Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 19,581Raw Kryptonite
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SW has ALWAYS been a cash cow. If you think what you've seen in the last couple of years is over doing it, then you either weren't around in the 70's or you've forgotten. EVERYTHING had Star Wars on it. McDonalds glasses, happy meals, obviously the toys that were a HUGE market back then, unlike now...lunch boxes...posters...costumes...cereal...books...magazines...clothes...I still have my ESB sheets from when I was a kid. LOL What you see these days is nothing compared to back then. Why do you think this scene was in Space Balls?
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Well I'd have to say I'll give it a chance.
Heck, the first three films weren't very good (the sequel was better than the first one, after all) but then the series of films started to hit its stride in Episode IV.
Click to reveal..
Y'all are aware that the target audience of these films is at an age where there has never been an Episode IV without a I-III, right?
The opinions of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,384PanzerMeyer
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Originally Posted By: Raw Kryptonite
SW has ALWAYS been a cash cow. If you think what you've seen in the last couple of years is over doing it, then you either weren't around in the 70's or you've forgotten. EVERYTHING had Star Wars on it. McDonalds glasses, happy meals, obviously the toys that were a HUGE market back then, unlike now...lunch boxes...posters...costumes...cereal...books...magazines...clothes...I still have my ESB sheets from when I was a kid. LOL What you see these days is nothing compared to back then. Why do you think this scene was in Space Balls?
And I'm sure Fox is still kicking themselves in the a$$ for signing away all of the merchandising rights to Lucas.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Kids still seem to like Star Wars. I think it's important to put some perspective on it, when most of us saw our first star wars film, we were probably very young and had different tastes compared to what we have now.
I remember watching Episode 1 over and over in the theaters when it first came out, I was around 14 or 15 and everyone my age loved it.
#4247055 - 04/06/1611:42 AMRe: Star Wars: Episode VIII has started filming
[Re: VF9_Longbow]
Joined: Apr 2001 Posts: 121,384PanzerMeyer
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Originally Posted By: VF9_Longbow
Kids still seem to like Star Wars. I think it's important to put some perspective on it, when most of us saw our first star wars film, we were probably very young and had different tastes compared to what we have now.
I remember watching Episode 1 over and over in the theaters when it first came out, I was around 14 or 15 and everyone my age loved it.
+1
I think the main disappointment from most people of my generation and older is that they didn't get that same excited visceral feeling when they watched Phantom Menace and/or Force Awakens that they got when they watched the original trilogy and were of course much younger.
Having said that, I think that "The Force Awakens" is universally considered to be a big improvement over "The Phantom Menace".
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 04/06/1611:43 AM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
All I know is that the last movie was pretty much the same as the very first movie. I knew what was going to happen in each scene once it had started. FX were good, acting was OK ..but the plot was soooo predictable, it was sad.
That being said ; I will see the next one and the every one after that......it is "space stuff" after all
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#4247262 - 04/06/1609:23 PMRe: Star Wars: Episode VIII has started filming
[Re: CG2015]
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"It takes forever +/- 2 weeks for the A-10 to get anywhere significant..." Ice
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"What people like and what critics praise are rarely the same thing. 'Critic' is just another one of those unnecessary, overpaid, parasitic jobs that the human race has churned out so that clever slackers won't have to actually get a real job and possibly soil their hands." Sauron
Regardless of how good it was compared to other SW films, TFA was still light years better than most other SF that's come out in the last decade. There have been bright spots here and there, but generally speaking medium-budget SF has disappeared and we get either low-budget indie films that may or may not be worth seeing (more often not, but some like Ex Machina are) or massive budget moonshots that have tended to blow up on launch (like Jupiter Ascending and Tomorrowland) or do really well (Star Trek, Interstellar, The Martian).
Remember when they used to spend $50-75m on an SF film and it would be really good? Hollywood doesn't.
Just look at the list of SF films released in the 10 years between Ep III and Ep VII and more often than not they're trash.
The Jedi Master
The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
Joined: Apr 2008 Posts: 19,581Raw Kryptonite
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True. I guess that's because they keep trying to adapt books to a 2 hour movie? Ender was friggin horrible. This movie is amazing. Watching at home the eye candy is really popping. The effects are beautiful, I couldn't really appreciate that as much at the theater with all there is to take in at once.
"It takes forever +/- 2 weeks for the A-10 to get anywhere significant..." Ice
"Ha! If it gets him on the deck its a start!" MigBuster
"What people like and what critics praise are rarely the same thing. 'Critic' is just another one of those unnecessary, overpaid, parasitic jobs that the human race has churned out so that clever slackers won't have to actually get a real job and possibly soil their hands." Sauron
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Here's just a partial list of big budget scifi bombs within the past 10 years,
In addition to "Jupiter Ascending" and "Tomorrowland" mentioned by Jedi and "Ender's Game" mentioned by Raw there's also
John Carter Transcendence Terminator: Genisys Fantastic Four Edge of Tomorrow Robocop (remake) Total Recall (remake) After Earth RIPD Battleship Cowboys & Aliens
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
#4247491 - 04/07/1602:25 PMRe: Star Wars: Episode VIII has started filming
[Re: PanzerMeyer]
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Originally Posted By: PanzerMeyer
Here's just a partial list of big budget scifi bombs within the past 10 years,
In addition to "Jupiter Ascending" and "Tomorrowland" mentioned by Jedi and "Ender's Game" mentioned by Raw there's also
John Carter Transcendence Terminator: Genisys Fantastic Four Edge of Tomorrow Robocop (remake) Total Recall (remake) After Earth RIPD Battleship Cowboys & Aliens
Add Elysium and Oblivion
Last edited by Bib4Tuna; 04/07/1602:31 PM.
#4247492 - 04/07/1602:26 PMRe: Star Wars: Episode VIII has started filming
[Re: Jedi Master]
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It wasn't a huge bomb but it did lose a bit at the B.O.
I think the studios only get about 30% of foreign ticket sale revenue.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Well, obviously. My comment was that I thought it made more money and cost less than it did. I also don't recall any talk about "Cruise's big bomb" when it came out. I thought it did relatively well and didn't realize they blew so much money making it.
The Jedi Master
The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
I was invited to watch Episode VII last night, my first time to see it. The film flowed cleanly, was quite watchable. Within the first 15 minutes I was thinking "it's Star Wars, but by somebody else". Different kind of humor, different kind of attitude.
Thinking again about the film this morning, it is very surprisingly similar to what a remake of Episode IV could be like.
The only thing that sort of sat weird, IMO, was how the action scenes sometimes came off as a bit over the top. By the end I was wondering how many more collisions the Falcon could handle before they had to file an insurance claim. Or at least tighten up a few screws, or something.
Oh, and I remember after it was over, watching the credits to see who had done the music, then seeing John Williams name and being surprised. During the movie, I didn't get that sense of vivid, lyrical musical narrative that Williams' earlier Star Wars work shows.
Last edited by adlabs6; 04/07/1603:03 PM.
WARNING: This post contains opinions produced in a facility which also occasionally processes fact products.
#4247515 - 04/07/1603:01 PMRe: Star Wars: Episode VIII has started filming
[Re: adlabs6]
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Originally Posted By: adlabs6
. During the movie, I didn't get that sense of vivid, lyrical musical narrative that Williams' Star Wars work shows.
I got the same impression. Of course that stems from creative decisions made by the producers, writers and director.
Last edited by PanzerMeyer; 04/07/1603:01 PM.
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
Also, he is 40 years older now. Honestly, as he's aged his works have become less memorable. From giving you vivid recollections of each scene beat by beat (70s and 80s), to overall great themes that just could be anywhere in the film (90s), to stuff that suits while watching but is largely forgotten by the time you're done (21st century), his arc has been IMO a decline in his overall output quality. Still better than many younger current composers, just compared to the younger Williams he falls short.
The Jedi Master
The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
I hope Episode VIII will be more original, like a young wannabe Jedi learning from a teacher who hasn't been seen for years only to leave to fight a bad guy who killed an earlier mentor. That would be so Awesome! We've never seen that story arch before.
Or what would be really cool is if they had giant dog-like machines attacking the rebels secret base right at the start. Maybe on a planet of fire. I just hope they don't have an icy planet. I can't stand ice and snow and the sub zero temperature.