Where is our live action star wars series?

[sith_killer_99]

"The TV series is on hold, but that has nothing to do with the Czech Republic; it has to do with [the episodes being] so ambitious," he added. "We have 50 hours of third-draft scripts, but the problem we have is there is a lot of digital animation; we don't have the technology yet to be able to do them at a price that is safe for television. Since we would be financing them, it would be suicide for us to do this [now]. So we are going to wait three or four years."

It's not like anyone could get away with pulling off a really awesome re-make of some high end special effects/digital animation sci-fi program like Battlestar Galactica and be successful at making money. They need to wait 3-4 years for the price to come down.

"Network television and cable television as we know it are completely imploding, so we're not really sure that in five years' time we can release a dramatic one-hour episode because it is all reality TV now."

Yeah, one hour TV dramas don't sell right now, they need to wait 5 years 'til the whole reality tv fad blows over.

So perhaps one day never we will see something. Lucas is afraid, after the Christmas Special he should be.

Making good televsion ain't like making movies boy, without good writers you could end up cancelled in mid season or left with a season cliff hanger and that would end your fandom real quick!

Just admit you guys couldn't get the people from BSG or LOST and now it ain't gonna happen.

[JediTricks]

Good find, Chux. I posted it in the news. I found McCallum's honesty refreshing given his cheerleader status most of the time. 3, 4, 5 years, never? That's a long time to leave 50 scripts on the shelf, and prostitution in the SW universe is surprising as well.

And I can't wait to hear what constitutes success in the 3D release. I suspect it'll flop hard, conversion is rarely any good in general and Lucas has high standards.


SK99, keep in mind that BSG wasn't independently funded, and it was canceled fairly early for a successful series mainly because it was very expensive (and hemorrhaged viewers after SciFi Channel's problematic scheduling and a mediocre 3rd season). I guess Lucas doesn't want it to look like the CGI on the Stargate franchise, or really, like Sanctuary since it's the only 1 hour drama that's heavily greenscreen.

[El Chuxter]

If hour-long non-reality shows are doing so poorly, why did HBO order six full seasons of a show based on Neil Gaiman's American Gods? The fact is, the reality show is becoming so prevalent not because they get awesome ratings, but because they're cheaper to produce. Same with the crop of procedural dramas and teenybopper soaps; they essentially need only one script per genre. On the rare occasion an hour-long show is made that's quality and receives the sort of promotion it should (sorry, Pushing Daisies), they tend to be rather successful. Maybe not MASH successful, but they do well.

[JediTricks]

HBO doesn't make money the same way other cable channels do. Also, they didn't order 6 seasons, they put in an open order for UP TO 6 seasons. And Tom Hanks' production company is producing the series, which helps loosen coffers. HBO is apparently looking to spend around $35-40 mil per 12-episode season, around $3 million per episode - about 2/3rds of what they spent on Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire per season. Lucas is looking for a minimum of a 4 or 5 season commitment above what HBO is spending on Game of Thrones in order to ensure he doesn't end up losing hundreds of millions on production, or risking telling an incomplete story. Lucas in that respect doesn't want to take any risks, it seems, which is admirable but given his latest films is a bit unnecessary.

[El Chuxter]

Unless it's crappy, it will be a smash hit.

(If I wanted to be snide, I could point to Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars, and change that beginning of that sentence from "unless" to "even if.")

There are still non-HBO dramas that do well. I just pointed to HBO since they seem to be the best at it. Sons of Anarchy seems to be quite a hit. Sure, it's not (like I said before) MASH numbers, but there are more than three options for TV now, and that will never change (unless we get knocked into the Stone Age and have to re-invent TV).

Even hour-long dramas on regular TV that are promoted properly do well. Problem is, the networks don't promote them, because (I suspect) they cost more to make than reality shows. (I mentioned Pushing Daisies earlier--I never showed my DVDs to anyone who didn't love the show... but, trouble was, none had ever heard of it, either, in spite of watching television regularly.)

[JediTricks]

Unless it's crappy, it will be a smash hit.

(If I wanted to be snide, I could point to Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars, and change that beginning of that sentence from "unless" to "even if.")

There are still non-HBO dramas that do well. I just pointed to HBO since they seem to be the best at it. Sons of Anarchy seems to be quite a hit. Sure, it's not (like I said before) MASH numbers, but there are more than three options for TV now, and that will never change (unless we get knocked into the Stone Age and have to re-invent TV).

Even hour-long dramas on regular TV that are promoted properly do well. Problem is, the networks don't promote them, because (I suspect) they cost more to make than reality shows. (I mentioned Pushing Daisies earlier--I never showed my DVDs to anyone who didn't love the show... but, trouble was, none had ever heard of it, either, in spite of watching television regularly.)

Sons of Anarchy doesn't require a lot of effects, and most of it is shot here in LA in the northeast area around Tujunga, so its budget goes into talent, and it's a hit series for FX. I don't think a Star Wars TV series is comparable, and I can't think of a really big draw show to compare it to. Something like CSI Miami is around $3 mil an episode with a 24-episode season, splitting its budget mostly towards talent and production, then effects, but it's a mega-hit and no chance in hell would Star Wars draw those kinds of numbers.

[sith_killer_99]

Well, I think they are making the right decision, costs and technology/funding/etc. aside I stand by my statement about writers and television vs movies.

I see no indication Lucas Film has the talent to properly create a weekly one hour show for television.

Films are 2 hour fantasy adventures. In order to do a good television show it takes talented writers who understand character development. The best shows in recent years have all been character driven, it's all about nuances, details, and long term development.

Shows like BSG, LOST, The Shield, etc. are built one moment at a time, piece by piece, interaction by interaction. They have to be real, you have to connect with the character. The writers have to be able to look at a scene and ask "Would Lee Adama really cheat on his wife? What would be the end result? Could he and Kara Thrace ever have a real relationship, or would he get burned, if so how?"

The folks who brought us the SW films just wouldn't be able to pull that off IMO.

Maybe Russell T. Davies is available?

[JimJamBonds]

Interesting find, good to get some news on what most of us had to have forgotten. In short I'll say this: won't happen.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

When I first saw Firefly, I immediately thought that a Star Wars series would be possible. Something in that style would be perfect for the Han Solo trilogy.

[Bel-Cam Jos]

When I first saw Firefly, I immediately thought that a Star Wars series would be possible. Something in that style would be perfect for the Han Solo trilogy.

Great idea! That is an "easy" way to have scripts; just get permission to use the EU novels or comics to provide storylines. They could run for 4 weeks or so, per story arc (or longer, depending on the length of the original source), and that would allow different actors to cover the wide range of time periods over all the tales.