In Defense Of George Lucas
- Thread starter Vivek
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Wolfsburg
Master Member
http://makingstarwars.net/2015/12/george-lucas-apologizes-for-white-slavers-remark-about-disney/
Looks like he's apologizing and conducting a little damage control. Apparently the interview was before the premiere of the film.
Looks like he's apologizing and conducting a little damage control. Apparently the interview was before the premiere of the film.
Brevin Din-Shay
Sr Member
He never intended a trilogy to be. It's such a lie when you hear the guy on the VHS tapes say "In 1977, George Lucas created the Star Wars trilogy...." please!!!
I've read so much Lucas bashing, J.J. bashing, omg when will people either appreciate their work or agree to disagree???????
Them Ewoks grabbed some here by the heart.
Obi-Wan lied....
On and on and ibuprofen please.
Lucas is sad and by his actions it's evident. I saw that coming faster than 12 parsecs after he sold the franchise.
It's just sad, but he did, and I'm still a die hard fan.
Too much politics ruins the show.
I've read so much Lucas bashing, J.J. bashing, omg when will people either appreciate their work or agree to disagree???????
Them Ewoks grabbed some here by the heart.
Obi-Wan lied....
On and on and ibuprofen please.
Lucas is sad and by his actions it's evident. I saw that coming faster than 12 parsecs after he sold the franchise.
It's just sad, but he did, and I'm still a die hard fan.
Too much politics ruins the show.
Kerr Avon
Master Member
It's just bitterness than they did a better job than him with the new movie. He is exclusively and solely responsible for the prequels, and they sucked. Comparing those to TFA and you see he's got no talent left in him. I'm not saying that a 'space politics' trilogy wouldn't have been good, but it was so poorly handled that he needs to stay away from SW in every shape and form.
A LOT to defend him for, dear gawd SW sparked a massive breaking of the dam and a flood of genre stuff came pouring.
A LOT to attack him over too, we know those things well.
And he still can have his say, I don't think shut up George is acceptable. He has a right to say what he wants in regards to JJ Wars as any of us.
Who knows maybe he has something new in him before he leaves this earth too.
A LOT to attack him over too, we know those things well.
And he still can have his say, I don't think shut up George is acceptable. He has a right to say what he wants in regards to JJ Wars as any of us.
Who knows maybe he has something new in him before he leaves this earth too.
Painting himself as the grand inventor in the whole TFA debate is really ridiculous.
He did a lot for us, he created a world that is such a grand part of my life and even personality. But at the moment I feel like a teen who finds his parents less and less admirable. It makes me a bit sad, and that sadness started in 1999.
From that BMD-article:
The early ANH scripts show an almost verbatim copying of narrative structure of the old serials.
The characters, locations, creatures and vehicles are heavily lifted from the old movie serials and even more so from the old Alex Raymond Flash Gordon comics.
That was really softened by all those talented people who worked on the OT.
The article quoting Dune as a donor for the "DNA" of ANH? Sorry, I have both seen those old serials and read Dune, and I personally see more of FG in the early scripts than I see Dune.
Proof? Look at the PT. Flash Gordon serials unmistakably serving as patterns for the narrative structure of PM. I personally do not mind hommages. Film noir detective story shoehorned into AOTC, which is actually my favourite part in AOTC, but how is a detective story Star Wars? Politics over politics, a dispute about trade routes ... hmmm ... Dune?
Sorry, but the points that he now critizises are IMO totally moot, because its like the pot is calling the kettle black.
He did a lot for us, he created a world that is such a grand part of my life and even personality. But at the moment I feel like a teen who finds his parents less and less admirable. It makes me a bit sad, and that sadness started in 1999.
From that BMD-article:
The early ANH scripts show an almost verbatim copying of narrative structure of the old serials.
The characters, locations, creatures and vehicles are heavily lifted from the old movie serials and even more so from the old Alex Raymond Flash Gordon comics.
That was really softened by all those talented people who worked on the OT.
The article quoting Dune as a donor for the "DNA" of ANH? Sorry, I have both seen those old serials and read Dune, and I personally see more of FG in the early scripts than I see Dune.
Proof? Look at the PT. Flash Gordon serials unmistakably serving as patterns for the narrative structure of PM. I personally do not mind hommages. Film noir detective story shoehorned into AOTC, which is actually my favourite part in AOTC, but how is a detective story Star Wars? Politics over politics, a dispute about trade routes ... hmmm ... Dune?
Sorry, but the points that he now critizises are IMO totally moot, because its like the pot is calling the kettle black.
I think it's safe to say he was speaking off the top of his head figuratively , the next part of that sentence would probably have been " ...and they prostituted them out".
Well he sold his "kids" to a huge studio entity, sort of like the ones he railed against when he was young. So I think that is his old seventies self speaking out against
the big studio system. In a way that's kind of cool that that fire is still burning a little there. But of course he has no one to blame but himself. And we have to factor
in that he wanted to donate so much of that money and I suspect he thinks other things were more important than making more SW movies when he could take the 4 billlion
dollars and give it to charities and make a difference beyond entertainment. Just the fact he's giving most of it away should earn him some get out of jail free cards.
yaris
Sr Member
Do you know what's really amusing??....George Lucas does not and has not ever cared what any of us think....I think people actually think he worrys about our opinions and the only thing he 'use to' worry about was making a successful film or two.
And he's done that in spades and he's stinking rich....guess who gets the last laugh??......
And he's done that in spades and he's stinking rich....guess who gets the last laugh??......
Kerr Avon
Master Member
Sure, because he realized what a ****** thing it is to say to compare the new owners of his property 'white slavers.'
Listen, this whole situation is no different than Roddenberry and ST. We're not going to **** on Roddenberry on the original series, but is there anyone who can really say that the first season of TNG was really top quality stuff? I mean for god's sake, he gave us Wesley ****ing Crusher, the Jar Jar of ST. But when Roddenberry stepped aside, we saw how good it could be with someone with new fresh vision and we got the rest of the series.
And then those people's vision became crap and we got Voyager. So JJ Abrams swooped in and then he .. okay.. so he made it worse with the movies. But SOMEONE might come along and make ST great again.
We can only hope.
Listen, this whole situation is no different than Roddenberry and ST. We're not going to **** on Roddenberry on the original series, but is there anyone who can really say that the first season of TNG was really top quality stuff? I mean for god's sake, he gave us Wesley ****ing Crusher, the Jar Jar of ST. But when Roddenberry stepped aside, we saw how good it could be with someone with new fresh vision and we got the rest of the series.
And then those people's vision became crap and we got Voyager. So JJ Abrams swooped in and then he .. okay.. so he made it worse with the movies. But SOMEONE might come along and make ST great again.
We can only hope.
yaris
Sr Member
it's ironic that his new woman is black:lol....
You have all missed the whole point I'm sure.....it's called MARKETING.
You might say SW needs no marketing...but it doesn't hurt ticket sales for GL to come out and 'offend' some folks.
It's all good publicity....and here we are talking about it and thinking about it and....SHTI I just have to go and see it again...:lol
You have all missed the whole point I'm sure.....it's called MARKETING.
You might say SW needs no marketing...but it doesn't hurt ticket sales for GL to come out and 'offend' some folks.
It's all good publicity....and here we are talking about it and thinking about it and....SHTI I just have to go and see it again...:lol
PHArchivist
Master Member
Probably something to do with inter-dimensional beings... Or midichlorians. :rolleyes
May I use "gabillions" too...?
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PHArchivist
Master Member
Now don't go calling me an expert, but in my lowly opinion I'd be willing to bet that is why with most major corporations you will find a Board of Directors...!
Don't forget The Dam Busters... "I'd say twenty guns, some on the surface, some on the tower". Nearly verbatim lift. And was the trench run really "inspired" by The Dam Busters, or was it templated straight off of the earlier film?
And don't forget the Huycks. Even after their script-doctoring, Ford (and others, I'm sure) still had trouble with some of the dialogue.
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Clever mashups kick ass I think is the lesson. The first Matrix did this too.
Lucas nearly killing himself making the first film is also part of it. Suffer for the art.
When funds are limited one is forced, pun not intended into often being more creative with cheats and other methods.
He needed help he had to use those around him and it helped him.
If I made the next SW movie that is where I would go for new story materials, back to all those sources
of the mashup and there are like half a dozen major rich sources
with untapped materials. But I think few in control now would be comfortable with that,
I'm sure much of their story arc is already penciled in with JJ type mimicry.
So much is set in place now I fear nothing but extremely familiar territory looking forward.
Lucas nearly killing himself making the first film is also part of it. Suffer for the art.
When funds are limited one is forced, pun not intended into often being more creative with cheats and other methods.
He needed help he had to use those around him and it helped him.
If I made the next SW movie that is where I would go for new story materials, back to all those sources
of the mashup and there are like half a dozen major rich sources
with untapped materials. But I think few in control now would be comfortable with that,
I'm sure much of their story arc is already penciled in with JJ type mimicry.
So much is set in place now I fear nothing but extremely familiar territory looking forward.
Bigdaddy
Master Member
Re-watched Empire of Dreams last night (the only disc that gets used from my SE ), even if it is a love letter to GL ( it still shows how incredibly egotistical and unrealistic he was! ), it really highlights how selective his memory is today. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't or revisiting it if you haven't watched it for a while.
), even if it is a love letter to GL ( it still shows how incredibly egotistical and unrealistic he was! ), it really highlights how selective his memory is today. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't or revisiting it if you haven't watched it for a while.
cayman shen
Master Member
Watching a Trek doc on Netflix (I forget which one) I was really taken aback by how similar Gene R and GL are/were. GR started to believe his own hype, that he was a prophet, something above and beyond mere mortal, and like all powerful people who buy into their own hype, he went off the damn rails. A decade and a half of fawning over GL in the 80s/90s really must have warped the guy in some way. I mean, he didn't turn into Jim Jones or anything, but he clearly lost sight of something that makes a normal human a normal human. You see it all the time with rich, powerful people developing a warped view of reality. Oh well, we'll always have Paris.
PHArchivist
Master Member
What follows is based on what we see from our public perspective. I understand there is much more to the man than we know...
That said, I truly feel sorry for GL, as he appears to be a sad an pathetic man, with the emotional maturity of an adolescent.
He has compared viewing TFA to attending an ex's subsequent wedding to another. As a GROWN-UP, you don't attend your ex's wedding if your sole intent is to p*ss on the bride and groom. The more mature and emotionally sophisticated route is to keep your feelings to yourself, or simply don't attend.
At nearly every significant turn, or milestone, in GL's post-1983 SW history, he has fumbled, contradicted himself (if not knowingly lied), demonstrated virtually universally agreed-upon poor creative choices, and become repugnant in the face of criticism.
--Constant and poorly executed revisions of the SW OT
--A documented (filmed) statement declaring he is actively against modifying a work once it has been released for public consumption, followed by his ravaging of the OT
--Critically panned series of prequel films that appeared to demonstrate his unbridled hubris and refusal to acknowledge input from other respected sources
--And the list goes on...
But in my mind, the most significant failure on his part is to maturely and professionally accept valid criticism for the PT, and the OT revisions. Both in the court of public opinion, as well as in the reviews of professional film critics, these filmmaking ventures were essentially deemed as failures - not financially, but creatively. Perhaps not utter failures, or perhaps "failure" is not the best word, but all readers here know what I mean.
However, rather than publicly accept the fact that perhaps he misstepped, (that perhaps his creative choices are not necessarily "up to snuff" and/or perhaps he should have factored more input from others), his basic response was, "Eff you all - I made the movies I want and I think they're fine. But when all your audience can do is rip you apart for it, it's no fun anymore and I'm gonna take my filmmaking toys and go home."
And he quit...
He basically got pissed off, picked up his toys, and left the sand box.
Thankfully for us, he sold his toys to someone else - for Four Billion Dollars. Now that "someone else" is playing - quite well, I might add - in that sand box.
And GL is sitting off to the side, butt on the playground asphalt, knees brought up to his chest wrapped up by his arms, glowering and fuming as he watches someone else play with his toys.
Again, I feel sorry for the man, as I fear his personality and psychological issues may well lead him to a state of misery, possibly on to his death bed.
Rather than reflect with warmth and positivism on what we all appreciate about him (the creation and delivery of the SW and IJ stories), and rather than embrace the fact that he made some missteps (we all make mistakes - when you're as large as GL, your mistakes will be large too) and reach a degree of peace with himself over it, and rather than fully accept that fact that he has indeed handed off the SW franchise (for better or for worse in his purview), he has elected to remain indignant and to demonstrate a notable absence of respect, professionalism, and emotional maturity.
Basically, he has elected to stay pissed off, and allow himself to wallow in a degree of misery...
Again, this is MY interpretation based on what is has been published, and publicly discussed. I hope I'm not all together right on these issues.
That said, I truly feel sorry for GL, as he appears to be a sad an pathetic man, with the emotional maturity of an adolescent.
He has compared viewing TFA to attending an ex's subsequent wedding to another. As a GROWN-UP, you don't attend your ex's wedding if your sole intent is to p*ss on the bride and groom. The more mature and emotionally sophisticated route is to keep your feelings to yourself, or simply don't attend.
At nearly every significant turn, or milestone, in GL's post-1983 SW history, he has fumbled, contradicted himself (if not knowingly lied), demonstrated virtually universally agreed-upon poor creative choices, and become repugnant in the face of criticism.
--Constant and poorly executed revisions of the SW OT
--A documented (filmed) statement declaring he is actively against modifying a work once it has been released for public consumption, followed by his ravaging of the OT
--Critically panned series of prequel films that appeared to demonstrate his unbridled hubris and refusal to acknowledge input from other respected sources
--And the list goes on...
But in my mind, the most significant failure on his part is to maturely and professionally accept valid criticism for the PT, and the OT revisions. Both in the court of public opinion, as well as in the reviews of professional film critics, these filmmaking ventures were essentially deemed as failures - not financially, but creatively. Perhaps not utter failures, or perhaps "failure" is not the best word, but all readers here know what I mean.
However, rather than publicly accept the fact that perhaps he misstepped, (that perhaps his creative choices are not necessarily "up to snuff" and/or perhaps he should have factored more input from others), his basic response was, "Eff you all - I made the movies I want and I think they're fine. But when all your audience can do is rip you apart for it, it's no fun anymore and I'm gonna take my filmmaking toys and go home."
And he quit...
He basically got pissed off, picked up his toys, and left the sand box.
Thankfully for us, he sold his toys to someone else - for Four Billion Dollars. Now that "someone else" is playing - quite well, I might add - in that sand box.
And GL is sitting off to the side, butt on the playground asphalt, knees brought up to his chest wrapped up by his arms, glowering and fuming as he watches someone else play with his toys.
Again, I feel sorry for the man, as I fear his personality and psychological issues may well lead him to a state of misery, possibly on to his death bed.
Rather than reflect with warmth and positivism on what we all appreciate about him (the creation and delivery of the SW and IJ stories), and rather than embrace the fact that he made some missteps (we all make mistakes - when you're as large as GL, your mistakes will be large too) and reach a degree of peace with himself over it, and rather than fully accept that fact that he has indeed handed off the SW franchise (for better or for worse in his purview), he has elected to remain indignant and to demonstrate a notable absence of respect, professionalism, and emotional maturity.
Basically, he has elected to stay pissed off, and allow himself to wallow in a degree of misery...
Again, this is MY interpretation based on what is has been published, and publicly discussed. I hope I'm not all together right on these issues.
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