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George Lucas to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
KefabiMe writes "George Lucas is receiving the AFI Lifetime Achievement award. I will make no other comment."
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To receive the Lifetime Achievement Award Special Edition in 2005, and the Super Extended Lifetime Achievement Award Special Edition Platinum in 2014.
I can't wait until 20 years down the road, when he releases the DVD of the AFI program, replacing a 60 year old Lucas with a virile 20 year old version of himself. There will be space battles, too.
400 Person LAN for Charity: Zion LAN 2005
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?
"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World"
1 John 4:14
The criteria stated that "the recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time." In 1993, AFI trustees extended the criteria to encompass individuals with active careers and work of significance yet to be accomplished. "
(From http://www.afi.com/tvevents/laa/laasite/)
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.
I've got some photographs, I'd like to show them to you. Though you don't know the girls You'll recognise the view..
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.
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.
According to MSN Encarta (hey, it was the first one I found on a google search) these are the past winners of the AFI Lifetime achievement award.
1973 John Ford
1974 James Cagney
1975 Orson Welles
1976 William Wyler
1977 Bette Davis
1978 Henry Fonda
1979 Alfred Hitchcock
1980 James Stewart
1981 Fred Astaire
1982 Frank Capra
1983 John Huston
1984 Lillian Gish
1985 Gene Kelly
1986 Billy Wilder
1987 Barbara Stanwyck
1988 Jack Lemmon
1989 Gregory Peck
1990 Sir David Lean
1991 Kirk Douglas
1992 Sidney Poitier
1993 Elizabeth Taylor
1994 Jack Nicholson
1995 Steven Spielberg
1996 Clint Eastwood
1997 Martin Scorsese
1998 Robert Wise
1999 Dustin Hoffman
2000 Harrison Ford
2001 Barbra Streisand
2002 Tom Hanks
2003 Robert De Niro
2004 Meryl Streep
There are some pretty serious names on that list. My point is, why now? The nostalgia for the first trilogy of films is good and all, but really, they were only 3 movies.
----
Squirrel
Much as we all enjoy reading about how Lucus raped your childhood, his movies are probably only a small part of why he is getting this award. The man is directly responsible for much of the technology behind modern film making - nonlinear editing, sound post-production and reproduction, digital effects, virtual sets, virtual extras, and now he is a leading force in digital film. Not to mention the great strides he made in marketing and licensing :)
All these techniques were developed for his projects, and there is not a film made today that does not use them in some way.
He is certainly more deserving than 2001's winner - Barbra Streisand!
sheep.horse - does not contain information on sheep or horses.
It's an immense achievement. Jar-Jar was so bad that it made the Ewoks look like fucking Shaft.
Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
...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.
Indian Jones? What are they outsourcing fucking movie actors now?
-- The doctor said I wouldn't get so many nose bleeds if I just kept my finger out of there!
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).
Wrong, now he has confirmation he needs to pursue episodes VII, VIII, and IX. No, as a lifetime achievement award winner, no one will question his decision to rework the triology so that Han Solo's name is actually Beau, and in episode VII we learn that Beau and Luke are cousins, and Han's long lost father returns, Uncle Jessie. The empire is defeated, but pockets of control remain throughout the galaxy, especially on the planet of Hazzard. Here Beau and Luke, the newly named Dukes of Hazzard, are sent to eliminate the remaining emperial forces. Lando, will of course have taken the Millenium Falcon, but that's ok because Beau will reveal that he has been working on a supped up ship, named after one of the great hearo's of the rebel resistance, the General Lee. Finally the Star Wars vision, the Lucas vision, can be realized.
Oh... and I've heard in episode VIII Beau and Luke will run into a group of wrongly accused ex-rebel fighters, named Murdoch, Hannibal, Face, and B.A. Barachus. I pity the fool who misses this movie!
And finally, we might see N-Sync do a cameo in the movie (that would be awesome d00d).