Star Wars Rewrite

[LightSaber_Fighter]

I heard on the radio a rewrite where the anamosity between Anikin and Obi-wan sparked by their mutual attraction to Padme.

Ugh! Padme! Not exactly a name I would say "Padme huh? Bet she's hot!"

[Devo_Lars]

I think it would have better if they did "Anakin's perceived attraction between Obi-Wan and Padme." I thought they were starting that in the movie when Anakin asked "Was Obi-Wan here?", because he seemed a little pissed off at the notion.

[Darth Geoff]

I think that's what they were trying to imply at the end of Ep 3, but it was way to late in the story to suddenly play the jealousy card. Obi-Wan was about as sexually threatening as a glass of milk. The guy was the personification of "pure and wholesome".

I like the idea of the Han Solo-type character sparking Anakin's jealousy, starting way back in Ep 1.

[LightSaber_Fighter]

Maybe Obi-wan can be saved. I like the idea of Obi-wan being a bit brash and getting into trouble. Perhaps the dark-side thing starts to happen when Anakin takes it just one step too far. Not that he turns all the way but there is that point when Anakin just crosses over the line. I like the idea of Obi-wan having a past that he may not be proud of, even if there is not much support for it in 4-6.

[Lou Bacca]

Actually, I thought Obi Wan's speech to Luke in Jedi did suggest he had a past he wasn't proud of. "I thought I could train him as well as Yoda. I was wrong."

Here's the story I expected the prequels to tell, based on that line: Qui-Gon finds Anakin, sees his potential to be strong with the force, but is blinded by his potential for evil, which Yoda sees. QG makes OW promise to train him. Against Yoda's wishes, OW takes up the task after QG's death. OW can't control Anakin, he turns on OW, joins the dark side, kills off "the good man who was your father", and becomes Darth Vader. Vader "hunts down and murders the Jedi", leaving only OW and Yoda. The two remaning Jedi are forced to reconcile, and they hatch a plan to wait for Anakin's kids to come of age, hoping they can start a new order of Jedi. So OW is stuck in the desert for 20 years, dwelling on the knowledge that all the Jedi are dead, the galaxy's gone to hell, and it's basically all his fault. And the only way he can set it right is to die at Vader's hands, sending Luke down the path to becoming a Jedi.
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We've got to be able to get some sort of reading on those pants, up or down!

[Darth Geoff]

I think the story would be stronger if Obi-Wan takes on Anakin's training without anybody making him promise or anything like that. The Jedi order rejects him (at first) and Obi-Wan says "Fine, then I'll just 'look after him'." Then proceeds to train him as they go through the story. Anakin could then become a Jedi Knight during the Cologne Wars when Jedi become more needed. (He has to become an official Jedi at some point because of Obi-Wan's line in ANH.)

I really don't like the whole "chosen one" thing, and becoming an official Padawan with no Youngling-type training.

[irishlad78]

Laura mentioned a 'sexual' thing between Obi-Wan and Padme that she sensed towards the end of ROTS. I think that's what you're getting at here, and I think you're both reading way too much in to it. It doesn't fit Obi-Wan's character, and Padme's in no state to be thinking about anything other than Anakin and her baby. Lucas likes subtext, for sure, but I just don't see this a likely in the slightest.

Geoff, the reason for Anakin's training is clear. The Jedi are desperate. 1) Anakin seems to be the one mentioned in their prophecy (because of the immaculate conception) and 2) because of a philosophy laid down in ROTJ:

Luke- "Your overconfidence is your weakness"

Emperor- "Your faith in your friends is yours"

Well, that pretty much sums it up for me.
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Luminous beings are we, not these crude pants.

[Princess Laura]

Irishlad, you and I have talked about this before privately, and it's funny that others got that subtext between Padme and Obi Wan. But, I don't think that's what was intended in the script AT ALL. I think it's a function of Ewan McGregor's superb acting. It's what the screen people like to call chemistry. It's only when Ewan comes on the screen that you realize it's possible, just like the blinding chemistry between Han Solo and Leia that makes you know immediately who you want to hook up in ESB. It's just odd that they would let Ewan, who is a powerhouse actor, outshine Hayden Christenson so badly and leave it in the movie. They should have let Christenson (who isn't the block of wood he portrays in the prequels) actually act some, and perhaps it might have been a little less stunning when Obi Wan walks in and your immediate thought is "Holy Crap! Did Obi Wan have something going on with Padme?"
Again, a function of acting, not scriptwriting. Take it as a lesson that great acting can overcome cheesy dialogue, just sometimes not in the ways you intend.
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"I find your lack of pants disturbing."

[irishlad78]

I'll agree, with utmost certainty, that Ewan is the fucking man. I just really never sensed anything even remotely like the kind of chemistry that you're suggesting. I guess I'm just not tuned into the same wavelength. All I saw was Obi-Wan looking terribly disturbed by why he was there and what he was saying, and Padme in serious doubt, denial, and grief. I saw nothing more that made me think "oh crap, were they up to something?" Dunno, weird huh?
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Luminous beings are we, not these crude pants.

[Lou Bacca]

I actually had a third take on that scene. I thought Obi Wan wasn't involved with Padme, except as a friend, but when Anakin saw them together he suddenly realized how it looked - him comforting Anakin's wife when they were having problems. It's very hard, in that situation, to convince a jealous husband that it's all perfectly innocent, and there was a rift growing between OW and Anakin as it is, and he had to know that jealousy would only make it worse.

Anyway, it's hard to say one way or another. McGregor's such a good actor, and often so subtle you can't say for sure what he means in a certain seen. Have you seen Trainspotting? Remember the scene when he and his friend, both junkies, are before the judge, who sentences his friend but lets him off because he's in rehab? He looks the judge dead in the eye and says, "with God's help I'll beat this dreaded affliction." He's so overly sincere that you know he doesn't really mean it and he's saying it to mess with the judge. But because he's so sincere, the judge can't call him on it. It's a brilliant bit of acting. I wish he had been able to use his acting chops more in the Star Wars films, but it's probably tough when all your sets and half your co-stars are drawn in after the fact.
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We've got to be able to get some sort of reading on those pants, up or down!

[Darth Geoff]

[Lou Bacca]

Actually, I'm going to jump in here and defend IrishLad's arguments for a change.

- The Jedi are... actually, that part doesn't make sense. The Jedi are desperate later, after their ranks have been thinned by war. But at the time of Menace, not so much.

- Qui-Gonn and Windu's belief that Anakin is the chosen one does seem to have some bearing on their decision to train him. It's certainly what prompts QG to push so hard for his training.

- The "faith in your friends" line applies to Anakin because, despite the danger Yoda senses from him, the Jedi generally have faith in him to be good, which turns out to be misguided.
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We've got to be able to get some sort of reading on those pants, up or down!

[irishlad78]

Lou Bacca is right. The reason I mentioned the lines from ROTJ is that they represent the truth. The fundamental weakness of the 'good' characters is/can be their faith in their friends. Likewise the overconfidence for the bad guys (it explains both Maul's and the Emperor's deaths)

The Jedi may not necessarily be desperate, perhaps that was a bad word choice. But, they're definitely interested enough to forego much of their tradition to go ahead and train Anakin because of the promise of the prophecy. The immaculate conception is never cited directly. However, Qui-Gon tells the council that he's found a vergence centered around a person, and that it's possible that Anakin was conceived by the midi-chlorians. It's in that scene where Windu first mentions the prophecy and the need for the force to be balanced. I don't think it's terribly complicated to watch that scene, and to then understand why Anakin was approved for training.

In regards to Padme and Obi-Wan, I think the lines you posted are near-identical to the ones in the actual movie (although the "what have you and she been up to?" line feels unfamiliar). However, I never heard it as Anakin accusing Padme of being with Obi-Wan in any romantic context. Anakin says it because he sees Padme as being with Obi-Wan as an opponent to Anakin's new attitudes.
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Luminous beings are we, not these crude pants.

[whos_scruffylookin]

I do think there should be better chemistry between the 3.

It makes me think of a scene from Butch cassidy and the sun dance kid ( newman + redford )

Newman and Redfords woman just have some innocent fun together mucking about on a bicycle.
Afterward having such a good time on the way back she says something like ....
"do you ever think about what it would have been like if I had met you first instead and we were in a relationship?"

Newman responds "Isn't that what this is ? "

She is touched by the compliment that he sees their friendship is just as important to him even though it is not sexual and she affectionately hugs him.

Imagine using this template but pulling back to see that Anakin was observing the whole scene without their knowledge but without actually understanding the content of their conversation. I can almost hear the imperial march as his eyes darken!