Slashdot Mirror
Spielberg Denied Crack at Star Wars
loonix_gangsta writes "The BBC is running a blurb on the disclosure of Star Wars helmsman George Lucas not allowing Spielberg to direct one of the Star Wars movies. According to Ananova Steven had actually begged George for the job."
Why does George think he's the only one that can write/direct? Hopefully he has someone else, even more qualified that Mr. Spielberg, in mind for directing Ep3. Though I'm sure he'll do it himself. Is he the only one in the world who didn't notice how much better the ones where he had others write and direct were? Alas, even if he writes every piece of crappy dialogue and directs every cheesy block for the actors, I know I'll go see it opening week.
Maybe Lucas doesn't want to see a couple having sex being tranquilized and scanned by robot spiders in his Star Wars movies.
Lucas hasn't great job with Ep 1 and 2, but Spielberg carries a completely different flavour of sci-fi to Lucas. Spielberg likes to intellectualize his movies somewhat too, which might be a good idea in itself, but wouldn't fit well into Star Wars.
Also, Spielberg would surely feel the need to inject his personal vision into the SW universe. Remember watching AI? Kubrick's parts and Spielberg's parts contrasted badly with each other, especially the ending. Everybody knows what the story in Episode III will be, we just want to see how the events play out and the final holes in the story get filled in. SW definitely doesn't need new influences at this stage.
The best director for what's supposed to be the darkest Star Wars yet should be one of the darkest directors around: Peter Jackson. There's no doubting that Peter Jackson has the ability to match Lucas - and WETA could probably do a better job of the visuals too.
I've actually lost some respect for Spielberg because of this. Even asking... I mean, come on! I don't care if he is a hot-shot director, it seems rude. What? Doesn't he have enough movies of his own?
Question
http://www.ironfroggy.com/
I have always been frustrated that creators often drive their franchises/ideas into the ground or kill them when they die. I know that creators should have absolute control, but it is a shame that Star Wars will likely die with Lucas, Calvin and Hobbes will die with BW and Peanuts will die with CS. I guess the alternative may be worse than the status quo, but still, when commercial entertainment interests become part of our shared emotions/heritage the only thing that will lose is our pocket books.
-Sean
This is the best decision that Lucus has made regarding Star Wars. The only person that could make the Star Wars series worse is Spielberg.
Episode III is supposed to one of the darkest films in the series; the fall of the Republic, the death of the Jedi, and the rise of the Empire. I do not think Spielberg is capable of making such a dark movie.
For Example: look at how he changed the ending of AI. The film would have had a much greater emotional impact if it ended with the boy sitting in the helicopter staring at the statue forever.
If Speilberg directs Episode III there will be some sort of cute and cuddily ending to it.
Let the flaming begin...
Welcome to the land of the free...pay toll ahead...no photography...please open your bag...
I say let Steve direct the three episodes that George says he isn't going to do -- numbers 7 through 9. Heck -- its better than not getting them at all... and letting someone put a new twist on them at that stage might be alright.
Word game?
Not that these movies are of any real importance as an issue whatsoever, but here goes:
Despite people's misconceptions about Spielberg being a warm/fuzzy director, Lucas is not, nor has he ever been, 1/10th the director Spielberg is. Spielberg with some good writing support probably wanted to help, to try to turn the epI characters back into human beings for epII after Lucas' major pooch screw. Nobody knows what Lucas thinks - is he cashing in? Is he a megalomaniac? Who knows? Who gives a shit? All I know is the past two movies are tripe I wouldn't allow in my home to poison my DVD collection. And I really liked IV & V too, and thought VI wasn't great, but OK.
Nevermind what the fanboys think, the prequels have been fucked over by one thing -- Lucas' total control over all aspects of the project. The SW prequels are a tragedy caused by a lack of hollywood industry control & standards, not an overbearance of them. Any major studio management/production team on any other project would've seen the dailies of epI & II and demanded a change in directors, but because Lucas has the $ and carte blanche to do what he wants he never has to answer to anyone, and with his inability to write or direct simple believable dialogue he's the biggest liability to his own legacy.
Think about it -- since the first three, outside of some TV production he hadn't directed a feature film since Jedi in '83. That's 16 fucking years out of practice. So now he's a hack, and somewhere deep I think he knows it. He should've been a deeply involved producer and brought in a big-time director that knows how to direct actors instead of mainframes, who hasn't been out of the game for a generation, someone like Spielberg, for all of these prequels.
Despite the verbosity above, none of it really matters for me - to me it's just movies, give or take. But to Lucas I have to assume it's something more, that it's art, and he's actively fucking it to shit. Too bad. I guess even the best painters eventually became bad imitators of themselves, but it doesn't make it any fun to watch.
The only tool you've got against psychosis is experience.
Well, you can bring back any director you like, but the REAL problem lies in the WRITING! Campbell is dead, and his hand is evident in the fifth and sixth episodes. His input fleshed out the 'Star Wars Canon' Campbell told Lucas the Grand Pattern of Elements Neccessary For An Epic: Wise Old Man, Journey into Underworld, Fatal Flaw, Redemption, blah, blah, blah ... I know no one will read this b/c of my low karma, but it had to be said. Lucas never expected to be able to create ESB/ROTJ when he did ANH, so he didn't flesh things out like he is doing now. And when Campbell got involved, the revisionist coverup began ... 'This film series details the Epic Hero's Journey' 'These films echo the salient points of mythology' 'These films are our Modern Mythology' ... Come on! I LOVE Star Wars, but I'm smart enough to realize that retroactive vision is NOT a Jedi power, and no one can convince me that Lucas cannot crib from Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, or L'Morte D'Arthur to figure out the pattern. (ooh, that is a weak sentence). Yes, Lucas has some great ideas, but trying to cut and snip them to fit a cookie cutter mythological pattern cheapens the creative process, and destroys the uniqueness of the idea. Attack of the Clones? HAH! Should have been Attack of the Cliff Notes! BRING BACK KASDAN!!!!
is it that bad seein a hot chick again? if i see a hot chick walkin down the hall i dont say "repost"
I think the Universe is BIG enough for two Star Wars Episodes I, II, and III. In fact, I think Speilburg should be allowed to make his own Episode I. I'd pay money to see both versions.
Both could exist in parallel time lines as long as the key points in the plot were kept the same, even though I yearn to see Jar Jar get a light saber through his floppy eared head. Then the version with the highest box office gross would become the official version!
If Speilberg did a good enough job, would we allow him to remake Episodes 4,5 and 6? Note: Just because AI sucked doesn't mean Speilberg sucks.
I'd like to see Ridley Scott do E3. After all, this is all about someone descending into darkness...
Hasn't anyone figured that out yet?
So far, from ready all your posts, I gather a few attitudes from people.
:)
Basically, Slashdotters seem ready to cast George Lucas as an imaginative visionary without the skills needed to put out a quality piece of work in modern day cinema, who's time came and went with the late 70's and early 80's. Steven Spielberg, according to the reports, apparently would loved to have directed any of the prequels, and Lucas, for whatever reason, snuffed him. We can all speculate. Maybe Lucas is a possessive prick who would die before giving up any part of creative control of his "baby" to even someone with the cinematic genius (much less raw ability) of Hollywood's A-List director, Steven Spielberg. Whatever the case, it seems clear that Slashdot fans of the series have a still gaping hole in their hearts that they had reserved just for episodes 1, 2, and 3, and want to see some magic brought back to the story.
So what was it exactly that Lucas did *right* in episodes 4, 5, and 6? For all his lack of directing talent and movie-making skills, it certainly seems a wonder that he could have turned out something as magical as Star Wars at all. Some may argue that he was pushing an envelope in 1977, inventing new technology and cinematic wonders that with his brilliant story line, he couldn't help but succeed. Certainly he did create a new era of movies with the creative movie-making he did. But the sense of evil you felt when Vader first walked into the scene of the first movie; the lump in the throat when Vader told Luke he was his father; the feeling of triumph when Leiah choked Jabba to death with the very chains that bound her; are these the creations of a man who can't direct his way out of a paper bag, or write a decent script to save his life?
Maybe Lucas changed in the 15 years he had off between episodes 6 and 1, but don't cast him aside as a visionary who can't execute. Not to say the last two movies haven't left me wanting. A lot. But Lucas has done it right before, and in a larger sense, has already proven himself. But perhaps it's not movie-making ability, or the script-writing ability that has suffered over time. Rather, it may very well be the creative vision itself. Perhaps Lucas' Dream (tm), has diverged far from that of the fans of Star Wars, such that he has alienated that very people that made Star Wars what it really is.
Sidenote: For all the praise people have been giving Spielberg, if he can pull off a good new Indiana Jones movie with an aging Harrison Ford, then we'll know what he's really made of.
-AAAWalrus