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The People vs. George Lucas To Premiere At SXSW
skatepark builder writes "David Prowse, the 74-year-old actor who has enjoyed a long and varied career filled with roles such as Darth Vader (Star Wars Episodes IV, V, and VI), is starting 2010 off with two major accomplishments. His victory over colon cancer earlier this month means he'll live to see his top billing in a film premiering next month at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The People vs. George Lucas is a documentary attempting a balanced examination of the love/hate relationship Star Wars fans have developed with the filmmaker and his work over the past three decades. Director Alexandre Philippe distances his film from the one-sided fan rage films that lambaste Lucas, even though the title would suggest otherwise. According to the trailer, The People vs.George Lucas exposes the full spectrum of opinions on Lucas, including those like Prowse, who still refers to him as a 'master.' Philippe captures these opinions through filmed interviews, but perhaps more interestingly, he crowdsourced the commentary by soliciting fan submissions over the internet. The clips seen in the trailer appear to be funny, highly inspired, and are probably more concise than the recently released 70-minute YouTube evisceration of Episode I."
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6024677.ece Pretty sad that they're even able to make that argument.
The franchise is dead. Lucas killed it. Not worth the emotional investment to lament or analyze.
Move on, people.
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
I've never really understood the hatred of George Lucas. I was a Star Wars fan like most kids growing up in the late 70's had the action figures, the underoos, bed sheets, posters...all that crap and when the second trilogy was released I was excited about it. I took my kids to see the newer ones and they loved them like I loved the originals. I never expected the second series to have the same appeal because Lucas was farily consistant and aimed the new trilogy at the same age group he created the original for. The problem I saw was that many fans expected him to create new stories that were aimed at the now 30 year olds who watched the originals as children. I was still able to watch them and enjoy them just not with same wide eyed wonder, but then I wasnt supposed to, they werent made for me, they were made for my kids. What I really dont get is the hatred over the inclusion of jarjar as if Lucas had never stooped to funny critters to appeal to kids in the first trilogy, but I can remember by father rolling his eyes at Ewoks.
I will admit to being irritated by the policical correctness of Greedo shooting first, but welcomed most of the other enhancements of the special editions, the xwing segment in episode 4 was particularly satisfying. I was equally upset with the guns being edited out of ET but I figure it just a sign of the times and it will likley correct itself in the future.
On a side note Lucas has done something excellent for grown up's recently...check out the book Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success, its fantastic.
..don't watch it. I don't like how people think they can call changes to SW eps 1-3. As soon as you start making changes(remove Jar Jar, etc) it ceases to become Lucas' artwork, and moreso a "design by committee". Sure, this happens in meetings for filmmakers all the time, but I don't see how the fans have a say in someone else's art.
Look, everyone agrees Lucas should have stopped after three films. The Star [Wars|Trek|Gate|Craft] franchises have been done to death. Now a rehash of "Dune" is in production. Please.
At least we have James Cameron's "Avatar". Cameron is a master of production value. He spends a lot of money, but it pays off. Unfortunately, everything he does looks too much like a "Terminator" movie.
A film based on David Weber's work might be an improvement. But Hollywood would go for "March Upcountry", not the Honor Harrington novels.
Of course, the fundamental trouble with space opera is that it's no longer a plausible future. Space travel hasn't improved much in 40 years.
because even if he made 20 movies after star wars and every single one were the most puerile piece of uwe boll crap... he still made star wars, and therefore still deserves your admiration
if einstein became a creationist after his exposition of relativity, does that detract from his earlier genius?
if edmund hilary fell down a flight of stairs, does that detreact from the fact he climbed mount everest?
i don't understand a way of evaluating people that somehow their accomplishments are diminished by later missteps
as if we only get better with every year, as if no one ever makes mistakes
"what have you done for me lately" is a pretty selfish crude shortsighted and hypocritical way to evaluate people
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
I second this. It seems possible that the submitter hasn't actually watched the Episode 1 review he linked to. Anyone who thinks it couldn't possibly be worth 70 minutes of their time will realize they are mistaken after 5-10 minutes.
Yeah, definitely worth your time. Vastly more entertaining than actually watching one of the prequels. If you have not yet seen the 70-minute review, make plans to watch it. Bookmark and come back to it. Don't let the annoying voice make you stop after 2 minutes - once you get about 5 minutes in, you're gonna thank me.
-THE END-
For people interested in the larger implications of Star Wars including the role of fans and other issues such as whether Star Wars has literary merit, and whether the philosophy is intellectually coherent or morally defensibl, I strongly recommend "Star Wars on Trial" edited by David Brin and Matthew Stover. The book is a series of essays by sci-fi authors, literature professors, and others discussing Star Wars in detail. The boo is tied together with an overarching narrative with Brin as the chief prosecutor and Stover as the chief defense attorney in a trial of Star Wars as a whole. Quite fun and and surprisingly stimulating.
Episode 1 is now 11 years old, meaning your kids should be teens by now. Do they quote the movies? Has it seeped into every part of culture? Is it everywhere you can look?
The toys you remember did NOT come out directly after the first movie, a lot of the merchandising you dismiss so easily came out DECADES later and was gobbled up. It is what makes Star Wars still the biggest earner out there.
The entire proof that the prequels sucked can be found in the fact that TWO MMO's have skipped the era. Bioware wanted to do Star Wars, but were so desperate to stay away from the fall out that they invented an entire new era set so far apart (thousands of years) that they could completly distance themselves from it.
If you study movies, Star Wars: A New Hope, must be included. It MIGHT be a simple story but its impact on society was enormous. If it had not been for Star Wars we would never have had Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but rather a new series. (Okay, so that is another thing we can blame lucas for).
Kids now quote the Matrix, Lord of the Rings, etc. Episode 1 was just another blockbuster, made a lot of money but it has no lasting impact. It is the difference between Michael Jackson and McHammer... who?
I enjoyed the blackhole as a kid too, but for the life of me I could not quote anything from it or even name the characters.
My mom took me to see the first movies and she enjoyed them herself. Did you enjoy them? Really? The bit with the small droids on the fighter aircraft? Then there is no hope for you.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
the full spectrum of opinions on Lucas, including those like Prowse, who still refers to him as a 'master.'
So the retired Darth Vader refers to him as 'master'... can there be any further doubt that he's evil?
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Simon,
Actually, I watched that review a week ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. That guy echoes a lot of observations I had quietly held as my own, but also provides very tangible explanations of where George Lucas utterly failed to craft a proper story. It's so much more than a "What were you thinking, man! Jar-Jar?!?! You IDIOT!" rant. I think it's kind of funny that this commentary piece is nearly identical in size to the subject it's based on, and that's why I made the "concise" reference. But I agree it's fully worth watching for anyone who is interested in films as more than an excuse to eat popcorn in the dark. It's one reason I'm eager to see the People vs George Lucas.
Skatepark Builder
Inspired skateparks designed and built in America.