The Current State of STAR WARS Reporting

Hey folks, Harry here... I'm pissed.

You might have noticed the 'backlash' that's begun to creep it's way into the 'legitimate' press against STAR WARS EPISODE ONE. Beginning with Lucas' 'outrageous' demands from theater owners and continuing through Ron Howard's alleged problems with the film and that Ewan MacGregor felt the film was a bore.

I've been doing this for several years now, as have many of us 'NET' writers, and one thing I have noticed about the 'legitimate' press is that they love to 'cut and paste' sentences and statements together. They love to soundbit things till the context for statements no longer exist. In both the Ewan and Ron Howard pieces... this is the exact same case. You may remember that when Ewan MacGregor actually saw the film he said "I nearly shat myself". I've talked to Ron Howard about Star Wars Episode One myself, I wasn't taping the conversation so I didn't want to 'misquote' him, but over the course of our conversation he made it known that the film was utterly fantastic.

What about the 'evil money hoarding Lucas' that is beating up the theater owners with all these outrageous demands?

Well, gosh... He doesn't want more than 8 minutes of trailers on the film (which is over 2 hours long) as it is, and let's face it.... What was the reaction to the trailers that were on before that first trailer... that first day of it's release... THEY WERE BOOED.... Star Wars fans want to see the damn movie. We've been waiting over 15 years to see this damn thing, and dammit.... I could stand to see no trailers before the movie, and I happen to love them. But dammit... after being in line as long as I know it'll take... I just want to see the movie 8 times the day of release and go home and get some sleep and a nice long bath.

Lucas doesn't want two projectors sharing the same prints. Gosh... could this be to PROTECT the print? Thereby trying to limit the amount of dust and damage the print will undergo? As for the 'employee' screening of the theater... I say let these folks watch the damn movie. They are going to be run to death opening day, week, month, year... and they deserve to see the film.

No onscreen advertising before the film. Gosh... does this mean no fucking COKE commercials or VIDEO GAME ads? Big friggin loss..... Agony...

Personally, I'd add a demand to LUCAS' "Outrageous Tyrannical Demands" I would require that every theater showing his film actually have a HIRED PROJECTIONIST in the Projection Booth at all times. Someone trained to deal with a projector. Not a High School kid, but an honest to goodness Union Projectionist. Ever since the big chains through these folks out of the Projection Booths across the country we have been getting shoddier and shoddier projection habits. Also I would require that they have the highest wattage bulbs possible in the projector for bright colors and clear images... Cause right now, tons of theaters are using lessor wattage bulbs which result in slightly muddy images.

The penalties are stiff, exorborant and very high if you don't follow Lucas' rules.. but you know what, with the exception of the 'employee screenings' everything else should be your standard operating procedure. In addition, you should have hired projectionist on hand at all times to monitor the projection process. People trained to take care of any problems as soon as they arise.

What you are seeing occur right now in the media is a massive HYPE machine and a trauma of cyncism by the media. This occurs with the biggest of Blockbuster hyped films, but with this movie... where folks are flying to the USA from all over the world, waiting in lines for 30+ days, 2 Billion Dollar PEPSICO advertising campaigns, more toys, books, music, fast food, junk food, etc... than you can shake a stick at... Well, there are those that all of this stuff TURNS OFF...

Let's face it, all this money going into a movie.... a single movie. Imagine what PEPSICO could have done with 2 BILLION dollars? I mean, some real human good could have come from that... but instead... it's gonna tell us there is a movie coming out, that technically... we didn't need a single bit of advertising to tell us this movie was coming... right?

Personally I could care less. I want my STAR WARS MOVIE! As much as I love independent film, foreign film, vintage film... nothing quite gets me jonesed as much as a STAR WARS movie. It's the kid in me. I'm excited, giddy and fucking unbelievably thrilled that this movie is about to come out.

You might have noticed a slumping off of STAR WARS news on the site... There's a reason. I don't want to continue to recycle the 'legitimate medias' reports. Sure I get scans of every PREMIERE photo, every WIRED photo, images from all these already published books waiting in warehouses, but For me, at this point in a film's release there is only one significant detail.... "IS IT ANY GOOD?"

And as readers of AICN know, we begin to find that out by hearing from folks that have ACTUALLY SEEN THE MOVIE! Imagine that, reporting on what your eyes and ears have heard and seen from watching the entire film. What real people, (not holding anything against the opinions of Spielberg, Howard, Coppola, Darabont, etc, but) I want, to hear what regular folks like you and me think about this movie. Not a filmmaker, but a guy who stands in line. Not that it'll make a damn bit of difference in where I'll be when the film is released... but it's just I like to have a fix for my expectations.

When someone like Darabont says, "It stands about even with EMPIRE STRIKES BACK," well.... Does it? I need a current non-filmmaking Star Wars junkie to tell me that. I want the guy that can tell me the name of that Bunny Rabbit in the X-Wing Outfit from the old STAR WARS COMICS to tell me that. I want the guy with the poster over his bed, a taun taun by his computer screen and the vintage star wars sheets on his bed to tell me it's as good as EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. And specifically... I want them to compare the experience of seeing EMPIRE STRIKES BACK back when it came out with the expectations of STAR WARS vs. Episode One with the expectations of the prior trilogy, a billion books and 15+ years of waiting to say it stands toe to toe or better.

Why do I need this? Because until I see it with my own eyes, I only truly trust the opinion of a lone crazed geek at their keyboard spilling love into every keystroke... and all these interviews, specs on ships, latest stills from the movie, 4 seconds of new images, 2 tracks of Williams' score... that really doesn't amount to a hill of beans... What really matters is.... WILL IT ROCK MY WORLD? Will it satisfy the anticipation that I've had since I was 12 years old before my Parents divorce, before my Mother's death, before the Internet, before all this other shit. Will this blow me away? And only one of you folks can tell me that, unless of course I see it first. (Not very friggin likely)

Personally, nows the time for us to chill on Star Wars. Its here, it's a stone's throw away. By analyzing and putting under the microscope every picture, every minute possible problem... well, it's just driving alot of folks into an anxiety level that isn't even funny. So far, we now the pictures are pretty, the tidbits of score sound great, everyone who has seen it has really dug it, Lucas is bouncing around like the happiest guy on the planet in love with filmmaking again, and we are going to see a new Star Wars film.

Is that enough for now?