On my way to Baltimore today, with three hours to kill in the company of a giddy Southwest Airlines crew (if you’re not familiar with their antics, such as auctioning their “desperately single” hostesses to the highest bidder, I suggest you give them a try), I decided to bring my HOWARD THE DUCK DVD along as my flick pick. I hadn’t seen the film in years, and I thought it was high time for me to brush up on my knowledge of anthropomorphic ducks–with Comic Con around the corner and all.

Howard the... oh, you must be f***ing kidding me..!

I only managed to sit through the first 28 minutes. Was the Southwest crew that entertaining..? I’ll do my best to finish it on the return flight. Highlights so far include a full frontal of a buxom female duck enjoying a bubble bath as Howard crashes through her bathroom window, and the establishing shot of the twin moons over New Stork City (hmm… did the Executive Producer have any say in this..?)

It’s bad all right, but its unmistakable 80s flavor is hard to resist (I’m a sucker for FRIGHT NIGHT, MANNEQUIN and just about every John Carpenter flick of the period), and I have mixed feelings about the fact that it’s still getting such a bad rap to this day. If George Lucas hadn’t executive produced it, wouldn’t we remember that movie with a tad more fondness in our hearts? Would we perhaps have forgotten it? Would it still be the conversational piece that it is today?

Of course, it’s hard to talk about HOWARD THE DUCK without mentioning CAPTAIN EO. For months, I was actually wondering how that profoundly weird and disturbing Coppola/Lucas collaboration would organically earn its way into our doc–until the creator of a puppet by the name of Skippy sent me a rant about the film that literally made me fall off my chair, brilliantly tying our collective childhood to both George and Michael Jackson. Disturbing? Oh, yes. A wonderful little skit that will, no doubt, make the final cut.

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In accordance with the digi-revolutionary nature of our doc, we’ve recently been blessed with the participation of numerous faneditors. If you’re not familiar with the form, the first thing you ought to do is read the FAQ page on the following website:

Fanedit.org

In a nutshell, fanedits are reinventions, fresh interpretations of popular films made by talented, often professional editors with a passion for the craft obviously exceeding their desire to profit from it. There are three kinds of fanedits out there: True Fanedits (an alteration to an existing film that is considerably different from the original version), Extended Editions (self-explanatory), and Special Editions (click on the link above for the exact definition). Some of the most extraordinary fanedits we’ve received to date include BUILDING EMPIRE and RETURNING TO JEDI by Jambe Davdar, STAR WARS: EPISODE IV 2004 SPECIAL EDITION REVISITED by Adywan, and The Man Behind the Mask’s 6-hour epic STAR WARS 30s SERIAL EDITION–a black & white silent version of the STAR WARS saga, harking back to the old serials that inspired George Lucas to make these films in the first place, in a style akin to Fritz Lang’s METROPOLIS (Natalie Portman gains an eerie Brigitte Helm-like silent star quality when seen through that lens).

Fritz Lang's Queen Amidala

In case you haven’t noticed, these guys operate exclusively under “noms de plume”. Coupled with the fact that THE PHANTOM MENACE apparently started the trend (an interesting bit of trivia that is certainly relevant to our doc), the participation of esteemed faneditors in PvsG truly raises the bar, as far as I’m concerned. These are mightily talented editors who dedicated months or years of their lives to the reinvention of George Lucas’s films, because they loved or hated them enough (or both) to show the world how they would have done it, or how George “should” have done it. You know… the old debate.

What fascinates me about fanedits is that they’re at once homages to and critiques of the original works they refer to. From a filmmaking perspective, they make for fascinating studies. From a cultural standpoint, the fact that the overwhelming majority of available fanedits out there happen to be reinterpretations of George’s body of work is of obvious interest to me. Would the thriving fanedit movement be around if George hadn’t released THE PHANTOM MENACE? Can George possibly be responsible for this, too? There’s a fascinating correlation between what many filmmakers have told us (namely, that George inspired them to make films for a living) and the sheer amount of SW fanedits in existence. Whatever their true intents are, filmmakers and faneditors alike continue to be inspired by George Lucas, to take that extra step that makes them different from other fans. Because of George, thousands of fans were inspired to take matters into their own hands. The fact that fanedits can (unjustly, I might add) be perceived as the Dark Side of the Atom STAR WARS fan movie challenge is almost irrelevant to the great George Lucas debate. But they undeniably provide another compelling ingredient to the mystery that we, at Exhibit A Pictures, are working day and night to deconstruct and wrap our heads around: the unique chemistry between George and his fans that continues to morph our cultural landscape in bizarre and unexpected ways.

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After a short 3-day vacation in Napa (yes, lots of wine, and practically no George-related work, discussions or phone calls), I’m now heading to Geneva for a week. I’ll update the blog from there. In the meantime, here’s a sketch I simply couldn’t resist sharing with you all:

DAWN OF THE HUNTER: a precocious Mitchum impersonator

Worked until 4am last night, reviewing interview footage. The usual grind. No Saturday Night Fever for me these days. Woke up on a nice Sunday morning to find this in my inbox:

Bad form.

Shaun

Okay, fine. Didn’t Rush Limbaugh express similar wishes for the Obama administration? Makes me feel kinda special, actually. I mean, people really do care about this doc, don’t they? If you recently read some of the comments posted in response to our blog, you probably stumbled upon this one as well:

By the way, the people have spoken. George is a billionaire, and money is the bottom line. Period. Go watch Battlefield:Earth if you don’t like SW. And go F yourself too. I hope your movie tanks!

Or perhaps even this:

Go fuck your mother. These movies are shit and you should die for appreciating the taste of shit.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD!! 🙂

This could be me at Comic Con this year!

Thank goodness, the death threats and insults are easily counterbalanced by the fans’ constant and overwhelming support (we probably receive 50 positive emails for every negative one). I make it a point, however, to post every single comment on our blog–especially the questionable ones. In my opinion, they justify the existence of, and reinforce the need for our documentary. And, yes, they keep us on our toes. So bring on the passion, folks!! But don’t expect us to take it like Brando did in REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE. And in case you were wondering, I took the time to respond to Shaun’s email. Here it is, for your reading pleasure (you don’t mind, Shaun, do you..?):

Hi Shaun,

Most sincerely,
Alexandre

Can’t we all just… get along..?

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NUKE THE FRIDGE: a colloquialism used to delineate the precise moment at which a cinematic franchise has crossed over from remote plausibility to self parodying absurdity, usually indicating a low point in the series from which it is unlikely to recover. A reference to one of the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which the titular hero manages to avoid death by nuclear explosion by hiding inside a kitchen refrigerator.

This morning, Luis Lecca of Nuke the Fridge called to let me know that the first of my two-part exclusive interview with him is now up on their website:

Nuke the Fridge Interview

He also promptly reminded me that today marks the 10th Anniversary of the official release of The Phantom Menace in theaters across the US (I don’t even celebrate May the Fourth, so I’m glad someone told me). Happy birthday, Jar Jar! Happy birthday, Midichlorians! So much has happened since then, and perhaps we should all take a moment to reflect on what the past 10 years have meant to the STAR WARS fan community. Or perhaps we should all get really drunk and force three fingers down our throats..! Okay, okay, TIME OUT! I can hear the conflicting Gollum-like voices in my head–probably the result of sorting through hundreds of hours of footage, of equally passionate arguments for the defense and the prosecution.

Here's to the man who gave us the green-skinned munchkin, the blue elephant, the orange Gungan, and clone troopers in every color of the rainbow!

I always say that the great George Lucas debate doesn’t begin or end with The Phantom Menace. It’s an important component, but in the grand scheme of things, the heart of the growing fan dissatisfaction is about more, much more than simple distaste for some of his latest films. The thing that amazes me the most, in our travels of late, is that it’s really very hard to find anyone willing to step up and tell me that millions of fans can be wrong, and that Episode One is, in fact, a masterpiece. Anyone, that is, except for kids and French scholars. We went to Paris last year to interview Pierre Berthomieu (author of STAR WARS: LE REBELLE ET L’EMPEREUR) and several well-known intellectuals and film critics. With the exception of one, all seemed to agree on one thing: the prequels are far more accomplished films than STAR WARS, EMPIRE or JEDI. I mean, I’ve talked to a small minority of people out there who claim that they like the prequels better (they haven’t really thought about it much–they just like them better, and that’s cool), but these French scholars really tell you why they’re better films, and make a fascinating intellectual argument in their defense!

When you live in a fan culture that almost universally condemns or adores certain films, it’s hard sometimes to take a step back and ask yourself objectively: could so many people be wrong? Could I be wrong? After all, can anyone objectively claim that the prequel episodes are indeed the abominations that my generation of fans (the STAR WARS generation) continually claims they are? I mean, I believe they’re not very good films; and in my heart, I think I know they’re bad films. But for George Lucas, they’re not. And for some of his fans, they’re better than the originals. Operating on the premise that George Lucas is a visionary filmmaker and that he has the ability to release the films he wants to release, surely, Episode One was the film he wanted us to watch ten years ago, and surely, he must be proud of it. So, now that ten whole years have passed, the right question to ask isn’t does The Phantom Menace suck or not, but is George Lucas the artist, the filmmaker, misunderstood? If that’s the case, we’re talking a perception shift the likes of which we’ll probably never see again in the world of entertainment. Through ROTJ, I think it’s safe to say that George could literally do no wrong. Nowadays, it has become a sport to criticize him. So let’s put our feelings aside for a moment here, and reflect on what the world might be like without George Lucas, and, yes, without Episode One.

And you know what? I don’t really believe that any of us truly hates Jar Jar. I think we love to hate him, because it’s fun; and I suppose we could argue that this, along with Han Solo, Jedi and lightsabers, is also very much part of George’s legacy.

Happy birthday, George!

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Battle of the Titans: GL vs. JJ

We finally watched STAR TREK the other night, and when the credits rolled, I turned to Robert and Vanessa and proclaimed: “George Lucas is in trouble!” I never really thought that STAR TREK would become an integral part of the debate, but here we are. The plot thickens, as they say. Granted, the STAR WARS vs. STAR TREK tug of war has been around for decades; but it (seemingly) didn’t really have much to do with George Lucas. At least, not until now. Ironically, a day before J.J. Abrams blew me away with his extraordinary franchise reboot, I was reviewing interview footage of George Lucas, and found an interesting bit from an early screening of REVENGE OF THE SITH. I’ll spare you the juicy details, but, in a nutshell, George made it very clear that he had no intention to hand over the franchise to talented new directors, and that STAR WARS was definitely OVER.

Okay, so we know that’s not true, because STAR WARS has since infiltrated our television screens (with STAR TREK now taking centerstage in movie theaters across the country, the ironies abound). But that’s beside the point. The real issue at stake here is that STAR WARS always appeared to have the upper hand. For some reason, it was always cooler to be a STAR WARS fan.

NOT ANYMORE.

I think what J.J. Abrams is showing us here is that anything can be remade, reinvented, revisited successfully; and if there’s a fanbase hungry for it, then the box office results will speak for themselves (in less than a week, STAR TREK grossed $116 million worldwide, easily surpassing every previous film from the franchise). Heck, we saw the same thing happen not too long ago with Marc Forster/Daniel Craig in CASINO ROYALE and Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale/Heath Ledger in THE DARK KNIGHT. It was pretty evident that James Bond and Batman needed a shot in the arm, and you have to give enormous credit to the creative teams behind those franchises for taking risks, and, yes, taking the chance to alienate certain fans. But the reality is this: fans hunger for new interpretations of their favorite stories and characters; and I believe that we will continue to purchase tickets for a chance to watch the next incarnation of Spiderman, Neo, or Luke Skywalker.

No, I don't mean THAT!

So what exactly isn’t getting through to George Lucas? I’m not trying to make the argument that George is done and that he shouldn’t make another film for the rest of his life (in fact, I’d pay good money to see the next GL experimental film). But, even if he’s not quite ready to let go yet, why not give a chance to the likes of Zack Snyder, Quentin Tarantino, or, why not, Takashi Miike, to take a shot at the STAR WARS universe? Wouldn’t that be something? It only takes a phone call, George. And can you imagine any of them say “thanks, but no thanks, old man”? That’s how powerful his legacy really is.

Watching STAR TREK, how beautiful and big and fresh it was, served as a glaring reminder to me that fans will remain faithful to a franchise, as long as the makers are willing to take risks, and are not afraid to violate the sanctity of the rules established at a time when these rules actually used to make sense. I’m not afraid to say this: in my opinion, STAR WARS has become stale. And unless George does something about it, we’ll have to watch in awe as STAR TREK, for the first time, really, gains the upper hand. Am I saying that George is ruining his legacy? My answer to this question is actually fairly complicated, so the simple answer is: no, how can you ruin your legacy when you’ve created something like STAR WARS? What I’m saying, like many fans of my generation, is that George is playing it too safe; and that unless he recognizes the importance of rebooting his franchise in some way by injecting new talent and fresh perspectives into his proprietary universe (at the risk of breaking the Continuity Bible), there’s a strong chance that the fans will continue to vent their frustrations, and that they might even, decades from now, become genuinely disinterested in a world that shaped, if not defined, their childhood.

And that would be a tragedy.

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RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION UK Premiere Poster

 
I received an email today from Chris Strompolos, who played Indiana Jones at the tender age of 12 in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION. We interviewed him a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles, just a few days before the UK charity premiere of his film. The London screening was, I quote, “a mind-bending, smashing success” chock-full of surprises, like chilled monkey brains (thick raspberry compote) and steaming sheep’s eyeballs (lychees stuffed with blueberries on dry ice) for those brave enough to give the rather nasty-looking offerings a shot. Even Paul Freeman (aka Belloq) attended the screening! Chris and his pals are finally starting to get the love they deserve, and it’s about damn time, if you ask me! We’re talking about a first UK screening some 27 years after their adventure began in the summer of 1982! Considering how it’s been received so far, I have no doubt that we’ll eventually hear a lot more about this incredible film. There are, understandably, a number of copyright issues that need to be resolved first. In any case, RAIDERS: THE ADAPTATION is well on its way to becoming a cult sensation like no other. It’s the perfect underdog story, and now that I’ve met Chris, I can honestly say that it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Here’s a detailed Vanity Fair article for your reading pleasure:

Vanity Fair Article

Incidentally, I was just reviewing our interview footage of Jonathan London (who introduced us to Chris Strompolos in Los Angeles) yesterday. Lots of highlights, to be certain; but perhaps his best and most insightful answers were those that delved into what it means to be a geek, and why geeks, to this day, still take George’s revisionist attitude so seriously and, yes, personally. We discussed the possible origins of the “childhood rape” motto, and speculated about some of the reasons why it’s not always uttered in jest. In a nutshell, he made the argument that growing up as a geek in the 80s, STAR WARS was one of the only cool things we had going for us (even jocks would admit to that, while smashing our heads against the locker). Nowadays, with all the media out there clamoring that STAR TREK has, finally, become cooler than SW (courtesy of J.J. Abrams), it makes you wonder if the time hasn’t come for George to finally hand over the franchise to some of his original fans–many of whom have become distinguished filmmakers in their own right..?

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It’s late here in Denver, and I just realized I’m already way behind on my updates. I drove straight from Vegas to Denver yesterday on my way back from LA, and I’m now busy reviewing some of the footage we shot, fan submissions, and a handful of other goodies I’ll have to write about at a later date.

Picking up where I left off, our last couple of days in California were simply unbelievable. We got a chance to talk to Eric Stough, Director of Animation for SOUTH PARK, and we talked at length about the infamous Crystal Skull episode that aired last year. He told us a story about Steven Spielberg hosting a SOUTH PARK party for his kids and their friends, and apparently THE episode played that day (I kid you not!). You can only imagine the rest of that story… Don’t worry, if it doesn’t make the final cut, I’ll do my best to add it as a DVD extra or an Easter egg somewhere.

Jabba the Hutt in 10 seconds

We were also treated to a special performance by Mark Reilly and Michael Cornacchia (of STAR WARS IN 30 MINUTES fame)–okay, it was still an interview, but I call it a performance. The play was inspired by Tom Stoppard’s 15-minute Hamlet, and it basically became a worldwide stage hit. Mark was even flown to the Ranch to perform it for George. And Michael’s Jabba impersonation was absolutely off the charts! You can read more about their work at the following link:

STAR WARS in 30 Minutes

Nerdlebrity Chris Gore with his prized GL action figure

We started our final day with Film Threat über geek Chris Gore, and capped it off with an insightful conversation with John Venzon, who edited FLUSHED AWAY, and, most recently, the soon-to-be-released ASTROBOY. John was extremely thoughtful and mostly pro-Lucas, and his perspective as an editor was truly invaluable. We did, of course, chat about some of the nuances between the original films and the Special Editions. To this day, he still looks at the 1977 cut of STAR WARS as the most perfectly paced film of all time, and he admits to watching it every now and then for inspiration. He didn’t bash the Special Editions–far from it–but he did address the subtle nuances of pacing that didn’t seem to work as well for him as in the original cut. A slight disturbance in The Force, if you will.

Spent the night at the Vegas Motel 6–something I haven’t done in years–and I was surprised to find a really nice mod room with plasma TV for the whopping rate of $39.99 plus tax! Went to the MGM Grand and Hooters Casino to watch people throw their cash out the window, glad to see that Vegas remains Vegas in this economy, and that the next bigger and better casino is indeed surrounded by working cranes. I received an email that night from someone who compiled 3 1/2 hours of media reactions to REVENGE OF THE SITH (before and after the film’s release), and kindly offered to share them with me for additional evidence. The support and tips we’ve received from people around the world continues to be the best thing about this documentary. It’s a vibrant community I feel truly blessed to be a part of, and that’s all the incentive I need to make a great flick. I realize I won’t be able to please every fan out there, but I sure as hell will continue to give it my best shot. I keep going back to the fact that this is an important film for the fans, so rest assured that we’re all working very hard to make it as compelling and thorough as possible. So thanks for all the support; and by all means, keep it coming!

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Thanks to the amazing Jonathan London, we were fortunate to schedule an interview with Chris Strompolos days before the UK premiere of his extraordinary RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION. Now, I haven’t yet had a chance to watch the film (I will soon), but this one-of-a-kind cult classic is quickly building a reputation as the greatest kid movie of all time. Indeed, it was at the tender age of 10–shortly after watching RAIDERS for the first time–that Chris and one of his buddies took it upon themselves to remake the film with whatever means they had available to them at the time. Armed with Betacam and VHS equipment, and using the Lawrence Kasdan script as their bible, it took them seven years to complete this tour-de-force of a feature, which Chris then shelved for years (he thought no one would ever want to watch it, and didn’t even tell his wife he’d made it!). As fate would have it, the film was somehow rediscovered by Eli Roth, and eventually made its way to the desk of Steven Spielberg, who was so enthralled by it that he sent Chris a letter to congratulate him on his accomplishment, and tell him how much he was inspired by it. Chris showed me the letter. It’s warm, genuine and affectionate–in short, it’s everything you’d expect coming from SS.

The rest, as they say, is history. RAIDERS: THE ADAPTATION is finally gaining the momentum it deserves, and one can only hope that it will eventually be released on DVD. It’s an extraordinary achievement in the art of perseverance (and, yes, filmmaking); and something that should be preserved for future generations as an example of what a couple of kids with no resources and a burning passion can achieve. Needless to say, our interview focused primarily on Indiana Jones, and we chatted a great deal about Crystal Skull and the state of the franchise.

You know... FOR KIDS!!

That same afternoon, we also had the privilege to interview Joe Nussbaum, director of GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE–probably the single most discussed and famous SW-related fan film to date. He had wonderful stories to share, including that of an impromptu handshake with George himself at the Telluride Film Festival. But when Joe disappeared for a few minutes and came back to show us a 10-page stapled booklet of the STAR WARS story that he illustrated when he was five years old, we all simply melted. Not to mention that I’m really excited to use these early sketches to introduce Joe in our film.

A special day indeed, filled with stories of love and admiration for a creator whose existence we should all be grateful for. Both Chris and Joe have had extraordinary journeys as filmmakers, and both acknowledge that they wouldn’t be where they are today, or wouldn’t have done what they did, if George hadn’t inspired them to become filmmakers in the first place. On days like these, I simply couldn’t care less about the abomination of Dexter Jettster, or the Midichlorians. On days like these, I realize that George’s legacy lives on in magical ways that he himself could never have foreseen. On days like these, all I can say or think is: “I love you, George!”

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Hell indeed freezes over!

After an 18-hour drive from Denver to Los Angeles (forced to take the southern route–long story), we kicked off another round of interviews bright and early Monday morning, and we couldn’t have asked for a better start! Jeff Bond (Geek Monthly Editor-in-Chief) answered a range of questions about the unique dynamic between George and his fans, and Geekscapist extraordinaire Jonathan London speculated about the origins of geek culture’s disappointment with George’s latest works, in his truly unique style. He gave us numerous classic moments, but none better than his on-the-spot realization that THE CLONE WARS, in its glorification of Anakin Skywalker, might be akin to the release of HITLER: THE ANIMATED SERIES! For some strange reason, the same topic resurfaced this afternoon in San Diego, during our interview with Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning sci-fi heavyweight David Brin (STAR WARS ON TRIAL). We met David at his beautiful house, and he, too, discussed the moral implications of not only glorifying Anakin, but redeeming him at the end of ROTJ. For him, the ghosts of Yoda, Obi-Wan and Anakin at the end of the film is a vision of what Jedi Hell might look like; and to those of you already familiar with his thought-provoking deconstruction of Yoda, all I can say is: wait until you see how he delivers it in person! It was a true performance and a real treat. David is one of the most extraordinarily witty subjects we’ve had the privilege to interview to date, and I simply can’t wait to cut his best and most relevant sound bites into the film. He also couldn’t have been a most gracious host. He let us pick oranges from the trees in his yard (they were delicious!), and gave us chocolate-covered coffee beans for the road. Thank you, David!

Eye of the beholder: David Brin for the prosecution

Long, but exciting day tomorrow. We start with Chris Strompolos (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION) in the morning, and then Joe Nussbaum (GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE) and Doug Jones (Senior Programmer for the Los Angeles Film Festival) in the afternoon. We had to reschedule our interview with Chris Gore to Saturday, but we chatted with him for an hour or so in the lobby of G4, and there’s no doubt he will be a lot of fun. He basically didn’t expect us to show up with a crew of five and so much equipment, so we’ll relocate the interview at his house, which is great, because it sounds like he has quite a few collectibles to show us. I’m particularly intrigued to see the George Lucas action figure he purchased on Ebay. I’ll have to post pictures, for sure.

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