42 thoughts on “May The Force be with you.”

  2. I feel vindicated. I hated Eps 1 and 2 as well. Yes, I sat through Ep2. It didn’t get any better. *sighs* So I definitely feel your pain because I was a screaming teeny fan of the originals as well (and would like to think I still am).

  6. Well done interview. Don’t give up on “Wesley” though…I think he’d be a great guest on Enterprise. Don’t tell me Berman didn’t set up the whole time travel story arc for you to return.
    Seriously, when I started reading your site I wonder ed why you were never included in the “Young actors of the ’80s” reports. It’s because you’re just way too normal. Especially with all the laying sod and loving your family. Good luck with everything.

  8. Wil, I seriously hope you read this.
    I have felt exactly the same way about the SW prequels. I ditched work to go see EP1, and it was so utterly disappointing it’s not even discribable. I still haven’t seen EP2, and I’m asking all of my relatives to be sure and NOT buy it for me for Christmas. That’s the hard part because most people don’t get it. It was rad hearing from someone who felt exactly the same way as I did.
    Anyway, thank Wes for saving us from Jar Jar, and I hope I get to see you on the DVD of Nemisis.

  11. Re: cut from Nemesis – Being cut from a theatrical release is nothing new… but at least now you can ride the latest hip entertainment wave. I mean, how many people can claim “yeah, I’m a DVD Extra.” ?

  12. Wil,
    History has proven that it is not always easy to know your enemies. Stories like King Lear and Othello embrace aspects of the human experience. Some people’s behavior seem to be consistant,throughout time. Trust is earned, most of the time. Star Wars deals alot with appearances vs reality. This concept works great, to me, on film. Most of the time it is a fun movie and so are the Star Trek films. Its just a movie and I watch them for fun.
    FG

  13. hate EP1 with every fiber of my being. saw EP2 anyway. EP2 is an ok futuristic action movie. it does not make EP1 any less shit-tacular.
    see EP2 if you can deal with it just having some fun action sequences. jar jar has very few lines (i think 2 or 3) in the movie, so that helps. the acting is still wooden, and i blame lucas for that really, because portman and others have done good work in other movies.

  14. Ep1 absolutely sucked. Like Wil said, a couple of neat things, but overall…huge disappointment.
    Ep2 not only sucked, I think it sucked worse. It got bogged down.
    But I thought, maybe it was just me…Maybe I should give it another shot… So we went to the Kansas City Zoo to the IMAX and saw it on the big big big big big big screen.
    Guess what? It sucks even bigger on the big screen.
    I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in the franchise. I’m a football fan, so having said that, George Lucas is kind of like Mike Martz of the Rams or Steve Sprurrier…they feel that they can do no wrong.
    Guess what, George? You did.
    Interview rocked, Wil. Liked the part about playing Magic in line, and no one recognizing you. And knowing Klingon is WAY more geeky than knowning Elvish.
    later!

  16. good interview, but does wil ever do bad interviews?
    the onion one kicked arse and so does the force one.
    and yes i concur with the mass agreement that ep2 didnt make ep1 that much better. they both sucked, but i’m still going to watch 3. . . .just call me a glutton for pain i guess. that and i love movies way too much 😀

  17. Hmmm…I had no idea there was a war going on between Star Wars and Star Trek. I mean…who cares? They’re both cool. With the exception on Ep 1 and 2. Just ick. My imagination is better.
    Can’t we all just get along?
    Tee hee

  18. Really enjoyed reading that interview!
    I honestly think you should get in contact with Ahmed Best and let him know that you understand what he is/will be going through. 🙂
    As much as it doesn’t make sense, people flip out when they see Ahmed Best walking around on the DVD extras. “That friggin’ loser!” they say. Why can’t we all get along?
    Diane from Cheers, Jar Jar, Wesley Crusher, The entire cast of Voyager…why must we hate!?
    *sigh* People never learn…
    But anyway! I also wanted to say I really REALLY liked what you had to say about Gene Rodenberry on the Season 5 DVD Tribute to Gene. The media I’ve read on him before made him seem like some kind of an ogre.
    What did you think of Patrick Stewart’s dance at the end of the tribute, though?

  19. Wil-
    What a great interview! It’s always fun to read what you have to say on your own site, but to see your interviews on other sites and see the humor there too is great. I just wish that they would start asking you different questions – more current questions.

  20. This is a recent interview since you were talking about the poison oak only a couple of weeks ago. I notice it says that your book will be out in the next month. In time for Christmas?
    I also agree that Episode I was very disappointing. I enjoyed Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson and even Natalie Portman. But both actors playing Anakin just don’t ring true to me. I don’t hate Jar Jar as much as others do, but he was overused for the the sake of humor. I thought Episode II was better, but only because of the
    Obi-Wan/Jango Fett storyline. Poor C3PO was ill-used in this movie for the sake of humor. Two movies and we really don’t feel anything for Anakin. How are we to see the tragedy of his turning to the Dark Side when we don’t really care about him? The movies look really good, but where is the story?
    And the Star Wars/Star Trek “wars”? Well, I’ve noticed that Star Trek fans are also Star Wars fans, but being a Star Wars fan does not mean you’re a Star Trek fan. Maybe we need a little IDIC here? (Infinite Diverisity in Infinite Combinations for the non-Trek readers).

  21. The old Star Trek was cool & honest I still love Star Trek: TNG repeats the most.
    Anyone catch Shatner on the E! True Hollywood story tonight?
    I think that would be a might be a great avenue for you too Wil. Childhood star, Star Trek Icon…now struggling writer.

  22. I actually kinda liked Ep2, although that may just be in comparison with the utterly irredeemable Ep1. Neither of them comes close to the worst of the original three (whichever one you happen to think it is; I wouldn’t presume to say).
    Anyone who says that Ep2 makes Ep1 better was smoking some high-grade Kingston when they saw “Clones,” I hate to say. *NOTHING* can make Ep1 better.
    I really thought that part of the problem was Hayden Christensen, but then I saw “Life as a House” and really enjoyed both the movie and his performance in it, so I have to go back to Lucas’ writing and direction. Yargh.

  23. [hand waving] You will watch the Episode II. [/hand waving]
    [wil] Ah yes… I will watch the Episode II. [/wil]
    [hand waving guy] Welcome to the Dark Side, Wil. [/hwg]
    Stupid jokes aside, nothing is ever perfect. I wouldn’t miss
    Episode II because Episode I was such a piece o’ crap.
    Seriously.
    -b

  24. I’ve read lots of your interviews, but that’s the first time I’ve actually heard your voice reading it out to me in my head, clear as a bell.
    Is that a good thing or a bad thing…?

  25. Wil, ignore what they said about Episode 2. It’s just as worthless as one, if not more so. The only person that did not phone it in was Ewan McGregor — tho, it might be worth the purchase price to see Ewan as Obi Wan.

  26. Wil,
    ok ok maybe the episode 1 wasn’t the greatest but, to me and this is just me I think episode 2 rocked. It develops all charicters like the jango fett story that leads up to the bobba fett story and we all know how that ends. Anyway I don’t want to start ranting here I just think that episode 2 was an awsome movie. I paid my 5 bucks and I was entertained. Being a die hard trekkie I hope I get my 5 bucks worth out of Nemesis this weekend. Only time will tell……
    Best to you and your family Wil……
    Matt……

  27. Thanks for the link… laughed like hell at the Klingon v. Federation wars. There is something geekier than that however: warring Klingon tribes. The Pinellas County Klingons once cornered Michael Dorn at a convention to get him to sign some document stating that they, not the Hillsborough County Klingons, were the true Tampa Bay Area Klingons. Now that, my friend, is geeky.

  28. I think that if Joseph Campell was still alive he’d go see SW Eps I and II and then drive up to Skywalker Ranch kick George’s furry Ewok butt and burn the joint down.
    Stopping for a moment, he would relish in the bliss.
    Then he’d drive home, muttering about Culuchain.

  29. Excellent interview. I read tf.net all the time and was suprised and excited to see your interview there!
    PLEASE post that picture of you and Darth Vader! 🙂
    -Zinderfine

  30. yep…
    the jango/boba story line was ABSOLUTELY worth the price of admission…
    some of the other stuff in the flick was pretty good too..
    and the capper..the BEST part was anakin going postal on the tuskin raiders…
    the look of anger and frustration and whatnot..
    yeah..
    it’s a pretty good movie…
    tho i agree with most of the rest of ya…
    there was a LOT of ‘phoning it in’ from most of the actors…
    lucas should hand over the reigns to spielberg for pt3

  31. Nice interview. Very eloquent. =)
    I have to say, though, that I might be one of the few who wasn’t too disappointed with Ep1. Don’t get me wrong…it was awful…the thing is, I expected it to be pretty bad. When JarJar starts pissing you off in the trailer, you just *have* to imagine how annoying he’s going to be in the movie. But the one redeeming factor for Ep1 was the lightsaber duel at the end. How cool was that?
    Ep2 didn’t even have that. Trust me, Wil, you’re not missing much.
    Just Yoda/bouncy ball. *That* was disappointing…and surprising as all heck. I’d purposely avoided the trailers for Ep2 so I totally wasn’t expecting that…. Everyone in the theatre started cheering when Yoda came into the scene. Because of my personal belief that Yoda has other means with which to fight, I found the whole image bizarre. And then it became something like an accelerated pinball game. Ridiculous.
    Okay. End rant.
    The point? Watching Ep2 doesn’t redeem Ep1. It simply makes you question the wisdom of wasting more money to watch Ep3 when it comes out.
    Em

  32. I haven’t seen either episode– the relentless hype before it came out, the tie ins, George Lucas’ unremitting smirk, the overwhelming Gordon Gekko-ness of it all, made it impossible for me to watch it. And from all I hear, I’m glad I didn’t, and saved my energy for compiling the first ever Elvish to Klingon dictionary. (Why can’t we all just get along?)
    Question, which of the Lord of the Rings box sets should I buy? The huge one, or the huger one? What’s the difference. Christmas is coming, and the hubby quivers every time we see the Two Towers trailer . . .

  33. I was at the ‘Solving the Wesley Problem’ panel where you showed up. When Bjo introduced you, you got polite applause and maybe only a few boos. I can well imagine that the boos might have stuck in memory more, but I don’t think most people felt that hostile you know. In a foretast of things to come, you converted the room into a group of supporters who wanted to see you get a better written part. I was really amazed at how you did that. For those who weren’t there, I will say that as a 16 y.o. you were amazingly self-possesed, and showed maturity and real coolness in your remarks that made you sound much older than you were. It was a great and very real “performance”!
    BTW, I actually liked the Wesley character, yes really. and yeah it wasn’t a well written part. sigh.

  35. Well, I went to see ep 2 after hating ep 1, and I regretted it. I’m not sure if it sucked more or less than episode 1, but they both seemed like poorly written overgrown saturday morning cartoons with *slightly* better special effects.
    Funny, after getting the LOTR dvd (the new longer one), there was some stuff in the documentary about how miniatures always look the best, and that digital effects and mat paintings have their place, but digital effects still aren’t at the point where they can hold their own. Lucas could learn a thing or two from Peter Jackson. Which, as a side note, kind of worries me about gollum in two towers – in previews he looks good, but still definitely has that digital look. grr.
    BTW, good luck on the audition!

  36. I hated Ep. II, but then I went to see it on IMAX last weekend and LOVED it! I am in no way saying that it is of the same caliber as the first trilogy, by the way, but rather an improvement of last summer’s version of Ep. II and muuuuuch better than Ep. I. Anyway, how many times do we get to see an IMAX version of any Star Wars movie? Take your kids, Wil. They’ll love it!

  37. Since this is so far down ont he comments I’m sure Wil won’t read it, but:
    Listen, Star Trek V was the worst thing EVER. Bad story, unforgivable special effects, God?!
    But if everyone said “oh, it’s so bad, I won’t go see Star Trek VI” , well, that’s ridiculous!
    Star Trek V was so bad I shouldn’t watch the Next Generation.
    Hell, any show with the words “The Next Generation” (“The NEw Class, The College YEars, et. al.) is stupid. But LOW and behold, it was a good show (well, not at first…which is another example: Encounter at Farpoint was so bad, the show should have been cancelled. But people stuck with it and it got better).
    So to NOT see a movie because the previous one was bad is childish, not child like.
    AND lastly, the original trilogy is NOT perfect. They’re crap! Great story, great fantasy, and in my opinion better FX than computer shit of today, but c’mon! These were bad movies. But we all saw them as starry eyed kids and they touched up some way that made us believe well into our 30’s (Wil) that they were perfect.
    I could point out SO many flaws and mistakes in those movies you’d never enjoy them again.
    But I still LOVE them. Damn, they’re Star Wars.
    It;s Lucas who’s the problem. Kinda like Trek, Kirk is cool, Shatner is an asshole. Star Wars is great, Lucas is a jerk off.
    Sorry, thats my soapbox

  38. That was a phenominal interview but then again, I am biased. I am a frequent lurker but this is only my second post. I felt I had to say that I am and always was a Wil Wheaton fan. I also liked Wesley Crusher (actually crush is more like it). The first I heard of Wesley Crusher being the #1 hated science fiction character was on your website. And the posse grows… It feeds my addiction that you choose to share a bit of yourself with us in such a spellbinding way. Thank you and keep up the good work!!

  39. Feel. Don’t Think. Use the Force. Decide if you like Episode II by seeing it for yourself. Don’t listen to people’s opinions on it. Form your own. Always go with the expectation that it won’t meet your expectations. Deciding not to see Episode II because of Episode I is not letting the movie stand on its own merit. And that is something that you wanted out of Episode I, that it would stand on its own.
    I am a film student, but I honestly do not understand why people make up their minds about a film before they even see it. It’s not exactly… logical, to borrow the word. I watch all sorts of bad films, like the latest Bond, but I still enjoy them. Manos ring a bell? 😛 Ok, that’s an extreme circumstance. You had to make fun of that one to enjoy it, but you get the idea. There is always a way to enjoy a picture.
    Chris W., friend of H.

  41. I feel a lot of symphaty for you, specially after they cut your scenes and didn’t invite you to the Nemesis premiere.
    However, I totally disagree with your views. Whatever you think of Episode 1 (a movie more aimed at much younger audiences), Episode 2 is worth a look. I very much doubt you’re too busy to not even give the film a chance.
    It’s definetly worse than any movie the Star Trek franchise has ever put on the movie screen.

  42. Great interview! I always wanted the enterprise to get pummeled into a half flying wreck. Too far from fed space and no subspace radio they have no choice but to make best speed for this seedy deep space star base frequented by pirates and assorted scum for help. When they ask who to see for repairs they find the only guy who can help them is “The Crusher.” Still bitter over his departure from Star Fleet and still disillusioned with the hypocrite goody goody feds Wes spends his sober time building and servicing the fastest scum bucket ships in the galaxy. And now Picard et al have to come groveling for his help. Heh. “Yeah, I can fix yer warp core. But it’ll cost ya.”

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