That's a great point. Also, Yoda would be there to confront Palpatine with Windu and company. But I think what people are trying to say is that there are other ways to do that.

I don't know if this was mentioned already. The Kashyyyk scene isn't even in the book. It is only mentioned in maybe two sentinces. Wookies are mentioned once. Chewbacca and Tarfful aren't even mentioned AT ALL. I found this very odd.

Something to ponder over...

Today I checked out the movie storybook. A few shots I haven't seen before including....Yoda's escape pod in Degobah's atmosphere. After hearing this whole sequence was cut months ago, it made me think that maybe it's back in.

I've rarely seen finished shots from the prequels that haven't made it to the final cut.

Yeah, I understand that and it works from a certain perspective. Greivous as a stand-alone character still licks, though. And it needn't have been that way.

Yeah but I'm not sure what? Have Yoda go out for some tea and cookies? There's gotta be something that occupies Yoda and Obi-Wan...might as well have it be some cool battles on Kashyyyk and Utapau. The "cool" factor is a very important and underrated factor in Star Wars movies.

What about the scene in the opening space battle where a Republic transport or cruister-type ship (i don't know what type) actually lands in a TF Battleship and unloads its troops for a large scale attack? I remember hearing about this scene from all those old spoiler reports, etc.....but I find no mention of it in this screenplay.

Do you think it got cut? I hope not...for me, it was the coolest sounding scene from the space battle. (keeping my fingers crossed!) What do you guys think? Perhaps it's still in the movie?

Well, for one, the script could be tightened up by having Yoda and Obi-Wan go along together. No reason to split them up at that point. I dunno, maybe having Grievous flee to Kashyyyk and have Obi-Wan hunt him while Yoda commands the army. Have Yoda and Obi-Wan help each other escape when the clones turn.

And I agree "cool" is very important to SW. It's difficult to judge how these scenes will play ouy, as they're mostly visual in nature. Thankfully, that's GL forte.

That's in Clone Wars.

I think I've narrowed down the Illustrated Screenplay publication date to be between August 24th, 2004 and January 31st, 2005

It was certainly published after August 24th, 2004, because the Making Of ROTS book says Lucas wrote some new dialog that day that appears in the screenplay. (page 201 in Making Of ROTS book). It was probably published before January 31st, 2005 because the Hyperspace POST NOTE on that day mentions some ADR work where Palpatine's line "I'm depending on you" is now at the start of a sentence instead of ending a line of dialog. In the screenplay, this line still ends a line of dialog.

What I don't understand is why scenes like the fuel room scene are still in there even though they were cut a long time ago.

I realize there was a scene in CW EP23 where the troopers were floating across from ship to ship, but I could have sworn there was a scene decribed in the ROTS space battle that involved a Republic capital ship actually landing inside a TF Battleship. Am I the only one who remembers this?

When Qui-gon shows up and starts bullshitting with Yoda about how to disappear, why is Yoda so happy to talk to him? I know it isn't the Jedi way to get pissed, but I think Yoda's earned this one.

Instead of "Your apprentice, I gratefully become", my response would have been something more like "Hey asshole. Thanks for bringing us this little shit. He's the chosen one alright. Chosen to kill almost every Jedi. But its not like we thought he might be dangerous or anything. Oh, wait a minute, yes it was. Cocksucker. So what was it you wanted to tell me?"

You must've not been paying attention to the part where Yoda admits they may have misread the prophecy.

Though Yoda says earlier in the film that Skywalker made his own choice to follow the dark path and nobody could choose the right path for him. Therefore, it was nobody's fault for his turn, only Anakin's.

I still would have been mad. I would be a shitty Jedi.


As for the prophecy being inevitable, it just says that it would happen. It doesn't say how, or even what "bring balance" means. Maybe he would have eventually killed Palpatine by running him over in a pod race or something. Of course, that wouldn't really be good for the original trilogy.

Ok, so this is *really* petty, and I'll appologise ahead in case this has been already answered somewhere else, but the screenplay doesn't really covert the fate of Anakin's saber too well.. I mean.. Alec Guiness's line of "your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough" seems to be linked by Obi picking up the saber and walking away.

Does the novel address this any differently?!?

Either when Anakin is burning to death, right after he says "I hate you!", he says "Give my son my light saber when he's old enough!", or Obi-wan made that shit up. Or maybe he assumes that this is what Anakin would want. Not terribly far-fetched to assume that.

He's not telling Luke the truth. He wants Luke to follow him off planet so he is telling him what might make him lean that way.

Think about it anyway...why would Anakin want Luke to have his old lightsaber and then turn bad? "I'm gonna become a sith obi wan, so can you give this to Luke for me since I won't be around? I really want him to grow up to not be like me." It makes no sense. It didn't make sense to me in the 80's either. I figured it was Obi Wan making it up. I thought you can get that from the OT alone.

At that point, yeah, but when he was still normal good Anakin, it is logical to assume that he might want his son to become a Jedi. What dad doesn't want their son to be a badass? Anakin would have been the biggest asshole little league dad.

So he could make his own lightsaber then. Seems to work better the way it is than having Anakin wanting his son to use his lightsaber so he puts it away and builds a new one etc. That would be like me having a kid and buying a new bass so my son could play the one I am currently. Never gonna happen.

I think this is beginning to edge into the sheep minutia area.

No its just that since we already know everything about the movie, we have to make up our own shit.

God, you people are so fucking fickle. Haven´t seen a single scene with him and you´ve already decided what to think.


Yes, that makes sense, but now we get two battles for the price of one dark side conversion. And this is the first I´ve heard of people complaining about too many battles in a Star Wars movie. It almost ranks up there with people being pissed that the "silly Yoda" scene is cut. (Are these the same whiners that complained about the possibility of "Yoda farts"???)


That was in a list of suggestions for possible things to show during the battle. It hung in ILM´s office and the animators would do some animatics to see if the individual suggestions had any merit. Most of them probably never made it to the finished film.


Or do what I do when I have nothing to say, shut the fuck up.

That Palpatine. What a conversationalist.

"It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People? Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive."

Oh dear painful explanatory exposition. McDiarmid will deserve the Oscar if he can chew his way through that one. Still, my personal least favorite bit of Lucas-penned dialogue is:

Super Battle Droid: Don't move, dummy. Ouch! Zap this.

I think he says "Don´t move, stubby!" (Because, you know, R2's short and stubby.)


He just revealed that Anakin told him about his massacre of the Tuskens, that´s an important revelation to show how close they are. And it is in his character to goad Anakin into believing he did the right thing. Mess with his head, you know.

Re: R2-Jerry Lewis "Laaaaaaady!" moment: Okie-dokie! Dummy in the script. Stubby in the clip. Either way. These droids are daffier than the doors of the Heart of Gold, roger roger.

Re: "Oh, Mister Sand People. Yeees? You killed his mom." In character for ol' double-face or not, that line is going to drop like a concrete block. Thud. It will be a snicker-stifler, for sure.

You have of course seen the film with an audience already and can verify that?

And the SBD line was funny. They´re like bodybuilders on steroids, balls shrink and they get squeaky voices.

Was wondering if anyone could post the pics of the illustrated novel? All I got was the text pages.

Ah. You've got me there, Jimmy. I haven't ... in fact ... seen this movie with an audience full of people. I only saw Mickey Suttle's copy on his PSP while we were time travelling together on the U.S.S. Obviously-Stilted-Dialogue-Detector.

You're right.

You're right.

If Orson Welles wrapped his meaty mouth around "It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People? Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive." it would sing like so much poetry. Serious Yearbook quote material. Kids will be jerking their Palpatine figures around saying, "It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People? Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive." in the SW action figure commercials.

Yes. Yes. It's sounding better every time I copy-and-paste it. "It is only natural. He cut off your arm, and you wanted revenge. It wasn't the first time, Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother and the Sand People? Now, we must leave before more security droids arrive." Mmmmm. Look at the spinning Rebel Insignias in my hypnotized eyeballs. Mmmmm. Briiiilliiiiaaaant...

Fuck you, Devin. gb2/CHUD.

Since that reasonable response obviously signals the close of THOSE topics...

What do you guys think of this little line?

PALPATINE: I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life... ... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying."

ANAKIN: He could actually save people from death?

(addendum by me)

PALPATINE: Erm. Yes. He could. But what did you think about that 'influence midichlorians to create life' thing?

ANAKIN: Not much, sir. I'm more concerned about my wife. I've got a one track mind that way.

PALPATINE: Oh. Because that other thing seems to be a big Scooby Doo grade clue about somebody Force-impregnating your mom. I mean, put two and two together, genius! Your conception is all draped in mystery and prophecy and virgence in the Force, blah, blah. And I just brought something up totally out of left field about your potential progenitor.

ANAKIN: Whatever. Not interested. Gimme the Save Padme Juice, dude. We're going to leave that 'influence midichlorians to create life' line in the Unsolved Mysteries file right next to crap I don't care about like Sifo-Dyas.

Ok, granted I'm new here and have zero respect (that's ok I have little for myself either LOL), and like all of us, I have yet to see the film. But I have to say this.

People keep saying how the screenplay lacks the emotional impact, atmosphere, and ambience of the novel. What people seem to be (maybe? perhaps? consider it atleast?) overlooking, is the fact that while a novel can articulate all of that in writing, a script does/can not. A script provies only notes that are there to very simply record ideas the director (and others) have of a vision they have in their mind in a basic and easily shared form, to note how to plan out shots and other technical details, and to teach the actors their lines (or atleast a preliminary version of those lines).

That vision that the director (and others) have (the "emotional impact, atmosphere, and ambience" that people wish was in the script) get brought to life through on-set direction, acting, wardrobe, set-dressing, cinematography, lighting, visual effects, ADR, scoring, and editing of all sorts. Of course none of those are present in the script. Hence, neither are any of the film's emotional impact, atmosphere, and ambience, however great or awful they may turn out to be in people's eyes.

They will be present in the film, however. Whether or not they will add up to the expectations raised by the novel, nobody can say. But they will unquestionably, as with any film, add up to more than what is in that script alone.

Three more mirrors if anybody wants them (for the screenplay):

http://s35.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0VQQEWO6HRZ1E1R9AC83JOEGOA

http://s35.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3493HM9QUQW1R0D98PNIHTI3FW

http://s35.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=21CY1SB3D1OQX2ISQOXZBZXGJC

It will be present if George can get the performances out of the actors. So far in the PT he has been very uneven in this regard. He'd help himself a great deal if he spent more time on the writing (either personally or with help) and actually wrote more of the emotion into the screenplay, thus giving the actors something to work woth.

Although more elaborate, the audio book actually makes those lines sound very neat. I think the same will go for the movie.

When you read a book it is embelished with more descriptions to tell you about the scenes and the characters. With a script most of this is gone, because the media through which we gain all the extra information is the visuals and sound. Judging from the majority of the visuals we've seen I think it's going to be a real treat.

My main worry is that the movie will be totally busy. Clearly Yoda and Obi Wan needed to be occupied while Vader loses it, but the resulting story looks like it will have the characters lurching from situation to situation, as did the other two prequels. GL is trying so hard to pack all these incredible ideas into such a small window of time. I really wish he'd just say sod it and do a four hour version.

EDIT: Nevermind.

Could someone email me the pdf version?

iamdani@gmail.com

Im stuck behind a firewall and out of options....

Someone help me out.

Are the Bail and the Rebellion scenes in the film or have they been cut?


I have read nothing, but I hope they are in.

A night out with me is a riot.

In a word: No.

I definitely don't take these movies seriously. I think they're hilarious.

And yes, a night out with me is a bit of a disappointment. Girls have always said they'd much prefer to be with an unreasonable, easily wound up sheep who expends a great deal of effort justifying corny sci-fi dialogue like "Don't move, stubby. Ouch! Zap this."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I do apologize, as I am short on time, but where is this found? I would like to read it. Anyone have a page I could download it from, or maybe just a quote? Thank you in advance.

Also, great work thus far, I am loving all of the information.

Possibly off topic, but I have a question that's bugging me. May have already been addressed.

Now, Palpatine revealed to Anakin in the opera that Plageuis taught him the secret to his power, did he not? He then killed Plageuis so he would be the only living successor of this power.

After finishing off Mace, Palpatine then nonchalontly reveals to Anakin that only his master found the secret to this power, thereby contradicting his previous statement. He then tells Anakin not to worry, as they will be powerful enough to discover the secret together. Anakin agrees without hesitation. wtf?

Was Palpatine not really the apprentice of Plageuis? Did he really learn the power? Is it simply a legend? Is he lying to Anakin? This is, afterall, the entire reason Anakin agrees to join the Sith.

Mighty confusing.


Oh and to answer your question, Lord Sarak, it takes place in the screenplay duel between the two. It makes it seem as though Yoda is simply toying with Palpatine.

Yeah. Palpatine does say "he taught his apprentice (ie Sidious) everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep." (smile, wink, wink, nudge)

He switches over to saying, "Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. Learn to know the dark side of the Force, Anakin and you will be able to save your wife from certain death."

Now he's being deceptive, but telling a lie that fits with his big letdown.

And then it switches back to a full-on: "I am your pathway to power. I have the power to save the one you love. You must choose." ... between Mace and Palps.

And a couple of minutes later it's: "To cheat death is a power only one has achieved (implying Plagueis 'the wise') but if we work together, I know we can discover the secret."

At this point Anakin kneels before Palpatine, pledging his allegiance rather than saying, "What!?! Liar, liar Sith pants on fire! We figure out the secret now or you're dead meat!"

Major unbelievable character shift for the fiesty Anakin who doesn't seem to be anyone's fool and who has, up until now, resented inconsistencies in authority figures. And right after this disconcerting trickery he's SOLD! Off to slice and dice some younglings! Really, the only saving grace could be a deep seeded resentment in Anakin's acting. A duplicitous treachery implied so that we get the idea that Anakin is trying to out-trick a trickster, biding his time, waiting for an opportunity to skewer Sidious once he has this knowledge despite being ready to have everyone else slaughtered in the process.

Can Hayden imbue the limited Vader-Palpatine lines with the needed pathos to make this even remotely believable?

I personally believe there was no Plageuis, or that Plageuis himself is nothing more than fantasy based on an exagirated truth. Just a myth.

The fact remains, Anakin would NOT join Sidious after that little speech. Anakin desires nothing more than knowledge. Jedi, Sith, they mean nothing to him at this stage.

Oh, ZIIIING. Wow, that edgy shit brings me back to summer ´99. Why don´you throw in some Jar-Jar jokes while you´re at it, Internet Tough Guy?

Oh. Hey. It's you. Sorry, pal. That wasn't even directed at you. (Although your thinking it was is kind of telling! Meesa sorry, Daddy Big Boy Internets! Please don'tsa putsa hurtin on me with mean animated gifs! Ouch time! (Psst. There's your Jar Jar.))

Quick retreat away from the Zitopia drama and back to the topic at hand! I'm not buying it either, Zeal. I'm getting the impression the movie is going to have some serious problems character-wise. Not to mention an expository-laden center. The old dialogue sandwich strikes again.

That's fine. We'll get the action... and maybe, just MAYBE the Vader stuff will be so stinking cool that we'll totally suspend our disbelief and just say, "Oh yeah! He's evil! Great!" ... Maybe. But it's most likely it will require some self-inflicted brain damage rather than suspension.

The screenplay wouldn't feel like such a herald of hokiness if the clips we've seen so far didn't come stuffed to the gills with that same suspect wooden quality. Come on! When I see scenes like Anakin and Obi Wan's casual stroll into Palpatine's holding room aboard the exploding Invisible Hand ... I just can't believe the man is still saying, "Faster! More intense!"

I walk faster when I'm traipsing through the Safeway produce section.

Except for the fact that the ship isn't exploding and the acting isn't wooden. Whoops on that one eh?

Yes it was, I was the only one actually commenting positively on the droid-scene.

Why don´t you stick that Jar-Jar-schtick up your ass and tip-toe down to or ?

I doubt it. From the look of the trivial pursuit clips the dialogue is a bit wooden in most places, especially when Portman was replying to the "thunderous" applause in the Senate. I agree about the deception Palps is pullin' on Anakin. How in the hell can he not see that? Surely he can see the intracately orchestrated events Palpatine has layed out , I mean for goodness sakes this man wanted you, goaded you, to kill Dooku. Either Anakin is just some stupid, arrogant little brat, as I believe him to be (although there is no denying his bad-assness), or he's so deep rooted in the dark side that you'll need a force-operated crane manned by the entire Jedi Order just to get his ass out of the dirt.

I still would have been mad. I would be a shitty Jedi.

That's great for you. Not for Yoda.

Think about it, for a second: WHY would Yoda choose to get "mad" when the Jedi were just SLAUGHTERED by one of their own who couldn't control his anger and emotions?

Think, Padawan.

About Anakin:

Anakin KNOWS that Palpatine is evil, that's why he runs to the Jedi and tells them what's up. But he's also been TRAINING and LEARNING about the Dark Side - already. Learning how to keep people alive, so there's no "trick" here, part of the knowledge is already there, and he wants more of it to save Padme.

That's his only concern, saving his wife. This is why Jedi aren't allowed to fall in love or form attachments, because it leads to this sort of thing.

Anakin needs to save Padme, and when Mace betrays the Jedi code by wanting to kill Palpatine instead of letting him stand trial, his worst fears are confirmed. You ahve to remember that the doubt has already been placed there, when the Jedi betrayed their own morals and had Anakin spy on Palpatine.

I admit, it seems a little fast that Anakin is immediately beholden to Palpatine, but considering he has no choice now that he's betrayed his Jedi, knows that Palpatine is the only way to further knowledge, and has already succumbed absolutely to the Dark Side - there isn't much of a choice for him.

About Dialogue

Yeah, some of it's bad. The droid stuff was particularly annoying for me. Then I realized, "This is, what, 15 seconds out of a 2+ hour movie, where 90% of what's happening is dead-on marvelous? Forgiven."

I won't defend the crap dialogue, but I'll absolutely tell you you're being nitpicky and silly to bitch about something that small when so much of the script is beyond belief. When this is FINALLY the Star Wars film we've always wanted.

Why would he? There´s been no evidence up until the Dooku execution that Palpatine had anything to do with the Sith. The only ones who suspect anything are the members of the Council, and they don´t trust Anakin, so they haven´t told him about their suspicions. Thus adding to his mistrust of them when he finds out they want him to spy on his buddy.

sheep defense technique #3, Large Louis. It's as stale a mantra even now, the 10,000th time it's been used, with double line-spacing...Speaking of which! Congratulations! You win a "Lava Reflection Vader" figurine! Cue confetti!

This is your typical pre-release environment. Giddy, hopeful fans! Grousing, cynical naysayers. Let's not be naive and pretend this doesn't happen every time. We all get starry eyed about the possibilities and the perfect trailers, the romantic whiffs of a return to Star Wars at it's best! (Yes, it was a critical darling despite revisionist claims to the contrary. Let's not bullcrap one another. It's on AFI's top 100, Ebert.)

Needless to say, you can see by my nerdtastic references that I'm into the new movies. Get a kick out of them. But I'm definitely not chest-thumping patriotic about them. Like some other incredibly entertaining movies that I really, really enjoy ... they're flawed. As expectations have risen (Lord Vader stylee) for this film the pendulum has DEFINITELY swung over to "this is going to be THE ONE! Better than the last two!" Even non-SW fan friends of mine are psyched.

I'll be the first to concede that my feelings were way off if this movie doesn't suffer from all the ills that have recently come to light. Poor pacing, soggy dialogue, unbelievable plot points, wooden acting, flatuous comedic moments that undercut the "dark, serious" vibe, that overly plastic CGI, under-developed new characters who seem to exist only for merchandising purposes. It's all there.

I'll watch it. We'll do the ritual watching of the other movies in the upcoming weeks. I'll be in line at the Sony Metreon seeing this bad boy in full digital with some ILM employee friends of mine and I'll be wearing a shirt that says "I've got a bad feeling about this" to antagonize them. They'll threaten me with their Master Replicas. It's all good fun!

But ... I'm just saying, and Dr Bass, Fat Lou and IG-69 and the rest of the mc chris Jedi Council crew aren't gonna like this ... I'm getting the feeling this one could be the biggest ball-drop of the bunch. Bigger than your impending respective puberties, you three! By the by, when you bristle over a few reasonable, less-than-thrilled comments and respond like gibbering zealots ... it definitely encourages me to poke you right back in the doughy stomach.

Before the movie:

Count Afro: I've been looking forward to this ... movie.

Whinykins Fanguy: The quality of this movie is double what we saw before, Count!

Count Afro: Gooood. Twice the hope that this one won't be a let-down, double the disappointment!

---

After the movie:

Distraught Fan With Unrealistic Expectations: You were supposed to be THE ONE...!

George Lucas: I hate youuuuu....!