Hey friends. The Duke isn't gonna wax for long, just thought you might want to know that a tiny independent flick by the name of The Star Wars - Episode III has just had the official title announced at Comic-Con, as reported by Aint It Cool.
The new title is;
Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith
Which is cool, as far as The Duke is concerned, and is nicely symmetrical with Return Of The Jedi and what not. Click over to Ain't It Cool for the full story (what I basically just told you a couple sentences ago), and then check out the talkback underneath the article for to see those folks yack about how this will OWN your ass etc.
And then, of course, go visit The Duke at Mondo Irlando
Thanks folks
Article comments
1 - Chris Kent
When are they finally going to put this silly Stars Wars malarkey to rest?! Don't they realize people just don't give a shit anymore?!!
This George Lucas fella is terribly overrated. Mr. Lucas, your 15 minutes are up. Peter Jackson's film version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy has effectively rendered Star Wars forever obsolete.
It's time to put R2D2 out to pasture....
2 - Kevin McCallum
George Lucas as a director and George Lucas as a screenwriter are definitely overrated. George Lucas as a visionary is not so overrated. As for the Star Wars movies being obselete in comparison to Jackson's Lord of the Rings, you may be a little off there. The Rings movies don't get made without the digital special effects that Lucas and ILM have made commonplace.
3 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
chris, harsh words, although ones i in some small part agree with. Cetainly the memories of star wars as a celestial slab of wonder have been tarnished no end by the last eight years worth of tinkering. But i still looked upon this news with rabid anticipation. I am indeed a star wars geek, and something of a lucas supporter. But i can see how in some folks estimation, LOTR obliterates everything the prequel trilogy has had to offer thus far.
Certainly The Phantom Menace is awful. I tried to defend it for ages, but its a fruitless endevour. Lovely to look at, though.
Attack Of The Clones is a work of divine beauty. thats all a man needs to say about that.
Kevin, you make a good point - The LOTR stuff wouldn't have been possible without the innovations at ILM. I think screenwriting is Lucas' weakness. The direction and artistry on display in his films are breathtaking. Its just that they feel a bit empty of late.
4 - Katfish
I was there when Episode VI was released. At the time, movies were in a funk, and none of the studios had come up with a real blockbuster.
Then Star Wars was release, and movies became fun to go to again.
It is to George Lucas' everlasting credit that this movie was the springboard for the explosion in special effects that is still being felt to this day. Thanks to ILM, we now have superior sound systems in most of our theaters, and even digital movie projection as well. Also, there is seldom a movie made these days that doesn't have an effect or two, courtesy of these wizards - from the Japanese Zeroes in The Last Emperor to the crew in Pirates of the Carribean, and then some.
But I digress...
Eventually, the impact would lessen over time, and now we're back to that point in film where the story matters most, and the effects can only complement it. Peter Jackson has to be the luckiest person on the planet to be the one to undertake LOTR - since the technology required to make this film wasn't available until recently. In doing so, Jackson and company beat Lucas at his own game. When you've got a story as magnificent as what was written by J.R.R. Tolkien, you're already off to a great start. Adding the special effects, scenery and the excellent costumes raised the bar so high that Mr. Lucas himself would be hard pressed to equal, if not top it.
Still, I'm sure that folks will go see Episode III. After all, there are far worse films out there than this.
5 - Chris Kent
I have never been sure how to entirely categorize George Lucas. He's not really a director or writer more than he's just a filmmaker. The films in which he has served as both writer AND director are usually good, but not always.
To this day I watch American Graffiti and marvel at its excellence. And the first Star Wars film (episode IV?) is a true popcorn/blockbuster classic. Lucas has never really been interested in directing, and never really honed his craft or created an identity....he simply went into hibernation and served as producer with varying degrees of success. He's the Howard Hughes of the modern era.......
A good point on the FX in LOTR being a result of Lucas' efforts over the years. I am still not entirely convinced that Lucas could have helmed the LOTR trilogy with the success of Jackson. I just don't think Lucas' skill level as a writer and director could have handled such an ambitious project.