Style of the Star Wars Live Action series...

[stonester1]

Not a fan of the Clone Wars toon, for the reasons most brought up. BTW, Star Wars was NOT a kids movie, it never was. It was intended to be enjoyed by a general audience. Like many of you all, something specifically aimed at the kids I'm not interested in, and watching attention span deprived rugrats burble over this thing doesn't do anything for me.

Now...if the live action Star Wars TV series, intended to take place during "the Dark Times", the years between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars (yes, it was not always called A New Hope), lives up to this concept...

On the style of the series, McCallum has stated "It is going to be much darker, much grittier, and it's much more character based."[14] Lucas has described the series as "bare-bones" and "action-heavy",[15] and has stated that it will be for more mature audiences like TV shows Battlestar Galactica and Firefly.

This from Wikipedia.

Now, that sort of approach to the Star Wars U? That I can get behind.

 

[Skywalker]

Yeah, I hope Lucas and co. stick to what they've been saying about the tone. I could do without the Dark Times setting (mainly because I'm afraid they'll make it Boba Fett-heavy), though if they are indeed going with that period I hope the lead (or one of the main characters) is a Jedi who survived the Purge and now fights the good fight under the radar.

Also, I hope the damn thing will actually get off the ground. All I've heard is talk, talk, and more talk, with nothing to show for it. I'm kind of thinking that Lucasfilm has been concentrating more on the animated series first, and now that the Clone Wars movie is out and the series is close to starting, we'll start seeing a greater focus on getting the live action series going.

 

[stonester1]

Some have speculated that Clone Wars was specifically aimed at the kids, while the live action TV series was to be aimed at the more adult audience. As much as I might wrinkle my nose at Lucas aiming anything at the rugrats, that sort of one-two punch does have a marketing savvy to it.

Hook the rugrats. As they get older, there's the more mature stuff in the live action show and completed movies for them to get into.

 

[biotech]

BTW, Star Wars was NOT a kids movie, it never was. It was intended to be enjoyed by a general audience.

Riiiight.

Got a source for that?

I look forward to the grittier TV show, but lets not get into revisionist history when it comes to the original film.

 

[stonester1]

One guy's opinion. Generally, adults don't gravitate towards stuff geared primarily towards children. For evidence, I give you the current Clone Wars cartoon.

The original movies certainly weren't geared primarily towards kids, with all sorts of story elements either too sophisticated, or frankly, too rough, to be geared soley for them.

If YOU can provide me a source which undeniably proves me wrong, produce it.

Revisionist history is when you look at "kiddie stuff" coming from the Lucasfarm, look in dismay at adult stomachs turning, andy saying, "Look, you guys just don't GET IT."

Yes, I do. I can go watch the original films anytime I like for comparison.

 

[biotech]

I guess the source is that most of the adult star wars fans today were kids when the original films came out.

That and all the toys.

 

[stonester1]

Yes, but a whole lot of adults began the journey with us. You didn't have that kind of adult audience for, say, "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again".

Further, the presence of a toy line doesn't mean "kids only". It only acknowledges the large presence of kids in said audience. The Pixar films feature toy lines, too. But they aren't just kiddy fare, either.

For further evidence, I can site show after show I loved as a child, but as I got older and saw it was geared soley for kids (Lost In Space, Superfriends, etc), it no longer appealed to me. Things that had much value beyond what attracts a child, Star Wars, Trek TOS, Battlestar Galactica TOS to a lesser extent, stayed with me. My appreciation for them became deeper and much more nuanced, because the depth and nuance was there, waiting for me to reach an age where I could appreciate it.

 

[JoeZhang]

George lucas thinks Star Wars was a kids film - is he wrong?

 

[stonester1]

Produce the quote.

 

[Python Trek]

Lucas calls the saga "films for young people" in numerous interviews on the DVD extras.

 

[JoeZhang]

People who are over 40 love [Episodes] IV, V, and VI and hate I, II, and III. Younger people like I, II, and III and don’t like IV, V, and VI, or they like I, II, and III better and think IV, V, and VI are kind of boring and slow. And of course the older people say, “Oh, I, II, and III—it’s too jittery, too fast, too complicated, it’s too digital,” or whatever they want to say. But definitely one generation has grabbed hold of one of them, and the other generation has grabbed hold of the next one. One of the key characters that helped us realize what was going on was Jar Jar Binks, because the kids that are under 10 years old, he’s one of their favorite characters.

For people over 40, they cannot stand him—it’s a hate thing. You know, they’ve always been for 12-year-olds, and that’s never changed. People don’t want to think of it that way. They want to think those films are for grown-ups. Even though they were 10 years old when they saw it, it’s still very important to them, so, for them, it’s a grown-up movie, as opposed to a kids’ movie. The pre–Jar Jar Binks was 3PO. Everybody hated 3PO. I mean, it was like they couldn’t stand him. It really had to do with his character. They don’t like his character, and they don’t like Jar Jar Binks—but they’re not designed to be likeable characters.

http://starwarsblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/george-lucas-qa-at-vanity-fair/

 

[stonester1]

Lucas calls the saga "films for young people" in numerous interviews on the DVD extras.

Ain't the same thing as "kid's movies". Young people can be interpreted a number of ways, kids, teenagers, adults young at heart, etc. So far, no one has produced a single quote showing that they were aimed at CHILDREN, certainly soley.

You have a sophisticated story with all kinds of depth and elements that you didn't get as a kid. Adults THEN came on board in droves. Kids didn't outgrow it, because there was nothing to outgrow.

Clone Wars, on the other hand, is blatantly directed at CHILDREN, with nothing particularly to draw adults in. If anything, there's considerable material to repell them, what I'm hearing.

This simply calls them what they are. Just because adult Star Wars fans are making this call, doesn't mean "They don't get it".

It simply wasn't intended for them. But this was NOT the case with the Star Wars movies. Unless you mean the Ewok made for TV movies.

Or the Star Wars TV special. I'll give you that one, too.

 

[stonester1]

That reads like Lucas is trying to rationalize the more problematic aspects of the prequels.

On the other hand, the OT had things like a shady character gunning down someone in cold blood, bloody severed appendages, and some very violent scenes with people dying unpleasantly on the ground, in starship/station corridors and in space.

You had mysticism, repression, politics, etc.

The PT had these, too, just more missteps, and less emotional grounding/engagement.

These are latter day Lucas comments, not him in his heyday, right? Many have regarded him as a bit out of touch nowadays.

People who are over 40 love [Episodes] IV, V, and VI and hate I, II, and III. Younger people like I, II, and III and don’t like IV, V, and VI, or they like I, II, and III better and think IV, V, and VI are kind of boring and slow. And of course the older people say, “Oh, I, II, and III—it’s too jittery, too fast, too complicated, it’s too digital,” or whatever they want to say. But definitely one generation has grabbed hold of one of them, and the other generation has grabbed hold of the next one. One of the key characters that helped us realize what was going on was Jar Jar Binks, because the kids that are under 10 years old, he’s one of their favorite characters.

For people over 40, they cannot stand him—it’s a hate thing. You know, they’ve always been for 12-year-olds, and that’s never changed. People don’t want to think of it that way. They want to think those films are for grown-ups. Even though they were 10 years old when they saw it, it’s still very important to them, so, for them, it’s a grown-up movie, as opposed to a kids’ movie. The pre–Jar Jar Binks was 3PO. Everybody hated 3PO. I mean, it was like they couldn’t stand him. It really had to do with his character. They don’t like his character, and they don’t like Jar Jar Binks—but they’re not designed to be likeable characters.

http://starwarsblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/george-lucas-qa-at-vanity-fair/

 

[biotech]

So not only is star wars not a kids, film, but disney/pixar films arent kids films either?

Tell me, is there anything out there that actually is a kids film?

 

[FPAlpha]

Right..

a Star Wars live action show in the style of Firefly or Galactica

I'll believe it when i see it and even then i'll probably watch it a second time to make sure. They may take clues visually from both shows but never ever will they take after the "style" of the show (Mal shooting bad guys in the head because they threaten him or his friends, the Galactica crew making questionable decisions all the time, the Galactica rape scene (still shudder about that one and how "realistic" it seemed).

It will still be a bland show if Lucas has his hands in at anything safe production design but you know what?
I'll still watch it because it's Star Wars

Yes i'm that weak.. i even watched the entire run of Enterprise and Voyager and i despise both shows mostly.

 

[stonester1]

This I agree with. But if he's serious...I'm going to be there to see if he is.

 

[stonester1]

So not only is star wars not a kids, film, but disney/pixar films arent kids films either?

Tell me, is there anything out there that actually is a kids film?

I did say "Apple Dumpling Gang".



Is there any harm in a quality being geared towards a GENERAL audience, a family audience? Is it necessary to go out of the way to dumb down a story and pander to little kids? Pixar manages to do it. So did Star Wars.

Mind you, if this is the way Lucas wants to do Clone Wars, fine, I've no problem with it. If he wants to engage in marketing strategy by gearing Clone Wars to kids and the coming TV show to older audiences, I consider that savvy strategy.

But I find it silly to engage in revisionist history in reaction to adult dismay at Clone Wars by saying ALL Star Wars was for the kiddies, when there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.

It's easier to just say, yes, Clone Wars is geared to kids. It's not that good. Chances are, unlike the OT, kids WILL outgrow this.

No shame in that at all.

 

[Trent Roman]

Lucas has a tendency towards revisionism with his work, as we've seen demonstrated a number of times, so I wouldn't trust what he has to say about the original trilogy now (though if somebody can find a contemporary quote indicating this...).

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[JoeZhang]

That reads like Lucas is trying to rationalize the more problematic aspects of the prequels.

On the other hand, the OT had things like a shady character gunning down someone in cold blood, bloody severed appendages, and some very violent scenes with people dying unpleasantly on the ground, in starship/station corridors and in space.

You had mysticism, repression, politics, etc.

The PT had these, too, just more missteps, and less emotional grounding/engagement.

These are latter day Lucas comments, not him in his heyday, right? Many have regarded him as a bit out of touch nowadays.

People who are over 40 love [Episodes] IV, V, and VI and hate I, II, and III. Younger people like I, II, and III and don’t like IV, V, and VI, or they like I, II, and III better and think IV, V, and VI are kind of boring and slow. And of course the older people say, “Oh, I, II, and III—it’s too jittery, too fast, too complicated, it’s too digital,” or whatever they want to say. But definitely one generation has grabbed hold of one of them, and the other generation has grabbed hold of the next one. One of the key characters that helped us realize what was going on was Jar Jar Binks, because the kids that are under 10 years old, he’s one of their favorite characters.

For people over 40, they cannot stand him—it’s a hate thing. You know, they’ve always been for 12-year-olds, and that’s never changed. People don’t want to think of it that way. They want to think those films are for grown-ups. Even though they were 10 years old when they saw it, it’s still very important to them, so, for them, it’s a grown-up movie, as opposed to a kids’ movie. The pre–Jar Jar Binks was 3PO. Everybody hated 3PO. I mean, it was like they couldn’t stand him. It really had to do with his character. They don’t like his character, and they don’t like Jar Jar Binks—but they’re not designed to be likeable characters.

http://starwarsblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/george-lucas-qa-at-vanity-fair/

So he's wrong about his intentions and you are right? I see...

On the other hand, the OT had things like a shady character gunning down someone in cold blood, bloody severed appendages, and some very violent scenes with people dying unpleasantly on the ground, in starship/station corridors and in space.

And was rated "U" on release in the UK - so clearly not very violent at all. Even the reviews of the time note this:

Inevitably 1977 was going to be the year of safer pleasures. Star Wars, let me tell you, wasn't given its U certificate for nothing. The only exclamation the producers want from you is "Wow!"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/1977/dec/27/derekmalcolmscenturyoffilm

 

[stonester1]

1977, The Police made their live debut as a three-piece band when they played at Rebecca's Birmingham, England.

All I know is what I saw. I also know that you can't actually pull a quote saying those things from when the OT was released. All you CAN find are responses to fan whinging about Jar Jar Binks.

And was rated "U" on release in the UK - so clearly not very violent at all. Even the reviews of the time note this:

Again, I know what I saw. Bloody, severed limbs would get a PG 13 nowadays, as would cold blooded killings. Hell, LUCAS knew this, so when he did his "Special Editions", he wussed out and tried to make "Greedo shoot first". The Lucas making those comments was NOT the same filmmaker from the late 70s.

But tell you what, when he throws in bloody severed limbs in the Clone Wars cartoon, you can tell me "I told you so."