Posted on 04/16/2019 4:14:31 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Jar Jar Binks is widely considered one of the weakest characters in the entire “Star Wars” franchise, but George Lucas doesn’t seem to care. In a pre-taped video message that aired during Star Wars Celebration ahead of the 20th anniversary panel for “The Phantom Menace,” Lucas once again surprised fans by naming the polarizing Jar Jar as his favorite “Star Wars” character of all time. A source of comic relief in “The Phantom Menace,” Jar Jar was inspired by Disney’s Goofy and made history as the first fully CGI character in a live-action movie.
“Thank you for coming to the Celebration,” Lucas said his introduction video. “[‘The Phantom Menace’] is one of my favorite movies and of course Jar Jar is my favorite character. Ahmed [Best], you did a fantastic job. It was very, very hard.”
Lucas continued. “Also for John Knoll and all the guys at ILM, I made it impossible for them. We broke a lot of ground. We were using test equipment but it was the beginning of digital, even though we didn’t get to shoot the whole thing digitally, we got to shoot part of it so it was really one of the first digital features and I’m very proud of that. The fans are always such a big part of these films and obviously those of you who are here are the fans of Episode 1 and I love each and every one of you.”
Ahmed Best was starring in a production of Stomp when he auditioned for Jar Jar Binks. The character earned a lot backlash from fans and critics after his debut in “The Phantom Menace,” so much so that Best became the target of cyberbullying and death threats. In a social media post published last summer, Best revealed the blowback he received for playing the character led him to contemplate suicide.
“Twenty years next year I faced a media backlash that still affects my career today,” Best wrote as the caption to a photo of himself and his son standing by a river. “This was the place I almost ended my life. It’s still hard to talk about. I survived and now this little guy is my gift for survival.”
Best went on to reprise Jar Jar in “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” albeit in a smaller capacity and with much less screen time. “Phantom Menace” officially celebrates its 20th anniversary on May 19
Me so thinks him Jar Jar is be Dark Lord and is be Sith Emperor!
Something is wrong with Lucas.
I fell a great disturbance in the Force and Lucas thinking.
I always thought that Jar Jar was Lucas’s revenge on those who complained about the Ewoks.
I have a relative over in Marin. That was the word I heard about Lucas, too: weird. And an a$$.
Explains a lot...
[Something is wrong with Lucas.]
I think George just says that to annoy people and get them talking about his Star movies. He has to know how most fans feel re: Jar Jar. His method usually does work though.
Lucas must be raciss.
20 years. Time flies.
in the Star Wars series that corresponds to the Vietcong massacre of 5,000 civilians at Hue during the Tet Offensive.
Hear me out:
The ewoks, collectively, are the best characters. Everyone remembers them FALSELY as the teddy bears that were marketed. The fact that they were man-eating little monsters is forgotten about completely. They had weird, bat-like faces, and claw-hands like Yoda. (Unfortunately, the sloppy construction job occasionally let their bellies resemble stuffed toys.)
Their society is 100 times better developed than movies in which primitive or naturalistic societies played similar roles, even Robin Hood or Dances with Smurfs. AND THEY FRICKIN’ COMMITTED THE MOST SHOCKING WAR CRIMES OF ANY “GOOD GUYS” IN MOVIE HISTORY: they ATE the entire Imperioal squadron! Go watch the movie again: No POWs, a giant bonfire at a picnic, banging on and drinking out of the helmets...
George, that’s racist. :)
>> I’m trying to place the moment in the Star Wars series that corresponds to the Vietcong massacre of 5,000 civilians at Hue during the Tet Offensive. <<
Now I’m almost regretting gleefully pointing out the part where the rebel’s allies ATE THE FLESH of dozens of POWs.
Lucas has given quite a bit of support to the Darth Jar Jar theory, and detailed examinations of Jar Jar’s scenes appear to agree.
Jar Jar in this context is really just a rip off of The Mule from the Foundation series.
It is suspected that Lucas was forced to rewrite a substantial part of the second trilogy when it was found that the Darth Jar Jar thing wouldn’t go over well with fans.
Lucas knows Jar Jar is a stupid character and many people hate it. But admitting that is sort of admitting he screwed up. So he doubles down which seems to be in vogue these days.
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