Topher Kohan from CNN wrote an open letter to George Lucas and Star Wars fans today entitled “‘Star Wars’ in 3-D: ‘The fool, or the fool who follows him?‘”, wondering automatically who’s more foolish for this notable endeavor, the man enabling it, or the fans excited to see it on the big screen.
Mr. Kohan believes for some reason that this is one of the worst ideas that Star Wars has ever had, even stooping so low to compare it to the Holiday Special (that was Fox’s doing, not Lucasfilm.) He likens a re-release in theatres as “a twist of the knife”, as though it’s going to hurt us to see these films once more in a theatre, in 3D or otherwise.
Mr. Kohan is mistaken in his article, about a great many things.
First off, he pre-supposes that this release will see a whole new bevy of changes that will ruin his experience of the movies, as though the experience were about him exclusively. Lucasfilm has publicly said that there will be few if any changes will be made. Two we know about are incredibly minor. The first is that the much-reviled Yoda puppet in The Phantom Menace will be replaced with a digital Yoda. The second is that the sound of Obi-Wan’s Krayt dragon call will be changed in A New Hope. I’m completely fine with these changes, as I’m sure most others are, too. I am, however, on board in asking that Lucasfilm change it back to Han firing first in the Cantina.
And even if changes are made, these are changes being made by the artist. Star Wars is still, first and foremost, George Lucas’ and we’re not entitled to demand he do anything with it, one way or the other.
The next mistake I feel like Mr. Kohan made was the idea that there was little to love about The Phantom Menace, which will be the first film released in 3D. He seems to forget that there is an entire generation of fans who prefer the Prequel films. While I don’t count myself among that number (all 6 Star Wars films are equals in my eyes) there are many kids who find that this is the Star Wars of their generation as well. More often than not, this is a silent majority, a majority that is afraid to speak out because of the bullying by those Star Wars “purists” who hate anything done with Star Wars after 1995. To call them foolish for their preference is, in itself, foolish.
Perhaps the worst thing Mr. Kohan did in his letter, though, was fail to realize that the big screen is the preferred method of seeing big event films, particularly Star Wars. This release will be the first time a whole new generation of fans who know and love Star Wars will be able to experience it on the big screen, regardless of the 3D enhancements. There are plenty of mothers and fathers (like myself) excited to be able to share this experience with their children. This doesn’t make us fools, it makes us eager to share what we love with our kids in the best way possible.
Lucas isn’t “twisting a knife into us” or “tossing us scraps”. He’s giving plenty of Star Wars fans exactly what they want, and have wanted since 1977. Star Wars on the big screen. Perhaps Mr. Kohan forgets that Star Wars was in pretty much continuous release from 1977 until the release of The Empire Strikes Back. No one accused him (or Fox) of twisting a knife in fans then. They’re simply giving us what we want.
If you don’t want it, don’t go see it. But please, don’t act like you have to just because it’s Star Wars and then be angry about it.
This is good news for anyone who wants to see it. And not bad news, but no news at all for anyone who doesn’t. If Mr. Kohan has watched The Empire Strikes Back as many times as he claims, he’d remember that the anger, fear, and aggression he displayed in his article leads to the dark side. And he’ll know that this open letter in response to his is written purely in knowledge and defense.
This is my plea to guys like Topher Kohan and all of the other members of the mainstream media who have jumped up and down on the 3D release of Star Wars: If you don’t want to see it, move along. It doesn’t do anyone any good for you to call people fools for wanting to see a theatrical film in a theatre, whether it’s in 3D or not. Star Wars hasn’t been released as many times as Gone With the Wind, but no one reviles David O. Selznick for it. Why do this to Lucas?
Isn’t it the American Dream to have a product everyone wants and sell it to them? And at the point where Lucas has pledged half of his fortune to charities benefiting the American education system, how can we not feel even better about spending our entertainment dollars where we want to?
One of the best feelings I’ve ever had was seeing a Star Wars movie at a midnight screening with hundreds of fellow Star Wars fans. Thanks to George Lucas, I’ll be able to do it again, but this time share that experience with my son and daughter. That means a lot to me, and a lot of others. Try not to rain on our parade.
Bryan Young is the editor of Big Shiny Robot!, a columnist for The Huffington Post and you can follow him on Twitter.
UPDATE: Read my article about the possibility of the original, pre-Special Edition trilogy coming out in HD.