I just dug up an old casette tape of mine that I had recorded an old radio News Magazine call the Source Report from 1983.

At the end of the report, they talked about the future of Star Wars. Harrison Ford was asked about it, and said that George had always intended to do more, but said that he'd be working on Episode III first (perhaps as just a one-shot?).

Richard Marquand also said in the story that he figured GL would do more, but predicted that GL would probably just surround himself with a group of people who he could trust to go and take care of it all.

There was much more about ROTJ.

Nothing terribly interesting I know, but just thought I'd share...


Oboe

That's really interesting, actually.. I think that Lucas would comment about only doing 3 and not 1 and 2 indicates that he had the story outlined to the degree that he kind of knew 1 and 2 wouldn't be crowd pleasers like 3.. about Anakin's childhood and love life, etc.

And he was right, 1 and 2 haven't been crowd pleasers. How many of us felt like asses standing in line for TPM afterwards? I sure as hell didn't make that same mistake on AOTC. Thankfully, online ticket distributions, answered that problem this time. Yeah yeah, 1&2 are the build up to 3 but they are still lame in comparison to the OT.

I thought 1 & 2 were crowd pleasers. I don't know what movie you saw. And I didn't feel like an ass after I saw it. On a whole most people have enjoyed the prequels. The media are the ones blowing negativity out of proportion.

Every crowd I saw EP I and II with was pleased. Still had people applauding at the end, several viewings from the first. That never happens with ANY movie I see in the theater.

I know there were a lot of disappointed folks too, but look up the reviews of both flicks--seemed in the longrun slightly more positive the negative to me. The negative ones were just REALLY loud and adamant about the death of STAR WARS.

Funny how "terrible" the prequels are perceived to be and yet they made hundreds of millions.

Somebody obviously liked them enough to go see them a few times.

Or we're a society of masochists.

Which, if that's the case, doesn't explain the failure of Gigli

Thanks ObCop. Its fun to run into stuff like that. I ran across an old copy of Rolling Stone when ESB came out (1980) when I ws cleaning out a closet a year or so ago. Too cool.

I still wish Kasdan was involved in EP1-3 as he is a good character writer. But, we can't have everything. I was just thrilled that there were new SW films made at all, good, boad or indifferent. For someone my age (33) SW was a really big deal when we were children, so to have it back for all to experience still makes me smile. Sometimes its fun to feel like a kid again.


And thanks again to all the spoiler hounds on here. I wish I was as resourcefull as other members. Reading and viewing the hard work put in by posters has been a real joy for me. Thanks again to everyone for putting a smile on a dying man's face this past year or so.

I agree fremore. The hordes did come out and pay Lucas his dues and a lot of people in the end did like TPM and AOTC. There's just that little part of me that wished they could have been as fascinating as the OT. Then again, a way to look at it is that the first two are mild and this one will be super duper xxx heavy. So the equation does balance out.

TPM and AOTC were crowd pleasers. It is still a smaller number of critics who dislike those movies than like. I felt great walking out of TPM and AOTC as did everyone I know. Over time some people have jumped into the whiner stuff but my friends are all still very excited about ROTS. Nobody waits for a movie that follows two movies they were displeased with.

So did Titanic and Independence Day. That's not the point I think people are trying to make here.

If it just has to be entertaining and acting, connection to the characters, and well crafted storytelling that builds the emotions and captures the mind doesn't matter, then the PT are "good" movies in my opinion - but if you took away the "Star Wars" branding and production values off of them and judged on the basis of acting, script, and direction alone, they wouldn't be any better than Independence Day or your average Sci-Fi Channel original. The storytelling is choppy and rushed with no time or great performances to let "sink in" (as Ian McDiarmid said in his C3 interview this last weekend).

I'm glad to see the new Star Wars movies and I think ROTS will be better than the last two, but I'm not going to make any more out of them than they really are. Its an entertaining sci-fi fantasy with spectacular visuals, underlying story, etc. , but don't try to tell me that it's a good movie on the basis of well crafted storytelling, acting, and directing.

Point taken Jhonsun.

I only mention the dollar amounts taken in by the PT to illustrate that for all of the bad reviews given the two prequels, people still went to see them.

Far be it from me to say these movies are a brilliant cinematic tour de force, I'd be hard pressed to say that about the OT either, I just get exhausted listening to people pan these movies, and yet can't stop talking about it.

I'm reminded of a friend who told me that TPM was crap and shit and yet he saw it 9 times.

All I have to say is, if you dislike it, don't watch it.
It leaves an empty seat for my coat.