#to now talk about the phantom menace (1999) but only if YOU are ready for that conversation

[tennessoui]

didn't realize how far the brainrot actually went until someone in conversation today casually used the word 'menace' and i was like. that's a star wars word. that's not a real person word. do they want to talk about darth maul now or

[yestolerancepro]

Tolerance Project extra a long time ago in a Galaxy far far away

Part 3 Spoofing my Childhood and the boy will bring balance to the force

Introduction

Hello there and welcome to the third and final chapter in my own trilogy of blogs on the Star Wars Saga Chapter 1 covered the making of Star Wars my memories of the toyline and seeing Star Wars on Television in 1982 in the UK Chapter covered Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi my memories of both films and the lost sequel Splinter in a minds eye the third and final chapter will cover my feelings on the Prequel trilogy and the shooting of the Tolerance film which featured its own Star Wars spoof

Why did we pick Star Wars as our first spoof in the Tolerance film

When we decided to make the Tolerance film in 1999 we thought the best way to approach the film would be through the medium of a dramatic comedy, this we would do through a series of film spoofs.

The first one was the most obvious was Star Wars if you talked to any child of my generation who grew up in the 80s Star Wars was the big one with its space battles Special effects and that music by John Williams.

 It was also the first blockbuster film to have a concerted push towards moving merchindise such as books action figures breakfast cereals the list could go on forever. To take a look at a tiny fraction of the Star Wars Merchindise on offer see this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6epoVSz8m2o

For the Tolerance film we used the blockbuster main theme to tell our story. And spoofed the now classic opening dialogue crawl that appeared in all 9 movies we slightly tweaked ours so instead of it telling you about the battles of the rebel alliance against the evil empire it told you about what the Tolerance project was and what you would be watching over the next 25 mins

You can read about how Star Wars created that original opening crawl by clicking here https://www.slashfilm.com/1322995/how-star-wars-created-original-opening-crawl-using-black-paper/#:~:text=Thus%2C%20to%20make%20the%20crawl%2C%20they%20had%20to,illusion%20of%20the%20letters%20progressing%20up%20the%20screen.

To learn more about the Original Star Wars film that was released in 1977 click here��https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8_7IAP-biU&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV1syq4_fFKgBwSqGdJzH9z&index=265 to watch the original 1977 trailer click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g3_CFmnU7k

Deleted scene  Scene 3: Princess Leia Dream Sequence

The first deleted scene in the Tolerance film was the first of the intended film spoofs, taking off the popular science fiction film, Star Wars. In the finished film, there is a Star Wars homage, but the director, Richard Helliwell, shot it differently from the script. In 1999 when we were filming, there was no CGI, nor did we have the budget for anything out of the ordinary!

 Robert is in a Star Fighter ready to fire his thermo bombs into the Death Star. Dissolve to Robert, who receives a medal from Princess Leia, but she is not Princess Leia, she is Robert’s girlfriend, Julie.

Interestingly some of the deleted scenes were included in the props list (see the picture below the deleted scenes are highlighted in Green)

The Star Wars dream sequence for example has the following list attached to it Star Wars Footage blue screen equipment fighter pilot clothing medal Princess Leia dress there is a star Wars spoof in the finished film but it was not as direct as this one.

Star Wars the Prequel Trilogy The Boy will bring balance to the force

The scene continues 1 minute 22 seconds with the Star Wars music still playing, we get a nice opening shot of our leading man, David Smith, fast asleep, clutching a book about the latest Star Wars film, The Phantom Menace (episode 1), with his wheelchair close by. David Smith plays our hero, Robert.

Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace was doing its initial cinema run when we were shooting the Tolerance film  so it only seemed fair to include it as part of our Star Wars spoof sequence. 

Star Wars Episode I the Phantom Menace was one of the last VHS tapes I ever bought when it was released on the 4th April 2000. what do I think of the film now  nearly 25 years later? very good it could have been a lot worse.

The space battles are very good as are the light saber battles the  music by John williams is as always top draw and the performances from the cast are mostly of a high standard

Its not my favourite film of the prequel trilogy though a lot of people favour Episode III Revenge of the Sith but I find that a hard film to watch for me its the middle chapter of the trilogy attack of the clones that gets my vote

I am not the only that likes Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones as Steven Speilberg likes it too as he mentioned in this interview with Slash film click here Steven Spielberg Praised A Maligned George Lucas Star Wars Movie

I think it also helps that I went to the cinema to see this one that put the cherry on the cake.

Further Watching

The Prequel trilogy

To watch a trailer for Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV3Y85xphI3YrPVq3Q5wI_7&index=6&t=35s

To watch a documentary called 10 things you didn't know about Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones from Minty Comedic Arts click here 10 Things You Didn't Know About Attack of the Clones

To watch a trailer for Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYbW1F_c9eM&list=PL17vqAEJv6CV3Y85xphI3YrPVq3Q5wI_7&index=7

To watch a documentary called 10 things I did know about Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith from Mintys Comedic arts click here 10 Things You Didn't Know About Revenge of the Sith

To watch a trailer for Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIYyXcCwvKc

Further reading

The art of creating an exciting Star Wars trailer according to Disney this article from the people at Screenrant includes comments on the trailers made for the prequel trilogy perticulaly Star Wars Episode I the Phontom Menace and Star Wars Episode III  The Revenge of the Seth read the article by clicking here https://screenrant.com/star-wars-trailer-shots-not-in-movies/#kylo-igniting-his-lightsaber-in-the-forest

As Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Meanace turns 25 Yahoo news publishes 10 known facts about the first prequel film to read the article click here https://uk.news.yahoo.com/star-wars-episode-phantom-menace-073000145.html?guccounter=1

To read an article on how the Star Wars prequel trilogy changed the Star Wars Franchise Forever Click here https://www.cbr.com/how-star-wars-prequels-changed-franchise/

To read an article on why it took George Lucas so long to make the Star Wars prequel trilogy read this by the movieweb film website

Why Did the Star Wars Prequels Take So Long to Make It to the Big Screen? (movieweb.com)

What is the best order to watch the Star Wars films ?

If after reading this epic blog on Star Wars you want to watch the films again George Lucas once commented on the order you should watch the films in according to a recent post on the Far out magazine website .

Although Star Wars is the most popular franchise of them all, it always stirs up a considerable amount of debate. Pretty much every Star Wars film and show since the original has proved divisive in one way or another – even The Empire Strikes Back, now often heralded as the pinnacle of Star Wars on-screen, received mixed reviews back in the day.

And while the original trilogy is generally held in high esteem, George Lucas’ prequel trilogy and Disney’s sequel trilogy remain bitterly divisive and contentious among fans, even though there is actually plenty of great stuff in each set of films.

Another aspect that often stirs debate, aside from the quality of the trilogies themselves, is the correct order in which to view the movies, given that they were not released in chronological order. Well, there isn’t technically a correct order to view the Star Wars films – each person will have differing preferences, which is absolutely fine.

Nonetheless, if one really wanted to seek out a ‘correct’ viewing order, who better to ask than franchise creator George Lucas? He has lovingly described the first six Star Wars films as his “children” after all, and even if some fans still criticise him for the prequels, he is the definitive authority on the franchise.

When discussing the viewing order in 2015, Lucas argued for perhaps the simplest viewing order: the chronological one, starting with 1999’s Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace and ending with 1983 Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

He said: “That’s the way they’re supposed to be done. Just because it took a long time to film it doesn’t mean you don’t do it in order.”

This statement was made before the sequel trilogy (which didn’t directly involve Lucas) was released, but Lucas would no doubt encourage viewers to watch those last.

He would likely encourage audiences to watch the spin-off films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story, which take place between the prequel and original trilogy, in chronological order too. This would mean Solo first, followed by Rogue One – which ends shortly before A New Hope begins.

Regardless of the order in which you watch the films, chances are you’ll have a blast. Star Wars is an absolute international treasure and in spite of the fan negativity that surrounds so much of this series, there is plenty of greatness within all of the franchise’s instalments – even the weaker ones.

Remember If you have read this blog and liked it please consider giving a donation to the Tolerance project by clicking on the above link thank you

[wanderingthroughwickford]

Creepiest Childhood Media Moments Part 1/2

Inspired by @monochrome-typewriter, my list of movie/tv show/video game moments that terrified me as a child!*

*I’m going for age 12 and under here, because even though I still definitely considered myself a child in my teen years, I didn’t get scared of things in the same way then as I did when I was a younger kid.

A lot of these are pretty dumb, but some of them I still have a hard time watching/listening to, and some I outright refuse to. 

Under a cut because this is gonna be long!

To start off, when I was really young my Grandma had this movie called Tiny: The Seventh Brother that she apparently got at a garage sale. (Only later did I find out that it’s apparently Hungarian, and what we were watching was an English dub, which explains why a lot of the lip movements seemed weird, but anyways). For the most part it was a cute and innocent story of a little dog who gets separated from his owners and is adopted by a family of rabbits. But there were some moments that just freaked me and my sister right out. One is a scene where a hawk is chasing the little bunnies, and there are some shots where its talons get long and its eyes get crazy wide and bloodshot. But worse than that were these two creepy songs (which I think were the same tune, repeated twice at different parts of the movie, with different background animations). They were basically about how scary the forest was and how the animals always had to be on their guard. The first one, which I found here (first song that plays) had black silhouetted shots of the bunnies running away from various dangers and trembling in fear. The second one, which I’m fricking grateful I couldn’t find, had a shot of one of the main bunnies against a black background, except with every shot its appearance became more and more horrifying, until it had fucking EVIL EYES, FANGS AND LONG, SHARP CLAWS. And I watched this as, like, a 4/5 year old???

When I was younger I had this big fear of scenes where cartoon eyes peer out of the darkness, and I think it stemmed from, or was at least exacerbated by, this one episode of Care Bears where they did a Phantom of the Opera plotline and at one point you saw the Phantom’s creepy eyes and smile peering out of a darkened hallway. I think it just turned out to be a dummy that someone was using to trick them, but I didn’t care, it still creeped me the fuck out. 

I only vaguely remember this one; it must have been in grade 1 or 2, when our class watched this episode of Magic School Bus where they went to a haunted house and kept periodically hearing this spooky, mysterious noise. Again, it turned out to be something completely innocuous, but the creepiness of hearing it repeatedly and not knowing what the heck it was left a big impression on me. 

Weirdly enough, despite loving Land Before Time, I remember there being a time in my early childhood when I was terrified of almost the entirety of LBT 4: Journey Through the Mists. Namely, basically every scene where they’re in the Land of the Mists, which is like 75% of the movie. And it sucked because I absolutely LOVED this song that happened late in the movie, but I had to sit through all the scary parts to get to it. Within a few years, though, I was watching the movie in its entirety and loving it. I think it was my favorite out of all of them. I guess I can see why I was scared of it, because it’s got a pretty dark/creepy atmosphere and the characters are constantly being hunted by things that want to eat them, but in hindsight the villains are more entertaining than scary. 

I generally loved Arthur but there was one episode called The Mysterious Hand where he’s scared about having not returned a library book on time, and he has a nightmare about it. There were two things in particular that scared me: ghostly faces outside his window howling his name, and a long hand that appeared out of nowhere to drag him back to the library. Pretty cheesy when I look back on it now.

Again, I loved George Shrinks but there were a couple episodes that scared me a lot. There was one where he had to journey through a pond in a little submarine and kept running into a snapping turtle that wanted to eat him (I think this was another offender for the ‘cartoon eyes staring out of the darkness’ thing). There was another where he thought a ghost was in his house, but it turned out to be the wind blowing through one of his dad’s musical instruments. There was still another where he started hallucinating from being outside too long in the snow and thought these evil snowmen were coming to get him. And finally, there was one where a literal robot alien (!) showed up and was in his house - I think the main thing that scared me about this one was the sort-of creepy sci-fi-esque music that often played when the alien was on screen.

My first experience with Star Wars was when I was 6 and my mom showed us Return of the Jedi. It was probably a good choice for easing a child into SW because of the Ewoks, but maaaan, I was not ready for all the scenes in Jabba’s palace. From then until I was 14, my only recollections of Star Wars were of ‘three monsters’ in the beginning part of the movie - Jabba himself, the Rancor under his palace which eats a guard and a slave girl, and the frigging SARLACC. Do you know how freaky it is to hear that the heroes are going to have to jump into a giant, toothy mouth in the ground that will digest them alive, slowly and painfully, for 1000 years??? Ngl the scene where Luke has to jump off the plank gave me a fear of diving boards, and when I had to jump off one into the deep end in a swimming lesson shortly afterwards, I staunchly refused to do it. Also, for some bizarre reason, for years I could swear I vividly recalled a scene where a young woman looking like Queen Amidala and a young boy looking like Anakin Skywalker were actually made to jump into the Sarlacc’s mouth, but seeing as such a scene doesn’t exist, I think it must have been a confused memory of the scene where the slave girl Oola is dropped into the Rancor pit, mixed with advertisements of the time showing Padme and Anakin (since this was around 1999 when The Phantom Menace came out). Or maybe it’s that Berenstein Bears/parallel timelines thing at work yet again. :P  

Speaking of things I was too young to see (and things that I ended up getting really into in my teenage years), when I was about 8 or 9 I remember seeing a snippet of Lord of the Rings on TV. It was the scene where Frodo and the other hobbits have to hide under the tree roots to avoid being seen by the Nazgul. Another strong fear of mine as a young kid was of creepy, black-hooded figures. Understandably, seeing this scene didn’t help.

Probably around the same age, I watched the Disney film The Black Cauldron for the first time. I liked it a lot, but the Horned King and his minions really creeped me out. Special mention goes to one scene near the end, when there’s this shot of this half-rotted skeleton army marching along a hallway, I think in slow-mo. I kept imagining that they were about to come around the corner towards me. Starts at 2:38 here. 

Next post will talk about THE BIG TWO franchises which left me terrified - and which I still love dearly today.

[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.

[faiqairudin]

Where is Awang Budiman? Ramshackle Performance

Script for the Ramshackle fan fiction night at performance at Kaleidoscope Brunei on January 21, 2017. In the performance I was a film maker searching for Awang Budiman, only to discover the real answer was closer than I had imagined. 

8-10 minutes presentation with Powerpoint slides (run time with breaks)

Performance Actions

JACKET OFF FIRST

THEN TIE

FOLLOWED BY BELT

THEN TROUSERS

SLIPPERS CHANGE FROM SHOES

TALKING AS I TAKE OFF SHIRT

FINAL PART IS ME WEARING THE DASTAR

Thank you everyone for coming. I’m going structure this as a lecture. I think it’s an important area of study and something that needs to be shared. As you heard I am a filmmaker. I don’t have any film footage now but what I will reveal to you is very interesting. If you’ve brought a pen and paper or a notepad of some kind, even your phone that would be of great use.

As you know as well, as the night has gone on the room can get quite hot. So do bear that in mind. In 1999 Brunei searched for a mascot for their largest ever sporting event that they hosted, the South East Asian games, better known as the SEA Games. An event that is held every four years. The name of the mascot they settled on?

Awang Budiman

I have two central questions to this presentation:

What is an Awang Budiman?

What is Awang Budiman doing now?

Bear these two questions in mind as we go through this.

TAKE OFF JACKET

#AwangBudiman2017

Let’s look first at how Awang Budiman is seen now. If you grew up in the 90s, you’ve seen him around but why has there been a recent resurgence?

Let’s see what forms he has taken:

Here he is on a hat

Here he is several times on a car

Here he is posing for drawings in different positions

Here he is as a sticker

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

Are they looking at a reference of him, is he just sitting around waiting to be on stickers? Is he in a closet or room somewhere biding him time to pose?Just waiting for that call, sitting in a closet hoping someone will call? I don’t know that is why I have been researching this subject

Now we’ve looked at him in the recent years, let’s try and answer another central question:

What is an Awang Budiman?

So to first answer this question what better way than by the colours. Red Yellow Black

Firstly, let’s go from top to bottom  

The Dastar is red and of course the belt is as well

The Shirt is yellow

The three-quarter trousers are black

Red - What does it mean? What does it signify?

Fire. Firey, he has a flame in him that can’t be burnt out.

Movement. It was the SEA games so he did a lot of sports

Love. Perhaps a fine lover. This we can’t speculate too much on.

Sensitivity. A quality that drew out his caring side.

The soft Budiman.

The sensitive Budiman.

The cuddly Budiman.

TAKE OFF TIE

Yellow - Ok. Let’s think about this as well.

Light. He lights up any room that he enters.

Energy. Much like the Movement quality in Red, it’s related to his sporting ability in 21 sports. All of which he was a master of.

SHOW SLIDE OF BUDIMAN PLAYING SPORTS

As you can see in this slide, these are the examples of his energy and drive. And everything else I mentioned before.

You have traditional rowing, squash, swimming, boxing, pencak Silat and the like

Moving on. Yellow could also mean Freshness. Like fruit, fresh fruit. A banana perhaps.

Joy. Just imagine Awang Budiman’s face now in your mind’s eye. That is the true meaning of Joy.

Black not just in hair colour, but in clothing as well

Indulgence. Much like rich chocolates, being in the presence of Awang Budiman is an indulgence only few have enjoyed.

Elegance. Known for his simple yet refined look Awang Budiman, you might say is the 90s poster child for elegance.

Mystery. And of course, an Awang in the shadows. An Awang of mystery.

Now. We firmly established what a Budiman is and what colors his clothing conjures up. Where I went to continue this search took me to places I could never imagine This lead me to, RED, YELLOW AND BLACK. What countries have that colour in their flag? [pause] Yes that’s right ANGOLA, GERMANY and the SABAR-AGA-MU-WA PROVINCE IN SRI LANKA. I won’t bore you with all the details of each country that I went to go find my answer, but i’ll try:

MOVES TO TAKE OFF TROUSERS- PUTS ON SLIPPERS

Angola - Angola is located in Southern Africa or South of Africa whichever you prefer. And to my surprise there were 25 million people, so not exactly an easy place to find Awang Budiman.

The capital of Lu-anda was amazing. I stayed at Le Presidente Luanda, for what must’ve been close to a six months. A huge lobby and fantastic views of the city. I could really talk about Angola forever. But that’s enough for now…

Germany - I visited the Berlin Wall. There was nothing much else. And again Awang Budiman could not be found.

Sabar-aga-mu-wa Province in Sri Lanka - Ok I have to admit I didn’t go to this place but I thought the flag was interesting.

So now you know what the flag looks like when you go to Sri Lanka. None of these places gave me satisfactory answers, so the question remains

Where to find Awang Budiman?

But what if this was a dead end? Such was the web that Awang Budiman weaved the real answer lay somewhere else? So, after the goose chase I sat at home and gathered my thoughts. I started to try and put all the pieces together I have been gathering. Red, Angola, Yellow, Germany, Stickers. It dawned on me that in 1999, George Lucas released the first prequel trilogy of Star Wars. Yes that’s right: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Wikipedia page. So I said to myself. I need to email George Lucas about this. So in September 2012 I decided to send him an email and it went like this

STARTS TAKING SHIRT OFF. TAKES OUT COPY OF EMAIL FROM BELT. TAKES OFF SHIRT COMPLETELY. 

Dear George Lucas

I was on Wikipedia the other day and found it interesting that the first prequel movie Star Wars: Episode 1 came out the same year as Awang Budiman. I have been searching for Awang Budiman for many years now and thought you might know where he is.

Hope to hear from you soon So that was the letter, I was check my inbox daily for his reply. Days past, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into the months. Then out of the blue. I receive an email back from him. Bear in mind at this point I wasn’t sure if I could continue my search, even though it had been 17 years since I first began on my journey, I was ready to give it all up. So email he sent, that I waited so long to hear from him, said:

Check your mail

This made me even more confused because I had received nothing, nothing at all in my mail - email or mail at home. I was growing restless and anxious. What was the meaning behind it? Why not give me an explanation? Why not give me more? I had been waiting for an answer from him, and this is all I got? A “check your mail?“

BOX IS PASSED TO ME ON STAGE AND I LOOK AT THE BOX. TAKE OUT THE DASTAR TO THE SOUND OF GULINGTANGAN. TURN AROUND AND LIFT THE DASTAR UP. DO THE AWANG BUDIMAN POSE AND SAY: 

I found him