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[ManaByte]

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/new...9590002489446&dt=20050317195900&w=RTR&coview=

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Director George Lucas had a message for fans as he previewed a glimpse of the final tale in the billion-dollar "Star Wars" film franchise: leave the lightsabers at home, but don't forget the tissues.

"It's not like the first one. It's more emotional," said the director of the upcoming space adventure "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," which arrives in theaters May 19.

"I describe it as a 'Titanic' in space. It's a real tearjerker, and it will be received in a way that none of us can expect," he told theater owners at the ShoWest convention.

ShoWest is a major gathering of movie theater owners in the United States and a launch pad for Hollywood's summer movies.

Film studio 20th Century Fox teased a packed house here with the first six minutes of "Revenge of the Sith," marking the first time the scenes had been shown to audiences.

Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) wage a furious fight against their adversaries in a battle of deadly spaceships. In this episode, Skywalker becomes the notorious Darth Vader.

Lucas and the promotional clip did not divulge much about the "tearjerker" love story. But Senator Amidala (Natalie Portman), who married Skywalker in a secret ceremony witnessed in the last movie, plays a key role.

If Lucas's comparison to "Titanic" is to be believed, there must be heartbreak in "Revenge of the Sith" because 1997's tale of the doomed ocean liner stirred audiences with its tale of an ill-fated affair between characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Love can work wonders with movie audiences. "Titanic" is the highest-grossing movie of all time with more than $1.8 billion in worldwide ticket sales. In the No. 2 spot is "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" with $1.1 billion.

The "Star Wars" films are no box office losers, either, but there hasn't been much romance in them -- not yet, anyway.

The adventures began with 1977's "Star Wars" and have sold nearly $3.4 billion worth of tickets at global box offices.

 

[samus4ever]

What, did he kill off Jar Jar? =(

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

When will the day come that a movie finally takes down Titanic? The answer is a tearjerker...

 

[tedtropy]

So...are we going to see Natalie's portrait painted in the nude...or what?

 

[Socreges]

I describe it as a 'Titanic' in space.

This can be misleading. He doesn't mean 'Titanic' insofar as the epic, emotional movie, but rather the ship itself -- a horrible disaster. Lucas has never been so germane.

 

[silenttwn]

This can be misleading. He doesn't mean 'Titanic' insofar as the epic, emotional movie, but rather the ship itself -- a horrible disaster. Lucas has never been so germane.

:lol Hilarious. I'd say that about the second one, though. This third one looks really good.

 

[cvxfreak]

I guess those tissues have more than one use now.

 

[Amir0x]

We all know how good his prequels have been at showing emotion so far!

*Ba-da-chum*

 

[Hsieh]

Translation: The death scenes will be worse than the ones in Matrix Revolutions.

 

[evil ways]

I guess those tissues have more than one use now.

Why, were you planning to rub one out to Obi-Wan Kenobi?

 

[jett]

This can be misleading. He doesn't mean 'Titanic' insofar as the epic, emotional movie, but rather the ship itself -- a horrible disaster. Lucas has never been so germane.

:lol

 

[cvxfreak]

Why, were you planning to rub one out to Obi-Wan Kenobi?

:lol I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but I've seen them describe having multiple orgasms during the movie premieres for various movies.

 

[hXc_thugg]

Why, were you planning to rub one out to Obi-Wan Kenobi?

WHO TOLD YOU?!

 

[White Man]

So it's now dark, violent, and a tearjerker? This movie's got it all! I bet it even gives you a handjob as you're straining your eyes trying to detect Natalie Portman's acting ability.

 

[Andy787]

So...are we going to see Natalie's portrait painted in the nude...or what?

Please, Lucas?

 

[evil ways]

:lol I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, but I've seen them describe having multiple orgasms during the movie premieres for various movies.

That shit disturbs me, really. The other day I was watching the 2nd disc on the Episode 1 DVD that has all the behind the scenes stuff and featurettes and there's this scene of the opening night of Episode 1 at midnight and this one geek collapses to his knees and screams as soon as they tear his ticket in half so he could go inside.

 

[J2 Cool]

Portman's being drawn naked!! YES!

 

[Dan]

That shit disturbs me, really. The other day I was watching the 2nd disc on the Episode 1 DVD that has all the behind the scenes stuff and featurettes and there's this scene of the opening night of Episode 1 at midnight and this one geek collapses to his knees and screams as soon as they tear his ticket in half so he could go inside.

Would he have done that if there wasn't a camera present? Throw a camera on the scene and the guy gets the idea to do something absolutely crazy in the hopes of getting on TV or whatever as some ultimate fan.

Just saying, that might not have been completely without ulterior motive. It may not have been such a religious experience.

 

[cvxfreak]

Say, is that guy still waiting in line for episode 3? :lol

 

[ManaByte]

Say, is that guy still waiting in line for episode 3? :lol

Yes, and he's doing it for charity. Oh that's sooooo wrong.

 

[Alucard]

Lucas hyping up his vaulted franchise? Noooooooo...

And yeah, I really don't see Star Wars having many "tear jerking" moments. It's a fucking space drama. It has EXPLODING SPACESHIPS AND SWORDS MADE OF LIGHT. Not to mention that the acting in the franchise is not exactly exalted among film critics and regular viewers alike.

I want this movie to be good, but if Jar Jar lives I will eat a fucking glass bowl. Actually, at this point I don't care so much.

 

[nitewulf]

I bet it even gives you a handjob as you're straining your eyes trying to detect Natalie Portman's acting ability.

aaaah, finally a reason to actually catch it in the theater.

 

[Prince of Space]

Translation: The death scenes will be worse than the ones in Matrix Revolutions.

*Ding ding* We have a winner!

 

[Spectral Glider]

Well, Episodes 1 and 2 certainly made me cry, so why would 3 be any different?

 

[XMonkey]

This can be misleading. He doesn't mean 'Titanic' insofar as the epic, emotional movie, but rather the ship itself -- a horrible disaster. Lucas has never been so germane.

Bravo, sir. Well played

 

[Ninja Scooter]

if i catch anyone crying when i go to watch Episode 3, i'd feel it would be my duty as a human to kick their ass all over the theatre.

 

[soundwave05]

Yeah because there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Anakin leaves Tatooine or when his mother dies ... riiiiiiiight.

What's the last movie you saw where the first 2/3rds had flat, dull characters and then suddenly the last 1/3 was an emotional powerhouse?

If Lucas can make it out of scene's like

Spoiler

Padme's death speech

without embarrassing the actors, it'd be a minor miracle.

While Titanic is not a "deep" movie, its character's have 10000x more life and emotion than any of these prequel characters. Titanic's box office record will eventually be beaten, but it sure as hell won't be threatened by Episode III.

 

[Hitman]

Haha, Silly George Lucas, your not a good enough director to evoke enough emotion to make us cry.

 

[mrroboto]

well i think the whole obi-wan/anakin relationship and how it ends up turning out is pretty emotional. two best friends trying to kill each other is tragic and sad imo. it looks as if ewan was able to show some good emotion in the "you were the chosen one!" line. whether lucas can keep that sustained is the question mark.

 

[DonasaurusRex]

sad thing about this whole trilogy is if the 3rd movie lives up to expectations then the first two will be utterly forgotten....besides the yoda scene in part 2 which is just badass.

 

[Triumph]

That's funny! I for one think that Lucas is a titanic douche who couldn't direct himself out of a wet paper bag... but I've been told that I'm harsh.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

So it's now dark, violent, and a tearjerker? This movie's got it all! I bet it even gives you a handjob as you're straining your eyes trying to detect Natalie Portman's acting ability.

That's a bit harsh! She can act...but when the material is written and directed by Lucas (and I've read he doesn't do much of a job 'directing' nowadays ) it can be a chore...

I mean DID YOU HEAR that corny dialogue from episode two? the ridiculous circumstances? the totally unbelievable love story? One prof of mine tried to pass it off as Courtly Love through conventions found in Chaucer's works (I know I know...odd comparisons...but he's a medievalist and a star wars fan...go figure) but I just think Lucas can't write romance.

 

[mrklaw]

"It's not like the first one. It's more emotional,"

What's he talking about? After 10 minutes of Jar-Jar I was crying like a baby.

 

[Fresh Prince]

:lol

NO.

 

[Zensetsu]

So it's now dark, violent, and a tearjerker? This movie's got it all! I bet it even gives you a handjob as you're straining your eyes trying to detect Natalie Portman's acting ability.

ZING! I salute you.

 

[Jill Sandwich]

nothing to see here

 

[human5892]

THEY'RE ANIMALS

I HATE THEM

 

[8bit]

I am already crying*.







*(Tears of relief since this nonsense is nearly over and I won't have to put up with anymore of fatbeard's pretentious shit).

 

[Prospero]

Isn't that the same thing lucas said about Attack of the Clones? That it was going to be an eipc romance or some such?

At least in AOTC, I got the impression that John Williams' score was ridiculing the romantic angle instead of going along with it.

 

[Manics]

Translation: The death scenes will be worse than the ones in Matrix Revolutions.

In homage to Matrix Revolutions, Lucas will feature a scene with Anakin fighting against 1,000 Jar Jar Binks. Of course Anakin wins and that is why it's such a sad moment to see Jar Jar go.

 

[Agent Dormer]

So it's now dark, violent, and a tearjerker? This movie's got it all! I bet it even gives you a handjob as you're straining your eyes trying to detect Natalie Portman's acting ability.

That sounds awesome! I can't wait!

 

[DarthWoo]

Speaking of Titanic, does anyone else remember that old "TIE-Tanic" parody movie, with Star Wars elements spliced into Titanic scenes? I did a quick look through Google, but can't seem to actually find a downloadable copy.

 

[DarthWoo]

Ok, just in case any of you had never seen it before, I found a place to download TIEtanic:

http://completelydifferent.co.uk/videos/

 

[Amir0x]

Lucas can't write.

Fix'd for accuracy.

 

[COCKLES]

Portman is terrific in Closer. She's just horribly miscast in the Star Wars movies.

 

[ManaByte]

Small thing about this from a ShoWest press conference (it's at the bottom of the page):
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19681

On a final Star Wars note, I did see Lucas again later on at an Awards Banquet press conference (he's the recipient of the ShoWest Galactic Achievement Award). While answering questions, he did mention that he's pretty confident Episode III will get a PG-13 rating, and he's also been telling crowds that this final installment is quite the tear- jerker. He told us that the people close to him who have seen it, actually cried. Interesting.

 

[soundwave05]

And by people close to him, he probably means his kids and yes-man Rick McCallum.



Seriously though I like George even though I don't like the prequels. I hope he can deliver a somewhat solid movie with Episode III because it represents a lot for him (the completion of a huge saga) and it would be nice personally to enjoy one of the prequels.

 

[ManaByte]

And by people close to him, he probably means his kids and yes-man Rick McCallum.

Spielberg and Coppola. They're always the first two people outside of Lucasfilm to see the Star Wars movies. I think he's shown it to Cameron and Rodriguez as well as they are digital buddies.

 

[soundwave05]

Spielberg probably, Coppola probably doesn't even know what the hell is going on.

Then again Spielberg was gushing about Episode 2, and I really thought that film was even worse than Episode I, so we'll see.

I'm hoping for just a decent movie, like something solid as in "Temple Of Doom" decent.

 

[Shinobi]

sad thing about this whole trilogy is if the 3rd movie lives up to expectations then the first two will be utterly forgotten....besides the yoda scene in part 2 which is just badass.

Why would that be sad? The importance of the first two movies were ridiculously overrated by fanboys for years anyhow. All that matters is seeing Anakin turn into Darth...fuck the other shit.