R2D2 (Kenny Baker) Replaced with CGI for Ep2 269
BirdTor writes: "Kenny Baker, the diminutive actor who played R2D2 in all of the Star Wars up until now has been dumped. George Lucas plans to use a computer-generated R2D2 instead. I don't know, there's just something charming about the Kenny-driven R2D2 bumbling along that I doubt the new 3D-generated R2D2 will be able to capture."
Occum's Razor (Score:2)
My Reasoning:
Re:What an actor!... uh? (Score:1)
Is there a Mike Roch [yahoo.com] in here, anyone seen Mike Roch [yahoo.com]?
Kind of surprising... (Score:1)
Interesting that you tell a bunch of computer geeks that one of their favorite star wars characters will be computer generated, and they all get angry. Don't we like computers? Perhaps we have a human side to us after all, and realize that for some things computers are not the answer. Could it be that was have an artistic side after all? (okay, programming is an art form, but...). Just some food for thought.
Hmm that's weird. (Score:1)
Yet you are going to hate the prequels, because he is replacing people acting like robots, with computer generated robots.
I'd say Kenny didn't do a very good job acting like a robot, then, eh?
-thomas
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
Re:smoking crack (Score:1)
Evidence:
* Jar-Jar Binks
* Samuel Jackson
far better evidence than either of those is that beard of his-- he could be a stunt double for one of those bear-creatures on hoth, man! the guy is off the wall!
but the point of this post (what?) is to point out what i'm sure was an honest mistake-- you seem to have listed samuel jackson in the "case for Lucas on crack". now, maybe you meant to type:
* Fact that Samuel Jackson didn't just go whup darth maul's raggedy ass himself
for ep1, sam jackson's sitting in a room with a bunch of puppets dude. give him a break. once he's got a lightsaber in his hands and he's cutting down clones you'll understand that Lucas has obviously been taking acid with old sammy! watching mace "your ass ain't talking your way out of this" windu kick ass in ep2 is going to be soooooo trippy, dude. yeah.
Re:You shouldn't bash Toy Story... (Score:2)
In it, he purports that the more "cartoony" the character art, the more closely the viewer can identify with it; the more realistic the character art, the more the viewer dissociates from it.
As evidence, look to Dilbert versus Mary Worth.
--
another blow for star wars (Score:1)
Re:another step down the path of lameness (Score:1)
Re:George Lucas to replace staff with CGI characte (Score:1)
Rick McCallum's plot summary: We meet Anakin Skywalker when he's a young boy [filmmaker] and we watch him become a Jedi- knight [rich filmmaker],then a Jedi-master [very rich filmmaker]. Then in the background of the Clone-Wars,[terrible 70's and 80's sci-fi movies] he becomes a great hero, and on that moment pride, ego and selfishness take over and he chooses to go to the Dark Side. And rest of the movie [his life] is really about the consequences of what happens when you don't take responsibilities of your own actions, and when you think you're better than anybody else.
hmmmmm......
Re:another step down the path of lameness (Score:1)
If you didn't know it was CGI before you saw it, would you be sitting there with pen in hand (figuratively) waiting to tear apart each CGI part?
While it isn't the most exciting, it is essential to the 'back story' nature of Ep. I. This was the movie that is the 'first chapter' of the story we are viewing. Every first chapter does some sort of back story viewing. And let's face it, that back story is important in understanding how things got so f**ked up by Ep IV. I mean, where would you want to start to explain how the Empire was formed, and a basically good man was turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader and helped hunt down and destroy the people he was supposedly a part of. There's a lot of back story to explore there, and I'm happy that Lucas chose to let us explore it. I'd expect the next two movies to get progressively more dark and exciting.
Get with the times, George! (Score:2)
mod_perl is the only way to go!
>
Now hiring experienced client- & server-side developers
Re:Sue Lucas under Americans with Disabilities Act (Score:1)
How un-PC. The preferred term is "doorstop".
It'll be like a Disney cartoon (Score:1)
-B
benjones@superutility.net
Re:The greatest part... (Score:1)
>Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America
GW..is that you?! Hey, I haven't seen you since the RNC in Philly! Yeah, nice speech, BTW. But onto the tropic, this is just plain WRONG!! Lucas is *DESTROYING* all my childhood memories of SW by altering & replacing the elements that made it so freakin' cool to begin with! Stop screwing with the originals, Georgie!
How about Yoda? (Score:1)
Did I use enough bold/italics tabs?
--
Culture is knowing the correct orders of magnitude...
They're replacing humans, too. (Score:1)
See this SF Gate article [sfgate.com]. I had read about it in the SF Chronicle or Examiner, and this is the first reference I could find online -- I am sure there are others.
-- Chris Goldman
Re:maybe it will work in this case... (Score:1)
I'm going to miss the r2d2 waddle.. (Score:1)
Re:R2D2's on Display (Score:2)
Don't know if it is a mock-up though. Lots of cool stuff like the star destroyer and x-wing are purported to be original production effects models, but some of the other stuff was mocked-up (Like the Darth Vader costume IIRC)
Re:another step down the path of lameness (Score:2)
I knew there were models in the originals, but they were still impressive.
I had lowered my expectations a bit by the time I saw it too. The only way I made it through was by mentally replacing JarJar with Lisa Kudrow. It was a much more entertaining movie after that.
Oh my god... (Score:3)
I'm an idiot (Score:2)
Must....drink....coffee...
You shouldn't bash Toy Story... (Score:2)
>little bit of a way to go
It's hardly fair to trash Toy Story for not being photorealistic.
Remember, Toy Story came out five YEARS ago (1995)... that's an eternity in the computer (and thus, the CGI) world.
And Toy Story II is not a fair testiment as to the true abilities of Pixar. Since TS2 is a *sequel* to the original, it MUST keep the same visual style. Even though Pixar is certianly CAPABLE of a much more sophisticated CGI now than in 1995, they could NOT make TS2 photorealistic. And who's to say that photorealism would be appropiate in a Pixar/Disney production anyway? Jobs/Lasseter have done great things with Pixar's visual style as it is. I don't think a little "cartoony" visual style detracts at all.
Can you inagine a photorealistic Woody and Buzz Lightyear? I didn't think so. That wouldn't have fit within the style of the Toy Story universe.
john
Resistance is NOT futile!!!
Haiku:
I am not a drone.
Remove the collective if
That sucks.. (Score:2)
Re:How long until Lucas has a completely CGI movie (Score:1)
I'm sure he will do the same thing if VirtualR2D2 1.0 does not measure up to what he wants.
That's the thing everybody forgets about Jar Jar. I hated him as much as anybody, but not because the CGI was bad... it was because the script and voice acting was beyond redemption. (That, and the insistence of the RogerRabit-esque moment when Qui Gon pinched Jar Jar's tongue... how sadly pedestrian to think modern viewers would be impressed with that.)
What exactly did the actor do? (Score:2)
Re:Losing the spirit (Score:1)
Evan Reynolds evanthx@hotmail.com
They killed Kenny! (Score:1)
Re:That sucks.. (Score:1)
Pure Tradgedy (Score:3)
It's the same sh*t he's pulling with DVDs. The man is too full of himself to remember where he came from: story telling.
The greatest part... (Score:4)
Re:The greatest part... (Score:2)
Technological First? (Score:2)
We humans spent all that time worried that robots were going to replace us in the workplace. I think our fears were misplaced.
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Re:Relevant Mark Hamill Quote: (Score:4)
Re:Artoo - and Star Wars - you will be missed. (Score:2)
You did realize that the new Star Wars movies are *PREQUELS*, right? That means they happened (time-wise) *before* the old Star Wars trilogy.
Before the clone wars. Before the growth of the Empire. You're seeing the junkheaps and battle-scarred X-wing fighters, because that happens *years* after the story of the prequels...
It makes total sense that things look new and fresh and clean in the new SW movies... things are about to get nastier, and yes there's going to be a whole lot more degeneration around - that's the point!
Re:The greatest part... (Score:2)
Media blitz is probably one reason I was a little disappointed by Ep1, but the main reason is that, IMHO, it just didn't measure up to the originals. Maybe I'm just too old to properly enjoy Star Wars now, I don't know. I haven't given up hope on the next 2, though: the idea of watching Anikin turn evil and telling Obi-Wan to piss off has a certain built-in entertainment value attached to it
Re:another step down the path of lameness (Score:2)
I know a lot of lawyers who've advanced their careers through major tax law cases, but it doesn't mean I want to see a 2 hour movie I waited forever for about it.
Re:Tremendous change is coming (Score:2)
Re:Sic transit (Score:2)
Good point-- everything they use is leftover stuff from the Old Republic. And thought XWings are built during the Rebellion, they saw constant combat, as opposed to Naboo fighters, which had never been used due to the peace of the Republic.
Shiney isn't the problem. The two problems with SW:E1 were:
1) Nothing looked usable. Everything was a show-room model, not something you would buy on a day to day basis. The stuff could have been bent, broken, dirty and scratched, but to me it still would have looked like concept models.
2) Nothing had texture. Texture seems to be the lost art of moviemaking, now that everything is CGI. Muppets and costumes have great texture and subtlety. CGI creatures look too 'raytraced'-- like someone painted over plastic wrap.
We're losing the personality from these movies. You couldn't make the Dark Crystal from a cartoon or CGI. Lucas seems to enamored of the latest technologies, and has left behind the old ones which are still useful.
Re:The greatest part... (Score:2)
Also, a lot of it probably does have to do with expectation. Many of us saw the original trilogy when we were little kids, and willing to overlook the original problems. Sure, Jake Lloyd did a pretty poor acting job in the original, but Mark Hamill sucked pretty bad in Star Wars as well (and only became tolerable in the last two films).
Yeah, the CGI wasn't perfect, but neither were the effects in the first Star Wars. They got better with time, as I expect them to in the later films of this trilogy.
I don't know. I actually have higher expectations for the next two movies, and I enjoyed the first despite its several semi-major flaws. It was fun.
Not to mention it included Natalie Portman, but I'd hate to feel the trolls...
- Jeff A. Campbell
- VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com [velocinews.com])
Re:only the beginning (Score:2)
I even heard there is a program that immitates that judge on the deCSS case. Problem is, nobody can tell the difference between the program and the real McCoy as both make really bad decisions.
Now, let's imagine when they write an Al Gore CGI program. At least it will have more life to it before it runs itself into an endless loop of changing its political position. Even if the PC loses a few flip-flops, it can still borrow some from the program and keep on running.
RD
Re: (Score:2)
The Irony! (Score:2)
2000 - George Lucas opts for a CGI Artoo instead of a real actor.
Perhaps a new reading of THX-1138 is in order? Perhaps Lucas what actually portraying his utopian vision of humanity's future rather than the dystopian hell everyone assumed he was talking about.
I guess it only took him 30 years to lose his soul.
-carl
Another man replaced by a computer... (Score:2)
I wish him best of luck.
Vote [dragonswest.com] Naked 2000
Re:The greatest part... (Score:2)
Sure, Jake Lloyd did a pretty poor acting job in the original, but Mark Hamill sucked pretty bad in Star Wars as well (and only became tolerable in the last two films).
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Erm, by original I mean 'Episode 1'.
Damn prequel/sequel confusion.
- Jeff A. Campbell
- VelociNews (http://www.velocinews.com [velocinews.com])
I think the little guy is confused... how cute. (Score:3)
Then he follows that up with, "The progress in digital and computer technology has been frightening. It was light years on from when I was in the first Star Wars movie."
I think these conflicting statements can easily be summed up in a few words...
Beeeeeeeep BEeeeeeeep Beeeeeep!!! EEEEooooo EEEEoooo EEEEooooo!!
-thomas
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
Re:Relevant Mark Hamill Quote: (Score:2)
The scary thing is, I can see this. Lucas has always seemed obsessed about the 'vision'. He's got his own ideas how things should look and how they'd go, and the more people he has to get to help him realize that vision, the more diluted it gets by everyone else's contributions.
Makes perfect sense seen from that point of view. The fewer other 'personalities' involved, the more tightly you can control the outcome.
Purity of vision is a double-edged sword, though. Some writers just desperately need editors riding herd on them. It may be exactly the masterpiece the writer wanted, but if nobody other than the writer can understand it because nobody with sufficient clout could sit him down and say 'this doesn't make sense', well...
-- Bryan Feir
Depressing (Score:2)
Re:Easy. (Score:3)
R2D2 Replaced with CGI Script (Score:3)
use CGI qw/:standard/;
use CGI::Carp;
if(defined url_param('action')){
for (url_param('action')) {
if (/respond/) { beep(2); }
elsif {/move/} { wobble;
beep(1};
whirr(2);
move(url_param('direction'));
}
elsif {/trapped/} { hack('imperial_comp');
beep(2);
}
else { #default
random_beep();
}
}
}
--
Re:It's pretty obvious why this happened (Score:2)
A CGI R2-D2? Why not? (Score:2)
First of all, I'm not sure how much on-set actor interaction you'll lose with a CGI R2, which some people fear will lessen the performance value. He/it is, after all, a very non-anthropomorphic, trash-can shaped character who moves and emotes entirely differently than everything around it. (Keep in mind the sound effects come later.) And given the complexity of dealing with the props and Anthony Daniel's C3PO costume, the droid scenes are probably heavily scripted, with no improvisation, and thus necessarily limited. Aside from timing the slap of Daniels' hand on R2's head, there's no real reason to have Baker on set, although you could still have him be his own stand-in (like Ahmed Best did for Jar-Jar) and just erase him from the shots. I don't mean to keep dumping on Kenny, but if the radio-controlled R2 version were good enough, he would have been out of that suit years ago.
If there's one thing CGI does well, it's smooth metal surfaces, so it'll look fine. And while I hope we won't see R2 flying or jumping rope, going CG would allow him to move a little bit more. As it is he usually just stands and beeps. In fact, aside from the classic whimpering pass-out after he gets shot by the Jawas, he/it hasn't exactly been giving Robert De Niro a run for his money (and even that performance was more about the sound effect than Kenny Baker taking a fall).
Finally, if I'm not mistaken, we've already seen a CGI R2 several times. The new X-Wing Death Star attack flyby in the Star Wars special edition, with R2 in the back seat, was all CGI (done on a Mac, by the way). And I'm pretty sure the shots from "Phantom Menace" where R2 is working on the outside of that chrome Jedi ship were also CG.
You have to understand how these things evolve in a film production. It's far from diabolical. Here's my theory: Someone probably produced a very good CGI model of an R2-style droid for use in a background scene, or to populate a flock of droids. That file could have been picked up and used for the Episode 2 "animatics," the detailed low-rez version of the film used to plan shots and effects. Somewhere along the line, someone decided why not go CGI.
All in all, I'd say if you were going to safely go CGI with any "Star Wars" character, it'd have to be R2, though you could make a strong case for doing Yoda CG, since the muppet version looks odd these days. And in that case you could easily give Frank Oz the digital inputs that would allow him to perform a CG Yoda completely. It would look BETTER than any physical puppet.
Re:Just some random comments (Score:2)
They can't destroy R2, he shows up in the last three movies! Duh!
Re:Sic transit (Score:2)
But for texture, I refer you to Toy Story 2 and Dinosaur. TS2 had well-done grunge on occasion, and D had great fur, great rocks and great vegetation (shame it had nothing else going for it...).
Things are getting better in CGI-land.
But realistic CGI is no match for reality. Reality is fractal and random, both to a degree that can never be matched by simulation. Yes, "never" is strong language. Yes, I do think it's correct to say "never."
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another step down the path of lameness (Score:2)
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fanatic, but I'd love to see a good quality Star Wars movie. If you can tell that it's CGI, it's just a waste of screen time.
I wish he'd get back into myths and legends like the originals. Wars over trade routes aren't exactly the most exciting plot glue.
Artoo - and Star Wars - you will be missed. (Score:5)
It's a new generation, and 20 years later, the new star wars isn't star wars... it's the Matrix trilogy. (Yes, there are two sequels already in the works.)
Re:What an actor! (Score:2)
Vote [dragonswest.com] Naked 2000
CGI? Use servlets! (Score:2)
__
Cartoons... (Score:2)
In Star Wars, you could just tell that was a real plastic dustbin waddling around.. I personally didn't know if it was a person inside or a remote-controlled thing, but if they make a CG thing it would spoil the magic...
I think Kenny Baker himself puts it best:
Re:A CGI R2-D2? Why not? (Score:2)
Seems to me that R2 started each movie as smooth metal, but by time you started getting to the end (before the celebratory ending scenes, mind you!) he was much less smooth, and probably had more blast marks than metal on his surface.
Losing the spirit (Score:4)
One of the reasons I disliked EPI so much was the disconnect between the physical and the CGI elements, particularly in terms of the actors. I get fired up when Han, Luke and Chewie come marching down through a crowd of Rebels to get the medals. I could not care less when fake-looking, cartoonish CGIs win a battle over other fake-looking, cartoonish CGIs.
And that's the problem: you're showing fabulous special effects, but there is less and less "reality" to ground the movie.
======================================
Just some random comments (Score:5)
I don't think its fair to compare Jar Jar and R2. Jar Jar was a big mistake, as anyone with half a brain knows. R2 was beloved because he A) didn't speak some kind of horrible broken english, B) was able to convey huge amount of emotion despite speaking in bleeps and bloops, something they never got right with Jar Jar, and C) was one half of a comedic duo. C3P0 was a major part of making the R2 character loveable, and with Jar Jar that other half was missing, or was filled in by whatever character happened to be in the scene at the time. These are things that shouldn't be lost in the CGI transformation of R2, unless they manadge to mess it up completely. I'm sure that if they destroy R2, the public will never forgive Lucas
Correction to the url in the parent post (Score:2)
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Re:another step down the path of lameness (Score:2)
Really, I think that Lisa Kudrow should sue Lucas for either infringement on her trademark dippiness or for the right to play him in future movies and holiday variety shows.
only the beginning (Score:4)
---------///----------
All generalizations are false.
That's nothing! (JOKE) (Score:2)
(and how did he turn into a crusty white guy after that?)
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pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate [ncsu.edu].
Re:How long until Lucas has a completely CGI movie (Score:2)
Robert Llewelyn(sp?) may have looked like a bearskin run in his Chewbacca suit, but I think feel he was more believable than Jar Jar Binks and all his 2300 hours of rendering time. Just because something can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
But then again, it's George's studio, he's paying for this himself.. so do we really have the right to bitch?
Eh, probably.
How sad... (Score:2)
{*sniffle*}
Robots are people too, dammit!
--
while ( !universe->perfect() ) {
hack (reality);
Slashdot has been duped! (Score:5)
--SpookComix
go watch the "Making Of" (Score:2)
However, I still find this choice rather off. If Kenny can still do the job, why not do it? How much is it going to cost to model, animate and render all the new R2 shots, vs. having KB do it?
Pope
Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!
Re:Another man replaced by a computer... (Score:2)
Just a thought...
OT-- Welcome to /. (Score:3)
Welcome aboard.
Re:Sic transit (Score:2)
But that wasn't what I was saying. EVEN IF they had been burnt and scratched, they would have looked like burnt and scratched concept models. They didn't look functional, they looked like they were designed with extras to make them stand out in a showroom.
Look at the XWing-- even a pristine Xwing looks like it was a practical, production spaceship-- designed to fight, not to look pretty. Even the wreckage of a Naboo fighter looks like it was designed to be the most powerful-looking and fast-seeming ship, rather than actually powerful or fast. Maybe the Nabooians were dominated by their Marketting Droids.
If so, who can blame Senator Palpatine.
Re:What exactly did the actor do? (Score:3)
I don't understand why Lucas would want to do a CGI R2. It seems like it's more work than necessary, when a perfectly good prop is available and proven. He certainly is in danger of repeating the problem that plagued Star Trek The Motion Picture: reliance on the "wizz-bang" special effects even when wizz-bang special effect are neither called for nor expected.
--
Aaron Gaudio
"The fool finds ignorance all around him.
Re:What an actor!... uh? (Score:2)
Vote [dragonswest.com] Naked 2000
It's pretty obvious why this happened (Score:5)
And I can honestly say that in the dozen-odd times I've watched Episode I, I never once thought, "Hey, there's Kenny Baker." It was always, "Hey, there's R2-D2." I'm sorry Kenny didn't get to work on Episode II (Oh my god! They fired Kenny! You bastards!), but, well... that's progress.
George Lucas to replace staff with CGI characters (Score:2)
Also a Joke... (Score:2)
Probably with a little CGI?
oh man... there goes my Karma...
Re:Another man replaced by a computer... (Score:2)
Or better, a random number generator!
cat
Vote [dragonswest.com] Naked 2000
other replacements (Score:2)
Sic transit (Score:2)
Sigh.
sulli
p.s. The theater where (I think) Star Wars opened, the Coronet, is about to be smashed to bits. [sfgate.com] I guess nothing is sacred, but who expected it to be?
Newer is not better (Score:2)
This'll piss a lot of SW fans off, but I was very disappointed with Ep1 and don't feel that Lucas is a good director at all. He's lost his art of story-telling and can't direct worth a piss. (not compared to Spielberg anyway)
Star Wars ep4,5,6 are legends because they were brand new ideas when they came out, and they have aged in our memories like fine wines. We all have nostalgic memories of seeing these films in the theatres for the first time, many of us barely able to see over the seats. (I remember standing on my seat throughout Empire) But in this age of Titanic and Toy Story, our kids won't be looking back on Ep1, 2, and 3 with the same eye. To them, its just another two hours of visual crack, soon to be replaced by the next flavor of the month.
Bah. Gimme a director and film crew that is starving and barely making a living. THEY make good movies because they NEED to. George Lucas is fat, unimaginative and so full of himself he won't need to eat until ep3 is on DVD. (shall we bet on 2025?)
"Oh My god! They killed Star Wars! Those Bastards"
Vulgrin the MAD
Easy. (Score:2)
<O
( \
XGNOME vs. KDE: the game! [8m.com]
Tremendous change is coming (Score:2)
What was that?..... (Score:5)
What the heck is this guy really trying to tell us? And I thought this was a kid's site.... [Rimshot]
Re:The greatest part... (Score:3)
You know, I thought Ep1 had it's problems, but up until now was willing to give Lucas the benifit of doubt. Yeah, Jar-Jar sucked and all, but as some have pointed out, the case can be made that Ep1 had to be a "happy" film, considering the direction the next 2 must go. But seeing stuff like this, and announcements a few weeks ago that they're putting out yet another VHS set of originals with some trash "Making Of" thrown in...It's pretty clear that Lucas intends to squeeze this Prequel for every ounce of money he can.
Help us, Wachowski Brothers, you're our only hope...
Relevant Mark Hamill Quote: (Score:5)
-- Mark Hamill (The guy who played Luke Skywalker)
--
maybe it will work in this case... (Score:2)
If this were star wars, in 2000 instead of over 20 years ago, and they did the robot from scratch in CGI, I think they'd have a problem... they might want to call it Jar Jar.
evil, sick bastard that Lucas... (Score:3)
Yeah, I know - I a sick puppy
Perhaps acting with CGI will become a skill? (Score:2)
Right now CGI impresses us with its ability to create the fantastic, but CGI can only get so good before it's perfectly photo-realistic. After that, there'll be no more room for improvement, and it'll be up to the actors to make the film even more convincing yet.
ChicagoFan
Re:Tremendous change is coming (Score:2)
~GoRK
Somebody is posting wrong information... (Score:4)
I have been informed by a co-worker that this story is not entirely true...
While the actor is no longer doing the part of R2, it will not be CGI. Here's the story that started it all. [imdb.com]
Evidently someone saw this [theforce.net] and extrapolated that the droid would be inserted digitally. But they are absolutely, definitely 100% positively using an R/C version for the film: There's also another shot of a crewman with a radio, controlling R2, but I can't find the picture right now.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Somebody is posting wrong information... (Score:2)
They are all against me now.
Re:Relevant Mark Hamill Quote: (Score:2)
Re:Artoo - and Star Wars - you will be missed. (Score:2)
You've hit the nail on the head there, I think. I agree with you that the way 3po and r2 moved was part of the charm of the original series. I certainly don't give Lucas any credit for doing that intentionally though. I'm sure he would have preferred smooth-seamless motion if he could have achieved it. Now that he can, he doesn't recognize the potential loss that may result.
It will be odd as hell if R2 changes at all since this movie sits between TPM and ANH and R2 was pretty much unchanged between them. Lucas had better pull this off, or he will look dumb as hell (more than he does already, anyway).
Wonder what his motivation for this move is? Can't be economics, maybe R2 has to pull some stuff off that just won't work with Kenny operating a real prop. Wondered about that scene where R2 was scurrying outside the Naboo Cruiser if that was partially CG. Never saw R2 move that nimbly in any of the other movies.
The same guy who sued Galactica... (Score:3)
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Re:Sic transit (Score:2)
In the prequel, everything is shiny-new because it *is* shiny-new. In the IV to VI series, what *was* shiny-new has, through the course of long and losing battles against the Empire, become ragtag.
That said, I agree: the grittiness of the originals was charming. The craft, the bots: they were high-tech to us, and old-tech to the human characters in the story.
--
Ridley Scott had an interesting point of view.. (Score:5)
I believe the quote is: "If you can do it physically then do it rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on computer graphics." Examples are the egg "waking up", all the sets, the shuddering during takeoff and landing, the outside shots of the derelict, Ash's death and of course the Alien itself.
Now Alien was made at a time when computer generated gfx were at the stone-knives and bearskins stage, but somehow it's aged extraordinarily well. It just has a kind of raw lifelike quality to it that you just didn't get in EP1 - you could feel the effort that went into the acting and directing.
Ironically enough, many people's favourite sequence in the Matrix is the lobby shootout - which hardly features any CGI at all (except the wire removal).
Get a grip George - work on your casting and story some more and you might have a film people like.
Re:It's pretty obvious why this happened (Score:2)
Well, that's a pretty compelling reason to remove the non-Kenny droids, particularly the ones used for long shots, etc. And in fact you could even replace some of the real close-up stuff, like shots that only show a few square centimetres of his surface.
But this goes a little further than necessary or wise. Is "saving" trouble with Kenny and his "costume" really worth removing the human element? And is it worth the PR hit this decision is bound to cause Lucas and the franchise (in the fashion that MacDonalds is a franchise)?
I'm sorry Kenny didn't get to work on Episode II ..., but, well... that's progress.
Sadly, that is the truth. Given that progress seems to be defined here in rather a soulless, audience-as-consumer sort of way.