Ask Me About Star Wars

[Man of Steel]

Go ahead, ask me anything, anything at all, about Star Wars. That's one subject I'm quite knowledgeable about.

[27]

Why did they cast the kid that they did to play Anakin in episodes II and III? I've never been able to figure that one out.

[Taosaur]

What does it cost to build an exact replica of Luke Skywalker's first lightsaber using the same items as the prop guys, and what are the components?

[Man of Steel]

Why did they cast the kid that they did to play Anakin in episodes II and III? I've never been able to figure that one out. Because Jake Lloyd wasn't old enough. What does it cost to build an exact replica of Luke Skywalker's first lightsaber using the same items as the prop guys, and what are the components? It would cost a lot nowadays, because the Graflex flash units used as the main components have gone up in price considerably in the past ten years or so. Not sure of exact cost, but I would guess anywhere from around $200 up. As for a more complete list of components, there was of course the Graflex flash unit for the main hilt, a combination of windshield wiper blades and plastic tracking from cabinets for the grip strips, a bubble strip from a 1970's Texas Instruments calculator, and a D-ring for attachment to a belt. Among other things. Here's a website with more details: ANH Lightsaber Construction

[Taosaur]

Heh, a friend of mine built one in college. The hardest part for him to find were the windshield wipers, which came from a tank. I don't remember what it cost him, but he sold it for at least double.

[Man of Steel]

Heh, a friend of mine built one in college. The hardest part for him to find were the windshield wipers, which came from a tank. I don't remember what it cost him, but he sold it for at least double. Nice! I like your friend already. Wait, no. He shouldn't have sold it...

[Universal Mind]

Why is it that the first two (episodes IV and V) are two of the greatest movies ever made but the last three (episodes I-III) are some of the worst movies ever made? Did George Lucas take advice from Aerosmith?

[AmazeO XD]

Who is REALLY luke's father? LOLOL

[Man of Steel]

Why is it that the first two (episodes IV and V) are two of the greatest movies ever made but the last three (episodes I-III) are some of the worst movies ever made? Did George Lucas take advice from Aerosmith? What, no love for RotJ? That's my favorite movie in the series, gotta love little furry cute teddy bears pwning Imperial stormtroopers with sticks and stones. I'm going to take that as a rhetorical question, though, since it's pretty obvious that he just sort of fizzled out and became more interested in making money and 'refining' his 'vision' with the prequels. And they're not the worst movies ever made, so long as you don't treat them as Star Wars movies. Ewan McGregor had some great moments.

[Universal Mind]

I'm going to take that as a rhetorical question, though, since it's pretty obvious that he just sort of fizzled out and became more interested in making money and 'refining' his 'vision' with the prequels. Yeah, I was just venting my resentment. I can't really say that George Lucas owed it to society to make the next series at all. However, if he was going to do it, he owed it to his fans to do it well. I saw the original Star Wars (which is now called Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope ) at the theater in 1977. I also saw the next two at the theater when they came out. I was an enormous Star Wars saga fan the whole time. I remember after seeing The Empire Strikes Back how everybody was talking about how there were going to be seven more, one of which would finish out the first series. There were supposed to be three prequels and then three more sequels. That was in 1980! Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were both the biggest selling movies of all time for a while. Talk of their sequels was big time. The fans really made a huge deal of it, and there were zillions of fans. So after Return of the Jedi, the major fans wait and wait with so much anticipation for this series prequel. It is another SIXTEEN YEARS before it finally comes out. So in 1999, the movie hits theaters. What an event that was built up to be! And what do we get? Some stupid money making marketing focussed childrens' movie with an obnoxious moose looking creature that won't shut the fuck up. It was such an insult. Then I watched parts of the next two but just couldn't keep pretending the acting and the writing didn't completely suck. If Lucas had made phenomenal movies out of those, I really think he would have made even a lot more money. The last three are not going to be remembered by the world. The first two always will.

[NeoSioType]

What determines a lightsaber's color?

[27]

Because Jake Lloyd wasn't old enough. I meant, the kid they used was such an amazingly poor actor, what could have possessed anybody to think that he was the best person for the role?

[Universal Mind]

I meant, the kid they used was such an amazingly poor actor, what could have possessed anybody to think that he was the best person for the role? That's my question about half the actors in the movie.

[27]

That's my question about half the actors in the movie. True but... This was Darth Vader!

[Replicon]

Why is it that the first two (episodes IV and V) are two of the greatest movies ever made but the last three (episodes I-III) are some of the worst movies ever made? Did George Lucas take advice from Aerosmith? I was under the impression that it had to do with directors. George Lucas can write/create a great story, but he isn't very good at directing it in a movie. For episodes V and VI, they got someone else to do it, and it worked out great. Unfortunately, Lucas could never come up with something as clever as the "I love you - I know" exchange (that came from Harrison Ford, but the director recognized right away that "I love you too" would have ruined the movie hehe).

[Universal Mind]

I was under the impression that it had to do with directors. George Lucas can write/create a great story, but he isn't very good at directing it in a movie. For episodes V and VI, they got someone else to do it, and it worked out great. Unfortunately, Lucas could never come up with something as clever as the "I love you - I know" exchange (that came from Harrison Ford, but the director recognized right away that "I love you too" would have ruined the movie hehe). He did a Hell of a good job with the first one.

[NeoSioType]

Feeling completely ignored right now.

[Replicon]

He did a Hell of a good job with the first one. He definitely did. He had more to lose, I guess :-) I do find that of the 4-6 series, that first one is the slightly weaker one.

[27]

He did a Hell of a good job with the first one. I disagree. It was ground-breaking for sure, but the directing wasn't great. Just look at the saber battle in the first one (episode IV). Lucas can not direct. That's what made Empire such a great movie. Lucas wrote the story and let another director take over.

[tkdyo]

What determines a lightsaber's color? good question, I only know that red means sith. I heard that blue means better at physical fighting and greens means better at using the force, but Im not sure...there are other colors in the games and such, MOS you must return!

[Sornaensis]

What planet contains a once-used Rebel Base?

[Man of Steel]

Yeah, I was just venting my resentment. I can't really say that George Lucas owed it to society to make the next series at all. However, if he was going to do it, he owed it to his fans to do it well. I saw the original Star Wars (which is now called Star Wars Episode I: A New Hope ) at the theater in 1977. I also saw the next two at the theater when they came out. I was an enormous Star Wars saga fan the whole time. I remember after seeing The Empire Strikes Back how everybody was talking about how there were going to be seven more, one of which would finish out the first series. There were supposed to be three prequels and then three more sequels. That was in 1980! Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were both the biggest selling movies of all time for a while. Talk of their sequels was big time. The fans really made a huge deal of it, and there were zillions of fans. So after Return of the Jedi, the major fans wait and wait with so much anticipation for this series prequel. It is another SIXTEEN YEARS before it finally comes out. So in 1999, the movie hits theaters. What an event that was built up to be! And what do we get? Some stupid money making marketing focussed childrens' movie with an obnoxious moose looking creature that won't shut the fuck up. It was such an insult. Then I watched parts of the next two but just couldn't keep pretending the acting and the writing didn't completely suck. If Lucas had made phenomenal movies out of those, I really think he would have made even a lot more money. The last three are not going to be remembered by the world. The first two always will. Block of text much? That pretty much sums it up, though. There is something of merit to be found in each of the prequels, but they are not Star Wars movies, not to me. They are science fiction, which is something Star Wars is not, and never was. What determines a lightsaber's color? The focusing crystal within the hilt. Sith make their own, forming a synthetic crystal in a furnace, which typically comes out red in color. Jedi prefer to find theirs in the form of natural crystals, sometimes volcanic in origin. Luke made the focusing crystal for his second lightsaber, following instructions he found in Ben's hut back on Tatooine, since finding a natural crystal isn't exactly an easy task and he needed a lightsaber sooner rather than later. I meant, the kid they used was such an amazingly poor actor, what could have possessed anybody to think that he was the best person for the role? I know what you meant, but look at the situation from this perspective: would it really have made a difference if some better actor had been given the part? And besides that, Hayden Christensen is not actually that bad of an actor. The direction simply sucked horrifically. I mean, c'mon, who could take a line like, "I don't like sand. It's rough and coarse and irritating, it gets everywhere. Not like here. It's soft here..." (paraphrasing from memory, don't jump on me for misquoting it) and deliver it any better? I was under the impression that it had to do with directors. George Lucas can write/create a great story, but he isn't very good at directing it in a movie. For episodes V and VI, they got someone else to do it, and it worked out great. Unfortunately, Lucas could never come up with something as clever as the "I love you - I know" exchange (that came from Harrison Ford, but the director recognized right away that "I love you too" would have ruined the movie hehe). Yes, exactly.

[Man of Steel]

What planet contains a once-used Rebel Base? Dantooine.

[Sornaensis]

Dantooine. Who owns Jabba's Palace?

[Man of Steel]

Who owns Jabba's Palace? Presumably his father/mother, Zorba the Hutt, but practically it could just as well be the Tatooine government.