George Lucas: "I'm Done With Star Wars" 424
HughPickens.com writes: Entertainment Weekly reports that George Lucas has compared his retirement from Star Wars to a break-up – a mutual one, maybe, but one that nonetheless comes with hard feelings and although Lucas came up with story treatments for a new trilogy, those materials, to put it bluntly, were discarded. "They decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were gonna go do their own thing," says Lucas. "They weren't that keen to have me involved anyway. But at the same time, I said if I get in there I'm just going to cause trouble. Because they're not going to do what I want them to do. And I don't have the control to do that anymore. All I would do is muck everything up. So I said, 'Okay, I will go my way, and I'll let them go their way.'" Lucas says he was going to tell a story about the grandchildren of figures from the original trilogy. "The issue was, ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans,'" says Lucas. "So, I said, all I want to do is tell a story of what happened – it started here and went there. It's all about generations, and issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers. It's a family soap opera."
Although the team behind The Force Awakens acknowledges they're taking the story in a different direction from what Lucas intended, they maintain affection for his original creations and the man himself. "Before I showed up, it was already something that Disney had decided they wanted to go a different way with," says J. J. Abrams. "But the spirit of what he wrote, both in those pages and prior, is everything that this movie is built upon." Some fans question why there was no "Based on" credit for Lucas in the poster for The Force Awakens. "I don't know why it isn't on the poster, but it's a valid point. I'm sure that that will be a credit in the film," says Abrams. "We are standing on the shoulders of Episodes I through VI."
Although the team behind The Force Awakens acknowledges they're taking the story in a different direction from what Lucas intended, they maintain affection for his original creations and the man himself. "Before I showed up, it was already something that Disney had decided they wanted to go a different way with," says J. J. Abrams. "But the spirit of what he wrote, both in those pages and prior, is everything that this movie is built upon." Some fans question why there was no "Based on" credit for Lucas in the poster for The Force Awakens. "I don't know why it isn't on the poster, but it's a valid point. I'm sure that that will be a credit in the film," says Abrams. "We are standing on the shoulders of Episodes I through VI."
Surprised? (Score:4, Insightful)
Just more Cheez-wiz American cinema. Lucas ruined the first three movies when made the last three.
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Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Informative)
There used to be laserdisc rips of the original trilogy on bittorrent. That is about as close as you'll get.
Re:Surprised? (Score:4, Interesting)
There used to be laserdisc rips of the original trilogy on bittorrent. That is about as close as you'll get.
I'm told that there are "the despecialized editions", which were attempts by fans with mad skills to recreate the original films from the "special editions". Improved quality and effects where appropriate, without all the squirmy additions.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
The official original versions as put on the re-release of the SE DVDs as bonus features (known as the GOUT, for George's Original Unaltered Trilogy) came from the Laserdisc masters. They're poor quality by today's standards, but better than any Laserdisc rip.
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I have these disks. Despite having bought the wide-screen trilogy the bonus disks were full frame.
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I don't know which disks you're watching, but the GOUT is definitely widescreen. It's not anamorphic, though (neither were the laserdiscs).
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Informative)
There used to be laserdisc rips of the original trilogy on bittorrent. That is about as close as you'll get.
Not true! There are much better ones available! As an Anonymous poster noted below (and deserves to be modded up!) you should look for Harmy's "Despecialized" versions. Much of the source was actually taken from film and it looks really good at 720p. Look for version 2.5 of episode 4 and version 2.0 of episode. His current version of Jedi isn't quite as good yet, but hopefully a better version will be out soon.
Some info here [originaltrilogy.com].
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Yes, I downloaded it a while ago.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
"and just to complete it" -- I know the feeling. Lucas was starting to go off the rails with RotJ. Then with TPM he went off the bridge, tumbled down the mountain, careened into the chasm and plunged into the magma.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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> No he didn't, the problem was after Empire he began to lose people who would tell him no which is the kiss of death to a guy like Lucas.
I agree, he always had JarJar potential without talented people to hold him in check. That doesn't necessarily invalidate what I said.
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Not only that, but Lucas's wife, whom he divorced somewhere around RoTJ is credited with having written and corrected a lot of the dialog and story that Lucas originally wrote. There were rumors she could make a better set of prequels than he could. Of course, he never gave her the credit, but there are articles written about her. I'd like to see her direct some.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
And here's the thing, I think that Lucas did have some really great ideas, but he also had some terrible ones. And without the filter to remove the terrible ones, you got a mashed-up mess.
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Don't you mean ex-wife? I thought it was his (then-) wife that edited his script for Episode 4 and helped keep that movie from being a disaster. However, after the original trilogy, they got divorced, so of course when he got around to doing the Prequels she wasn't around to tell him how stupid his ideas and dialog were.
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"and just to complete it" -- I know the feeling. Lucas was starting to go off the rails with RotJ. Then with TPM he went off the bridge, tumbled down the mountain, careened into the chasm and plunged into the magma.
To be fair, he didn't have the high ground.
Maybe selectively merge original and reworks (Score:2)
If we only could get a HD release of the original theatrical releases of the first ones (S.W., the Empre Strikes back and just to complete it Return)
My opinion changes. At times I would love the originals. At other times I would like a careful merging of the originals and Lucas' reworks. The CGI for the space scenes may a nice modernization. No plot changes though, Han shoots first, no infantile CGI additions like turning the corner during a chase and finding 50 additional unexpected stormtroopers rather than a few more unexpected, etc.
Such selective merging works with the general theme that Lucas can come up with some good ideas but he needs adult s
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Look for "despecialized edition". It is the droids you are looking for.
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Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
He also ruined the first three movies when he shamelessly screwed with them.
Han shot Greedo first. End of story.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Informative)
Han didn't shoot Greedo first. Han shot Greedo, and Greedo didn't shoot at all.
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Anyone else remember when Star Wars made the rounds at the theaters for its third time (1979)? In the copy we got at our theater here, no one shot in that scene.
The Han and Greedo scene went straight from "Yes, I'll bet you have." to the next scene, which was an outside shot of the Death Star.
For years we had thought it might have been a bad spot on the copy the theater had which needed cut out. Then the Han Shot controversy came up, and that entire mystery was suddenly put into a different light.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Informative)
Just more Cheez-wiz American cinema. Lucas ruined the first three movies when made the last three.
It helps to assume that the last three never existed. Kinda like "wow The Matrix was good. Too bad they never made any sequels".
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Surprised? (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, if Disney does well enough with 7-9, maybe they will go back and remake eps 1-3. I'd like to see the look on Lucas's face...
I haven't used this phrase in a long time, but That Would Be So Cool. Just make the prequels non-canon, completely forget they ever existed, and just do new prequels.
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> Star Wars until the sellout to Disney was his.
Not sure what you're going for, but I generally don't like the notion that he "sold out", as in cheated his true fans and his own artistic vision by partnering with a huge corporate conglomerate. He had a good run with SW, single-handedly made it into what it is today (for better or worse), and is now passing the property over to another set of filmmakers that have proven themselves to be quite capable and will likely to the series justice. He made a bundle
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Just more Cheez-wiz American cinema. Lucas ruined the first three movies when made the last three.
Oh for pete's sake, Lucas didn't ruin anything. Star Wars until the sellout to Disney was his. His fucking vision.
Well, no. His vision was a green-skinned Han Solo with gills and other crazy characters/ideas that brighter minds, fortunately, talked him out of. A New Hope is what happens when you based your movie on established storytelling techniques (hero's journey) and have a capable and outspoken editing staff. The Phantom Menace is what happens when you leave Lucas to "his vision."
What a coincidence! (Score:5, Funny)
I'm done with Star Wars too!
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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He's also a terrible writer and worldbuilder. The only reason Star Wars endures is because of the merchandising.
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Star Wars endures because it's awesome. Star Wars merchandising endures because it's profitable.
Re:What a coincidence! (Score:4, Funny)
He's also a terrible writer and worldbuilder. The only reason Star Wars endures is because of the merchandising.
Too bad it didn't work for SpaceBalls 2: The Search For More Money :-(
Re:What a coincidence! (Score:5, Interesting)
Lucas not having control to do what he wanted (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted (Score:5, Interesting)
Because you can't have your $4 Billion dollar cake, and eat it too?
Dude do you have any idea how rich Lucas is?
I had a friend from college who was a VP when a quote from Walt Disney came up in business management class "After a certain point. You come to work to do your passions. I have all the money in the world as it is .." Basically he told me the folks he knows work to piss on their other business owners to show who is top dog. They have all soo much money that a few million here or there won't make a difference.
Yes for you or I would jump and trip over anyone offering me freaking $4 billion dollars!! But, I have bills to pay. Jobs I go to that are not all that great but needed so I do not have to move in with my parents. I have a car with 130,000 miles on it and student loans and a retirement to worry about. So yeah, Mr. Lucas does not have these problems.
If he wanted he could go live like Mr. McAffee on a tropical beach with hookers, parties, and drugs, with his own jet to go and do whatever he wants when he wants before this deal with Disney. Money is not something on his mind unless his goal was to have another pissing ego contest on someone else so he can grin on how rich and successful he is.
Just a perspective us peasants never really consider. Perhaps we too can make something of ourselves with a startup someday? But anyway he already has cashed out as wealthy back in the late 1970s. ... of course the flipside is poverty. I type this and am middle class. Imagine working 3 jobs and wondering how you are going to eat or keep the lights on? That too is not a concern for Lucas. Perhaps he should not have sold it? I wonder what his intentions were or did a divorce made him do this?
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If he wanted he could go live like Mr. McAffee on a tropical beach with hookers, parties, and drugs, with his own jet to go and do whatever he wants when he wants before this deal with Disney.
I'm actually surprised more people don't do that, tbh
Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted (Score:5, Informative)
I suppose I'll post this as AC.
I realize that people think $250,000,000 is a lot. It is. It's a metric butt-ton of money. However, those of us who have managed to acquire that much wealth aren't all that wealthy comparatively speaking. We can not, realistically, buy a mansion everywhere and buy a jet. Jets are expensive. Maintaining a home is very expensive (but not as expensive as a jet). At that level, well, you're getting a huge tax bill - plan on about 1/3 of it (or more) in Federal or State taxes. This is usually paid in the quarter that the income was earned.
Then, say, you sold your business for 98,000,000 in cash and 120,000,000 in stock in the new parent company? You can't actually sell, trade, or touch those stocks (you could, in theory, take loans out against them) for six months or you'll end up in Federal prison. (It might be 60 days, actually.) You're probably not taxed on the full amount - if you're smart and have an accountant. With the above numbers, you're looking at somewhere $155,000,000 which is still a bunch of money but when you start buying things like a jet AND paying to keep that jet functional then you're looking at some serious expenditures.
Now, assuming you do the "right thing" and you reward all the people who helped you to get where you are and make a bunch of anonymous donations you're looking at somewhere around half of that money being kept aside. So, call it $80,000,000. You're now going to want some privacy and a house out in the middle of nowhere. Something like 10,000 acres in the NW part of Maine, with a nice house, and the amenities is going to cost you something along the lines of $20,000,000 assuming you are also setting aside for taxes for the next ten years.
Then you want a place in Florida, nothing special, and a place in Nevada - again nothing special. Plan on another $10,000,000. You want to set your kids, grandkids, etc up for life and pay off your ex-wife? Plan on another $20,000,000 - it could be more but you want the kids to have a trust that doesn't pay for everything so that they're still productive members of society and not just resting on their laurels. Throw in another $20,000,000 for friends and family.
You want to maintain your land and property after you leave? That's another $10,000,000 or so. Throw in seeding a trust that enables a few kids to go to a nice private school? That's another $10,000,000...
These are rather rough numbers but you get the idea? Point being, at the $250,000,000 level you still have to budget and don't get to go spend a metric ton of money on things like a jet. Well, you can if you want but it's really not prudent and is not a responsible thing to do. No, you charter a small plane when you want to fly. You do have a driver but you only hire one in a rented car when you're out on the town. You don't actually own a limo or anything but you might have a bunch of old cars and hire a mechanic on the weekends - you might even get your hands dirty and do some of the work yourself.
If you're smart, and lucky, and aren't lazy - you can actually put your money into a few risky investments and then make your assets equal what they were when you first were paid for your business. That takes some work and some dedication. They don't seem to teach this sort of thing in college or anything. I understand that they do have special coaches for this but I've also heard that they're a scam - mostly. People who win the lottery usually end up broke for a reason.
Really, though, you don't spend like that. What you do is you invest it - almost all of it, and then build up the other funds slowly on earnings from your investments. This keeps the money from being taxed as you're still keeping it in the investment pool and not spending it. Well, if it's taxed then it's at a lower rate. It depends on where you move it and *how* you move it. So, it's not quite as bad as I'm depicting above and you can certainly avoid a lot of that. That doesn't mean that you go spending on things like a jet, however. Sure, you can
Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted (Score:5, Funny)
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You know, the world is a bit more gray than that black and white statement you've made. For example, I know plenty of people who are "job creators." Personally, I own a portion of (non-controlling shares or "silent partner" ownerships) a number of businesses and, quite literally, create jobs. I guess, in most cases, I help people maintain the jobs they have but I've helped create more than my fair share of jobs in my day and still do. At one point, I even had a business that employed over 200 people.
Now, to
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He did not really sell it so much as he sold it to the company his wife ran.
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His car had 160K miles on it, and they just declined his Amex card at the restaurant?
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So now? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:So now? (Score:5, Funny)
Had doesn't shoot first.
Han shoots.
Greed doesn't shoot at all.
Because he's dead.
Because that's what happens when Han Fucking Solo shoots you.
Jar Jar Binks (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:5, Interesting)
If only this were true...
https://www.reddit.com/comments/3qvj6w
https://www.reddit.com/r/DarthJarJar/comments/3rntpj/theory_support_megathread/
That would have been the best twist ever. Alas we just have a meandering annoying character.
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:5, Interesting)
There is still a belief that Kylo Ren may be Jar-Jar. Just look at the mask. Only time will tell.
"No one cared who me-sa was until me-sa put on da bombad mask"
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:5, Insightful)
No, that's not the problem. The problem was the re-edits of the old movies where things like the sarlacc was changed for no useful reason, the original Darth Vader actor was edited out and Hayden Christensen was edited in instead of finding a Darth Vader actor that did resemble the original Darth Vader actor in the death scene in Return of the Jedi. (Anakin in first episode was not a problem) But the transition from a kid with rounded features to the thin Hayden and then to the more rounded features of the face that Darth Vader had in the death scene annoys me more.
Smaller changes that aren't obvious to the watcher - they don't make things worse or better, at least when it comes to background items or pure graphical enhancements of stuff that weren't good in the original movies due to the fact that special effects weren't good at that time.
You may be annoyed with Jar Jar Binks, but in the first movie C3PO was an annoyance. But his character actually got better over time. Initially the way Yoda talked was also an annoyance. So forget about Jar Jar and figure out that there are worse problems.
What's possible to be more annoyed about is the story incoherences between the original movies (Episode 4 to 6) and the newer movies (Episode 1 to 3) where some things went on in a way didn't make sense to someone that had seen the original movies. Luke was a teenager and considered to be "too old", Anakin was a lot younger and still considered to be "too old".
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You know, the more I read discussion of the changes to the first three movies, the more I'm glad I just watched them at the time and left it at that.
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I actually quite likes a fair bit of the re-done & enhanced effects in the Special Editions. Where they went wrong, IMO, is where they changed plot or characterization (Greedo shooting first.), added scenes that just didn't make sense (Palpatine's not dead a whole day, and his statues are already being torn down on Coruscant? How did the news get there so fast? What happened to the empire's military and police forces? Did they all just decide to take the day off?), and where they were obviously half
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:4, Interesting)
The parent poster wasn't saying she was bad, and was pointing out that even she couldn't save Hayden's performance. The other obnoxious, annoying, incompetently-acting individual he was talking about was Jake Lloyd. Part of my disappointment was due to Christensen's performance, but a lot of it was due to the awful script and having to deal with Lucas's idea that Darth Vader was a whiny little bitch most of the time.
As for my part, I felt it was quite disrespectful to Sebastian Shaw's memory and career that he was replaced in the ending scene for no good reason. It doesn't make sense either - Obi-Wan's ghost was still old, as was Yoda's, so why is Anakin magically returned to his 20-something self when no one else is? And if you're going to replace Shaw with Christensen, why not also replace Alec Guinness with Ewan McGregor?
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree, the problem wasn't so much Hayden as it was Lucas' poor writing and lack of direction. The fact that the sets were just giant blue screens didn't help. In the prequels, Ewan McGreggor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, and Samuel L Muthafucking Jackson are all giving lackluster performances. If Sam Jackson comes off as wooden, what chance does a novice like Hayden Christensen stand?
I really don't care for the guy, and I couldn't stand the character of Anakin but I think he just gets too much of the blame for the prequels.
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Don't blame Portman for Lucas's awful dialog.
By the same token, Christensen just sucks. At least Portman and McGregor did their best with a really awful script, but Christensen was awful; wooden most of the time, delivering his lines like a Speak-and-Spell, and then finding the magic way to be wooden AND over-emotive in other scenes. It's little wonder he's done so little work since the Prequels. He's just unbearable.
Re:Jar Jar Binks (Score:5, Interesting)
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I agree. Jar Jar was bad but not the real problem. The whole midichlorians, the way Qui-Gon Jinn acts, and of course all the nonsense with messing with the previous episodes is what the issue is.
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He lost all credibility with Jar Jar Binks
You know, in the CNN article I read about this, Lucas said the character he most identified with and would want to be was Jar Jar. Seriously. [cnn.com](look at the final few lines of the article)
Good news (Score:5, Funny)
Good news, but several parsecs too late.
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Are you also a Whoosh Nazi? (Score:2)
Whooooooooosh
Why? (Score:2)
WHY?!?
It's a GALAXY. Isn't there anyone with a story to tell that is NOT related to a handful of characters from the original movie?
The Adventures of Han Solo the third!
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This always seemed kind of weird to me too. This is a story that supposedly takes place on a Grand Galactic Scale, with millions of planets, trillions of sentient beings, wars thousands of light years across, and then something like five main characters determine the fate of everyone and everything.
And R2D2 always seems to find himself everywhere there is action.
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The Force did it.
Whenever you notice something like that, the Force did it.
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It's a made up story. Isn't there any other universe that one could tell a story in? The only advantage of doing more stories in the Star Wars universe is if there is a connection to the earlier characters.
bullshit, Star Wars has a huge array of species, lore, factions, organisations etc that make it a piece of cake to completely disregard ANY link to the orginal characters, hanging onto the original characters is just a way to play it safe and appeal to their popularity.
"For the fans"? Really? (Score:2)
Last I checked Disney started putting light sabers into the hands and paws of their cartoon characters, bastardizing the whole crap. I sure as fuck don't want Lilo and Stitch running about spouting Jedi wisdom.
But I'm probably not the right kind of fan they're looking for. For example I'm not the kind that buys any and all merchandising rubbish they will near certainly crank out.
Re:"For the fans"? Really? (Score:5, Funny)
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Last I checked Disney started putting light sabers into the hands and paws of their cartoon characters, bastardizing the whole crap. I sure as fuck don't want Lilo and Stitch running about spouting Jedi wisdom.
But I'm probably not the right kind of fan they're looking for. For example I'm not the kind that buys any and all merchandising rubbish they will near certainly crank out.
Exactly, you might go watch the movie and/or buy the dvd and then you are done. A family with kids will watch the movie, buy the dvd, buy a half dozen Disney Infinity characters, halloween costumes, toy lightsabers, themed lego sets, themed candy, etc... not to mention travel to Disney World, etc... The fans that Disney care about are the ones that they can get several hundred plus dollars from over the course of several years.
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They did it BEFORE Jar Jar? How'd they do that?
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Yes, Lord Mouse.
Re:"For the fans"? Really? (Score:5, Funny)
Meesa so happy Mickey Mouse will be here with me, and Ani! Meesa hopes the Muppets come too!
Re:"For the fans"? Really? (Score:5, Funny)
I have a bad feeling about this.
Best when Lucas' role is limited ... (Score:2)
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If what he said was true and this is an action movie with no drama or character development I will sorely be pissed. Episode 3 was ok but could have been written better.
I do not want CGI and freaking special effects and stuff blowing up! If Lucas says there is no drama or character development and a story then what you thought was bad about Phantom Menace will be much better than what is about to come up.
And a collective sigh of relief... (Score:2)
And from us star wars fans let me say THANK YOU George.
Best part of the summary (Score:4)
Lucas came up with story treatments for a new trilogy, those materials, to put it bluntly, were discarded
This is absolutely the best thing that could have happened to Star Wars. While he did have good ideas back in the 70's, he's long since used up whatever talent he ever had. He single handedly turned his franchise into "mule fritters" with Episodes 1-3. There is no way for the franchise to go but up now that Lucas is no longer involved.
Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
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Lucas came up with story treatments for a new trilogy, those materials, to put it bluntly, were discarded
This is absolutely the best thing that could have happened to Star Wars. While he did have good ideas back in the 70's, he's long since used up whatever talent he ever had. He single handedly turned his franchise into "mule fritters" with Episodes 1-3. There is no way for the franchise to go but up now that Lucas is no longer involved.
Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
I'm not sure it's so much that he lost the talent as he lost the perspective or relationship with the state of film that made the first trilogy so good.
Both the first and original trilogy involved a boy getting recruited into an order of what was essentially mystical monks.
Both had really goofy aliens in the main cast (Chewy and JarJar), both had influential family connections (Anikan's wife and mother and Luke's sister and father), and both really pushed the technological bounds of what was possible.
I thin
Re:Best part of the summary (Score:5, Insightful)
Now he gets it (Score:5, Insightful)
All I would do is muck everything up.
Interesting avoidance of past tense, there.
I was never a big Star Wars fan (Score:3)
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that's ok, the second group of three movies was more like Duck Dodgers in the 24th Century
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I was never a big Star Wars fan. It was OK like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was OK. I think 2001 a Space Odyssey is still the best.
2001: A Space Odyssey would have been far better if someone were to cut everything until the scene in the lunar pit where they discover the monolith, and everything after disconnecting the HAL 9000. Sometimes, less is more.
A couple points (Score:2)
First, the best treatment of the prequels, and one of the most brilliant things I have ever seen period, is the Star Wars prequel reviews by Red Letter Media. They're here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/R... [youtube.com]
I found something meaningful in those reviews, they just captured a sentiment for me â" and I totally recommend checking them out.
Second, maybe the title should be "Disney: George, you're done with Star Wars."? :)
George Lucas did not create Star Wars (Score:5, Interesting)
I can say the prequels don't exist and believe it. (Score:2)
My memories of Star Wars are of standing in line as a seven-year-old during the original release in 1977.
I never got around to seeing the prequels and from what I hear that was good fortune. Now I can live in ignorant bliss that they never existed. I won't see the latest attempt to cash in on the original films either. Why taint a perfect childhood memory?
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Watching old interviews of Lucas is kinda depressing. The guy does have a talent. Maybe he's like Tarantino and needs people holding the leash and a limited budget for it to really work, but I do think a lot of the original trilogy was him. It's sad to see a guy go from being revered to being almost universally mocked.
"A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing."
He once said that! How does a guy go from that to a mind numbing scene that's basically 2 characters smashing light-sabers together
Re:The real reason (Score:5, Insightful)
The last few Tarantino films have been pretty big budget, so I think whatever Tarantino wants, Tarantino gets. Despite the apparent excesses of Tarantino's films, you can tell they're very tightly plotted, edited to near perfection, and most importantly, Tarantino has a gift for a dialogue that Lucas never had.
Lucas was a great filmmaker, and there was a time when the technology was at just the right level of development that he couldn't go hog wild. The real problem with the prequels, to my mind, were that he didn't in fact have nearly enough story for 360+ minutes of film. I swear you can edit all three prequels into a reasonably watchable 150-180 minute film. You could get rid of most of the Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith could be married together by turfing most of the romance (which was just awful anyways).
And yeah, edit down the final battle between Obiwan and Anakin to about two minutes. We've known it was coming since 1977, so no need to overplay it.
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Disney didn't want Lucas's stories because Lucas can't write well.
He came up with some good ideas (regardless of how much he borrowed from Kurosawa) but (a) he couldn't write dialog to save his life, and (b) success led to excess.
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The difference being George sold the store, and Disney doesn't want him around, whereas you can be sure a lot of dollars will be waved in front of Craig's face to do at least one more Bond film.
Re:That's what Daniel Craig said (Score:4)
George Lucas: "I'm Done With Star Wars"
That's what Daniel Craig said about Bond after 007 Spectre.
The difference is, with Lucas we hope it's true.
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While Daniel Craig hasnt been as bad for James Bond as Lucas was for Star Wars I tell you as a good bit of a Bond fan since childhood that I cant wait to see him go as he's been one of the worst at playing Bond. Bond is supposed to be suave and charismatic while Craig's Bond has all the charisma of a rock. The new Bond movies are just Mission Impossible movies (or any other big Holiwood action brand) which is fine if you like that sort of thing (and i do sometimes) but they certainly dont watch like any of
Re:That's what Daniel Craig said (Score:4, Interesting)
While Daniel Craig hasnt been as bad for James Bond as Lucas was for Star Wars I tell you as a good bit of a Bond fan since childhood that I cant wait to see him go as he's been one of the worst at playing Bond. Bond is supposed to be suave and charismatic while Craig's Bond has all the charisma of a rock. The new Bond movies are just Mission Impossible movies (or any other big Holiwood action brand) which is fine if you like that sort of thing (and i do sometimes) but they certainly dont watch like any of the movies before Craig.
I understand what you're saying (Sean Connery is still everyone's favorite Bond) I'm not sure I agree. I guess I got so tired of the camp (Connery starting with Diamonds Are Forever, *all* of the Roger Moore Bonds, a short break from the silliness with Dalton and then baaaaack to campycampycamp with Brosnan) that the serious tone of Casino Royale (and other than the game changing to Texas Hold-whatever, not a complete travesty re: the book) that I was able to overlook Craig's ... ears. That's it really, isn't it?
It helps to remember that in the novels Bond is a stone killer. He occasionally does the right thing just because, but in general he can be pretty callous, at least up to the death of his wife. (Most people don't know the novels all follow a story arc, and specifically OHMSS-YOLT-TMWTGG is one complete story.) Craig fit that mindset pretty well, in my opinion.
I think the Craig movies did a good job of capturing the spirit of the novels without rehashing the story elements that had already been done (Casino being the obvious exception). I especially loved the call-backs to both the earlier films and the novels, even stories that had never been filmed. Did you catch the reference to The Hildebrand Rarity in Specter?
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Hey, the Star Wars Christmas Special did have Wookie porn!
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So anyone who actually subjectively enjoys it is...?
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You are all Fry Guys. Fry Guys say "Hey Ronald! Hey Ronald! HEY RONAL!" You are all Fry Guys.