Joss Whedon says the ending to The Empire Strikes Back was a "terrible idea"

[NJCardFan]

Joss Whedon says the ending to The Empire Strikes Back was a "terrible idea"

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/jos...back-was-a-terrible-idea#sthash.xsOJqOQI.dpuf

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, Whedon was asked questions ranging from Buffy to The Avengers and Star Wars, but it was his strong comments about the ending of The Empire Strikes Back that caught me off guard. Whedon calls the ending "appalling" and a "terrible idea". Why does the filmmaker feel so strongly?

“Well, it’s not an ending,” Whedon explained about the 1980 film, which had a cliffhanger leading into the next entry of the series, Return of the Jedi. “It’s a Come Back Next Week, or in three years. And that upsets me. I go to movies expecting to have a whole experience. If I want a movie that doesn’t end I’ll go to a French movie. That’s a betrayal of trust to me. A movie has to be complete within itself, it can’t just build off the first one or play variations.”

-------------------------------------------------------

Man, he just doesn't get it.

The way Empire ended was perfect because it didn't wrap everything up with a pretty bow on it.

"A movie has to be complete within itself" ?? Since when?

It was part of a known trilogy. It was also heavily influenced by the Flash Gordon movie serials that George Lucas grew up watching.

Wow. Um, talk about clueless. Um, that was the point. The movies were already set up to be a trilogy. Jedi was already green lighted so the ending was perfect. As for the "come back next week" comment, Lucas said that Star Wars to be like the old time serials like Flash Gordon. That's why it had that feel.

Guess Joss should stay away from The Dark Knight.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Wow. Um, talk about clueless. Um, that was the point. The movies were already set up to be a trilogy. Jedi was already green lighted so the ending was perfect.

Guess Joss should stay away from The Dark Knight.

First off, you can have a trilogy without having a cliffhanger. Secondly, it just wasn't done back then and it felt (to some of us) like we had paid full price but didn't receive a full movie. I remember sitting in the lounge at the Black Angus in Tempe in the summer of 1980 talking about this with several friends and all of us were (mildly) pissed about the ending-less movie.

Steve

 

[Gaddabout]

I sort of agree with him, and I love both Whedon and Empire. I remember being very disappointed at the lack of resolution. I was 11. I was an impatient boy. I didn't have the Internet to inform me that there would be a third installment. I was just like, "What the h-e-double-toothpicks is that?!"

BTW, Mulli, Whedon writes teenage characters who speak like post-graduate English majors. In his universe, everyone has the vocabulary of an Oxford professor, and they make constant allusions to classical literature. It's simultaneously stimulating and annoying. Except Firefly. In that universe, they all speak like a cross between an 18th Century frontiersman and a 19th Century Chinese railroad worker. That is very, very humorous.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[D-Dogg]

Mulli is more likely to enjoy Honey Boo Boo than Firefly.

That's not a compliment, Mulli.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Mulli is more likely to enjoy Honey Boo Boo than Firefly.

That's not a compliment, Mulli.

That's quite a slap in the face Donald. But can someone please explain this Honey Boo Boo sensation. I put her popularity right up there with Krokodil use as signs of the coming apocalypse. It won't be long zombies, your time is nigh.

Steve