OFFICIAL NEWS Mark Hamill defends the Prequels

I feel sorry for Jake. I truly do. All actors need direction, especially child ones. Sadly, while no one can undermine how creative George Lucas was, he wasn't the best director in terms of guiding actors. He's only actual tip on acting for Carrie in ANH was for her to look sad when Alderaan blows up. Except for that, he only told "Do it the same way, but better" or "Do it faster, more intense." Add to that poorly written dialogue and you get a child Anakin like the one we got in Episode I.

 

He's better st conceptualization than directing

 

Jake Lloyd did fine under George Lucas' direction. I'm not saying that he was one of the world's greatest child actors, but he was fine. He did his job. I thought Jake seemed like a typical eight to nine year-old kid, instead of an adult in a child's body, which a lot of people seem to demand these days. I certainly had no problems with him.

I feel that Jake's problems came from certain members of the audience and media, who were upset that the young Anakin Skywalker did not adhere to their assumptions of how he would be portrayed. And not only did they make Lucas suffer for not adhering to their assumptions (or demands), they made Jake suffer as well.

 

I always go into a movie blanco, without expectations. It is wonderous then to see which films you like, get bashed all over the world: The PT, Waterworld, the Postman, Spider-man3, just to name a few...
I've got the DVD collectors Edition of Bladerunner and I think it's 1 of the best sci-fi movies ever made!
I have SW I,II,IV,V,VI on VHS; I through VII on DVD and the 2011 Saga-Box and TFA 3D collectors ed. on Blu-Ray and I love evry single one of them! And not anybody will ever be able to spoil that for me!

I already got that vibe, which for me was an important factor in me signing up!
So i'd like to say: "THANK YOU!!" to all Staff-members for adhering to this philosophy and to you for pointing it out here!

As for trolling and throwing mud back and forth... come on guy's, how old are we... we are better than this!
As the infamous Grand Moff Tarkin would curtly say: "This bickering is pointless!"

 

Personally I was embarrassed to be a Star Wars fan when the prequel bashing started. I thought "God, I hope the world at large doesn't think all Star Wars fans behave like this."

Thankfully, we have level-headed fans like the great Kevin Smith and now the wise words of Mark Hammill to put things in a more sensible perspective.

 

The recent TFA backlash was pretty predictable. It happens all the time now when movies open to a lot of hype and critical/fan acclaim, because at the time I think people were reacting a little too much in the opposite direction, it was being lauded as the best Star Wars ever. And with films like that the hype dies down you start to see more negativity. Partly because it was drowned out by the flood of positive reviews before, and now partly because the honeymoon was over and people started deciding "it wasn't THAT great" and start to pick it apart. And part of that huge TFA hype led to the PT suddenly being considered one of the worst film series ever made. I'm not a huge PT fan at all but they're not THAT bad. And while TPM received some backlash from fans trilogy did very well in tickets and merch. People WERE buying it and apparently enjoying it, yet now the narrative seems to be that they were so terrible they killed the franchise. Which I find hilarious, because in the years since the PT I've marveled at how alive the franchise has been with the various cartoons and such (which I don't watch, but I'm glad its out there), the various EU stuff and games, and all the merchandise. This stuff was flooding the market long before TFA. I marvel at it because I remember those times when the franchise really did seem dead, the mid/late 80's and early 90's. If you wanted to find some Star Wars merch you'd better head to a flea market or garage sale. I remember making my own Star Wars Legos by just trying to put together something in the shape of a Star Wars ship, sometimes with the help of a hot glue gun (X-Wing for instance), and these days I see all these crazy cool licensed Lego sets the kids have. Good or bad, the PT definitely revived the franchise and brought in a new generation of fans. But it seems like many of that generation now are pretending like they were too cool for it, but I bet there's a picture of them in some Jar Jar pajamas in a family photo album somewhere.

 

I've been very critical of TFA ever since I first saw it. And to be honest, I can find reasons to criticize about every STAR WARS film - from the first one to the last.

I thought Lucas did a pretty good job with Lloyd. He was portraying a nine year-old kid and not an adult in a child's body. There were moments when his performance came off as a little wooden, but otherwise I enjoyed it.

 

If my boss gave me this as critique or words of advice in a 1-2-1, I'd tell him to sod off! (George Lucas or not!)

 

It's nice he does, Star Wars needs to unite!

 

I still like the prequels because it gave us so much material to expand the lore of star wars.

Also Mark is smart in not letting his kids into showbiz given what happen to the kid who played young Anakin. And there are plenty of examples of Hollywood and showbiz destroying the psyche of kid actors who let fame get into their heads.

 

I went back rewatched the PT for the first time after TLJ, and I have come to appreciate the narrative compared to the ST.

The ST is all over the place in terms of story, character arcs and mystery boxes, where the PT has a consistent narrative of a bigger story about the fall of the Republic while Palpatine takes control and the more personal story of Anakin falling to the Darkside. This works well with the OT because the 2 stories jive nicely.

Now looking at the ST, I honestly don’t know where this story will eventually jive with 1-6 or what theme is prevailent throughout 1-9. This Trilogy looks tacked on at this point but only time will tell after Episode 9. I think Lucas doesn’t get enough credit for writing a narrative in the PT that jives nicely with the OT. As it really took the ST to make me appreciate it.

 

i feel the same way, essentially the 1-6 episodes seem like they are a single story but ep 7+ just straighty up feel like a different movie. that's honestly the main issue, they feel disconnected and even disconnected within the trilogy.
that's how i feel at least. both previous trilogies have at least felt like a trilogi in themselves while TFA and TLJ feel like just 2 movies.

 

How people treated Jake was horrible. In what world did those people feel good about making phone of a child? I am glad the Mark did not go behind George’s back for that interview. It is good to see people stick by their friends.

 

Agreed. For all its faults, the PT had a very cohesive narrative. E2 has Anakin outright saying to Padme: "I will even learn how to stop people from dying." This line is exactly what leads to his downfall in E3.

 

My mother actually met Jake Lloyd once and from some of the behind the scenes stuff I've seen from TPM, he seemed like a nice kid. I just can't believe that a bunch of grown-ups ever thought it was okay to harass and berate a kid for years. I mean, he wasn't that great IMO, but he could've been a LOT worse. This is one of the reasons why I sometimes think of the Star Wars fanbase is amongst the worst in the world.

However, seeing Mark Hamill sticking up for Jake and all of us agreeing here that Jake deserved better makes me feel happy and think that the Star Wars fanbase is simultaneously also one of the best in the world. (I guess that's fitting for a franchise that's about the dark side and the light!)

 

I cannot understand some people. NEVER is it appropriate to attack any child actor. He did what he was directed to do, and I feel badly for him.

 

Child actors are always the victims. Full stop.