Thurs., Feb. 19, 1998

RANK DOM OVER WORLD TITLES

001 $ 357.1 $ 563.0 $ 920.1 Jurassic Park (1993)
002 $ 376.4 $ 440.0 $ 816.4 Titanic (1997)
003 $ 306.1 $ 507.0 $ 813.1 Independence Day (1996)
004 $ 460.9 $ 330.3 $ 791.2 Star Wars (1977)
005 $ 312.9 $ 459.0 $ 771.9 Lion King, The (1994)
006 $ 399.8 $ 301.6 $ 701.4 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
007 $ 329.7 $ 347.0 $ 676.7 Forrest Gump (1994)
008 $ 229.1 $ 382.0 $ 611.1 Lost World: Jurassic Park, The (1997)
009 $ 250.1 $ 334.5 $ 584.6 Men in Black (1997)
010 $ 290.2 $ 243.7 $ 533.9 Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)

Author Kevin J. Anderson has mastered the Star Wars galaxy and has published 14 original tales for George Lucas. Anderson's critically acclaimed non-Star Wars techno- thriller "Ignition," co-authored with Doug Beason, was optioned by Universal Pictures for the screen for a high six-figures well before the book's publication in Spring 1997. Anderson has sold more than 10 million copies of his works in the past four years . . . (Source: Divicon)

To me, it seems that the prequel should be at least 150 minutes long (2.5 hours). There must be a ton of story info. that Lucas has come up with over the past 15 years since JEDI came out. I would love for the prequel to be 3 or more hours long, but I guess that would cut down on the number of times the prequel could be shown each day (although that has apparently not hurt Titanic any). And the financial bottom line is important . . . (Source: Vron) (Ed. Note: We agree. The longer a Star Wars film is the better)

Just a thought. About four years ago I read some sort of summary called "Episode 3: Fall of the Republic." I'm pretty sure just about the whole thing is junk because of what we've learned since, but there was one interesting idea that stuck in my mind. In this summary, Palpatine had some sort of holo-image created of some Jedi killing Anakin's wife, and after some training from the Sith, it was this image that drove him over the edge. What if this happens, and somehow Vader believes Obi-Wan is responsible for his wife's death? He does seem to have a personal vendetta against Ben which Ben does not share. "Escape is not his plan. I must face him alone." Actually, escape WAS his plan. "I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last." Vader obviously is looking forward to this more than Obi-Wan. Probably not true (as are most of these other rumors), but I thought it was an interesting idea nevertheless. (Source: Gregory Attaway) (Ed. Note: Whatever happened to "John Flynn," the guy who wrote Fall of the Republic/Jedi back in 1983? Flynn's "script" for Ep. 3 must be the most widely read piece of Star Wars fan fiction in existence. Some present-day rumors can be traced back to his work . . . Vader probably blames Ben for most of what has gone wrong with his life (i.e., becoming more machine than man, losing his wife and child, being a virtual slave to the Emperor). So in ANH, it is pay back time for Vader. Did Ben betray Vader in the prequels by having a real or imagined affair with the young Queen and/or did Ben cause/get blamed for the young Queen's death? As usual, there are many plot possibilities.)

I don't remember reading this before, but if Padme is the young Queen then that means Anakin becomes a young King at the end of episode 2 when he marries Padme. This makes the allegory to King Arthur all the more stronger. This goes along with a prior readers comment that if you remove the -ur from Arthur and add a D to the front you get Darth. Very strange. (Source: Kwazar) (Ed. Note: Seems logical that when a Queen marries her fiancee he would become her King and vice versa)

But Ceri disagrees: "Shadow Blade advised us: 'Listen to this: if you remove the "ur" from Arthur, you get "Arth" and if you add a "D," you get Darth. I think this is solid evidence that Darth Vader represents Mr. Lucas' SW version of the fallen King Arthur of the Camelot myth.' Further to that, if you take "Merlin", remove the M, R, L and I, and put a B at the beginning, you get "Ben"! Good grief, this makes your case almost watertight! I am now working on "Morgana le Fey" and "Palpatine"" (Source: Ceri)(Ed. Note: Over-analyzation can lead to some speculations that are probably coincidental, at best . . . but as long as your using your imagination who cares? It's so fun to speculate. As I have told you before, some of the most common-sense rumors will turn out to be false while some of the more outlandish rumors will turn out to be true.))

Just watched SW:ANH SE again and came up with a brainstorm. After looking at the Rontos, Dewbacks and Banthas (again), it would be neato if Anakin owned a baby one of these creatures in Ep 1. This would achieve the cuteness factor that Mr. Lucas tries to achieve sometimes in his movies. A CG baby Ronto would be adorable and would make a great stuffed animal as a bonus . . . (Source: Ang Ever) (Ed. Note: Don't whisper that too loud. That's the kind of "clever" idea George might actually add to the film. He could shrink an adult Ronto from ANH SE into a baby and digitally insert it into Anakin's backyard. All we need is one more "midget-sized" character to populate Ep. 1)

Every so often you comment (or more like criticize) the fact that a few people and creatures of small stature are used by GL. What's the big deal? Would you have those same kinds of people eliminated from our own society (i.e., people who do not meet societal norms)? Maybe, your a Palpatine supporter. It appears unless you fit a certain stereotype you can't exist in Palpatine's world. I think GL is trying to make a point when he uses diverse characters/creatures, which yes sometimes do include ones that are smaller/shorter than the norm. (Source: Eddy Veddur Returns)(Ed. Note: The trilogy bombards us with such creatures first R2, then the Jawas, R5-D4, Gonk, at least one midget creature in the Cantina, an Imperial mouse droid on the Death Star, Yoda, Ugnaughts on Bespin, a frog creature outside of Jabba's Palace, Salacious Crumb and other creatures in Jabba's Palace and finally . . . the Ewoks. Is it just another coincidence or a cynical ploy to sell collectibles or am I missing something here?)

If Lucas is going to film episode 2 and 3 back-to-back and simultaneous as Rick McCallum stated in the Star Wars Insider, how can each episode have a different director? All indications show that Lucas enjoyed his return to the director's chair. Is he secretly planning to direct the entire Prequel Trilogy? I for one hope so. Lucas could avoid the lackluster effort exhibited in ROTJ if he were to direct episodes 2 and 3. (Source: Jim)(Ed. Note: That is probably extremely tempting for George since George stated that he decided to direct Ep 1 because he wanted to make sure it was done right. This implies that George believes that he is the only person really capable of capturing his "vision" of Star Wars on film. Let's hope he directs all three, but expect that he won't)

It is really doubtful that Lucas would turn the stories from the Journal of the Whills into a mini-series or TV show since Lucas has indicated that he felt the only 'honest' part of television were the products it peddled (Paraphrased excerpt from Skywalking: Life and Films of George Lucas). Although I would love it, I feel it would dilute and reduce the appeal and charm of Star Wars (less is more). (Source: Dugabug) (Ed. Note: There are some who claim that the Star Wars novels and comics are "from" the Journal of the Whills.)

Since Natalie Portman plays the role of a Queen in the prequels that must mean that her parents are deceased. Otherwise, wouldn't she be a princess instead? I'm assuming that her society has the normal rules of monarchial succession, but do her parents necessarily have to be royalty? Could she have inherited her title from some other relative when she is chosen to succeed him/her because Padme is the closest "blood" relative still alive? (Source: Eugene Y.)

If it is true that C3PO will be some ‘animatic droid creature' created by the LF creature department, it is still possible that instead of being ‘gold' colored, 3PO could be ‘clear.' Although why on earth, George L. would do something like that is beyond my capacities . . . and does Lucas prefer to be called Mr. Lucas, GL, Lucas or George . . . just curious. (Source: The Knights Who Say NI)(Ed. Note: The ‘clear' 3PO is in the same category as "Obi-Wan" is a clone, Fett pilots the Falcon and Padme is a Jedi Knight rumors. Clever . . . but likely to be proven false . . . All Lucasfilm employees from the janitors to the top executives are encouraged to call their boss "George." If employment with LFL sounds like your bag baby, then check out Lucasfilm.com for the latest available employment opportunities. Sorry, no positions are available for the Ep. 1, 2 or 3 film crews.))

For the clone wars to make any sense (giving the time line of the prequels that has been released to us so far), the clones must be able to be produced as mature beings very, very quickly and in plentiful numbers. And the clones are probably short-lived and are used mainly for soldiers, organ donors and/or cheap labor. (Source: Fillion)

This doesn't have much to do with Star Wars but by May 1999 it will have been 16 years from the May 1983 release of Ep 6 (ROTJ) to Ep 1 (BOTF). Logically (maybe even absurd logic some will say), Indy 4: (ROTFE) should be coming out in 2005 since that will be 16 years after the release of Indy 3: (IJATLC). (Source: Wildholder) (Ed. Note: Sadly, that may be truer to the mark than some of us would like to think)