Lewis Gun Auction From SW Preliminary Pilot

[KevVader]

As per the bogus Vader helmet thread that was slightly derailed...http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=121893...

Since I'm not familiar with the way that the TV/movie industry works, I'm fascinated that a "preliminary pilot" for the live action Star Wars TV series has apparently been filmed. Equally fascinating to me is that a Lewis gun supposedly used in the series is up for auction on the 'bay. *Someone correct me if I have my details wrong.*

There's been some very logical rebuttals (at least in my mind) as to the legitimacy claims of the prop's use. Primarily that the SW pilot has already been shot. I would think that there would've been a leak or at least speculation noted somewhere in the press recently...but to my knowledge there hasn't been. Since a RPF member with serious cred is involved with this auction, it lends credibility to the fact that the claims are true.

If so, I think that's pretty cool that a) the pilot has been shot and B) someone here is that closely linked with it. But the logical part of my brain is still in doubt...

Thoughts, feelings, suggestions? ...Discuss....

Mods...forgive me if this is considered OT....but a prop is involved.

 

[AlltoEasy]

sorry for going a little off topic (sought of anyway)

would there be a leak? lucus has enough cash and companys under his control he produce the whole thing in house and keep things underwraps till its ready to air (also would there be a pilot?) if there was one property that would get the backdoor entry for a tv show it would be SW

just a thought

Dan

 

[RKW]

Well if it's true that the show doesn't even have a script writer assigned then it's very unlikely. What may have been filmed is some early test footage for use with story boarding animatics. But this footage obviously won't be seen in the final cut.

 

[DL 44 Blaster]

I saw that auction this week and was very intrigued. IF it is true, I'm giddy as a school boy that they have presumeably used Sandtroopers...hopefully OT Traditional Sandtroopers.

 

[Jedi Bailinkski]

Rebelscum has been talking about this quite a bit. Here is the link, part way down.
All Things Ebay - Funny and Ridiculous Props

 

[gjustis]

Gotta love it.

Fanboys playing a war of know-it-alls in the basement of mom's house. :rolleyes

 

[SethB6025]

This all makes me think of a phrase my daughter used to use when she was a little younger, "You funny" :lol

 

[claudehaus]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AlltoEasy @ Dec 23 2006, 01:43 PM) [snapback]1383639[/snapback]</div>

lucus has enough cash and companys under his control he produce the whole thing in house and keep things underwraps till its ready to air[/b]

If the whole thing was done in house, why outsource props? If it's being kept under wraps (hence no leaks/coverage in the trades/rumor sites), why allow a contractor to blow the whole thing by announcing it to the world on eBay? And for that matter, why return a contracted prop when it would be needed for the series? Interesting that some people are sniping without actually addressing any of these issues.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gjustis @ Dec 23 2006, 05:50 PM) [snapback]1383722[/snapback]</div>

Fanboys playing a war of know-it-alls in the basement of mom's house.[/b]

You've made a lot of snarky comments but provided not a jot of actual evidence. Funny, that...

 

[gjustis]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(claudehaus @ Dec 24 2006, 03:23 AM) [snapback]1383759[/snapback]</div>

You've made a lot of snarky comments but provided not a jot of actual evidence. Funny, that...
[/b]

I most certainly have not.

I came here to defend a HIGHLY respected member of the community and film industry, as has been shown by others on the board. I have no need to "provide evidence;" it's not my auction, not my profession.

On the contrary, you yourself have managed to act like a disgruntled 16-yr old both here and on RebelScum by calling names and slinging insults. Thus, as should be obvious, my above comment was directed primarily at yourself, the apparent bookkeeper of the film industry.

Granted, perhaps I shouldn't have stooped to that level....regardless, I stand by my statement.

Regarding the gun: this has been stated before, but here it is again: legitimate questions about the gun (not the series.) are welcomed by the seller. I didn't post in the other thread in an effort to publicize or play daddy; I was simply trying to help out. Take that as you will.

 

[claudehaus]

And still no evidence of a pilot nor even responses to a quite reasonable set of questions.

 

[gjustis]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gjustis @ Dec 24 2006, 03:46 AM) [snapback]1383771[/snapback]</div>

I came here to defend a HIGHLY respected member of the community and film industry, as has been shown by others on the board. I have no need to "provide evidence;" it's not my auction, not my profession.
[/b]

 

[Darth Kahnt]

Can we please keep this civil and not get personal? I know I want to read a thread about this prop and not a war between two memebers.

The idea of this pilot is intriguing to me. I personally think that something resembling a pilot is a distinct possibilty. The notion that this has been done is very exciting.

 

[claudehaus]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Darth Kahnt @ Dec 23 2006, 08:07 PM) [snapback]1383781[/snapback]</div>

Can we please keep this civil and not get personal? I know I want to read a thread about this prop and not a war between two memebers.[/b]

I completely agree. I'm sure we'd all like to see proof that a pilot was shot and that props with legitimate lineage are hitting the market.

 

[Qui-Gonzalez]

I think the seller, who is a member here in LOOOOOONG good standing does not necessarily need to qualify what he is selling. Take it for what it is, a Lewis T-21. A good price for one, despite where it was used. Why did not a single one of you who remotely doubt it's lineage, pony up the sack to email RS to get HIS take on the lineage? Let's all play the dawgpile game, hmmm?

 

[lonepigeon]

I would guess that "pilot" is an overstatement of what was shot.

It could just have been a teaser commercial or something like the various TV commercials with LFL characters in them. They do outsource that stuff (Parksabers made the Obi saber seen in a LucasArts commercial).
If it's already been shot we'll probably see it at SWC4 (maybe that was all it was shot for).
It's a nice rubber Lewis.

 

[claudehaus]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lonepigeon @ Dec 23 2006, 08:42 PM) [snapback]1383807[/snapback]</div>

I would guess that "pilot" is an overstatement of what was shot.[/b]

A "proof of concept" shooting experiment and a pilot are two very different things that carry very different implications with regard to industry trade interest, the use of third parties, the value of props and so forth. I doubt there would have been any skepticism on the various forums had the auction claimed the former rather than the latter.

At any rate the prop itself is excellent.

 

[bigbaddaddyvader]

Can we please make sure this doesn't descend to the kind of childish behaviour that can be seen on the Rebel Scum thread?
Rob has stated all along that this was used for a preliminary pilot and not a pilot itself.Hence this may well turn out not to be screen-used as you may not see it on screen.This was used in an effort to evaluate the possible pitfalls of the project and the manner in which filming would take place as there are many,many differences between making a coherent television production and a feature film.Rob has not "blown" any cover on a project by selling this piece as he has not released any details associated with actors or scripts or production details.If he had I dare say LFL would have removed this in a matter of hours.The weapons were provided to the production as a favour because,as Rob has also said,he had worked on LFL promotional and commercial material.
As far as LFL "outsourcing" prop production that has always gone on in SW to some degree or another right from the very start.I am surprised that this should be much news to anybody here.It has been something that has happened right from the beginning.
I am sure that Rob is quite sick of having to vindicate himself and this piece.It is what it is.An interesting piece of Star Wars history.Personally I would be happy to have this piece in my collection.
As for everything else-what do you want?A regular memo from Lucas to all the boards,forums and trade weeklies?I think it's fair to say that people IN the industry know much more than we do at fan-level,no?
And on a personal note I also am very excited about this project being underway and in production.I have been suffering withdrawal since ROTS and I simply have to have some more Star Wars.....

 

[claudehaus]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bigbaddaddyvader @ Dec 23 2006, 09:21 PM) [snapback]1383815[/snapback]</div>

Rob has stated all along that this was used for a preliminary pilot and not a pilot itself.[/b]

I think it's fair to wonder what that phrase actually means in this context. It sounds like LFL did some proof of concept work as someone else suggested. This isn't actually what a pilot entails and the word is incredibly misleading if what was shot wasn't a full episode intended to "sell" the series to a network.

I think it's fair to say that people IN the industry know much more than we do at fan-level,no?[/b]

Absolutely. I also think it's fair to point out that an awful lot of us are in the industry, and that the production of full pilots is extremely difficult to keep under wraps for myriad reasons. But again, it may well be that LFL was merely experimenting and that all this hubbub is nothing more than the result of an unfortunate word choice in the auction listing. The use of the word "pilot" throws up a lot of flags that "test footage" doesn't.

C'est la vie. It's the Internet, after all.

 

[bigbaddaddyvader]

I think now that calmer heads are prevailing this discussion seems to be proving more useful and that clearer definitions seem to be coming.Perhaps it does all boil to your own definitions of the terms used in the industry.On a personal level I am sure this was used in a Star Wars television production in some context and being a collector,primarily,of screen and production used Star Wars props and material i would just LOVE to get my hands on this.I own some original pieces that did not make it to film but that doesn't detract from them for me.I love them because they were a part of the process of something I love so,so much.That's what makes it special to me and,in that context,this would be a great piece.

 

[robstyle]

Again,
I can not comment on the preliminary pilot which is what the hub bub seems to be about. The place I was working at during this time was not involved. This was an independant venture done more as a favor than a job. I signed no papers and no money exchanged hands. You wanna know the kicker, that Lewis Gun Moff Eaton had with the squiggle in the barrel, that was also repaired and used. The one in question was also a repair job but done so well, you really can not tell unless you know what to look for.

This talk of the production would never out source is absurd. The OT weapons were all outsourced, if not completely, then in some form. Like I said, was a total last minute deal. If we would have had more time or a heads up, more would have been provided than a handfull of BFG's and E11's. The potential of this gig is the reason I worked extra hard to help develope, source and mold the most accurate peices available. One project, the ROTJ E11 I fought for and worked my ass of to make happen. Sadly I also lost thousands out of my own pocket to either make the projects happen or take care of people when issues arose.
So,
without dragging everything out, it is what it is.
Accept it or dont. I didnt unveil anything that wasnt already known.

About industry types being on the board, you would be surprised. Dont forget what I said in the other thread, I made an agreement to not show up on open boards for a looooong time. Was more a good faith gesture but some people were talking about things they should not have and I was the first one asked about it even though it had nothing to do with me. I am sure those know who they are.

I made a few friends out of the auction whom I never would have talked with if none of this happened. Thanks for that because some good came out of the witch hunt. For those who dogpiled and didnt even bother to "email seller", well, next time click on "email seller" before building a house of cards, lol.
No hard feelings guys but damn, at least try and get some info on your own and dont go about it with accusations and guns blazing out the gate. Like that idiot who started the fake damaging auction on ebay who reported my auction fraudulently mutiple times. Dude went on some Jihad. Anyone know him, get me his mailing info and I'll send him an autographed RobStyle fanclub t-shirt.
The guys obsessed.