The release of the last film in the Star Wars franchise is drawing nigh. Boy, after sitting through the extremely lackluster Episodes 1 and 2, I have to admit that I'm leary of Revenge of the Sith.
(I've heard critics on the popular radio morning shows the past two weeks saying they've seen the first 45 minutes of the film and it's an A+ in their book so maybe Lucas pulled his head out and wrote a decent script and instilled in his actors better direction so they don't look like animated cardboard stand-ups!)
This morning, I discovered an excellent article on Slate titled "May the Force Be With You: Why Fans Make Better Star Wars Movies," written by Clive Thompson. In the article, he talks about the group of fans that have joined together to create or recreate Star Wars films, right down to suprisingly professional visual effects.
 Here are the opening paragraphs:
Good news, Star Wars buffs. There's a new movie out this spring—and it isn't by George Lucas. The 40-minute, fan-made Star Wars Revelations cost a mere $20,000. It's also just as good as—and often quite better than—the cringe-inducing Star Wars movies of recent years. Indeed, it's so artistically successful that it suggests a radical idea: Maybe Lucas should step aside and let the fans take over.
Our most cherished sci-fi franchises are in a creative trough. Lucas' movies have spiraled into unwatchability; Paramount has so exhausted its ideas for Star Trek that it's folding up its tent and going home. The fans, in contrast, still give a damn: The director of Revelations, Shane Felux, is clearly more knowledgeable about the strengths and weaknesses of the material than Lucas himself. Felux's movie retains the funky vibe of the original Star Wars, down to the kitschy, '70s-style wipes, the obligatory scene in an alien bar, and Darth Vader's throat-choking technique. Better yet, it jettisons Lucas' most loathed innovations—neither Jar Jar Binks nor any Ewoks make an appearance. Fans may be pointy-headed and obsessed with useless trivia, but they have excellent bullshit detectors.
In order to get you over there to read this, I'm not posting the links to download site for Star Wars Revelations. You'll have to go there to get them. But so you know, I'm going to download this and watch it.
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