By We’ve already run a number of stories about the appalling news that George Lucas is planning on making further unwelcome alterations to the original Star Wars trilogy, including adding Revenge Of The Sith‘s much-loathed ‘Noooo!’ to Return Of The Jedi‘s climax and cutting the Greedo/Han shootout down to almost nothing. Now an exciting and ambitious young filmmaker, just as vehemently opposed to the digital ruination of classic movies as we and all the other Star Wars fans are, has been discovered, someone willing to stand up in front of Congress to speak out against this ominous practice. These are his words:
‘People who alter or destroy works of art and our cultural heritage for profit or as an exercise of power are barbarians, and if the laws of the United States continue to condone this behavior, history will surely classify us as a barbaric society.’
‘These current defacements are just the beginning. Today, engineers with their computers can add color to black-and-white movies, change the soundtrack, speed up the pace, and add or subtract material to the philosophical tastes of the copyright holder. Tomorrow, more advanced technology will be able to replace actors with “fresher faces,” (like swapping in Hayden Christensen for Sebastian Shaw as Anakin in ‘Jedi’, or a digital Yoda in ‘Phantom Menace’? – Ed) or alter dialogue (Nooooo! – Ed) and change the movement of the actor’s lips to match. It will soon be possible to create a new “original” negative with whatever changes or alterations the copyright holder of the moment desires.’
Wise words indeed, spoken by none other than a young George Lucas in 1988. If there’s one good thing to come out of this story, it is the unequivocal proof that Lucas really has sold out all his artistic values on his way to the Dark Side.
[via Save Star Wars]