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The UK video release date for THE PHANTOM MENACE
Hey there folkerinos and chaps... Harry here and this is what the word is in the London fog currently about the street date for the SWE1 video. So whether ya loved it (like me) or hated it (like alot of people in Talk Back below) well... that's the way it is. So... enjoy..
hi there
at the cinema i work at and am in charge of marketing at today i had my regaular monthly
meeting with the fox rep and she told me that the confirmed UK video release date for
EPISODE 1 is april 4th i asked her bout a US date and she said that she presumed it would
be a few weeks or even a month before
well there ya go just thought that might be of intrest to ya
Thanks
SirNiK
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No matter what Lucas says, the fact that the Star Wars movies aren't available on DVD suggests to me that he hates the DVD format.
And I am also very upset that the original versions of the movies will never be released again. I hate the special editions. Greedo shooting first was dumb. And Luke's scream at the end of Empire goes against the idea that a Jedi is calm and at peace. Hey, maybe somebody should update the Mona Lisa, maybe give her a tattoo and a nosering!
And Spielberg hates the DVD format, too. They just released the Indiana Jones trilogy in letterbox, but only on VHS. No DVD.
I guess Lucas and Spielberg both think that VHS is better quality than DVD. How weird.
By the way, I got my handle from a video game. Grundle was the green dragon in ADVENTURE on the Atari 2600. And yeah, I know all about the dot and the message.
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By not releasing the Phantom Menace on dvd, a whole new cottage industry of bootleg dvds has sprung up. The best way to stop this is to release an official version. Why not release the movie on one of the better formats? Well, I'm definitely hanging on to my original versions of the trilogy on laserdisc. On the special editions, the greedo scene was cheesy and jabbas diologue was almost word for word redundant with the greedo/han solo sequence. Oh well...
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We want it now!! On DVD!!!!
We know where you live!!!!! -
If he waits to release the DVD to be as hot as he and everyone wants it to be, he'll piss off the babies who want it RIGHT NOW. If he cranks out a piece of junk RIGHT NOW (since that's the only way he could do it that quick), he pisses off the folks who will accuse him of making them pay for it twice when he finally has the time to do it the right way. He loses either way.
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Loved it. Still do. Can't wait for the video. The DVD will be something else to look forward to in a few years.
Jake Lloyd rules!
-John -
I wish Lucas would hurry up and release "Phantom Menace" on DVD so we can program our players to automatically skip any scene that features Jar Jar.
That way, we can enjoy what was essentially a really great, entertaining movie minus the *cheeseball* factor of Jar Jar being in the film.
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Lucas well claim that a fantasmagorical, magical version of episode 1 is on the cards and hence delaying a release, but the more likely expanation is that Georgey is waiting for a target sale of dvd players so that he can clean up on the format. I find it so depressing that Lucas who claims to be a pioneeer of new technology is unwilling to support DVD in the interests of money. By releasing episode 1 on VHS, he will flood the market making a future DVD release a mere collectors piece. Had he opted to released DVD before VHS, he would have been actively promoting sales of players.
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George Lucas loves laserdics--the disc set for the Episode 4-5-6 "Definitive" set is fabulous. I am sure that the same is true of Steven Spielberg..he also is a fan of lasers (well I read it in a LASERDISC publication, so it must be true!)...the box sets of discs from his films...many NEW sets, are terrific...so who needs DVDs! I still use Beta Video tapes exclusively and plan to stick with LD. Although we have a DVD on the computer and some DVD videos, I still like the laserdiscs the best!
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As for good versions of all of the above (SW, the Indiana Jones films), here's hoping. As for the Laser v. DVD debate, here's why I've been converted (even though there's no way I'm ditching my LD player). DVD gets me that much closer (esp. on a computer monitor) to the way film feels in a theater. The fact that I can get a sense of the film grain in the print of Full Metal Jacket (a movie shot, like Eyes Wide Shut, intentionally overexposed and grainy) makes the difference to me. It's not a quality I can get out of any format, whether it's using a composite connection or an S-video connection. By this, I mean that I am not impressed with DVD on a typical consumer system at all; on a computer, component video, progressive scan... I think it's magic...
Of course, as with most video formats, as a friend of mine once said "if it looks fuzzy, back up." -
George Lucas must have the thickest neck in Hollywood! If you look at pictures of Lucas from back when he made Star Wars, he had a neck of normal human proportions, compared to the width of his head. Now, contrast that with pictures taken this year..he could pull trucks with that neck! If there was such a thing as "neck wrestling", I'd put money on Lucas to beat Schwarzenneger - his neck is *that* powerful.
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I'm just so happy that I have the original Star Wars on LaserDisc and I think George is a really cool guy because he's holding the DVD's back. Sorry!
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And good riddens.
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Sadly, I have to agree. But you're a bit off when saying that LDs were incapable of an Anamorphic image... There have been European LDs that did anamorphic widescreen (and, even cooler, there are 4:3 TVs that could be told to show an anamorphic image correctly). Does America get this cool stuff? Hell no. We seem to get the dregs of cool tech (witness the lack of designer-color walkmen, as compared to what can be had at Akahibahara (sp?) in Japan...
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Sure, I like DVD but it's my experience that the majority of people who want to see something on that format, want it because of the little extra's that are dangled in front of you by the advertising department like the proverbial carrot, moreso than they want to see the movie itself. If Mr. Lucas doesn't see fit to release it on DVD, that's his business. He owns the rights and that's the argument right there. Those of you with websites that have photos of yourself on the website, how would you feel if people wrote and demanded that you send the actual print to them so that they could enjoy all the nuances of the photograph instead of just seeing it on the flatness of their monitor.
My point is, that if it's only on VHS, buy it if you like, don't if you don't but don't demand more from someone than they're willing to provide just to satisfy your technophilia. In this case a little difference of technology isn't going to ruin your enjoyment of a wonderful movie just because you can't get it in a different format. The movie itself is what's important not it's format and it's really distressing to see people losing sight of that. Entertainment should be the focus not the bragging rights that come with the dubious ownership of the proverbial carrot. -
Lasers... DVDs... They're BOTH great. Most of the people who slag lasers never even had them in the first place. You ARE allowed to own both formats. No special police squad will show up and arrest you. Hell, you can still find combo players out there that play both. Now everybody shut up. Wait... What was the topic? Oh yeah. Star Wars. I hated Jar Jar like everybody else, I'll buy the video like everybody else, and I'll eventually get the DVD like everybody else. Nowadays, I just sign over half my paycheck to Lucas anyway. Did anybody watch "Olive, the Other Raindeer"? Wasn't that a hoot?
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While DVD Phantom Menace right now would be great (loved the movie, don't care what anyone else thought), I'd rather wait for the promised super-packed-full-o-goodies Special edition.
Of course if it's crap then we can start slagging off George 'The Bullfrog' Lucas as much as we like...not that that'll stop most of you.
On another note I saw THX 1138 the other night, great movie. Calling George a shite director (as some in Talkback have done) when 3 out of his 4 movies are absolute classics seems a bit like calling Kubrick useless 'cos Full Metal Jacket isn't as good as his other movies (although I thought it was great..). -
Lucas can do whatever he wants. Just let me have my original versions of the trilogy on DVD. I don't care about the shitty new movie, and it is indeed quite shitty (coming from a lifelong fan.) The only Episode 1 DVD I want is the Special Edition recut, redubbed, reshot by someone cool like darabont or Fincher or who ever. All this hubbub about holding out for features. Ya know, a few features are fun. I like commentary tracks and trailors but mostly I just want a great transfer. Damn it all!!! I was as big a fan as any. All I wanted was a mix of the past 3 films, and beyond, for a forth installment. I, or we, got shit. We got a cartoon video game. And when you really love and care about films and Star Wars it grates on you whenever its brought up. I like the Matrix better. Broken hearted me.
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This movie is another great example of how key Lucasfilm employees start ass kissing George Lucas out of fear for not being able to work on one of the Star Wars movies. And folks now you have it. A complete piece of shit on video tape.
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First of all, I LVOE DVD!!! Whoever said that Lucas hates the format is a frickin' idiot. Read the interviews with him. Anyway, although Laserdiscs are ALMOST as good, they will not last through the upcoming years. But hey, life's a bitch.
STAR WARS TRILOGIES ON DVD: I have a friend who works with the marketing department for Lucasfilm. A special "team" is working on the "DVD project" and will be until the last film is made (which does seem hard to believe because that's so far away from now).
While he wouldn't (couldn't and shouldn't) tell me everything... he did say that one of the big plans is to have both the original AND special editions for the first three films together on the same disc. Meaning that the STAR WARS: EPISODE IV dvd would have both versions... as will Ep. V, and Ep. VI!!
Each of the six dvd's will obviously have "the making of" as well as early production sketches. She also said that there will be a shitload of other stuff on each. Their development team is working with Lucas once a month (because he's hard at work finishing the script, etc.) and will continue to do so.
She said that she has only seen him once though... briefly. Other times he either calls in, or a "runner" delivers him the notes.
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To a post on Talkback which said
the Star Wars Trilogy when it gets on DVD will have both
the original and special editions on it, I don't think it's true.
Mainly, because I read in a column
at reel.com by Jeffrey Wells that Lucas had destroyed all remaining all prints of Star Wars 1977 and now the only print of the movie that exists in the 1997 version.
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That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Whoever told you that (or wherever you read that) is a frickin' liar and/or idiot.
The film was restored and put in the AFI vault. He did not destroy any prints of the film either...
Do you honestly think that a filmmaker would destroy his work like that? Even if he "re-did" it? If you do, you don't know that much about film. Hell, they even have ISHTAR prints still available. Go to any studio and you will see (if you are invited) thousands of film reels for each of their films. Trust me, I work on studios a lot.
I don't expect anyone to believe what I wrote before becasue its the internet... most of the things you here are bullshit. But, I know that its true... and so will you when the DVD s come out.
Soory to lash out at you, but I hate it when stupid things like that are told to people. -
First, Lucas destroyed all the release prints he could find in the world of the 1977 version of Star Wars, but kept the negative and some interpositive prints in a vault of the original. Second, Lucas wants to use the new High Density DVDs that are still in the labs but soon available to the public (they're talking around 17 to 20 GB of info). Rick McCallum talked about that in an interview a few months ago. But I'm sure he won't wait another six years to release them since video pirates will transfer the LaserDisc version to DVD...
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Uh... Lucasfilm people blabbing about SW on DVD? I think I'm gonna have to call "Bullshit" on this one.
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Oh goody..a laser vs dvd debate.I always said I would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to make the change to DVD (I've been a laser fan for about 10 years now). But what finally pushed me over the edge wastthe constant delay of new releases. I ordered a laser of South Park:the movie from Ken Crane's ( a great site for laserdiscs by the way) back in October...it was supposed to come out in November..then got pushed back to December..and now is scheduled for mid January..unless there's another delay. I finally said screw it and recently bought a DVD player. And as much as I hate to admit it, the picture quality blows laser away. Even the transfer of a crap movie like "The 13th Floor" was beautiful. I'll still keep my lasers (oh like the "where is it on DVD" Men In Black), but consider me a convert. On to Lucas' video release strategy...remember all the laser versions of the original trilogy? First in the early 80's he puts out Star Wars on CLV and CAV in PAN AND SCAN. Okay letterboxing video was fairly new back then, but c'mon!!Then Fox releases "widescreen editions" of all three, then a couple of years later realeases THX mastered versions, and then later brings out all three in the "special edition" package which was available only as a boxed set. You say you only wanted "Empire"..sorry, you had to buy all three. Lucas knows he has a rabid fan base out there, and will gladly buy any version (in any format) that he eventually doles out. Greed-o indeed.
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Thanks to LTWeezie for reminding me of the "Definitive" edition laser box set that set you back a couple hundred bucks back then..wait a minute, maybe thats why Lucas is DVD shy...you can't charge up the ying-yang for a title, when half the time you can pick up new releases on DVD for fourteen bucks at your neighborhood Kmart.
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...He put out a terrific version of American Graffiti. For those of you whose motion picture knowlege begins at The Matrix, AG is his pre-Star Wars classic which was nominated for a bunch of Oscars and made a ton of money, enabling the young director to make his Science Fiction masterpiece at a time when the genre was dead. The Graffiti dvd is packed with interviews with all of the film's stars, Lucas, the screenwriters, and producers, has behind the scenes footage, and screen tests, and the opening shot has been computer enhanced to make it brighter and take away some the background details that Lucas felt took away from the film (the original shot is also on the disc). In other words, it is a spectacular disc, and one that proves that Lucas embraces the format when he can put everything he feels needs to go on the disc. Be patient young Jedis, the DVDs will come eventually. Just buy the VHS for $20 to tide yourselves over...Speaking of American Graffiti, anybody else notice how similar Harrison Ford's character's name, BOB FALFA, is to BOBA FETT? Maybe it's just me...
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Please forgive me for being a moron and being wrong about Lucas destroying the original 1977 film print of Star Wars. I read it at
a column by Jeffrey Wells at reel.com's website (Wells has a column there and you can read the original story in the archives) and thought the info was accurate, but instead the story he wrote turned out to be bogus.
Also, AgentCole, as for the American Graffiti thing, I noticed it too. Supposedly Bobba Fett is named after a bully who used to annoy Lucas back in high school and later when writing Empire's story he used it as the name of the now infamous bounty hunter.
Much of Graffiti's story and characters, I've been told are based on Lucas's experiences of growing up as a teenager.
Also, AgentCole are you still mad with me over that 2001 thing that was talked about over in Elston Gunn's Weekly recap, a few weeks back?
As for the Star Wars DVD,
I eagerly await it and let Lucas take his time to give us what will surely be a great DVD and the first DVD I'll buy (since around 2006, I'll probably buy
a DVD player by then).
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Uh, I think you were responding to my post about TPM/American Graffiti. Cole hasn't posted on this topic yet. That being said, I think Jeffrey Wells has something against Lucas. All of his columns concerning Star Wars this summer and fall have had a very negative vibe to them.
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Sorry, that I got you confused with AgentCole. I agree Wells does seem to have some sort of vendetta against Lucas and I'll have to e-mail him about the new info I've learned which rebukes the info he said in his column was truth.
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The other day I was explaining to a bunch of my friends about why none of the Star Wars movies would be coming out on dvd anytime soon. I said that Luca$ was holding back these much wanted dvd's because he wanted to increase his profit margin when he actually released them. One of my friends, the same one who thought Jar Jar was funny, defended Luca$ by saying that the making of The Phantom Menace was completely financed by Luca$ and that he has every right to make as much profit as he wants. He also said that The Phantom Menace cost a lot of money to make, 115 million dollars. I fired back and said that, compared to most other summer blockbusters, Phantom Menace was cheaply made. It didn't cost 115 million, it cost 70 million. The reason why Luca$ waited 16 years to make this movie was because he wanted the CGI technology to advance to the point where he could make the prequels for almost nothing. He tried to say that CGI costs a lot of money and that Phantom Menace cost alot more than 70 million. I shot back and said Practical FX cost a whole lot more than CGI. Creating an explosion in real life requires a lot more time and cash than creating one on a computer. The two most expensive movies ever, Titanic and Waterworld, were mostly Practical FX with some CGI. The bottom line is that Luca$ is trying to squeeze all of us for all the dough he can get. He is a greedy, egotistical fuck who mustn't be allowed to ruin the next 2 prequels.
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This message to agentcooper..Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the American Graffiti DVD was part of a 25th anniversary release that included VHS and I think laser also.And they included the extras also. If Lucas was so commited to releasing titles on DVD, then why aren't any other Lucasfilm titles out on DVD?
As golgo-14 stated Lucas will platform their video release as slowly as possible to insure the most profit. First VHS, then probably letterboxed VHS (with a 'behind-the-scenes doc' included), then probably DVD. It seems that Lucas is putting profit ahead of audience satisfaction..I thought that's what his 1970's generation of filmakers were fighting against. -
Yes, there was a 25th anniversary of American Graffiti on VHS, and it did include some extras, although I don't think it had everything the DVD does. I don't think a laser-disc was manufactured. To address your opinion that Lucas is refusing to release TPM on DVD immediately only to reap huge financial rewards, well, I can only agree with Jaymin Pepper, who posted above that he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. If he puts out a TPM DVD now, and doesn't include any extras, everyone will complain about how there are no extras. If he waits until the new trilogy is complete and releases all six in a box set, everyone will complain that he's trying to bilk everyone out of their hard earned money by releasing in multiple formats, knowing that the fans will snap up at least one of everything. Is Lucas a shrewd businessman? Yes, of course. Is he trying to anger fans with his hold out on DVDs of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies? I doubt it. You have to believe the man when he says that he wants to put out the best possible DVDs on the market. These are all important films, and with nods to the James Bond franchise, are the two most popular series in the history of cinema. They deserve to have a great presentation in the best possible format. I actually think he may be trying to avoid the problem that he had with the many versions of the original trilogy on VHS and laser, where there are at least three different versions of the Star Wars films in each format. I would love a Phantom Menace DVD, but I am willing to wait for it. I'll tide myself over with the VHS version. If you will only accept DVD. Wait for it. It will be worth it.
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Lucas says no DVD because he was burned by early VHS adoption. In order to promote VHS, the studios put enormous pressure on Lucas to put the SW trilogy on VHS. That is why the first VHS edition of SW looked like crap (i.e. the boxes around spaceships). Now Lucas is in the position to wait and see what happens with DVD. I can't blame him.
Secondly, some people here are arguing for a cut-down version of the movies on DVD? Why? Why waste the potential just to say you have something on DVD? I can hold on to my LD and my VHS editions, and that will be fine. Everyone just needs to chill out. -
I hope Lucas puts the original versions on the DVD release. The New Hope special edition was such a piece of crap. I was so disappointed in how he ruined a bunch of classic scenes and didn't even bother to fix most of the mistakes in the original. The only special edition that actually improved the original was ESB. Luckily, I have the THX versions on laser, but I would love to have a back up copy on DVD. How about this for a TPM special edition, NO JAR JAR! That would definitely be an improvement.
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You would think think that both Spielberg and Lucas would love DVD. After all, the format has a really nice picture and super sound, all the better to show off a great FX fest. But these two guys who have more money than God say that the format is not ready for primetime yet. So, they won't release their movies on DVD. Never mind that they'll let the films be released on Pan and Scanned Smearavision(aka VHS)-so much for artistic integrity. It's about squeezing us poor saps for every last penny. Who says this isn't the Marvel Age of Corporate Greed and Corruption?
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Now, I understand the films won't be released on DVD for a while. I appreciate this. They will be incredible, no doubt about it. But keep this in mind, video release also includes Laserdisc, which is still an incredible format, almost as good as DVD, if not better if it weren't for those DVD extras.
I also have a question: where the fuck can I buy the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition on widescreen laserdisc? They have completely disappeared online, and I'm desperate. If any of you have any pertinent information, you will save the life of a lowly man in search of a dream. Please send me an e-mail. Click on my handle for an address.
And, although this may scare off some business for what I just requested, I don't mind Jar Jar Binks. Although he is annoying, I enjoy his character and what he adds. If you just look at the role of his character, he is important concerning the link between the story and the Gungans, and is really not that irritating. He is nothing compared to the horrors of Jake Lloyd. Now, I consider this movie to be incredible and by far in my top 5 films of the year, but Jake Lloyd still sucks.
Please help me with my search for the special editions. Please!!! No matter what you think of Jar Jar! Please!!! -
I don't own a dvd player. I don't know much about the technology. But I do know that all the whining about why a movie hasn't come out yet in that format will definitely make it come out faster. And by all means, badmouth the director of the film because that will surely make it come out faster. Ha Ha, suckers! Stop grasping! Life is here and now! Look around you! Life is full of good things like people and food and sex and movies and art and books and music! Your higher resolution image is of little use when the voices in your head keep screaming that you're a loser!
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I'm surprised Lucas isn't waiting until all 3 movies come out, then releasing the prequel trilogy all together. I was a kid when I first saw ROTJ on video, but it seemed like it came out over a year after the movie in theaters. Maybe it was just that movie to video was slower moving back then, or my sense of time at 10 years old wasn't very good.
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I Have to disregard with what sirnik said he can't even speak English
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When it eventually comes out on DVD, I would really like to see an extra on the disc, which would enable you to see the movie without Jar Jar. For gods sake, I almost prefere fucking Barney the Dinosaur. Almost, not quite...
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Hi there,
Heard on the radio today that the UK will get TPM on 4th April, a full day BEFORE the USA. Apparently George is trying to get a world-wide release in just 3 weeks.
UNFORTUNATELY, TPM will only be released on VHS and there is no date for the DVD version as George is said to be too busy !!!
Go figure.
Dinesh -
All ye who whine about what you didn't like in Phantom Menace: The movie obviously affected you enough to make you write about it. And Freud says that way way back in our subconsciouses the catharsis we feel when we hate something is the same passion that stirs us to love something.
The moral? Just shut up. -
Its a sad truth but George Lucas, although blessed with a great imagination(and an even greater marketing mind) has an absolutley abysmal track record of directing. don't get me wrong, I'm a Star Wars fanatic, but the best one is "Empire Strikes Back", the one with a experieneced director. For episode two, lets see him had over the wheel to someone else (and have i got some thoughts on that one). Let us leave Lucas to the marketing and publicity decisions shall we?
On the subject of DVD, I love DVD's, but lets wait for them to do the job properly. I would to own TPM now,hell, i spent most of last summer watching that film. But does that mean we should sit around directing all our aggresions towards a man who is responsable for giving us this film in the first place.
Can any one else reading these see a problem with all these people, who love the film so much that they can't wait for it be realsed; to the point of attacking the people who will give it to you? Foolish individuals indeed.
Now settle down and watch the originals or something before you hurt yourselfs.
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