Neues von T'bone:
SPOILERS BELOW AND HERE WE GO
Hi all and welcome back. I hope you're enjoying the commentary lately. Before we start I have to make one correction to a prior report where I said Obi-Wan was knocked out by a Magna Droid. I think I interpreted the source wrong on that - the source never said how but we were talking about the droids right before so I must have had them on the brain. It's Dooku that knocks him out. Sorry for the confusion there. Now on to some more commentary...
BARON PAPANOIDA
Well, George Lucas has finally done it. He's finally caved into the pressure. He's finally joined the ranks of Rick, Pablo, Ben, Jett, Katie and many, many others. He's giving himself a cameo role in EPISODE III.
Now before you get too excited, it's probably nothing more than some dude sitting in a row at a theater. I'm hoping he has at least one shot though - something like Peter Jackson did in his LORD OF THE RINGS films. Hopefully it's something humorous.
This is really all I know: It's supposed to take place in the opera house scene. The character's name is Baron Papanoida (Papa Nerd? LOL) and he may be listed in EU materials as some kind of double agent. I doubt any of this will be addressed in the film, including the name, but you never know. All I know is that you're going to see Lucas at some point in the film, unless he chickens out in the editing room.
I apologize for the size of this photo but it's really all I have. You can tell it's him but it's real small. If something bigger comes my way I'll be sure to share it. So kudos to George. He knew this would be the last opportunity to do this and he did it. I think he looks great. I hope he's in some humorous shot where maybe he's sitting in front of Palpatine and he asks Lucas to remove his hat or something like that.
GAZELLE'S TRIP TO ABBEY ROAD
Gazelle has been a member of the GalacticSenate.com forums for quite some time. That's why I was excited to learn that he got up the jewels to ask Rick McCallum during an online chat if he could "stop by" Abbey Road studios to see a little bit of the EPISODE III soundtrack being recorded. Rick must have had one too many and agreed to let Gazelle come down for a little while. I knew Gazelle would write up a nice report so I'm going to add it to today's report for you all to read. Hope you enjoy it. Here's Gazelle:
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Hello friends.
I am sorry it has taken me a few days to write this but I was asked by Pablo Hidalgo not to say anything until he had mentioned it in his Post Notes. I also want to thank people for their kind words, emails and for sharing in my excitement. I don't have any spoilers sadly, but here is a brief record of my experience in London.
On Wednesday 9th February, I had the privilege of briefly visiting Abbey Road Studios to listen to a small portion of the soundtrack recording of "Revenge of the Sith." This all came out of me boldly asking Rick McCallum during the Hyperspace online chat if I could pay them a visit. When he answered "Yeah, sure" I thought he was joking at first, even when I received a confirmatory email from John Singh of Lucasfilm, telling me that I was expected at ten in the morning and that I should anticipate my visit to be about twenty minutes. That evening I hardly mentioned it to anyone, not even my girlfriend, as I had this horrible feeling that when I got to Abbey Road I would be turned away with a brief apology and a complimentary T shirt! How wrong I was.
Not daring to be late, I took a very early train (6.30am) and arrived at Abbey Road before nine. I waited patiently (and nervously) outside as various musicians were arriving and heading into the building, and even spotted a frail John Williams being escorted down into the studios. At around 9.50am I went inside and waited in the reception area for John Singh to find me. To my amazement, a few minutes later GEORGE LUCAS arrived with an aide and signed in to Abbey Road's security book, just under my own name! I froze slightly, not sure whether or not to look at him too closely! He looked just as you would expect - slightly short, sporting that graying beard and checkered shirt. I was to see him again briefly later on during the recording of the soundtrack.
As George disappeared down into the studios, John Singh arrived to greet me and I signed the confidentiality agreement and various other Lucasfilm forms. Within moments I was now inside the heart of the building and I asked John what was on the agenda for the day. He told me that they were recording the "end credits." We moved down a number of internal corridors, some of which could have been straight out of a movie theatre, as the cinema posters for the various movies recorded at Abbey Road were proudly hanging from the walls, including all of the Star Wars series. We climbed a set of stairs, arriving in the "Producer's Lounge," where Rick McCallum was seated behind a desk and I got to shake hands with him and thank him for the visit. "You thought I was joking, didn't you?" he said, and I agreed. Rick urged us to quickly head on to the "balcony" - a small area found above John Williams and the orchestra - because the recording was about to start. It was all exactly as seen on the Episode One webdoc. John Singh offered me a special soft seat. "You're the guest of honour today" he said. After a brief period of warming up, the orchestra began to play. For those interested in exactly where I was, have a look at the music video on the "Attack of the Clones" DVD. At 2.52, the camera catches George Lucas standing on this very balcony.
I must mention that I saw no footage of Episode III whatsoever. "That's not been deliberate" Pablo would tell me later. There was a big screen but, as the credit sequence had not been created yet, there was nothing being projected onto it. The first piece of music was fast and "action paced" - I was later to hear Pablo refer to it as the "Revenge of the Sith" theme; a piece of music that accompanies the duel. I suspect I only heard a tiny fraction of it as the music then developed immediately into the "Throne Room" music from Episode IV; a fuller and even grander version than we heard back in 1977. Of special note was the trumpet herald that opens this piece, which has only been heard in Episode IV before and will serve as a strong reminder of the original trilogy; we hear the trumpets' heralds twice in this new version. My mind raced as I heard this music being played as, given that we have not heard this in the end credits before, I began to wonder if what I was hearing was the build up to the end and "iris out". In which case, the music didn't fit the major spoilers at all, not sounding like a binary sunset or a distant Death Star. Pablo would set my mind at rest later but confirming that this piece actually forms part of the end credits sequence.
Just hearing it almost EXACTLY like it was played in 1977 was a truly moving moment. Was I teary eyed? You bet. It sounded fantastic. It slows down stylistically at times but other than that it is an identical piece. Just as Pablo has reported in his Hyperspace "Post Notes", the orchestra plays the piece through once only before the recording begins. John Williams adds his comments after the rehearsal and then the piece is played again to record it; a large red light goes on at the right side of the studio to let everyone know that the recording spools are turning! It was during this second run through to record that I glanced to the side of me to see George Lucas up in the Producer's Lounge listening carefully, wearing the same face as he does on the DVDs: serious, meticulous, absorbing everything.
I had been promised twenty minutes and I had been there for half an hour! When the recording had been completed John Singh leaned over to me and said "I hate to do this to you but...." I looked up at him and finished his sentence, "My time is up?" He nodded and I followed him back out of the balcony and into the Producer's Lounge, where he showed me a large television screen, explaining that normally the team would be now huddled around it, seeing how the music fitted the visuals. I guess it was a shame that this wouldn't be done today. Maybe they would have let me stay for that too! As Abbey Road Studios are a little bit of a maze, John escorted me back to the main foyer and I left him with my thanks. He gave me his card and I have been happy to keep in touch with him.
As for my assessment of the tiny piece of the score I heard, I think the mastery of this final music is that it somehow recognizes that this is the end of the prequel trilogy and the Star Wars movies. It doesn't pretend that the films were made in sequence; rather it is "aware" that this is the final Star Wars movie of all time. Subsequently, despite the presupposed gloomy conclusion to the movie, there is a rich fanfare of themes, similar to the little special extra something there was in the "Revenge of the Jedi" end titles.It is both celebratory and serious, reminding me of the music that underscores Luke Skywalker's face as he burns the body of his father on Endor. Using the "Throne Room" is John Williams' wedding ring that marries the two trilogies together. It is ingenious. Although I didn't hear the end, I would strongly imagine that these end titles will end in a triumphant swell, not the quiet fade out we have been used to hearing in the prequels. That seemed to be the spirit of the music this time.
I have been quite overwhelmed by the fan reaction since the trip, which has been mostly pleasant! For all those spoiler hounds with conspiracy theories, I promise I didn't see any of the movie, honestly! Everyone at Lucasfilm was very kind and welcoming. I did feel like an honoured guest for an amazing half hour, something that I will remember for the rest of my life. For what its worth, in my mind I went there on behalf of all my friends at the Galactic Senate dot com, my Star Wars home, and for all Star Wars fans. I didn't deserve it, and my hope is that this wonderful experience can in some way be shared by us all. And, yes, as the credits role for "Revenge of the Sith" in May, there will be at least one english fan who will get a very special feeling when that last piece of Star Wars movie music ever is played. I think I'll always be staying through to the very end this time.
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THE FALL OF ANAKIN AND THE JEDI TEMPLE MASSACRE
Here's a bit of info on Anakin's fall and his murderous run through the Jedi Temple. Most of this is already known but hopefully there are a few new details in here for you.
After the Mace Windu debacle, Anakin, in a moment of weakness (or strength, depending on your point of view), succumbs to Palpatine's plans and joins him as his Sith apprentice, now named Darth Vader.
Have you ever asked yourself why else Anakin goes nuts and starts killing Jedi? It's not all for the sake of Palpatine asking him nicely. Palpatine knows the Jedi must be exterminated if the Sith are to rule, so he once again uses his apprentice as a pawn, promising him that murdering the ones he loves will allow him to deeply tap into these special powers of the Dark Side of the Force. However, the Jedi must be the first to go - Wipe them out... all of them.
Anakin is obsessed with this idea of keeping people alive, eternal life, the powers of the Dark Side that Palpatine has been slowly revealing to Anakin over time, and all that. Anakin's dreams clearly show that Padmé is going to die and he can't let that happen. He lost his mother and promised never to fail again. He simply cannot let her die so this is part of the whole reason he does turn - to obtain these powers so he can keep her alive. It's as if he's done it all for her and in the end, when confonted on Mustafar, she rejects the notion! He can't understand why since he is blinded by the Dark Side and nearly kills her on the spot. How ungrateful! Um...yea. Enter Obi-Wan with ignited lightsaber...
So Anakin goes on this initial massacre run through the halls of the Jedi Temple with hundreds of clone troopers. Cin Drallig, swordmaster, plus younglings and teenage Jedi as well, who usually are overlooked by the rumor mongers. No Jedi survive this attack. Anakin is unstoppable and not even Master Cin Drallig can take him down. In his mind, he's doing the right thing and boy will Padmé be happy that he stopped her from dying. Ironically, he'll fail miserable and be the one that causes her to do instead. What a mess.
