George Lucas On His Decision To Break Up With Star Wars

Megalith

Megalith

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Regardless of George’s ability to tell a story these days, I still admire his resilience and adamance.

"The issue was ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans,'" Lucas said. "People don't actually realize it's actually a soap opera and it's all about family problems - it's not about spaceships. So they decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, 'fine.... I'll go my way and I let them go their way.'"
 
I kinda sounds like Disney kicked him off the project and he's coming up with excuses. Honestly, I think the movies will be better because of it. George Lucas has lost track of the reason people liked Star Wars in the first place, except for the family drama part, that really is the core of the series.
 
RedLetterMedia's review/deconstruction of the Star Wars series can't be recommended enough here guys but essentially Lucas lost his ability to listen to good advice sometime in the 90's, a ability that was apparently critical in making the original Star Wars trilogy good, and his directing talent took a dive and he has been making excuses since.

He used to say Star Wars was really for kids and all the detractors of the then new prequels were childish manbabies too but they really were bad thanks to him. Maybe he was a decent guy once but now he just seems like a huge dick.
 
I don't see why you think he's a dick. He's done a lot of really good things and donated a huge amount of money to charity. The last 3 Star Wars movies he made being subpar doesn't make him a bad person.
 
develop*

That's what I get for typing while watching NetFlix at the same time with the fingers on the keyboard in automatic mode.
 
Guess I'm in the minority but I loved Episodes 1-3. 3 is actually my favorite of all 6 movies. I literally grew up when the first Star Wars movies came out and changed the world and idolized them but the last 3 were great especially how they did the Jedis. In the first 3 movies a Jedi could move some stuff if he concentrated really hard but that was about it. In the last 3 they were basically superheros and full of awesome and badassery. Yeah Jar Jar Binks totally sucked but they were still awesome movies!
 
MacLeod said:
Guess I'm in the minority but I loved Episodes 1-3. 3 is actually my favorite of all 6 movies. I literally grew up when the first Star Wars movies came out and changed the world and idolized them but the last 3 were great especially how they did the Jedis. In the first 3 movies a Jedi could move some stuff if he concentrated really hard but that was about it. In the last 3 they were basically superheros and full of awesome and badassery. Yeah Jar Jar Binks totally sucked but they were still awesome movies!
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For me, it was the awful, awful acting of the new ones that I couldn't stand.
 
Dirty Butler said:
For me, it was the awful, awful acting of the new ones that I couldn't stand.
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The only time I've seen Episode 2 is in theaters. Haven't been able to bring myself to watch it again. The acting and the dialog were both horrible, but the dialog is even worse. Any actor would have had trouble saying these lines without trying to suppress laughter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi5jjXTPtyY

Maybe selling it to Disney was better for everyone. Time will tell.
 
Yeah it was a soap opera, that's why there are CG effects all over the place, I mean yeah that pod race scene that took entirely too much time is totally a soap opera thing!

That said I really don't blame him, Disney paid a pretty penny for it, not that he had any money problems.
 
The movies can be better and the stories can be a lot better, let him keep his soap operas.
 
Rizen said:
last 3 Star Wars movies he made being subpar doesn't make him a bad person.
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Its how he acts while directing plus the leaked information on how he treated his ex, who apparently helped him lots with the 1st Star Wars, and his general attitude him putting the blame on others for his mistakes. Its great he donated some money but working/being around him sounds awful.
 
MacLeod said:
Guess I'm in the minority but I loved Episodes 1-3. 3 is actually my favorite of all 6 movies.
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Oh for God's sake, "The Phantom Menace" was absolutely horrible and there is no denying that. The next two progressively got better but still were never near the quality of Episodes 4 thru 6.
 
He screwed up his last 3 movies.. Clearly he's mentally ill and needed to be removed from Star Wars.
 
MacLeod said:
Guess I'm in the minority but I loved Episodes 1-3. 3 is actually my favorite of all 6 movies. I literally grew up when the first Star Wars movies came out and changed the world and idolized them but the last 3 were great especially how they did the Jedis. In the first 3 movies a Jedi could move some stuff if he concentrated really hard but that was about it. In the last 3 they were basically superheros and full of awesome and badassery. Yeah Jar Jar Binks totally sucked but they were still awesome movies!
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I liked then also, but there was to much time between when the series were done and since of that original feeling disappeared IMO.
 
Dirty Butler said:
For me, it was the awful, awful acting of the new ones that I couldn't stand.
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No awful dialog. All of them cheesy and lame great action sci fi. Not the actors, it was Lucas horrible dialog. i grew up on the originals and they were no better or worse than the newer ones. but you know opinions and all.
 
Most of the stuff that was great about the original trilogy came from other people and Lucas actually listening to their advice. For the special editions and prequels he was surrounded by too many 'Yes Men' who believed all his hype and I think it got to the point Lucas believed it himself.

Look at some of the "Making of" specials for the original trilogy and then read some interviews from the last 10 years and he totally lies about what he did himself and what he actually had planned for the series. The whole "soap opera family problems" wasn't a thing until writing for ESB was well under way and they wanted a surprise twist (same with Leia in RotJ).

The new movies probably won't live up to the massive hype (I don't think anything could), but I don't think they will suffer from the loss of Lucas.
 
The first (ep4) was as easy as black and white. Literally. Good vs Evil. Simple...easy to understand. Wizards, dark lords and cowboys.

I think the pre-quels dealt with more complex themes. He tried to make movies for younger people that started with Jar Jar Binks and ultimately concluded with genocide and the murder of "younglings". Trying to explain how all that happens while keeping it light and easy to understand- I think he was trying to do too much. And all the rotten, greedy entitled kids that grew up watching the prequels ended up hating Anakin because he became the archetype of gen Millennials.

Same thing happened with Dune and 1984. Too complex themes to make effective movies that average people will want to watch. (Although I thought the Sci-Fi miniseries were pretty good). That's why those movies are limited to people who've read the books. It's why no one wants to touch Dune anymore....except Jodorowsky. :D

It's funny how everyone says they hate the prequels, but when I went to buy both trilogies when they came out on Blu-Ray...there were plenty of the first prequels and and second were sold out.

That being said, this new SW will be awesome... and hollow. Just like JJs Star Treks.
 
George Lucas did the first bad thing with Ewoks. Fucking teddy bears! This was a deliberate decision so they could sell more toys. The original drafts had Wookies...that would have been a lot cooler.
The 1-3 episodes? I could not believe how bad they were. I'd rather watch all Patrick Swayze movies that suffer through those again. I remember leaving Phantom Menace stunned - I really could not believe how bad it was.
Natalie Portman said Star Wars almost killed her career. The lines she had to act - dreadful.
 
steakman1971 said:
Natalie Portman said Star Wars almost killed her career. The lines she had to act - dreadful.
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Yeah that's why I don't think it's fair to put all the blame on the actors. Okay they might not be the next Daniel Day-Lewis, but a lot of them were pretty good actors if you watch any of their other work. The lines they had to read were just atrocious. I don't think any actor could have made them work.
 
you go to make a movie and all you do is get criticized, its not much fun
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Well when you hire actors with the range of a plank of wood for the most part, and rely on piling in as much cg as possible on top of a paper thin story that's pretty much what happens.

Its funny how he gripes so much after all the retarded additions he's made to the 350 re-releases of Star Wars. He just can't leave shit alone, that's why I'm surprised he sold the rights to Disney, if he had made 3 more movies then i'm sure the prequels by this point would all be getting dicked around with additions or tweaks. Not that any amount of dicking around could make those movies any shitter than they already were, might actually improve them. :eek:
 
We should make George Lucas and Gabe Newell fight to the death in a cage match. Just throw donuts in there from time to time to keep them motivated.
 
Chris_B said:
Well when you hire actors with the range of a plank of wood for the most part, and rely on piling in as much cg as possible on top of a paper thin story that's pretty much what happens.

Its funny how he gripes so much after all the retarded additions he's made to the 350 re-releases of Star Wars. He just can't leave shit alone, that's why I'm surprised he sold the rights to Disney, if he had made 3 more movies then i'm sure the prequels by this point would all be getting dicked around with additions or tweaks. Not that any amount of dicking around could make those movies any shitter than they already were, might actually improve them. :eek:
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The changes at the end of Return were much needed and welcomed. Why don't you outline the paper thin story for us? :D

He did go too far with some of the changes, but some I agree with.
 
1 through 3 were not amazing or horrible... but you guys sound like a bunch of hipsters. He donated almost all his funds to charity. Lets just enjoy the saga and be excited for the next one. Lucas probably feels like king in misery from his fans. I do agree he did seem to have the wrong crowd of yesmeb and from his video game studio it sounded very frustrating in the 90s i thought obiwon was great and if they had trimmed it to 2 movies probably would have beem better. I dont remember all the complaints until 3rd wrapped up even then 5+ years later. Its since has become cultural to state they are the worst films of all time but those people must have not seen paranormal activity 15.
 
he's really butt hurt that a lot of people don't like the prequels.
 
cjcox said:
No guessing necessary. Episodes 1-3, rank very high as some of worst movies ever made. Not even B quality.
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Maybe from the disappointment factor, other than that I am sure we could name 1000 that were worse. Also, let's not throw him under a bus, he's also partly responsible for one of the best comedys of all time, albeit indirectly. SPACEBALLS.
 
Lucas is full of it. He might have had some vague story ideas, but it's clear from the prequels that he was mostly just winging it and hoping it would come together.

That seems to have been the method behind the original trilogy, it worked then because it was a collaborative effort rather than an old guy and his yes-men sitting around making a movie on a computer.
 
I find Star Wars overrated, though I really enjoyed the third episode, though the first two prequel movies were trash. Some of the games were good though, really enjoyed the Jedi Knight series. Don't care for George Lucas though, I have nothing against him nor do I pay attention to his affairs.
 
The problems were -

1. He became a legend in a lot of peoples' eyes that wanted to work with him.

2. This led to him being surrounded by 'Yes People'. On the original trilogy he had people saying "George...you just can't do that!"

3. He's not that great a writer or Director if just left to his own devices. He needs the input of others whether he thinks so or not.

4. Trying to make even great actors work in a green painted hanger with just green felt covered boxes to work against for 6 months while you sit 20 feet away with a latte directing via a video monitor isn't going to work. Having real tactile sets really works to boost actors hence why Abrams decided to not got the total green screen route.

5. 563 other reasons blah blah blah...
 
Let me preface this and say that I didn't watch the last 3 movies as I wanted the memory of the first ones to be special to me.

After reading the comments in this thread, I wouldn't have made a new movie. He's right. Fans with pitchforks are completely unpleasable. Might as well just walk away and do something else. I think he got the best from the deal in the long run.
 
Chaos Machine said:
Maybe from the disappointment factor, other than that I am sure we could name 1000 that were worse. Also, let's not throw him under a bus, he's also partly responsible for one of the best comedys of all time, albeit indirectly. SPACEBALLS.
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Yeah, but any movie directed by mel brooks and starring john candy and rick moranis is going to be one of the best comedies of all time :)
So, (looks both ways) where's that bus?
 
Ah right, no editing on front page threads

mashie said:
Now just release the original theatrical cut of 4-6 on blu-ray and the mess called ep 1-3 as well as the specialized editions will be forgotten.
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If you haven't heard; there's a despecialized edition.
I assume no linking to naughty sites, so a polygon article it is
http://www.polygon.com/2014/8/18/6030725/star-wars-hd-despecialized-edition
(I'd also recommend the "making of" that harmy posted along with it)

cageymaru said:
Let me preface this and say that I didn't watch the last 3 movies as I wanted the memory of the first ones to be special to me.

After reading the comments in this thread, I wouldn't have made a new movie. He's right. Fans with pitchforks are completely unpleasable. Might as well just walk away and do something else. I think he got the best from the deal in the long run.
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Ignore the jar jar bits :) 1-3 are decent enough (of course to each their own)
 
In the words of Terence Stamp the actor -

"I was quite excited to be asked to appear the new Star wars movie. Then I realised I was appearing in nothing more than a very expensive toy catalogue!"
 
MacLeod said:
Guess I'm in the minority but I loved Episodes 1-3. 3 is actually my favorite of all 6 movies. I literally grew up when the first Star Wars movies came out and changed the world and idolized them but the last 3 were great especially how they did the Jedis. In the first 3 movies a Jedi could move some stuff if he concentrated really hard but that was about it. In the last 3 they were basically superheros and full of awesome and badassery. Yeah Jar Jar Binks totally sucked but they were still awesome movies!
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Ani, you're breaking my heart :(

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I liked al of the star wars movies as well... annakin was annoying though.. he seemed too whiney to be darth vader. The darth maul fiqght scene was epic.
 
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