Which way is up?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
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OK, I'm doing this. I did it with Episodes 1-3, but not to this extent. I'm not doing this because I didn't like Episode VII, but because I do not at all like Episodes VII-IX as a trilogy. Together, they suck!
So, with no further a-doo, here is a brief script for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens as I think it should have gone. Episodes VIII and IX are worming around in my brain. *Ahem* Act I Quote:
* In my version, Rey would be the granddaughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luma Engura, A Jedi Knightess from the old Republic. (This story, Jedi Knight: A Star Wars Story, would follow Obi-Wan Kenobi on an important mission to aid an old friend. Along the way, he would discover a Jedi Knightess hiding from the rampaging Lord Vader. Together, they would fight their way to the friend, discover inaccuracies in the Jedi code, and fall in love. Luma would die saving the friend's life. That friend would be Bail Organa). This is the story I would write were I in charge of the upcoming Obi Wan movie. Something like this would tie Rey to the order, which would give her something to fight for in Episodes VIII and IX (as she would learn that she is the granddaughter of the greatest of the Jedi Knights) and would link Obi-Wan more tightly with Bail Organa (this because Leia's remark that "year's ago you served my father in the Clone Wars" never really pulled them together, even in the Clone Wars animated series. Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi are intimated to have had a special bond, but it is never really hashed out. I would love tell that part of the story. Alas, it is a dead end, because the Kathleen Kennedy evil Empire couldn't think further ahead than "Rose screws everything up, and then disappears from the script". ——— Feel free to post your thoughts, and maybe they will get added into the story line. - AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :) - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9) Last edited by kscherer : 2020-01-04 at 14:32. |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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That's better than the actual movie.
Why? - It isn't a lazy, unasked-for remake of the 1977 (or any other) release. - You include/hint at Obi-Wan, never a bad thing - It gives everyone what we really wanted: a still-together Luke, Han and Leia...we wanted to see them in at least ONE scene together, but preferably more. This has that. Everyone would've been pleased. And, honestly, it would've been nice to know that Han and Leia were still together after everything. I hated the way they both just reverted back to their 1977 selves/personas. - Luke isn't a bitter a-hole who gave up; NOBODY was cool with his portrayal in this trilogy because we knew that wasn't what he would do. When the actor himself voices his displeasure about the handling of the character, then you know you've stepped in it. I take Mark Hamill's opinion/insight to heart more than J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, Rian Johnson or anyone else in that crowd. It undid everything we saw and knew about the character, and it lingered over the entire stupid trilogy. We never got to see Jedi Master Luke, at full power/potential, fight it out with someone (and, no, that silliness at the end of The Last Jedi doesn't count). - You set the stakes immediately, in chapter one: the murder of both his parents, in full view of Luke and the audience, setting Kylo to be a real hard-case and threat. Also, out of story, you accomplish two things: you grant Harrison Ford the death/exclusion from further involvement that he's always wanted, and now Carrie Fisher's death in real life has no bearing on the following episodes (I said from the beginning that she should've died in The Force Awakens because, of the three, she'd be the most useless, and that Luke should've survived through all three, "dying" - as much as Jedis can - only at the end of Episode 9 after one final display of Jedi badassery and selflessness, going out in a full blaze as only Luke Skywalker should (tossing Star Destroyers out of the sky, saber fighting/Force-choking dozens of stormtroopers at once, etc.)...this should've been Hamill's show, as it's the Skywalker saga overall. And, plus, to reward Hamill for his years of loyalty and fan-friendliness/respect, unlike Ford and Fisher). So I like offing both of them, with some true weight, in the opening chapter of the trilogy...good call! I would've done the exact same thing for reasons both in, and out of, story! - You instantly get the audience invested when you show how truly heartbroken - not just angry - Chewie is at the death of Han and Leia. Nothing more heartbreaking than the sight/sound of a sad Chewie. We got a couple of glimpses of it in the original trilogy, but can you imagine a stronger, more drawn-out depiction? It would level the audience, done right. Suddenly, this thing has weight and hits hard. - It ends the thing on a proper "oh no!" cliffhanger, the way Empire did in 1980, with a prominent character being taken away and their fate a bit up in the air. That makes people eager for the next installment. Ending a movie with someone handing someone else a lightsaber just doesn't have that same draw/impact. Hell, the ending of TFA could've almost been the ending of a single movie...she found Luke, returned his saber, the end. Nothing about it said "stay tuned for the next chapter!", IMO. - I like the absence of Poe, Finn and BB-8. Since this isn't a shameless reboot/remake, they don't have to appear as younger stand-in types for Han or others, as the real thing are playing front and center, from the opening scenes. Introducing them in the second installment, perhaps as slightly different characters than we saw, would work. They could keep the Poe/pilot and Finn/defected stormtrooper thing, even...but neither of those characters deserved to be the centerpoint for TFA...they're just not that interesting or engaging, at least in the way J.J. and Kasdan wrote it. As for BB-8, all that little bastard seemed to do across three movies was take away the role/purpose of Artoo, who got the biggest short-changing in this sequel trilogy (I can only assume J.J. has some problem with R2-D2, when you look at just how little he mattered/factored in since 2015). Put Artoo back in the forefront, doing all the things people want/expect him to do, not some toy-selling soccer ball. I can't believe that decision was made. That's the most blatant merchandising lunge I've ever seen in a movie, especially when you had a capable, beloved droid who'd filled that role wonderfully over six movies. To just throw a tarp over him, with or without Luke's presence in the movie, was so lame. That's probably what killed Mr. Baker...nice going, J.J. You actually did that South Park thing. - This version has nice little callbacks - the black cloaked figure on a Star Destroyer bridge, the hologram, lots of "Falcon being chased", etc. - but it's not a beat-for-beat rehash. That's how you do nostalgia/fan service...you connect it all with little glimpses and hints and nice "oh yeah..." moments (like how that TV show seems to be doing). You don't beat people over the head for two solid hours with "hey, remember the 1977 movie? Well, we're doing that again, just in a less coherent, satisfying way...check it out!" - I like that Starkiller was dispensed with completely and you just go with Star Destroyer-based city-destroying weaponry...smaller scale, you're not rehashing the Death Star (again), but you're still providing a threat and consequences for any city who winds up in those crosshairs. It's similar, but fresh, on a smaller scale. We saw what happened to those two locations in Rogue One...you don't have to destroy an entire planet to wreak havoc and do massive damage to thousands (millions?) of people. I like that idea too. Again, similar but fresh. Not another moon/planet-sized station with a trench (I can't believe that shit popped up at the tail end of The Force Awakens. I'd already checked out by then, but when that came up I just kinda threw my hands up..."whatever, J.J. You're not even trying, are you?" I think I would've enjoyed seeing this movie in 2015. It gets right just about everything J.J. got wrong. PS - Is my disdain for J.J. a bit too on the nose? Or am I being too subtle with it? I’m blaming that doof for all this, so... Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2020-01-04 at 12:20. |
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Which way is up?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
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As we've discussed:
1) As a whole, the wrong people were involved 2) Having the wrong people meant there was no thought placed on the complete picture 3) George Lucas started the trend 4) Kathleen Kennedy is providing good direction for the spinoffs 5) Kathleen Kennedy knows nothing about the Skywalker saga 6) JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson are just feeding off of these failures because they are lazy This isn't the fault of JJ Abrams. It's the fault of LucasFilm as a whole. It has middling leadership that shows sparks of brilliance, which is actually a bad thing overall because they get enough kudos that they will continue to be guided by ego and arrogance—just as George was back through the prequels. There is no one around to say "no". — As far as my version is concerned, it is based entirely on the premise that our heroes were and always will be friends. They stood for something, and that was not going to be shaken by 30 years of conflict. They have always stuck together because that is what they do! Luke was off on his island meditating and training; Han and Leia (with loyal Chewy) were off spying for the good of the rebellion; R2 is where he belongs; C-3PO would have been on the Falcon with Leia. Everyone was in their place, not off being idiots. As the idea was bursting from my head, I tried to remember those points. They will fight together to the very end, and at the end there will be a new force on both sides—Ben Solo on the dark side, Rey on the light. Each will be guided by their master—Ben by Darth Snoke (who will be discovered to have been the secret apprentice of Darth Vader), and Rey by Luke Skywalker, who will discover her strength as a result of her lineage. Also in my version, there is no such person as Kylo Ren. The dark side are Sith lords, not followers of random leagues of dark-clad figures. The dark side is guided by one, singular principle: Always two there are, no more, no less. Every time a dark lord takes on an apprentice, there become three and one must die (as Palpatine did, leaving only Darth Vader and his apprentice, Snoke). With the death of Vader, Snoke needed an apprentice and eventually turned to the child of Solo/Organa. There are no "Knights of Wren", so there is no Kylo Ren. I mean, how many times does he need a name change? By the way, I think it is important to keep Snoke around to build Darth Heinous into the most powerful Sith lord ever. I can see Ben absolutely going ballistic once his mother dies. The rage, the hatred, and the anger come blasting out and he feels the power of the dark side*. Also, somewhere in this episode Luke will sense the force in Rey and begin counseling her. Likely aboard the Falcon, but perhaps a command ship or even on the island. He will sense that she is weak and vulnerable, and he must build her up before the dark side comes for her. * I am going to update the above script as things progress, and while I sort out Act II (what we know as Episode VIII) as new ideas creep into my head. Ideas and suggestions are very welcome. - AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :) - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9) Last edited by kscherer : 2020-01-04 at 14:34. |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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No, everything about it rings truer, and sounds better, than anything I actually saw on screen since 2015.
I agree...the three core characters would've reminded tight. Han and Leia's love would've endured (and grown) and Luke Skywalker certainly wouldn't just thrown up his hands and said "screw all this". The people who made these movies never watched the original trilogy, I'm convinced. And if they did, they didn't like it. Which is the only thing that accounts for the piss-job they attempted three decades later. "Let's make everyone a broken, unlikable asshole...that's Edgy™" Abrams and Co. just wanted to tear down the original trilogy (and its aftermath), which wasn't necessary. They could've added Rey (and whoever else) without undoing all the original movies (and characters) accomplished. The whole thing just leads a very weird "what's the point" taste in my mouth. Especially now, now that we know Palpatine can survive Force lightning and blowing up...the same way he was (allegedly) offed in this new idiotic movie. Which, to me, just screams "okay, so he's gonna return in a few decades to do some more villain shit, and so nothing in this trilogy really mattered or accomplished anything either"). If people don't stay dead and gone, then it's hard to act like "stakes are high" and "it's now or never!", etc. Because these idiot movies are clearly showing that isn't the case. No, just kick the can down the road a few decades and deal with it when it, inevitably, pops up again. When Palpatine shows up a third time (and I'm sure he will, why wouldn't he?), just make sure he gets some Force lightning directed his way and blow him up. That'll (temporarily) do the trick for 20-30 years. Then he can be someone else's problem down the road. WTF kind of writing/message is that? I buy the Snoke/Vader thing way more than the idiocy they came up with. Last edited by psmith2.0 : 2020-01-04 at 15:22. |
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Sneaky Punk
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I would pay to see this in a theater, which is more than I can say for the last two movies. It has a good story line, no rip offs, and could go somewhere.
Then again, to be 100% honest, I would have rather have seen the Timothy Zahn Thrawn trilogy adapted as films even more so. I much prefer the old expanded universe, even if it meant re-casting the original main characters to make it happen. |
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Which way is up?
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Boyzeee
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Well, the movie people get at least a couple years between episodes, but my itchy fingers are telling me I'm behind on this thing. Act 2 is long overdue ( ) and I think I should get to work on it.
Looking for some ideas, though. I'm thinking this starts out aboard Darth Heinous's Star Destroyer with him demonstrating the force to Rey, who is beginning to feel her powers. After that, I'm a bit empty. A few ideas, though, and I can crank this sucker out in a few hours. My general, long-term plan is something like this: Act I: Our introduction to Rey (Rey is captured) Act 2: The dark side attempts to seduce Rey (Rey is rescued) Act 3: Rey recognizes her place and chooses the light (Rey is the hero) - AppleNova is the best Mac-users forum on the internet. We are smart, educated, capable, and helpful. We are also loaded with smart-alecks! :) - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Mat 5:9) |
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Mr. Vieira
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
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