Anthony Daniels on The Force Awakens Secrecy and his Life as C-3PO
In an interview with TheGuardian, the actor who appeared in all six Star Wars movies discussed how during the production of the new movie he has been censured by Disney, and also revealed what it was like working with director J.J. Abrams, and more…
On the differences between George Lucas and J.J. Abrams.
“George has changed a lot over the years but I think he finds it slightly hard to collaborate,” Daniels observes. “He made decisions that I believe might have been better discussed with other people. JJ is more collaborative. He likes to listen.” Then there is the reunion of key original cast members including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. The fantasy is that the new movie will somehow be good enough to override memories of the three previous installments.
On The Force Awakens secrecy.
“The secrecy has been beyond ludicrous,” he sighs. “For heaven’s sake, it’s a movie. When I got the script, it was typed in black on paper of the deepest red so you couldn’t photocopy it. I got a hangover just reading it.” He was censured by the studio recently for mentioning on Twitter a fellow actor from The Force Awakens.
“I said that I’d met so-and-so. An actor who plays a … thing in the film. A character. Immediately I received a message from Disney: ‘Remove the tweet! You’re not allowed to say that!’ Honestly. It’s a kind of Kremlin attitude. Look, I know perfectly well not to tell you now what I’m giving you for a Christmas present because it would spoil the surprise. And these films are all about opening the box on Christmas Day.” [SW7N: Daniels was talking about Simon Pegg]
On C-3PO, before and now.
Daniels spent six months with Lucas’s script while the costume was being made. The stiff, uncomfortable suit took two hours to get on or off. The head alone couldn’t be removed in less than 30 minutes. (These days, that has been reduced to a more manageable eight seconds.) “The screenplay was very good as far as C-3PO was concerned, but I had no idea what was going on in the rest of it. Still don’t. When JJ told me the story of the new one, my eyes sort of glazed over.” The character was already written as a pernickety fussbudget but Daniels tuned into his damaged quality also. “Look at his lines. ‘I’ve got to rest before I fall apart …’ ‘It’s our lot in life …’ And my favourite: ‘We’re doomed!’ He spends the whole time thinking he’s in peril. He’s had enough. He’s been abused. He’s traumatized.”
For more interesting details about the filming of the original trilogy and more, read the full interview at TheGuardian
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
“George has changed a lot over the years but I think he finds it slightly hard to collaborate,” Daniels observes. “He made decisions that I believe might have been better discussed with other people. JJ is more collaborative. He likes to listen.”
Brave man, but HONEST.
To Lucas’s defense he did at least seek out Kasdan & McQuarrie’s involvement for the PT, but they both declined.
However, when Lucas made the OT he consulted like crazy, he was willing to collaborate with others. So Daniels is right, he changed a lot.
He also asked the guy who directed the Shawshank Redemption to write the screenplay for TPM. Who, ultimately walked away from the offer telling Lucas that HE should write the screenplay himself since Star Wars is his baby.
Then Lucas declined his Indy 4 script.
Frank Darbont also did the Green mile
Unfortunately that writer lacks historical perspective as to how the first Star Wars films were written.
Even though he himself wrote ANH, he spent a lot of time running his ideas by other famous directors (like Copolla whom he was friends with) & his wife… along with a few other people who helped him shape the dialogue for the screen play.
For by his own admission, he wasn’t a good writer, at least as far as character dialogue is concerned. Though Vader turning out to be Luke’s father… that was all him… quite a brilliant move on his part.
Mquarrie couldn’t do the work because of Parkinson’s disease.
But he did work in the early 90s that was and still would be used.
I don’t think Doug Chiang is a problem of the prelogy at all. He’s very McQuarrian. Lucas chose to make The Phantom Menace a kind of historical film using baroc palaces and roman politics. It’s interesting, but it felt kinda out of place somehow for those who were used to Star Wars being driven by character motivations rather than historical events. Probably Kasdan declined the offer for that. It’s difficult for a screenwriter to write a story in which characters are not the center.
Also, to Lucas’s credit, why he started in the middle of the story. Lucas KNEW the begining (being full of political subtrefuge)and end (being more metaphysical as I understand his original vision for the overall arc) of the story he was noodling around with was not going to be as approachable as the middle.
With all due respect, Lucas did NOT know the story before hand. He made it up as he went along and had writers help him conceptualize the ideas as all he had was a very rough outline. Star Wars, or The Star Wars as it was originally advertised as did not initially have episode IV. They didn’t start tagging on the episodes until Empire Strikes Back and the “A New Hope Title” wasn’t even in existence when it first came out.
In fact, if my memory serves me right, the title, A New Hope, actually didn’t make it into the movie until Star Wars was re-released in 1978. This was back when they would re-release movies back into the theater as there was no Blu Ray or Netflix, or video tapes or cable. There were a lot of the things about the story that didn’t make it into the movie and a lot of things that changed, so much so, it’s impossible to imagine he could have been that planned. My guess is when he saw how successful it all was, he decided there probably was an interesting back story especially with the whole, “Luke, I am your father.” moment and that’s why he decided to number it as if there were three others before it. It’s actually pretty widely known, that that, “Luke, I am your father.” plot twist, hadn’t been decided until Empire, which makes it even harder for me to believe that he had any inkling that this story
arc was over the period of 6, now 9, episodes.
Please understand, I love Star Wars but writers (good ones) do their job well and are capable of figuring out ways to engineer stories. That’s their craft and it’s what they are paid to do. If you think Sopranos was fully thought out to its conclusion, you’re wrong. Each season was a new one and each one built off of the others; wrinkles would turn into creases which developed into twists and turns. Writers don’t map out five years worth of episodes. In fact, TV shows, seldom have the same writer they started with. It’s just the way it goes.
I was pretty confident about that too, but then I learned that Vader is Dutch for father.
Collin, your right. Vater is Dutch for father and Darth was Lucas’s term for dark, so who knows for sure, he could have seen it threw further than I’m wiling to believe. He could have also been speaking of father “vater” more globally or in this case, more galactically, so to speak. Father of such and such . . . but you bring up a real valid good point, though.
As I understand it, when Lucas asked Alan Dean Foster to write ‘Splinter of the Mind’s Eye’ part of the brief was to write it so it could be adapted to a cheap sequel if Star Wars didn’t do well at the box office. This leads me to suspect there was indeed no ‘grand plan’, or if there was it was a very flexible one (which is good strategy IMO) 🙂
I can see that. I think with writers or in Lucas’ instance, creators, flexibility is key. Writers can map and plot and outline but can sometimes end surprising themselves and the smart ones leave wiggle room for such things. It is a good strategy indeed.
It’s absolutely true that he didn’t have the thing plotted out in as much detail as he later tried to claim he had (the father stuff was added, almost at the end of shooting ESB as I recal – brilliant decision, and out of left field), but it’s pure revionist fanwank to claim he didn’t have any of it in his head. Lucas had the broad strokes of history drawn in – listening to him speak over the years, it’s clearly that historical and political research that he most enjoys about the writing process, so it’s not hard to believe he had thought through the kinds of stories that would make up the events before SW. From as early as Jedi he’s been talking about the talky, ambigous political nature of the early stories he’d been cogitating over, and based on things Mark Hamil has said about on-set conversations, from as early as ’76 at least thinking about where the story was going with Luke growing into the mentor role.
Nope. Vader being Luke’s father appeared in the first outline November 1977 and stemmed from many elements in the early drafts.
Interesting.
I always thought it odd how Darth Vader had several close encounters with Princess Leia and didn’t seem (at least to me) to know that she was his daughter and yet, he seemed to know that Luke was his son. Any way, if there’s proof that goes as far back as 1977 that shows Lucas had this seedling of an idea that long ago, then guess I respectfully stand corrected. Good conversation!
November 1977??? Are you sure you have that date right? Star Wars was released in May of 1977. If it appeared in a screenplay for November of 1977, that’s six months after Star Wars’s release. Unless of course you’re talking about the screenplay for Empire Strikes Back, which I suppose is plausible.
http://io9.com/5661073/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-empire-strikes-back
Vader wasn’t Luke’s father at first. In Leigh Brackett’s first script draft, Luke meets his real dad, who says he sent away Luke and his secret sister for their own safety. (Luke’s sister has been training to be a Jedi knight in secret, just as Luke has.) And Papa Skywalker administers the oath of a Jedi Knight to Luke, in which Ben, Minch, Anakin and Luke cross lightsabers, and Luke swears to “dedicate my life to the cause of freedom and justice.”
I find Chiang’s work to have too much of a modern manga aesthetic which I find clashed on the prequels in comparison to the OT. He’s great but I’ve never thought his personal conceptual style suited the SW universe. Of course this is a pointless opinion as Lucas did use him and he’s working on the new films too I believe?
Dear prequels apologists — if the actors themselves scoff at the films (Anthony, Natalie, Ewan), perchance it’s high time to face reality?
Oh stop. Don’t try and flip it around. I’m not the one trying to make people feel like shit because of what they like. I get it: you hate the prequels. Can you maybe just lay off for a day.
I’m just openly expressing an opinion for which you do not share. That is fine. You need to grow a thicker skin — you’ll get wrinkles.
Incorrect. your post was a finger wag at “Prequel Apologists”, though I prefer to just call myself a Star Wars fan. You came off with your nose in the air, and you got checked. We get it: you hate ThePrequels, so by default you’re cool.
The Prequels were over a decade ago… If you don’t like them; don’t watch them. Just don’t go around telling people they’re “apologists” for liking something that means a lot to them.
Im done with you. You can go back to making fun of Hayden and Jar Jar now.
Tom: 200 words
Me: 60 words
Methinks Tom’s feelings were hurt. It’s a cruel, cruel world.
Hey Tom,
Maybe you should learn just be secure with yourself and YOUR likes and preferences rather than acting like a big baby when someone expresses an opinion that you don’t like or agree with. You like the prequels? Great! Keep liking them! A lot of folks don’t, however, and don’t get bent all out of sorts when someone they DON’T KNOW says something positive about them. Seriously, get a backbone.
Maybe Tom would like some cheese with his whine.
Seems he was making a fair point. No one had even mentioned the prequels really, until dude felt it necessary to take a random stab at people who like them. Which does in turn, make dude an a$$hole. No matter how ya wanna slice it.
Call the guy defending the prequels a no back bones guy all ya want, but he was right. Dude who brings up and bashes a people who like a movie he doesn’t, out of nowhere, is a pretty clear cut a$$bag move
@Darth Rybo: Anthony Daniels was referring to the prequels in the post. Umm… the other poster may be an a$$hole, but you’re a dunce.
Barely commenting on his opinion that George made some decisions that might have been better if he ran them by someone, seems like a fairly vague enough reason to start up bashing people who have liked ALL Star Wars movies. So, like I said, the asshat who threw a spiteful joke out there, STILL happens to be an asshat. Ya dunce.
@Darth Rybo: Read it again. The original poster only criticized people who liked the Prequels. Not ALL the films. You only confirmed that indeed you are a dunce and now also an overdramatic, alarmist nancy boy who can only express his frustration through wonderfully erudite terms like asshat.
Oh great. Another Prequel basher. How original.
Am I the only one around here who will love all 3 trilogies?
Not at all, Luis. I’m right there with you. I love all things Star Wars, and can’t wait for TFA(or a trailer, for that matter)!
No you will not be the only fan who does not use their brain and critical thinking skills and will love anything as long as it has the Star Wars logo stamped on it.
So you love movies you haven’t even seen.
Not only one. I like both PT and OT, and I will like ST too.
“Count me in.” – Y’all know very well who said that.
no fortunatly, but people that enjoy both trilogy usually doesn’t start a war in the comment section
(although I didn’t like TPM very much, it was boring in the central part for me, but I like all the other SW movie 😀 )
Oh great another prequel basher basher. How original.
Since the poster above initiated a$$ho!e like behavior…. Carry on…
“Dear A$$ho!e”
LMAO of the week. So sweet. So passionate.
Natalie and Ewan never scoffed at them (even though what they were doing felt different for them, they are actually appreciative of the opportunity that was given to them as it has helped them in their careers in regards of getting their names out there for other projects). They scoff at irrational and delusional PT haters/bashers who think they are in the majority but in really they are in the minority despite of what they like to think (as various statistics have proven). Anthony forget that there are a good amount of people who do like the PT (as we’ll as the entire saga in general).
Smh at people who attempt to “read between the lines” when there’s really nothing to read more into at all. Trying to make loose deductions based on misinformation.
He forgets that before the PT l, his character was one of the most hated character in Star Wars (along with the Ewoks). Sorry but he sounds like he has more of a sense of entitlement than a sense of gratefulness.
Right, thank goodness for him the PT had so many annoying characters, right?
Yes she was enamoured by the films. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2881088/Natalie-Portman-reveals-career-nearly-ruined-Star-Wars-prequels.html
Natalie Portman – “‘Star Wars had come out around the time of Seagull and everyone thought I was a horrible actress,”
Wasn’t SW. She is a horrendous actres. Actually, scratch that, she can create a very convincing physical performance, but literally every single time she opens her mouth she falls on her face.
Ewan learns about the title of SW2. He too was enamoured by the creative integrity of the prequels. https://youtu.be/iwL8wlBMflA
Natalie Portman was ‘appreciative’ of her SW role? Colour me confused… but if someone publicly states that a movie part almost killed their career, that doesn’t sound particularly positive.
i’m still waiting to meet a real life PT fan. They seem to only exist on the internet.
You are an Ashoole.
We are all Star Wars fans. Most of us love all 6 movies.
Ashoole? Is that a good thing to be?
come on guys, can’t we all just go back to hating on the holiday special?
The Gentlemen’s Guide to Insulting. Lesson #1. An invective is much more effective if it is spelled correctly.
Hardly anyone, including most of the actors (Ford, Sir Alec, etc), the British crew, and all of the studios, believed in ANH — and gave GL lots of grief during its production. And during the writing of ANH, Coppola thoughts GL’s early draft was ready to shoot. What do you have to say about any of that?
What it means is they can now add Daniels to the list of people they badmouth, because he had the audacity to criticize the prequels, which, of course, are sacred and beyond criticism to them. They think that if anyone has a problem with those movies it’s their problem and nothing wrong with the films themselves. Because nothing with the Star Wars logo on it can possibly be bad.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the prequels (especially 1 and 2) as well. But what is this need for prequel haters to jump on a soap box and tell people who did enjoy them that they’re wrong.
That weird “Anonymous” guy tell people that didn’t like the prequels that they’re wrong. You telling people that did like the prequels that they’re wrong.
Give it a rest. You have your opinion, other people have theirs. It’s called life.
I tell you what was better about the prequels
The toys ! These new toys are garbage
Yeah the way Harrison, Carrie and Mark scoffed at the originals? For years and years? Maybe it’s time to face reality about those movies too …?
“When JJ told me the story of the new one, my eyes sort of glazed over.”
Yeah, he is honest, I’ll give him that. He was not too impressed with the TFA story, it seems.
Best yet, sitting at the read-through with the old & the new cast. And the story! You can’t wait!
— Anthony Daniels (@ADaniels3PO) May 1, 2014
I’m confused about the part where Daniels said his “Eyes glazed over” When JJ was telling him the story?
Does this mean he didn’t like it?
He’s right about the secrecy,never known a film like it.They all have usually let up by now.
Also wish they would tell us when the trailer will drop,if it’s mid October,fine,just let us know.
Yes we need to know. I thought it was today. Daamn it!!
Hmmm. If he hadn’t read the whole script how does he know it will be as good as empire?
Read the article in context. It will make sense.
I read the article in context. It did make sense – my bad
Man I love that guy, feel bad for any actor in the movie who has to keep their mouth shut and not geek the fuck out.
Say what you want about C-3P0, but he, along with artoo, was a great introduction for me into the Stars Wars universe. I thought he and artoo were hilarious in ANH.
Perfectly put.
Did anyone ask Anthony when he thinks the official trailer will drop???
I seriously doubt he knows anything about that.
First?
still i say i really like attack of the clones and revenge of the sith, i agree phantom menace was a letdown.many people liked those movies and some will only go see the new one because of them,i wish people would understand that.i want to see an obi wan stand alone with ewan mcgregor back it would be amazing.
I hear that a lot, but personally I find AOTC to be far and away the worst SW movie. The droid factory nonsense with Threepio is even worse than the Jar Jar stuff in TPM imo.
Also, I actually find Jake Lloyd less objectionable than Hayden. I think I cut him more slack for being a kid, playing a kid. Hayden I found completely unlikable, he is my biggest gripe with the PT. A likeable Anakin would have helped the PT immensely in my view.
ROTS overcame this by not really asking the viewer to like Anakin the way Episode 2 did I think.
…and before I get flamed let me say I am not a prequel basher. I have often defended aspects of them around here, but in my opinion AOTC is the worst SW movie.
AOTC is where I checked out of the prequels and has probably colored my view of ROTS, fair or not. It really was the worst Star Wars movie.
Daniels is totally ungrateful.
Nope. The worst Star Wars movie is ”Return of the Jedi”.
Only good part in that movie are Vader, Luke and Sidious scenes on Death Star.
”Attack of the Clones” is a good movie. I like it.
Actually:
1. EP III
2. EP V
3. EP II
Are my TOP 3 favorite Star Wars movies.
its like poetry, it rhymes…
Your opinion might be in the minority, but it as valid as any.
And how do you know it is in the minority?!
You dont!
And I do not care.
Dude! The guy wasn’t insulting you.
Take a chill pill.
Relax.
I said your opinion “MIGHT be in the minority”, does that sound like a definitive statement? I was trying to be diplomatic.
People around here need to learn to accept differences of opinion and stop acting like babies.
I agree. AOTC was the worst.
The Threepio inserts were attrocious – moreso that the team that animated him had apparently either never looked at any footage of Daniles in costume or just had a terrible rigger working on the 3P0 model. Awful. The rest of that sequence though is the some of the most effective action in the whole film – the sequence flows logically, the editing is spot on, there are some visual gags that actually land – really don’t get the hate for the sequence as a whole. Certainly works better than the Coruscant chase.
Just curious, but do you guys expect a trailer today?
Nope.
Not saying he’s a PT basher, but…
““Ah, the prequels,” says Daniels ruefully. “Hmm. I turned one on the other night. Sky seems to have devoted a whole channel to them.” He leaves no doubt that this is a risible state of affairs. But then he has never been shy of nibbling, if not biting, the hand that feeds him. He gives a shudder when mentioning the Ewoks, the teddy-bear tribe from Return of the Jedi, and claims to have been unimpressed by the lurch in the prequels toward fully digital sets. “The effects are clever but pointless. The skill is there, but so what? Coldness, that’s the word. Bleakness, even.”
All the signs are that The Force Awakens will be different. “It became clear early on that with JJ we were getting back to the old-fashioned kind of film-making. We have walls. Actual sets! All right, so you might not have a view out of the window, but you have a window. Now, what else can I tell you?” He mulls something over, then says: “No, I can’t tell you that.”
Daniels is a model of discretion, even when he emails me later to say how Abrams has approached C-3PO’s place in the new movie: “While meticulously directing every moment of Episode VII, and giving 3PO time and space to do his thing, JJ is far too respectful to suggest that he change the droid’s ways in any way. There was, however, some debate about a certain issue, whose outcome will become apparent in due course …””
Basically everything “cute” that Lucas has tried to add (that didn’t go over well) and the full green-screen sets don’t get his approval.
I like a man with his values.
Was Daniels bashing the PT when the films were about to come out? Or is it only now (at a time when Disney knows what a smart publicity stunt it is to bash the PT to cater to the many PT bashers/haters out there) that he’s coming up with these comments?
I’m curious, because I’ve NEVER heard an actor bash their latest film when it is just about to be released.
Does it really matter? He obviously doesn’t like them now.
Of course he’s not going to bash the movie he is in before it comes out. It’s the courteous thing to do.
It’s one thing to be courteous, and a totally different thing to call this next film better than TESB.
If TFA turns out worse than all 3 prequels combined (in the eyes of many; I don’t hate the PT), Mr. Daniels will lose all of his credibility.
Personally, I do believe that honesty matters.
In one sense it’s good business. Also, people are entitled to change their minds over the years. I know many Star Wars fans who tolerated the PT initially and tried to give them a shot and now can’t stand to watch them.
Also, If JJ manages to make a film worse than any in the PT, it will be the most epic fail in cinema history. That’s just my opinion of course.
Yes just your opinion. Because PT movies are not bad at all.
EP III has 80% on Rottentomatoes.
EP II 62%.
Better score than most Disney Marvel movies.
Just be thankful that those movies haven’t gotten a 3d re-release in theaters like TPM or those scores would go down considerably. TPM was fresh too before the re release. I noticed you conveniently left that one off your list.
Nope. TMP has score of 51% on Rottentomatoes.
Same as always.
Re-release does not change scores of the movies.
51% is still better score than scores of the most modern blockbusters.
All PT movies have solid reviews. And solid scores.
EP III has better scores than ”Return of the jedi”
He’s actually right. TPM was 61% before re release and 57% after. There is a forum topic about this on the TPM rotten tomatoes page, if you care to look.
Just looked. You’re right.
Nope.
TMP always had 57% on RottenTomatoes ( before 2012. 3D release ).
Re-release does not change reviews on movies.
Reviews are always first impression. They are fixed.
EP III has better reviews than EP VI.
”Revange of the Sith” is Certified Fresh on Rotten tomatoes.
Rottentomatoes
EP I 57%
EP II 67%
EP III 80%
EP IV 94%
EP V 95%
EP VI 78%
From the best to the worst:
1. EP V 95%
2. EP IV 94%
3. EP III 80%
4. EP VI 78%
5. EP II 67%
6. EP I 57%
Nope 61% percent befor 3d release. I can send you an email from RT on this.
The phantom menace was at 61% before 3d re release and then dipped even lower 57% after. Scores do change on re-releases. This article proves that the change occurred.
http://www.movieswithbutter.com/blogs/are-star-wars-fans-salivating-watch-jar-jar-binks-3d-207697
I prefer IMDB
Best to worst.
TESB- 8.8
ANH – 8.7
ROTJ – 8.4
ROTS – 7.7
AOTC – 6.7
TPM – 6.5
Anonymous September 05, 2015 at 20:36 PM
Nope. That article is wrong. It always was 57% for TMP on Rottentomatoes.
I know because I always check movie ratings.
We also have Metacritic ratings.
EP I 51/100
EP II 53/100
EP III 68/100
EP IV 91/100
EP V 78/100
EP VI 52/100
From best to worst
1. EP IV 91/100
2. EP V 78/100
3. EP III 68/100
4. EP II 53/100
5. EP VI 52/100
6. EP I 51/100
But score was not changed. It was always 57% on Rottentomatoes. Before and after 2012.
Score is fixed.
3D release did not change score of TMP. It is same as before.
Wrong it did. Go read the comments section on the Rotten Tomatoes TPM page.
Nope. It was the same before 2012.
57%.
Ratings can not change.
But they did. Read the reviews dumb ass, some of them are for the 3d version. They are lumped in to final score.
Or just look at the dates of the most recent reviews. They are dated 2012.
But score was not changed. It was always 57% on Rottentomatoes. Before and after 2012.
He says PT and then lists 2 movies.
That’s right TPM never existed.
It’s good business only if you’re gullible enough to buy into the hype when everyone knows that all artists will speak wonders of their latest work just as it is about to be released to boost sales. Oldest trick in the marketing/advertising world.
If Daniels spoke highly of the PT (and I’m not saying he did, b/c I don’t remember reading many of his interviews from ’98-2005) and now he’s bashing it, that’s not changing his mind; that’s a publicity stunt to build more hype for TFA among PT haters, period.
Abrams is very capable of making a film worst than the PT. In fact, I’ll take all 3 PT films over any Abrams’ film to date, any day of the week. I can only hope that TFA is a good film b/c of Kasdan’s input.
This is why I just can’t take PT apologists seriously. I just can’t, I’m sorry.
And, I hate to say, but you probably won’t enjoy TFA.
Ok, first off, I’m not apologizing for anything. I enjoyed the PT more than MI3, Super 8 and the 2 Trek Abrams films to date, just like I obviously like the OT more than the PT. That’s a matter of personal taste, and I’m smart enough to realize that not everyone will share my opinion, nor do I care.
Secondly, I don’t have the greatest expectations for TFA. I prefer to be pleasantly surprised by what I’ll see on the screen come Dec. 18 rather than being so disappointed that I’ll keep bashing Abrams and the ST for the next 10, 15 yrs. the way PT bashers/haters do.
I don’t think you know what apologist means.
I’ve often thought that I spend a lot of time here arguing with 12 year olds. This might be further proof.
Lol, yeah, you’re definitely very mature and open-minded to keep arguing with 12-yr. olds; tells people all that’s needed to know about you.
Shia Labeef. He badmouthed KotCS, and Ford quite publcially tore him a new one for it as being a totally unprofessional way to behave.
But how would a droid’s personality have changed? He should still be the same robot we have seen for 6 movies now. That being said it is very easy to nitpick a comment from an actor who has a notoriously bad reputation of being difficult to work with, but we are clamoring for every little piece of information here about this movie. What I am most excited about are seeing the new Luke, Han and Leia merchandise, and I wonder why it wasn’t revealed or released on Force Friday.
read the article, the last 30 years have not been easy on him and he’s always been a kind of a hypochondriac anyway. he’s old, falling apart and he knows it.
Still good that in the article he confirms that he signed on for EP 8 and 9.
“He made decisions that I believe might have been better discussed with other people”
Which, loosely translated, means that he thinks the prequel trilogy was pretty poor.
Time has not been kind to the PT.
Not really. PT are great movies like every other star wars.
Daniels words need no translating. Everything he says is perfectly said. He’s a great actor and person.
He is money hungry.
He will say anything for the money.
Nothing he says needs translation. Everything he says is worded perfectly. Anthony Daniels is a great actor and man.
Actually, loosely translated it means Tony Daniels thinks Lucas made a mistake with some of the choices on the prequels. Subtle, but you can see his real meaning there if you squint.
I guess Lucas didn’t want to sit like Padme discussing things in committee.
It’s been evident from the documentaries that Lucas surrounded himself with people that only said yes to anything he proposed, that’s what caused a lot of issues with the movies, nobody willing to challenge him.
Hmm, met this man a few years ago. The word ‘catty’ doesn’t cover it but it’s the closest descriptive I can think of. His attitude towards those around him was really disappointing.
I met him in 2002. I found him to be gracious and professional.
People like this who think George doesn’t collaborate and is perhaps only surrounded by “yes men” (a comment we hear a lot from the vocal minority) need to remember that if George hadn’t met a “yes man” in 1976, there would be no Star Wars and they would not have a career.
Anthony is obviously suffering memory loss about how much he praised the prequels when they came out, how many real sets they had, and what he said in all the interviews then. This bitchy comment biting the hand that fed him shows nothing but his true personality. The Force is not with him. Maybe if he climbs out of JJ’s backside he will see the light side.
Whatever makes you feel better, dude. What does the guy who played in all 7 Star Wars movies know, right? He’s just being nostalgic, right? He’s delusional, right? Because none of the other prequel actors made similar comments, right?
I can respect your opinion that the you think the prequels were good, but you must understand that there are a lot of fans who thought they sucked. And, in a way, their emotional investment makes them just as big a fan as you think you are.
Don’t waste your time dude. Some of these posters can bend and twist anything to suit their logic, and rather than listen to a man who has appeared in every SW film they will attempt to discredit him if it contradicts their opinions.
That same man praised PT movies.
So its seems that he only cares for money. So I do not belive anything he says.
I do not respect him anymore.
Paint it anyway you like, but you decided you don’t like him because he doesn’t share your opinion.
I don’t happen to agree with him 100℅, but there it is.
As for his previous comments on the PT I suspect he feels more comfortable being honest now that Lucas is out of the picture.
It is his opinion.
I do not respect people like that.
People who shit where they eat.
No, you are fuming because he doesn’t like the PT. I’d respect you more if you could admit that and just said “Yeah it burns me that he is knocking something I enjoy”, but no you need to twist it into some bullshit about him being ungrateful. As if he owes Lucas more than the performances he was paid for.
I could understand your view if he disrespected the fans..the customer. That would be shitting where he eats. He doesn’t owe LFL anything, they pay him to act. He owes them a performance. He doesn’t have to blow smoke up their ass for the rest of his life.
Again, he has an opinion. He is just as entitled to his as you are to yours.
Yes he ows him everything. He was nothing before star wars.
He wanted the job in PT movies. He wanted money. He praised PT movies until until recently, in the whole bunch of interviews.
PT where great when he had the job and money. Now he is in new movie and has new boss and now they are not good suddenly.
10 years from now, person like that will say that ST movies are awful and Abrams bad director.
I lost every respect in Daniels.
Wait, but now, NOW you can totally trust what’s he’s saying. I mean, he clearly wasn’t being honest before because he was selling the prequels. But now, because he doesn’t have a film to pimp he can totally trust what he’s saying. About the film that’s about to come out. Which Disney is hoping will win back a whole bunch of butt-hurt fanboys. I mean, I don’t ask much dude, just that you look at what you’re saying.
Once you start down the prequel path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will.
Daniels praised the prequels back then.
He is ungrateful.
He changes its mind like wind its directions.
A lot of us changed our minds. We tried and spent lots of money trying to convince ourselves that these movies were good. We gave up. It became much easier to just dislike them.
The Clone Wars and Rebels made it easier to move on, and now these new movies are a new hope.
Daniels is all about money. He does not care for star wars. He cares for the money only.
And prequels are not bad. The majority of star wars fans like them. Maybe not us much as original movies, but they still like them.
Do not act like just your opinion is opinion of majority.
You do realize that opinions are not always prefaced with “this is my opinion” or “just so you know this is my opinion”. They are a lot of the time stated with conviction as they should be. And yes there are a lot of people I know that went through the same experience. We did, and that’s a fact jack.
And just so we are clear “the majority of Stat Wars fans like them” is also an opinion, because there is no way that something like that can be measured.
He is ungrateful? Are you suggesting that he has an obligation to pretend he likes the PT because he got the part of c3po nearly four decades ago? Is he to pretend he likes them for the rest of his life?
ungrateful because he did not talk that way when she starred in these movies and received money.
He praised them until recently.
Basically, his opinion means shit. He will say anything for the money.
I do not appreciate people like that.
I understand your point although I don’t understand how that makes him ungrateful. It seems more like you are accusing him of whoring for money.
Who are you saying he needs to be showing gratitude towards?
These seem like 2 separate criticisms andIm just saying that he doesn’t owe LFL more than he has given. If he was attacking the fans I would consider that being ungrateful toward someone he owes gratitude.
He owns. Because he got the job in PT. No one forced him with gun to star in PT.
He wanted to be in PT movies. He wanted money.
He preised PT movies in whole bunch of interviews.
And now when Abrams is his boss and not Lucas, he has different story?
Sorry that is ungrateful. 10 years from now he will say how ST movies are awfull and Abrams bad director.
I do not like people like that in real life too.
I’m seriously disappointed in him.
Wow you are a fucktard…nothing you said there comes close to describing an ungrateful person.
There’s a difference between a “yes man” and a “why not” man, for the PT trilogy there were a lot of yes man, for the OT there were a lot of “why not” men.
also, read this again.. 70’s lucas has a completely different attitude than 90’s lucas: http://www.starwars.com/news/the-long-winding-and-shapeshifting-trail-to-episodes-vii-viii-ix
“When JJ told me the story of the new ones, my eyes sort of glazed over”? Doesn’t that mean “Bored”, “Dull”, etc. ???
He also says somewhere that when he saw A New Hope he basically didn’t give a shit about it haha. Doesn’t mean he can’t see the difference between how the OT was made vs the prequels, and see how the new films are harping back to their roots. I just don’t think he cares for Star Wars in the slightest. It’s a job and he’s grateful for it, but he doesn’t actually care about the films, lol.
Anthony Daniels is the man!
And he shouldn’t worry, it sounds like JJ’s ideas will suck to me, too.
nice. so is R2D2 all remote controlled this time. no kenny baker anymore? the duo is doomed 🙁
So Lucas isn’t too collaborative, but Abrams is willing and open to listening to other people’s advice?
Good for him. Then again, that doesn’t guarantee a thing. The film will be good or it will suck, depending on many factors other than listening to the advice of others or using less CGI characters or backgrounds.
Stings, doesn’t it?
It will if the film isn’t good.
Jeesh, he sounds like an ass.
Yet another disappointment.
C3P0 – “The prequels suck.”
PT fan – “You’re an ass”
OT fan – “Can I buy you a beer, my old friend?”
Nope. Many of us like both trilogies. I’am a PT fan, but OT fan also. Like most people.
Do not act like OT fans hate prequels because that is not true.
Only OT purists hate prequels.
So, do you think Daniels is an OT purist or an ass?
No Daniels is money purist. He will say and do anything for the money.
Money whore…
If an OT purist means you demand a higher quality of filmmaking and a Star Wars fan means you’ll like anything because it has the Star Wars logo on it, than you can put me in the former, not the latter.
Nope OT purists are people who do not see any flaw in OT.
Who criticize other films for the same stuff they like in OT.
People with double standards when it comes to OT and other movies.
People who will only truly like OT and nothing else.
Well, ike didn’t give me many choices there.
Also, for a film series so maligned and panned by critics and fans alike, there are more reasons than a biased and myopic view of the OT to hate the prequels. A lot more reasons. My wife doesn’t like them because she thinks they are just bad movies.
Prequels are not panned by the critics.
Rottentomatoes
EP I 57%
EP II 67%
EP III 80%
EP IV 94%
EP V 95%
EP VI 78%
From the best to the worst:
1. EP V 95%
2. EP IV 94%
3. EP III 80%
4. EP VI 78%
5. EP II 67%
6. EP I 57%
Metacritic ratings.
EP I 51/100
EP II 53/100
EP III 68/100
EP IV 91/100
EP V 78/100
EP VI 52/100
From best to worst
1. EP IV 91/100
2. EP V 78/100
3. EP III 68/100
4. EP II 53/100
5. EP VI 52/100
6. EP I 51/100
Also most fans like all 6 movies.
You just gave me the evidence they were poorly reviewed. Thanks for doing all that leg work for me, I can tell it means a lot to you.
OT average – 89
PT average – 68
Nope they are not.
EP III is third best-rated Star Wars movie.
Acording to Metacritic even EP II is better than EP VI.
Also learn what ”panned from the critics” term means.
if some movie has predominantly negative reviews, like 1-30% on RottenTomatoes is panned.
80% means that 80% of reviews where positive.
Even TMP has 57%. 57% positive reviews and 43% negative. So even TMP has more positive reviews than negative.
Since you rely on Rotten Tomatoes for objectivity here – All the the OT received “certified fresh” ratings and only one for the PT.
Also what is striking (since you directed me to this site) is the audience ratings for these films. This says a lot about how the general public received these movies and how they have aged. ROTJ has a 95% audience approval over 65% for ROTS. But I’m sure there is an excuse (*cough* conspiracy) for that.
Being about 15 years younger than Anthony Daniels, I’m just impressed that he can still fit in that costume. 🙂
It’s funny…everyone (OT purests above all) only tolerates Daniels, until he throws shade at Lucas and the Prequels…now we forget that without R2-D2 in ANH or Han in ESB C3P0 is about as annoying as Jar Jar.
Also there were plenty of actual locations and real sets (with real walls and windows) and most of Daniels’s scenes involved them. Classically trained actors (the orginal cast, Neison, Ewan, Chris Lee, Ian, even Portman when she put her back into it) realize there’s really no difference in green screen acting and black box theater. There are problems with Prequels, but these marketing points were not them.
And I actually find more times than not when people go back to watch them as a whole or have never seen then to begin with…the funny thing is they are suprised to find the actually are in fact NOT the worst movies ever made & like the OT out shine other popular contemporary films. TPM is not as good as the Matrix or the First 2 LOTR films (of course I’m not talking about the theatrical releases but the expanded ones), but as a whole the Prequels are MUCH better than The Matrix Trilogy and apples to apples RotS is better than Return of the King (which is an unwatchable mess that mainly got Best Picture as a slap in Lucas’s and ILMs face).
“we forget that without R2-D2 in ANH or Han in ESB C3P0 is about as annoying as Jar Jar.”
“RotS is better than Return of the King”
“(which is an unwatchable mess that mainly got Best Picture as a slap in Lucas’s amd ILMs face).”
Oh dear! You have lost all credibility my friend. Can we have a “Delusional PT Fan” version of this site…pretty please?
Truly, it is fans like you that make the prequel argument not very compelling.
So Return of the King won Best Picture because of a personal vendetta against Lucas? What the hell, dude? Seriously?
I wouldn’t post under the name “Wess” again after what I just read.
Ha ha ha ha.
“Classically trained actors (the orginal cast, Neison, Ewan, Chris Lee, Ian, even Portman when she put her back into it) realize there’s really no difference in green screen acting and black box theater. There are problems with Prequels, but these marketing points were not them.”
No offense dude, but I think professional actors ARE the best to judge this sort of thing. It seems to be unanimous that George is notoriously a bad “actor’s director” to boot.
And “marketing points”? I don’t think an actor or director view there work environment as marketing points.
Of course you said a lot of other stupid crap too.
I blame early onset senility of Gen X’ers (on top of autistm) in the delusional worship of the OT and the rubber monster puppet and teddy bear show that it turned into. PRACTICAL EFFECTS THO RITE?
If it were only that easy to explain why fans think the prequels sucked so bad. But if it makes you feel better, type away.
I like the prequels!!!
(: (: (: !
I hate the prequels!!!
I like some of the movies from both OT and PT!
Thought I’d just throw that in.
DarthMouse ,that’s what I meant to post.
I like prequels too.
I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything’s soft… and smooth…
Jar Jar is the key to all of this!
I was going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters! Scruffy looking nerf herder! You overweight glob of grease! Short help’s better than no help at all! Yeah the OT was frickin’ Shakespeare.
Nope not Shakespeare, but it did get a nod for Best Picture and 10 academy award nominations.
Yeah? So what? From the 70’s so did: Airport-Love Story-A Touch of Class (Ever heard of it? Me neither)-Lenny (who can EVER forget Lenny?!?!?!)-Towering Inferno-The Turning Point (another timeless and unforgettable classic!!)-An Unmarried Woman (I watch that one at least once a month, don’t you?)-Kramer Vs. Kramer . . . it wasn’t nominated because of its incredible dialogue. SW was innovative & extraordinarily popular and the nom was a nod to the up and coming film-making generation. Of course it should have won 🙂 Just saying, that doesn’t mean anything. The dialogue in SW has always been rudimentary with a few strong scenes and lines that became classics because the audience liked them. “It’s a trap!!” — seriously.
Star Wars was nominated for Best Screenplay. And Alec Guiness for Best Supporting Actor. So it wasn’t just technical awards.
But your argument is hard to track anyway. One breath awards don’t matter, but another Star Wars should have won.
The point is that the though neither were Shakespeare, one set of films executed better in the acting department than the other. You said the lines were classic “because the audience liked them”. That’s the difference with the PT, a lot of us didn’t like them. The lines in the prequels never entered into the cultural vernacular like the OT. And that’s a fact.
That’s purely subjective. To me, the acting in both trilogies is almost identical. Compared to the acting in Bergman’s films it’s all very juvenile and rudimentary, all six of ’em. Ditto the writing. I don’t see a huge qualitative difference between the two trilogies. When I do, I usually fall in favor of the PT. Lots of people didn’t like the writing in the OT either. Not everyone on earth was a SW fan. “But the original was nommed for awards” is an appeal to authority, which I tried to undermine, because appeals to authority do not count as objective evidence of anything.
Subjective would be what you just wrote. The OT launched the careers of many effects wizards and legions of filmmakers while it’s dialogue became part of the cultural vernacular. The PT is never made without the huge cultural and universal appeal of the OT, which is not subjective.
Seriously, all you have to do is quote the movie and it does the insulting for you. Have you ever seen the Honest Trailers vid for Attack of the Clones? So funny.
And OT is any better?!
OT Is heavily criticized for dialogue.
And I really do not see where is the problem in that ”sand” dialogue.
Yes it’s better.
C3PO is going to be destroyed….bet anything I own on it.
If you own any Jar Jar action figures, I’ll take that bet.
JJ Abrams secrecy is out of control. Hopeful the directors after him aren’t as bad. The actors and actresses will have more freedom to say things before the movie comes out. Also, get the novels and soundtracks week before the movie starts.
Ha!!
LOL it’s not “JJ secrecy”, it’s DISNEY secrecy!
Mark, have you been living under a rock? JJ secrecy is his mystery box and he has a history of secrecy. Disney is pulling teeth from JJ to get Information out to the public. You are an idiot and I know what I am talking about.
“I’m not personally attacking you if you like the Prequels but only a f***ing retard would like them.” Typical Rhetoric from you bitter, never seen a woman naked, Mom’s basement dwellers.
Oh, I’m just going to disregard any advice to not post under my actual name coming from someone agreeing with a bunch dickheads posting as “Anonymous” – really brave guys.
They may not have a site only for us “delusional prequel defenders” – but if you are such a Return of the King fan, they do in fact have LotR fan site (suprise: most Tolkien fans agree with me that the film version of RotK is a major disappointment).
Also I have an infant son…the first Star Wars film I will show him will be The Force Awakens.
You said the reason that Return of the King won best picture was because of a vendetta against Lucas. That’s what makes you a retard.
Im new here and I never replied to your post before, but that statement is ridiculous.
To Wess comment of course.
love the prequels ,as i love the first 3,sorry haters.if honest daniels sounds ungrateful,c3po is one of the weaker parts,but i like alot.
Daniels is totally ungrateful.
I like prequels more than original movies.
I agree! The PT was better visually and fast pace than the OT.
let’s say this, if you like movies in general, you’ll enjoy more the OT, because it has better screenwriting, character developmentand ecc., but if you just like movies for the special effects and action(as many people do), and you love star wars you’ll enjoy more the PT (except the Phantom Menace, that’s the boring one of the PT u.u ).
I like movies in general, but I like PT more.
Pt has more interesting and thrilling huge scale story.
OT story is really to small and simple compared to PT. PT story is more grandiose, epic.
So I disagree.
The story is not what make a film great, it’s how it tells the story, so yeah, PT has a better story, but the OT tells its story better, in that sense it is, in my opinion, better. I like the PT too, especially Revenge of the Sith, that I find relly good and I also think it gets rid of many problems of the other two movies.
Oh dear!
My Oscar comment was meant to be ridiculous…but no more ridiculous than “George Lucas raped my childhood.” it’s well known the the Academy disliked the crap out of Lucas and Spielberg (evidence – Annie Hall over ANH, Chariots of Fire of Raiders, whatever won over ET…Spielberg didn’t win best director until Schindler, Lucas has yet to be even given an honorary one).
I’m out mouth breathers!
Give it up dude.
Its so dense, there’s so much going on.
They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
I’m confused about the part where Daniels said his “Eyes glazed over” When JJ was telling him the story?
Does this mean he didn’t like it?
PT fans have already excommunicated him, called him an ass, ungrateful, and bitchy. So I guess the answer will be it doesn’t matter what his opinion is.
I guess the way it works is if your opinion is you don’t like the PT, then you don’t get to have any opinions. Kind of like the new tolerance.
But didn’t Daniels already state in a previous interview that he felt TFA will be better than Empire ?
Daniels praised prequel movies before he got a job in EP VII.
So yes he is ungrateful and bitchy.
So this means that he will say anything for the money.
In my eyes he has fallen very low.
Not PT fans, Star Wars fans.
We star wars fans love all 6 movies.
Daniels disappointed me.
We do, do we?
“We star wars fans love all 6 movies.”
Only a Sith deals in absolutes.
Just for the record, I think Mr. Daniels is awesome and I don’t read too much into his thoughts. I don’t agree on many of his points but it doesn’t bother me he has those opinions.
I am curious though, has there been discussions among the fans how, after I saw his panel at Star Wars Celebration, when I got home, I went on Youtube and I noticed Star Wars didn’t include it in their livestream coverage even though they said they would….hmmm
Jar Jar Abrams
You guys act like children. Daniels says something you don’t agree with so now you hate him. Grow up.
The once plucky, optimistic, wide-eyed PT apologists have become the bitter, intolerant, fan boys they despise. If you no like the prequels you are a disappointment and not a Star Wars fan. Their children will grow up with the new trilogy and then their journey to the dark side will be complete. It’s like poetry, it rhymes.
In the future, I wonder what Anthony Daniels will say about John Boyega?
circa 2025
“Well, you know, John was a nice guy, really, really nice. But in the end, he was just too black for Star Wars.”
Crossed the line there buddy.
PT apologists?!
So when someone likes what you dont, they are apologists.
Grow up and leave mother’s basement.
LMAO!! You don’t know what the word apologist means do you? It’s not an insult.
Sounds like you might be the one in the basement.
If you don’t want to be called a supporter of the PT, then I’m sure that would be fine with the OP.
Mike you do know when you are arguing with PT fans, chances are they are under 12. There’s lots they don’t of things they don’t know.
You guys need a dictionary because a lot of you don’t seem to know what “ungrateful” means.
“Yeah that guy will say anything for money, he is so ungrateful!”
Are you brain dead?
We know what that word means, but you dont.
Daniels like to shit where he eats.
Prequels where great when he got a job in them. And lots of money.
Until yesterday they where great. But now they are not because he has a job in new movie.
And 10 years from now he will say that EP VII is a bad movie because he will get a job in something else.
I’m picturing a 5 year old in a crying fit while I read this. Try it, it’s funny.
How does that make him ungrateful fucktard? How is he not showing gratitude toward something? You don’t know what the fucking word means fucktard.
Prequel Trilogy Sucks!
It’s a scientific FACT
You are ass.hole. That is scientific FACT !!!
All 6 star wars movies are great. 1000 times better than some Marvel shit.
The fact that you mention Marvel when no one else has shows you have an inferiority complex lurking there.
Marvel = Disney.
Some people who are bashing PT are Marvel fans.
But truth is, Marvel movies are pile of shit.
PT and Star Wars in general are a thousand times better.
One thing I did like about the PT is the anticipation that led to the film releases. It’s like the journey before the destination where fans gathered and bought toys and dressed up. Just like how it’s happening right now.
This website for instance. Although many people here don’t agree on everything such as the PT to the OT. We are still a part of a Star Wars online community! And websites like this one has brought us together. Say all you want about who is better than what but I know we are all hoping that this new film will blow us away. Until then I’m enjoying the ride and the passionate comments. haha
If the prequel trilogy sucks, why mention them? If you don’t like them great. If you hate them so much than why give them a second of your energy or time? Praise the original trilogy and pretend they didn’t even exist. Does bashing them make you feel like a better person? Do you think it makes you smarter than other people? What’s the point in arguing with people that found enjoyment in them? I don’t get it.
i loved the first 3 movies as a kid they were my life with the toys,best days.but iam not blind as an adult to there mistakes the same as people knock the prequals,some poor parts in all the movies but that happens iam not taken in by my enjoyment as a child that the 3 first movies were perfect,some flat moments and silly parts but its star wars,something i love and i do feel for the younger fans who grew up on the prequels and were special to them,yet always here how bad they are.not true at all some great parts in the prequels and revenge of the sith is great could have been better i agree but i really enjoyed.we all have a view but this bashing is just to much,as for daniels he sounds bitter when george could have dropped him like jar jar,brave to speak how he feels some believe fair enough,disrespect in my view but entitled to his view,i hope the force awakens is great and everyone is happy,i really liked what jj done with star trek others hated but trust in him,and i love star wars i will enjoy anyway.
The prequels are largely shite, some good moments but cartoonish drivel.
Of the six films so far this is my order of preference (ratings out of five):
TESB 5
ANH 5
ROTJ 3
AOTC 3
ROTS 3
TPM 2
Revenge of the Sith the biggest wasted opportunity.
I disagree.
My list would be.
ROTS 5
TESB 5
AOTC 5
TPM 4
ROTJ 3
ANH 3
I disagree.
TESB-5
ANH – 5
ROTJ – 4
I don’t have any other Star Wars movies to grade.
ROTS 5
AOTC 5
TPM 4
TESB 4
ANH 3
ROTJ 2
LMAO!!!
Nice troll!!
So if someone likes something you dont, it is a troll?!
Very mature of you…
Online and brick ‘n’ mortar stores have run out of stock on most TFA products. Most of the purchasers are over-grown children in their 30’s and 40’s. After all the hype and money invested in the merchandise, then TFA turns out to be worst than TPM! Thanks for the heads up Mr. Daniels!!
Srsly, Disney. You bitched at Anthony Daniels because he mentioned Simon Pegg? Someone we all already know has a minor role in the movie?
Seriously, Disney?