Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[Ernest Rister]

Conan O'Brien didn't like the score for some reason...

The "War Horse" Score Does NOT Deserve An Oscar - CONAN on TBS - YouTube

[StingingVelvet]

I had episode 3 in the other day to use the THX optimizer and that score is so great. The prequels largely suck but Williams brought his a-game.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by besi

I'm pretty sure Disney will release the "unaltered version"of the original trilogy on bluray(4k ?) and in theaters also.
Just think about the money they will make .

No, they won't. The geeks on this thread and others like it think that because they're so obsessed with the unaltered versions, everyone else is as well. The mass market couldn't care less. And even for people who care a bit more, if they already invested in buying the six-movie boxed set on Blu, they will not necessarily care enough anymore to dip once again, especially if they've already bought Star Wars multiple times in the past.

That's not to say that Disney won't release them - they certainly might. But it's not going to be any amazing windfall, just as the 3D theatrical releases did almost nothing and were stopped.

And that's aside from the fact that BD sales are in decline generally.

What a new release does is put old movies back in the forefront of consumers' minds because it garners press coverage. But the release of VII will do that as well and sales of the existing box sets (or sales of streams) will probably pick up as a result even if Disney doesn't do a new release.

Now, if they release the unaltered OT in a special box with VII for an extra $10, that's another story. But they won't do that.

[Taipan]

I know I don't give a rats arse who shot first, or what Lucas added to the original films. I won't be lining up for an unaltered release of the original trilogy.

[JamesBenjamin]

At this point, the Blu Ray sets were just released so recently that I can't imagine they'll do it soon, but I bet they'll re-master them and stick them as "bonus features" on the 9 movie set of all the episodes 1-9 to sucker us into replacing the current 1-6 sets. At that point it'll be 5 years from now, 7-8 years from the Blu Ray's release and 15ish years from the DVD sets that already had the 'unaltered' versions as bonus features

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

No, they won't. The geeks on this thread and others like it think that because they're so obsessed with the unaltered versions, everyone else is as well. The mass market couldn't care less. And even for people who care a bit more, if they already invested in buying the six-movie boxed set on Blu, they will not necessarily care enough anymore to dip once again, especially if they've already bought Star Wars multiple times in the past.

Usually I would be the one making these "the mass market don't care" arguments. However in this case I think the changes are so universally known about and generally disliked the original cuts would be pretty exciting to quite a lot of people. Not some huge blockbuster release, but enough to definitely make it a money-maker.

[motorheadache95]

Pretty much anyone who is a fan of Star Wars is aware and has some kind of opinion on the different versions. I don't believe at all that people who want to see a restored UOT are some kind of vocal nerd minority, even if they find merit in the later altered versions. Just because the "mass audience" for the films doesn't discuss the issue all the time on message boards like us Star Wars nerds doesn't mean the interest isn't there.

The only people that don't care at all are or are unaware are:
A) People that don't give a crap about Star Wars at all.
B) People like my mom who enjoy Star Wars, would definitely go see the new one, but haven't watched the other movies since the last theatrical release.

Nobody's a fan of Blade Runner that doesn't have an opinion about the Director's Cut versus the original. Or Terry Gilliam's Brazil. Or the remastering of the old Star Trek shows. And Star Wars is HUGE for millions of people. To say barely anyone cares about the UOT is ludicrous beyond belief.

[aiman04]

None of my friends who owns the films on blu-ray, care about the original unaltered trilogy, fans or not. None. Maybe in this part of the world Star Wars are just enjoyable films that everybody love to watch, but not so much that they care about anything else behind it.

[Falaskan]

Ah, first world problems...

[Det. Bullock]

Originally Posted by JamesBenjamin

At this point, the Blu Ray sets were just released so recently that I can't imagine they'll do it soon, but I bet they'll re-master them and stick them as "bonus features" on the 9 movie set of all the episodes 1-9 to sucker us into replacing the current 1-6 sets. At that point it'll be 5 years from now, 7-8 years from the Blu Ray's release and 15ish years from the DVD sets that already had the 'unaltered' versions as bonus features

I don't think so, Disney is much more interested in pandering to the fans than George Lucas.
Also, I'd bet that would be already a pain for them to secure the distribution rights to release the unaltered old trilogy at all, let alone the complete package with prequels and sequels, and using an old trilogy box set as a promotion for the upcoming episode VII would be the most logical choice in terms of marketing.
Now, the only problem would be the transfer from the original negatives that were notoriously in bad conditions already in the 90s, new tech can do miracles sometimes but they have their limits too.

[DisneyBlu]

A Live-Action STAR WARS Show Is Today's Hot New Rumor

"A galaxy far, far away..." may soon be coming to a television screen near you. A live-action Star Wars television show is reportedly in development. Read on for details on how the show would potentially look to match the high-level production values of the new Star Wars trilogy.

According to Cinelinx via /Film, a live-action Star Wars television show is secretly in development which will use the same sets constructed at Pinewood Studios in London. Reportedly, the show is in a holding pattern until the new Star Wars trilogy and the Star Wars spinoff films are all mapped out. The television show would then shoot between films, when Pinewood and the Star Wars sets were available. This plan is sounds fairly similar to Ron Howard's plan for a live-action adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower book series.

This would not be the first time a live-action Star Wars TV show was in the development stage. Prior to Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm, George Lucas tried in vain to get a live-action Star Wars television program of the ground to no avail. Following Disney's purchase, ABC (owned by Disney) president Paul Lee stated that a Star Wars television program would be something the network would definitely consider. Perhaps those considerations are close to approaching a tangible reality? Consider this a rumor for now but expect the many Hollywood trade scoopers to begin investigations to confirm or debunk without delay.

http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansit...news/?a=117146

[JamesBenjamin]

Seems like after Agents of Shield, Disney/ABC thinks they can pull it off. They might have to hold back on the effects budget, but seeing what they have been able to pull off on AoS is promising.

It should be especially easy to do if they stick with costume/prop aliens (vs CG) and don't have tons of Jedi jumping and flipping everywhere with their light sabers out.

[captveg]

Lightsaber effects are almost too easy these days. They could easily have more old school fights with them on a tv series.

[aiman04]

I hope they will use the existing scripts, which was reported to be dark and gritty, The Sopranos in the Star Wars universe.

[JamesBenjamin]

Originally Posted by captveg

Lightsaber effects are almost too easy these days. They could easily have more old school fights with them on a tv series.

Really? Cool then. I'd love to see a "secret Jedi" show set post order 66

[StingingVelvet]

Not usually a TV guy but just seeing a good budget on a space opera style show would get me to watch, even if it wasn't Star Wars.

[Geoff D]

If the story is true, then using existing sets from the movies would make perfect sense because it allows them to bring down the budget considerably and give them some genuine production value into the bargain. I doubt they'd have considered doing it from scratch because it would've cost too much (same reason why George could never get it to fly) but this sounds like a workable alternative. It's not so much to do with the VFX itself being overly expensive, but TV budgets are nothing compared to the hundreds of millions spent on single movies.

I think the show won't be a VFX extravaganza in any case - the tight turnaround times for TV production will put paid to that - but using pre-existing sets, costumes etc will free up enough cash to make the VFX contribution worthwhile at least.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

If the story is true, then using existing sets from the movies would make perfect sense because it allows them to bring down the budget considerably and give them some genuine production value into the bargain. I doubt they'd have considered doing it from scratch because it would've cost too much (same reason why George could never get it to fly) but this sounds like a workable alternative. It's not so much to do with the VFX itself being overly expensive, but TV budgets are nothing compared to the hundreds of millions spent on single movies.

I think the show won't be a VFX extravaganza in any case - the tight turnaround times for TV production will put paid to that - but using pre-existing sets, costumes etc will free up enough cash to make the VFX contribution worthwhile at least.

Very true, and I think it also helps that Disney seem to be taking a different approach from Lucas in general. Judging by what we've seen in concept art, the teaser trailer, read in interviews, etc. they're going for a somewhat more "minimalistic" thing; more in line with the OT where we mostly got sparsely populated places, rarely a whole lot of creatures, speeders, spaceships, etc. on screen at all once. And the locations were mostly a lot more simple in design; often they were actual deserts, snowy fields, forests, etc.

And for those reasons I have a feeling a live action Star Wars TV show produced by Disney is a much more feasible endeavor than Lucas' vision would probably have been, judging by the prequels and even his additions to the SEs of the originals.

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by aiman04

None of my friends who owns the films on blu-ray, care about the original unaltered trilogy, fans or not. None. Maybe in this part of the world Star Wars are just enjoyable films that everybody love to watch, but not so much that they care about anything else behind it.

Yeah, but have they seen the UOT? Could you put either version on and they wouldn't care or notice? Otherwise, c'mon-- you've got to have SOME kind of opinion on it. The alterations in the films are significant--- we're talking lots of added special effects, recut and added scenes, entire actor performances replaced, changed dialog, etc.

Now I'm sure there's some people that either PREFER the new versions or don't mind enough that they wouldn't rebuy the movies again. Although even then, if they were properly restored they would be in superior quality to the outdated masters used for the current Blu-Ray, so that would probably be extra incentive to a lot of people.

My point though was the suggestion that the UOT would be a minor-blip release for only a small group of very hardcore fans is totally off. This would be HUGE news from every media outlet. Star Wars fans and just general film enthusiasts would be all over it.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by motorheadache95

Yeah, but have they seen the UOT? Could you put either version on and they wouldn't care or notice? Otherwise, c'mon-- you've got to have SOME kind of opinion on it. The alterations in the films are significant--- we're talking lots of added special effects, recut and added scenes, entire actor performances replaced, changed dialog, etc.

Now I'm sure there's some people that either PREFER the new versions or don't mind enough that they wouldn't rebuy the movies again. Although even then, if they were properly restored they would be in superior quality to the outdated masters used for the current Blu-Ray, so that would probably be extra incentive to a lot of people.

My point though was the suggestion that the UOT would be a minor-blip release for only a small group of very hardcore fans is totally off. This would be HUGE news from every media outlet. Star Wars fans and just general film enthusiasts would be all over it.

Oh they're well aware of that. They just don't care and found it to be as enjoyable or probably better for them. Between obsessed and ignorant they're probably somewhere in the middle.