Deepthroat: "I just wanted to clear up another false rumor, referred to by EZ9D9 in his post of Feb. 9 [under the topic "The Third Trilogy...?"].  The idea of Lucas wanting to publish the Journal of the Whills was also a fabrication of mine, although I still think it would incredibly cool.  Imagine, the entire Star Wars saga--from the dawn of galactic civilization to whenever--presented on a biblical scale.  And just like the Bible, we would have different versions of the same events, blatant contradictions (e.g., does Boba Fett live or die after the Pit of Carkoon?  Is the emperor really cloned?) as well as minor inconsistencies.  I envisioned it as taking everything ever officially written about the sw universe, from the newspaper serials to the new novels to the Droids cartoon series (and maybe some fan fiction too), and compiling the stories in one elaborate new format.  One book could be "written" by the droids, another by Luke, another by Obi-Wan, and so on.  It would encapsulate the saga as a true modern myth, and I'd bet, that if it were discovered by a new civilization a million years from now, it could easily form the basis of a new religion.  Anyway, as I said, this is all a fan's fantasy, so don't expect it to happen."

EZ9D9 wrote: "To Deepthroat 

When I referred to the Journals, and said I read it somewhere, it was NOT from a post and did not have your name accompanying it.  For me to say where I read it from, i don't recall but i'm pretty sure it was from a Magazine."

Deepthroat: "I was lurking on the rassm newsgroup just now and came across a few messages that reflect the continuing influence of the prequel "scoops" that I began reporting last year.  So, allow me to catalog, to the best of my recollection, the major rumors I began: 
 

1. GL wants to keep the Emperor's identity a mystery.
2. The airbus would be the first thing seen in ep 1 (note:  I made this up right after the image appeared in Time and before it appeared at the end of Jedi, which happily coincided with McCallum saying that the last image of Jedi would really be the first of the prequels.  Also, I never said the ship would be attacked, although I implied as much).
3. GL wants to maintain the integrity of Vader's ESB revelation.
4. Obi-Wan will be more roguish and Han Solo-like in the prequels (note:  Lucas referring to McGregor as the "perfect young Harrison Ford" seems to validate  this speculation).
5. The Millenium Falcon will appear in the prequels and be flown by two heroes (note: still possible, I believe, considering that no one seems to know anything about  the ship flown by Obi-Wan and the Jedi Master, which McGregor referred to as a very cool ship, or something to that effect.  How would he know this if, as it seems to be the case with a lot of the prequel hardware, the ship is to be added in later in CG? UNLESS he was told that his ship was something recognizable, like the Falcon. I am also sure that there is a line in one of the novels or technical guides about the rumored history of the Falcon, to the effect that it might have been flown by a group of Jedi Knights during the Clone Wars.  Aren't the clone wars totally off-limits to writers unless Lucas OKs it?).
6. Frank Darabont and David Fincher are the leading candidates to direct eps. 2 & 3. I also was the first to drop Francis Coppola and Irvin Kershner's names into the mix (note:  I believe this somehow led to the silly rumor of Fincher directing the second unit on ep. 1--this later rumor first appeared on the imdb page).
7. There are only three lightsaber colors in the prequels--blue for jedi-in-training, green for "full" or master jedi, and red for "dark jedi" or sith lords (note:  this was one of the last rumors I ever came up with, right around the time of the French Premiere photos--I'm not sure if Harry or Corona ever posted it).
8. Boba Fett appears in ep. 3 (note:  this was later confirmed by Lucas on MTV).
9. Russell Crowe is/was being considered for a part in the prequels (note:  this scoop was later "confirmed" by several other informants, I recall, even though it was a complete fabrication of mine.  Someone intrepid--and with a lot of time on their hands--could probably go back and use this false rumor as a litmus test for prequel "insiders" and thus eliminate many other false rumors).

Jom wrote: "Rod, thanks for posting "Deepthroat's" confession. I always hated the so-called "Vader indentity" secret thing as noted in some of my posts.  This is a great relief to me in knowing this was false."

Deepthroat wrote: "The only answer I can give to Ryan G's question ("Why?) is "Why not?" It's true, I'm just some guy with a computer and an active imagination (actually, I don't even have my own computer), but so what?  Were you or anyone else irrepably scarred by being led to believe that Darth Vader's identity would be kept a secret, or by any of the other rumors I passed off as genuine?  I know that Roderick puts a lot of hard work into creating the images for the Virtual Edition, but he knows that some of the stuff he's putting into his plotline might never end up in the movie--so what?  That doesn't make it any less fun to speculate and stir up discussion. Yes, I lied, but when I first started I honestly didn't expect too many folks to believe the words of an anonymous e-mailer who couldn't offer any sort of proof or corroboration of his information. When people did take notice, I got excited and perhaps carried away. But I also started during a period in which very little if any real information was coming out, and by the time filming started and real reports started pouring in, Harry, Corona, and most everbody else got wise and stopped listening.  My only purpose now is to clear up any residual confusion, as a clearer, factual image of what the prequels will look like starts to take shape."

Also, in fairness to Harry & Corona, I have not sent them any "confessions," so they really can't be faulted for failing to printing retractions.  Furthermore, their sites cannot be mistaken for the Wall Street Journal--they present their information as rumors, and that is how their information should be digested;  in this light, I don't think they have any sort of moral obligation to print retractions."

Second of all, I also didn't want this to become a shouting match.  I just react strongly about anything Star Wars.  This may sound a little (OK, a lot) corny but Star Wars really means a lot to me.  It comes in my life as one of the more important things in my life, behind my religion, my family, and my friends (and other things I'm sure I could come up with if I gave it some thought.)  I may be more "into" than I should, but hey, it's a great story with a happy ending, and I'm a sucker for it.  I can't imagine buying as many lousy books about anything else as I have about Star Wars.  Who knows, but I just get a little protective now and again.  So if I sounded a little (OK, a lot) miffed, I was just being protective of something I love. 

Third:  For what it's worth, I accept Deepthroat's apology and won't speak a word about it again, and as far as I'm concerned, the books are clear.  I think what got me the maddest was when I thought Deep said he thought it was funny that Roderick had done all that work for nothing. I have a web page, not nearly as impressive as this one, but I have put a lott of work into it and wouldn't enjoy seeing it ruined.  But since Deep said that wasn't what he meant, I think it's my turn to apologize (Roderick--sorry, I jumped to your defense a little too early.) 

Anyway, this is getting sappy, but I do mean it all, so . . . let's move on to more constructive discussion."