Don't we have a member of the band who went nuts on the forum years ago making similiar outlandish claims on how any popular American film was nothing but plagiarism?

That was Loco Peligroso, and I don't think he was ever banned.

You can't show a random recent picture and expect it to relate to a character developed in 1972 (Darth Vader).

Yup, you're right. He was not banned, just went OOP.

Both characters wear a helmet.

Clearly a case of plagarism.

"Jinzô gingen Kikaidâ" (1972), from which Lukas ripped off the Darth Vader character, was produced by Tôru Hirayama, who also produced "Uchu kara no messeji" (Message from Space) (1978), (1) to capitalize on Star Wars' success and (2) as a way of getting back at Lukas for ripping him off in the first place. When the negative reviews started piling up (it is one of the most ridiculous movies of all time), defenders of the film pointed out all that Lukas owed to the Japanese sci-fi genre and propagated the rumor that Lukas had bought out the rights to "Uchu" to keep from embarassing himself.

I admit I believed the rumor at the time (1978) and that I have propagated it here. I should have checked my facts, which passed for conventional wisdom at the time. ("How could the Japanese have come up with a rip-off version so fast unless their film was in production before 'Star Wars'?", etc.)

But the fact remains that "Star Wars" is a monumental assembly of diverse influences, rip-offs and what have you.

And it still has nothing to do with "Nemo".

This is true, and nobody disputes that. Lucas has acknowledged his multiple influences since the beginning, and the fact is despite all the influence, the first Star Wars was a remarkably fresh movie-going experience in 1977.

And of course this is a far cry from your original claims about a "Japanese sci-fi flick George Lukas (sic) had to buy outright, take off the market and destroy because it contained the characters of Pincess Leia and Darth Vader he had 'accidentally' ripped off."

Now, if episode 3 has a new character named "Dancing Technicolor Man," feel free to raise this point up again.

Well, Queen Amidala comes awfully close to a traditional Japanese geisha...

baracine, serious quesiton.. Are you an anime fan?

God, no! My interest in this question stems from the fact that I went to see Star Wars in Montreal when it first came out (1977), a film I didn't want to see, dragged in by my 9-year-old Paris-born nephew Étienne who did not understand a word of English (this was before the Quebec laws made it mandatory for US films to be shown in a French-dubbed version). It was in a poorly-ventilated multiplex with very bad sound and acoustics and a tiny screen. My nephew was absolutely captivated just the same and kept asking me: "What did they say? What did they say?" and I had to spend two hours translating or miming the whole mess to the best of my ability. I made a solemn vow after that to expose Lucas' shortcomings every chance I got.

Besides, the Japanese films we are talking about here are not animation but live-action and they are also God-awful.

No offense, just checking.

Water I drank just came out of my nose but it was totally worth it!

So your whole beef with Lucas is that the fact that your snot-nosed nephew made you go see a movie? That seems really intelligent.

I guess more intelligent than your blatant falsehoods posted earlier about some Japanese film that Lucas is trying to bury alongside Hoffa.

What's with today, today?

That's a law !?! Has the Quebec government ever heard of subtitles? Yeesh.

Also, while Star Wars may be an amalgam of ideas appropriated from several different sources, they are not rip-offs, as Lucas has openly admitted to every single one. And Groucho is right, it was and remains a fresh viewing experience (I say as I look lovingly at my non-special edition laserdiscs). You know another film that has about as many references and homages as Star Wars? Pulp Fiction. So now I'll bet you hate Tarantino, too. Or do you not mind him because your nephew didn't force you to translate the movie back when it came out?

As I'm sure other members of this discussion group will be more than happy to point out to you, I happen to be of the opinion that Tarantino is the scum of the earth.

But you probably already knew that and are just baiting me, here.

Do you think it is possible to get back to Nemo, seriously?

I have learned from experience that, normally, the next step in a discussion like this is that some clown will start discussing my health record...

Well that's it, then! Case closed, I guess.

OK. Nemo isn't plagarism either. You can't claim you invented a cute clown fish.

I understand that George Lucas is claiming that he penned the lyrics to the 70's classic "Life is a Rock, but the Radio Rolled Me", a notion that is being challenged by Pixar, who also claims authorship. The ditty's alleged author, Haruki Shusaku, could not comment as he has been missing for three weeks. The only clues found at the crime scene were a multicolored helmet, a hardcover edition of "The Art of A Bug's Life", and a Princess Amidala dress-up kit. More as this develops.

Sure:

You havent done that this entire thread.

I think someone needs to stop eating Canadian beef.

What I said:

More "Pierrot" pictures:

http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/tg/...#more-pictures

HERE ARE SOME COLD HARD FACTS

Lucas has five letters in his name.
Pixar has five letters in its name.

If you speak the words "Darth Vader" into the crook of your elbow pressed up against your mouth, it comes out sounding awfully like "Kimba the White Lion."

Both Ray Parker Jr. and Huey Lewis, sparring partners over who created the Ghostbusters/I Want A New Drug bass riff, have not had a major hit since "Willow" opened in the Summer of 1988... a Lucasfilm production!

Pixar is run by Steve Jobs, whose name is an anagram for "Steve's job"... a clearcut reference to Franck "Steve" Le Calvez, creator of "Pierrot."

Turn the phrase THX1138 upside down. The numbers "1138" form the word "bell" on a calculator, the letters X and H remain the same, but all are then followed by THE RECOGNIZED INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL FOR PERPENDICULAR ANGLES. I think that speaks for itself, really.

I smell a summary judgement.

More "Real Clown Fish" pictures (© God, Inc.):







SHOCKING!