WEINSTEIN'S 'STAR WARS'
February 24, 2008 -- STAR Wars fans haven't been this upset since Jar Jar
Binks.
Weinstein Co. boss Harvey Weinstein is being skewered online by devotees of the
sci-fi franchise, who are calling him "Darth Weinstein" over the studio's
decision to re-edit "Fanboys," its upcoming comedy about them.
Some "Star Wars" fans who have seen the original rough cut of the movie
complain that the new version in the works will flip a story that was
originally a love letter to friends of The Force into a mockery of their
geekiness.
The film - starring Dan Fogler and Kristen Bell and featuring appearances by
William Shatner and Seth Rogen - is set in 1998 and revolves around a group of
friends who hatch a plot to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to steal a
copy of "Episode 1: The Phantom Menace," before it hits theaters.
But it's the reason why they are stealing the print that is at the center of
the controversy: One of the friends needs to see it ASAP because he's about to
die of cancer.
While Star Wars fans who saw director Kyle Newman's early version viewed it as
sweet, studio execs deemed it too big of a downer that didn't test well, and
ordered it be re-cut to lighten it up.
Movie blogs, including The CineManiac and Ain't It Cool News, report the film's
release has been delayed until spring and that Judd Apatow's producing partner
Shauna Robertson has been looped into the project and is working on a new
version that drops the cancer story completely. However a source familiar with
the situation cautioned that nothing has been finalized on the edit.
While opinions online are split over which version is better, fanboys of
"Fanboys" who view the new direction as insensitive of "Star Wars" fans, have
launched - what else - an online campaign to keep "Fanboys" as is.
They've launched a pair of sites, "committed.to/stopdarthweinstein," and a
"Stop Darth Weinstein" MySpace page, that depict Harvey as the Dark Lord of The
Sith, and call for a boycott of all the studio's releases.
Said one MySpace commenter: "He clearly doesn't know who he's messing with.
Let's see how he likes having the Rebel Alliance put the smack down on him."
Countered a Weinstein spokesperson: "We are thrilled to see all this great
interest and excitement for 'Fanboys.' While a potential conflict like this has
not occurred since Luke last walked into that bar in Tatoonie, everyone can be
assured that there has been no stir in the force and the film stays on target."
Brian Garrity
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Sunday, February 24, 2008 1:19 pm
Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] It's Over for Jericho
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
> I need to find my early reviews of Jericho. But quickly:
>
> My first impression was negative, saying it seemed cliched, that
> i was sick of the Middle America angle--salt-of-the-Earth
> farmers facing Armaggeddon, etc. Thought all the domestic family
> stuff would get boring. But after three or four more shows in, i
> was intrigued, then, hooked. It's hard to explain unless you
> watch it for a while. simply put, the characters aren't cliched,
> but seem real. There's the son of the mayor who's having an
> affair with the local bar owner, and leaves his wife. Hell of a
> timing, that, which causes major resentment. There's Skeet's
> prodigal son returning, at odds with his dad, but brought
> together by the crisis. not an original storyline, i'll grant,
> but the writing, the characters, and the realism of it work.
> Nothing's easier and harder to do than the multi-cast disaster
> show, replete with little battles, family squabbles, etc. When
> done wrong, it's indeed cliched and not satisfying
> ("Independence Day" for example). But when done right, it
> actually does e
> ngage you. You realize that even though the End of the World is
> nigh, that's when acting like real people--actually paying
> attention to all those little details of life, family and love--
> that will help you pull through. Gerald McRainey's character
> gave a speech once when the townspeople, full of fear and acting
> selfish, wanted to abandon the rescue of a bus of people down
> the road. After chastising them for letting the crisis erode
> their humanity, he says "People--don't you break my heart
> again". Sounds corny as hell, but put yourself in a situation
> like that and ask yourself, who do yo ukknow who'd risk his or
> her life for you? What friends would protect you, what friends
> would stab you in the back (perhaps literally) to save
> themsevles. How long could we remain civilized?
>
> The family dynamics are good, but if that were all, i wouldn't
> have gotten hooked. Running parallel with that is the background
> story: who the hell bombed this country, and what is to come?
> what's the outside world doing? At one point, people thought
> China or Russia had bombed the US. They feared Chinese troops
> taking over Kansas, Russians controlling Washingtons. Or,
> perhaps Islamist terrorists staging a jihad. Enter Virgil
> Hawkins, a mysterious Brother who knows ay too much about
> nuclear warfare for a "cop from St. Louis". Quickly, despite
> their suspicions, the townspeople come to depend on Hawkins,
> who's not just knowledgeable, but tough, good in a fight, and a
> good leader. Hawkins pulls us into this deep conspiracy of what
> happened, of all the evil forces swirling around not just this
> little podunk town, but the entire US. So now, in addition to
> the family dramas, we have the Big Conspiracy angle, which is
> good. And Hawkins too has a life, as his family is in town with
> him,
> and we see this man who may hold the key to everything trying to
> win back his ex-wife, and regain the trust of his kids. Again,
> in the context in which it's down, it's compelling. And how
> cool, how refreshing to see a Black man giving so much
> screentime, and made such a smart, capable, necessary character.
>
> If all that weren't enough, back to the "how long can we remain
> civilized?" thing. There's the criminal--the fahter of one of
> the Jericho women--who's been a thief and smuggler and God knows
> what else for years, who organizes a basic paramilitary gang of
> crooks, carving out his own niche in the new world. there's the
> gangs of people who roam through at times, some good, some with
> evil intent. When do you welcome stragglers, when do you prepare
> for a fight? And then there's the town of New Bern, run by a
> sheriff who decides that it's kill or be killed, who pretty
> quickly institutes a police state in his town (opposed to
> McRainey's continual appeal for cooperation among his
> people).And quickly, New Bern becomes an outright threat, bent
> on the conquest of Jericho, which makes for some exciting shows.
>
> The best series don't always grab you from the first show. Some
> like "Lost" get you from the first scene, others like "Babylon
> 5" take time. You have to slowly take in what they're building,
> step back and let lots of different aspects of the show play out
> and form a large, complicated picture. Often the reward is
> better for that. "Jericho" is a show that juggles many themes,
> many plotlines, many characters, but which gets it right and
> makes for an entertaining, engrossing story. You won't get that
> unless you give it time. Just go in and out with an ep here or
> there, and you will indeed come away saying "what's the big deal?"
>
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> In a message dated 2/24/2008 2:02:01 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> Only one reply, and that was from Gymfig, who doesn't watch the
> show at all.
> Is anyone here watching it?
>
> Wasn't that sad? *grin*
>
> What was so great about Jericho to begin with? It seems to me
> that they
> should have had some more storylines before they started on the
> end of the world.
> It is kind of like a a sitcom with kids that are already in
> their teens. You
> really can;t have a lot of episodes because they would be
> college age and out
> of the house in two seasons. It also did not help that it was
> post 9/11 or a
> TV series of The Day After.
>
> **************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL
> Living.
> (http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-
> eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
> 2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)
>
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>
>
>
>
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>
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