Skywalker Ranch Update: Here is a rundown of what Lucas and I did during an average day at the Ranch.

5:57 A.M. Receive phone call from Lucas explaining what time I should show up today. Lucas says we have a very busy day and should get started at 7:30 A.M.

7:10 A.M. I leave the guest cottage and walk to the building that houses the coffee shop. I order the most expensive cup of coffee they have.

7:25 A.M. After finishing off three brutally hot cups of coffee, I head over to Lucas’ office. Lucas is already there and his assistant shows me into his office. Lucas and I greet and he asks me how I slept and then he goes on about what he did last night. We talk for about 10 minutes about trivial things.

7:35 A.M. Lucas hands me a folder, which details all the shots we will be reviewing that day. Lucas takes several minutes to go over everything and asks me if I have any questions. A few minutes later Rick McCallum (producer of Revenge of the Sith) walks into Lucas’ office with a big grin on his face. McCallum begins to rattle on about a book he read last night.

It focused on the history of Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Empire. McCallum explains how the Mongols would encircle their enemies and slowly collapse the circle until everyone in the battle zone was dead. McCallum goes on talking for what seems forever. Finally, he comes to the end of his tirade and Lucas says that’s all very fascinating. Lucas hands McCallum a folder showing all the shots we will be reviewing and McCallum seems truly excited. Of course, if I was receiving a producer’s salary, I would be jumping for joy also.

8:20 A.M. Lucas, McCallum and I head over to the screening room where we will watch the footage of Revenge of the Sith. A few people from I.L.M are there to take notes on what Lucas says about the film footage. The first images we see are of Obi-Wan riding off into the sunset on Tatooine. Lucas immediately says he wants the light from the twins suns to be more intense. Lucas wants the shot to be brighter in order to convey that there is a new hope at the end of the movie. One person from I.L.M. asks Lucas a few questions.

10:00 A.M. We spend the next hour and a half going over very minor scenes. Lucas feels comfortable with most of them, but he tells his people that certain changes still need to be made. McCallum interjects his opinions. Finally, we get to the Obi-Wan vs. General Grievous showdown. Lucas is beaming with pride at what he sees. I.L.M. has finally got the scene down right. The I.L.M. people are relieved. It is so much fun seeing General Grievous in action. He’s a lot better villain than Count Dooku and Darth Maul. The way Grievous can split his arms so that he can wield four light sabers is completely amazing.

10:15 A.M. We take a break. I go fetch Lucas, McCallum and I a cup of exotic coffee.

10:35 A.M. We’re back at it again. For the next two hours, we relentlessly pour over the most mundane scenes from Revenge of the Sith. These are mostly the expositional scenes that provide the thrust for the basic plot. These are my least favorite moments during the day because I have no interest in the slow, boring scenes. I’m only in to the action sequences. Anyway, Lucas is very happy with what he sees. He seems to relish even the most trivial of scenes. Lucas believes every word he writes in the script is of the utmost importance.

11:10 A.M. Lucas tells the editor to integrate all the new stuff into Revenge of the Sith and we will watch the whole thing after lunch. We break for lunch.

1:30 P.M. We arrive back at the screening room and prepare to watch Revenge of the Sith again. The movie roles and we watch the opening fanfare and the famous crawl. Lucas pauses the film when he wants to make a comment. It’s difficult to watch the film this way because Lucas pauses the movie what seems like every five seconds. Anyway, we slowly make our way through the film.

4:45 P.M. We’ve finally made it to the end of the film. I’m satisfied with everything, but Lucas says that there are always changes that can be made. I tell Lucas that there comes a point where nobody is going to really notice the changes. If Padme has a certain gleam in her eye and Lucas wants to modify it, who’s going to know he made such a change and who’s going to care? Lucas explains that he is creating art and that every stroke is significant. McCallum adds his two cents worth of advice. McCallum always agrees with Lucas.

5:30 P.M. The day is over. I’m not sure just exactly what we have accomplished this day because I don’t understand how any of the minor modifications Lucas continues to make are going to matter. The film looks perfect to me, but Lucas is never satisfied. Lucas won’t stop tinkering with the film until we hit the April dead line.

However, even after Lucas completed Attack of the Clones and it had its theatrical run, he went back and modified some scenes for the DVD release. I guess this is what Lucas really enjoys doing, which is why he will never stop making modifications to the classic trilogy. He will always find something wrong with them.