Let me solve the ‘original Star Wars is not available’ dispute.

I have absolutely, positively, I respect these people utterly, no problems with those who are reconstructing the original Star Wars movie frame by frame because George Lucas is a frustrated would-be auteur who can’t stand the fact that he will go down in movie history for creating the greatest space opera of his century.  But the man is a would-be auteur who got bought out by the Mouse.  For an insane amount of money – and if Disney didn’t lock down the redistribution rights to George Lucas’s cocktail napkin scribbles in the process, well, I can’t believe that Disney didn’t do that.

So, here’s how it can play out:.

  • Disney collectively realizes that enough people will pay cash money for the original Star Wars trilogy to justify a DVD set.
  • Disney collectively realizes that those same people will visibly not care if Disney breaks George Lucas’s hands if that’s what it takes to get access to the original footage.
  • Disney releases the dang movies.
  • George Lucas whines about it, and goes back to obsessively trying to edit his epic space operas into something that doesn’t burn his soul.

I think that this is reasonable.

Via… hrm. :clickety click click: Ah, Hot Air Headlines.

17 thoughts on “Let me solve the ‘original Star Wars is not available’ dispute.”

  1. Lucas did re-release the originals on DVD, though, despite his promises not to. Of course, he released them on the B-side of DVDs that contained his preferred versions, but I held my nose and bought them anyway. It’s nice to have all three Star Wars movies as a part of my collection.
    .
    Yes, I said three.
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    Oh, you think there were six?
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    THERE. ARE. THREE.

    1. Oh lordie. That rumor about “more than three Star Wars movies” is tougher than a cockroach, isn’t it?
      .
      It gets worse: Would you believe that there are people who claim that Han didn’t fire the first shot against Greedo?

      1. You think that’s crazy? I know a guy who claims there was a sequel to The Matrix.

        1. Two craziest movie rumors I’ve ever heard: a fourth Indiana Jones movie and a movie version of “Starship Troopers”.

          The punchline to the second one is “Doogie Hawser plays Juan Rico, Filipino”.

          1. The Red Letter Media review of the non-existent fourth Indy film is a work of art, not quite on par with the RLM reviews of the non-existent Star Wars prequels.

    2. Would you mind seeing if that edition is still available and posting an Amazon link, please?
      .
      Mew

  2. Question.
    .
    Seems to me that most of the spots where George has taken his crayon and scribbled on the three films are the spots that echoed “westerns”.
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    Expansive, empty space? Needs a bantha.
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    Gunfight in the saloon? Need to clarify good vs. bad.
    .
    I seem to recall that the first three were more .. collaborative .. that George had the Idea, but that Spielberg had quite a bit of influence since George was young and broke and Steven was a technology and film history genius…
    .
    Is, perhaps, George trying to put his mark on the parts that he *didn’t* do?
    .
    Mew

      1. I don’t think that’s a problem .. at some point, Disney and Fox will do an IP swap… or Fox will decide to pee in Disney’s corn flakes and release a version…
        .
        Mew

        1. Not going to happen. Sony will keep making terrible X-Men and Spider-Man films to keep them out of Disney-Marvel’s hands and I imagine Fox wants some serious concessions that the Mouse House won’t bite on. They’ll wait for the second two movies to lapse in 2020, but Episode IV is going to be a huge thorn for a long time, methinks.

          1. In a few years the theme park rights for Marvel properties go back to Disney. After that, Disney will view Sony-made Marvel movies as free advertisements for the parks.

  4. They could release a box set with the Original Trilogy and Lucas’ Special Edition version in the same box…

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