Steve Sansweet talks BD 6 film Star Wars and more (1 Viewer)

[oscar_merkx]

http://www.examiner.com/x-2730-Star-Wars-Examiner~y2009m7d29-ComicCon-interview-with-Steve-Sansweet

For those of you who have been following my Comic-Con coverage, you know that I was collecting interviews pertaining to Star Wars, both audio and video.
My first audio interview was with Lucasfilm's head of fan relations and author of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia Steve Sansweet.
We talked about a lot of things, mainly Star Wars. We did dip into Indiana Jones a little bit. We talked about how the Star Wars Encyclopedia was written, how he came to work for Lucasfilm, what he does exactly and there are a lot of juicy news tidbits in there.

Star Wars Celebration V was discussed and they really don't have a solid date or place yet, but it will happen in Summer 2010 for the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back.

We also talked about the Blu-ray treatment of Star Wars and what we might be seeing on the Ultimate Box Set of all Six Star Wars movies. There was also talk about what behind the scenes documentaries form the past we might be seeing on a digital format. (I'm transcribing that portion of the interview for another article that I'll be posting shortly.)

The Geek Show Podcast was kind enough to host my interview on their iTunes, for the full 15 minute interview, click this link.

It is this part of the interview where things become really interesting
Quote:

But we got to talking about the Blu-ray edition of Star Wars and this is what was said:

Q: Is there any talk whatsoever, and I'm not even going to ask for a date because I know that's ridiculous, but is there any talk about the Star Wars movies on a high definition format?

A: Yeah. I mean obviously we've been looking at that for a couple of years and I think one of the questions is when is the market penetration there and these days, will there be a market penetration before everything goes streaming? But we've been looking at an ultimate box set of the Star Wars movies, all six of the movies. And what special features would be. And clearly these days, if you did an ultimate box set and didn't do it in HD, Blu-ray, it just wouldn't make any sense. So now it's a matter of thinking okay, we've been thinking about this for a while, we know what kind of assets we want to use, we've done some work in cleaning up things, it's really a matter of making that decision of when's the best time to release it.

Do you wait and have an event because you're working off of the fact that there's going to be a new live action TV series?

All those things are very much in motion. I can say with pretty good confidence that at some point in the next several years there will be a complete set of Star Wars movies and lots of extras and deleted footage and anything anyone could want. Although I say that with some trepidation now because our fans want everything, "Why the Holiday Special wasn't on there, you ruined my life!"
But in the next few years there will be an ultimate box set and certainly a Blu-ray set.

There is much more

Enjoy

 

[LarryH]

Per thefreedictionary.com:

several: Being of a number more than two or three but not many

 

[Jonathan Kaye]

Originally Posted by LarryH

Regardless of whether it's "several", "a few" or "a couple", it's good to know that the Blu-ray set of the six Star Wars films is in the pipeline. This has to be Lucasfilm's last chance to release the saga absolutely nailed-on perfect....

 

[Paul Arnette]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Kaye /forum/thread/291048/steve-sansweet-talks-bd-6-film-star-wars-and-more#post_3590956

 

[Worth]

It's good to know that the Blu-ray set of the six Star Wars films is in the pipeline. This has to be Lucasfilm's last chance to release the saga absolutely nailed-on perfect....

Well, since Lucas apparently fells that all of the "Star Wars" films are never-ending works-in-progress, I can't see how there can ever be a "perfect" or definitive release of them.

If, by some miracle, the unmolested versions of the original three films are included, then I'll be interested. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Colin Davidson]

Perhaps the article should be titled:

Star Wars Episodes BD: Absolutely No Hope!

Sorry to be such a downer but "... in the next several years..." sheesh.

 

[Carlo_M]

I agree it's totally vague but it beats the flat out denials at the infancy of DVD that the OT would ever be released on that format.

 

[Oliver_A]

Without the original, unaltered versions of Episode IV-VI, I surely will pass on this set, as I did back in 2004.

 

[Brian Borst]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Kaye


Regardless of whether it's "several", "a few" or "a couple", it's good to know that the Blu-ray set of the six Star Wars films is in the pipeline. This has to be Lucasfilm's last chance to release the saga absolutely nailed-on perfect....

Well, I don't think there was anyone here (or on any other forum) who wouldn't think Lucas would not release the Star Wars movies on Blu. Of course they'll be released, it's just a matter of when and how. And since the 'super mega ultimate box set' has been a steady rumor even before the dvd trilogy came out, they'd better make it right this time. And yes, that would mean the originals too, but I'm not holding my breath. It would help to shut up everyone once and for all, though.

 

[Jeff Robertson]

My prediction:

Six movies (2004 versions) in 1080p AVC w/ DTS-HD MA audio with the same extras as the DVD set (in HD where applicable) and then a sprinkling of new supplements....maybe even these unseen-for-a-long-time making-of docs. They'll be packed in slim cases just like the ST movies.

Oh, and The Phantom Menace should be devoid of any ridiculous edge enhancement.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

All Star Wars fans need to know based on past experience
with all the other formats is that it is very likely we will be
milked on multiple releases of the complete saga, each with
supplements or versions that should have been included the
first time around.

My only hope is that Lucas will a little kinder to the fans and
get it right the first time.

 

[Jeff Whitford]

You would think that for business reasons alone that they would want to get them out before streaming becomes a big deal,to milk us for every dime they can

 

[Nelson Au]

Wouldn't Star Wars be one of the titles that would be a lynch pin to increasing market penetration?

 

[LarryH]

Originally Posted by Paul Arnette /forum/thread/291048/steve-sansweet-talks-bd-6-film-star-wars-and-more#post_3591057

 

[MielR]

Originally Posted by Oliver_A /forum/thread/291048/steve-sansweet-talks-bd-6-film-star-wars-and-more#post_3591081

 

[Clinton McClure]

Wait Ron, I thought Star Trek and Evil Dead were the only franchises milking us for all they can get...

 

[Oliver_A]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

(...)

My only hope is that Lucas will a little kinder to the fans and
get it right the first time.

I don't think they ever got it right on DVD, neither the first nor the second time.

The first time, there was no inclusion of the original versions, lack of deleted scenes, only one documentary for the whole trilogy and, although the sharpness of the new transfers was excellent, it was plagued by a hack job done on the colour correction, plus the sound bugs.

The second time, there were no extras anymore (and I DON'T count the inclusion of the original films, which built this whole money making empire as "extras"), shoddy laserdisc transfers of the originals with heavy DNR and aliasing problems (in lots of scene, lines seem to have been doubled), and the Special Editions still had ALL the bugs which were plaguing the first release.

For me, Star Wars on DVD was a big disappointment, nothing worth waiting the extra long time. From my perspective, they need to do REAL good to redeem themselves. Other, much less "important" (in terms of box office) films, have recieved stellar treatment on DVD. But with Lucasfilm and Star Wars, all it seems to be about is money and how to maximize profits with the least amount of effort. This whole bloody affair almost destroyed my nostalgic love for the first three films.

Therefore, if this Blu Ray set isn't done RIGHT (and I really mean RIGHT, like Bladerunner RIGHT) on the FIRST TIME, well, they can show me pretty much any lack of kindness they want, for me, it's simply: NO SALE.

 

[TravisR]

I understand being dissapointed that the originals haven't been made available in a quality form but I don't know how anyone can say that they've milked Star Wars on DVD. They've had two distinct releases of the OT in 12 years and one for the prequels. There's movies that have had two DVDs in less than a year of its theatrical release.

 

[Dave H]

I agree the extras were quite disappointing on the original trilogy. I mean the three hour documentary was excellent, but I was hoping for more in-depth information and details on the original films, behind-the-scenes, deleted scenes, etc. Maybe they can finally do it right on BD.

 

[Tony Whalen]

I think one of the questions is when is the market penetration there and these days, will there be a market penetration before everything goes streaming?

Well if you turkeys wait a few YEARS, I'm guessing your market penetration before streaming is going to get increasingly smaller.

Jeezuz.... this ain't rocket science... is it?

I can't understand why they don't at least have a 2010-2011 release planned. (...and what about the Indiana Jones flicks?)