REVENGE OF THE SITH DVD PRESS
JUNKET
By Michael Sullenger
(MARIN COUNTY, CA October 6, 2005) It's been 6 years since I first began
webmastering Star Wars online, and the thought of coming full circle with
the films has always been towards a far horizon. Skywalker Ranch has been a
Neverland for me. A place of mystique and wonderment, and so far unreachable. As
I drove through the winding picturesque Marin country road on my way to the
unreachable for the Revenge of the Sith DVD Press Junket, the word that
instantly comes to mind is payoff.
Revenge of the Sith can arguably be signed off as the best of the
prequel films. Breaking box office records this summer, the final installment of
the Star Wars saga provided the action and drama as well as the stunning
digital effects, but more importantly, bridged the new films to the Original
Trilogy. Sure, that awkward Vader scream in the end made all of us wince and fan
message boards can diss and dissect Hayden Christensen's performance, but you
can't deny Ian McDiarmid's masterful turn as the Emperor or that the last
sequence when the twins were handed off to their respected guardians didn't make
you wax nostalgic. C'mon admit it. ROTS delivered the payoff.
EVERYTHING AND THE KITCHEN SINK
The day began with a Home Theater Experience presentation by Lucasilm
Senior Vice President and President of LucasArts Jim Ward. Lucasfilm did not
hold back in ensuring that the digital transfer was taken full advantage of not
only visually, but with the amazing THX sound. George Lucas instructed the crew
at ILM to deliver everything but the kitchen sink, and they apparently even
delivered that, as an actual kitchen sink was slyly embedded somewhere during
the opening battle over Coruscant. The opening battle and the marquee final
battle were played to demonstrate everything from the pin sharp detail of the
digital effects to the sound capturing minutiae of Yoda's nails grinding against
the senate platform as he hangs for dear life. Easter Eggs are here. And for the
first time, Lucasfilm actually previews one with Yoda striking a profile with
some Clone Troopers and doing some breakdancing moves to rap music.
"The fact that Revenge of the Sith was produced digitally means
that the picture and the sound of the DVD are truly extraordinary," said
Ward. He didn't even hesitate to claim that the DVD version will surpass even
the theatrical experience if one were to take full advantage of the high
definition clarity and the THX and Dolby 5.1 sound. Like Betamax before it, VHS
is dead, and Lucasfilm is releasing Revenge of the Sith only on DVD.
After the home theater presentation, we were invited to put on a hood and
star in our very own Star Wars movie scene courtesy of ILM. Through the
magic of digital effects, I was pasted in the scene as the holographic Darth
Sidious as he transmits a message to Grievous. Not having anything too
witty or humorous to say, I simply instructed the good general that he needs a
better action figure and a visit to Galactic Hunter. And, oh yeah, take care of
that annoying cough.
THE MASTER AND THE APPRENTICE
A preview of the DVD and a Q&A with Rick McCallum, Hayden Christensen,
Ian McDiarmid, Rob Coleman, and Frank Oz followed, again hosted by Ward. Deleted
scenes (a total of six in all) that fans can look forward to is the execution of
Shaak Ti by Grievous and the return of Yoda to Dagobah, which McCallum himself
classified as a "Kleenex moment" for fans. Unfortunately, that
anticipated scene or "thoughtette", as McCallum described, where Qui-Gon
Jinn communicates with Yoda through the Force will not be in the DVD. Also
previewed was the "Within A Minute" documentary film, where you are
given an inside look into the making of about 49 seconds in the final battle on
Mustafar and the several departments involved. Dubbed as a "mini-film"
school where hundreds of names and jobs have contributed, "Minute"
gathers about 600 hours of material in the process of making Revenge of the
Sith. McCallum also disclosed that the script for Indiana Jones 4
will be finished by Sunday.
Q&A's can either be quite enlightening or rather obvious, and unfortunately,
this particular Q&A leans toward the latter. How many times do we need to
ask Hayden how much he loves his action figure? Obviously not enough. There was
some polite back patting between Oz and Coleman over the evolution of Yoda from
a latex puppet to digital creature, and Oz apparently doesn't do the Yoda voice
when asked out of respect for the character. Coleman, at the same time, made the
solemn oath never to convert the Yoda of the Original Trilogy into digital. Good
for you Rob.
McDiarmid answered his questions with typical British thespian eloquence.
While avoiding the question of whether he will star in the new television series
or not, McDiarmid did say that during the first two films, the Emperor was only
seen through a holograph, and that "effective representatives" such as
Governor Tarkin fulfilled the bad guy role. When first taking on the role of
Palpatine for Jedi, McDiarmid was instructed to match the voice of Clive
Reville, who provided the voice of the despot in Empire Strikes Back.
Apparently, if his voice didn't match close enough, he wouldn't have gotten the
job.
Finally, Christensen shared mostly his admiration for McDiarmid, particularly
in the opera scene. He admitted that unlike some Star Wars actors of the
past, he will always hold the films dear to his heart and appreciate the
opportunity they gave him. On the other hand, you'll find little Star Wars
in the Christensen bachelor pad, but he does keep the props in his closet.
THE PRESIDIO
The day ended with a tour Lucas' new baby, the Letterman Digital Arts Center
in the Presidio. This campus now serving as the base of operations for Lucasfilm,
Industrial Light and Magic, and Lucas Arts is a place of utter beauty, situated
by the Golden Gate Bridge in what used to be a military hospital but now a
National Park. You won't be able to tell who's in the place until you reach the
front entrance, where a fountain with a statue of Yoda is placed discreetly in
the terrace. Being a National Park, it's the only monument allowed within the
compound that is not historically significant.
The inner sanctums of Letterman is filled wall to wall with movie posters
from Lucas' private collection. A statue of Willis O' Brien, known as the Father
of Special Effects, greets you as you walk in the lobby along with Darth Vader
standing prominently to the side. As we toured the facilities, we were
constantly reminded the lengths Lucas went through in making Letterman as
environmentally conscious as possible. Even elements of the old building were
recycled and grounded as material for the new construction. Just don't drink the
creek water as it's recycled.
FIN
A tour of the Ranch, the Presidio, free lunch and a bag of goodies. After
experiencing the place where Star Wars is imagined, it's easy to see how
one can be inspired to the great breadths of creativity and a wanderlust of
imagination. It's pretty much a given that the DVD is expected to break sales
records. But where do we go from here? It's not a realistic expectation that
television can sustain the fanbase like the movies can, and we doubt Lucas'
future artsy projects can sustain him. When all is said and done, we need more Star
Wars movies in our future, be it with Lucas, other directors, or even his
children. If this is it for Star Wars, then the payoff falls a little
short. After touring the imagination inspiring Skywalker Ranch and the Presidio,
it's quite evident that there are many more stories and adventures left untold
from that galaxy far, far away.
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