INDIANA JONES-THE WAIT IS OVER!! A QUICKIE REVIEW (SPOILER FREE)

By Scott Weller

Well, this evening (May 22^nd), I’ve just come back from London’s West End where I have been at the ODEON LEICESTER SQUARE cinema for two hours in the company of the world’s favourite archeologist cum adventurer, Indiana Jones, accompanying our hero in his search for the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I’ll be publishing a full review of the film next week as I don’t want to spoil anything for the thousands, millions of fans like you fellow readers who’ll be going to see the film over the weekend. The newspapers have given enough spoilers and clues about the film already and I’m not adding any more to the roster!! In the meantime, I’ll at least voice my humble opinion on what I thought of the actual film itself…

I was positively enthused by it. Loved it!!

It sounds like the film was preaching to the converted (or me in this case), but I thought it was a worthy entry to the INDIANA JONES saga, after a long 19 wait which I thought would never, ever come to fruition-that the final result has come out as well, or better, than I hoped, is a great achievement. Yes, the film, like many other blockbusters over the years, has its faults (and not everyone may like the ending which is more science fiction than supernatural), but in this case they are few overall, and as a viewing experience very little matches the INDY movies as sheer quality blockbusters-and again, 19 years on, Ford, Spielberg and Lucas are still setting the benchmarks in creating these tales. It was very rewarding to see Harrison Ford back in action on the big screen-65 he may be, but, to me, he certainly wasn’t "struggling" for his wheelchair in the well filmed and at times highly exhilarating action scenes (tip: don't rush out and buy pop corn during the middle of the film!!). Yep, INDY IV was full of everything we wanted to see- great humour, great action, a good villain (and a nasty henchman support), a fine supporting cast, some good old fashioned scary bits that may linger with the children, and a good adventure quest. Most of all, however, like its predecessor, THE LAST CRUSADE, this film has a lot of heart and provides a fine closure (again) to Indy’s adventures...well, at least for another few years.

Will Harrison Ford say never say never once more?

Look out for the full review next week. I’ll also be setting up a new poll to see how people rated it, and I’d very much like to hear from all you guys and gals out there, via email: scott4andrea@yahoo.com, so I can put all your feedback onto the site on a combined webpage-I want to see proper audience reactions/views on a website for a change. Not insiders and so-called “film experts” in the industry, but ordinary, cinema going people!! We want to hear from you.

ADVENTURE HAS RETURNED TO THE CINEMA THIS SUMMER-GO OUT AND ENJOY EVERY MINIUTE OF IT!!

ROBERT WATTS-RECOGNISING THE UNSUNG “WARS” HERO!!!

By Scott Weller

One of the pleasures of being a STAR WARS fan is having the opportunity to attend conventions, meet fans and talk to numerous behind the scene people, actors/supporting artists/extras who worked on my favourite movies (and not just STAR WARS, but INDY too). Of the last few years, of all the people I have met, one of the nicest and most amiable people I have met has to be Robert Watts, a fellow Brit whose impressive list of film production credentials encompasses not just the first three WARS films but all three classic INDY’s and several JAMES BOND pictures too (and two of my faves as well-THUNDERBALL and YOUN ONLY LIVE TWICE). Finally meeting him, as I thought neither myself or fans would ever get the chance as so many conventions are more actor orientated than behind the scenes, at CELEBRATON IV, it was amazing to see just how much he remembered, all these years on, about the making of the original films and recalling just how much an enjoyable period of his life it was. The nervous and I can’t believe that I’ve been involved in all of this nerves of Robert Watts, amidst thousands of fans equally pleased to see him at that first CELEBRATION appearance, soon gave way, I feel, to an immense enjoyment and wonderfully honest candor about his own life in the film industry. Indeed, his appearances at the STAR WARS REUNION French film screenings, CELEBRATION EUROPRE and JEDI CON 08 were equally as good, and Watts was getting used to things, even more enthusiastic and enjoying the atmosphere, far more relaxed and I am sure he has gotten to know many more fans on a regular basis who he has given advice to as they have wanted to enter the film industry. Additionally, he has also been kind enough to bring along certain personal items from his collection (loved that Finse blue jacket from EMPIRE!!) and rare photos to show us all and enjoy. On behalf of all the fans, I’d like to say a big thank you for being involved in the STAR WARS/INDY universes. As Obi-Wan would say: “Good Job!!”.

Thirty years on from all his work on those landmark Lucas/Spielberg films, its sad to discover through, not only conversation with Watts, but also reading the wealth of material over the years on the various behind the scenes front, that, despite his hard work within the British film industry, his work for LUCASFILM (and other big movie companies), his nurturing and guiding of new talent, as well as working hard to get the most out of people in making films that have become legendary, Robert has not received one single award or accolade outside of LUCASFILM and AMBLIN for his considerable talents. Whilst other filmmakers/craftsmen who have worked on the WARS and INDY films have received career enhancing OSCAR and BAFTA awards, Robert Watts has, as far as I’m aware, never received anything at all throughout this magnificent, varied and prestigious career.

Annoyed by this, after months of mumbling how unfair the situation is to my AFICIONADO colleagues about this dreadful state of affairs, I decided to do something this week. I emailed BAFTA (the BRITISH ACADEMY OF FILM AND TELEVISION ARTS in London) and asked if Watts could be considered for some kind of ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP award for his genuinely unrecognized hard work within the industry-perhaps some kind of award like the one the BAFTA fellowship eventually gave to David Tomblin in honour of his being the finest First Assistant Director in the world-an accolade that I felt took too long in coming anyway, and sadly he received it only a few short years before his sad passing. BAFTA have since kindly replied, stating that Robert’s name will certainly be considered in their next meeting to discuss potential names worthy of receiving one of the highly prize d awards. I feel Mister Watts certainly is more than worthy of a BAFTA.

If you feel the same way as I do, then perhaps my fellow AFICIONADO readers in cyberspace might like to lend support to the cause. BAFTA can be emailed at their website of:  www.bafta.org/contact-us.html  In the nicest way possible, of course, let them know how deserving and talented Robert Watts is. Let’s see if we can all chip in in getting an award for him that he so richly deserves...

IS THIS (UNINTENTIONALLY, OF COURSE) ONE OF THE WORST STAR WARS COVERS OF ALL TIME?

By Scott Weller

STAR WARS and STARBURST MAGAZINE came out in the UK at around the same time in late 1977 early 1978, and both share unique blood ties. Each was revolutionary in their own way-STAR WARS as a film-‘nuff said- whilst STARBURST would soon become one of the first and best British glossy magazines to cover science fiction in all its medias-of which , at that time, only the US STARLOG (at first only available every two months) was superior with regards to its written and photographic content. Like STARLOG, STARBURST, with its great array of dedicated film expert film writers and columnists (like John Brosnan (the writer you loved to hate!!) and entertainment news-man Tony Crawley), soon managed to get the same kinds of contacts within the film, TV industries to make a worthy rival title for at least the first eight years of it’s life (though it did border a bit too much on the shlock horror front for a while (I’ve never been able to go near their horrific Zombie flash eaters issue, even to this day!!)). By around 1986, however, STARBURST’s sales were sadly floundering and science fiction in general was undergoing a period of metamorphosing, especially with the major loss, albeit  temporary (thirteen years, if you call that temporary!!) for the Prequels. When MARVEL sold off the title, the then fledgling VISUAL IMAGINATION GROUP (a company set up by long time DOCTOR WHO fans who wanted to get involved in the magazine industry) took over, with some of the brand name columnists carrying on working for the newly revamped title for a while, though it was soon clear that the magazines best days were well and truly over with its Editorial policies. By the time of the upcoming release of THE PHANTOM MENACE, the era where exclusive material would become available for use was long beginning to dry up, and the age of the superstars and their ego swelling publicists were starting to take over the world’s media. The dreaded film company embargos and their stringently controlled publicity machines, with the frenzy of the summer box office now gone into overdrive, had also taken their toll and the magazine was no longer as lavish and pioneering independent as it used to be. With everybody covering the making of PHANTOM, the first new STAR WARS in YEARS!!!, in the run up to its release, it presumes to me, as someone who works in the magazine industry, looking at their issue number 246, covering the making of this event movie, that they weren’t able to get hold of any publicity/ free stills photography before their stringent go to press printing date-instead relying of the rehashing of material from the STAR WARS SPECIAL EDITION on the feature pages whenever they needed to talk about CGI or the return of some of the series beloved characters. For it’s cover, I get the feeling that, in desperation, they literally had no choice, with no photographic material available from LUCASFILM or FOX at that time (or the possibility that all the best stuff had gone to higher circulated magazine rivals like EMPIRRE and TOTAL FILM) that poor old STARBURST had nothing to utilize, resulting in the cover and the majority of the inside feature using, what I feel, is some of the poorest artwork to represent a STAR WAR film that I have ever seen. From what I can gather, no one from the VISUAL IMAGINATION GROUPs main publishers at that time, who I’ve met and are all extremely nice chaps, were really all that keen on the saga anyway (check out their anniversary celebration issue from last May-the same old pics used again and again and the films themselves gets very little enthusiasm from the magazine staff when asked whether they think they are any good), but knew that having STAR WARS on the cover would always have a stronger chance of flying off the shelf quicker than anything that would have had HIGHLANDER: THE RAVEN on it!!

I suppose their “it’ll have to do” policy regarding the art accompanying the inside (which actually is a pretty good feature by David Bassom) was fine for that issue, though the inside article illustrations are also pretty bad, with likenesses of Anakin, Obi-Wan, even Yoda and the Emperor!!, that look nothing like them. Indeed, it’s pretty funny when you check out the editorial from it’s then Editor, David Richardson, who, I presume with a straight face in order to try and cover up the fact that they have no EPISODE ONE shots apart from the then released Anakin in the desert poster image, amazingly compares, in a totally positive way, their new issue cover deliberately harkening back to a style similar to their original first issue STAR WARS cover which launched the magazine in 1977/78. Sorry, David, there’s no comparison-the art on he seventies one may have been typically MARVEL COMICS cover style, and the likeness of Luke may not be as realistic, but it still is really rather superb, even thirty one years on!! Fortunately, the next edition the following month was positively flowing with photographic material from EPISODE ONE now that the press embargos had been lifted and, over time, the artist who illustrated the EPISODE ONE cover, Grant Kempster has greatly improved no end-some of his work for the DOCTOR WHO range (digitally mixing his own art with photographic images) has been very impressive. But if the time comes for STARBURST ever to do a future important STAR WARS cover, lets hope that a situation like this, presumably hoisted onto them from the film company rather than LUCASFILM, doesn’t happen again..

THE RETURN OF THE MCQUARRIE!!

By Scott Weller

Am thrilled to read on the DREAMS AND VISIONS PRESS site the news that there is going to be a new book totally dedicated to Ralph McQuarrie’s stunning pre-production and conceptual art for the STAR WARS films. His previous book, THE ART OF RALPH MCQUARRIE, now sold out I understand, was a personal essential purchase at CELEBRATION IV, and is absolutely superb for it’s overview of all of his amazing work, not just on our favourite movies but some of his beautiful book jacket and advertising work as well. Despite the huge amount of material on the WARS films in that marvelous volume, however, the greedy little devil with the pitchfork sitting on my left shoulder wanted there to be more STAR WARS material within it’s pages, especially on JEDI, which, I thought, was sadly lacking (though I now realize in my research for the MAKING OF JEDI AFICIONADO issue that he wasn’t there for the full run of pre-production anyway). As I’ve said, that this new/revised book is coming out is great-fantastic!! Not only because it comes with thirty new pages of material, and not only because it will be just as beautifully designed and printed as the last one, but, even more importantly, I think it shows just how appreciated McQuarrie is by LUCASFILM as the founding visual designer of the saga. Normally a lot of people who have written or had books talking abut their involvement in STAR WARS, I believe, are only allowed to publish their memories/talk about their work on the saga if they are part of a more career encompassing body of work (for instance, Jeremy Bulloch’s autobiography which has a section on his Boba Fett career amidst a forty year, and continuing, acting lifespan, and Dave Prowse’s STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH epic two book tome-in fact, Dave probably still remembers what he had for Sunday breakfast back in 1968!!!), but with this, in equal celebration of Japan’s thirtieth anniversary, the powers that be guarding the bearded one’s best interests, have, to a greatful fandom, given permission for the most complete book attempted of his groundbreaking work. DREAMS AND VISIONS revelation that more material has been found in the artist’s house is even more exciting-more and more unpublished stuff on EMPIRE too-the film that many fans feel is the greatest of the saga-ole’ LUCASFILM better have some good celebration plans prepared for it’s that movie’s own Thirtieth in 2010!!

And let’s also not forget Lawrence Noble’s stunning art poster interpretation of one of  McQuarrie’s unused 1976/77 poster concepts for the original movie-also primed for release and sale exclusively at CELEBRATION JAPAN. It’s a fantastic piece and a worthy tribute of Ralph’s name.

One bad thing for me-boo!!-I won’t be able to get hold of EITHER of these great products (or those lovely excluisve Japanese bookmarks seen above!!). I’m not going to CELEBRATION JAPAN (just cannot afford it, sadly), and by the time a limited amount of copies come through I’ll probably be too late in getting it due to the UK time difference-books/posters like this are normally sold out very quickly, and annoyingly bought in bulk by dealers, not because they want to have them for the bookshelves/collections, but for profit-quickly putting them on EBAY for zillions of dollars!! Let’s hope that, in a year or so, they can at least release an English speaking edition of the book. In the meantime, if anyone gets a copy of it, please get in touch- we’d love to put a review of it on the AFICIONADO site-and know what different artwork/pages have been added-even if they can’t read the Japanese text, and are literally writing in to just say how beautiful it is!!!

For more info on Ralph’s new book, check out www.dreamsandvisionspress.blogspot.com

PHIL TIPPETT: GO-MOTION, GO!!!

By Scott Weller

I really like Phil Tippett. Ever since I saw him clowning about with the eventually unused Rancor costume in the CLASSIC CREATURES RETURN OF THE JEDI documentary way back in 1984/5, he was one of those people whose work and dedication, and his devilish and cheeky streak of humour, really made him stand out. With a voice that, though a little higher pitched, is reminiscent of Droopy’s affectionate drawl at times whenever I’ve seen him talking on television, Phil, to me personally, always seemed to have an air of “my fun hobby has a tuned into an amazing Hollywood job. I don’t believe that this is happening” aura about him, mixed with a kid in the candy store character, and with a flavouring of an early 1970’s Joe Dante film type of beach bum/ hippy innocence about him, that same kind of energy that also lingered within people like Joe Johnston and John Dykstra when they first started work on STAR WARS-the we’ll work hard to get these shots down at ILM and then have a great party at the beach type attitude. I liked that-that sense of fun but hard work seems to be missing from special effects film-making now. It’s all so dour and serious. Though he’s probably matured a little bit over the years (though probably only just a little bit!!), he was great to hear talking about the STAR WARS films on one of the US CELEBRATION IV panels back in 2007, but sadly, because there were other cast and crew taking part in the same talk, he didn’t get as much to say as I would’ve liked.

Going back to those early days, as well as in depth about his most recent pioneering monster/effects projects (in which he is candid and truthful about the possible overuse of modern effects in today’s summer blockbusters, and audience expectations each year), Phil is interviewed for one of the recent STARLOG magazines (May 2008 Issue 365, which can still be purchased through WWW.STARLOG.COM) and his enthusiasm for his work on the original STAR WARS movies still clearly shines through after all this time, as he recalls one classic fun incident of the “we had a hunch this film was gonna be big” variety, that I think all of you people in cyberspace might like to read. He recalls: “We looked at the scenes we were gonna put our work into that George (Lucas) had assembled, and it was pretty darn clear that this was the movie we had all been waiting to work on! We knew it was going to be that special. In 1977, I went to an SF convention with Dennis (Muren), George (Lucas) and Gary Kurtz. Where they got on stage in a room filled with 300 people. George and Gary said, “Hey, we made this movie called Star Wars, and we made it for you, and we hope you come and see our show!” I was there that day-it’s like being there when Jesus walked across the water. I was there, and I saw it with my own eyes.”

I personally never get tired of hearing stuff like that. The “we knew that it was going to be very special”, or the “somehow they beat all the odds to come through” type of stuff that has now become part and parcel, almost in a symbiotic way, with the legendary making of the original first film. Stories and quotes like the above always make me feel good about STAR WARS and they way it has touched the hearts of worldwide audiences.

As his pioneering work continues beyond the Original Trilogy (how about a book on your work-something like Lorne Peterson’s?), with such notables as STARSHIP TROOPERS, JURASSIC PARK, CLOVERFIELD and THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES under his belt, its nice to see that he’s still a big kid at heart.

Keep that flag flying for us wannabes, Phil!!

THE SYMBIOSIS OF DOUBLE STANDARDS!!

By Scott Weller

Sometimes, in the often weird world of publishing that I work in, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at the state of the industry. Take those cheeky buggers at SFX MAGAZINE-I read it from time to time (pretty much only when it has STAR WARS covers gracing it) and I often don't know how they get away with it-they have such pure faced gusto of the cheeky kind in the way they put their magazine out to the masses. For anyone who doesn't know the title, SFX is the kind of sci-fi magazine that likes to think its for trendy "blokes/geezers" who like to go down the pub, get drunk, and think they can get off with the local women (they'd call them "birds!!") and love sci-fi at the same time. They like the fact that they have an attitude (i.e. that programme's rubbish, we'll tell you why and that's the end of it!!), and that they cover all areas of sci-fi, fantasy and comics with a lot of quirky quotes/anecdotes and all kinds of "malarkey". 

Me, magazine wise, I personally prefer something like STARLOG-it's straightforward, doesn't suck up to anybody, tells the truth, doesn't bitch, doesn't review (leaves it upto its readers/the auidence to make up their minds about things), reports the facts (though it does talk about controversy and rumours on films but nothing that's blown out of proportion and always when it's actually important to refer to), and doesn't string a feature out of two quick quotes from someone they bumped into in a corridor at the Cannes film festival (like one film magazine I could mention). I could go on. The thing I like about it, above all else, is that it's professional.

So...whats my gripe with SFX that's STAR WARS related. Well, they love the Original Saga, but loath the Prequels. Okay, everybody's entitled to their opinions and I respect that, but if they don't like the modern STAR WARS stuff I'd rather they didn't cover it at all rather than present us with loads of covers and mammoth inside features on things they don't like and yet are really having them because they need to have them, so as to be a tool to market themselves and boost their ailing circulation figures. Yes, I bought the new CLONE WARS issue of SFX, yes it's got great design and pictures (much better than anything else in STAR WARS INSIDER (and why is that? INSIDER is the official magazine for LUCASFILM??!!)) and the feature's good (and they gave THE CLONE WARS film a good review-presumably because they got nice exclusives and got to see it it in the US first), but I know that in a few months time, once the dust has settled and the magazine has done well for the publishing period it needed to do well in, this new piece of STAR WARS will most likely just become new cannon fodder in the SFX "this is new STAR WARS so it's not very good" arena...

It's this type of double standards side of the industry in general, not just SFX but other magazines as well, that annoys me so much, and there's not a great deal that can be done about the situation in the current climate. Though George Lucas, meanwhile, doesn't care if people like or dislike the films, though its great if it can be the former-he makes them for himself anyway-and the LUCASFILM company he has created has to generate income so that their creator can make those films, and to do that their produced films need to be a success, and to do that they need publicity-publicity as in covers and spreads, which is what SFX do. So there is a weird type of symbiosis to it however good or bad the situation. In this modern age of commercial film and television entertainment, where you have to make an impression straight off the bat and make money fast, and in era where the whole world is current run by non-risk taking accountants, this type of situation is probably going to be with us for a long while yet..

But, to quote a line from a certain fedora wearing anti-hero at the beginning of INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE: "that doesn't mean I have to like it!!"

Here endeth the moan-I just had to get it off my chest!!

STAR WARS 3-D. THE WAIT COULD BE A LONG ONE….

By Scott Weller

There’s been a lot of talk in the last week or so about a comment made by ex-DREAMWORKS animation/film-making guru Jeffrey Katzenberg-he’s stated that George Lucas is planning to re-do all six STAR WARS films in the 3-D markets. Yep, it’ great news, and news that we’ve been hearing rumours about for years now, but it may be wise to have some cautious optimism here as to how long it will be before we actually get a chance to see them. Prior to his own 3-D film release, the fun family adventure JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH, actor/goofball Brendan Fraser saw footage of the beginning of the first STAR WARS and said it was exciting to watch in the new format. Additionally, however, we’ve heard that that is the only footage that has been re-done in the process–that nothing else for the movies, apart from a few extra first movie DEATH STAR battle shots, have been done (and what was done was literally as a teaser to get more people in the film industry interested in the format and the possible ways it could rejuvenate both the film industry and bring in it’s money making potential). If Lucas has been moving on this project for a while now-and he is very good at keeping secrets as we all know- just how far along on the production schedule has he moved since 2005, when producer Rick McCallum hinted at CELEBRATION III that the 3-D re-inventions would become a reality?

Despite having been in operation since the fifities, 3-D, believe it or not, is still a pretty niche market and even with all the refinements made to this exciting visual process, it’s gonna be a long time yet before we see STAR WARS back on the big screen where it belongs, and I think it all depends on how well James Cameron’s BATTLE AVATAR, and, we hear, Tim Burton’s new production, with Johnny Depp, of ALICE IN WONDERLAND (also being shot in that format) performs at the Box Office (particularly the American box office) -I understand that AVATAR-a sort of outer space version of the American War of Independence meets MUNTINY ON THE BOUNTY, but against a backdrop probably not unlike STAR WARS, is going to be not only completely in the 3-D process but also goes beyond it in technological innovation-what does that mean, I wonder?? If either, or hopefully both, movies are hits and the money does indeed pour in, then you can bet your britches that STAR WARS will be fast tracked into release- back to the theatres in possibly an even bigger and bolder way than the SPECIAL EDITIONS were in 1997, and may even inspire LUCASFILM to work on other old and new projects in that medium (could the building success, year after year, of films like BATMAN BEGINS and HARRY POTTER in partial IMAX format/release also be a good sign of things to come for new technology?). But, as far as fast tracked is concerned, just how long will it take before we see them-if we’re lucky, and AVATAR is a hit, perhaps we’ll see the first, newly restored (again!!) STAR WARS back at the cinemas by 2010/2011, with a new film every year from there? This isn’t going to happen overnight, people.

Having been one of the core group of film-makers determined to save the theatre from extinction against the current climate of increased DVD sales and more TV and the internet being watched by more people, it’s just a shame that Lucas can’t pioneer the 3-D way first-this time we’re in a situation, one of those rare occasions, where the people that have been inspired by his ground breaking work are starting to take the jump ahead of him instead...

Let’s wish James, Tim and George all the success possible. We want STAR WARS back. Not just BIG, but BIGGER!!!

"WHO'S GOT TWO THUMBS AND BETRAYED HIS BEST FRIENDS?? THIS GUY!!"- MY FAVOURITE "ROBOT CHICKEN" SKETCH SO FAR...

By Scott Weller

You guys and gals out there may have seen on this site my review for the new ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS DVD. Well, the programme's real STAR WARS comedy gold. A real blast. But one of the sketches wasn't on the disc that I could see-and one of my personal favourites relating to THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-the Bespin Dinner scene with Darth Vader. The what happened after the shield door closed moment we've always wanted to know....

It's on STARWARS.COM-check it out at  www.starwars.com/video/view/000573.html and laugh your socks off at Darth Vader-he's so funny in this. And is it me, or is Lando the voice of Billy Dee Williams? If it isn't, it's a very good sound-a-like.

Enjoy-and here's hoping the next ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS installment has spoof material as funny as this..

CLONE WARS: SHELL-SHOCKED!!

By Scott Weller

Well, have we all seen the new THE CLONE WARS TV series CARTOON NETWORK promo? Terrific stuff, eh? It looks even better than the movie!!! It’s hard for me to personally believe that the first animated STAR WARS film, taking the saga into what I feel is a bold and colourful new era, from LUCASFILM, has received on the whole such critical disdain and so few people seeing it (how much of such unfriendly, LUCASFILM is really in it for the money critical reaction has prevented people from going to see it? Well, we won’t really know about the total fallout from it for a while yet)-is it possible that the general public just doesn’t want an animated STAR WARS film?  How does this bode for the new series (and the future live action one as well!!), and what audience figures will it get on the US CARTOON NETWORK (which is not a major league audience channel in the same way that someone like SKY or FOX is) in that Friday night at 9pm slot (if I recall, didn’t the sixties Original STAR TREK TV series third season air in a slot similar to that and nobody saw it!!-the primary young audience either being out for the weekend or asleep!!).

Adding further fuel to the fire, said critics have complained that the animation looks dull and lifeless and not like the current trend in animation (oh critics, duh!!!, CLONE WARS has been made in a deliberate style opposite to the new wave of CGI animation!!), to the statement that it’s just all too much action, action, action. What do I think..well check out my review on the site, but I do get the impression the critics are really out to get George Lucas now. Yes, I know he’s a big boy, with a big corporation, and they can ignore the criticism, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!! And there have been some deliberately snipey criticisms which make me think there is more going on with certain magazines/critics with their subtext than meets the eye as this commercial magazine readership age continues to wage its own fierce war bigger than the Republic versus the Separatists!! No one has done this more so, and most surprisingly, than ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY in its current Summer blockbuster issue (the one with the currently delayed HARRY POTTER film on the cover-nice one, WARNERS!! Another major franchise fan area pissed off!!) -they gave the film an F rating- an F for goodness sake!! It’s very rare that they give films such bad ratings and THE CLONE WARS gets it!!! That is normally reserved for the worst films ever made. Sorry EW, but THE CLONE WARS ain’t in that category and it doesn’t deserve that rating WHATSOEVER!! I couldn’t believe it when Ian Trussler told me at the weekend last that this was what the film had gotten from them. Reading the review, I sense a critic who either just doesn’t like STAR WARS and it’s bigger than most things commercialism, or has some kind of connected bitterness about it in general (whether they are hurt as a STAR WARS fan I don’t know?). Reading further between the lines, however, I wouldn’t be surprised if EW were taking a negative stand possibly because they didn’t have the kind of access to the movie and TV series behind the scenes that that they would have liked to have had in order to sell their own magazines. This rationale is a distinct possibility-I’ve always noticed that the magazines and newspapers who don’t get exclusive rights to material to boost their circulations often go on the warpath to try and muscle in on the competitors before they can do their features, or destroy their rivals critically (Weirdly, though, aren’t the EW magazine group actually owned by TIME WARNER!! Aren’t they biting their own hand a little bit?).

For all of you haven’t read the review, here’s the link:

http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/clonewarsreview.html

Let’s not storm the EW building in New York just yet, though-they may now have seen the new TV series trailer, or opening episodes, and become excited. We can but hope that THE CLONE WARS TV series is a terrific populist and critical success, not only on CARTOON NETWORK but also in worldwide DVD sales as well. If it gets good reactions in those areas then we may yet be able to restore some of the sagas damaged pride away from such earlier negative critical notices.

We can but hope...

Opposite image: a brand new US CARTOON NETWORK THE CLONE WARS publicity image of Anakin and Ahsoka. Very cool.

UPDATE: 21/9/2008. Well, well, well.. it seems ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY have partially gone back on their negative review of THE CLONE WARS movie. They still stick to their F rating-they can't back down on that editorially for fear of losing face, but they have kinda said, reading between the lines, that as a smaller STAR WARS viewing experience, it's not that bad. Check out the comments made by Jeff Jensen at:

www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20225033,00.html

Sounds to me like EW's parent company, TIME WARNER, who dsitribute THE CLONE WARS theatrically and own CARTOON NETWORK, gave EW a whoopin' for potentially damaging their new, continuing relationship with LUCASFILM (worth millions of dollars to both parties long term) and EW have had to respond with some thing a little more positive!!

Heh, heh, heh...

THE CLONE WARS MOVIE: WHERE WERE YOU?

By Scott Weller

I’m in mourning, people….

After a particularly ropey end of the working week, I thought I’d cheer myself up and make a trip to the cinema to see THE CLONE WARS for the fourth and final time-I hoped the London/West End cinemas might at least cram in one more week of screenings for the film as the kids were going back to school from their summer break (of which many UK schools have different return dates). I opened today’s (Friday 5th September) paper for cinema listings and was aghast to discover that it wasn’t on- that there wasn’t one cinema in central London-not even a ropey little cinema with lots of smaller screens- showing the film. ]

It's just disappeared!!

I feel very sad about this-THE CLONE WARS animated film-a movie I enjoyed watching and that I thought would make a sizeable impact, has not performed to my personal hopes and expectations. In the US, I can understand that it may not have made the same money as other films, either STAR WARS or something like KUNG FU PANDA, due to the imminent arrival of the weekly series, but the lack of attention towards it by British film audiences, especially with all those parents out there who could have taken their children to see the film, has shocked me. I really thought it would end up making about £4-5 million pounds in the UK- in the end, I think it’s barely made the £2 million pound mark (with a daily average UK cinemas attendance making only £830!!!), which means that the overseas final tally for the film, added to the $30 million made in the US will probably, if we’re lucky, be near towards the $50 million amount.

This film should have done better-it deserved to do better. A three week theatrical run-whether this was intentionally designed for the UK or not- was never going to be enough, and I felt was totally unacceptable- especially unfair as we in the UK won’t get to see the new series on CARTOON NETWORK until early next year (oh, how the ebay dealers will love selling pirate copies of the episodes before then!!) and we won’t get the movie on DVD until December if we’re lucky.

I would love to see some kind of paperwork that laid out LUCASFILM and WARNER BROS’s marketing strategy for the movie. And how much did the film actually cost to make? Will LUCASFILM see a return/profit on their investment? I think WARNERs and LUCASFILM themselves could have done much more to promote the film and work with the fan base in the UK-there could have been more ads on the television (for instance those my colleague Ian saw were mostly relegated to obscure night time showings on lesser satellite channels), there could have been a trailer actually shown at cinemas – I went to the cinemas a lot this summer, prior to the release of CLONE WARS and didn’t see one trailer for it at all? The books, I feel, came out too late in the UK. There were no promotional posters on the major London Underground (though there were on the London buses). A really good celebrity families premiere in London’s West End would have helped the film more than just the one multi media screening the week before release, and why couldn’t they have done a mini release celebration day across the country? Perhaps WARNERS thought the STAR WARS brand was strong enough to sell the movie (perhaps buoyed by the outpouring of enthusiasm from fans who previously saw footage at CELEBRATION US in 2007), even though the Saga had gone from the mass publics consciousness for the last three years.

And where were the majority of STAR WARS fans in the UK??

Those who didn’t go missed out on a great chance to see a terrific, colourful action packed STAR WARS adventure, which felt like STAR WARS and was STAR WARS, back on the big screen in a great new format. Seeing it on DVD just won’t be the same-there is NOTHING like the thrill of seeing a STAR WARS or INDY film at the pictures!!  And where were the primary audience goers with their families who missed the chance to see a terrific animated movie? A movie perfect for all young fans, and you didn’t have to be a STAR WARS fan to know what it was about-it was pretty accessible, I thought. A real shame, as all the families I saw, who were in the cinemas when I went to the see the film, thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Less apathy and more enthusiasm and support from the big corporations, selected media, the fans and the general audience, and at least a decent month and a half run at the cinemas, could have helped THE CLONE WARS be a more successful event movie (let’s hope fans who missed it get a chance to see it on a big screen one day at future CELEBRATION events), and it’s a tragic shame that our chances of seeing a hoped for trilogy of these animated movies has pretty much gone down the drain...

So yep, I'm pretty sad about things.

With thanks to Ian Trussler for the CLONE WARS poster opposite.