Another reason to see how greedy George Lucas is. Copied from site discussing shady Hollywood accounting:

David Prowse, the guy who was in the Darth Vader costume in the original trilogy of Star Wars (before being ousted by that douche Hayden Christensen in the special edition) has never been paid for Return of the Jedi because it hasn’t turned a profit after nearly 30 years. That’s after dozens of home video and theatrical re-releases. (All the merchandising money goes to Lucas directly, of course.)

Quote from Prowse:

“I get these occasional letters from Lucasfilm saying that we regret to inform you that as Return of the Jedi has never gone into profit, we’ve got nothing to send you. Now here we’re talking about one of the biggest releases of all time,” said Prowse. “I don’t want to look like I’m bit ching about it,” he said, “but on the other hand, if there’s a pot of gold somewhere that I ought to be having a share of, I would like to see it.”

I find this hard to believe but wow!

hollywood has the best accountants ,and they like to "hide" money. The only failure I rememeber is Titanic. At the Oscars, Arnie said in his monolouge "There is my friend James Cameron,who has a movie that even the hollywood accountants can't hide all the money"

1 billion+

after the first Batman movie, one of the people sued for some money,and one of the things they claimed was it made no money , so He asked if that is so then why is all the props in storage and why are they talking about making a second movie.(which they did).

From what I understand they talk about gross and net,which is before and after expensies.

So i can understand the problem.

while there may be some nice and honest people in hollywood,their is a lot of greedy ones too.

hollywood has the best accountants ,and they like to "hide" money. The only failure I rememeber is Titanic. At the Oscars, Arnie said in his monolouge "There is my friend James Cameron,who has a movie that even the hollywood accountants can't hide all the money"

1 billion+

 

after the first Batman movie, one of the people sued for some money,and one of the things they claimed was it made no money , so He asked if that is so then why is all the props in storage and why are they talking about making a second movie.(which they did).

 

From what I understand they talk about gross and net,which is before and after expensies.

 

So i can understand the problem.

 

while there may be some nice and honest people in hollywood,their is a lot of greedy ones too.

What do you mean he was at the Hollywood place were the make films that is not were he was made ok so why did you say that thank you.

First of all Star Wars Special Edition was released in 1997 when Hayden was 16 years old so he can’t replace anyone in Return of the Jedi in that time . For second Darth Vader was played by 5 actors and David Prowse was only Darth Vader in suit, unmasked Vader and Anakin Skywalker’s ghost was played by Sebastian Shaw. Anakin’s ghost was replaced in DVD release in 2004 on Hayden Christensen. According to author Skywalker’s Jedi soul hasn’t get older when he was Dark Sider – but more important it has connected both trilogies. If you haven’t know the things above, I don’t believe you in rest of your post;)

Are you saw you think he was or not are you telling the truth about this thread or not

Another reason to see how greedy George Lucas is. Copied from site discussing shady Hollywood accounting:

 

David Prowse, the guy who was in the Darth Vader costume in the original trilogy of Star Wars (before being ousted by that douche Hayden Christensen in the special edition) has never been paid for Return of the Jedi because it hasn’t turned a profit after nearly 30 years. That’s after dozens of home video and theatrical re-releases. (All the merchandising money goes to Lucas directly, of course.)

 

Quote from Prowse:

 

“I get these occasional letters from Lucasfilm saying that we regret to inform you that as Return of the Jedi has never gone into profit, we’ve got nothing to send you. Now here we’re talking about one of the biggest releases of all time,” said Prowse. “I don’t want to look like I’m bit ching about it,” he said, “but on the other hand, if there’s a pot of gold somewhere that I ought to be having a share of, I would like to see it.”

 

I find this hard to believe but wow!

David Prowse and George Lucas do not get a long. It all started with the theatrical release of Star Wars. David Prowse told his friends and family that he got to play Darth Vader (which he did in body) and when the got to the theatrical release he was so mad (and rightfully so) to find out that he had his voice dubbed over by James Earl Jones. George Lucas never told him that was going to happen.

David Prowse has also never attended a Star Wars Celebration mainly because I believe he has never been invited, he also signs everything as David Prowse IS Darth Vader. I hope that that one day George comes out and apologizes to Mr. Prowse but I don't see it happening. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/David_Prowse

Getting mad over a voice change?....The guy still was Darth Vader, I don't see why he had to get all furious over a voice change. Sides....if they never talked about it afterwards, then both are to blame.

It would be downright embarassing to get to the theatrical release with your family and friends and be all like "I am the main bad guy in the movie" and the movie starts up and you are smiling watching how ****** you look entering the Tantive IV and then you hear a voice that you have never heard before being dubbed over your own. I think David Prowse wouldn't have been mad had Lucas told him he was going to dub James Earl Jones over him, its the fact that he didn't.

I like George Lucas but lets face it, he is extremely bad about keeping people in the dark. Mark Hamill was only told that Vader was his father immediately before the scene was shot, Hamill himself said that he felt he could have delivered his lines better had he had a few minutes to rehearse.

David Prowse and George Lucas do not get a long. It all started with the theatrical release of Star Wars. David Prowse told his friends and family that he got to play Darth Vader (which he did in body) and when the got to the theatrical release he was so mad (and rightfully so) to find out that he had his voice dubbed over by James Earl Jones. George Lucas never told him that was going to happen.

 

David Prowse has also never attended a Star Wars Celebration mainly because I believe he has never been invited, he also signs everything as David Prowse IS Darth Vader. I hope that that one day George comes out and apologizes to Mr. Prowse but I don't see it happening. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/David_Prowse

Yea, Lucas did some pretty dirty stuff to some of the less publicized actors during the original trilogy.

Another reason to see how greedy George Lucas is. Copied from site discussing shady Hollywood accounting:

 

David Prowse, the guy who was in the Darth Vader costume in the original trilogy of Star Wars (before being ousted by that douche Hayden Christensen in the special edition) has never been paid for Return of the Jedi because it hasn’t turned a profit after nearly 30 years. That’s after dozens of home video and theatrical re-releases. (All the merchandising money goes to Lucas directly, of course.)

 

Quote from Prowse:

 

“I get these occasional letters from Lucasfilm saying that we regret to inform you that as Return of the Jedi has never gone into profit, we’ve got nothing to send you. Now here we’re talking about one of the biggest releases of all time,” said Prowse. “I don’t want to look like I’m bit ching about it,” he said, “but on the other hand, if there’s a pot of gold somewhere that I ought to be having a share of, I would like to see it.”

 

I find this hard to believe but wow!

Also you would think that as rich as Lucas is now, he should be required by law to give Prowse and anyone else who didn't get paid for their work in his movies, a paycheck. I admit it, I would be thrilled to do it for free (thank god I didn't get it, franchise would be horrible) but thats how actors earn a living.

If it is well known that production companies 'tweak' accounting numbers to minimize profits, why wouldn't actors be smart enough to sign for compensation based on gross vs net? Why is it Lucas's fault?

Believe me, I am in the camp of Mr. Greedy, can't have two star wars mmos out at once is a money grubbing sycophant but the actors need to protect themselves just like any other worker...

It would be downright embarassing to get to the theatrical release with your family and friends and be all like "I am the main bad guy in the movie" and the movie starts up and you are smiling watching how ****** you look entering the Tantive IV and then you hear a voice that you have never heard before being dubbed over your own. I think David Prowse wouldn't have been mad had Lucas told him he was going to dub James Earl Jones over him, its the fact that he didn't.

 

I like George Lucas but lets face it, he is extremely bad about keeping people in the dark. Mark Hamill was only told that Vader was his father immediately before the scene was shot, Hamill himself said that he felt he could have delivered his lines better had he had a few minutes to rehearse.

But he was the main bad guy....perhaps not in voice, but in physically being there he was.

But he was the main bad guy....perhaps not in voice, but in physically being there he was.

I think the main issue with that is that, Lucas didn't tell him that he was going to be voiced over, he found out at the premier.

I think the main issue with that is that, Lucas didn't tell him that he was going to be voiced over, he found out at the premier.

Well if he never confronted him afterwards, and just threw a hissy fit then he is to blame to because he never said anything about it to him. Both are because, they never talked it out.

Well if he never confronted him afterwards, and just threw a hissy fit then he is to blame to because he never said anything about it to him. Both are because, they never talked it out.

How was Prowse supposed to know? He did his lines, acted throughout the whole movie, there were no complaints about his accent during filming. Then the premier comes and all of a sudden BAM! James Earl Jones' voice comes out of Darth Vader's mask.

Are you saw you think he was or not are you telling the truth about this thread or not

I don't speak/type well, but I'm pretty sure that is not even close to a sentence.

I don't speak/type well, but I'm pretty sure that is not even close to a sentence.

Pretty sure you're right.

How was Prowse supposed to know? He did his lines, acted throughout the whole movie, there were no complaints about his accent during filming. Then the premier comes and all of a sudden BAM! James Earl Jones' voice comes out of Darth Vader's mask.

Well im talking about after the premier.

I like George Lucas but lets face it, he is extremely bad about keeping people in the dark. Mark Hamill was only told that Vader was his father immediately before the scene was shot, Hamill himself said that he felt he could have delivered his lines better had he had a few minutes to rehearse.

I don't blame Lucas at all for this one. It's called comparementalization of information. Only Lucas, Kershner, and Hamill (and Jones, later) knew that big reveal. While David Prowse was reportedly upset he didn't get to say the line (and found out, again, at the premier), having Prowse say the line on set means that not only do know Lucas, Kershner, Hamill, and Prowse all know that Vader is Luke's father, anyone and everyone on the set knows. We're talking ever camera operator, grip, gaffer, makeup person, prop department person, costumer, assistant, and craft service person. That's easily dozens of people, and those are just the ones actually directly involved in the production, that says nothing of anyone who "dropped by" the set that day for any of a myriad of reasons. Even if you close the set, and have only the absolutely essential personnel on-hand for filming (a common practice, especially for nude scenes), you still have probably at least a dozen people on hand, who have now heard arguably the single biggest plot twist in the whole Star Wars saga. How many of them are REALLY going to keep their mouths shut for six-to-twelve months while post-production happens and the film is finally released?

No, were I in Lucas' shoes for that shoot, I would have done the exact same thing. I would have apologized immediately after the premier, though.

This is pretty common across all of Hollywood.

Once common way to get this works like this:

Basically the studios set up an LLC or similar company to do the actual shoot of the movie. The talent then works for this LLC.

The studio then charges the LLC for everything under the sun. Printing movie tape, marketing, distribution, consulting, legal, etc., etc. with profit & overhead added for good measure.

Surprisingly, this ends up being basically the income of the movie!

So the studio profits wildly, but the LLC is setup to never turn a profit. As such, they never have to pay out any residuals.

Another reason to see how greedy George Lucas is. Copied from site discussing shady Hollywood accounting:

 

David Prowse, the guy who was in the Darth Vader costume in the original trilogy of Star Wars (before being ousted by that douche Hayden Christensen in the special edition) has never been paid for Return of the Jedi because it hasn’t turned a profit after nearly 30 years. That’s after dozens of home video and theatrical re-releases. (All the merchandising money goes to Lucas directly, of course.)

 

Quote from Prowse:

 

“I get these occasional letters from Lucasfilm saying that we regret to inform you that as Return of the Jedi has never gone into profit, we’ve got nothing to send you. Now here we’re talking about one of the biggest releases of all time,” said Prowse. “I don’t want to look like I’m bit ching about it,” he said, “but on the other hand, if there’s a pot of gold somewhere that I ought to be having a share of, I would like to see it.”

 

I find this hard to believe but wow!

Thats a common contract scam used by a large number of producers. Their is a clause in their contract that states if the gross revenues under a certain percentage, then they do not have to pay. However what the gross revenues are defined as in the contract are intentionally vague. So they can pretty much claim being below set revenues with no real way to dispute it in court.

Like i said this is a vary common logistics scam used by producers. Its not limited to lucasarts. Infact almost every movie made does this. moral of the story never sign a contract without first paying a highend lawyer to review and revise it.

I don't blame Lucas at all for this one. It's called comparementalization of information. Only Lucas, Kershner, and Hamill (and Jones, later) knew that big reveal. While David Prowse was reportedly upset he didn't get to say the line (and found out, again, at the premier), having Prowse say the line on set means that not only do know Lucas, Kershner, Hamill, and Prowse all know that Vader is Luke's father, anyone and everyone on the set knows. We're talking ever camera operator, grip, gaffer, makeup person, prop department person, costumer, assistant, and craft service person. That's easily dozens of people, and those are just the ones actually directly involved in the production, that says nothing of anyone who "dropped by" the set that day for any of a myriad of reasons. Even if you close the set, and have only the absolutely essential personnel on-hand for filming (a common practice, especially for nude scenes), you still have probably at least a dozen people on hand, who have now heard arguably the single biggest plot twist in the whole Star Wars saga. How many of them are REALLY going to keep their mouths shut for six-to-twelve months while post-production happens and the film is finally released?

 

No, were I in Lucas' shoes for that shoot, I would have done the exact same thing. I would have apologized immediately after the premier, though.

I wasn't saying tell everyone, I was just using that as an example and I was stating that I believe that Mark should have been told sooner then he was so that he could have had more time to prepare.

By all accounts the main falling out point between Prose and Lucas was when the former let the cat out of the bag that Vader died in ROTJ. The irony is, he didn't actually know that at the time, the interview proceeded along these lines:

"-So Vader dies in this film?

-Oh no, George would never kill off Vader, he's the main villain, he's always going to be there.

-But there's so and so playing the part of Anakin Skywalker's Ghost in the credits, and that's Luke's father's name - Darth Vader.

*Pregnant Pause*

-I guess he must then."

VADER DIES IN THE NEXT STARS WARS FILM, DAVID PROSE REVEALS ALL!

Filming after that point was strained, to say the least.