It’s hard not to talk about the World War II action drama Red Tails without bringing up George Lucas. Making a fighter pilot film had always been a dream of the man whose greatest strength was filming dog fights in the skies. Lucas, who allegedly oversaw reshoots and worked a bit on the script, receives only a producer credit here, but he probably should’ve had a lot more input on this tale of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. It’s a film that has its heart in the right place and nothing but the best of intentions, but also one the cries out for some sort of real guidance to hold this debacle together.

The film starts in 1944 Italy where American pilots are vastly being outclassed and outmanoeuvred by German pilots with better technology and a better idea of their surroundings. In search of a new tactic that could help win the air war, the US government reluctantly begins using the underutilized squad of all African-American fighter pilots in the 332nd fighter squad. The film follows the exploits of a handful of the soldiers into battle after previously only being used for taking out trains and other forms of transportation.

There’s so much wrong with this film that it’s hard to tell where to begin. The script comes credited to John Ridley and Boondocks creator Aaron MacGruder, which makes the film’s clearly Lucas influenced dialog entirely baffling. I like to think that Ridley and MacGruder know better than to come up with something this hammy, but I wouldn’t put it past Lucas to have tinkered with this somewhat extensively. Brief flashes of wit and edge from the credited writing staff show through in fleeting moments, but some of this dialog is bad even by Lucas movie standards.

Aside from the stunning dogfights and the massive attention to period detail (except for an insert wide shot of the Pentagon that was clearly shot in modern day), Red Tails has no structure or discipline whatsoever. This film feels unfinished and almost in unreleasable condition. No scenes actually transition between each other with some bleeding over or fading into the next one without rhyme or reason.

The dogfights are puzzlingly photographed, but even quieter sequences feel strangely subdued and without a firm tone. The God awful musical score – one of the worst in recent memory – hardly plays at all during actual air battles but swells so loudly in scenes of people talking in war rooms that the actors are forced to be hammy and stop their lines ever few seconds to build what they’re saying around the music.

The acting on display here ranges from scenery chewing (Terrence Howard, as the squad’s highest ranking booster) to pipe chewing (Cuba Gooding Jr., who literally does nothing in this film other than gnaw on an unlit pipe in every scene he’s in) to absolute flatlining (pretty much every member of the squad, save for Nate Parker as the alcoholic squad leader Easy, and Ne-Yo as a pilot named Smokey who really seems to be dangerously close to doing something really racist the entire time he’s on screen) to pissed that he even got out of bed for this (Bryan Cranston, briefly seen as a racist bureaucrat). Not even the squad hotshot Lightning (David Oyelowo) or the corps keener Junior (Michael B. Jordan) are able to snap out of whatever coma they find themselves in. This also says nothing about the hilarious incongruity of seeing Method Man (playing a mechanic) reacting to a plane going down in flames.

It would be tempting to lay all of the blame for Red Tails‘ failure at the feet of Lucas, but the lion’s share of the blame here has to go to the credited director. Television vet Anthony Hemmingway is in way over his head on this one and his unsteady hand taints the film so badly that it can’t fully recover. All of the films technical problems from the bad acting by a talented cast, poor cinematography, and utterly incoherent editing are all things that begin and end with the director. It doesn’t matter how many cooks there were in the kitchen, if the one that was behind the majority of it isn’t assured, the whole cause is lost.

Industrial Light and Magic clearly worked their asses off to try to make this all work, and while their efforts are greatly appreciated, this was a film made by all the wrong people outside of the post production and art department staff. If the film wasn’t so gosh darned earnest and well intentioned, Red Tails would come across as something of a bad joke. Instead, it’s a frustrating experience to sit through that makes one wonder why Lucas just didn’t do it all himself in the first place.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The documentary features interviews with many actors, directors and artists including  George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg and yes, even Steve Guttenberg. Now I know what you’re thinking: “Where the hell did they find Steve Guttenberg? And why is he in this documentary?” Well, in addition to painting artwork for some of the most successful movies in history, Struzan also created the posters for the first four Police Academy movies. Hey, they can’t all be winners.

No release date has been announced and it is unknown if the doc will hit the festival circuit or be released straight to video.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out the official website for Drew: The Man Behind the Poster and the artist’s own website for samples of his work.

It’s appropriate that I am writing this review on May 4th, also known as Star Wars Day—May the Fourth be with you…! *groan*

Before I talk about The People vs. George Lucas, let me first qualify my review with a short preamble about my relationship with Mr. Lucas.

May 18th, 1999. It’s raining, it’s cold and my friend Craig and I have been standing in line for nearly eight hours. We’re in line to see Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. There were hundreds of other people in line with us, all of whom either saw the original trilogy in theatres or grew up watching the films on VHS. The atmosphere was absolutely electric:  a new Star Wars movie had been made and we were about to see it. If only we’d known how disappointed we would be just hours later. Sheer excitement and anticipation would turn to confusion and anger. For me, the gravity of just how badly The Phantom Menace had sucked took some time to set in, but when it did, it was crushing. My 15 year old self couldn’t face my 7 year old self. “How could Star Wars suck?”, I wondered. “George? What happened?!”

The new doc The People vs. George Lucas aims to find out exactly what happened. The film is part biography of the filmmaker/CEO and part history of Star Wars as a cultural touchstone; featuring interviews with film critics, filmmakers and theorists, writers and pop culture experts, fanboys and professional dorks. Director Alexandre O. Philippe appropriately splits his film into several episodes. In episode one he uses archival footage, rare photos, and interviews with Lucas and contemporaries like Francis Ford Coppola to assemble a picture of a gifted and promising filmmaker. Episode two focuses on the fans of Star Wars and Indiana Jones and how important these films were to them. To see grown men, many now respected writers and creators in their own right, absolutely giddy and nostalgic talking about Star Wars sets up the last half of the film. The final few episodes focus on the corporatization of the Star Wars brand, the special editions, the hype leading up to the prequels and reaction against them. To see the same group of people, who thirty minutes earlier could hardly contain their child-like glee about Star Wars, turn around and spew such vitriol against Lucas and the prequels is shocking, but not unsurprising. You have to have loved Star Wars a lot, to hate the prequels the way most of the interviewees do.

One of the key questions the film asks is at what point does art not belong to the artist? The Star Wars films are so engrained in popular culture, that fans actually felt owed by George Lucas. The Flannelled One and his fans are equally responsible for this situation—They asked for it and he gave them more Star Wars; they didn’t like it, but they went to see it anyways! The documentary made me feel sorry for George Lucas (Yes, billions of dollars… World’s tiniest violin, I know) and fans alike. You have a genuinely talented filmmaker, trapped and cut-off from reality by his success, and an entire generation of fans whose expectations could not possibly have been met. Star Wars is as much a series of films as it is a cultural phenomen, but there was a point where it became something else: Star Wars became a business. Caught up in an empire of his own creation, George Lucas the filmmaker became, perhaps unwillingly or unknowingly, a businessman. The dorky kid from Modesto, California went from creating whimsy and adventure to dealing in hypocrisy and impossible promises. It’s depressing stuff, the story of George Lucas begins to sound disturbingly like the story of Anakain Skywalker, a talented young upstart seduced by the dark side.

My only gripe with the film, is that it’s slightly too long. Given that most of the film is dorks humourously complaining about George Lucas, the inclusion of clips from numerous Star Wars fan films really lightened the tone. Aside from that, if you are, or ever were a fan of Star Wars you should see The People vs. George Lucas. There are no excuses here, the film isn’t kind to Lucas. You’ll probably lose a lot of respect for the man after seeing it, but at least you’ll understand him better. You’ll also understand yourself, the fan, better than you did before. How can you indict a man who brought so much joy into your childhood? Ultimately, an artist does not owe anything to their audience; in that sense Star Wars belongs to George Lucas as much as it does to us. However, when that artist ceases to be an artist, what does he owe his audience then?

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want an apology for Jar Jar Binks. No excuses for that, Mr. Lucas!

Every day, new people are born into this world. There’s a good chance most of these people have parents, and there’s an even better chance that their parents watched at least one Star Wars trilogy while growing up. These new parents are faced with all kinds of important decisions during their children’s formative years, none more divisive and controversial than the one I’m going to address today: What order do you show your offspring the Star Wars saga in?* Do you stick to the chronology in which they were made, dictating the order be episodes IV through VI followed by I to III? Or does one honour the ‘logical’ sequence of I through VI? I have come to the conclusion that neither of these billings are satisfactory, and the best solution is to use the zig zag narrative structure popular in today’s storytelling (my theory is that this was caused by a generation of writers heavily influenced by House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ ).

Those stuck with this task can now rest easy, as I’ve done their thinking for them.  Come with me as I show you the path and why it must be this way.

Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

The humble beginnings of where it truly all started still has something magical shine through all the seams, as its imperfections make it all the more endearing (I obviously belong to the ever growing contingent of fans that like to pretend the ‘special edition’ versions do not exist). Because it was simple but smart, cheesy but exciting, and made by people that would be thrilled just if it broke even at the box office, it has a charm that none of the others have. But because of all this, it’s also hard to tell if it will stand the test of time with new viewers who are used to a very different kind of Sci-Fi adventure and don’t have the nostalgic associations my generation has with this film.

I’m not sure exactly how much of the story Lucas says he had planned out at this point, but I hypothesize it’s far less than he would have us believe. That being said, it was an unquestionable stroke of genius to have those first flying letters tell audiences they’re about to watch the fourth chapter of a story, showing foresight as well as (can I say ‘a stroke of’?) cockiness on Lucas’ part.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

After seeing the lovable wise old wizard perish part way through IV, what better way to bring him back than with a spot-on performance by the youthful Ewan McGregor. Watching this one next will also make the parallels between Luke and Anakin’s upbringings a little more apparent without giving away the reveal at the end of the episode V, though an astute viewer may pick up on some of the clues.

Try as they may, not even a Fanboys can really capture what it was like to first see this films in theatres. As the most anticipated film of all time, I was so psyched for it that it wasn’t until multiple viewings that I realized most of it kind of sucks. But as they say, ‘wow them in the end, and you’ve got a hit’ and that it did. Everything that’s good about this film (particularly the John Williams score) culminates in the what is arguably the best lightsaber fight in the entire series. It’s so infuriating that this climactic fight is continually interrupted by THREE OTHER BATTLE SCENES! That’s just too many.

Perhaps my biggest complaint about the prequels, Phantom being the worst offender, is that Lucas really shrinks the universe by making more connections between the established characters than necessary (ie. Anakin building C-3PO). We all know is that it is set ‘long ago in a galaxy far far away’, but maybe when compared to other galaxies, it’s kind of like a remote, small town that’s really backwards and inbred.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

After viewing Episode I, you’ll probably need to bring out the big guns to keep them in their seats and caring about these characters again. Dante Hicks (as a surrogate for his creator, Kevin Smith) was the first I heard make the argument that Empire is the best Star Wars film. I wasn’t sure of it at the time, but I’ve since come to believe this wholeheartedly. Dante also said give credit where credit is due, and I believe much of the credit for this film’s success should go to screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and director Irvin Kirshner. Not many people know these names, as George Lucas likes to act as though he is Star Wars (and not in the sense that he embodies many of the characteristics of Darth Vader, but that’s an entire post unto itself). I’ll give him credit as a powerful producer and maybe even say he’s a visionary, but the fact remains that the two strongest Star Wars films were the ones not written and directed solely by Lucas.

Seriously though, this is the best Star Wars movie. Hands down.

Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Since you’re leaving them with one of cinema’s all-time greatest cliffhangers and keeping Han Solo in carbonite for a few more movies, you may as well give them the satisfaction of the story behind the big reveal at the end of Empire. And since you haven’t shown VI yet, the end of this film will hold the next surprising development. I would argue that hearing the babies’ names in final minutes of this film is a much more dramatic way to divulge this information than through a somewhat boring conversation between Luke and Obi-Wan in the first half of VI.

This movie really comes down to five words: Hayden Christensen’s stumps on fire. I liken my first reaction to this scene to that of Seann William Scott when Will Ferrell shoots a tranq into his own neck in Old School. Following the other kid-friendly prequels, I embraced the darkness of this one. After all, I’ve never known a child that was afraid of a trade embargo, and in this movie the main character actually kills kids. We finally get a lot of the backstory that original films refer to. It takes its time getting there, but this is the second trilogy’s payoff: all the cool shit that has to go down before Episode IV, making it the strongest of the prequels, the first two just tread water and wait for this one.

Episode II: The Attack of the Clones (2002)

Some of you may be wondering why bother reversing II and III? To be honest, it doesn’t really matter where II goes, I’d almost be inclined to leave it out altogether, as nothing of any real consequence happens. Plus I think it would be cruel to go from the best to the worst like that. Perhaps I’m a bit too hard on Clones. To be fair, I haven’t actually watched any of it since the night it opened almost 8 years ago. I was so put off by the meandering romance, animated Yoda flips and countless other crap I’ve blocked out of my memory that I haven’t been able to go back yet. I’m actually very curious to see it again, the only part I remember liking was a badass showdown between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett. Note how McGregor played a part in every highlight of the prequels. If there were to be any future installments in this franchise, my vote would be for Episode Wan.

Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (1983)

The last chapter and true emotional denouement of the saga. While the Obi-Wan/ Qui-Gon/ Maul three-way may be the most action filled fight, the final installment definitely has the most passion filled. I still get shivers every time Vader’s taunts bring Skywalker lunging out of the shadows, totally losing his shit like the big baby he his, but also kicking Vader’s ass at the same time. Everything gets wrapped up very nicely, and the payoff that appeased viewers of the original trilogy still works for the entire saga.

Now that their SW orientation is complete, they will finally understand what it means when people say ‘party like you’re at an Ewok rave with Lando after burning your Dad’s body.’  I don’t know what those Ewoks put in their drinks, but I hear if you drink enough you’ll see ghosts.

* this situation may also arise with young or foreign girlfriends**

** by ‘situation’ I mean introducing someone to all 6 films, not producing offspring***

*** you should still be safe, foreign girls can get pregnant too

The Binary Bansai has unearthed a rare hour long interview with Star Wars creator George Lucas from 1971.  Filmed hot on the heels of his first feature film THX 1138, the piece entitled George Lucas: Maker of Films features a 27 year old Lucas discussing the movie industry, film theory and his hopes for the future with media theorist Gene Youngblood.

Footage of Lucas at this age is extremely rare; it’s even more rare to see the man who would make Star Wars and Indiana Jones being so candid.  You have to give Lucas credit for following through, even in 1971 the guy knew exactly what he wanted: independence from the studio system.  Francis Ford Coppola and Lucas tried to achieve this independence with their company American Zoetrope, but the commercial failure of THX 1138 nearly ruined them. The irony of this failure is of course that Coppola was then forced to make a little film called The Godfather to make ends meet.

They also discuss some of Lucas’s early student films, there is so much potential in them.  While no one can argue that Lucas has been a visionary and clearly been very successful, you can easily make the case that he never lived up to his potential as a maker of films. He hasn’t made an original film since Star Wars; his greatest success, but probably not his best film.  It’s a really fascinating interview, to see where Lucas came from and now to see where he is. But who am I to judge the man, he has made good films (THX 1138, American Graffiti), has his studio independence and has billions of dollars. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the man behind the beard.

Check out the Lucas interview and the excellent accompanying article @ The Binary Bonsai

Or just download the interview directly: George Lucas: Maker of Films (650mb)

Thanks to Peter for the link.

When I was 10 years old my mother introduced my brother and me to Ray Harryhausen.  We watched Jack the Giant Killer, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts and other films featuring Harryhausen’s amazing stop-motion effects.  By this point in my life I was already well versed in the works of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but I had no idea of the connection between the Harryhausen films and the Lucas/Spielberg movies I so loved.  I became obsessed with stop-motion animation and special effects in general for a period in my youth. I would mold things out of clay, building massive models out of Lego and destroy them both respectively. Sadly, I never realized I could film any of my creations, nor did I have the means at my disposal to do so.  I watched uncounted hours of Movie Magic on the Discovery Channel; a show that gave viewers a behind the scenes look at the effects that went into Hollywood blockbusters of the early 90′s.

From watching Movie Magic I learned about the lineage of some of the great special effects pioneers, specifically those specializing in stop-motion effects. Thomas Edison, or more likely those he employed were some of the earliest stop motion pioneers.  Early stop motion techniques were present in Edison Company films as early as 1902!  Willis O’Brien, the man responsible for the stop motion effects in 1933′s King Kong got his start animating movies for Thomas Edison’s company.  O’Brien would in turn train and later collaborate with Ray Harryhausen, the man who inspired generations of filmmakers and effects artists.  One such filmmaker and artist was Phil Tippett, who after seeing The 7th Voyage of Sinbad as a child became determined to get into the special effects business.  Tippett would go on to do all of the stop motion effects in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies.  Directors like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro and Sam Raimi have all cited O’Brien and Harryhausen as influences and many eventually went on to employ Tippett on their films.  Even today stop motion is still used in film and television, most notably Robot Chicken and South Park.

Recently, I’ve once again become enamoured with stop motion animation.  Not just the creature effects of O’Brien, Harryhausen and Tippett, but the obscure and experimental uses of this effects technique as well.  Pinscreen animation, cut-out animation, puppet animation, etc. ; there are so many ways in which stop motion effects can be used and employed.  I’ve assembled a list of some of the most important, impressive and interesting moments in the history of stop motion animation.

10.  Fun in a Bakery Shop (1902)

One of the earliest recorded uses of stop motion animation comes from this Edison Company Film.  The stop motion technique is used to speed up the appearance of the bakers dough sculpting.  Films like these would lay the foundations for later stop motion pioneers.

9.  Jurassic Park – Raptor’s in the Kitchen (1992)

While this sequence wasn’t actually used in the final film, it did lay the foundations for the computer generated effects to come.  Phil Tippett was brought in by Steven Spielberg to test the feasibility of using stop-motion effects on Jurassic Park.  With this test footage Tippett(known for his stop-motion animation work in the Star Wars films, DragonSlayer, Robocop and *sigh* Howard the Duck) proved that the dinosaur effects could be pulled off using stop-motion techniques.  However, Spielberg would ultimately go with CG effects for the film.  Disheartened by the decision, Tippett would be quoted as saying, “I’ve just become extinct“—a line Spielberg would end up using in the film.  In the end though, Spielberg did use Phil Tippett’s expertise for Jurassic Park.  Using a digital input armature; similar to traditional stop-motion model armatures except plugged into a computer, Tippett animated or supervised the animation of numerous sequences in the film.  Jurassic Park represented something of a death knell for traditional stop-motion animation in major Hollywood productions.

8.  Mindscape (1976)

The National Film Board of Canada was well known for its support of experimental animated films in the 1960′s and 70′s.  Pinscreen animation was one such experimental technique, it is a type of stop-motion that uses a screen filled with movable pins, that can be moved by pressing an object onto the screen.  Jacques Drouin’s Mindscape is just one incredible example of pinscreen animation.

7.  RoboCop – ED-209 (1987)

Animated by Phil Tippett, the ED-209 robot from Paul Verhoeven’s dystopian sci-fi film RoboCop represented one of the last uses of pure stop motion effects in major Hollywood films.  After 1987, computer generated effects started to become cheaper, more viable and more believable.  Please note that the scene has been edited by a YouTube user to make it appear that ED-209 continues shooting Mr. Kenny’s corpse, the sequence actually ends at about 1:45.

6.  Gumbasia (1953)

Art Clokey’s precursor to the claymation classic Gumby was a student art film.  But it would lay the foundations for a whole claymation film industry that made everything from Wallace & Gromit, Clay Fighter and Davey & Goliath.

5.  Vincent – Tim Burton Short Film (1982)

Heavy shades of Tim Burton’s future collaborations with Henry Selick can be seen in Vincent. Burton’s early film laid the foundation for The Nightmare Before Christmas years later. It should be noted that it was actually Selick and not Burton who directed Nightmare, but Burton is arguably one of the more interesting and influential filmmakers of the past 25 years, that fact alone makes Vincent signifcant;  but it’s also a fun short film to boot.

4.  Starship Troopers – Base Defense (1997)

The effects in Starship Troopers were the ultimate extension of the digital armature technique Phil Tippett helped develop for Jurassic Park.  The animation for each bug was literally done by hand, moving one bit at a time in the traditional manner and entering the data into the computer. The result is a more tactile and realistic, which otherwise could only be achieved by using motion capture. Since there were no 8 foot tall sentient insects around, I can see why Tippett went this route.

3.  The Empire Strikes Back – Battle of Hoth (1980)

If you were to ask any kid who grew up in the 80′s and early 90′s what came to mind when they thought of The Empire Strikes Back, they might very well have said Boba Fett.  They might also say, “Imperial Walkers!“.  The Battle of Hoth was probably one the most iconic scenes from the original Star Wars Trilogy, largely due to the amazing work of Phil Tippett and fellow ILM effects artist Dennis Muren.   Imperial Walkers at once amazed scared the hell out of me as a kid.  To this day I still have nightmares/awesome dreams about AT-AT’s… Thanks Phil!

2.  King Kong – The Empire State Building (1933)

Without a doubt, one of the most famous scenes in all of cinema, Kong’s summit of the Empire State Building with poor Ann Darrow in tow was created by American stop-motion pioneer Willis O’Brien. O’Brien’s work on King Kong inspired the next generation of stop-motion animators and special effects pioneers; O’Brien himself mentored a young Ray Harryhausen.  Harryhausen and O’Brien would eventually collaborate on another giant gorilla movie, Mighty Joe Young in 1949.

1.  Jason and the Argonauts – Skeleton Fight (1963)

This one scene from Jason and the Argonauts more than anything else would inspire an entire generation of some todays greatest filmmakers.  Never before had animated monsters interacted with human actors so convincingly and so awesomely. This was 1963 and there were no computer effects, the time and effort required by all involved to make this scene work would have been astounding. The Argonauts fight against the seven skeleton warriors is the reason why Harryhausen is lauded as the effects genius he is. Truly incredible stuff.

Update: Paul and sideshow mentioned in the comments that I did not include Ray Harryhausen’s amazing work from Clash of the Titans.  This is mostly due to the poor quality of many of the videos from the film on YouTube.  Since it is Harryhausen’s last major work, I would be loath to not give Clash of the Titans an honourable mention.

Also if I forgot to mention a childhood favourite Robot Jox, I’d be doing myself a disservice. Terrible movie: but it had great practical special effects.

Original Theatrical Star Wars Trailers @ I Heart Chaos

I can only imagine how amazing it would have been to see the trailer for Empire Strikes Back in theatres, I’m sure it would have been so awesome that I would have lost control of my bowels.  Seeing the trailers one after the other also helps to remind us how much better the original films were, and how badly Episode I and Episode II really sucked.  I still enjoy Revenge of the Sith despite all of its major shortcomings.  All I know is that I would pay good money to see a feature length version of this Return of the Jedi/Rush Hour mashup.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mystery Man on Film has leaked a 125-page transcript of a 1978 brainstorming session for Raiders of the Lost Ark, with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan.  Two of these men, Lucas and Spielberg, both fresh off of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind respectively, are at their creative peak for the decade(In Lucas’s case maybe ever, Prove me wrong sir, prove me wrong!).  Listening to these guys brainstorming for an iconic character like Indiana Jones is amazing.  Lucas and Spielberg’s embryonic vision of the character is as a bounty-hunting archeologist, whose character they’ve based on everyone from Humphrey Bogart and Peter Falk to Toshiro Mifune and Clint Eastwood.  That’s pretty much what they ended up with in Harrison Ford.  The transcript is an incredible find and gives wonderful insight into the thought process of three of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers at the height of their genius. Truly amazing stuff for any film dork.

The site has posted the highlights from the brainstorming session. as well as the entire 125 page transcript in PDF format.

Brainstorming Raiders of the Lost Ark @ Mystery Man on Film

The oft mentioned and long anticipated live-action Star Wars television show has apparently begun the casting process.  The MTV Movies Blog interviewed actress Rose Byrne at a junket for her new film Knowing, and she let slip that many of her friends had already auditioned for the Star Wars series.  Byrne, no stranger to the Star Wars univerese appeared in 2002′s Attack of the Clones.

Star Wars Live-Action TV Series Exclusive @ MTV Movies Blog

As with the Clone Wars animated series, George Lucas plans to produce an entire seasons worth of shows before shopping it to potential networks.  Set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the series is said to focus on the early days of the rebellion against the Galactic Empire.  Although the TV show will focus on lesser known and new characters, the possibility of cameos from familiar Star Wars characters has not been ruled out.  Cyborg Darth Maul and Boba Fett anyone?!

As long as Lucas gets a strong team of writers and directors for the series, this property has a lot of potential.  Frankly, the less involved he is the better.  Director Kevin Smith has openly admitted many times that he would love to write or direct for  the TV series.  Plus, there are so many talented writers working in sci-fi TV right now that were weaned on the original trilogy—the writers of Lost, Heroes and Battlestar Galactica come to mind.  George, I know it’s your sandbox but it’s time to let the new kids play in it.

Your Best Friend over at Action and Action has posted his list of the 10 Reasons Why George Lucas Shouldn’t Have Directed the Prequels. Similarly, these are reasons Lucas should keep his hands off of the Star Wars TV series.