Interesting Inside Info on SW2: Attack of the Clones

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by MrBaggins
Anything will be better than Darth Maul.

Agkkkg! Darth Maul was the best part of Phantom Menace!!!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Imran: Hell, if we want to go back further we might as well say the blockbuster era began with The Sound of Music. It easily crushed the competition back in 1965 and made over $163 million in its first and second runs* (this is in 1965 dollars, mind you). Adjusted for inflation however, the most profitable movie ever was Gone with the Wind - but I doubt either of us want to argue that the blockbuster age began in 1939.

Yes, but most experts consider Jaws to be the beginning of the blockbuster and the beginning of the making of one big, special effect movie rather than a lot of them to make money.

[MrBaggins]

Originally posted by JohnT
*snip*
provide financing
*snip*

without which films don't get made.

[MrBaggins]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


Agkkkg! Darth Maul was the best part of Phantom Menace!!!

And compare him to the villains I gave.

He's not in the top 100 of villains. Not even close to Darth Vader.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by MrBaggins
How about you find any real information contradicting the story regarding Harrison Ford.

From the FAQ at alt.fan.harrison-ford:

"American Graffiti was the surprise hit of 1973, and, more importantly, it marked the beginning of a lasting friendship between director and actor. A few years later, when Lucas was unable to cast the role of Star Wars' cynical space adventurer Han Solo, he asked Ford to read for the part and, at the age of thirty-four, the actor-turned-carpenter was a star in one of the most phenomenal blockbusters in the history of cinema.

In 1974, Harrison would land his career's only bad-guy role in the Francis Ford Coppola drama The Conversation. Harrison's role, Martin Stett, a supporting role, would be one of his best received performances of his career. Starring Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, The Conversation would end up winning The Cannes Film Festival and be nominated as Best Picture at The Oscars."

a. Harrison Ford was not found by a "Studio Executive." As I said, he was asked to audition for the part by George Lucas.

b. Note: He did not read the lines while they were trying to find the female lead - he auditioned for the role of Han Solo at the behest of the director.

c. He did work for both Coppola and Lucas. Hell, one of the films he costarred in won the Palm d' Or (sp!)! Imagine having that on your resume and trying to pass yourself off as an "unknown."

[JohnT]

"Stars don't have contracts?"

Uh, I don't recall saying such a thing. As I said, stars don't have long-term employment contracts with the studios anymore. Clark Gable signed a 7 year contract with, hell, I can't remember it now - it's kind of late for me, but it was an employment contract, not a "contract to do three films." There is a WORLD of difference, trust me. Can you imagine any star today being forced to do telethons and cigarette commercials against their will just because the studio ordered them to (ala Warner Brothers in the 40s-50s)? Don't make me laugh.

[MrBaggins]

From the very same alt.fan.harrison-ford FAQ

In 1969, Harrison's first major carpenter job was building a new recording studio for Brazilian composer Sergio Mendes. After the great and professional job he did with Mr. Mendes' studio, word started to spread about this young man's attention to detail. Because of Harrison's great carpentry skills, and with everyone wanting to hire his services, he would become known as the carpenter to the stars, working his way across Hollywood, from home to home, mansion to mansion, earning bigger bucks than he was being offered in small film roles. Despite the fact that his only knowledge of carpentry came from the books he checked out of the Encino Public Library, Ford discovered he possessed a natural gift with tools, and before long the novice builder was earning a respectable living constructing everything from decks to bookcases. He occasionally supplemented his income with small television and film roles whenever he could land them.

and

In 1973 Fred Roos came through, landing Harrison a small, yet scene-stealing role as Bob Falfa in George Lucas' American Graffiti. Harrison was being offered $485 a week for his role. Figuring he could earn much more than that in carpentry, Harrison initially turned down the role. Fred Roos, who was producing the film, did a little negotiating with friend/director George Lucas, and secured Harrison a paycheck for $500 dollars a week for his work on the coming of age story that was to be CO-produced by American Zoetrope, Francis Ford Coppola's production company.

HOWEVER

Ford was still making his living as a carpenter in 1977

and

Although Star Wars made Ford a star, he had no luck replicating its box-office magic until Lucas's The Empire Strikes Back welcomed Han Solo back to the silver screen.

[Sava]

I think I'm going to see AOTC... then get high and see it again, right after. Then, I'll see it the next day again. I will only go to see a handful of movies more than once. TPM (I still don't regret it), South Park:The Movie (OMFG it was hilarious), hmmmmm I can't remember any more. Damn drugs!

[JohnT]

Somehow the argument got turned around to whether Harrison was a carpenter, as opposed to the original assertion made by you last night at 00:00 (by my time (greenwich -5)) that he was an unknown "discovered" by some studio exec - ala Lauren Bacall being "discovered" at a coffee shop (another Hollywood fable).

Otoh, I was incorrect in my statement that he didn't have to do carpentry work after AG, but that wasn't the original debate.

The fact is that he was a known quantity who had worked with Lucas before, had co-starred in two movies that were nominated for Best Picture (even playing the lead villain (sp) in one), and he purposefully auditioned for the role of Han Solo at Lucas' behest. Nothing in the original statement by "Hello" magazine even remotely smacks of the truth, and that was my point in all this.

[MrBaggins]

Originally posted by JohnT
Somehow the argument got turned around to whether Harrison was a carpenter, as opposed to the original assertion made by you last night at 00:00 (by my time (greenwich -5)) that he was an unknown "discovered" by some studio exec - ala Lauren Bacall being "discovered" at a coffee shop (another Hollywood fable).

Otoh, I was incorrect in my statement that he didn't have to do carpentry work after AG, but that wasn't the original debate.

The fact is that he was a known quantity who had worked with Lucas before, had co-starred in two movies that were nominated for Best Picture (even playing the lead villain (sp) in one), and he purposefully auditioned for the role of Han Solo at Lucas' behest. Nothing in the original statement by "Hello" magazine even remotely smacks of the truth, and that was my point in all this.

I'll differ that he didn't necessarily get auditioned as per Hello's allegation, yet say again that he certainly didn't have a Breakout, defining 'Breakout' for the purposes of Harrison Ford, to be 'to cease to need to be a carpenter full time'.

Even with the critical success of the previous roles he was involved in... he still needed to work as a carpenter, and did not personally receive a nomination.

[JohnT]

Define "breakout" for the purposes of Dustin Hoffman to be "to cease to need unemployment checks."

See, you are arguing that the only thing that matters in a "breakout" role is to end up with lots of money. As far as I'm concerned, a "breakout" role is one that gets you noticed by directors, casting directors, and the like so that they think of you for upcoming films.

Since Ford did work for both Lucas and Coppola before SW, as far as HIS career is concerned his breakthrough role was in AG because without that it is really unlikely that Lucas would've pressured him to audition for SW.

Btw, I keep on bringing Coppola into this, but I'm sure that you know that Lucas and Coppola were big friends in the 1970's, that Coppola originally planned on having Lucas direct Apocalypse Now, and that they ran in the same circles.

[MrBaggins]

I don't agree...

FWIW I haven't seen others argue "American Graffiti" as definably Harrisons breakout role. Who appointed you to be the definer of breakout roles?

FWIW it wasn't until Indiana Jones until Ford got Star billing, so it stands to reason that Ford's breakout role happened just prior to that... the combination of his roles in Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back.

[JohnT]

And who appointed you? No need to get snippy with me man, we're just arguing semantics in a discussion that doesn't matter one whit to the course of our lives.