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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."
I've been waiting for about 12 years to see Yoda bitchslap E.T.
Lucas has a pretty impressive vision and knows eye-candy better than about any director out there. But he's a terrible writer and he doesn't know how to direct actors. He has some top notch talent in his movies and unless they break free of the crap dialogue and directive vision of what that dialogue should sound like, they are screwed. I'd give anything to have Spielberg direct with Lucas doing his thing in the background... maybe we'd have an Indiana Jones style romp for E3.
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. -Samuel Johns
George, please look at the acting. The actors can't act worth crap. Please let me help the actors. You can do all the spaceship stuff. I just want to see a Star Wars movie where the actors seem like they aren't reading off cue cards!
Please!
I have been pwned because my
Liam Neeson is proof positive. He was dynamite in Schindler's List (directed by Spielberg), and wooden as a pirate's leg in Episode 1 (directed by Lucas). Lucas sucks when he has to deal with people, which is probably why he relies so much on techno whiz.
Infuriate left and right
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.
"George Lucas adamant only he is allowed to make a mess of the Star Wars series. Told Speilberg to go make his money elsewhere."
fark.com
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
I can only imagine what Spielberg would have done to the series. Ep 3 is supposed to be the darkest of all of the episodes. I'm sorry, but Spielberg just doesn't do dark well enough.
And I can just see him going back to the film several years after its release and replacing all of the lightsabers with walkie-talkies.
No thanks.
Ryosen
One man's "Troll, +1" is another man's "Insightful, +1".
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
So if this is "Georges baby" then why did he use different directors and writers for Empire and Return of the Jedi? I propose, to get Starwars back on track, for George to hire the original people that helped him on the trilogy.... Lawrence Kasdan, Gary Kurtz, and Irvin Kirshner. Bring in the K's and all will be well. The Starwars TripleK Petition. We fans deserve the best movie of all time with Episode 3. SOMETHING's gotta break Titanics records.
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...
Time to burn off some karma.
1). Spielberg isn't the savior.
2). No one is the savior for star wars
Now, this isn't to say the second trilogy sucks. I thought ep. 1 was bearable, there were some things to change, mostly in the the promotion (c'mon, seeing darth maul break out the second blade of the lightsabre would've been way cooler if you didn't know about it ahead of time. It might have been hard to keep from "knowing" about, but we didn't need to see it in the first trailer.), and certainly there were some major issues with dialouge. Lucas didn't have any recent experience in film. He didn't know, or didn't have anyone telling him he was making bad choices. Hell in '98 we were drooling over spoilers that in retrospect killed the film. ("Full CG characters! wow! I don't know how they'll be implimented but that's cool!")
Ep. 2 made progress. But from the percieved failure of Ep. 1, no one was willing to give the movie any kind of a shake. When 1 was released, there was a devoted throng of geeks who thought they'd be "smarts" and spend weeks on end spouting off about just how bad the film was. That same contingent multiplied and said 2 marked the death of a franchiese, lucas has lost his touch, and it's all a huge mistake.
Sorry, but nothing will please the die hard of vocal Star Wars "fans" who want nothing more than to make a name by voicing their opinions. What's really sad, and what no SW geek will admit to, is the similarity between SW geeks and Internet WWE wrestling fans. After every RAW or Smackdown! there is a hard core group of fans that nit pick every blown move, every plot hole, every bit of less than logical storytelling. The result is that the WWE has begun catering to the more vocal internet fans more in their storylines. Check the ratings, the majority of the fans aren't buying it. The WWE has tried boosting ratings with signings of bigger name talent, and shocking storyline moves, all to no avail. Only now they've alienated both the smarts and the live / casual fans.
Same with Star Wars. Lucas could sign Spielberg up to direct episode 3, bring back harrison ford, sign Jet Li as the villan, and promise full frontal nude shots of Natalie Portman, but why? It probaly won't change much. The dialouge may get better with Spielberg at the helm, the story might get a little stronger and better paced, but it's not going to shut the "fans" up. The same contingent will just insert "Spielberg" into their rants instead of lucas. Hell, Francis Ford Coppola is close with lucas, let's throw him in the mix.
No matter who directs, you'll still get the same dearth of comparisions to each directors poor efforts. "Episode 3 sucked as bad as 'howard the duck' or 'always' or 'the godfather 3'" Come to think of it, Spielberg tanked out with a recent Sci Fi outing (or has 'AI' been forgotten that quickly?) and Coppola makes some pretty foul casting choices. (Can you say daddy's little girl? I thought so.) So long as the comic book guy wanna-be's have ammunition, they'll use it.
Face it. The 'net will never be happy with star wars. It was destined to be. But the bottom line doesn't lie, Star Wars is still the biggest franchiese movie out there. It's still got a strong devoted following. (I'll buy into the matrix when I see how well the film stands up to an audience that has seen bullet time and slow-mo action in every action movie made in the last two years.)
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
After seeing Attack of the Clones I almost contacted Lucas begging for the job... anything to stop that man... please stop... please...
"Understand you're having a little Jimmy Page trouble."
Indeed, Spielberg has the pedigree to set *Star Wars* straight. Looking at his directorial filmography on IMDB reveals a great mix of both serious films, good sci-fi, and endearing movies that appeak to kids. That's a perfect rcipe for directing a great *Star Wars* film, whereas Lucas has gotten carried away by technology to the point of believing CG can replace plot and emotion.
Seriously, compare the use of CG in the two *Star Wars* prequels to the use of CG in *Minority Report* and the original *Jurassic Park*. Spielberg's films have plot and emotion at the center, with the CG as an important element used to bring realism to the sci-fi element--but the CG is never put before the plot and emotion. Lucas' *SW* prequels on the other hand relegate plot and emotion to the back-burner--even in *AotC* when Anakin and Padme are supposedly in love, the audience never really feels it. They have how much on screen time together again--and how much of that is taken up by screechingly corny and hackneyed cliches? Ack, what a disgrace. Even Lucas' best CG in the film is botched--the Yoda fight scene was awesome, but far too short and far less dramatic than it should have been. Remember the tension when Obi Wan fought Vader in *SW*? Remember the tension when Luke fought Vader in *RotJ*? It really wasn't there in the Yoda bout, because Lucas can't write and direct worth crap anymore.
Seriously, with Spielberg doing the directing and fixing the dialogue, and Lucas doing the special effects, future *SW* films would be truly great. As it is, we can only really hope for *better* than the two prequels so far, but probably not as good as the older films.
Chasing Amy
(We all chase Amy...)
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws"-Tacitus
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.
At least not anymore. A quick scan of his resume shows outside of Star Wars, Lucas has'nt been at the helm of a film in the directors chair since 1973's American Graffiti.
29 years, with the execption of a couple trys at Star Wars can leave you a little rusty. (And in my opinion, it shows). Thats not to say that Lucas is'nt an excellent craftsman, and his contributions to the field of special effects, amoung countless other acheivements should not be discounted.
But, just because your really good and building violins does'nt mean you're the best choice to conduct a symphony.
Spielberg on the other hand has had a lot more practice wearing a directors hat (despite some unfortunate misses). His work with the late Kubric has rubbed off on him, which shows in the spactacular visual style in A.I. and the more recent minority report (albeit with some disapointing storylines).
Personally I think Spielberg's experience as a director would provide the perfect compliment to the imagination and storytelling that Lucas can put out when he's at his best. It's really a shame this won't happen.
The Internet is generally stupid
I find your lack of taste disturbing. :)
While it could hardly be worse than what we've already been subjected to, just think what Episode 3 would be like if all we ended up getting was Spielberg's incessant product pimping on top of crap actors like Hayden Christensen spewing Lucas's junior high love note pap:
"I've thought of her every day for the last ten years, Jar Jar. Every handful of Reese's Pieces reminds me of her beautiful, dark eyes."
"You'sa soundin' like you be needin' a Pepsi, Ani."
Acting against a blue screen has got to be worse than dealing with another actor.
Some quotes:
Terence Stamp (Valorum): "When I arrived on set for Episode 1, George Lucas said, 'I've given Natalie the day off.' So, he pointed to a piece of paper on a post and said, 'Pretend that's her.' They couldn't afford me again."
Thus proving this prediction...
Mark Hamill: "I have a sneaking suspicion that if there were a way to make movies without actors, George would do it." Early 1980s
I can only imagine what Spielberg would have done to the series. Ep 3 is supposed to be the darkest of all of the episodes. I'm sorry, but Spielberg just doesn't do dark well enough.
Well, based on Ep.1 and 2, what reason do we have to believe that George has one good movie left in him. Of all the films so far, George was the least involved with The Empire Strikes Back. Dark? Absolutely. Quality? It was the best film of the series.
Now, how is the guy who wrote that drivel that passed as romantic dialogue between Amidala and Anakin in AOTC going to finish the story to the satisfaction of all? The only saving grace is that the ending of Episode 3 must seamlessly integrate with Episode 4 and beyond. We all know how it has to end, George just has to make it all fit.
And for the love of humanity, NO MORE GODDAM REVISIONS. What was achieved by making Greedo shoot first?
*** Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket?