[What-If Scenario] Dying Boy's Final Wish: Release OT Theatrical Cuts on DVD/Blu

[Watchman]

I randomly thought of this what-if scenario that struck me a a gestation idea for the most hated movie ever made. This idea probably resulted as an extreme fusion of two things I dislike: Lucas' revisionism + shamefully cloying dramas exploiting slow cancerous deaths for sentimental value.

The idea: Some Star Wars fans make a fan movie about a young dying cancer patient whose wish to the Make-A-Wish Foundation gains national publicity. The wish? "Please, Mr. Lucas, before I die, I want to see the Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in their original theatrical cuts, afforded the same level of technical care & restoration as the upgraded versions you released on Blu-ray."

Then, to make this a totally shameful wish-fulfillment fantasy, this boy's dying wish becomes a cause celebre, with such a huge impact that... it even falls upon the hearts & minds of the upper echelon of Skywalker Ranch.
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So that's where the random idea ends. I don't want to spend time poring over the direction this nonexistent movie (within-a-movie) should go in. Rather, I felt like throwing you folks the initial idea and seeing what direction you'd take it in. Just how shameful & mawkishly sentimental can this fictional tearjerker be dragged into the mud? Should we show a cheaply-bearded George Lucas (this is a no-budget indie fan movie, after all) being touched by this boy's plight and causing him a huge moral dilemna? How does he react to the media attention that forces him to face the OT issue like no amount of fan protest has ever achieved? Does he visit this boy in the hospital? Does he try to fulfill this boy's wishes by bringing a projector into the hospital to screen the theatrical prints for him? Does the media paint him as a monster torturing a cancer patient? Does he... finally decide to release the theatrical cuts of the original trilogy in remastered anamorphic-widescreen DVDs & Blu-rays?

Also, just how incompetent are these fan filmmakers? Are they as clueless as Nguyen, or would it be funnier if they were low-budget hacks with just enough skill for competently derivative & emotion-tugging storytelling?

Finally: I never figured out why I thought of it as a film-within-a-film, other than to show that this story does not reflect my point of view or any desires I have (the only Lucas film I care about is THX-1138). How should it be presented; Blair Witch found-footage style or screened at a student film festival or what?

So feel free to elaborate & come up with a story, folks. Like George, I'm just "an idea man"*. Have away at it!

[I once envisioned a movie concept potentially even more hateful: Brandon Lee crawls out of the grave to seek vengeance against those who produced & profited from The Crow sequels. Still, tasteless as that may be, few topics ignite millions of people as much as Star Wars.]

*All ideas in this post © Sutterfilms Inc.

[Darth Geek]

That could be an interesting film. Some unknown director could make it for low budget and become famous for it. Then ten years later, he goes back and insert the CGI crowd scenes he always wanted to put in it.

[doggans]

I recall there being a fanfilm called "Saving Star Wars", about a dying kid wanting Lucas to make episodes 7, 8, and 9, so their family kidnaps him. Never saw it, but they heavily promoted the fact that David Prowse played himself in the flick.

[Artie]

How about going a darker route - we find out that it's not really what the kid wants it's his/her parents forcing the child to make the request.  It could be an examination of people taking their love of fictional characters way too far. 

 

[shodan]

and then let's put in a shyamalan twist. it turns out that Lucas has been tweaking the films because if he doesn't  get it just right, the future will be influenced in such a way that sentient trees kill all human beings and take over the earth.

[Pak-Man]

I don't honestly think there's anyone young enough for the Make A Wish foundation that cares enough about the quality of restoration or even the version of the films. That's kind of a grown-up complaint.

[Compound]

Well, a) This is the plot to Fanboys. Except there the cancer patient was college-aged and he was trying to see Episode I before he died. Except your version doesn't have Ray Park, William Shatner and Veronica Mars dressed in a gold bikini.

But b) If Lucas did have a kid say that, I think he'd just make the dying kid blu-rays  and that's it. Or maybe do a 100 trilogy sets and then let Make-a-Wish auction them off. I still don't think it would lead to a big scale release.