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March 3, 2024 10:12 am  #1


George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

It's not unusual for a movie on over-the-air or cable TV to be interrupted by commercials. But to have them inserted into the movie itself? That's pretty outrageous. 

It's what got the attention of filmmaker George Lucas, whose "Star Wars: Episode VI" was being shown on a Chilean television network back in 2003. At three different points in the iconic film, the network had spliced in beer commercials meant to seem as if they were part of the film. 

It angered Lucas so much, he took the network to court and won. But it wasn't the only flick the channel tried this on. 

There's a sample of what they did at the link below. It's technically impressive, but absolutely insane. And thank God it never caught on. It's more proof that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. 

Star Wars’ bizarre editing quirk that saw George Lucas so incensed he took broadcasters to court

This was one of three instances where they did it. You can see them all on this Twitter/X page.

 

March 3, 2024 10:23 am  #2


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

I found this amusing! The Cristal beer ad being spliced into Star Wars could be a SNL sketch, thanks for sharing RA!

 

March 3, 2024 10:30 am  #3


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

It's not quite as egregious, but I can't stand when a network comes back from a commercial break and sneaks another ad onto the screen while the show is running. Global and CTV do this more often than I'd like and it drives me crazy. We just sat through up to four minutes of spots and now you have the nerve to insult viewers by adding another one within the show?

Most are simply banner ads that arrive at the bottom of the screen, although Global also tends to insert promos for upcoming shows on the side during a program. It's extremely intrusive.

Show it as a spot, do it separately, but keep them out of the shows when they're running.

This is another reason I tend to watch an American show on an American network. They rarely do this. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 3, 2024 3:08 pm  #4


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

Good for George Lucas.

Another thing that really irks me, and it's something that I believe RadioActive has mentioned, happens when you're watching a tv show on a streaming service and during the crucial part of the scene, about fifteen seconds before it ends to lead into a natural commercial break, the streaming service, and City+ is notorious for this, cuts the scene short going into an endless commercial break and it's always just before the whole point of the scene is revealed. No emotional payoff, no further plot development clues the audience needs. Argh.

Last edited by betaylored (March 3, 2024 3:12 pm)

 

March 3, 2024 3:51 pm  #5


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

RadioActive wrote:

It's not quite as egregious, but I can't stand when a network comes back from a commercial break and sneaks another ad onto the screen while the show is running. Global and CTV do this more often than I'd like and it drives me crazy. We just sat through up to four minutes of spots and now you have the nerve to insult viewers by adding another one within the show?

Most are simply banner ads that arrive at the bottom of the screen, although Global also tends to insert promos for upcoming shows on the side during a program. It's extremely intrusive.

Show it as a spot, do it separately, but keep them out of the shows when they're running.

This is another reason I tend to watch an American show on an American network. They rarely do this. 

While the U.S. nets don't do banner ads across the bottom of the screen, they do use them for network promos. I have seen several of them for NBC's new game show Deal or No Deal Island. And yes they are intrusive and extremely annoying.

 

March 3, 2024 5:13 pm  #6


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

Early radio and TV did something similar, but instead of having the commercials actually written as part of the show, they would have the actors do ads in their characters in commercial breaks.
I remember I love Lucy and Beverly Hillbillies did it.
For instance the episode would go to a break and it would be a commercial with Donna Douglas and Max Baer playing their characters Jethro and Elly May discussing how good a certain cigarette was etc.
But that Chilean stunt was too much.
Can you imagine if American advertisers did that?
"Where is your god now, Moses?"
"Well if there was a god he'd command us to wear Trojan condoms!"
or,
"Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?"
"No Mr. Bond I expect you to take out State Farm Insurance."
etc etc.




 

Last edited by newsguy1 (March 3, 2024 5:14 pm)

 

March 3, 2024 10:21 pm  #7


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

betaylored wrote:

Another thing that really irks me, and it's something that I believe RadioActive has mentioned, happens when you're watching a tv show on a streaming service and during the crucial part of the scene, about fifteen seconds before it ends to lead into a natural commercial break, the streaming service, and City+ is notorious for this, cuts the scene short going into an endless commercial break and it's always just before the whole point of the scene is revealed. No emotional payoff, no further plot development clues the audience needs. Argh.

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is like a kick in the memory bank for me. Some here often wonder why I complain so much about Canadian TV and why I insist on watching all U.S. shows on the American originating network. What difference does it make? This comment threw me into a time warp and I now recall exactly why I have this ongoing feud with Canadian TV stations. 

A long time ago, TV stations here would often show American programs out of pattern with the U.S. networks in those pre-simsub days. Some shows were especially known for their emotionally or drama-packed endings and in those days before VCRs, I'd often watch it on the Canadian station early in order to see something else on a U.S. outlet airing later that night. 

But I stopped when, week after week after week, the Canadian stations would literally butcher the ending of way too many of the programs I watched. It would be like a cathartic ending with 5 minutes left, as the lead character moved to apologize for his actions or the murderer was about to be revealed. The music would swell, the guy would look guilty and would be about to confess what he did when all of a sudden: THIS WEEK AT THE BAD BOY! A SALE ON FURNITURE SO GREAT, WE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!

By the time the show came back on with the final part that had been properly displayed uninterrupted in the U.S., the climax was completely and utterly destroyed and it ruined the whole thing. I believe this happened because there was more commercial time allowed on Canadian TV during those years than was available in the U.S. So to get it all in, Canadian stations had to edit the shows to get the extra spots in. And they did an absolutely terrible job at it every single week. 

It quickly became apparent to anyone watching in the Great White North that they didn't care how badly they destroyed the mood of the ending. 

After this happened way too many times, I swore never, ever to watch any U.S. shows on any Canadian channels. And though most of them admittedly don't do this anymore, some old habits are hard to break. Which is why to this day, if I can watch it directly over-the-air off my antenna on NBC, ABC, CBS, or Fox, I will. I hadn't really thought about it in years, but to those who've ever wondered about my obsessive mania over this, this is exactly when and why it all started. 

     Thread Starter
 

March 3, 2024 11:05 pm  #8


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

I have IPTV which allows you to pick from nearly any affiliate in the US.
In addition to watching on the US network I try to choose a network O&O.
When the network owns the station you’re far less likely to get technical glitches and preemptions that seem to happen at a master control at a company like Sinclair that operates stations all over the country for every network. One night I was watching Buffalo or Rochester and they absolutely mangled a show I was watching. I wrote to them and they apologized for loading the wrong network’s schedule. So I was watching commercials that were synchronized with a different network than the one I was watching. Luckily I was able to download the show later.

 

March 4, 2024 9:50 pm  #9


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

I have IPTV also.   $100 a year for about 13,000 channels.   Now, not all load properly but I can still access most channels of each network worldwide.     Our condo has a bulk deal with Rogers for Ignite TV & internet but I enjoy the IPTV on my iPad.

 

March 5, 2024 9:23 am  #10


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

RadioActive wrote:

betaylored wrote:

Another thing that really irks me, and it's something that I believe RadioActive has mentioned, happens when you're watching a tv show on a streaming service and during the crucial part of the scene, about fifteen seconds before it ends to lead into a natural commercial break, the streaming service, and City+ is notorious for this, cuts the scene short going into an endless commercial break and it's always just before the whole point of the scene is revealed. No emotional payoff, no further plot development clues the audience needs. Argh.

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is like a kick in the memory bank for me. Some here often wonder why I complain so much about Canadian TV and why I insist on watching all U.S. shows on the American originating network. What difference does it make? This comment threw me into a time warp and I now recall exactly why I have this ongoing feud with Canadian TV stations. 

A long time ago, TV stations here would often show American programs out of pattern with the U.S. networks in those pre-simsub days. Some shows were especially known for their emotionally or drama-packed endings and in those days before VCRs, I'd often watch it on the Canadian station early in order to see something else on a U.S. outlet airing later that night. 

But I stopped when, week after week after week, the Canadian stations would literally butcher the ending of way too many of the programs I watched. It would be like a cathartic ending with 5 minutes left, as the lead character moved to apologize for his actions or the murderer was about to be revealed. The music would swell, the guy would look guilty and would be about to confess what he did when all of a sudden: THIS WEEK AT THE BAD BOY! A SALE ON FURNITURE SO GREAT, WE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!

By the time the show came back on with the final part that had been properly displayed uninterrupted in the U.S., the climax was completely and utterly destroyed and it ruined the whole thing. I believe this happened because there was more commercial time allowed on Canadian TV during those years than was available in the U.S. So to get it all in, Canadian stations had to edit the shows to get the extra spots in. And they did an absolutely terrible job at it every single week. 

It quickly became apparent to anyone watching in the Great White North that they didn't care how badly they destroyed the mood of the ending. 

After this happened way too many times, I swore never, ever to watch any U.S. shows on any Canadian channels. And though most of them admittedly don't do this anymore, some old habits are hard to break. Which is why to this day, if I can watch it directly over-the-air off my antenna on NBC, ABC, CBS, or Fox, I will. I hadn't really thought about it in years, but to those who've ever wondered about my obsessive mania over this, this is exactly when and why it all started. 

Canadian viewers are still denied the "Stay tuned for scenes from next weeks episode" segment because of extra commercials.

 

March 5, 2024 12:34 pm  #11


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

mace wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

betaylored wrote:

Another thing that really irks me, and it's something that I believe RadioActive has mentioned, happens when you're watching a tv show on a streaming service and during the crucial part of the scene, about fifteen seconds before it ends to lead into a natural commercial break, the streaming service, and City+ is notorious for this, cuts the scene short going into an endless commercial break and it's always just before the whole point of the scene is revealed. No emotional payoff, no further plot development clues the audience needs. Argh.

Yes! Yes! Yes! This is like a kick in the memory bank for me. Some here often wonder why I complain so much about Canadian TV and why I insist on watching all U.S. shows on the American originating network. What difference does it make? This comment threw me into a time warp and I now recall exactly why I have this ongoing feud with Canadian TV stations. 

A long time ago, TV stations here would often show American programs out of pattern with the U.S. networks in those pre-simsub days. Some shows were especially known for their emotionally or drama-packed endings and in those days before VCRs, I'd often watch it on the Canadian station early in order to see something else on a U.S. outlet airing later that night. 

But I stopped when, week after week after week, the Canadian stations would literally butcher the ending of way too many of the programs I watched. It would be like a cathartic ending with 5 minutes left, as the lead character moved to apologize for his actions or the murderer was about to be revealed. The music would swell, the guy would look guilty and would be about to confess what he did when all of a sudden: THIS WEEK AT THE BAD BOY! A SALE ON FURNITURE SO GREAT, WE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!

By the time the show came back on with the final part that had been properly displayed uninterrupted in the U.S., the climax was completely and utterly destroyed and it ruined the whole thing. I believe this happened because there was more commercial time allowed on Canadian TV during those years than was available in the U.S. So to get it all in, Canadian stations had to edit the shows to get the extra spots in. And they did an absolutely terrible job at it every single week. 

It quickly became apparent to anyone watching in the Great White North that they didn't care how badly they destroyed the mood of the ending. 

After this happened way too many times, I swore never, ever to watch any U.S. shows on any Canadian channels. And though most of them admittedly don't do this anymore, some old habits are hard to break. Which is why to this day, if I can watch it directly over-the-air off my antenna on NBC, ABC, CBS, or Fox, I will. I hadn't really thought about it in years, but to those who've ever wondered about my obsessive mania over this, this is exactly when and why it all started. 

Canadian viewers are still denied the "Stay tuned for scenes from next weeks episode" segment because of extra commercials.

That’s actually not the reason.  Usually the promos for the following week are created by the network that airs it in the US. But the show is distributed to Canadian networks by the studio that creates it. Ie. Warner Bros. Television Distribution, not NBC.  Essentially, we get our copy of the program before the American network adds a preview to the end.
You will notice that on shows like Survivor, where the network is also the creator and distributor, we do get promos for the following week.

Last edited by Tomas Barlow (March 5, 2024 12:36 pm)

 

March 6, 2024 9:09 am  #12


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

Tomas Barlow wrote:

mace wrote:

RadioActive wrote:


Yes! Yes! Yes! This is like a kick in the memory bank for me. Some here often wonder why I complain so much about Canadian TV and why I insist on watching all U.S. shows on the American originating network. What difference does it make? This comment threw me into a time warp and I now recall exactly why I have this ongoing feud with Canadian TV stations. 

A long time ago, TV stations here would often show American programs out of pattern with the U.S. networks in those pre-simsub days. Some shows were especially known for their emotionally or drama-packed endings and in those days before VCRs, I'd often watch it on the Canadian station early in order to see something else on a U.S. outlet airing later that night. 

But I stopped when, week after week after week, the Canadian stations would literally butcher the ending of way too many of the programs I watched. It would be like a cathartic ending with 5 minutes left, as the lead character moved to apologize for his actions or the murderer was about to be revealed. The music would swell, the guy would look guilty and would be about to confess what he did when all of a sudden: THIS WEEK AT THE BAD BOY! A SALE ON FURNITURE SO GREAT, WE SHOULD BE LOCKED UP!

By the time the show came back on with the final part that had been properly displayed uninterrupted in the U.S., the climax was completely and utterly destroyed and it ruined the whole thing. I believe this happened because there was more commercial time allowed on Canadian TV during those years than was available in the U.S. So to get it all in, Canadian stations had to edit the shows to get the extra spots in. And they did an absolutely terrible job at it every single week. 

It quickly became apparent to anyone watching in the Great White North that they didn't care how badly they destroyed the mood of the ending. 

After this happened way too many times, I swore never, ever to watch any U.S. shows on any Canadian channels. And though most of them admittedly don't do this anymore, some old habits are hard to break. Which is why to this day, if I can watch it directly over-the-air off my antenna on NBC, ABC, CBS, or Fox, I will. I hadn't really thought about it in years, but to those who've ever wondered about my obsessive mania over this, this is exactly when and why it all started. 

Canadian viewers are still denied the "Stay tuned for scenes from next weeks episode" segment because of extra commercials.

That’s actually not the reason. Usually the promos for the following week are created by the network that airs it in the US. But the show is distributed to Canadian networks by the studio that creates it. Ie. Warner Bros. Television Distribution, not NBC. Essentially, we get our copy of the program before the American network adds a preview to the end.
You will notice that on shows like Survivor, where the network is also the creator and distributor, we do get promos for the following week.

Interesting. I did not know that. However, I will still continue to watch the U.S. version of a series whenever possible.

 

March 6, 2024 10:16 am  #13


Re: George Lucas Sued Network That Inserted Commercials Into Star Wars

mace wrote:

Tomas Barlow wrote:

mace wrote:


Canadian viewers are still denied the "Stay tuned for scenes from next weeks episode" segment because of extra commercials.

That’s actually not the reason. Usually the promos for the following week are created by the network that airs it in the US. But the show is distributed to Canadian networks by the studio that creates it. Ie. Warner Bros. Television Distribution, not NBC. Essentially, we get our copy of the program before the American network adds a preview to the end.
You will notice that on shows like Survivor, where the network is also the creator and distributor, we do get promos for the following week.

Interesting. I did not know that. However, I will still continue to watch the U.S. version of a series whenever possible.

I always do too. It started for me when Global decided not to put commercials between the end of the show and the closing credits to hold viewers, but instead of just adding those commercials evenly throughout the existing breaks, they would just stick the commercials into a random place. I also didn’t like “On Global” being inserted into the title card of nearly every show.