Reel Facts & Opinions

FACT: Last week, Lucasfilm producer Rick McCallum announced that plans to re-lease all six STAR WARS films in (goddamn) 3D have been revised; the scheme now is to release one a year, and if it works (make money back), there will be more. If not, there won’t. The films are being released in chronological order, making EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE the only guaranteed show.

OPINION: With EPISODE I sitting as the least-popular of the Saga, and overall interest in (goddamn) 3D circling the drain, this entire project may wind up being a disaster. Lucasfilms needs to realize that the films are good enough on their own to do just fine in good ol’ 2D. Prequels or not, the fans will come. As a sidenote, this Blogger was present at CELEBRATION III in Indianapolis, when George Lucas himself announced plans to re-release the films in the 3rd dimension. That was in 2005. It’s a shame it’s taken this long for it to come to fruition, because now Lucasfilms looks like it’s late to their own party. Can we really feel sorry for them?

FACT: Just two years after the Academy expanded the Best Picture category from five to ten films, the rules have been altered again. Now the category will allow for anywhere from five to ten nominees rather than a fixed number. Films after the top five nominees will have to get at least 5% of votes to be given one of the added slots.

OPINION: Oh for Christ’s sake…why do these knuckleheads keep having knee-jerk reactions to the mess of their own making? Expanding the category to ten was a direct reaction to THE DARK KNIGHT getting left out, and now they are reacting to weaker films getting into the dance last year. This new rule is actually a good idea, as sometimes there really are ten good films, and sometimes there is not. It’s too bad they didn’t think of this in the first place.

FACT: Pixar is putting together their schedule for the next two years, with BRAVE coming out next summer, and MONSTERS UNIVERSITY in June 2013. After that, a release date for an as-yet untitled project has been set at November 27, 2013. The film will be an original, non-sequel effort and described as a “mystery” film.

OPINION: It’s about time Pixar put the O back in Original. The last few years have been way too packed with sequels from these guys. BRAVE seems to be a step in the right direction; or at least it seems to be before we get BRAVE 2 in (goddamn) 3D.

What say you?