MovieChat Forums > Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Discussion > Lucas and seat of the pants filmmaking

Lucas and seat of the pants filmmaking

posted 8 years ago by tim_sparks
8 replies | jump to latest

I admit to being a Star Wars fan and, thanks to free time spent over the years on the internet to get insight on intended ideas and so on, I get the storyline Lucas tried to craft portray and present but there are a few maddening things that make me want to pull the hair out of a wookie's armpits.

1. Count Chocula. I mean Doku. If Dooku was important why is he not touched on AT ALL in the Phantom Menance? HE WAS A JEDI! WHY WAS HIS STORY NOT TOUCHED UPON AT ALL until episode 2? My guess is, Lucas was thinking this up as he went along. He retrofitted Chocula's backstory in, but it doesnt work because supposedly Dooku was a Jedi during episode 1.. I forget was he Guy Kwando's master from the past? It's just bad storytelling to do a retrofit like this.

2. Darth Plagerism. Plageous. Again, SUPPOSEDLY he was the master of Sideous (wtf!) during episode 1? Yet NO MENTION OF HIM. NO APPEARANCE. NO ALLUSION. From watching episode 1 you have NO INDICATION that Sideous is not the top Sith Dog. Again Lucas was thinking this up as he went along. He retrofitted Plaggy's backstory in at the end of episode 3, but it doesnt work.

3. Annakin H. Christ on a Popsicle stick. Seriously? Annakin as a Christ figure with a mom and poppa was the force? Only later did they try to Plaggyfit this one in using the midochlorinewithbleach nonsense to try to claim Plaggy somehow forceBoned a woman to create Annakin.

4. Midichloroform. Never mentioned before, and barely mentioned after. Again, Lucas was thinking this up as he went along. As he realized it was dumb he dropped it.

speaking of such

5. Jar Jar Binky. Again, Lucas was thinking this up as he went along. As he realized the character of Jar Jar was dumb he pushed him to the side as much as he could.

6. Annakin born on Tattoine? WHY? why why why why? Why on earth would Darth Vader not know something was up when his plans got lost on, out of all the planets in the known realm, his HOME PLANET? Why did lucas do this? no clue. It simply wasn't thought through.

So, it is my theory that if Lucas could right now, with less than 6 months turnaround, redo all 3 scripts based on how the stories SHOULD be now that he has them formulated in his head and have someone direct redo's of episodes 1-3, now that he's not just ad libbing in some sort of "whose line it is anyways" free form thought script schitting contest.. they could be redone and be WAAAAY better and 80% more coherent.

So why the hell didn't he just think it through the first time? It's maddening. I hope Disney's approach is a lot more disciplined and mature!

Thoughts? Additions to moments where it's obvious Lucas was just shooting as things popped into his head? I didn't even tough on the "who ordered the damn clones" fun. :)

-TS

[–] gfarrell80 8 years ago

I feel you man.

Disney isn't looking like it is any more disciplined or mature.

What is done is done. Maybe one day we'll get a good Star Wars movie again.

[–] death-lord 8 years ago

I hope you keep waiting

Force awakens had real story

While new hope was overrated trash

[–] vampslayer33000 8 years ago

I'm glad somebody liked that Force Awakens drivel.

[–] Kruleworld 8 years ago

5. Jar Jar Binky. Again, Lucas was thinking this up as he went along. As he realized the character of Jar Jar was dumb he pushed him to the side as much as he could.

that wasn't Lucas's choice, that was force on him because of nasty internet drones saying he killed their childhood.

"He's dusted, busted and disgusted, but he's ok"

[–] death-lord 8 years ago

No

That was the awfulness of a character

Jar jar is largely forgotten while bb-8 has a larger cultural presence

That is no coincidence

[–] Volley2020 8 years ago

Some good points by the OP.

1. Not showing Count Dooku at all during the Phantom Menace was odd, he was actually Qui-Gon's master yet no mention of him is ever made by Master Jinn... What they did to Dooku in Episode III is worse though, where he loses the battle to Anakin for some ridiculous reason, and then doesn't tell Anakin that Palpatine is his master...

2. Plagueis the wise was indeed Sideous master, but only when he was still alive--which was at least 8 years before Episode I, about the same time the midichlorians were being manipulated inside Shmi Skywalker to create life, whether this was done physically without Shmi's knowledge of course, or using some sort of force projection is unknown.

3. Anakin was the result of a total fabrication, as revealed in III, not the true chosen one during creation, but in VI he actually became the chosen one by bringing balance to the force.

4. Midichlorians were a bad idea from the start. The force was supposed to be energy, not little creatures that reside in blood cells. That's just sloppy and unacceptable, it should be ret-conned out of the prequels.

5. Jar Jar is definitely the weakest portion of Episode I, unfortunately his character is directly and indirectly responsible for everything that happens to the good guys, starting with Qui-Gon nearly getting run over by a Trade Federation droid transport to Hosnian Prime being destroyed some 60 years later.

6. Yeah... Anakin should have been born somewhere else, and he should have never made C-3PO, a droid that resembles all other protocol droids in the galaxy.

Seat of the pants film making is all over the prequel trilogy, there are many more inconsistencies and issues the prequels have with the original trilogy. It's like they didn't go over every single line in the OT that references the past before writing the prequels.

[–] Conan-1982 8 years ago

This is my take on all these problems, just speculation

1. Count Chocula.

Lucas saw The Fellowship of the Ring and though : wow, Christopher Lee nailed it as Saruman ! I'm gonna copy that and give him a villain role, only I won't write a story for him because I'm too lazy.

2. Darth Plagerism.

Lucas didn't know how to make Vader turn to the Dark Side so he created this "legend of Darth Plagueis" to give Anakin a motivation to betray the Jedi and join Palpatine. Because he is a sh!tty writer.

3. Annakin H. Christ

Lucas is an idiot, period.

4. Midichloroform.

Same as above.

5. Jar Jar Binky.

Same a above.

6. Annakin born on Tattoine?

Pure fan-service and lack of imagination.

[–] Robot-Werewolf 8 years ago

Lucas saw The Felklowship of the Ring and though : wow, Christopher Lee nailed it as Saruman ! I'm gonna copy that and give him a villain role

Clones was done filming before Fellowship was in cinemas (there was less than five months between the release of the two films).