It’s me, Brian. You remember me, right? The toddler who
walked around the house quoting the first 15 minutes of “A New Hope” word for
word and sound for sound? The kid who spent every penny of his allowance
trying to put together the complete collection of “Star Wars” action figures?
The teenager who skipped school to see the first screening “Phantom Menace” on
opening day? The adult who has an entire bookcase filled with Chewbacca
memorabilia despite the constant mocking of his wife, family, and friends? No?
Well, probably if you saw my face you’d remember.
Anyway, George, whether you know it or not we’ve been
pals for 28 years. Your hard work took me to amazing places that I could have
never imagined and helped lay the foundation for the nerd I am today (and all
the beatings that came along with that). You’re not exactly a father figure so
much as a “cool uncle figure”, the guy who takes you to awesome movies and
maybe sneaks you a beer or something. Everyone needs an uncle like that, right
George? It is because of this relationship which we’ve cultivated over the
years that I feel I must write to you today and express my concern. Just know
that it comes from a place of love.
I’m concerned about you, George. This is a big week for
you and I don’t think it’s going to go as well as you might have hoped. On
Friday your “Star Wars” films will be available on Blu-Ray for the first time
ever. The greatest trilogy in the history of film (plus the three prequels
which, quite frankly, suck) will finally be available in a format compatible
with the greatest home viewing technology to date. I’m a simple man, George. I
wear t-shirts almost every day, I drive a Ford Explorer that has 100,000 miles
on it, and I’d prefer a Whataburger over just about anything a fancy restaurant
has to offer. I don’t spend extravagantly and I have few luxuries. But I love
HD, George. I’ve completely embraced the HD phenomenon to the point that my
friends know not to even suggest I watch a television show if our cable
provider doesn’t offer an HD option. I am constantly upgrading my DVDs to
Blu-Rays and not just the ones that will look appreciably better in HD than in
standard; I just bought “The Blues Brothers” on Blu-Ray. “The Blues Brothers”,
George! If any film didn’t need to be upgraded to HD, it’s an early ‘80s comedy
with almost no value in the cinematography department. Suffice it to say, upon
learning of the “Star Wars” Blu-Ray
release, my initial glee was indescribable. In my joy I skipped around
the block, smoked a celebratory cigar, and had the logo of the Rebel Alliance
tattooed across my back (one of these things is not true but I’ll never say
which). It was a truly glorious day. I half expected Carrie Fisher to knock on
my front door in order to present me with a medal of honor.
And then the bottom dropped out.
Within 24 hours of my initial high, disheartening reports
concerning this box set began to surface. I refused to believe these erroneous
rumors at first; surely you had learned from your mistakes, George! But alas, I
realized I had to do the research. I almost wish I hadn’t, George. I almost
wish I would have ordered my copy of the box set and blindly ridden the wave of
“Star Wars” euphoria the likes of which I hadn’t felt since Jar Jar Binks
attempted to drive me to suicide 12 years ago. Instead, I nervously flipped on
my computer and ventured over to Amazon where I typed in “Star Wars Blu Ray”,
said a quick prayer, hit “enter”, and scrolled down to the comments section to
see for myself.
My thoughts are best summed up in the words of Darth
Vader: “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”
Not only will this box set NOT feature the original
versions of the films that multiple generations of “Star Wars” fans have come
to love, you’ve also indicated that you NEVER intend for those versions to see
the Blu-Ray light of day. Instead, our beloved trilogy will be jam packed with
the added scenes and remixed sequences that plagued the “special” editions of
the films in the mid-‘90s. To be honest, excluding the infamous “Han Shot
First” moment in “A New Hope” and the stupid finale at the end of “Return of
the Jedi”, I’m not that bothered by these changes. They’re unnecessary, to be
sure, but they don’t fill me with the homicidal rage that other fanboys
experience. But you couldn’t just stop there, could you George? You had to take
it a step further. Over the last few months, more and more details of this set
have surfaced and despite Lucasfilms’ best attempts to gloss them over, the negative
aspects of these features have inevitably come screaming forward. You’ve added
more changes, changes that on the surface may seem small but that further alter
the original vision of the film.
Currently adorns the wall of my office. Yes, I am 28. |
There’s been a lot of internet noise about your Blu-Ray
set, George, and a number of people who have simply said, “Well, they’re his
films so he can do with them as he wishes.” But that’s not entirely the case.
Sure, you made these films, God bless you. You changed the world with your
revolutionary special effects and your rejuvenation of the sci-fi genre as a
whole. You put together a set of films that have accepted more love across the
globe than any other film franchise and that’s really not an overstatement. As
such, they are your films and you can mess them up if you want to. But this
sentiment fails to take into account the fact that without us, the fans,
without ME, you’d be living in a three bedroom townhome on the outskirts of
Malibu producing mediocre films that receive mediocre reviews and wondering
about what would have happened if people would have just embraced your vision.
We did embrace your vision, George.
We flocked to theaters in a way that had never been seen before. With just the
returns on “A New Hope” we set you up for life and that’s not even taking into
account the sequels and prequels, the numerous theatrical and home viewing
re-releases, the parodies and the merchandising. You made the films but we made you.
The thing you have to realize is that this is a
partnership, George. You make films and we go to see them. You create
merchandise and we snatch it up like it’s coated in gold. You put together a
freaking Disney World thrill ride and we stand in line for hours to ride it.
Without you we have a “Star Wars” sized hole in our lives but without us, your
work following “A New Hope” doesn’t exist. Simply put, if no one buys into your
product it doesn’t matter! And if you don’t believe me just ask Joss
Whedon and the cast of “Firefly.”
I’ve stood beside you, George. I’ve handled the ups and
the downs and I’ve done my best to deal with the changes that you seem hell
bent on shoving into my life because at the end of the day, my life is better
with “Star Wars” than without (Jar Jar Binks aside). I have owned no less than
five versions of this franchise on VHS and DVD and I would like nothing more
than to walk into Best Buy on Friday and pick up my pre-ordered copy of the
Blu-Ray set. In all honesty you have jammed this set with INCREDIBLE bonus
features and it will kill me to not delve into those extras with the voraciousness of a Wookiee attacking an opponent following a loss (I stretched it a bit too
far there, didn’t I?). But I can’t do it, George; I can’t continue to support
the glee you seem to take in destroying my childhood memories. I can’t trust
you, George, and that is perhaps the greatest tragedy of them all. As someone
who paved the way for understanding and drawing upon the power of the fans,
your inability to comprehend our ownership of your films is STUNNING. All of
this animosity could have been avoided simply by providing the original version
of these films in addition to the
altered version you claim to like better. Would that have been so hard, George?
Wouldn’t that have been worth the extra cost to avoid all the hate, anger, and
frustration? The effort you made to put these films together so long ago has
been repaid a trillion times over and now it’s time you repaid us in kind. I
want my cool uncle back, George; I want the guy who showed me a wide world of
awesomeness, not the guy who shows me dorky YouTube videos and treats me like
an eight year old. Make this right, George. Make it right.
With love and concern,
Brian
this is an awesome letter! bravo
ReplyDeleteA man of my own heart. I'm going to carry a copy of this in my pocket should I ever meet George Lucas.
ReplyDeleteThanks y'all!
ReplyDeleteThis letter is so.. pathetic. And selfish. And for the love of God, if everyone hates the prequels so much, don't watch them! Of course they never had a chance of living up to the originals, but good lord. I own the blu-ray box set. Why? Because I love the saga and refuse to whine about the minuscule changes that were made. Grow up, and stop taking credit. It's ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteSorry you feel that way, pal. Next time you want to trash someone's work, which is fine by the way, maybe have the stones to attach your name to it. "Grow up" indeed.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for not providing a name, I am unable to see that option as I am using my phone. My name is Kellie, by the way. I simply have yet to find a reason why people continually bash the work while simultaneously holding onto the illusion that they are the ones responsible for it, as if they were the ones who spent years and years creating the movies. Nothing against you as a person, it's just not how I see it. My apologies for the rude tone of my previous comment.
ReplyDeleteWell, to your point, like I said in the article, it's his baby and he can do what he wants with it. And I don't intend in any way to take credit for what Lucas created. But to ignore the relationship between fan and product is irresponsible. Without the literal billions of people who've bought in over the years, what does Lucas have to show for his creation?
ReplyDeleteI, too, love the saga and I always will. I just want to be able to enjoy it without having it become further bastardized by dumb changes and the relative awfulness of the prequels.
My whole point boils down to this: just include the original version with the director's cuts. That's all it would have taken to assuage millions of angry supporters. That way everyone, Lucas included, could enjoy the films they want to enjoy them. I don't think that's too much to ask and I think that's clear based on the choices made by other great filmmakers. Ridley Scott gave us a Blade Runner Blu-Ray with all of the editions of the film. Spielberg is on record as saying the E.T. Blu-Ray will go back to the original form. Clearly it's the way to go, it's just that Lucas seems to revel in doing things his way with no regard to what his constituents think.
Thanks for the comments even if I am diametrically opposed to your viewpoint!