HOLLYWOOD - In January of 1997, George Lucas released a controversial Special Edition of his sci-fi masterpiece, Star Wars, to the American movie-going public. Almost 10 years later, geeks everywhere, in their parent's basements, still debate whether or not Lucas went too far with his constant tinkering. Today there's a new debate raging in America over the recent purchase of Abraham Zapruder's historical footage of the Kennedy Assassination, by none other than Mr. Lucas himself. Is the public ready for "Zapruder: The Special Edition?"
It wasn't until early 1964 that a 19 year old George Lucas watched the 26.6 second Zapruder film for the first time. He gazed at it horrified as the 35th President of the United States was gunned down in Dealey Plaza. A hundred thoughts ran through his mind... Was a spring-wound Bell & Howell 414PD Zoomatic really the best camera available to Zapruder? Why did he use the automatic electric eye instead of setting the f-stop manually? And why in heaven's name didn't Kennedy shoot first?
"It was always my intention to have the President shoot first", claims Lucas. "There are absolutely no plot points anywhere that suggest Kennedy wouldn't be ready for that bullet. The minute I saw his head explode, I knew... Kennedy needs to shoot first. It's a no-brainer."
When it was first revealed that George had purchased the footage, rumors of widespread changes including CGI, green screen and slo-motion "bullet time" effects ran rampant on the web. There was even a report claiming that Lucas was toying with the idea of having Kennedy survive. George claims the thought never entered his mind. "It's too implausible. This is history we're talking about here, not the latest Bruce Willis action blockbuster. With the exception of JFK drawing a .357 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk revolver, whirling around, and winging a surprised Lee Harvey Oswald at a distance of 165 feet, everything will be historically accurate."
If this project is a success, Lucas plans to alter "who shoots first" in other famous historical films such as The Robert Kennedy Assassination, footage from The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the Pamela Anderson Sex Tape.
