Actually a planet wide city

4 Rules to make SW great again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_joDNOpeWWo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I hate that video.

"Rule #1. Star Wars takes place in the frontier"

No, it doesn't have to be. Cloud City was populated. The Death Star was populated. sh*tty rule, as a Star Wars story is perfectly capable of being good if it doesn't take place on the frontier.

"2. The future has to look old"

No, it doesn't. Granted, some areas should look old, like Tatooine because of the living conditions there, but other areas like upper Coruscant should look new, because it provides contrast.

"3. No midichlorians"

Dumb rule, no matter how you feel about the midichlorians in E1, we all know there's no real reason to reference them again, and the rule feels like a waste of space. Actually, I'd love it if Abrams put midichlorians in to spite us. Luke would be checking the roster of his Jedi Academy, and then he'd say "nahh this kid's midichlorians are too low, oh but wow look at the MC on this kid!"

"4. No cute stuff"

Seems like this guy's heavily imposing his personal preference rather than trying to speak for the fans. We might hate jar jar, but plenty of kids love him. Besides, Lucas didn't know how to do cute stuff. The IP's in the hands of Disney now, and they are the most qualified to cute it up. How else are you going to sell all this merchandise to kids?

Except Abrams doesn't hate it.

"he praised a set of "golden rules" spelt out by Star Wars fans on the internet as anticipation for the films grow.

"4. No cute stuff"

I'll always disagree with this one, too. There's always been a good dose of 'cute' in Star Wars from the get-go. Just because all of us old-school fans are in our 30s-50s now doesn't mean Abram's is obligated change Star Wars to cater to us.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: there are countless engaging, entertaining, and well-made movies out there that are just for grownups. Maybe the 'anti-cute' crowd might think about broadening their horizons and watching some of those.

I'm given to understand Hayden Christiansen and Natalie Portman actually disliked each other before Star Wars and Lucas ignored their particular... dynamic...

What's actually more astonighing is that they were dating and pretty attracted to one another. Natalie ended a relationship with someone else to be with Hayden. They had dressing room visits that, I would have to imagine, had nothing to do with reading lines.

At least if they'd hated each other, that would have explained a few things...

It'd be nice to hear that maybe SOME people believed in midichlorians but there was debate over their existance, whether they actually indicated strength in the Force, etc.

This way you don't just ignore them but you bring it up in a way that lets you sweep them under the rug.

"Oh, yes... i've heard of them. The debate over that theory went on for many years without conclusion. They never stopped investigating them and even some Jedi simply accepted them as fact. I suppose the Jedi of those eras had the time and resources to put toward those sorts of things but the debate still went on for centuries, regardless. We don't have those luxuries these days. Perhaps, someday, we will."

Take my money and entertain me. I'll pay extra for IMAX and more if you don't make it 3D.

All too often 3D is just an excuse to poke me in the eye with a sword, arrow or light sabre. I fence foil and a smattering of sabre, I get poked or bashed in the face mask often enough the see it for real 4 times a week. It doesn't make a poor story better and we should be over the whole laziness that 3D creates as a result.

What if, and I'm just throwing this out there, instead of starting off with 7, 8, 9, we started with 10, 11, 12.

We already know they're not doing that but, if they thought of it, I can imagine it would have been fun to contemplate. It certainly fits with Star Wars, seeing as Episode 4, 5 and 6 were produced before 1, 2 and 3

The original trilogy finished up in the early 1980's... so it has been about 30 years since the Ewoks defeated the Empire (thanks to some help by humans and a wookiee that showed up just in time to join their rebellion!). That's more time than passed between Episodes 3 and 4. It would mean the main characters in 7 - 9 around some other group of characters (the actors for the main characters are too old to play those characters in events immediately after Episode 6).

I happen to know a good group of heroes that would be great! Especially the twilek doctor! And an actress to play her!! If you can be queen of a whole planet at 15, then I... I mean SHE can be a doctor!

What if, and I'm just throwing this out there, instead of starting off with 7, 8, 9, we started with 10, 11, 12.

No thank you. I don't need that happen again. When he did Star Wars (A New Hope), GL had no idea it would become what it has. Plopping you down in the middle didn't matter if it didn't work out. As it is, we got a prequel trilogy that didn't live up to the awesomeness that Darth Vader was. I would rather they work on keeping things consistent going forward.

My rules if I were writing them for a Star Wars flim.

1: The series is called Star Wars not Jedi Wars or Force Wars.

The Jedi and the Force should definitely be a big part of the story but the story shouldn't be solely focused on them. And for the love of all that was ever sane please keep the lightsaber duels that involve participants bouncing around like ping pong balls to a minim.

2: No nine year olds flying starfighters!

3: The Climatic battle of the trilogy should be at least a two front battle with focus on every front.

Endor was a great example. You had Lando in the Space battle, Luke, Palpy, and Vader on the Death Star, and Chewie, Han Leia, and the droids on the ground. Naboo tried to be this but the nine year old space hero, and focus on Jar Jar for the army battle hurt it badly. Coruscant should have been this but instead was basically the Anakin and ObWan show with guest stars Palpy, Dooku, and Grievious.

4: Properly develop characters besides Jedi, Sith or politicians.

The reason why the Battle of Coruscant couldn't properly show a multifront clash was because their hero and villain groups that were actually fighting were focused on one part of the battle. They didn't have any major pilot characters who weren't boarding the Invisible Hand so the space battle couldn't be focused on once the ship was boarded. And other than throwing Padme and Jar Jar into a ground battle they had no one to use in the ground fight.

5: Include some space battles that aren't one sided massacres, and don't involve suicide attacks or boarding actions to turn a one sided massacre around.

This is a major worry for me based on the Director's Star Trek flims. Every space battle shown on screen in those flims, and even those mentioned has been a one sided massacre with some of them being turned by either kamikaze runs, boarding parties, or both.

It's the anachronistic feel I want to see, Stormtroopers on Dewbacks. It's the aliens in a cantina and everything that's clearly going on with all these species and that feel of the fact I am only watching one of what are a great many tales unfolding in my field of view. A lot going on in those wretched scum and villainy hives.

I want all the little doo dads and bits and pieces on starships, not something that looked like it rolled off a car lot. I want things to look like they've been rained on, shot at, sweat in, etc.

I want to still be asking myself questions about things in the last scene while they've moved on to the next one. I want to feel like I have to jog to keep up with what's going on.

I want surly sarcastic gritty wit to shake hands with fresh faced idealistic naivete and then kick the bad guys F-ing @$$es.

I want Star Wars.

3: The Climatic battle of the trilogy should be at least a two front battle with focus on every front.

Endor was a great example. You had Lando in the Space battle, Luke, Palpy, and Vader on the Death Star, and Chewie, Han Leia, and the droids on the ground. Naboo tried to be this but the nine year old space hero, and focus on Jar Jar for the army battle hurt it badly. Coruscant should have been this but instead was basically the Anakin and ObWan show with guest stars Palpy, Dooku, and Grievious.

I gotta disagree on this one. We all like huge, multi-faceted battles, but story has to come first. The prequel story is about Galactic subterfuge and strife gradually working its way up to an intimate confrontation between two specific individuals... it's kind of the opposite formula of the OT. I'm not saying the prequels are better or anything, but they'd have gained nothing from cutting to, say, Captain Typho & co. battling clone troopers on Coruscant during the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight.

Also, people are just too hard on poor Jake Lloyd... he was just a little kid, fer cryin' out loud!

What if Joss Whedon wrote Star Wars?

Well, he sure buggered-up ALIEN!

I wonder how different the prequels would have been if they had been shot immediately after the classics? Same story, but different actors, limited CGI capabilities (which mean a greater focus on animatronics and acting), and a Lucas who was still being influenced by the inspiration and genius that gave us the originals.

Yeah, a climatic battle is a bad rule imo.

It's an unnecessary restraint when a movie can already be good without one. ESB and ANH both did not have these sort of battles, and I think the Battle of Yavin was still the best battle because it was very tense. It evoked a feeling of old war serials that maybe The Battle of Hoth did as well.

The slapstick has always been there, the stupid humor has always been there - we're just adult enough now to notice it.

I don't think these elements in the OT and prequel trilogy are comparable. In the OT these were good moments but didn't take away from the action, or at the very least weren't occurring constantly. Neither of those can be said about Phantom Menace.

3: The Climatic battle of the trilogy should be at least a two front battle with focus on every front.

Endor was a great example. You had Lando in the Space battle, Luke, Palpy, and Vader on the Death Star, and Chewie, Han Leia, and the droids on the ground. Naboo tried to be this but the nine year old space hero, and focus on Jar Jar for the army battle hurt it badly. Coruscant should have been this but instead was basically the Anakin and ObWan show with guest stars Palpy, Dooku, and Grievious.

I gotta disagree on this one. We all like huge, multi-faceted battles, but story has to come first. The prequel story is about Galactic subterfuge and strife gradually working its way up to an intimate confrontation between two specific individuals... it's kind of the opposite formula of the OT. I'm not saying the prequels are better or anything, but they'd have gained nothing from cutting to, say, Captain Typho & co. battling clone troopers on Coruscant during the Obi-Wan/Anakin fight.

Also, people are just too hard on poor Jake Lloyd... he was just a little kid, fer cryin' out loud!

I disagree but everyone is welcome to their opinion. IMO Coruscant was the decisive battle of one of the largest wars in galactic history. Not the final battle but the one which most people will consider the climax of the war. Like how people consider Lee's surrender the climax of the US Civil War even though some southern armies and at least one ship kept fighting afterwards. I feel that deserves far more attention than ROTS gave the battle.

And I don't blame Jake Loyd. He did a good job of acting like a kid in Anakin's place. The problem was that the idea of making Anakin a kid was so absurdly bad that Loyd couldn't salvage it though he gave it a valiant effort.

We are about to find out that Star Wars is a product of GL's genius, and it is harder to make an actual Star Wars film than we imagine. I am a huge fan of the prequel trilogy. One coherent story told across 30 years. Come on, never been done for a reason.

We are about to find out that Star Wars is a product of GL's genius, and it is harder to make an actual Star Wars film than we imagine. I am a huge fan of the prequel trilogy. One coherent story told across 30 years. Come on, never been done for a reason.

And still hasn't. At least not coherently.

We are about to find out that Star Wars is a product of GL's genius, and it is harder to make an actual Star Wars film than we imagine. I am a huge fan of the prequel trilogy. One coherent story told across 30 years. Come on, never been done for a reason.

Agreed 100%.

Since the purchase I thought you are losing the visionary creator/artist that gave us Star Wars in the first place, anything else is simply not going to be Star Wars but well produced fan films. It's like Van Gogh selling the rights to his works and someone making "new Van Goghs", see how silly that is?

We are about to find out that Star Wars is a product of GL's genius, and it is harder to make an actual Star Wars film than we imagine. I am a huge fan of the prequel trilogy. One coherent story told across 30 years. Come on, never been done for a reason.

Actually, Richard Linklater, Julie Delphy and Ethan Hawke did a way more consistent job in their 30 years working on the Before Sunrise series.

Agreed 100%.

Since the purchase I thought you are losing the visionary creator/artist that gave us Star Wars in the first place, anything else is simply not going to be Star Wars but well produced fan films. It's like Van Gogh selling the rights to his works and someone making "new Van Goghs", see how silly that is?

Yeah, silly and wrong. That is a really, really bad comparison.

Star Wars was never the product of one man. It has been an enterprise from the moment it started and it shouldn’t matter that the person who set things in motion leaves.

George lucas is a great 'idea's man' but he shouldnt write dialogue or direct. During the pre-quels, He was also surrounded by 'yes men' who wouldnt challenge him when he came up with poor ideas.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gyhO2uRA4FM

George Lucas ran into the same problem as anyone highly successful does... surrounded by sycophants and yes men who rarely offer any form of criticism let alone constructive criticism to keep the weak ideas out.

We are about to find out that Star Wars is a product of GL's genius, and it is harder to make an actual Star Wars film than we imagine. I am a huge fan of the prequel trilogy. One coherent story told across 30 years. Come on, never been done for a reason.

It wasn't like there was a lot that could be forgotten about the prequel era from what the OT told us about it.

George Lucas ran into the same problem as anyone highly successful does... surrounded by sycophants and yes men who rarely offer any form of criticism let alone constructive criticism to keep the weak ideas out.

Refer to the Clone Wars special features where they talk about the Zillo Beast on the Dug homeworld. Everyone else in the studio is thinking that it would be hell to animate the thing on Coruscant - Enter George Lucas who says "Wouldn't it be great to see it on Coruscant like King Kong?" and everyone says yes.

By far the worst of all Clone Wars episodes in my opinion...

George Lucas ran into the same problem as anyone highly successful does... surrounded by sycophants and yes men who rarely offer any form of criticism let alone constructive criticism to keep the weak ideas out.

Refer to the Clone Wars special features where they talk about the Zillo Beast on the Dug homeworld. Everyone else in the studio is thinking that it would be hell to animate the thing on Coruscant - Enter George Lucas who says "Wouldn't it be great to see it on Coruscant like King Kong?" and everyone says yes.

This sounds more to me like George Lucas challenging his team to go beyond what they think of as their limitations. Dave Filoni says this happens a lot--the animation team considers something too difficult, time-consuming, or expensive to animate, and Lucas challenges them to do it.

George Lucas ran into the same problem as anyone highly successful does... surrounded by sycophants and yes men who rarely offer any form of criticism let alone constructive criticism to keep the weak ideas out.

Refer to the Clone Wars special features where they talk about the Zillo Beast on the Dug homeworld. Everyone else in the studio is thinking that it would be hell to animate the thing on Coruscant - Enter George Lucas who says "Wouldn't it be great to see it on Coruscant like King Kong?" and everyone says yes.

By far the worst of all Clone Wars episodes in my opinion...

WHHAAA!?!? The worst? Really? How can you forget about the poison Snapple on Mandalore?? That epidsode is by the worst ever. Peroid. The Zilo beast ones, while not the best, were at least entertaining and helped move the story along. The poison Snapple ones were actually burden to the soul. I felt like Alex in A Clockwork Orange trying to get through that one!!

And I totally agree, it was the yes men like Rick Macullum that would not stand up to George that ruined the prequels. For the originals, he would listen to so many ideas and thoughts, people were not scarred of him yet. I can't believe the Kersh would ever to agree to have a poop or fart joke in his movie! I could imagine a younger George saying to Irvin, hey, let's have that Tauntaun fart at Han, and the old man giving this look 'o death. For the prequels, nobody would dare stand up and say no!