deleted account

I do not believe JW had anything to do with AD's involvement, or eventual lack of involvement, with the film.  AD was hired by Gareth Edwards because of their previous working relationship on Godzilla.  Also, KK had worked with him on Benjamin Button and considered him a friend.
 
I do know that Tony Gilroy, who eventually took over the film in many ways, has a long-standing relationship with JNH and that JNH's schedule prevented him from even being considered for the scoring duties if AD was replaced.
 
I have inferred that JW was not annoyed that AD got the boot, so to speak.  
 
JW apparently tried very aggressively to get the job to score Deathly Hallows, but that JKRowling did not want an American composer.  I do not know what that means in terms of JW's opinion of AD's work, but I can imagine that, like any human being, there is some healthy competitive judgement there.
 
I have also heard that JW was asked to score Jurassic World.  He turned it down but lobbied hard for William Ross to get the job in his stead.
 
Put all this together and you get a situation where people's egos, intentions, and an enormous amount of money are on the line.
 
JP was hired for Solo by the original directors, and when they were fired, JP assumed he might be too.
 
As long as JW is alive and well, anyone else scoring a SW movie is stepping into a tangled mess of corporate directives conflicting with artistic ambitions.  As a famous orchestrator observed to me, right now scoring a star wars movie is job "you can only fuck up" 
 
It's very much like Bond when John Barry was still alive.
 

I used to be.  Now I am Lorne Balfe.
 

TFA is constructed very much like Ep 4 is constructed.  Secret data is placed in a droid, the droid goes into the desert and is found by a young person with unusually developed skills (Luke's piloting, Rey's scavenging).  The young person is taken in by an older father figure (Obi-Wan, Han Solo) who fills the youth in on the state of affairs beyond the desert world.  The father figure is murdered by a good guy turned bad and the youth must take up the mantle to carry on the ancient way that is in danger of being lost forever.  The good guys attack a colossal super weapon.  It's not a carbon copy of Ep 4 - there are differences - but it's clearly built on the spine of a tested formula that JJ knows works - EP 4 is a successful film, not only commercially, but artistically, so he doesn't mess with the structure.
 
[As an aside, I can tell you from personal experience that a big part of JJ's process breaking story is that you have to show him an example where something worked in another film or tv program before he will accept it as an option in whatever you're working on with him]
 
RJ, by contrast, at almost every turn, takes the structure and setup of Ep5 and turns it in the opposite direction.  DJ is clearly intended for the audience to relate to as they did to Lando - a scoundrel who betrays the heroes but does the right thing in the end.  Only he doesn't.  Luke will, perhaps grudgingly like Yoda, finally agree to teach Rey, and his early behavior is a test of her patience to see if she's worthy.  Only it isn't - Luke has disconnected himself from the Force entirely and has given up the game.  Poe is pulling off the impossible, facing a star destroyer by himself in one tiny x-wing.  Instead of being congratulated for heroism as Luke is in the original trilogy, Poe is slapped in the face and demoted.  Ben tells Luke - if you face Vader you do it alone, I cannot interfere.  In Ep 8, Luke completely interferes by facing Kyle Ren in spirit at the end of the film.  The cave sequence in Empire, where Luke faces Vader and finds his own face behind the mask, is mirrored (literally) in Ep 8 when Rey, in trying to see her parents in the dark side cave, only sees herself. The big reveal of Empire, that Vader is Luke's father, is turned against itself when the big reveal of Ep 8 is that Rey's parents are nobodies.
 
If you are saying that Vader's turn to good at the end of Jedi is somehow proof that TFA is not built on following the tropes of Star Wars, because Kylo Ren doesn't turn good at the end of EP 7, with respect, I think that is being too shortsighted.  Vader murders Obi-Wan, his old master, "the closest thing he has to father" (dia from ep 2) in front of Luke.  Kylo murders Han, his literal father, in front of Rey.
 
Again, let me reiterate, I'm not saying 7 or 8 is better than the other, I am just pointing out that the 2 films are made with very different intentions.  JJ reveres the past (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing), RJ says "let go of the past.  Kill it if you have to..." (And I'm not saying that's a bad thing either).  At their hearts, both films reinforce certain core ideas to the star wars stories, such as the young boy with the Force at the end of Ep 8 and the spirit of hope that Leia carries even as they flee Crait.
 
 
 

TFA is constructed very much like Ep 4 is constructed.  Secret data is placed in a droid, the droid goes into the desert and is found by a young person with unusually developed skills (Luke's piloting, Rey's scavenging).  The young person is taken in by an older father figure (Obi-Wan, Han Solo) who fills the youth in on the state of affairs beyond the desert world.  The father figure is murdered by a good guy turned bad and the youth must take up the mantle to carry on the ancient way that is in danger of being lost forever.  The good guys attack a colossal super weapon.  It's not a carbon copy of Ep 4 - there are differences - but it's clearly built on the spine of a tested formula that JJ knows works - EP 4 is a successful film, not only commercially, but artistically, so he doesn't mess with the structure.
 
[As an aside, I can tell you from personal experience that a big part of JJ's process breaking story is that you have to show him an example where something worked in another film or tv program before he will accept it as an option in whatever you're working on with him]
 
RJ, by contrast, at almost every turn, takes the structure and setup of Ep5 and turns it in the opposite direction.  DJ is clearly intended for the audience to relate to as they did to Lando - a scoundrel who betrays the heroes but does the right thing in the end.  Only he doesn't.  Luke will, perhaps grudgingly like Yoda, finally agree to teach Rey, and his early behavior is a test of her patience to see if she's worthy.  Only it isn't - Luke has disconnected himself from the Force entirely and has given up the game.  Poe is pulling off the impossible, facing a star destroyer by himself in one tiny x-wing.  Instead of being congratulated for heroism as Luke is in the original trilogy, Poe is slapped in the face and demoted.  Ben tells Luke - if you face Vader you do it alone, I cannot interfere.  In Ep 8, Luke completely interferes by facing Kyle Ren in spirit at the end of the film.  The cave sequence in Empire, where Luke faces Vader and finds his own face behind the mask, is mirrored (literally) in Ep 8 when Rey, in trying to see her parents in the dark side cave, only sees herself. The big reveal of Empire, that Vader is Luke's father, is turned against itself when the big reveal of Ep 8 is that Rey's parents are nobodies.
 
If you are saying that Vader's turn to good at the end of Jedi is somehow proof that TFA is not built on following the tropes of Star Wars, because Kylo Ren doesn't turn good at the end of EP 7, with respect, I think that is being too shortsighted.  Vader murders Obi-Wan, his old master, "the closest thing he has to father" (dia from ep 2) in front of Luke.  Kylo murders Han, his literal father, in front of Rey.
 
Again, let me reiterate, I'm not saying 7 or 8 is better than the other, I am just pointing out that the 2 films are made with very different intentions.  JJ reveres the past (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing), RJ says "let go of the past.  Kill it if you have to..." (And I'm not saying that's a bad thing either).  At their hearts, both films reinforce certain core ideas to the star wars stories, such as the young boy with the Force at the end of Ep 8 and the spirit of hope that Leia carries even as they flee Crait.
 
 
 

TFA is constructed very much like Ep 4 is constructed.  Secret data is placed in a droid, the droid goes into the desert and is found by a young person with unusually developed skills (Luke's piloting, Rey's scavenging).  The young person is taken in by an older father figure (Obi-Wan, Han Solo) who fills the youth in on the state of affairs beyond the desert world.  The father figure is murdered by a good guy turned bad and the youth must take up the mantle to carry on the ancient way that is in danger of being lost forever.  The good guys attack a colossal super weapon.  It's not a carbon copy of Ep 4 - there are differences - but it's clearly built on the spine of a tested formula that JJ knows works - EP 4 is a successful film, not only commercially, but artistically, so he doesn't mess with the structure.
 
[As an aside, I can tell you from personal experience that a big part of JJ's process breaking story is that you have to show him an example where something worked in another film or tv program before he will accept it as an option in whatever you're working on with him]
 
RJ, by contrast, at almost every turn, takes the structure and setup of Ep5 and turns it in the opposite direction.  DJ is clearly intended for the audience to relate to as they did to Lando - a scoundrel who betrays the heroes but does the right thing in the end.  Only he doesn't.  Luke will, perhaps grudgingly like Yoda, finally agree to teach Rey, and his early behavior is a test of her patience to see if she's worthy.  Only it isn't - Luke has disconnected himself from the Force entirely and has given up the game.  Poe is pulling off the impossible, facing a star destroyer by himself in one tiny x-wing.  Instead of being congratulated for heroism as Luke is in the original trilogy, Poe is slapped in the face and demoted.  Ben tells Luke - if you face Vader you do it alone, I cannot interfere.  In Ep 8, Luke completely interferes by facing Kyle Ren in spirit at the end of the film.  The cave sequence in Empire, where Luke faces Vader and finds his own face behind the mask, is mirrored (literally) in Ep 8 when Rey, in trying to see her parents in the dark side cave, only sees herself. The big reveal of Empire, that Vader is Luke's father, is turned against itself when the big reveal of Ep 8 is that Rey's parents are nobodies.
 
If you are saying that Vader's turn to good at the end of Jedi is somehow proof that TFA is not built on following the tropes of Star Wars, because Kylo Ren doesn't turn good at the end of EP 7, with respect, I think that is being too shortsighted.  Vader murders Obi-Wan, his old master, "the closest thing he has to father" (dia from ep 2) in front of Luke.  Kylo murders Han, his literal father, in front of Rey.
 
Again, let me reiterate, I'm not saying 7 or 8 is better than the other, I am just pointing out that the 2 films are made with very different intentions.  JJ reveres the past (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing), RJ says "let go of the past.  Kill it if you have to..." (And I'm not saying that's a bad thing either).  At their hearts, both films reinforce certain core ideas to the star wars stories, such as the young boy with the Force at the end of Ep 8 and the spirit of hope that Leia carries even as they flee Crait.
 
 
 

TFA is constructed very much like Ep 4 is constructed.  Secret data is placed in a droid, the droid goes into the desert and is found by a young person with unusually developed skills (Luke's piloting, Rey's scavenging).  The young person is taken in by an older father figure (Obi-Wan, Han Solo) who fills the youth in on the state of affairs beyond the desert world.  The father figure is murdered by a good guy turned bad and the youth must take up the mantle to carry on the ancient way that is in danger of being lost forever.  The good guys attack a colossal super weapon.  It's not a carbon copy of Ep 4 - there are differences - but it's clearly built on the spine of a tested formula that JJ knows works - EP 4 is a successful film, not only commercially, but artistically, so he doesn't mess with the structure.
 
[As an aside, I can tell you from personal experience that a big part of JJ's process breaking story is that you have to show him an example where something worked in another film or tv program before he will accept it as an option in whatever you're working on with him]
 
RJ, by contrast, at almost every turn, takes the structure and setup of Ep5 and turns it in the opposite direction.  DJ is clearly intended for the audience to relate to as they did to Lando - a scoundrel who betrays the heroes but does the right thing in the end.  Only he doesn't.  Luke will, perhaps grudgingly like Yoda, finally agree to teach Rey, and his early behavior is a test of her patience to see if she's worthy.  Only it isn't - Luke has disconnected himself from the Force entirely and has given up the game.  Poe is pulling off the impossible, facing a star destroyer by himself in one tiny x-wing.  Instead of being congratulated for heroism as Luke is in the original trilogy, Poe is slapped in the face and demoted.  Ben tells Luke - if you face Vader you do it alone, I cannot interfere.  In Ep 8, Luke completely interferes by facing Kyle Ren in spirit at the end of the film.  The cave sequence in Empire, where Luke faces Vader and finds his own face behind the mask, is mirrored (literally) in Ep 8 when Rey, in trying to see her parents in the dark side cave, only sees herself. The big reveal of Empire, that Vader is Luke's father, is turned against itself when the big reveal of Ep 8 is that Rey's parents are nobodies.
 
If you are saying that Vader's turn to good at the end of Jedi is somehow proof that TFA is not built on following the tropes of Star Wars, because Kylo Ren doesn't turn good at the end of EP 7, with respect, I think that is being too shortsighted.  Vader murders Obi-Wan, his old master, "the closest thing he has to father" (dia from ep 2) in front of Luke.  Kylo murders Han, his literal father, in front of Rey.
 
Again, let me reiterate, I'm not saying 7 or 8 is better than the other, I am just pointing out that the 2 films are made with very different intentions.  JJ reveres the past (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing), RJ says "let go of the past.  Kill it if you have to..." (And I'm not saying that's a bad thing either).  At their hearts, both films reinforce certain core ideas to the star wars stories, such as the young boy with the Force at the end of Ep 8 and the spirit of hope that Leia carries even as they flee Crait.
 
 
 

True, Rian took all the story threads from TFA then developed and explored them in unexpected directions.
 
JJ just ignored Rian's setup and did his own thing in IX, offering little more than a middle finger to Rian's story threads (Rose, Rey being nobody, Hux undermining Ren turned into little more than a footnote), or totally abandoning others like war profiteering on both sides, Finn's upbringing, etc.
 
All while wasting half the film introducing a bunch of atrocious new JJ characters that were never developed in any meaningful way.

JJ provided him with a fairly legitimate reason: "One boy, an apprentice, turned against him [and killed everyone else]. Luke felt responsible. He just walked away."
 
Johnson just went along with that (plus the added "twist" of Luke having contemplated killing Kylo - which I like). But the set-up is all Abrams'.

As a relative outsider (and less frequent poster) looking in, there is something very interesting going in this thread.  Koray really seems to be personally, emotionally involved in what people say, and how people feel, about the director McQuarrie and composer Balfe, as much, or even more than, the movie itself.  It seems like anyone who makes a negative comment about the film or its score gets treated as if they've personally insulted not only the director and composer, but also Koray himself, to a degree.  I honestly, and with the utmost respect, wonder why that is....
 
I think it's funny that Dan Goldwasser (Scoringsessions.com) got all annoyed when Drew asked about the "Pirates" score on Twitter, too. 
 
A funny commonality between the two (as many here may know) is that Koray's brother runs FILM.MUSIC.MEDIA and Dan runs SCORING SESSIONS.  Both of these websites rely on positive personal relationships with composers, in the latter case, to get permission to come photograph recording sessions, and in the prior case, to get inside access to composers for their in-depth video interviews.
 
Not that anyone asked, but personally, I think the current trend in film music tends to favor scores that sound more like recordings/sound design and less like live orchestral performances.  I liken it to the trend in the 90's when MTV-style quick-cutting was all the rage in filmmaking, or when digital color-grading came in and made everything look super saturated (like Oh Brother Where Art Though or Ultraviolet) or when Bullet-time was everywhere.  I think Drew asked a relevant question when he asked about samples vs. live.  Does anyone here really think that RCP scores sound the same as JW scores?  Honestly, I think we all agree RCP has a sound that is not really anything like JW's.
 
There are people on this board who dismiss the current sound (myself included, if I'm honest), and there are people who like it.  The people who seem to like it, such as Mr. Who, seem to take any criticism of it as a pointless exercise in "bashing" music they like.   Some even seem to feel like certain people here take JW too seriously, which strikes me as funny considering this IS a John Williams fan site.
 
One thing that has emerged seems to be that the community here could be sorted into two very general camps - 1 camp likes to listen to film music primarily for it's musical value and the other camp likes to listen to film music primarily because of its association with a film.  Camp 1 has been critical of the score to Fallout, while camp 2 has argued that camp 1 is disregarding what it's association to the film adds to it.  For what it's worth, I fall into camp 1, again, not that anybody asked.
 
thoughts?
 

I can't find the exact quote, but when Balfe was confirmed, McQuarrie made a big deal on twitter posts about the fact that he didn't bring Kraemer back because every MI film had a different director up to that point and every MI film felt different stylistically, and he wanted to maintain that  - and that was the only reason he changed composers.  So yes, if he brings back Balfe for another film, that means his excuse for not bringing back Kraemer was not true.  Because everyone knows Kraemer AND Balfe could change styles as needed from film to film - it's part of the job of being a film composer.  
 
Koray, I know you love Balfe and I know you love McQuarrie and you don't like Kraemer, so I fully expect you to come up with another reason why what I'm saying is somehow not true...

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

In 2002 I attended a Lucasfilm event in Hollywood where Rick McCallum and Fred someone from ILM explained the evolution from 35mm film in 1977 to digital capture on Ep 2 in 2000.
 
One of the things they went into detail about was the evolution of the laser film printer, a machine which could print out new camera negative.
 
It was developed in the 80's and 90's to improve the quality of CGI images on 35mm - in '77 all the CGI (i.e. the Death Star plans) was captured by pointing a film camera at a computer screen and filming it one frame at a time.
 
In 1996 FOX decided to do a 20th anniversary rerelease of Star Wars.  Lucas went into the vaults and struck a new print from the OCN and was shocked at how much the image had degraded.  (They showed the first few minutes of this print at the 2002 event.  It did not have the "Episode IV A New Hope" subtitle in the crawl.)  The print was dark, murky, and pretty much unwatchable.  
 
The decision was made to scan the entire original camera negative (OCN) into a computer, repair the image digitally, and then print out a new negative using the laser printer.  Since they were scanning the whole film in anyways, GL then decided to upgrade shots that he was never happy with, using CGI.  This was how CGI shots were done in Jurassic Park, for example - CGI laid over 35mm images scanned into a computer.
 
Once this decision was made, it was then decided to shoot new elements for the stormtroopers in the desert, and resurrect the lost Jabba the Hutt scene with Harrison Ford.  Searching the vaults revealed that the OCN for the Jabba sequence was gone.  The only thing they could find was a work print of the scene, complete with edits and editorial markings on the film (grease pencil indications of dissolves, etc).  So they scanned the rough cut into the computer, did repair work digitally, then added CGI Jabba over the top of the human stand-in.
 
The point of all this is that the OCN for the 77 version of Star Wars still exists.  The "OCN" of the SE is actually a new negative printed out in '97 from the digitally repaired scan of the OCN  from '77 with CGI additions.  In fact, they made several OCNs of this version of the movie, and struck theatrical prints from them, which essentially made every 35mm print of the SE 2 generations closer to the OCN since they skipped the inter-positive/inter-negative steps.
 
In 2006 when the original versions of the first 3 movies were put on DVD in non-anamorphic widescreen, Lucasfilm's press comments clouded the issue because, in an effort to fend off angry fans, GL told vague half-truths about the original version not existing anymore, when in truth, it's just that the '77 OCN is in terrible shape and would need to be restored all over again for any anamorphic release.  
 
So, in conclusion, the 1977 OCN of Star Wars still exists.  It's just in terrible shape.
 

Dont care. Being talented is no longer a requirement to be a film composer

I remember when Star Wars stopped being a thing - in the late 80's.  The Marvel comics run was finished, Kenner stopped selling the toys, George Lucas had vanished from the public eye as a filmmaker, and the notion of a prequel trilogy was a "pie in the sky", "never-gonna-happen" kinda thing....
 

I've been posting on this site since it was THE STAR WARS PREQUEL MUSIC RESOURCE 20 years ago, the old-timers here will tell you, I'm not one to bullshit or make empty claims.
 
Here is one piece of "return" I offer you.  Ben Burtt's interview for Vanity Fair.  https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/ben-burtt-star-wars-sound
 
Here's something else I can offer in "return".  There are rips of the 7.1 mix of TFA floating around that make it pretty easy to listen to the score as it appears in EP 7, and it's obvious that it's been hacked to pieces.  In contrast, based on their own words, the filmmakers of Ep 8 gave JW a temp score and told him to follow it, which he apparently pretty much did.  My guess is after all the rewrites he had to do on Ep 7, he just wanted to write the score for Ep 8 once.
 
If JW and MG are such buddies, why has no live-to-picture concert for Rogue One been done?  MG is constantly doing these, you would think R1 would be done too.  We all know the prequels haven't happened because no sheet music exists that matches the films due to all the heavy music editing (and even pitch shifting in EP 3) done.  The reason Ep 7 is possible live is that they did all the orchestration and sheet music in a computer originally (the prequel scores were orchestrated by hand using pencil and paper) and conformed it as they recorded the cues expressly for the purpose of potential live-to-picture concerts.  By the way, MG always reserves a day at the end of this recording session blocks to do just that - conform his sheet music to the final versions of the cues recorded for potential live-to-picture concerts.  I know for a fact he did this on R1 too.
 
I know I can't convince you that what I say is not "hearsay", but it isn't.  I keep a relatively low profile because I like to be able to offer info when I get it without upsetting people I associate with in real life
 
As to qualifying my remarks as big claims?  I simply said, despite what everyone said in public at the time (because we know nobody lies to the press when a movie, especially a big expensive movie, comes out) JW didn't actually enjoy rewriting the score to TFA over and over again for JJ, and when Colin Treverow quit EP 9 and JW realized he might be working under the same conditions as he did on Ep 7, he seriously considered not coming back.  Is that a big claim?  I guess it is, but in the end, he DID come back, so what does it matter?  I just thought it was an interesting factoid to share with SW music fans....
 
So, again, feel free to disregard what I say, I just wanted to assure you, I'm not just making this up...
 
Humbly,
elvisjones

Ok, sorry, one more post as I  feel compelled to defend my reputation against claims that I am lying, and that what I’ve said is now being exaggerated. 
 
What part of my original post quoted above says EITHER ABRAMS GO OR I GO?  What part of this indicates JW was unprofessional in any way, that he shouted at people in some unreasonable, demanding manner?  What part of this is me dropping some “sensational bombshell”?
 
Steef, you’ve been here forever, when have I just posted bullshit?  Stu, when have you known me to post something claiming it’s fact just to annoy people versus posting something that I’ve heard or seen FIRST HAND in my job in LA?

I've been posting on this site since it was THE STAR WARS PREQUEL MUSIC RESOURCE 20 years ago, the old-timers here will tell you, I'm not one to bullshit or make empty claims.
 
Here is one piece of "return" I offer you.  Ben Burtt's interview for Vanity Fair.  https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/ben-burtt-star-wars-sound
 
Here's something else I can offer in "return".  There are rips of the 7.1 mix of TFA floating around that make it pretty easy to listen to the score as it appears in EP 7, and it's obvious that it's been hacked to pieces.  In contrast, based on their own words, the filmmakers of Ep 8 gave JW a temp score and told him to follow it, which he apparently pretty much did.  My guess is after all the rewrites he had to do on Ep 7, he just wanted to write the score for Ep 8 once.
 
If JW and MG are such buddies, why has no live-to-picture concert for Rogue One been done?  MG is constantly doing these, you would think R1 would be done too.  We all know the prequels haven't happened because no sheet music exists that matches the films due to all the heavy music editing (and even pitch shifting in EP 3) done.  The reason Ep 7 is possible live is that they did all the orchestration and sheet music in a computer originally (the prequel scores were orchestrated by hand using pencil and paper) and conformed it as they recorded the cues expressly for the purpose of potential live-to-picture concerts.  By the way, MG always reserves a day at the end of this recording session blocks to do just that - conform his sheet music to the final versions of the cues recorded for potential live-to-picture concerts.  I know for a fact he did this on R1 too.
 
I know I can't convince you that what I say is not "hearsay", but it isn't.  I keep a relatively low profile because I like to be able to offer info when I get it without upsetting people I associate with in real life
 
As to qualifying my remarks as big claims?  I simply said, despite what everyone said in public at the time (because we know nobody lies to the press when a movie, especially a big expensive movie, comes out) JW didn't actually enjoy rewriting the score to TFA over and over again for JJ, and when Colin Treverow quit EP 9 and JW realized he might be working under the same conditions as he did on Ep 7, he seriously considered not coming back.  Is that a big claim?  I guess it is, but in the end, he DID come back, so what does it matter?  I just thought it was an interesting factoid to share with SW music fans....
 
So, again, feel free to disregard what I say, I just wanted to assure you, I'm not just making this up...
 
Humbly,
elvisjones

I've been posting on this site since it was THE STAR WARS PREQUEL MUSIC RESOURCE 20 years ago, the old-timers here will tell you, I'm not one to bullshit or make empty claims.
 
Here is one piece of "return" I offer you.  Ben Burtt's interview for Vanity Fair.  https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/ben-burtt-star-wars-sound
 
Here's something else I can offer in "return".  There are rips of the 7.1 mix of TFA floating around that make it pretty easy to listen to the score as it appears in EP 7, and it's obvious that it's been hacked to pieces.  In contrast, based on their own words, the filmmakers of Ep 8 gave JW a temp score and told him to follow it, which he apparently pretty much did.  My guess is after all the rewrites he had to do on Ep 7, he just wanted to write the score for Ep 8 once.
 
If JW and MG are such buddies, why has no live-to-picture concert for Rogue One been done?  MG is constantly doing these, you would think R1 would be done too.  We all know the prequels haven't happened because no sheet music exists that matches the films due to all the heavy music editing (and even pitch shifting in EP 3) done.  The reason Ep 7 is possible live is that they did all the orchestration and sheet music in a computer originally (the prequel scores were orchestrated by hand using pencil and paper) and conformed it as they recorded the cues expressly for the purpose of potential live-to-picture concerts.  By the way, MG always reserves a day at the end of this recording session blocks to do just that - conform his sheet music to the final versions of the cues recorded for potential live-to-picture concerts.  I know for a fact he did this on R1 too.
 
I know I can't convince you that what I say is not "hearsay", but it isn't.  I keep a relatively low profile because I like to be able to offer info when I get it without upsetting people I associate with in real life
 
As to qualifying my remarks as big claims?  I simply said, despite what everyone said in public at the time (because we know nobody lies to the press when a movie, especially a big expensive movie, comes out) JW didn't actually enjoy rewriting the score to TFA over and over again for JJ, and when Colin Treverow quit EP 9 and JW realized he might be working under the same conditions as he did on Ep 7, he seriously considered not coming back.  Is that a big claim?  I guess it is, but in the end, he DID come back, so what does it matter?  I just thought it was an interesting factoid to share with SW music fans....
 
So, again, feel free to disregard what I say, I just wanted to assure you, I'm not just making this up...
 
Humbly,
elvisjones

I've been posting on this site since it was THE STAR WARS PREQUEL MUSIC RESOURCE 20 years ago, the old-timers here will tell you, I'm not one to bullshit or make empty claims.
 
Here is one piece of "return" I offer you.  Ben Burtt's interview for Vanity Fair.  https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/12/ben-burtt-star-wars-sound
 
Here's something else I can offer in "return".  There are rips of the 7.1 mix of TFA floating around that make it pretty easy to listen to the score as it appears in EP 7, and it's obvious that it's been hacked to pieces.  In contrast, based on their own words, the filmmakers of Ep 8 gave JW a temp score and told him to follow it, which he apparently pretty much did.  My guess is after all the rewrites he had to do on Ep 7, he just wanted to write the score for Ep 8 once.
 
If JW and MG are such buddies, why has no live-to-picture concert for Rogue One been done?  MG is constantly doing these, you would think R1 would be done too.  We all know the prequels haven't happened because no sheet music exists that matches the films due to all the heavy music editing (and even pitch shifting in EP 3) done.  The reason Ep 7 is possible live is that they did all the orchestration and sheet music in a computer originally (the prequel scores were orchestrated by hand using pencil and paper) and conformed it as they recorded the cues expressly for the purpose of potential live-to-picture concerts.  By the way, MG always reserves a day at the end of this recording session blocks to do just that - conform his sheet music to the final versions of the cues recorded for potential live-to-picture concerts.  I know for a fact he did this on R1 too.
 
I know I can't convince you that what I say is not "hearsay", but it isn't.  I keep a relatively low profile because I like to be able to offer info when I get it without upsetting people I associate with in real life
 
As to qualifying my remarks as big claims?  I simply said, despite what everyone said in public at the time (because we know nobody lies to the press when a movie, especially a big expensive movie, comes out) JW didn't actually enjoy rewriting the score to TFA over and over again for JJ, and when Colin Treverow quit EP 9 and JW realized he might be working under the same conditions as he did on Ep 7, he seriously considered not coming back.  Is that a big claim?  I guess it is, but in the end, he DID come back, so what does it matter?  I just thought it was an interesting factoid to share with SW music fans....
 
So, again, feel free to disregard what I say, I just wanted to assure you, I'm not just making this up...
 
Humbly,
elvisjones