ILM Doc

A lot of making-of-documentaries do feel like filmmakers getting together to blow smoke up each other's hineys. At best you will get a couple of moments where someone says something of substance or provides actual insight. A great example would be when Filoni launches into a commentary on Duel of the Fates in the making-of-Mando documentary.



Yup. Filmmakers can still create some beautiful films with the current technology, but only when a brilliant production designer comes up with a visual style that is sufficiently different.

I liked the colour tones.


And this comment:


But the real bullshit on a cracker here is that this thing is airing on Disney+, yet it is essentially evoking the greatness of the past, when (as above) novelty, rebelliousness, and invention were real and actually mattered. It's like a McDonald's infomercial trying to explain the innovation of rock 'n' roll. However, a documentary on this topic is a very valid idea and long overdue. To echo Ingram, I don't give a flying rat's ass about the majority of modern special-effects-driven movies, least of all the MCU, but I'm sure it'll be worth a watch, if only for the inclusion of archival footage and commentary/recollections from the heavyweight filmmakers and master technicians of the classic blockbuster era. 

I finished watching this yesterday. I think the series actually has some substance. Not so much in regards to the movies that ILM worked on, but the human element that goes into making these special effects. You really feel bad for Phil Tippet when CGI renders him almost obsolete by the time of Jurassic Park for example, and you also feel bad for Dykstra when isn't invited back for TESB. The series is able to do this without making George look like some uncaring monster. However, by the last episode you can see there is still some lingering stigma against the way the Prequels were made. KK says something REALLY stupid, and I say this as someone who isn't a militant Kathy hater. I literally sat there shaking my head when she said it. Wow. 

In regards to the new technology for the Mandalorian, she described it as, "getting back to REAL filmmaking."

I haven't read a lot of the books on this subject matter so I'm not overly familiar with it. 

Unbelievable. That woman is like a robot. She basically said the same thing all the way back in 2013.

At least, back then, they were actually making, y'know... films. Not shitty, low-budget Star Wars television projects.

This documentary doesn't sound very appealing anymore. Even after ten years of this slop, they still can't resist being ideological. Which also shows they still don't fucking get it.

People are probably sick of hearing my opinions, these days, and I no doubt sound like a broken record myself, but amen to the last thing. It really is.

It's not that the prequels weren't going to throw old-school fans (they are, let's face it, plenty different in tone and texture to the original films), but the constant derogation of them for twenty years online was wearying enough. Then Disney began getting in on the act, pandering to those same mentalities and gaslighting prequel fans into the bargain, and even after ten years, they're still doing it. That's what really disgusts me. It'd be nice to watch one thing, after all this time has passed, without shade being thrown at the prequels, but that has proven to be an impossibility.

Only a few weeks ago, right before the underwhelming "Obi-Wan" miniseries began streaming, Ewan McGregor stated in an interview he enjoyed making the series more than all three prequels combined -- which was not only crass and insulting, but an expression of gross ingratitude. Every time a "new" (i.e., heavily derivative/recycled) Disney thing comes out, one LFL employee or another will make an unflattering comparison to the prequels, like when Simon Pegg bashed them (and insulted prequel fans) a few days before TFA went on theatrical release. And now these idiots are at it again, denigrating the prequels and GL himself with the same tired digs and putdowns that he was off his game, didn't have Marcia to advise or challenge him, and didn't use enough practical effects or whatever.

Like, seriously, get over yourselves. If the prequels are that much of a disappointment/failure, why the fuck did Disney buy Star Wars in the first place? There would have been far less of a franchise and a fanbase to exploit if they only bought the OT and the expanded universe. And they would have had to assemble a completely new set of creative personnel, rather than tapping into the many talented people Lucas still had employed at his compan(ies), thanks to the prequels, when he sold them. Also, if they're being consistent and really keen to acknowledge fan opinion, then they need to start throwing shade -- and lots of it -- at their own damn sequel trilogy, which the Internet has already judged to be worth less than a camel fart inside a tin of moldy beans. Come on, Disney. If Lucas destroyed his creation with the prequels, what the hell did you do with the sequels? When you arrogantly rid the creator of Star Wars and did it your own way, playing it safe and hiding behind the hammer and sickle of social justice, you achieved less than nothing -- and yet you still find it perfectly acceptable to lace your products with anti-prequel dogwhistle? Absolute bellends. If ever there were proof needed that Hollywood is stocked full of preening, insufferable jerks completely lacking in all self-awareness, this ongoing pattern of extensive handwringing is a perfect example.