Keith Watanabe * NET 2.0

I never really came into this "controversial" issue on the net until Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. There's a great quote from them regarding Lucas' movie (actually the quote is from Ben Affleck's character): "I mean, I don't think I'm alone in the world in imagining this flick may be the worst idea since Greedo shooting first." I find this to the best quote in the movie and kinda set me on a little quest to find the origins of this issue. After some google searches, I noticed that there's a huge inverted orgasm of loyal Star Wars fruitcases who obsessively and vehemently protest the whole thing of Lucas re-editing the scene so that Greedo's character shoots before Han does in the movie. Most people chastize the characterization of Han's darker character which grows to someone who is more trusting towards the end. To me the whole issue is overblown and a waste of time. Then again that's the whole argument of teenagers, time and the internet these days. As far as I'm concerned, the scene just looks silly and it really doesn't affect me one way or another. The real message behind all this should've been Lucas' decision to re-re-reinvent Star Wars with more extraneous footage. His basic point is shown in the South Park episode where Spielburg and Lucas seek to redeploy Raiders of the Lost Art. There the makers of South Park argue from Lucas' viewpoint where, as a creator, he should be allowed to modify his own stuff. The counterpoint comes from the general public who view their prints where it's become public domain and that they own as much of it as Lucas does. My viewpoint is that things like this should be tested better rather than allowed to run rampant. It should be a compromise of a director's vision and the way a public response is. As an artist myself, I generally don't care about the public. My vision is the art in the end. But something like this is blatantly distasteful and makes it seem moreso Lucas' greed. Either way, it's a great quote that I'm happy Mr. Smith recognizes.