Support the Star Wars OT on DVD campaign! (1 Viewer)

[Jaxon's Dad]

Except that the Rancor fight has had very significant work done to it in the Special Edition: it has been recomposited, removing tons of printed-in dirt and grain, and the black matte lines, while still visible, are greatly reduced. Compare them side by side and the improvement is substantial.

I'll have to take your word for it since I don't have the SEs to do a side by side. Back when the SEs were announced for the theater, I sincerely hoped that the fight with the rancor would get some spit and polish. Given that ILM had recently shown what could be done with CG (T2, Jurassic Park, Dragonheart), I was really looking forward to seeing my hoped for cg-enhanced rancor. I distinctly recall being extremely disappointed when the scene came around and it looked, to my naked eye, to be the exact same hutt-ugly scene I had come to know from repeated home video viewings. But just imagine what could have been done with this scene if Han had been allowed to shoot first...

 

[David Lambert]

Here is something interesting by way of an "OT Petition".

 

[Tim Glover]

interesting link David.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

I like the tone of that letter. They are a little more courageous than us.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Jay,

I decided to visit OriginalTrilogy.com today, and I noticed that nearly 20 percent of the petition signature are unconfirmed.

I assume you've probably already considered this, but I would recommend that if you are able to tailor your e-mail program to remind these unconfirmed signatures to confirm them, we migt be able to add some more valid numbers to our cause.

Once again, thanks for all your hard work on this petition.

 

[Richard Kim]

The Force.net has an exerpt of a radio interview of Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet. Here's what he had to say about the OT on DVD:

Q) Petition about release of original trilogy on DVD. Are there plans to release the originals on DVD in the near future? What about the rumours about never released or newly filmed scenes?

I'm aware of those petitions. There has been no final decision made. George has said that the films as they exist now are the films. We'll see where that goes.

 

[David Lambert]

Sounds like we've injected some doubt into George's stance, fellas! Keep it up!

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Sounds like we've injected some doubt into George's stance, fellas! Keep it up!

I don't think so because it says "George has said that the films as they exist now are the films."

 

[Jay Sylvester]

I send out confirmation reminders about once a week to any signature owner with an unconfirmed signature more than a week old. Whenever I do this, a few hundred do confirm their signatures, but the unconfirmed number continues to float around 4000. While several hundred of those keep bouncing back to me because the addresses are bad, the bulk are going through (I have unconfirmed signatures from several of my own e-mail accounts that I signed up as tests just to make sure these reminders go through, and they have).

I don't know if it's because they used mail accounts that they never check, they don't understand how it works, or they just don't care.

 

[Carlo_M]

Jay I think you have done more than enough. That's the way these things go, it's an inexact science. 20,000+ confirmed signatures is pretty impressive. Hopefully more will sign up once they learn of the petition.

And while Lucas himself has not made any indication that he will rethink his OT strategy, at least we have put our thoughts, feeling, and arguments in a well organized petition. Even if nothing comes of it I am thankful that you guys did all that work to get the site up and running and I am proud to be a member of that petition.

All we can do is make our voices heard. If he chooses to ignore it then what else can we do? At least we tried.

 

[David Lambert]

that the films as they exist now are the films. We'll see where that goes.

See what I mean? It's no longer a self-assured, this-is-the-way-it's-gonna-be philosophy. They are at least thinking that it's not "final".

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Also it’s good that we have confirmation they, (studio, Lucasfilm people) have heard and are listening because after all Lucas himself is not that important. Remember that George Lucas didn’t want to release Episode 1 on DVD this soon (if you can call that soon!!!!). The pressure of other people, studio, money and business decisions made him to. So no matter how much he says "no" if the pressure is high, they will release it like Episode 1.

 

[Tim Glover]

Everything is going as I have foreseen.

 

[Brenton]

I don't think this means anything bad. All it means is that the Special Editions are George Lucas's de facto/definitive/authoritive versions, which is something we've known since 1997. It doesn't mean that they're the only versions that will ever be on DVD.

 

[Richard Kim]

Also it’s good that we have confirmation they, (studio, Lucasfilm people) have heard and are listening because after all Lucas himself is not that important.

You sure like taking jabs at Lucas, eh Sam?

If Lucas is "not that important" as you state it, the OT would have been out on DVD a long time ago, (with subsequent newer additions most likely)

 

[Sam Davatchi]

No jabs. There is nothing impolite in what I said, I say it again. Lucas is not that important when it comes to business decisions, “releasing” decisions. I give again the Episode 1 example.

 

[Dan Rudolph]

THat happened because Lucas changed his mind. Lucas owns Lucasfilm and thus any decisions like this go through him. His board can certainly talk him into things, but the ultimate authority or all things Star Wars is his.

 

[Carlo_M]

I think the truth lies in the middle of Sam and Dan's points. Yes all things Star Wars go through Lucas. But by winning over members of his "inner circle" and other external forces, he can be persuaded to change his mind. Sam's point about Ep1 is key - it wasn't supposed to be released any time soon after the theatrical run and it was! Then Ep2 followed a mostly-normal release pattern on DVD.

It's like any of us - we make up our own minds but we can definitely be influenced by our close friends/family/associates.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Tell George to slap the words "STAR WARS: THE RELEASED WORKPRINTS" on the cover then

 

[Sam Davatchi]

THat happened because Lucas changed his mind. Lucas owns Lucasfilm

Carlo just said it perfectly. I also add that he changed his mind about Episode 1 DVD because there was a lot of pressure on him. Also I don’t think that Lucas owns all Lucasfilm. The things he has made (companies) are so huge that there should be other shareholders. (This last comment is just a guess from me)