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The SANTA BARBARA FILM FEST -- SWE1: THE PHANTOM MENACE news, plus Movieline's awards and more...
There are some interesting bits about the effects from STAR WARS EPISODE ONE, and a status report on what is done thus far. Can you even fathom the render time involved with that movie? It's got to be abnormally large eh? Well... here ya go...
HELLO HARRY AND OTHERS
CGI reporting in from lala land.... Saturday I went north to Santa
Barbara(North bel air) to the 14 th annual film festival.
They not only have a group of indie films but a digital
technology day as well...... they show teen s digital film and
they had a anel of DPs like Allen Davio ( Empire of the Sun)
and John Alanzo(chinatown) showing the difference between film and
HDTV cameras- not much
But the real info came when the second seminar started. It was
about special effects and on the panel was H B Siegel who is
head of ILM and Burt Ward(yes TV s Robin- he owns an effects
company and is married to a woman whose family owns 4,000 companies
like Arby's- some people get all the luck- but I am not bitter
).
He stated that 1900 effects shots were in Eposide 1 and that
they have 200 left to complete. He also revealed that there are
100 different all digital characters(not counting when each character
is seen in an army scene and there are 1,000 of them but all
different characters-wow)
they just rendered the 4 millionth frame of the picture. The
other interesting thing he said was at IlM they review the
past 24 hours work in front of peers then get thier assignments
for the day, yes there is no business like show business. Other
than that of course he could not say anything else.
In the Evening MovieLine the magazine had thier first annual
awards for Young Hollywood. It was pretty low key because I
just walked in with a friend whose client got the Lifetime
achievement award-Jeff Bridges presented to him by Max Schnell. Barry
Pepper and Reese Witherspoon(who wasn't there) got the Best New
Faces award. Best Director and Film went to Don Roos and The
Opposite Of Sex who thanked his boyfriend that is a first , I
think at least that I have seen.Brendan Fraser got an award from
Sir Ian for Best Actor an Best Actress went to Jada Pinkett
Smith- by the way these were voted by the reader on the
magazines website-Jay Thomas, a bitter old man but semi funny
hosted the non-televised event.
Ronin s composer got best score, I cant remember his name much
less how to spell it(slavic name with lots accents shall we say)
and a song from Velvet goldmine got best tune though the guy
stated that his band just broke up. I wish I had something
interesting to report about something the stars said but they
all just thanked friends and the fans, though not once God
they save t hat for TV. SEE YA
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+ Expand All
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1300 effects shots, 200 to go...so, for comparison, anyone know the comparable number of shots for, say, Independence Day? Starship Troopers? Just curious. Sounds like Ep. 1 promises to be a visual feast, in any case.
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Sorry, make that 1900, not 1300. I haven't had my coffee yet.
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ID4 had 500 and Starship had somewhere like 700. If you haven't guess it already, Episode I is going to be big!
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http://www.LukeHarms.com/memory
based on the tiger toys sound
memory game.
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What film did she when an award for? I dont remember her being in a film this year.
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I think Rick McCallum mentioned on the Yahoo chat session that Ep. 1 would have 5 times as much sfx as Titanic. Impressive!
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What is the status of these cameras? Are they in development or are they already on the market? How much will they cost? Will there be a low-end "everyman" version thats affordable? Just some more tech questions from the future digital filmmaker...
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IF they have indeed rendered four million frames, then they are either making a VERY long movie or keep getting it wrong and having to do it over and over. Four million frames translates to almost fifty hours of special effects. Even if every single frame in the movie has a special effect, that still means they have either remade every frame in the film twenty-five times OR the four million frame rendering data is incorrect.
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Yes, what film was she in? I can think of two from last year - Return to Paradise (which I really liked) in which she had a small supporting role, and Woo - which bombed. I'm sorry, but I don't get that. I love Movieline - I'm a subscriber. I don't even recall anything about awards you could vote on. Well I guess somebody got something going for her. Best actress? Are you serious? And I'm not talking about ability - but she hasn't been in anything substantial in a few years.
RE: TPM - I'm drooling even more. I think. I thought Starship Troopers looked pretty flawless - I hope the same is true for TPM. -
L'Auteur -- the type of camera they're developing for Episodes 2+3 is NOT an HDTV camera. Keep in mind that the maximum resolution of 35mm film is still quite higher than the maximum resolution of an HDTV image. The goal of HDTV was an image more "filmlike," not to surpass it (It's doubtful that ANY studio would have allowed a home medium that surpasses theatrical presentation, it would put theaters out of business). That being said, save your money. We're just in the conception stage for replacing film, it'll be at least a decade before it becomes more mainstream and god only knows if the technology will EVER be available at a consumer level -- especially when you look at how expensive 35mm film equipment is today.
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The FX will be completed on time. They are completing 35 fx shot per week. It should be done 6 and so week from now.
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Am i the only one who thought the new trailer was shite?
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Huck, I don't believe a frame of completed film = a frame of a digital effect. Sometimes there are several effects or animations layered together to create the finished look. Have you ever used light wave? You can have several independently rendered animations put together to create a single frame. It is quite possible that when you add up all of the work it adds to 4,000,000 frames of effects!
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Deluded: No, not by a long shot. I downloaded the "high-quality" version off of the net..thinking that the CG would be improved from the first. Nope. Looked like a cartoon. Ok, I told myself...it will look better projected with 35mm. So I tortured the whole family by taking them to see Wing Commander...guess what? Same cartoon, only blown up to big screen. Whoopee. This is what all of the excitement is about? Face it people. 2001 set the standard in 1968 and SW came along in 1977 and raised it even more. This movie is not an advance in SFX. Simply more Lost World/S.Troopers. More is better? Gimmee a break. And what about the acting? Am I the only one that winced every time that Portman said a line? Christ, I've heard more emotion when a woman gets a run in their panty hose! This is the re-dub? Sheesh...Thank god for Liam he may be the only saving grace -- despite all of the forced jokes.
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Each rendered object is considered a frame. IE -- 25 CG objects in a frame = 25 rendered frames! 4 million sounds quite reasonable for the amount of effects in TPM. Do a little research before you start making wild assumptions, people (not to mention any names: HUCK!). ;P
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I thought that aside from Episode One's score, they had this thing in the can! Wasn't the story the same for the Special Editions back in '97?
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We've already heard it all before. The aliens in the cantina look like plastic halloween costumes. The tauntauns look like something out of a Rankin/Bass Christmas special. The gamorean guards look like muppets. So, who cares? Have we lost our ability to enjoy a film? Have we forgotten how to become wrappped up in a story? Have we totally lost our imaginations, the primary function of which is the suspension of disbelief? I'm a little tired of hearing people complain about this stuff. The rule will never change. The more a storyteller asks us to expand our imaginations, the more difficult it will be for us to suspend our disbelief. I was watching Blade Runner last night. Sure, the special effects are totally convincing, but then, how far from our reality are we actually being taken in that film? George Lucas wants to take us to another galaxy. Are we going to let him, or are we going to nit-pick like a bunch of spoiled snobs? Can we allow our eyes to see what he has to show us or are we going to continue seeing nothing but latex masks, plastic models, and computer generated images? I don't know where you all will be on May 19th, but I'll be in a galaxy far, far away.
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I think I might have said this before, but I think the dialogue in trailers _is_ always dubbed and often quite badly. All those sweating over the terribleness of Nat's voice should calm down about it. It would have been the same for Yoda's voice (remember that debate?) and Ewan's "crappy" scream. I remember when the trailer for Titanic came out, when every it came up my friends and I always laughed at the awful "Oiceberg, Roid Ahid" bit, thinking if Cameron could spend 200 squillion on the movie, he could have splashed out an extra couple of thousand on a plane ticket for an actor with a real British accent. Lo and behold, when the movie arrived, we found he had, and the line was fine. Damn, we thought, foiled again by Cameron's evil cunning! I suspect this is all more of the same. Lines are redubbed so the lines can be clearly heard over the music, clustered sound effects, rapid sound editing, etc, and it's probably done months after the movie is finished in one afternoon, probably without the director present (sometimes without the original actor present I'll bet!) As for people looking at the visual effects and saying they don't look real, [ie the Darkforce] well what do you expect, you're looking at something which can't possibly exist, so you're mind automatically picks up the flaws. [But then as I said I haven't seen it, so maybe it is that bad] 2001 and SW were quantum leaps in technology because no-one else had envisioned films like that at the time. There hadn't been many space travel movies between 2001 and SW, but between 77 and 99, Whooaa, plenty, plus advances in TV show effects. - - It's like the four minute mile. Roger Bannister was the first person to break that barrier that everyone though couldn't be beaten, since then others keep chipping a few thousandths of a second off each record, but it just isn't the same, but it doesn't mean their not achiving something just as amazing!
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What's the name of Ward's effects company?
What movie was Jada Pinkett-Smith in? Why mention the Ronin composer and the Velvet Goldmine song if can't name names? Next time bring a pad and pencil. -
I got the sense she was maintaining a gentile protocol that is perhaps required when addressing Senate members. All the stiff lines were issued when she was in her ceremonial garb; however, when she shouted "Get to your ships!" during the escape scende, she wasn't lacking emotion.
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What the hell is the bitchin about the trailer all about, I have seen the trailer and think it is great. Your judging the bloody film on a 2 min trailer, wait till the film comes out then have your say. If Phantom is half as good as starwars ep4, I'll be happy. I think some of you people out there have got unrealistic expections.
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The special effects are not bad by any stretch of the imagination... Name any film that does what this film does better!!!!
Face it, I'd rather have ILM go for broke and stretch CG as far as they can go now, rather than have a scaled down version of Lucas's imagination.
Coruscant ISN'T POSSIBLE without CG. Do you really want two matte shots and all indoor footage? I'd want to see a living, breathing planet, and that's what ILM is doing.
CG characters are so much more animated than puppets. Sure they may move too fluidly at some parts, but every movie has flaws. And for the most part, I think the characters look pretty damn good.
If you say the graphics look like crap, you either
a) are GOD
b) are David Prowse.
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Some of you guys have to undertstand the fact is that not everybody in the entire world is familiar with the star wars saga. Sure, to us star wars geeks and to all the kids, trailer B is god-sent (I watched it atleast over 25 times!!) but the rest of the public might not really give a damn or maybe say "yeah, the movie looks alright. I might go see it." The theatre i went to see WC in was sold out and aside from a quarter of the audience screaming after the trailer, everybody else really kept quiet. So to the person who asked if the trailer was shit or nothing special, yes, the people who know nothing of star wars, they might think of it as another independence day or starship troopers. But us fanboys know that it's something more and it is US who will make Episode One achieve the highest grossing movie of all time. STAR WARS FANS UNITE AND TOGETHER WE WILL BLOW TITANIC OUT OF THE WATERS. Rant is over. Bye.
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Some of you guys have to undertstand the fact is that not everybody in the entire world is familiar with the star wars saga. Sure, to us star wars geeks and to all the kids, trailer B is god-sent (I watched it atleast over 25 times!!) but the rest of the public might not really give a damn or maybe say "yeah, the movie looks alright. I might go see it." The theatre i went to see WC in was sold out and aside from a quarter of the audience screaming after the trailer, everybody else really kept quiet. So to the person who asked if the trailer was shit or nothing special, yes, the people who know nothing of star wars, they might think of it as another independence day or starship troopers. But us fanboys know that it's something more and it is US who will make Episode One achieve the highest grossing movie of all time. STAR WARS FANS UNITE AND TOGETHER WE WILL BLOW TITANIC OUT OF THE WATERS. Rant is over. Bye.
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Hurray Barry! Keep an eye on Barry Pepper, he's going places. Look for him next in "The Green Mile" with Tom Hanks.
Barry is also on the cover of the current issue of Vanity Fair, "The Hollywood Issue."
Woohoo Barry! -
I refuse to see Trailer B but to all those who complain about Portman's performace: What do you think of Carrie Fisher's acting abilities? or Mark Hamil's for that matter?
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I said it before and I'll say it again. The Phantom Menace will not beat Titanic out money wise and computer effects always look like shit and TPM is no different and neither is Titanic for that matter.
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Am I the only one who gets this? SHE'S A QUEEN. A ROYAL PERSONAGE. HOW MUCH EMOTION HAVE YOU EVER SEEN QUEEN ELIZABETH SHOW??? I for one think that, especially considering her age, Natalie Portman does an awesome job. The accent alone knocked me on my ass. I think she did wonderfully projecting the dignity and poise that would be expected of a grand regent, even with ten pounds of neo-tibetan head-dress on her head. Get a clue, guys, and give her a break.
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I actually like the queenss voice. for some reason, it just sounds nifty. the only reason it sounds unemotional is because she's trying to act like some kind of super bitch or something, cos she's pissed off at the bad guys killing her people. i have the trailer on my computer, and i listen to her say "committee" every day. rowr. hhehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe committee...committee...i think i'll listen to it again...
also...that one scene in the forest...what the heck are those aminals running away? does it bother anyone else that there are practically all-new aliens for episode one? the one thing that always bothered me about the star wars movies is that you rarely ever see two aliens of the same species. except for ewoks, jawas and sand people...there's probably some other exceptions. but, i mean, come on!! give us a break!! they should have more people like that greedo whaddayacallit...he kicked ass. also, those pig dudes were pretty chic. but nooooooooooo they have to have gungans and weird pieces of my poop for aliens...that bothers me a lot. how come there are no jamaican aliens or whatever that dorkus is in episodes 4 5 and 6?? well, maybe they'll explain that in the movies, but still...
also, they should have more wookies, dammit. we want wookies!!
that's all for now... -
In regards to the Titanic vs. Star Wars box office conflict, I just want to pull out some factors that we should all take for consideration. First, 1.8 billion is very hard to beat. That's double the numbers pulled in by Jurassic Park, the second biggest all-time flick. Second, Titanic is based on a tragic event that occured in history, therefore it tends to bring a more memorable theme. Third, Titanic is more audience-wide, capable of bringing in senior age groups as well as the young. SW on the other hand, is geared more towards the young, the action genre audiences, and of course the original fans. Fourth, Titanic consists of a sad and considerably touching conclusion which is a useful tool of drawing audiences back for a repeat viewing. Jurassic Park and other blockbusters were high budgeted, action-packed, overhyped films, but they still didn't live up to the box office standards set by Titanic simply because they were too hollywood-sophisticated movies that lack the emotional and even memorable plot that Titanic had (Yes, I'm talking about J.P, Independence Day, Men in Black, Twister, etc.). These films, in my opinion, don't hold a special place in many peoples' hearts, but rather just shown for pure entertainment. In the best to avoid any misunderstandings of my judgement, I want to remind everyone that there is no bias going on in this post. Although Titanic is one of my all-time favorite films, I haven't seen Star Wars: The Phantom Menace neither have any of you. In fact, I haven't seen any of the Star Wars series, so I am not familiar to the movies' plot or theme. Unless Star Wars(Phantom Menace) holds a similar contrast to Titanic's factors I had mentioned, otherwise it's more likely to trail behind because my observations on Titanic, is what I believe, to be greater advantages in a movie's success in terms of box office. But then again, I may be wrong and I predict that many of you fans of Star Wars will disagree and eventually stand out to defend your movie for its greatest benefit. Just keep in mind that I'm not trying to level one below the other, but rather just giving you something to consider before you climatically go on with your assumption before reality has been justified.
On the other hand, myself here may like SW more than Titanic after I view it in May, but then that's a whole different story. Peace.
-Walter- -
I am so glad that someone has recognized Barry Pepper for the talented man he is! I'm still not quite sure how he didn't get a nomination for his role as Private Jackson in Saving Private Ryan, but I'm sure it'd be hard to pick between all of the men in SPR.
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At first I was a little taken aback by the accent, then I realized, hey, she's a Queen. She's a noble who's been tutored from birth in the complexities and protocols of being "a royal". In fact the accent sounds very trans-Atlantic, very much like Audrey Hepburn's in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Dignitaries tend to have a very mannered way of speaking and that, in all likelihood, is what Lucas and Portman were going for. Not to mention the film takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Seems pretty obvious don't ya think.
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I was under the impression everyone hated Arby's?
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Did she win for Woo?!!?!?!?!?!?
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Someone mentioned they're worried about 200 FX shots left for the release. I wouldn't be too concerned. I worked with a team of about 20 people to complete 800 FX shots (3d, 2d, compositing, etc.) for a movie in 3 months.
ILM, the staff- they are #1 in the field, the latest equipment, not to mention- I'm sure they have more than 20 people working on the project :)
I think SWTPM will kick ass! -
I totally agree with someone who mentioned here that it's unfair to judge Portman's accent by just a few line of words in the trailer. We must remember that whatever we see in the either the trailer or the actual movie is completely approved by George Lucas himself and on top of that some of the actors and most of the crew in making the film are british. In one way or the other, they could have coached Portman regarding this area. Personally, she is doing a great job and I admire her for that. In fact even before Portman was chosen by Lucas to handle this pivotal part of the saga, I'm already following her acting career since way back in 1994 when she debuted in the movie "The Professional" (I highly recommend if you want to see how good an actress she is)and I have seen all of her movie.This I can say people, as far as talent and look go, she has everything what Lucas is looking for; great job for the casting director. Let's just wait to see the whole film first and do our criticism afterwards. That would be the logical thing to do. Right now we are only confined by seeing roughly 5 minutes of the movie which would not give us the whole picture and mood the whole movie might convey.
I admire Walter's lengthy observation why Titanic is more appealing to a wide audience that Star Wars. I don't really agree with some of them. We should remember that Star Wars came out in 1977 and from then on with the succeeding episodes (TESB and ROTJ)it added more followers with it giving a broader range of viewers from those in their 40s to the very young. I just saw Wing Commander yesterday and I swear that I'm expecting only teenagers and those in their early twenties to watch it but I was wrong. I saw groups of families as well as old folks in their 50's and 60's watching the sci-fi movie! Saying that Titanic is historical that's why it's more appealing is not a good reason why people would like to see it. Everything boils down to these words if a movie would be a success or not: STORY and DIRECTOR. You can have the best story (consider Frank Herbert's Dune) but if the director (David Lynch) is lacking vision then sorry. Vice-versa, if you have the best director(Steven Spielberg)but if the story is weak or lame(Lost World) then sorry again. I would suggest for you to see the Star Wars trilogy first and come up with your conclusion afterwards. You would see that Star Wars is more than just a movie, it's an experience! As far as I know, no other film in history has so much impact in our culture and in our psyche than Star Wars. It is enduring and timeless and I wonder if people would still remember Titanic after ten years but Star Wars has still a grip on the minds of most of those who saw it back in 1977 and I believe so more in the following years to come. George Lucas has succeeded in creating a modern myth that no other storyteller has done in this century so far (except Tolkien). But as for the prequel, I have faith in Lucas that he has prepared for a big surprise for all the millions of his fans. Spielberg, Howard, and Coppola has already seen the entire movie and they gave a thumbs up for it in acting as well as story. I can say no more. Eventually, some people will like it and some will not. Let's just wait and see. -
Howdy, Bubblehead here... I think there's probably a real good reason why Portman's character, in certain scenes, speaks as if she had a broom handle up her bum... A governing royal should publicly display a modicum of detachment, of regal bearing, an air of snootiness which gives her commands and pronouncements the illusion of greater weight. Note that whenever Amidala is in full ceremonial regalia, she sounds like Princess Elsbeth in "Dragonslayer," but when she's wearing a potato sack like the one she's in on Tatooine, incognito, she sounds like she could be from Middletown. I think her clipped, precisely enunciated speech will only appear when she's fulfilling the role she was elected to.
Btw, it's good to be back on AICN.
Briefly,
Bubblehead.
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In response to SWfan's response to Walter's post: if ESB and ROTJ added fans why did they do worse? Sequels rarely do better than originals. This time will probably be an exception but I'm not sure how big of one. I've long had doubts about The Phantom Menace's chances of knocking off Titanic. But with a fair number of foreigners saying they'll make a trip to the States to see it (and probably more who haven't said it) TPM might top Titanic's domestic take. But if they spend all that money for plane tickets, hotel rooms, food, souvenirs, and movie tickets I doubt they'll have the money to see it when it shows up in their country! Lucas would be better off if he just pleaded for people to stay home and see the movie. That way they can spend all of those thousands of dollars on the movie itself.
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If you take into account that when Star Wars first opened, tickets costed $2, but when Titanic opened tickets costed $8, Star Wars(E4) actually made more money than Titanic. So, shut up about Titanic, it was a horrible movie anyway.
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Didn't Pleasantville have more FX shots than Titanic? I heard that all the removing of colour for the b/w shots were done digitally.
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I don't know if PM will be able to beat Titanic, but if it doesn't I think it will be for reasons different than those already mentioned. Titanic was released at Christmas and had zero competition for months. Thats the primary reason people saw it over and over and it stayed #1 week after week.
Phantom Menace will be huge for maybe a month, but will then run up against Austin Powers 2, WWW, Eyes Wide Shut, Mystery Men, Tarzan, Princess Mononoke, and the teen flick of the week. It may not be able to sustain $ against all that competition. Then again (hopefully) it could stay in the top 10 till Christmas and break all records.
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Mar 16, 1999 3:23:36 PM CST
The TPM trailer was the greatest thing ever seen on a movie scre
by foxforce5
So quick to judge on the movie.
Yet you've only seen bits and parts. My friends you've know
idea and i mean know idea what
this movie looks like. I can't wait till it comes out and makes you all shut up. There are things in this movie that are gonna blow your mind. They're hiding all the good parts. Lucas is smart to release these types of trailers. Most other trailers today basically tell you the entire movie. Even showing you
an entire scene from a film.
You have to remember too. New
ways of doing special effects
were created just to make this
film. One scene alone towards the
end of the film took a year just
to do. I've seen most of the film
and i can safely say. It's going
to blow you out of your chair.
There is one scene that is so
incredible that... OH MY GOD!!!!
I don't wanna spoil it, but the only thing i can say is this is gonna be one of the greatest experiences of your lives. 16 years in the making and the effects in the movie don't exactly look like the ones you see in the trailer. I'll let you in on a little secret. The scene with the Gungans holding there glass looking shields. Defending themselves. Is far from finished. There's still one finally touch to be made to all the effects in the film. It's simlar to what was done on Jurassic Park. To make the dinosaurs look even realier. Ahh, but you'll see what i mean when the movie comes out. Now sit back and relax and quit your bickering about the trailer. What really
matters in the end is good story telling and a good musical score.
I'm still wondering how that
stampede scene was done. I know
it was computer, but damn. It look
to real. You'll see...
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Has anyone else noticed that Portman's voice
kind of sounds like the "Raja" from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?
You know, that bratty kid who says stuff about not letting crap happen "in HIS kingdom?"
Just curious.
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