George Lucas to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

KefabiMe writes "George Lucas is receiving the AFI Lifetime Achievement award. I will make no other comment."

Comments

Re:I will.

[Penguinoflight]

That's just the sad thing of this award. If the film industry had realized the long ranging impact of the 3 originals, they probably would have handed Lucas the award in the 80s. By now recieving an award doesn't make any sense because of low quality prequals, etc... but how can you know something is a classic in less than 10 years?

Lucas was a visionary

[Goodl]

Despite the debacles that are the 'new' trilogy, no fan could watch the extras DVD that came with Star Wars and deny that it brought a lump to the throat to see how the film that defined space adventure for a generation was literally dragged kicking and screaming to the screen, all despite incredible odds, horrendous bad luck and dumbass studio execs through the sheer force of will and unshakable self belief that the story he was telling had to be told. Much as I really dont like how he conducts himself these days, no-one could say the man hasn't earned his place in history and in the hearts and minds of thirtysomethings globally. I can't hear the opening bars of the John Williams theme without getting chills down my spine and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

The man deserves it

[Dancin_Santa]

Having the dumb luck to stumble into the greatest movie franchise in history, Lucas has taken that little bit of luck and transformed it into his vision of a complete alternate universe. Had he been any other short-sighted director (Spielberg, I'm looking right at you and your last half of A.I.) the Star Wars trilogy would have simply ended with the dance of the Ewoks. However, Lucas was able to transform that complete story into a more complete story by going back and fixing and editing and putting in scenes that were originally not his vision in the first place. I hate to use the word visionary, but Lucas truly has a vision.

The problem is that most people cannot understand the mind of a visionary and it isn't until long after they fade into irrelevance that they truly become appreciated. So too it is with Lucas, I believe. Many people are so worried about their childhood memories that they cry wolf every time Lucas decides to change a scene. Nevermind the fact that the whole Star Wars universe makes more sense when the updated (Director's Cut, if you will) scenes are added to the films.

Lucas truly does deserve this award not only for what rich memories he brought to us when we were still kids, but also for the memories he gives kids of the future. When we look back in 20 years and reminisce about the Star Wars Nonology we will finally see why Greedo had to shoot first and why Jar Jar was crucial to the story of Anakin Skywalker.

Re:The man deserves it

[op51n]

When we look back in 20 years and reminisce about the Star Wars Nonology we will finally see why Greedo had to shoot first and why Jar Jar was crucial to the story of Anakin Skywalker.

I totally disagree. I have tried not to care about the changes he continues to make, as I have copies of the original release that will keep me happy, but I just can't fathom his decisions. Well... No, that's not quite true.

I took a look at the comparison of the three releases, and the apparently dodgy censorship (the red flashes in the prison scene) and Greedo's shooting first, only appear to be ways of making the film more kid friendly. As of course Jar Jar and the awful slapstick he added in the Mos Eisley approach and other inserts also go to show.
I just can't understand why he is doing this. It removes about thirteen layers from Han's character, making him fairly uninteresting for a start.

It's not that I'm worried about my childhood memories. Like I say, I have the originals, my memories are intact. The problem is, now anyone who hasn't seen the originals will see the new DVD release, and it's not the same movie. I can fully appreciate a director's wish to go back and fix special effects, and even insert some new scenes to expand the scale - like with Mos Eisley. But I'd do it seriously. Adding laughs into those bits is lame and wrong pacewise.

Basically, he's taken his movies, and turned them into a cleaner, more child-friendly franchise. I almost wouldn't be surprised if he does release the unaltered remastered editions to get the rest of the available cash, but that depends on if he's willing to allow such violence to be seen! I've lost pretty much all my respect for the guy, aside from, as someone mentioned, what he did for sound and effects in the industry.

Re:I will.

[mankey wanker]

Hey, I practically hate most of the guy's movies - but let's not forget what Lucas has done for special effects, cinema sound, etc. Somehow he was also partly responsible for the film "Mishima" which I think is quite brilliant. "American Graffiti" wasn't bad either.

But anyway, the next time the special effects appear to be seemless and the sound quality vibrates your theater seat - remember Lucas for caring about that stuff. He's certainly moved some things along which is more than most people do.

Re:past winners

[TheKidWho]

Stanley Kubrick should be on that list

We'll Ignore...

[a_peckover]

...the parts where he revolutionised film making (THX, Skywalker Sound, ILM, non-linear editing) and where he became the most successful independent film-maker of all time.

Re:He's done more for the business of movies

[rdean400]

although in recent years his studio's work has been eclipsed by other films (e.g., The Matrix, Shrek, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow).

I would dispute that.

Pixar really plays to different market segments than Lucas's films, so they haven't really eclipsed Lucas's work. (And to be fair, Pixar itself started out as a division of Lucasfilm, Ltd. It was purchased by Steve Jobs for $10mil in 1986 and rechristened "Pixar".). No Pixar = no Toy Story, and no Toy Story means we probably wouldn't have seen a good wholly computer animated picture yet.

ILM was the special effects studio for Sky Captain and the World fo Tomorrow, so Lucas's company was part of that one.

That leaves the Matrix. Although bullet time generated more buzz than massively digitally created armies of Phantom Menace, it's about equivalent on the revolutionary scale. Matrix got perceived as better by having a more well-executed story.

The fact is engraved into Pixar's HQ: "No amount of technology can turn a bad story into a good one" (Although TPM and AOTC were good stories, poorly told).