Solo4114
Master Member
I still think it's an open question as to whether redoing the SE stuff is actually worth it. Even if we look at the fact that kids prefer snazzier visuals, there's only so far you can snazz up the OT. The SEs can't hide the film stock or anyone's haircuts or the pacing differences between the PT and the OT (and the NT and anthology films, by the time any of this matters). My guess is that, even if modern audiences prefer more modern effects, adding those effects into an older film won't actually make it that much more palatable.
But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that audiences do very much prefer the newer-looking stuff, because I do think it's an open question and isn't as clear-cut one way or the other as either side of the debate might think.
The only way either version comes out in a higher def format is if higher def formats actually are adopted on a wide-scale consumer basis. Right now, with the shift towards streaming and digital "ownership" (really, just licensing) of films, there's sort of a bottleneck in the tech adoption. People aren't gobbling up 4K panels the way they did 1080P panels during the HD switchover in the early 2000s. Likewise, broadband streaming isn't at a point where it makes sense to stream anything other than 1080P visuals. The end result is that nobody has any incentive to do a re-release of the films in any edition that doesn't already exist. This is why you're seeing repackagings, rather than remasterings.
So, let's play it out and assume that 4K becomes the new standard (or 8K or 48K or whatever).
By that point, Disney/LFL will have recaptured the rights to 5 out of 6 films in the PT/OT. It will also have the NT and anthology films out and probably already on home video. ANH will still probably be owned by Fox. Disney could buy it outright, but it'd have to see a reason to do so. Alternatively, it could work out a revenue sharing deal where Disney "manages" the property, and kicks money back to the rights holder (Fox). This is probably more likely because (A) it's less expensive for Disney, and (B) Fox doesn't have to do anything other than sign papers, and it'll make money on the property. There's an incentive for some deal to occur, because otherwise you have incomplete sets for both companies; Fox could only release ANH copies (and then only whatever the current content version is), and Disney wouldn't bother releasing its own 5-movie set. So, it's a safe bet that some kind of deal will ultimately happen, but not until the parties have a reason to make one happen -- which is after the rights transfer.
Once that's all in place, the question becomes a mix of technical and economic. Technically, anything you do with either the OOT or the SEs will require a rescan of the negatives. The PT will have to be upscaled using computer programs, but there's no reason to do that with the OT. Assuming Disney scans the OT, the version initially in the computers will be the OOT by default. That's the source material.
So, now you have an OOT scan at higher def in the system. Now, I don't know how restoration and/or remastering works on a technical level. I don't know if it's mostly automated, or if there is a lot more hands-on decision making at a micro level, frame by frame, etc. IF a bunch of it is automated, then I'd expect that this will -- at least initially -- produce an "archival" version of the OOT. So, now you have not only a hi-def scan, but a cleaned up hi-def scan (e.g., no matte boxes, solid Snowspeeder canopies, etc.). But let's also assume that Disney adopts the analysis that Bryan described -- believing that the OT needs to be "amped up" for modern audiences to want to buy it and/or enjoy it. Towards this end, it decides to re-render the SE stuff, or create new versions of the same basic scenes.
At this point, Disney is faced with a choice.
Option 1:
"Paper over" the OOT with the redone SE work, and only release a single version. This would basically be the status quo: you'd have only the SEs in hi-def with cleaned up visuals. The OOT would only exist as an in-house workprint upon which the new SEs were built.
Option 2:
Release two versions: the OOT and the SE. The theory here is that you do the cleanup work on the OOT, and then splice in the new SE stuff where you want it. But since you've already done the cleanup work, you've got a perfectly marketable version for some mega-set. To be clear, I would only expect the OOT to be released as a premium item (and sold at a premium sales point). It'd probably only be in a collection with all 9 films (since by that point, you'll probably have 9 -- or more, with the anthology films). They wouldn't offer the OOT for sale as individual releases.
Option 3
This is actually a hybrid of the first two options, but it takes Option 2 and makes it even more attractive to consumers, because you use Disney's tried-and-true "vault" concept. Basically, the OOT is released as a "limited edition" and then only in the ultra-premium collector's set, and only for a limited time before it goes "back in the vault." This lets Disney set an even higher price point for it, grab more cash on the front end, and then figure that its limited status will mean higher price points any time they take it "out of the vault" for sale.
Of all the three options, my own guess (not being a Disney shareholder, and not having followed how Iger runs the company) is that Option 3 is the most attractive. But, again, all of this requires several initial steps, including the rights recapture, a revenue sharing deal with Fox, a transition to higher-than-1080P as the current standard for consumer video, and that the restoration process has to be done starting with the OOT and isn't cost-prohibitive to do AS the OOT (as opposed to it being more cost-effective to do it only on the portions of the OOT that you won't replace with new SE stuff).
But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that audiences do very much prefer the newer-looking stuff, because I do think it's an open question and isn't as clear-cut one way or the other as either side of the debate might think.
The only way either version comes out in a higher def format is if higher def formats actually are adopted on a wide-scale consumer basis. Right now, with the shift towards streaming and digital "ownership" (really, just licensing) of films, there's sort of a bottleneck in the tech adoption. People aren't gobbling up 4K panels the way they did 1080P panels during the HD switchover in the early 2000s. Likewise, broadband streaming isn't at a point where it makes sense to stream anything other than 1080P visuals. The end result is that nobody has any incentive to do a re-release of the films in any edition that doesn't already exist. This is why you're seeing repackagings, rather than remasterings.
So, let's play it out and assume that 4K becomes the new standard (or 8K or 48K or whatever).
By that point, Disney/LFL will have recaptured the rights to 5 out of 6 films in the PT/OT. It will also have the NT and anthology films out and probably already on home video. ANH will still probably be owned by Fox. Disney could buy it outright, but it'd have to see a reason to do so. Alternatively, it could work out a revenue sharing deal where Disney "manages" the property, and kicks money back to the rights holder (Fox). This is probably more likely because (A) it's less expensive for Disney, and (B) Fox doesn't have to do anything other than sign papers, and it'll make money on the property. There's an incentive for some deal to occur, because otherwise you have incomplete sets for both companies; Fox could only release ANH copies (and then only whatever the current content version is), and Disney wouldn't bother releasing its own 5-movie set. So, it's a safe bet that some kind of deal will ultimately happen, but not until the parties have a reason to make one happen -- which is after the rights transfer.
Once that's all in place, the question becomes a mix of technical and economic. Technically, anything you do with either the OOT or the SEs will require a rescan of the negatives. The PT will have to be upscaled using computer programs, but there's no reason to do that with the OT. Assuming Disney scans the OT, the version initially in the computers will be the OOT by default. That's the source material.
So, now you have an OOT scan at higher def in the system. Now, I don't know how restoration and/or remastering works on a technical level. I don't know if it's mostly automated, or if there is a lot more hands-on decision making at a micro level, frame by frame, etc. IF a bunch of it is automated, then I'd expect that this will -- at least initially -- produce an "archival" version of the OOT. So, now you have not only a hi-def scan, but a cleaned up hi-def scan (e.g., no matte boxes, solid Snowspeeder canopies, etc.). But let's also assume that Disney adopts the analysis that Bryan described -- believing that the OT needs to be "amped up" for modern audiences to want to buy it and/or enjoy it. Towards this end, it decides to re-render the SE stuff, or create new versions of the same basic scenes.
At this point, Disney is faced with a choice.
Option 1:
"Paper over" the OOT with the redone SE work, and only release a single version. This would basically be the status quo: you'd have only the SEs in hi-def with cleaned up visuals. The OOT would only exist as an in-house workprint upon which the new SEs were built.
Option 2:
Release two versions: the OOT and the SE. The theory here is that you do the cleanup work on the OOT, and then splice in the new SE stuff where you want it. But since you've already done the cleanup work, you've got a perfectly marketable version for some mega-set. To be clear, I would only expect the OOT to be released as a premium item (and sold at a premium sales point). It'd probably only be in a collection with all 9 films (since by that point, you'll probably have 9 -- or more, with the anthology films). They wouldn't offer the OOT for sale as individual releases.
Option 3
This is actually a hybrid of the first two options, but it takes Option 2 and makes it even more attractive to consumers, because you use Disney's tried-and-true "vault" concept. Basically, the OOT is released as a "limited edition" and then only in the ultra-premium collector's set, and only for a limited time before it goes "back in the vault." This lets Disney set an even higher price point for it, grab more cash on the front end, and then figure that its limited status will mean higher price points any time they take it "out of the vault" for sale.
Of all the three options, my own guess (not being a Disney shareholder, and not having followed how Iger runs the company) is that Option 3 is the most attractive. But, again, all of this requires several initial steps, including the rights recapture, a revenue sharing deal with Fox, a transition to higher-than-1080P as the current standard for consumer video, and that the restoration process has to be done starting with the OOT and isn't cost-prohibitive to do AS the OOT (as opposed to it being more cost-effective to do it only on the portions of the OOT that you won't replace with new SE stuff).
