I wish I had an actual working lightsaber.

So I saw the Trailer for Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. The first half is footage culled from the previous FIVE films, and the second half of the trailer delivers the tease of new footage from the May 2005 release.I have to say I like what I see. From what I’ve read online, folks are pretty much losing faith in George to deliver the goods. And I side with them on issue of writing and directing (what else is there?!?!?!). Well, the mogul-like stature of such Lucas offspring as Lucas Arts, Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound, and the biggest–Industrial Light & Magic, have paved the way for these films, as I’ll discuss below, and more so, occupied George’s creative side in a significant amount compared to his writing and directing. I wonder why he didn’t just STAY competitive with his colleagues (Spielberg, Scorcese, Coppola) instead of becoming a service provider to THEIR films.I’ll take a moment to confess that NOT having cable, I missed the Comedy Central airing of “The Clone Wars” cartoon. But thanks to peer-to-peer networks and the client software available (unnamed here to not indict the innocent), I was able to snag a good many of the episodes and run them out of my PowerBook to my TV and Stereo, enjoying them just as I would’ve on TV. Sans the commercials.Confession over.This recent article on Box Office Mojo shows the disdain that true blue fans have for the versions of the film found in last month’s DVD box set of Ep’s 4,5, & 6. The author makes a good note that such fans are nearing fascism with demanding that Lucas REVERT to the ORIGINAL THEATRICAL versions of the film for DVD release. I give George a bit more grace than that. It’s so funny. I can remember growing up, the occasional Entertainment Tonight story, or something similar, where George would pop back up in the headlines. Maybe for Indy Jones Chronicles or something. And they’d ask when they could expect MORE Star Wars movies. And George would always answer to the effect that he was waiting for technology to catch up with his ideas. And kudos to George for putting his money where his mouth was and building the de facto visual fx company two which all other VFX houses bow their greenscreens in unison curtsy. But I think that when that occured back in the late nineties as he “polished” the workflow for Ep. 1’s production, the technology arrived to find his ideas a dry pile of dust, instead of the more vibrant prequels we all would’ve savored had he just made the damn series in sequence. It’s pretty obvious to most that Ep’s 1 & II have eye candy filling chasms where story belonged.The outrage of fans underscored in Holleran’s article reminds me of several recent and relevant encounters I have had with others (primarily from older generations) where I see a HUGE chasm between value of intelllectual property (a fairly new term) and the object or container of that property. Stay tuned for that delicious essay.Nonetheless, my heartrate quickened when I saw the teaser trailer. We ALL want to see the transformation of Darth Vader. We all deserve another wookie moment, and there is no such thing as too many lightsaber fights, at least in my book. So, more power to George as he presses on towards next May’s release.By the way…the title of this entry. It’s the TRUE dividing factor between men and women. I have YET to meet a fella who wouldn’t give his right android hand for an actual working lightsaber. Next time you’re with a few, just ask. In the meanwhile check out these fine replicas at a web retailer near you.