Forbidden Planet was a B-movie for MGM.

In terms of overall quality, however, any MGM B-movie is bound to look like an A-picture from any other studio, and that’s exactly what happened here:  A literate, dynamite script; solid performances; top notch production values; bursting at the seams with ideas and incidents and details.

Sci-fi fans loved it, mainstream audiences not so much.

What sci-fi fans perceived as a groundbreaking classic, mainstream audiences viewed as:  Flying saucer something something something robot blah blah blah invisible monster.

What audiences today remember when they think of Forbidden Planet is the single most iconic element of the film.

Robby the robot.

He’s what sticks.  Robby made a big enough impression to star in his own follow up feature a few years later (The Invisible Boy) as well as guest star appearances on The Twilight Zone, Lost In Space, Columbo, and scores of other movies / TV shows / personal appearances.

Pick an iconic element. Stick with it.

. . .

The trick to doing memorable sci-fi movies is keeping the key visual elements down to as few sharply defined items as possible.

Star Wars (i.e., the unnumbered original release) is even more crowded in detail than Forbidden Planet but it holds its iconic visual elements down to a crucial handful:  Masked villain in black.  Laurel & Hardy robots.  Friendly yeti.  Glow swords.  Big bad artificial planet.

Every other visual element serves those, and while they provide detail and texture, they aren’t distractions.

Seriously, jettison the plot of the original Star Wars and reconfigure it from the ground up with those elements and it still winds up pretty much the same film, just set on different worlds.

This is why later films in the series, despite bigger and bigger revenues, lack the memorable freshness and emotional clarity of the original (getting cluttered up with superfluous characters and vehicles inserted just to sell toys doesn’t help, and I post this as one of the original writers for the G.I. Joe and Transformers series).

To reiterate: If you want to make an impression, less is more.

. . .

We’re going to amble on over to a parallel path and talk about ultra-low budget / no budget / homemade / hand-crafted / DIY film making, particularly in the sci-fi arena.

I watch a fair amount of lo-to-no budget sci-fi on Amazon Prime and YouTube.  Many of these are done for pure love of the genre and the film making process, and from that POV of producers and participants just wanting to have fun, they’re modestly enjoyable.

From the POV of actual good film making and sci-fi…not so much.  (There are exceptions and we’ll get to one of those; patience, young jedi…)

The overwhelming bulk of these films -- features and shorts -- are pretty derivative.

I don’t mean “unoriginal” the way 80-90% of professionally produced media is unoriginal, I mean “derivative” as in trying specifically to re-create something someone else did first…

...and better.

And this is in addition to the plethora of Star Trek / Star Wars / Dr. Who / superhero fan films out there; those are a separate though related phenomenon.

Rather, it’s the unmpeenth Alien ripoff / the 400th E.T. variant / the latest Mad Max clone / the most current example of last decade’s biggest hits.

They’re generally not that good taken on their own, no matter how much fun the makers are having.

For me the nadir of such films are those done by film makers imitating bad movies by deliberately making a bad movie.

Don’t do that, folks. 

Please. 

Don’t squander time and talent doing substandard work.

I’m not saying don’t make the kind of film (or draw the kind of art, or write the kind of story) you want to make; I’m just saying don’t deliberately make a piss-poor job of it.

Block and Rabin may never have made a truly good movie but not because they weren’t trying!

Cheap films?  Yes. Exploitable films?  Yes.

But films meant to be as good as they could make them.

There’s an MST3K notorious bad 1950s sci-fi movie called Teenagers From Outer Space.  Tom Graef, its writer / producer / director / editor / co-star was a former film student wanting to break into the big time so he made this cheesy movie to the utmost of his ability.

And lordie, it ain’t good…

…but by gawd, he was trying.

The folks who make deliberately bad pastiches of substandard B-movies were always a sore point for Bill Warren.

“The original film makers weren’t trying to make a bad movie!” he’d rave.

So please, don’t do deliberately shoddy work and try to explain it away by calling it a “parody”.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a parody, and everybody in it is aiming for the centerfield fence, turning in A-level performances.

I know it’s fun making models and cobbling together costumes and props and sets from junk, and recruiting friends and family to have fun making a movie, and if your audience is just going to be those friends and family, fine.

But if you want to be seen and appreciated by a wider audience, have some respect for them…and your own abilities as a film maker.

. . .

All of which brings us in a roundabout fashion to The Vast Of Night, a recent ultra-low budget sci-fi film that asks the non-musical question “What would a Twilight Zone mash-up of X-Files and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind look like?”

“Pretty impressive,” is the answer.

Let’s start with the Achilles’ heel of most lo-to-no budget DIY productions:  The cast.

The Vast Of Night enjoys impeccable casting, a;; the way down to the most minor roles.

I can’t stress enough how important this is for small productions.

Actors give you more bounce for your buck than anything else on your budget.  Good actors can make mediocre material bearable, they can bring good material to full blown life.

In The Vast Of Night’s case, the two leads -- Jake Horowitz as Everett, an all night DJ in a tiny late 1950s New Mexico town, and Sierra McCormick as Fay Crocker, the local substitute late night phone operator -- play off each other with delightful on screen chemistry.

No kidding, I’d watch these two characters go grocery shopping for an hour and a half, that’s how well Horowitz and McCormick play off each other.

Next, the story.  Obviously story and screenplay come before casting, but in the final analysis an okay story is far better served by a good cast than a good story by an okay cast.

Screenwriters James Montague and Craig W. Sanger do a good job with their script for The Vast Of Night.  As noted, it’s far from original but is fleshed out with enough distinctive elements to let the cast find plenty to work with.

For aspiring film makers, the script is typically the least expensive part of the process, and if you don’t like your draft you can always chuck it out and start afresh,

Finally, it’s okay to look inexpensive but don’t look cheap.

You can get away with a stark cinema verité style if that’s what the material calls for but you need to keep a consistent style and tone throughout.

A lot of DIY films do themselves a grave disservice by spending a lot of time / energy / money on a prop / costume / special effect that calls undo attention to itself by being so much better than everything surrounding it.

Director Andrew Patterson keeps things stylish while clamping a lid on its budget; this good pre-production planning pays off with a consistency of style and tone that helps keep the audience engaged, their disbelief suspended.

The Vast Of Night is what I refer to as a “minimum basic movie” i.e., the lowest bar you should shoot for with your own film making.

It’s far from a deathless classic, but it’s a fun ride.

And speaking of fun rides…this ramble is o-v-e-r.

  © Buzz Dixon

[grim-on-the-darkside]

George Lucas involvement in The Clone Wars Series

This subject is being talked about by some here on Tumblr, so I thought I’d break open my Star Wars Quote files and share what I could to facilitate others who are already in discussions about it. I hope this aids them in that.

That said, Ohh boy, here we go. =]

-----------------------------------------

"This series [Clone Wars Series] at least to George is NOT EU, it is a part of Star Wars as he sees it. I think if anything there was a period where Henry [Gilroy] and I had to learn exactly what it took to be a part of George Lucas’ Star Wars, and tell the Star Wars story his way. We had to learn how to look at the Galaxy from his point of view and let go of some of what we considered canon after we found out the ideas were only EU." ~  Dave Filoni 2008

----

"This is Star Wars, and I don't make a distinction between [The Clone Wars] series and the films." ~ George Lucas, SciFiNow, October 2011

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"The TV series is exactly like the movies, exactly. I mean, you can see it in the clip. It’s basically just the movies only with cartoon characters. It’s basically a dramatic series, there’s a lot of action, a bit of humor." ~ George Lucas, 2008 Interview about the Clone Wars series.

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One of the main characters in the feature film, a 90 minute introduction to the series that hits theaters August 15, is Anakin's teenage Padawan, Ahsoka. Lucas said:

   "[With Ahsoka] I wanted to develop a character who would help Anakin settle down. He's a wild child after [Attack of the Clones]. He and Obi Wan don't get along. So we wanted to look at how Anakin and Ahsoka become friends, partners, a team. When you become a parent or you become a teacher you have to become more respnsible. I wanted to force Anakin into that role of responsibility, into that juxtaposition. I have a couple of daughters so I have experience with that situation. I said instead of a guy let's make her a girl. Teenage girls are just as hard to deal with as teenage boys are."

~ George Lucas 2008

https://io9.gizmodo.com/george-lucas-spills-all-about-clone-wars-at-skywalker-r-5033398

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"I get all my information on the Clone Wars from him. [George Lucas]"

"I can pitch him ideas and say 'lets do certain things', but at the end of the say he will say 'yes' or he will say 'no', and than that is the way it's gonna go."

~ Dave Filoni, 2019

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"The importance of The Clone Wars that cannot be understated is that it was the last huge expansion of the Star Wars universe that came directly from George Lucas." ~ Pablo Hidalgo

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"Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the biggest education on how George Lucas saw his Universe. Over 44 hours of his storytelling compared to the 13 hours or so he spent in live action."

~ Pablo Hidalgo 2018 https://ibb.co/ryvk5K2

------------------------------

DAVE FILONI: The First Time George Lucas Talked About Ahsoka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAjnLseHQwA

--------------------

"In discussions directly with George, he was very adamant about Jango not being Mandolorian, which is the entire reason that scene existed that moment. To have that specificity that Jango was not Mandolorian at least not to Mandolorians."

~ Dave Filoni, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6p9sM7OLFk https://ibb.co/WgCGf1X https://ibb.co/Y2wLHd0

FROM THE FILONI FILES: In the season 2 episode of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, Mandalorian prime minister Almec made the claim that Jango Fett is not a Mandalorian warrior. This info stunned many fans who always assumed he was pure Mando. Many claimed Almec was lying, others claimed it was a cover-up. This topic came up a few times during our conversations with Dave Filoni. In this compilation, Dave addresses the issue and sets the record straight.

https://ibb.co/x7j5BhK

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This of course resulted in massive retcons of the Expanded Universe version of Mandolorians. This wasn't on accident, this was intentional on Lucas part because he was pissed at some of the liberties and things people in the EU were saying that went against the agreement in allowed the EU to come into existance at all.

Seperate Universes. This wasn’t figurative, this was meant literally, and Lucas said it over and over. Plus he found out they were using the term  'canon' in reference to EU things, and that was a massive no no. Only his direct works were canon. This went against the agreement he made with Howard Roffman, who really didn't keep his side of the bargain officially. They were essentially lieing and being deceitful about the EU's standing. That whole Canon Tier, that wasn't a policy, that was the filing system Leland Chee used for the Holocron. It was only used by Lucas Licensing. It was all a big shame to make people think the EU had more standing in the SWs than it did by the legitimate agreement. Roffman was concerned that if people knew it was a separate universe and it wasn't canon that they would be less likely to spend their money on it because 'it didn't count'.

Roffman couldn't get Lucas to agree to it being one universe, he tried over and over again, but Lucas wasn't having it. This was behind closed doors at the time of course, Roffman comes clean about in a live broadcasted interview with a studio audience when taking questions.

They couldn't get Lucas to budge, and Lucas didn't really care about the retcons he might cause, and there was a lot of fighting over it. But, of course, Lucas was the boss and it was his final say. This had been ongoing thing, it wasn’t something happened overnight.

That's why you have accidental retcons of major story lines, opps... He says what is and isn't canon, no one else.  People weren’t following the guidelines he set, and he had been a pretty good sport about it overall. Again, this wasn’t overnight. It built up over time.

There’s some speculation about the specifics, but that there had been many angry words said, back and forth in the background. Roffman and Lucas apparently had a lot of loud conversations.

“So we would have very interesting skirmishes because we had a bunch of stuff that became to the fans pretty much canon [Head-canon] about what happened after Return of the Jedi, what different places in the galaxy were called, lots of different things and if he was proposing to do something in the prequels that contradicted that we would have long debates which usually ended at least after the first session with "I don't care this is what I'm doing", but after he 4th or 5th session sometimes "Alright 'maybe' we can change it this way."

~ Howard Roffman, 2017

[I’ll be sharing more very important quotes from that Interview with Howard Roffman soon.]

A great deal of the time, Lucas wouldn’t budge. The Mandolorian Storyline in The Clone Wars being one such example of that.

This resulted in Karen Traviss losing her mind over the Mandolorians Lucas made in canon, and she was saying she wouldn't go along with it because they were 'changing canon', which is totally untrue, but she made some public statements about it

"Please also be aware of one basic fact - all writers for a franchise have to follow official canon. You can't go off and do your own thing, or else the book won't get approved and printed. It's that simple. So please don't keep asking me to carry on in the old canon, because I'm just not allowed to."

Karen Traviss EU Author, 2009.

[This is what insanity looks like when you write it down. - Must follow canon, but wont let me carry on in the old Canon? Earth to Karen, please respond. The EU wasn’t canon!! ]

So Lucas shot back thru his head writer on the Clone Wars series, Henry Gilroy whom himself had been an EU author in the Clone Wars comics before being tapped for Canon Clone Wars series who responded, although not directly to her, but in response to her being unwilling to go on and leaving over it.

"It is unfortunate that [EU author Karen Traviss is] moving on because [of] her opinion that canon is being changed. I guess the big problem is the assumption that her work is canon in the first place.  After working with George on The Clone Wars series I know there are elements of her work that are not in line with his vision of Star Wars.."

~ Henry Gilroy, The Clone Wars series Head Writer/ EU Author [Comics] 2009

-----------------------

To Lucas, the entire Saga is about Anakin Skywalker/ Darth Vader, of course he was going to be heavily involved in the Clone Wars series, Anakin was one of the major reoccuring characters in it, that's Lucas pride and joy. But I digress....

-----------------------

“For me and my training here at Lucasfilm, working with George, he and I always thought the Expanded Universe was just that. It was an expanded universe. Basically it’s stories that are really fun and really exciting, but they’re a view on Star Wars, not necessarily canon to him. That was the way it was from the day I walked into Lucasfilm with him all through Clone Wars, everything we worked on, he felt the Clone Wars series and his movies were what was actually the reality of it all, the canon..."

~ Dave Filoni 2017

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"In the same interview, Dave Filoni said that George Lucas told him, that the movies and The Clone Wars television series, were the only thing Lucas considered canon." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_expanded_to_other_media

----------

"That’s one of the biggest debates in Star Wars, what counts? *The idea of what is canon? When I talk to George I know that he considers his movies, this series and his live-action series canon." ~ Dave Filoni, SW:TCW 2008

-----------

"I always think of the research you speak of as what I knew about the EU before I took this job. As I stated above, working directly with George changes the way you see the EU and everything in it."

~ Dave Filoni 2008

--------------

What do you think about Star Wars: The Clone Wars not following the continuity established previously in books and comics for the timeline between Episodes II and III? Could all those events that are being unfolded ever be folded into a coherent timeline? Some time ago you started a podcast related to The Clone Wars, will there ever be new episodes?

"As far as continuity, I see The Clone Wars as being no different than the arrival of the prequels in 1999. We fans knew that those movies would be a representation of the true Star Wars universe as imagined by George Lucas, and in some cases, it would not perfectly match the stories told by Expanded Universe authors. So, we had to unlearn all we had learned about the Mon Calamari being discovered by the Empire, about Boba Fett being Jaster Mereel, and about the Republic having a standing military.

I think with each episode, we start to get a better understanding about what the real Star Wars universe is like."

Pablo Hidalgo 2010

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"There's this notion that everything changed when everything became Legends. And I can see why people think that. But, you know, having worked with George I can tell you that it was always very clear -- and he made it very clear -- that the films and the TV shows were the only things that he considered Canon. That was it.

"So everything else was a world of fun ideas, exciting characters, great possibilities, the EU was created to explore all those things. But from the filmmaking world I was brought into, the films and TV shows were it". ~ Dave Filoni speaking about working with George Lucas

This is the actual video of when Dave Filoni said the above quotes during an interview on 'The Star Wars show' [41.40 mark] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcNXPNXOv2A&t=16s

----------------------

"What George did with the films and The Clone Wars was pretty much *his universe ,” Chee said. “He didn’t really have that much concern for what we were doing in the books and games. So the Expanded Universe was very much separate." ~ Leland Chee, 2017 - SYFY WIRE

------------------

“Lucas’ canon – and when I say ‘his canon’, I’m talking about what he was doing in the films and what he was doing in The Clone Wars  – was hugely important. But what we were doing in the books really wasn’t on his radar.”

–Leland Chee, 2018

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Pablo Hidalgo on Lucas and the EU being separate Universes. https://i.redd.it/3fpbkocr43q01.png "He [Lucas] only considers his movies and TV projects as his universe, and told the Clone Wars writers to only worry about those."

[That really says it all.]

-------------------

“The most definitive canon of the Star Wars universe is encompassed by the feature films and television productions in which George Lucas is directly involved. The movies and the Clone Wars television series are what he and his handpicked writers reference when adding cinematic adventures to the Star Wars oeuvre. But Lucas allows for an Expanded Universe that exists parallel to the one he directly oversees. […] Though these [Expanded Universe] stories may get his stamp of approval, they don’t enter his canon unless they are depicted cinematically in one of his projects.”

   -Pablo Hidalgo, Star Wars: The Essential Reader’s Companion, October 2nd, 2012

----------------------

"Canon is only what's on the screen. - Episodes I-VI, TCW and what's to come." Pablo Hidalgo, 2013 - https://ibb.co/S0fYM7q

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“Working on ‘Clone Wars,’ it was always canon.” ~ Dave Filoni

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[Orginal commentor] - "Some facebook site just posted a "Bring back GeorgeLucas" petition....wrong on so many levels. With Ep. lll & TCW he went out ona high."

[Pablo Hidalgo]   "Why would he ever come back to these folks? All that love and goodwill from the internet.=]"

[Second commentator] - "I remember the EU fans in the early-mid 00's trashed George endlessly, and now they act like he's their savior."

[Pablo Hidalgo] - *"And yet we are following his model of regarding the EU vs. his canon. Weird."

[Second commentator] - "Well they get the false impression that George was a big EU fan and stood by it."

[Pablo Hidalgo] - "Where do they get this stuff? =] It's like his last 3 movies and six seasons of TCW didn't happen!"

https://ibb.co/Q9GXSbd

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Q: Hi Mr Chee! I’ve got a question about continuity – are all the various different media of Star Wars (the films, TCW, the video games, the EU) intended to form a single universe, or is the EU intended as a parallel, alternate universe (like, for example, the different continuities between the various Batman comics and films)? I realise that fans tend to each have their own personal preferences, but I was wondering what the official Lucasfilm company policy regarding this was? Many thanks!

"The dual universe question comes up often. I know George Lucas has mentioned it being two universes, but that’s not how I see it. His vision is definitely not beholden to ours, but ours is definitely beholden to his."

Leland Chee 2012

[Nabbed!!! He was still talking his 'singular universe' garbage the week before heh]

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“Star Wars continuity, even EU continuity, does not rest on my shoulders. Our licensees submit product directly to either our editors or our product development managers. The Holocron serves as a tool for them to check any issues regarding continuity, and after that, if the editors or developers have any questions, they pass it along to me to check for continuity. At the same time, I am constantly on the lookout to make sure that any new continuity being created gets entered in the Holocron. With regard to the the films and The Clone Wars, I am not involved in continuity approvals though I have often been asked to provide reference material.”

~ Leland Chee

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"..at the end of the day there is a difference between what you see in the Star Wars films and TV series and what you see in those books." ~ Dave Filoni 2012

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These are pretty much all about the Clone Wars series, and him working with Lucas on it.

DAVE FILONI: George Lucas's Origin of "Mandalore" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yCjKTHjE0I&t=270s

DAVE FILONI: Is Jango Fett A Mandalorian? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPw08Bimr0Y&t=80s

DAVE FILONI: Working with George Lucas on The Clone Wars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaq8jRVtfnQ

DAVE FILONI: Incorporating Mandalorians Into The Clone Wars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whHJc3jX2AE

DAVE FILONI: Learning Star Wars from Lucas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_yLWLdDdQ

[This one is interesting, *if I remember it correctly* in this one he tells the story of how he and Henry Gilroy and Lucas were speaking and Lucas was telling them how things work and he told them that "He was teaching them how to make Star Wars for when he was gone".]

DAVE FILONI: Ahsoka vs Vader Duel Breakdown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=196kd-UvGEM

DAVE FILONI: Growing Up With Star Wars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB0tMecj51s

Dave Filoni on Ashoka vs Vader and Midi-Chlorians - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBKQfbN7Vaw

These are just some of them, there are alot more and even in ones where it doesn't specifically site Lucas in the title, he comes up in all of them at certain points and talks about working with Lucas on the Clone Wars, so if your interested in this subject, it really pays to listem to all of them, they're facisinating insights and you learn so much about so many things both in story and out of story, some really good stuff.

They're call ins for Rebel Force Radio, They interview Filoni constantly, theres a ton of of them on Youtube. This should get you started and than you can go from there on your own if you were interested and hearing more. Really good stuff.

--------------------

There’s a lot more, but I think this should serve as a good example of just how pervasive Lucas’ direct involvement in the Clone Wars series was.

Lucas loved it. He saw it exactly like the movies in terms of importance.

[hahaha1d0that]

Let me start by saying that I apologize for the coming post. I know a lot of people love the Star Wars sequel trilogy and characters, but I’m angry about this right now.

Disclaimer: This argument is based solely on the movies, NOT Resistance/comics/books/etc.!!

As a Star Wars fan, I am very disappointed in the sequel trilogy. There are many problems with it.

The fact that J.J. Abrams admitted that the trilogy would have been better if they had a plan

The three movies are not very cohesive in telling one story/there seems to be no one superior goal in mind to accomplish by the end of the trilogy

The characters development is nearly nonexistent and honestly pathetic

The characters had so much wasted potential

The amount of fan service was astounding and it still doesn’t make up for the other atrocities of this trilogy

The story wasn’t very compelling

Making money was the primary objective

There are many good things in the trilogy and things that I liked but overall it is my least favorite part of Star Wars. It makes me angry simply because its so repetitive and confusing.

Was Snoke a Sith Lord? If he was, why wasn’t it made clear to the audience in the movies he is supposed to be a major villain in? If he wasn’t, then bringing Palpatine back breaks the Sith Rule of Two. How did he rise to power? Who is he? Where was he throughout the franchise?

These are questions about one character, that anyone might have after just watching the movies.

Who formed the First Order and when? How did it become as powerful as the Empire? How was the New Republic reduced to almost nothing over a couple decades?

The storytelling is so incomplete. There are so many gaps and plot holes.

The antagonist across the trilogy is whiny, not very intimidating, has a poorly developed origin story, and questionable motives that are so vague that it is difficult to inderstand his reasoning and beliefs. In the end, he is redeemed only to die after some slight consideration and persuasion from the main protagonist. So he rethinks his entire life and trauma because a woman told him he could do better? That’s not how real disturbed people think…

The main villain of the third movie wasn’t even present (or even known to be alive) for the first two movies in the trilogy. The movie starts and all of the sudden “somehow…palpatine returned.” That’s it?? That’s the explanation? How did he survive? How did he get to Exegol? How did all of those star destroyers get on Exegol? The Empire was gone, his army was dismantled, few lotalists remained. Was he cloned? Because honestly, I’ve seen the movie several times and I’m still confused. It doesn’t make any sense.

Not only is Palpatine alive, but the main protagonist is his granddaughter. So much for ‘you don’t have to be somebody to be important, as long as you work hard, you can achieve anything.’ Now Rey has force abilities that she never had before (or that didn’t even exist in the franchise before this)?

Rey’s character is so tragic because she had so much potential and it was wasted. She was abandoned as a child and is forced to scavenge around dangerous wreckage to make a living supporting herself on one of the worst planets in the galaxy. Does she hold that against her parents? No, she hopes that her parents will come back for her. She gets anxious when she’s been gone for a while because she’s afraid they’ll finally come when she’s away. She never let herself become bitter or hateful. She was hopeful, innocent, and passionate. However, her character develops to make it her personal mission to take on the First Order and Kylo Ren if it’s the last thing she does and she’s plagued by stubbornness and self awareness of her power and strength as a Jedi.

This annoys me deeply. Her character never really progressed from this from TLJ to ROS either. It’s almost like its a different person from TFA Rey, despite TLJ immediately following TFA in the timeline.

I’d also like to point out that Poe’s character was also shit on by the writers, especially in ROS. For the first two and a half movies his entire character can be summed up as: I’m a hotshot flyboy; I want to fight no matter the consequences; I fly X-wings; I have an adorable droid that I am highly protective over. That’s it. And then, in ROS, suddenly its revealed that he was a former criminal and drug smuggler?? Poe? Poe Dameron?? What?

How about Finn’s character only being in the background to yell “REYYYY” whenever she puts herself in harms way (which is often). The amazing lightsaber duel against Kylo Ren? In which Finn held his own for a decently long time considering he had little to no training with a weapon of that kind against someone proficient in the ways of the dark side (which typically made force users more ruthless in their attacks)? Doesn’t matter. The hints of his force-sensitivity? What hints? Finn, a Jedi?? Hahaha, no.

Dont even get me started on Rose. Great backstory, sister sacrificed herself for the cause during a desperate hour and saved the day, but in doing so left her grieving sister behind. Beautiful. Rose was such a big part of TLJ’s plot and then she’s just kinda there for ROS...it’s sad. Not to mention the romance between Rose and Finn that was never developed??

You know what, all of the protagonists were done dirty, as well as their actors. It’s clear what Disney’s goal was: making money, and lots of it. How do we convince people to buy movie tickets/merchandise/toys/etc.?? Well, let’s cast some minority actors/actresses to make people think they’re going to be represented only for the white man‘s character to be the most developed by the end of the trilogy. Daisy Ridley (a woman), John Boyega (a Black man), Oscar Issac (a Latino man), and Kelly Marie Tran (an Asian woman) were cast as protagonists. And who got the most attention/praise/development? Adam Driver (a White man). Dont get me wrong, Adam Driver is a great actor and he did an amazing job with what he was given, but really?

Even the returning characters were poorly handled. Luke’s character development is controversial so I’ll stay away, but Han?? So they decided after ROTJ that Han was the type to leave his wife and son to travel with his best friend?? Uh ok

The sequel trilogy’s plot, if you can even say that, is so repetitive to the original trilogy it’s embarrassing. A force-sensitive main protagonist, whose parents abandoned them and left them to live on a desert planet to avoid the truth about their family heritage, met an old guy that was significant earlier in his life, went on a quest with him which effectively roped them into fighting the fascist dictatorship controlling the galaxy that they previously didn’t give a shit about, teamed up with an ex-imperial deserter along the way, was trained by a different old guy that was also significant earlier in his life but decided to exile himself and live in seclusion because some of his padawans were murdered by the Skywalker villain, learned the truth about their family and the darkness within their blood, became a great unofficial Jedi knight anyways, destroyed weapons capable of obliterating entire planets, and eventually defeated Palpatine by teaming up with the main Skywalker antagonist that sacrificed themselves to save the main protagonist’s life. Sound familiar?

It’s truly sad. If you look into George Lucas’ plan for the sequel trilogy before he sold Star Wars to Disney, you’ll find that it’s much better different from what we got and it is actually pretty similar to what The Mandalorian is trying to portray. (Maul was brought back from the dead to be the sequel trilogy’s big bad guy but we never got it)

[theabominableblogger]

Rewatching “Attack of the Clones”

Why yes, I am doing this.  Because why not?

My apologies in advance because this post is so long...

*starts singing the Star Wars theme*

ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC!

OK, now you it’s a bad sign when they pan up.

They did it in Rogue One but I’m excusing that movie because it’s awesome

“There was no danger after all.”  Bullshit, Typo.

*Corde dies*  AND THEY BLOW YOU UP!  BOOM!

Wait, there’s an Imperial siren going off in the background.

PLO KOON!

Barriss!

Sly Moore!

LUMINARA!!!

Plo Koon’s prosthetics look terrible in the movies

Is that Uncle Ono from TCW in the hologram?

*starts imitating Ki Adi Mundi when he says “He’s [Dooku] a political idealist, not a murderer.” *

Fun Fact:  the guy who plays Ki Adi Mundi is the Ood in “Doctor Who.”  Mind blown.

I hate Obi-Wan’s mullet in this movie.

Obi-Wan’s like “freaking get me outta here” when Anakin compliments Padme

You can tell how much makeup they put on Natalie Portman in this scene.

“It’s overkill, Master.”  Obi-Wan’s the kill master...

“She hardly even recognized me...”  God dang it, Anakin.

*Jango Fett hands off the assassin centipedes*  God the green screen...

She [Padme] has the most unnatural sleeping position

Man, I feel bad for all the actors in the prequels.

How is R2 asleep and not hearing those bugs??

Fun Fact:  the SFX team used grapefruit to make the noises of the centipedes

OK, you’d be able to feel a bug crawling up your arm.

Imagine if Anakin freaking beheads Padme instead of the centipedes?

Cue end music.

“Stay here!”  BUT I...

Anakin, just fly freaking straight!

Gotta dramatically take my face cover off...

“I hate it when he does that.”

Which implies Anakin has done this before...

Anakin climbing on top of the bounty hunter’s airspeeder is almost exactly like Kanan on top of Fenn Rau’s ship in “The Protector of Concord Dawn“ except Kanan doesn’t lose his lightsaber.

OUR RIDE’S HERE!

Here’s a challenge:  try to identify all the freaking alien species in this Coruscant bar

Must be a Halloween party going on...

Did she just say “sleamo?”

Yep, I think she’s dead, Anakin.

SHAAK TI!

Yeah, you’re [Jedi Council] gonna let this horny 19 year old Padawan escort the love of his life back to her home without anyone else to help out.

GREEN SCREEEEEEEENNN!!

*Padme tells Jar Jar to fill her place in the Senate while she’s away*  Nooo....

The window cleaning droids!

Those are some huge ass robes on Anakin

Oh my God, Anakin...

“Sorry, m’lady.”  *groans*

I didn’t realize Padme’s handmaiden was crying!  Now I feel sad now!

OK, they can tell Anakin’s a Padawan:  he has his braid still in!  At least bobby pin in so that it blends in!

YOU WANNA CUP OF JAWA JUICE????

I freaking love this scene between Dexter and Obi-Wan.  Shut up.

Ewan McGregor’s got a little dimple or something on his forehead and I can’t stop looking at it.

“Hey, no droids!  Get out of here!”  says a droid

Padme just really likes wearing doilies in this movie.

AN:  Heads up, we’re only fifty minutes in at this point.

“We are encouraged to love.”  That’s a really loose interpretation, Anakin.

Take a shot every time Anakin says something really creepy about Padme in this movie.

*Obi Wan talks in the youngling class*  [gasp] Imagine if one of them is Kanan?

I don’t know whether or not he was an Initiate at this point.

*goes to consult the “Last Padawan” comic*

Wow, sudden scene change within a sentence!

SIO BIBBLE!

OH MY GOD, ANAKINNNNNNN....

The voice of Lama Su (Anthony Phelan) is so cool.

I DON’T LIKE SAND.  IT’S COARSE AND ROUGH AND IRRITATING AND IT GETS EVERYWHERE.

*DEEP INHALE*

There was literally no point to that scene other than to give Anakin and Padme an opportunity to kiss.

*whispers*  One of those clones is Rex....

So many freakin’ CGI clones...

And now a picnic...

“They [Jedi mind tricks] only work on the weak-minded.”  That’s a compliment, Padme.

“I’d be much too frightened to make fun of a Senator.”  But I am anyway!!!

*Anakin rides one of those living potatoes*  Behold, the Chosen One.

*Anakin falls off*  SO FAKE!!!

*Anakin and Padme roll around*  They’re not even on a hill!

*deep inhale*

I love how they got the same kid who played Boba Fett here back to play Boba in TCW

What’s with these weird close ups?

*Jango tells Boba something*  Please someone teach me how to speak Mandao’a.

Damn, look at the cuts on Jango’s face.

Apparently, George Lucas told Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman to improvise in the “aggressive negotiations with a lightsaber” scene but it went really NSFW really quick so they had to stop after the “negotiations with a lightsaber” line.

God, why does Padme wear that halter dress in THIS scene?

There is no reason why she should have changed from the previous scene.

God, you can tell how nonexistent the chemistry is.

“I’m haunted by the kiss you should never have given me.”  Well wait a minute, you kissed each other back and Anakin initiated it!

“My heart is beating, hoping that kiss does not become a scar.”

*GRIMACES IN IMMENSE PAIN*

God, Anakin, do you have to be so ANGRY?!?

WHY DOES PADME NOT SAY ANYTHING?!?

“You are asking me to be rational.”  YES, BE RATIONAL!!

*groans*  The dialogue in this freaking scene...

So they kinda vaguely wrap up the whole Sifo-Dyas C-plot in TCW but even then, we’re like WTH?

*Yoda says the Jedi can’t use the Force*  That’s like saying the Pope can’t talk to God.

“Jedi don’t have nightmares.”  Lies.

“I have to help her.”  *groans*

Slave I!

Obi-Wan, that lightsaber is your life.

Oh my God, the green screen!

Sorry, Obi-Wan, you would have no arm left after that stop.

Jango freaking bumped his head on the door...

What is with Padme’s costume here?

What is this explosion disc thing Jango uses to try to get rid of Obi-Wan?

*in best young Boba Fett voice* GET ‘IM, DAD, GET ‘IM!  FI-YAH!

Just a random thought:  what do the clones in TCW think of the Fetts?

I love this shadow shot of Anakin and Padme saying goodbye.

This is “Duel of the Fates!”  Why is it playing here?

Unless they’re referring to the fact that Anakin’s fate changes whether or not his mother is alive or not.  That sort of thing.

How do the Separatists not know Padme is still alive?  Unless Anakin does such a good job at hiding Padme on Naboo and Tatooine...

“The banking clan will sign your treaty!”  *in best alien voice*  ALSO I GOT MY HEAD STUCK IN A CAR DOOR!

This staccato music here when Anakin sneaks into the Tusken Raider camp is actually kinda cool.

The ten-second mother-son chemistry between Hayden Christensen and Pernilla August is probably the most compelling thing in this movie.

This music though.

Oh my God, the way Mace sits down!

OK Anakin, explain this body [Shmi’s corpse].

“OK, Hayden, just glare at the screen.  There ya go.”

“I’m good at fixing things.”  You know what you have to fix though?  Your mental state.

What is this hippie dress Padme’s wearing?

“I killed them.”  Did you kill them all?

“I killed them all.”  They’re all right, right?”

“They’re dead.”  Oh, so just the men.

“Not just the men.“  Oh, but like the old men?

“But the women-”  What?!?  But not the children!

“-and the children too.”  But they’re people!

“They’re like animals!  And I slaughtered them like animals!”  But you don’t hate them!

“I hate them!”

“To be angry is to be human.”  To kill Sand People divine.

Anakin is the worst friend ever.  His father figure is being held captive, and what does he do?  Listen to the Council like a sissy.

Oh my God, freaking Jar Jar, no...

Why does Obi-Wan’s ray shield cell spinny?

Wait, I forgot Dooku trained Qui-Gon!

“Dellow felegates.”  *immediately slams head on desk*

Oh my gosh, pterodactyls!

“I love democracy.  I love the Republic.”   I love it.. so much!

“I’m not a freaking goblin.”  says the freaking goblin.

*Anakin and Padme sneak through a tunnel on Geonosis*  This is like “The Great Mouse Detective,” where Basil and Dawson go through the sewer pipe to get to Ratigan’s lair.

When I was little, I used to be able to imitate and time the smashing machine on the assembly line.

*3PO gets into a mess*  Just... erase this whole gag entirely.

*rolls eyes loudly*

How did Anakin not see that mechanical arm swinging toward his face?

Ani, you have no arm at this point.

Imagine if Padme gets burned by lava.

None of the original trilogy happens.  Cue end credits music.

“Not again.  Obi-Wan’s gonna kill me.”

*in best Obi-Wan voice*  I hate it when he does that.

“I thought we weren’t going to fall in love.”  WHO D’YOU THINK YOU’RE KIDDING/ HE’S THE EARTH AND HEAVEN TO YA!

My love for Obi-Wan’s snark in this scene knows no bounds.

*Geonosians cheer when the Separatists cheer*  Heck yeah, I’d cheer for Christopher Lee too!

“She [Padme] seems to be on top of things.”  But not on top of Anakin yet.

[I am forcibly removed from the fandom] 

*starts imitating the nexu*

Wait, isn’t that big mantis crab thing from Ryloth?

Wait, nevermind:  the acklay are from some planet called Vendaxa.

*Padme lands in the saddle*  Sorry, you’d have no kids after that landing.

*starts imitating Nute Gunray saying “Jango!  Finish her off!” *

*The Jedi invade the gladiator arena*  HECK YEAH!

*starts naming off all the Jedi because I can*

GREEN SCREEN!

This whole scene was filmed on a green screen.

There was no point to that flip, Mace.

*Mace hits that rhino thing*  NOOOO!!!!

*Jango kills the rhino*  NOOOO!!!

Boba’s in the corner like “Whaat?  My dad just died??”

Kit Fisto’s smile.  Oh my God.

*3PO makes jokes while being dragged back to his appropriate body*  [groans] Just... kill me...

AAYLA SECURA!!!

*Ki Adi Mundi helps Kit Fisto onto the clone trooper ship*  Whaddya bet Ki Adi Mundi and Kit are like best buds?

What language is the Geonosian language based on?

“We must get the Star Destroyers back into space.”  When did your voice change?!?

“If they [the Jedi/the Republic] find out what we are planning to build, we are doomed.”  Circle inside of a circle?

*Dooku flies to his ship via speeder*  The Hoveround takes me where I wanna go...

What is this shaky cam zoom on the clones?

“We’re out of rockets, sir.”  HOW???

“Don’t let your personal emotions get in the way!”  OK, Obi-Wan totally knows that Anakin and Padme are a thing.

Sooo... why was Dooku’s ship halfway across the desert?

Because we needed dramaaa??

GREEN SCREENNNN!!!

My personal headcanon is that the clone that falls off the ship with Padme is Rex.

DOOKU’S FREAKY ASS SMILE!!

*Obi-Wan gets injured*  OK, man, get up.  You’ve survived worse.

*Anakin destroys the wire for the lighting*  DRAMATIC LIGHTING!

THEY’RE NOT EVEN HITTING EACH OTHER!

What is this Force-measuring contest between Dooku and Yoda?

There’s literally no point to it.  It’s just Dooku going “My use of the Force is bigger than yours!’

[I am forcibly removed from the fandom]

*Yoda catches the Sith Lightning with his hand*  OK, so this is totally unrelated, but in the Star Wars Force Arena game, you can get Kanan as a character, and HE DOES THAT!

FILONI, EXPLAIN!

*Yoda just jumps off the ship*  HARDCORE PARKOUR!

Why doesn’t Obi-Wan move himself and Anakin away from the falling pillar?  Are they just that injured?  Obi-Wan, you just have a cut on your arm and leg; you can move.

ANAKIN AND PADME ARE MAKING OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YODA AND OBI-WAN!!!

“Do you believe what Count Dooku said about Sidious controlling the Senate?”  He IS the Senate!

Where are all the other chairs?

“Begun, the Clone War has.”  Best line in the movie.  It’s also the last line in the movie.

Is Mas Amedda just yawning in the background?

Padme is just covered in doilies.

IT’S OVER!

*goes and watches the entirety of TCW*

[jayne-hecate-writer]

My Star Wars DVDs...

Hello there my Darlings, I have asked you here today so that we can discuss something that is rather close to my heart, so much so, that rather than just write this blog as I think it up, like I usually do, I have actually researched this one. Now before we get going, I will assume that you have all seen Star Wars...

Oh fuck yeah! I am going to talk about Star Wars and so now all of you nerds reading this are no doubt are sharpening your Wolverine claws, in readiness to tear me a new one for mixing up the basic facts. If that were not bad enough, you purists are then going to bite my head off for coming out and saying proudly that Jar Jar Binks was really not that bad and I actually quite liked him! Go on hate me.

If you are still reading this, then be warned, what I am about to discuss may contain spoilers, particularly if you have not seen all of the Star Wars content available.

However, before we get there; this blog is not me trying to work out the story of episodes eight or nine, nor is it me looking for hidden meanings in the stories. Instead, this piece is about my love of Star Wars, my personal journey both with and within the franchise and how I discovered some surprising things about myself and the world, as I explored the Star Wars universe.

My first real memory of Star Wars was seeing The Empire Strikes Back, upon its release, when I was probably no more than eight or nine, which would have been around 1982. The memory is hazy and to make matters more interesting, I saw the film in a British Army cinema while living in Germany, so it is anyone's guess how long after official release that was. Upon release of this movie, I can recall utterly falling in love with the Empire and in particular the AT-AT walker. The nerds among you will now be wondering if I call these great beasts at-ats or Aye Tee Aye Tees. This is by itself a complex question and one that I believe both Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo have given ambiguous answers too, so I can hardly give an opinion, can I?

With the release of Return of the Jedi; I was again in a foreign country and I did not see this movie until it was shown on television! This is almost a blasphemy, but in my defence in lived in a country that was not English speaking and I do not know if the army cinema was still going at that point.  

My Dad did of course show us all of the movies when they came out on VHS, but these were rentals rather than bought movies when back in the days of our youth, we rented the movies that we wanted to see, rather than collected vast sets of tapes, like we do now with DVD.

The next step for me came when I met another Star Wars fan and we house shared for a few years. At least once a month, we would go through the movies, starting with good old VHS and then moving into DVD when they became more common. My friend at the time also introduced me to the idea of collecting real movie props and well made replica props. Genuine prop blasters used in the Star Wars films were made from real guns, modified with added on parts. I seem to recall that the Storm Troopers used blasters modelled on the Stirling SMG, a gun I recognised because my Father was issued one while in the Army. My friend had a plastic replica toy, full sized and painted white with a bright orange tip. I was super impressed by this gun, even more so because it had Star Wars printed on the side in the the iconic logo font. These days I would be less impressed by such a toy, but this is only because I am now familiar with the replica props made by many You Tube users, that look screen ready.

In 1999 I got my first really good job on an activity centre in North Wales, working as a climbing instructor. On my first day on the job, I stood in my very first staff meeting and in front of a group of about twenty people, none of whom I knew, I laid my nerd credentials on the table for all to see. In my strong and determined voice, I informed my new team that I very much needed a day off in the middle of the summer season to go and see the new Star Wars movie: Episode One - The Phantom Menace. There was a lot of laughter from my new colleagues, but their laughter quickly faded until the summer and the movie came up in conversation once again, on the day it was released. My manager had forgotten that he had agreed, months in advance, for me to have the day off to see the movie; until I reminded him of his decision of course.

There was a lot of concerned faces and then a few happy grins as our conversation was remembered. My manager and I then set out in the company Land Rover, with half of the other instructors along for the ride to the cinema in Bangor just to see a brand new Star Wars film. The prequels came out over the next few years, but that first film remains strong in my mind for the memories it brings. Especially as a few days after seeing it for the first time, the Boss and I escaped again to watch the movie for the

second time. Yes, I know that many of you disliked this movie, but I enjoyed it and I actually thought that little Jake Lloyd was rather cute as Anakin.

After the release of Revenge of the Sith; things on the Star Wars front went quiet for a while. True, there was the Clone Wars cartoon, but the very first season of this was a stylised set of war movie shorts that never really gave us the strong characters whom we knew and loved. Later revamped seasons used a different style of animation that was more story oriented; but I am still trying to gel with the seasons as they are. Sadly and according to the Lead Star Wars Story Group writer, Dave Filoni, the Clone Wars came to an end before he was able to finish the story.

With the Sale of the Star Wars franchise to Disney, things looked bleak. A close friend of mine messaged me via Facebook to inform me that just like him and all of his favourite super heroes; Disney now owned my soul. At the time I felt like it was a sad day indeed. How wrong I was. George Lucas appointed Kathleen Kennedy to head of Lucas Film as he retired and she took the franchise to a whole new level.

Most recently Rogue One came out and for the first time in my adult life, I found myself sat with my girlfriend at a midnight showing, on the opening night of a movie so powerful, I spent most of the final act weeping. As the titles rolled at the end, the audience as one mind stood and they clapped a furious applause. As I wrote at the time, it felt as if I had found my people. 

Which now leads me to this time, when as I write this, I have The Force Awakens playing on Blu-Ray, having worked my way through the whole fucking set set. Some time ago, I discovered within the forums of Star Wars fans that there is a suggested play list for all of the movies. Now obviously, our Great Holy Father Lucas says that we should watch them in numerical order. But if we do this, it leads us to some uncomfortable moments in the story, moments that Star Wars fans like Seth Green used to great effect in his TV show Robot Chicken.

We start with Episode One - The Phantom Menace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMG2PQ7oIr0

Second comes Episode two - Attack of the Clones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DFOE0td1Yw

Third is Episode three - Revenge of the Sith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7FMh3YtK_w

That is the official prequels in all of their slightly hammy goodness and I love them. They do however lead us as intended into the original trilogy.

The fourth movie is Episode Four - A New Hope.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cizlx6ODhuE

Fifth comes Episode Five - The Empire Strikes Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMMVrYly73k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpE_xMRiCLE

Sixth in the list is Episode six - Return of the Jedi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvfp5l7kgo4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qAKXK_aLeA

That is the original child pleasing trilogy with all of the goofiness of stone age technology teddy bears bringing down the vast industrial complex of the empire with just logs on ropes.

Up next is the newest trilogy, only one of which has so far been released.

The seventh movie is Episode Seven - The Force Awakens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaOSCASqLsE

Later this year comes Episode eight - The Last Jedi.

In 2019 we can expect Episode nine – which is as yet still untitled.

Before you even start to think it, I am not here to theorise along lines of

what these movies are going to be about or how the death of our Princess Carrie Fisher will affect them. What I will add though is the thought that the other films and TV shows in the saga have to fit into this story line somehow, but where and when? If we insert them into the time line, we can put The Clone Wars after episode two and then rebels after episode three. At the end of rebels we can insert Rogue one and somewhere in here will be the new Han Solo movie, due out in summer 2018 (forty one years after Han Solo first hit the big screen). When asked if we should watch them in this order, it seems that official opinion is that the main films are in order with the other films and shows can be put in around them, pretty much when you fancy. But this does not work for me, I want see the progression of our characters. I want to see the story arc played fully.

This brings us onto the now famous Ernst Rister order, named after the man who developed it. His playlist puts them in a strange order so that the big reveals can be kept. After all, what good is it learning that Anakin and Padme had children, when the big reveal of episode five is that Luke is Vader's son? So with that in mind, his order goes as follows.

Episodes four and five in order. Flash back to episodes one, two and three in order. We then finish up with Episodes six, seven, eight and nine. Again the other films and shows can be watched when you like without upsetting the basic story too much.

For all of you baby Anakin haters, there is also the Machete Order. A dirty playlist which removes episode one all together, but still puts the rest roughly in the Ernst Rister order. The big difficulty with this dirty playlist is that when you watch the Clone Wars series and then Rebels, some of the plot makes no sense, especially if you are a fan of Maul in those later stories. Seeing the terribly sad closing of Maul's storyline in Series three of Rebels did once again move me to tears. Not bad for what is in effect a kids cartoon show. Don't judge me too harshly though, Father Lucas does get a little freaked out by us hardened Star Wars fans and he does remind us all from time to time that he did make them mainly as kids movies!

Now with the release of the breath taking Rogue One and the fabulous Rebels, I wanted to put them into the time line and the viewing schedule. Oh yeah, did I not say that I was a bit of a Star Wars nerd? Given that I own most of these on DVD now and with my being physically rather broken thanks to illness, I have the means to try to sit down and watch these things  

in one go. I have since discovered much to my consternation that it is no longer possible to do all of Star Wars in a single day. Using an adaptation to the Ernst Rister method, I fitted Rogue one, Rebels and The Clone Wars into the set too and this was the watch order that I experimented with, along with my darling partner and it led to some serious discussion between us over whether it worked.

Jayney's viewing order.

Rebels season 1 - 3.

Rogue One.

Episode Four.

Episode Five.

Episode One.

Episode Two.

The Clone Wars Season 1 - 6.

Episode Three.

Episode Six.

Episode Seven.

I will add episodes eight and nine along with the Han Solo movie to this list as soon as they are released.

So what have I missed out? Well to start with there is the infamous Christmas Special... That horror is available on You Tube (I am not linking to it, if you want to look for it, that is up to you) and I have watched it. Well some of it, well I had to and I can confirm that it is nasty! I can see what Father George has disowned it!

I have also missed out the Ewok Movies. After all, in their day the Ewoks were considered to be as popular as Jar Jar became in the prequels. I have also missed out the animated series Droids, mainly because I don't think that it is considered cannon any more. According to my research it is available on DVD, but some of the less scrupulous cartoon networks on line also have it available. Now that you know this, be warned. If you want to show this series to your kids, the on line experience is likely to expose you and your kids to the sort of hardcore porn that is frankly frightening. This is after all how these unlicensed websites pay for their bandwidth. I have also not included the new animated series of short individual stories, called Forces of Destiny. This because at the time of writing, they are not officially  

out yet out.

My biggest omission by far though is the written word, those stories of the expanded universe (known in Star Wars circles as the EU, probably the only EU half of Britain will allow discussion of!) of star wars, books that introduced us to fabulous characters such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, who later became a central part of Rebels. There are so many books, comics and shorts here, that it is all but impossible to fit them all in, let alone read them all in one lifetime. Unfortunately, The Star Wars Story Group have also stated that many of the original books are no longer considered cannon. They no longer fit into the Star Wars Universe, removed like a bad cutting in a row of vibrant plants.

Finally, I have also ignored the impossible viewing experience of the Time Machine Order, which takes the movies back to how they were when Jedi came out and before father George fiddled with them. My reason for this is simple. Face it people, that time has passed. From now on, Solo shoots second, Young Anakin appears as a Force Ghost in Return and Vader when revealed beneath his helmet, will always have lost his eye brows. So my fellow fans, wipe your tears away and move on. It is not the 1980s any more! More importantly, when I checked my old VHS editions of the original trilogy, it is the widescreen revamped version from the early 2000s. Bugger!

So you may ask, what was like like watching Star Wars in such a complicated and comprehensive way? Did it fulfil my viewing needs? Was the great reveal still a resounding shock? Did it work?

Well, ahhhh… No.

Now I can maybe see the point of viewing them like this if you have never seen them before. As a story teller myself, I can see the benefit in the mechanism of the flashback, I really can, but for me, it made the whole story too much of a mess. Flitting about in the time line made it a pain to follow. It also put some of the more boring elements of the saga right in the middle of the story. Namely following the terrifying end of Empire, where we witness the power of Luke’s failure on Bespin, we dived straight into a low grade trade dispute and encountered the jelly brained Jar Jar Binks. The lesson here is this, do as the Holy Father says, watch them in order.

Now on the subject of Jar Jar, I must say that I was genuinely taken by the theory that he was a secret Sith Lord. The evidence was there for Jar Jar turning out to be on the Dark Side, but it appears that the story was changed following criticism of the character by fans. The only person who knows the truth of what the Holy Father wanted to do with Jar Jar is the Holy Father himself and Lucas has been less than keen to discuss it as fully as I (and many others) would like. Instead, several members of discussion forums and even You Tube have dissected the theory, examined the evidence and stated their conclusions. Maybe Dark Jar Jar would have been an interesting way to go, but when you look at what we have in the story arc, it is Jar Jar who creates the special laws that put Palpatine in place. What bigger hint towards his fall into the darkness is there than that? I like to think of Jar Jar afterwards, once the Jedi are all but gone, with him sat alone in his world of empty rapidly fading power, lamenting on the choices he made. It is so sad and it was this type of thinking that gave me a new sympathy for him as a character.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rHyf0FBvt4

Meanwhile another development has occurred in the franchise that also appeals to me and it is something that comes up time and time again. If Anakin was destined to bring balance to the force, how was he to do it if he had to pick a side? By choosing between the light and the dark; he created an imbalance that Luke carried on into episode seven. Maybe this is why the Jedi order collapsed around him and why Ben Solo became Kylo Ren and followed Snoke? Maybe this is what is meant by Luke in the trailer for the new film when he says that the Jedi must end? Sadly I am not going to explore that line of thought. When the new film comes out this winter, I do not want to have spoiled it for myself by concentrating on theories and trying to work out the story. Instead, I prefer to wait and find out. Only then can I discuss it.

However, there is another area for clues that we can discuss and that lies within the story of Kanan Jarrus, in series three of Rebels. After he is blinded during his duel with Maul, Kanan escapes from the Sith temple with the help of Ezra and they take the Sith and Jedi holocrons to the new Rebel Base. It is here that Kanan sits in combined self pity and misery until, that is, until he encounters the fabulously interesting being called The Bendu. The Bendu is neither a creature of the light nor of the dark, but rather something else. He states that he is of the Grey. Thus The Bendu is

balanced in the force, he sees both the light and the dark, the Ashla and the Bogan and I would love to see the story take this arc. This is clearly preferable over the moralistically easier writing of “good over comes evil and everyone lives happily ever after”. As a plot device this vagueness is far more interesting. This is especially so when given that The Bendu is barely understood by Kanan or Esra and is capable of so much more than either Vader on the Sith side and Kanan on the Jedi.

When you look at Rogue One, there are again these moments of grey, acts of good carried out by the Empire and acts of evil carried out the Rebels. Neither Jyn Erso or Cassian Andor have led lives free of the dark side, Cassian pretty much admits as much towards the final act of the film as they prepare to take the Imperial transport. The result is that this film is darker, grittier and more believable. As we see Cassian and Jyn give up everything that they are to make the universe safer, maybe they have moved more into the light? But in doing so, they have walked through an awful lot of dark to get there. It is for this reason that I think that the stories should be viewed in Time line order

Maybe when Yoda states that there is another, when talking to Obi-Wan as he fears for the loss of Luke in episode five, he is referring to Kanan training Ezra? Providing of course that the Rebels of Lothal survive the final season of Rebels as it leads into Rogue one.

Of course, The Bendu is not the only Force wielding being not to follow so blindly the doctrine of the Jedi or the Sith. There is also Ahsoka Tano, Anakin’s former apprentice from the Clone Wars. She leaves the Jedi order and yet still wields the force and a pair of white sabres. Her loss in the Sith Temple was another moment that brought me to tears as I watched Rebels. The same Rebels that appear in Rogue One, with the Ghost appearing in several scenes, Chopper rolling through one scene and a PA call for Hera. Could they make it any more obvious that the Rebels end up in the world of Episode Four?  This is why the Ernst Rister Order does not work for me, it leaves out far too much important detail.

Well there you go. This must be one of the longest posts I have written and it has taken me days of research, days of watching Star Wars and hours of thought to compile my argument. Was it worth it? The answer to that is obvious. I was watching Star Wars, of course it was worth it.

[thotclaws]

A rant that I need to get off my chest. Please don’t take any of this seriously, this is just a ramble that I need to calm myself down..Soooo All of this is just my personal opinion. You may have yours, which is fine. Write down what else do you think about this situation?

So. I’ve been a fan of a small show that has grown into one of the best animated show’s ever...not Steven Universe. NO, Star Wars Rebels.

During it’s first run, it has been known throughout the community as the worst thing to ever happen and no one gave the show a chance for it to shine and it did. It’s now becoming very popular in the SW community. That and the show has gotten good ratings on Disney XD, but also seeing that there are shows that get lower raters due to Disney XD being more for teens but that’s not really the main focus. 

I’ve seen ships and fanfiction throughout the net. I’m glad this it’s gotten the love and attention it deserves but there was a time when it was hated and it still is. I don’t know why but I may have to explain. 

You see. Not everyone is STILL taking the purchase of Lucasfilm too lightly and has gone far as to say that the fandom will forever be tainted. BITCH that’s been happening since the prequels and I know that they’re not good movies, but I still like only a few things to come from it. There’s good things and bad things from everything. Nothing is perfect. So let the prequel lovers love it!

*Clears throat*

I like the show, is it perfect? no of course not. I have my problems with The Clone Wars but that doesn’t mean that its superior over Rebels, not exactly. Rebels and TCW are equally good. I remember watching TCW when it started to become popular and I started getting into the SW fandom during that time. By then I started wanting to watch anything Star Wars related. Even the prequels (even though their mediocre in my eyes but they could be better in script. The script was shit). In my eyes, I liked anything that came out of the fandom. I also remember TCW not being very good during it’s first season run, and now that it’s gone on to have 6 seasons, it’s not good for some odd reason. This is why I still won’t get the fandom and it’s spoiled fans. Once something new has been made with different characters and a different setting. Now here’s where the rant starts and how it just when down hill from there. 

By the time of my graduation in 2014, Disney announced that all of the Expanded Universe material is now considered non canon and rebranded as Legends. The fandom went into flames over this. I couldn’t believe that they would erase most of our beloved stories and characters. Now I understand why they needed to be wiped away. For one thing, there was a shit ton of contradictions and another is giving the freedom to write whatever the fuck they want with the characters, and most of the time, they end up either lame, stupid and or OP AF! Either way, I’m glad that it’s wiped away. Do I want some material or characters to be canon? Of course! I’m not saying every piece of good material should be canon. I’d much rather have it worked into the actual canon. 

I’ve seen many posts bashing Lucasfilm, sending out death threats and it was insane. Who the fuck has the audacity to be a terrible person that has no control over you? I mean seriously. Just chill. Disney is doing a good job of taking care of the canon. They have writers and on lookers in Lucasfilm to make sure that nothing contradicts each other and has the freedom to go all out on what they want. Not what the fandom wants, only time when someone has a petition to get something canon. So the fandom was really in rage. I didn’t understand the commotion cuz I haven’t read any Legends material up until recently. I never understood why so many people hated the fandom or still hate it to this day. All just because Disney wanted to go in a direction that fans weren’t anticipating. I’m glad it’s like that. If you please ALL fans, then there wouldn’t be any imagination left to write. Having an open mind is a good thing, and that what Disney wanted. They wanted to go in their own direction, they wanted to make Rebels and that got hate for no damn reason just because Disney wanted to make another 3D animated show that was like TCW when the only reason why it never got a proper conclusion was the purchase of Lucasfilm. TCW was airing on CN and CN isn’t owned by Disney. If they did decide to remake it and finish it, then I’ll be happy but being patient is the only answer to what the fans want. 

I hate it when a show gives the audience what THEY want, it’s ruining what I love about shows and writing. I love it when creators don’t give a fuck what the audience want. That’s why Game of Thrones has such a massive fanbase is because George R. R. Martin is someone who doesn’t specialize in pleasing everyone. If a show is running out of idea’s, it may be a good time to end it. I love it when creators know that if a fanbase is ruining or doing good (for the most part) job of being a balanced fandom. The only reason why I left the DW fandom was because it wasn’t for me anymore. It gave me what I wanted to see in an adventure in time and space and I still love the show, but the problem is that once you’ve done everything that you wanted. What do you do now? Do you continue and get more money? Or do you end it and say that’s it. That’s the main problem with what I have with this show. Is that once you have all of the idea’s told, that’s it really. 

For Star Wars it’s the same. Legends was good at making planets and giving us good characters and an few excellent stories that were recognized by George Lucas himself. Timothy Zahn is just one of my favorite authors that hasn’t lost touch with who they are. If you look up his interviews. You can tell that he’s just so humble, he just has a lot to say. That’s what I love about a person who’s still continuing their passion. So he’s has a fanbase of his own. That goes the same for the entirety of Legends ALL of it is fan fiction, and some pretty damn good ones if I do say so myself. 

Speaking of which. I think the point I’m trying to make here is that. Once a team is doing something that you don’t personally want. That’s totally ok, but some just had to be a bitch about it. Thrawn is canon, Are you happy that he is? Let me talk about Thrawn for a second. I’m going to be honest, I never knew who he was and what his back story was. I just known him in Legends and passed it off as just a character. Now Mara Jade. I knew who she was. For Thrawn, I didn’t know how his character worked and now that he’s canon. It made me want to look him up. I read about his character in Heir to the Empire and loved it. (I’m still waiting to get Dark Force Rising and it’s taking me a while). Now I’m obsessed with his character. It puts me in the shoes of someone who has grown up with these types of stories and seeing them being wiped away...it made me sad. I understood how the Legends community felt. 

*Wipes away a tear and clears throat again*

Let me talk about Rebels for just one second. I love this show. Does it have problems? yes. Not every show is perfect but for a show for me to love and watch is more different than what I do. I look and criticize what I’m watching. Is it a bit too kid friendly at times? Yes. What did you expect from a TV-Y show? Hehe. Anyways, the show has gotten hate the first time it was announced. When I read the comments on some of the SW’s YouTube videos on Rebels. It breaks my heart to see that they haven’t given it a chance, now when season 2 was announced. They started to see that it had some potential and watched it. I was super surprised that they wanted to watch it. Now that season 3 is here (AND IS ON HIATUS AND IT’S KILLING ME!! ><) Thrawn is announced to be the main antagonist. That’s when the flood gates of the Legends community spilled to the fandom and thanked Lucasfilm for giving us back our blueberry Grand Admiral. I’m happy that he’s canon. He’s the perfect character for our hero’s to go up against. He’s a great antagonist and I can’t wait for the novel to come out. I bet Timothy Zahn is so happy that he get’s to write Thrawn again! :D 

Now this is also where the hypocrisy lies. There have been fans complaining of the lack of “quality content” (which is bullshit) and that Legends is SOOOO much more better than the actual canon and that Rebels is stupid and Oh...Thrawn’s in Rebels? OH SOOOO NOW YOU WANT TO WATCH THE SHOW JUST BECAUSE THRAWN IS IN IT?! WTF? REALLY?! THAT IS A LOAD OF HORSE SHIT! Are people this egotistical or just assholes IDK? But that part pisses me off the most. Some fans clam that Disney is not going to do a good job of holding the mold of the canon and it’s going to get messed up like Legends were, and they don’t take a moment to think of what they just said. Disney is a BEAST of a company, so they’re going to make sure there aren’t anything left out of place. They just don’t have faith in the continuity of Star Wars and it makes me sad beyond belief. 

I thought the show would suck, but I watched it and I love it. I think Rebels has a lot of things that surpasses that of TCW and vice versa. I love Kallus’ character. I thought he was a good villain, now he’s developing as a character and it’s nice to see that the team and Filoni is making a good show and taking care of the characters. If it was a bad show, then they wouldn’t have these explanations that I’ve mentioned above. It would have poor ratings, bad character development, terrible CGI, and awful writing. It would be spread through out the community as a bad as it is, but it isn’t. There are fans flocking to see what happens next, and now that there’s the hiatus...K. You got me there hehehe. They’re just doing some touch up’s and that’s good right? Keep a show running smoothly is to make it better. So even though I don’t mind the hiatus...I’M JUST DYING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH SABINE! FILONI WAAAAHHHYYYYY!!!?! ;-; 

 fijodfiohhkdf h; ag rhiorg oih4weijeworji.kfrz.kjewg dbjgs dkfesdhkjaegrihk

That’s how I feel about now. I may be cynical, but I’M A CYNICAL FANGIRL! WOOO!! I’m like an old man sometime...heheheh. I’m like old man Rex.

I’m not forcing you to watch the show. I’m asking for those who haven’t gave the show a fucking chance. DO IT NOW before you pull some random bullshit out of your ass. I always have everything to support my opinions. This isn’t really a rant on just Rebels but just the fandoms views on Disney and how they’re being ‘effected’ even though none of them contributed to writing anything good from Legends. Sooo...

Like I said. I’m cynical ;) doesn’t mean I can still enjoy something. 

I think I’m done with this rant. Hope this was enlightening on my opinions on the fandom as a whole. If you want me to rant on anything else. Leave me a reply and I’ll see what I can do. I’m pretty good at rambling. 

[buttonholedlife]

The most important Star Wars character of all time is Wat Tambor, leader of the Techno Union Army

1p>> In some ways, developments are visual results, however when it comes to lightsabers, Wookiees, R2-D2, and also Darth Vader, the best enduring Celebrity Wars factors may not be for your eyes, yet as an alternative for your ears.

A lot of hardcore Superstar Wars followers recognize that epic sound developer Ben Burtt is accountable for R2-D2's tones as well as the hum of a lightsaber, however did you understand that this individual likewise possessed a scene-stealing moment in Star Wars: Episode II-- Strike of the Clones!.?.!? Primarily, it's listed below that Superstar Wars fandom may be steamed down to pair of kinds of people: Those who realize that Ben Burtt was a fantastic audio designer, as well as those who think about him as the voice of a green tooth-headed quasi-cyborg with the dubious given name of "Wat."

If you are actually rational, you come under the 1st camp. If you're me, you're securely in the 2nd. According to at least one job interview, Ben Burtt illustrated the character Wat Tambor as his "beloved Celebrity Battles robot," however that is actually Wat Tambor? The solution: Wat Tambor is the absolute most crucial and also peculiar Celebrity Battles personality of all time.

Of all, despite creating the vocal for Wat Tambor's pair of lines of discussion, Ben Burtt is theoretically wrong. Wat Tambor is not a robotic. True, he talks in a halting, automated manner, and also changes themself along with little bit of dials on his metallic chest if you want to eject one of his pair of pipes in a Superstar Wars movie, but he's not a robot. Tambor is actually a Skakoan, a participant of an aquatic race of aliens that, when off-world, are actually called for to use a pressure fit to simulate their house planet's setting.

If you were actually truly awaited up on that thing George Lucas said once about repeating aesthetic concepts in the Superstar Wars movies-- "it feels like poetry, they rhyme"-- you could be skewed to advise that Wat Tambor's tension match prefigures Anakin's fate to live inside of a breathing apparatus as Darth Vader. Isn't it more enjoyable to simply believe of Wat Tambor as a silly invader that is also more significant than Darth Vader? Because, in phrases of the strategies of exactly how the Star Wars universe is changed, Wat Tambor is, as a matter of fact, means more vital than Darth Vader. And also that's considering that unlike Darth Vader, Wat Tambor practically provides the goods.

Wat Tambor and also Obi-Wan Kenobi; ships coming on the evening.(Credit Rating: Lucasfilm

)Wat Tambor's very first of two appearances in live-action Star Wars films remains in ... and also because tale, he modifies every thing.

In some ways, the story of Strike of the Clones can be simplified this: Below are actually the extremely particular nitty-gritty details of just how an intricate sci-fi battle was paid, through which each sides began the battle without possessing a standing army. Naturally, we understand coming from the headline of the movie that the State eventually obtains a soldiers of clones who attack, yet the "crooks"-- the Separatists-- use an army of war droids. Right now, we had actually satisfied militaries of war androids in the previous movie,, but what Attack of the Duplicates makes clear is actually that brand new, even more extreme struggle droids are actually taken right into the Separatist war initiative to make certain the androids are formidable to roar with the Jedi.

Get Into Wat Tambor. As Obi-Wan listens in, our team hear (however do not entirely see) Wat Tambor utter among his 2 galaxy-shaking lines in his humorous faux-robot vocal: "Along with these new struggle androids our experts have actually created for you, you'll have the finest soldiers in the universe."

What battle droids performs he describe, pray inform? These would certainly be actually the "incredibly" fight droids who trigger the Jedi such difficulty in the field battle by the end of the movie, and also, if you've been actually checking out, these are actually the very same range of struggle droids worrying younger Mando as well as his family members in those hallucinations.

So, you observe, actually, exactly how significant Wat Tambor is? His incredibly fight droids secured a lot of Jedi on Geonosis and also, relatively, orphaned young Pedro Pascal, triggering him to come to be The Mandalorian in the initial spot. Had Wat Tambor certainly not developed the brand new war androids for Count Dooku and the Separatists, the Clone Battles will possess certainly never occurred given that the Commonwealth will never ever have actually been cajoled right into approving the duplicate army they really did not actually really want. As well as this also implies Mando would have probably certainly never end up being an orphanhood. And if Mando had actually never ever ended up being an orphan, that would certainly possess saved Infant Yoda???

An incredibly fight android in' The Mandalorian.'Wat Tambor made these traits!

Each of these activities were actually placed in to movement since of the only various other scene in Strike of the Clones through which Wat Tambor communicates. Again, as Obi-Wan listens in, Count Dooku entices a bunch of dishonest individuals to dedicate their forces to the Separatists. This is when Wat Tambor gets his big close-up; changing himself like a broken 1983 Tandy saggy disk travel fused with Maximum Clearance's rhythmus, he says, "The Techno Union Army is at your disposal, Count."

Throughout both variations of The Clone Wars animes (the 2002-2005 Genndy Tartakovsky non-canon one, and the even more famous 2008 version) the Techno Union Army and also Wat Tambor create a handful of looks (including an arc where he infests the world Ryloth), yet it is actually not like you ever acquire the sense that Wat Tambor is a great association leader. Possibly the most effective comparison for Wat Tambor is actually that he's a little like Jimmy Hoffa; he as well as the Profession Alliance clearly believe that obtaining entailed along with the crowd (the Separatists) will certainly help their trade guilds and techno unions, but the truth is, the Separatists are way even worse than any real-life mob. (Edge note: Note Martin Scorsese failed to claim anything negative about Superstar Wars flicks during the course of that entire Marvel motion picture rhetoric. Is it feasible he was actually inspired to perform after watching Wat Tambor and Anakin Skywalker in the prequels? I think the solution is a big indeed.)

Speaking of Anakin Skywalker, he plainly understands how legitimate Wat Tambor is actually due to the time of Revenge of the Sith given that when he goes to secure all the Separatist leaders, the next-to-last individual he punches with this lightsaber, is, you suspected it, Wat Tambor. Wait, is Wat Tambor actually dead?

Zero, Wat Tambor, don't get up. Anakin will certainly correct there

.(Credit Scores: Lucasfilm)You are actually possibly quite knowledgeable about this shot of Anakin Skywalker (this really takes place to become the monitor you'll get for the recap of Retribution of the Sith on Disney+ at this moment), but there is actually a possibility you certainly never discovered that Wat Tambor is actually, like, delicately obtaining up from his chair after Anakin has actually gotten almost everybody else in the evil Separationist authorities.

In the staged launch of the movie our experts certainly never find Anakin actually get Wat Tambor, our company merely acquire this chance of Wat standing up, apparently to adjust his dials and also possibly use Anakin some also cooler new droids. Purportedly, Wat Tambor performs die in this performance. If you do some Googling, you'll learn there is actually a deleted arena where Anakin takes out Wat, however, you'll certainly not discover it in the contemporary Disney+ "add-ons" for Vengeance of the Sith. And also, unlike a ton of prequel-era removed arenas, it is actually kind of challenging to uncover the real video recording of Anakin eliminating Wat.

Hang on Anakin. Wat desires to talk. (Credit Rating: Lucasilm)

So, what is actually the package? The databank mentions that Wat must "answer for his unlawful acts" on Mustafar, which is actually where our team get this image of him and also Anakin having an intense chat. Yet, strangely, although Wookieepedia claims Wat Tambor is one hundred per-cent dead, it's really difficult to locate him in the aftermath of Anakin's rage. An ordinary person would only allow that Wat Tambor's death was shed on the cutting space floor, but if you are actually a Wat Tambor patriot, you might think he's still around.

In short, every person understands that Anakin eliminated all the Separatists on Mustafar, however what a few hopeful fans really hope is actually, possibly he failed to?

If Wat Tambor is still available, then possibly the previous foreman of the Techno Union Military created Palpatine a lot of spaceships for. I suggest, those Superstar Destroyers needed to stem from someplace, right?

This content was originally published here.

[grim-on-the-darkside]

Star Wars Quotes regarding the Expanded Universe and it’s place in things under Lucas. -------------------------------------

I’ve shared quotes on this subject in the past, I don’t believe I have shared these ones, some I have only found recently, and other’s I had but I’m not the most organized person, so I found them again. I apologize if some of these are repeats, I tried to avoid that as much as possible. All of these quotes are verified, but you should never take anyone’s word for that on the internet. Feel free to verify them yourselves.

Anyone who would like to use these quotes and include in some of their works, by all means. It isn’t always easy to get to the truth of things, there is a great deal of misinformation on the Internet. It is only my wish to see George Lucas’ legacy remembered for what it was in truth. He gave us such a wonderful gift, that has touched the lives of so many, in so many ways. Wherever our interests may lie, I feel we own him something in return. - This is a decisive subject, and its been so for many years. This is in no way intended to speak to the artistic value found in the EU, that is a totally subjective consideration. There are no right or wrong opinions. Just opinions and everyone is entitled to their own.

I just want his Star Wars to be remembered as it truly was and his words and vision as they truly were. In the end, we all share our love for his creation with each other.

Star Wars is Forever.

"The importance of The Clone Wars that cannot be understated is that it was the last huge expansion of the Star Wars universe that came directly from George Lucas." ~ Pablo Hidalgo

--------------------

"I always think of the research you speak of as what I knew about the EU before I took this job. As I stated above, working directly with George changes the way you see the EU and everything in it."

~ Dave Filoni 2008

----------------

DAVE FILONI: The First Time George Lucas Talked About Ahsoka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAjnLseHQwA

--------------

"I get all my information on the Clone Wars from him. [George Lucas]"

"I can pitch him ideas and say 'lets do certain things', but at the end of the say he will say 'yes' or he will say 'no', and than that is the way it's gonna go." ~ Dave Filoni, 2019

-------------

"From Issue 77 Of Star Wars Insider, Using Dark Empire & The Thrawn Trilogy As Examples. "So so episodes beyond Return of the Jedi exist? Nothing beyond possinle story points and ideas, certainly not fleshed out story treatments or scripts. Fans often wonder if Dark Empire or the Thrawn Trilogy were based off those notes or are meant to be Episodes VII, VIII, IX. - That's not the case. Those works are the creation of their respective authors with the guidance of editors at Lucas Licensing. They are not, nor ever were, meant to be George Lucas' definitive vision of what happens next" ~ Pablo Hidalgo, 2004 https://ibb.co/K9PMgH3

[This is a screenshot of the Original Text that I found]

-------------

“Everything that I’ve worked on at Lucasfilm has been considered canon.” ~ Dave Filoni

--------------------------------------

“Working on ‘Clone Wars,’ it was always canon.” ~ Dave Filoni

---------------------------------------

One of the main characters in the feature film, a 90 minute introduction to the series that hits theaters August 15, is Anakin's teenage Padawan, Ahsoka. Lucas said:

   "[With Ahsoka] I wanted to develop a character who would help Anakin settle down. He's a wild child after [Attack of the Clones]. He and Obi Wan don't get along. So we wanted to look at how Anakin and Ahsoka become friends, partners, a team. When you become a parent or you become a teacher you have to become more responsible. I wanted to force Anakin into that role of responsibility, into that juxtaposition. I have a couple of daughters so I have experience with that situation. I said instead of a guy let's make her a girl. Teenage girls are just as hard to deal with as teenage boys are."

~ George Lucas 2008

https://io9.gizmodo.com/george-lucas-spills-all-about-clone-wars-at-skywalker-r-5033398

-----------------------

"Understand, that the Holocron's primary purpose is to keep track of Star Wars continuity for Lucas Licensing and to some degree Lucas Online. To my knowledge, it is only rarely used for production purposes."

~ Leland Chee 2005/6

[Lucas was in Production]

-----------

"Star Wars continuity, even EU continuity, does not rest on my shoulders. Our licensees submit product directly to either our editors or our product development managers. The Holocron serves as a tool for them to check any issues regarding continuity, and after that, if the editors or developers have any questions, they pass it along to me to check for continuity. At the same time, I am constantly on the lookout to make sure that any new continuity being created gets entered in the Holocron. With regard to the the films and The Clone Wars, I am not involved in continuity approvals though I have often been asked to provide reference material."

~ Leland Chee

-------------------

"The question selected from The Furry Conflict poll was: How much does the Expanded Universe influence the movies?

As I asked him, Lucas leaned back a moment and said to me “Very little.” When he first had agreed to let people write Expanded Universe books, he had said “I’m not gonna read ‘em” and it was a “different universe” and that he wanted to keep away from the time period of his saga. He jokingly complained, however, that now when he writes a script he has to look through an encyclopedia to make sure that a name he comes up with doesn’t come too close to something in the EU.

He later commented that the future of Star Wars may lie in other venues outside of feature film."

- "Marc Xavier", November 2003, "The Furry Conflict and the Great ‘Beard‘ of the Galaxy"  (report based on a Q&A session with George Lucas which occurred at USC on 11-19-03)

--------------

"Q: in that vein, is it possible we'll see more Star Wars TV product?

A: Because I"m retiring from this part of my creative life, I'm open to more TV Product. but not more feature films, the story is complete. [and any other story wouldn't be my philosophy and views,] the books are not the same philosophy as the movies."

George Lucas 2003

---------------

Q: Can you quote any good story other than the movies?

A: No, I don't think so. (laughs)." ~ George Lucas

----------------

"George's view of the universe is his view," Chee says with a slightly grudging tone. "He's not beholden to what's gone before."

~ Leland Chee 2008

----------------

"And then there's the very top level of canon, the inviolable, infallible level of Truth, marked GWL—George Walton Lucas. It's the divine word of the Creator who stands outside his universe and is not subject to the rules that govern it."

~ Leland Chee 2008

Meet Leland Chee, the Star Wars Franschise Continuity cop.

[Actually, it was more like that Chee was standing outside of his.]

---------------

"Understand, that the Holocron's primary purpose is to keep track of Star Wars continuity for Lucas Licensing, and to some degree Lucas Online. To my knowledge, it is only rarely used for production purposes."

~ Leland Chee [I'm not sure about the exact date on this, but I think its from around 2004 or 2005]

[Lucas worked in production]]

------------

"I've been against a multiverse even before Disney"

~ Leland Chee 2018

[No, really? =p ]

--------------

"Is the "C" class part of the overall continuity alongside "G" class?"

As far as LucasBooks and Lucas Licensing are concerned, of course it is. LucasBooks and Lucas Licensing hold sway over the content and storylines of the Expanded Universe, and thus have every right to declare a canon of those materials. Whether this internal declaration is subscribed to by parent company LFL or Lucas himself is another matter, one which, though interesting, is outside the scope of this Holocron-oriented thread.

Leeland Chee 2004

-----------------

"So with the Story Group overseeing all of the content in film and television and elsewhere, we don’t have to retroactively make those changes. We can anticipate those changes. We can seed things in one medium [and see them grow] in another. So we might be seeding things in books or TV that you might not realize is substantial until years down the road. And if people knew what the road map looked like, they would just be floored.”

Leland Chee, 2017 - SYFY WIRE

[Chee is much happier working for Disney. He finally got what he wanted. A one Universe Star Wars.- Which would be great besides for that whole Disney part! =p]

----------------

“In these early drafts, the planet was called Had Abbadon. The name Coruscant came from author Timothy Zahn for his 1991 novel, Heir to the Empire. It's actually a real word that means ”glittering” or ”giving forth flashes of light.” When it came time to name the city-planet for Episode I, after considering several other names, Lucas decided to go with the already established Coruscant."

- Steve Sansweet, LFL/Fan Relations, June 2003

------------------

“As far as I know he hasn’t read any of my novels. From what I’ve heard Lucas is a visual man, he likes the comic books for the visual aspect. Frankly I don’t think that he has time to read so I am not offended.”

-Timothy Zahn, Author for the EU, The book report interview November, 1997

-----------------------

That means Zahn’s books won’t be directly adapted, but the author says that was always the case: “The books were always just the books.”

“It could be an entirely new storyline, but if he picks and chooses bits and pieces from the expanded universe, we’d all be thrilled to death.”

~ Timothy Zahn

-----------------

"Q: Did George Lucas intend for Boba Fett to die in the sarlacc, despite what others may say or print?

A: Yes, in George's view -- as far as the films go -- the baddest bounty hunter in the Galaxy met his match in the Great Pit of Carkoon where --unfortunately for Mr. Fett -- the ghastly sarlacc made its home.

However, Lucas also approved Fett's comeback in the expanded universe. And of course, by going back in time with the prequels, the Star Wars creator has brought Boba Fett back to life himself, albeit at a much younger age."

- Steve Sansweet, LFL/Fan Relations, December 2002

-----------------

As far as I know, George Lucas himself is not involved. He has a liaison group that deals with the book people, the game people, etc. They do the day-to-day work. Occasionally, he will be asked a question and will give an answer."

"I did meet Lucas once for a few minutes."

~ Timothy Zahn

[They spoke about 1930′s cinema and Samurai movies. They never even talked about Star Wars! How nuts is that!]

Timothy Zahn’s Trilogy was outstanding. Gotta give him his due.

---------------

In 2014, Disney declared the Expanded Universe was no longer canon. It became ‘Legends’. What do you think of this, seeing all of your work suddenly become non-canon?

"Those of us writing the EU were always told, all along, from the very beginning (have I stressed that strongly enough?), “Only the Movies are Canon.” Sure, it was disappointing."

~ Kathy Tyers, EU author [Truce at Bakura] Interview: April 2018

https://starwarsinterviews.com/various/authors/kathy-tyers-author/

-------------

EU Disclaimers [Stating these were not George Lucas' Sequels and not what he would use.] - [I did not take all of these personally, but they do match those that I did.]

https://ibb.co/GfwK0CB https://ibb.co/Tr3dj06 https://ibb.co/19B66B1 https://ibb.co/p1mCFcm https://ibb.co/rtSVh7d https://ibb.co/Tcm7dFy https://ibb.co/ygQXjCN https://ibb.co/GRvmV7V - Jonathan W. Rinzler is/was an author and editor for Lucas Licensing's book division. In 2005, he was hired to write three Star Wars guide books,respectively Star Wars: Visionaries (although he only wrote the introduction of this one), The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. He later went to write The Art of Revenge of the Sith that same year. In 2007, he wrote and published The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film amongst many other such works for Star Wars.

This is more than a disclaimer, it's a quote, this is a question directly to him as he worked in Lucas Licensing asking him if the Expanded Universe wasn't considered canon ever why did Lucas allow it to exist. Answer - Money. He was also a personal acquaintance of Lucas' for many years. He also is quoted as telling the story as to why Lucas hated Mara Jade so much. -

Rinzler, George Lucas “Couldn’t Stand” The Character Of Mara Jade - http://starwarshub.net/2019/02/01/according-to-author-j-w-rinzler-george-lucas-couldnt-stand-the-character-of-mara-jade/

[Lucas said [paraphrasing], ‘Jedi don’t marry. They take vows.’

[This site also contains a good amount of information on the only legitimate sequel trilogy to Return of the Jedi, the one Lucas came up with himself and completed Treatments for Episodes, 7, 8, and 9 in 2011.]

For a more in-depth look at Lucas’ Sequel trilogy treatment in so far as we know it, these are excellent sites and we know a lot more about his Sequel trilogy and his vision for how the Saga was truly meant to end. There’s some beautiful concept art to be found as well.

George Lucas’ Episode VII - https://medium.com/@Oozer3993/george-lucas-episode-vii-c272563cc3ba

George Lucas' Ideas for His Own Star Wars Sequel Trilogy-https://io9.gizmodo.com/george-lucas-ideas-for-his-own-star-wars-sequel-trilogy-1826798496

STAR WARS: The Original Plans for the Sequel Trilogy - YouTube -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1dM9qFe4p0

https://ibb.co/jvph85c