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George Lucas: "I'm Done With Star Wars"

HughPickens.com writes: Entertainment Weekly reports that George Lucas has compared his retirement from Star Wars to a break-up – a mutual one, maybe, but one that nonetheless comes with hard feelings and although Lucas came up with story treatments for a new trilogy, those materials, to put it bluntly, were discarded. "They decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were gonna go do their own thing," says Lucas. "They weren't that keen to have me involved anyway. But at the same time, I said if I get in there I'm just going to cause trouble. Because they're not going to do what I want them to do. And I don't have the control to do that anymore. All I would do is muck everything up. So I said, 'Okay, I will go my way, and I'll let them go their way.'" Lucas says he was going to tell a story about the grandchildren of figures from the original trilogy. "The issue was, ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans,'" says Lucas. "So, I said, all I want to do is tell a story of what happened – it started here and went there. It's all about generations, and issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers. It's a family soap opera."

Although the team behind The Force Awakens acknowledges they're taking the story in a different direction from what Lucas intended, they maintain affection for his original creations and the man himself. "Before I showed up, it was already something that Disney had decided they wanted to go a different way with," says J. J. Abrams. "But the spirit of what he wrote, both in those pages and prior, is everything that this movie is built upon." Some fans question why there was no "Based on" credit for Lucas in the poster for The Force Awakens. "I don't know why it isn't on the poster, but it's a valid point. I'm sure that that will be a credit in the film," says Abrams. "We are standing on the shoulders of Episodes I through VI."

70 of 424 comments (clear)

  1. Surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just more Cheez-wiz American cinema. Lucas ruined the first three movies when made the last three.

    1. Re:Surprised? by kwardroid · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If we only could get a HD release of the original theatrical releases of the first ones (S.W., the Empre Strikes back and just to complete it Returnâ¦)

    2. Re:Surprised? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 4, Informative

      There used to be laserdisc rips of the original trilogy on bittorrent. That is about as close as you'll get.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    3. Re:Surprised? by roc97007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "and just to complete it" -- I know the feeling. Lucas was starting to go off the rails with RotJ. Then with TPM he went off the bridge, tumbled down the mountain, careened into the chasm and plunged into the magma.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    4. Re:Surprised? by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      He also ruined the first three movies when he shamelessly screwed with them.

      Han shot Greedo first. End of story.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    5. Re:Surprised? by cfalcon · · Score: 2

      Look for "despecialized edition". It is the droids you are looking for.

    6. Re:Surprised? by roc97007 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      There used to be laserdisc rips of the original trilogy on bittorrent. That is about as close as you'll get.

      I'm told that there are "the despecialized editions", which were attempts by fans with mad skills to recreate the original films from the "special editions". Improved quality and effects where appropriate, without all the squirmy additions.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    7. Re:Surprised? by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No he didn't, the problem was after Empire he began to lose people who would tell him no which is the kiss of death to a guy like Lucas.

      If you watch the behind the scenes on SW and ESB there were people there that would actually tell Lucas no, tell him what they REALLY thought, be totally honest with the guy...Watch the video on the making of TPM, there are literally dozens of times where you can see Lucas talking and the eyes and expressions of those he is talking to are fucking CRINGING because they know this is a dumb idea...do they say a word? Nope they bite their tongues and say "sure thing George, great" because they are afraid of losing a check.

      So if you want to know what killed the prequels it was Lucas not having anybody around him with the guts to say "this just isn't working George" and to let him know whats what.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    8. Re:Surprised? by roc97007 · · Score: 2

      > No he didn't, the problem was after Empire he began to lose people who would tell him no which is the kiss of death to a guy like Lucas.

      I agree, he always had JarJar potential without talented people to hold him in check. That doesn't necessarily invalidate what I said.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    9. Re:Surprised? by roc97007 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Just more Cheez-wiz American cinema. Lucas ruined the first three movies when made the last three.

      It helps to assume that the last three never existed. Kinda like "wow The Matrix was good. Too bad they never made any sequels".

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    10. Re:Surprised? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The official original versions as put on the re-release of the SE DVDs as bonus features (known as the GOUT, for George's Original Unaltered Trilogy) came from the Laserdisc masters. They're poor quality by today's standards, but better than any Laserdisc rip.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    11. Re:Surprised? by BitterOak · · Score: 5, Informative

      There used to be laserdisc rips of the original trilogy on bittorrent. That is about as close as you'll get.

      Not true! There are much better ones available! As an Anonymous poster noted below (and deserves to be modded up!) you should look for Harmy's "Despecialized" versions. Much of the source was actually taken from film and it looks really good at 720p. Look for version 2.5 of episode 4 and version 2.0 of episode. His current version of Jedi isn't quite as good yet, but hopefully a better version will be out soon.

      Some info here.

      --
      If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
    12. Re:Surprised? by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, if Disney does well enough with 7-9, maybe they will go back and remake eps 1-3. I'd like to see the look on Lucas's face...

    13. Re:Surprised? by khelms · · Score: 2

      How about an HD release of the original theatrical version of THX 1138. He screwed that one up too.

    14. Re:Surprised? by PRMan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And it's not just a preference. Han Solo can't be redeemed if he's not a cold-blooded killer to begin with. He has nothing to be redeemed from...

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    15. Re:Surprised? by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You are absolutely, 100% correct. It was painfully obvious watching the behind the scenes footage that Lucas had been surrounded by a platoon of "Yes Men", rather than people who would give him honest feedback.

      And here's the thing, I think that Lucas did have some really great ideas, but he also had some terrible ones. And without the filter to remove the terrible ones, you got a mashed-up mess.

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
    16. Re:Surprised? by cfalcon · · Score: 5, Informative

      Han didn't shoot Greedo first. Han shot Greedo, and Greedo didn't shoot at all.

    17. Re:Surprised? by Grishnakh · · Score: 2

      Don't you mean ex-wife? I thought it was his (then-) wife that edited his script for Episode 4 and helped keep that movie from being a disaster. However, after the original trilogy, they got divorced, so of course when he got around to doing the Prequels she wasn't around to tell him how stupid his ideas and dialog were.

    18. Re:Surprised? by pecosdave · · Score: 2

      I have these disks. Despite having bought the wide-screen trilogy the bonus disks were full frame.

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      The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
    19. Re:Surprised? by roc97007 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, if Disney does well enough with 7-9, maybe they will go back and remake eps 1-3. I'd like to see the look on Lucas's face...

      I haven't used this phrase in a long time, but That Would Be So Cool. Just make the prequels non-canon, completely forget they ever existed, and just do new prequels.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    20. Re:Surprised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not only that, but Lucas's wife, whom he divorced somewhere around RoTJ is credited with having written and corrected a lot of the dialog and story that Lucas originally wrote. There were rumors she could make a better set of prequels than he could. Of course, he never gave her the credit, but there are articles written about her. I'd like to see her direct some.

    21. Re:Surprised? by Scarletdown · · Score: 2

      Anyone else remember when Star Wars made the rounds at the theaters for its third time (1979)? In the copy we got at our theater here, no one shot in that scene.

      The Han and Greedo scene went straight from "Yes, I'll bet you have." to the next scene, which was an outside shot of the Death Star.

      For years we had thought it might have been a bad spot on the copy the theater had which needed cut out. Then the Han Shot controversy came up, and that entire mystery was suddenly put into a different light.

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      This space unintentionally left blank.
    22. Re:Surprised? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      I don't know which disks you're watching, but the GOUT is definitely widescreen. It's not anamorphic, though (neither were the laserdiscs).

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    23. Re:Surprised? by Gamer_2k4 · · Score: 2

      Just more Cheez-wiz American cinema. Lucas ruined the first three movies when made the last three.

      Oh for pete's sake, Lucas didn't ruin anything. Star Wars until the sellout to Disney was his. His fucking vision.

      Well, no. His vision was a green-skinned Han Solo with gills and other crazy characters/ideas that brighter minds, fortunately, talked him out of. A New Hope is what happens when you based your movie on established storytelling techniques (hero's journey) and have a capable and outspoken editing staff. The Phantom Menace is what happens when you leave Lucas to "his vision."

  2. What a coincidence! by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm done with Star Wars too!

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    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:What a coincidence! by reboot246 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's just a shame Lucas wasn't done with Star Wars decades ago.

    2. Re:What a coincidence! by Dracos · · Score: 2

      He's also a terrible writer and worldbuilder. The only reason Star Wars endures is because of the merchandising.

    3. Re:What a coincidence! by cfalcon · · Score: 2

      Star Wars endures because it's awesome. Star Wars merchandising endures because it's profitable.

    4. Re:What a coincidence! by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Funny

      He's also a terrible writer and worldbuilder. The only reason Star Wars endures is because of the merchandising.

      Too bad it didn't work for SpaceBalls 2: The Search For More Money :-(

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    5. Re:What a coincidence! by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Ironically, merchandise was the one thing that Lucas told Mel Brooks was off-limits, because the toys would be too similar.

  3. Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by pauljlucas · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If Lucas is complaining about not having control, then why did he sell Star Wars to Disney? (No, I'm not related to George, to my knowledge.)

    --
    If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
    1. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 2

      Because you can't have your $4 Billion dollar cake, and eat it too?

      --
      This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    2. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      His car had 160K miles on it, and they just declined his Amex card at the restaurant?

    3. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by Billly+Gates · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Because you can't have your $4 Billion dollar cake, and eat it too?

      Dude do you have any idea how rich Lucas is?

      I had a friend from college who was a VP when a quote from Walt Disney came up in business management class "After a certain point. You come to work to do your passions. I have all the money in the world as it is .." Basically he told me the folks he knows work to piss on their other business owners to show who is top dog. They have all soo much money that a few million here or there won't make a difference.

      Yes for you or I would jump and trip over anyone offering me freaking $4 billion dollars!! But, I have bills to pay. Jobs I go to that are not all that great but needed so I do not have to move in with my parents. I have a car with 130,000 miles on it and student loans and a retirement to worry about. So yeah, Mr. Lucas does not have these problems.

      If he wanted he could go live like Mr. McAffee on a tropical beach with hookers, parties, and drugs, with his own jet to go and do whatever he wants when he wants before this deal with Disney. Money is not something on his mind unless his goal was to have another pissing ego contest on someone else so he can grin on how rich and successful he is.

      Just a perspective us peasants never really consider. Perhaps we too can make something of ourselves with a startup someday? But anyway he already has cashed out as wealthy back in the late 1970s. ... of course the flipside is poverty. I type this and am middle class. Imagine working 3 jobs and wondering how you are going to eat or keep the lights on? That too is not a concern for Lucas. Perhaps he should not have sold it? I wonder what his intentions were or did a divorce made him do this?

    4. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You're discussing economic "utility". To you there is no difference between $10M and $1B but in truth there is a huge difference in economic utility. What $1B can do $10M can not and that includes some really expensive passion projects.

      I don't know about Lucas specifically but just because someone is "rich enough" for you doesn't mean they're "rich enough" for their goals.

      All that said I think the real problem for Lucas was that once you're successful you no longer fully own the property that made you successful. You share co-ownership of it with various middlemen, investors, and worse yet the consumers (aka fans). I think Lucas largely feels trapped by that success and the knowledge that he can't do anything knew or weird with Star Wars because too many people are too emotionally invested or eating at the Star Wars trough to continue the co-ownership with him if he does. The good news for everyone else is he'll likely just mess it up in his desire to control it and make it new so him being done with it is a good thing for all those co-owners, including the die-hard fans.

    5. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by phantomfive · · Score: 2

      If he wanted he could go live like Mr. McAffee on a tropical beach with hookers, parties, and drugs, with his own jet to go and do whatever he wants when he wants before this deal with Disney.

      I'm actually surprised more people don't do that, tbh

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      I suppose I'll post this as AC.

      I realize that people think $250,000,000 is a lot. It is. It's a metric butt-ton of money. However, those of us who have managed to acquire that much wealth aren't all that wealthy comparatively speaking. We can not, realistically, buy a mansion everywhere and buy a jet. Jets are expensive. Maintaining a home is very expensive (but not as expensive as a jet). At that level, well, you're getting a huge tax bill - plan on about 1/3 of it (or more) in Federal or State taxes. This is usually paid in the quarter that the income was earned.

      Then, say, you sold your business for 98,000,000 in cash and 120,000,000 in stock in the new parent company? You can't actually sell, trade, or touch those stocks (you could, in theory, take loans out against them) for six months or you'll end up in Federal prison. (It might be 60 days, actually.) You're probably not taxed on the full amount - if you're smart and have an accountant. With the above numbers, you're looking at somewhere $155,000,000 which is still a bunch of money but when you start buying things like a jet AND paying to keep that jet functional then you're looking at some serious expenditures.

      Now, assuming you do the "right thing" and you reward all the people who helped you to get where you are and make a bunch of anonymous donations you're looking at somewhere around half of that money being kept aside. So, call it $80,000,000. You're now going to want some privacy and a house out in the middle of nowhere. Something like 10,000 acres in the NW part of Maine, with a nice house, and the amenities is going to cost you something along the lines of $20,000,000 assuming you are also setting aside for taxes for the next ten years.

      Then you want a place in Florida, nothing special, and a place in Nevada - again nothing special. Plan on another $10,000,000. You want to set your kids, grandkids, etc up for life and pay off your ex-wife? Plan on another $20,000,000 - it could be more but you want the kids to have a trust that doesn't pay for everything so that they're still productive members of society and not just resting on their laurels. Throw in another $20,000,000 for friends and family.

      You want to maintain your land and property after you leave? That's another $10,000,000 or so. Throw in seeding a trust that enables a few kids to go to a nice private school? That's another $10,000,000...

      These are rather rough numbers but you get the idea? Point being, at the $250,000,000 level you still have to budget and don't get to go spend a metric ton of money on things like a jet. Well, you can if you want but it's really not prudent and is not a responsible thing to do. No, you charter a small plane when you want to fly. You do have a driver but you only hire one in a rented car when you're out on the town. You don't actually own a limo or anything but you might have a bunch of old cars and hire a mechanic on the weekends - you might even get your hands dirty and do some of the work yourself.

      If you're smart, and lucky, and aren't lazy - you can actually put your money into a few risky investments and then make your assets equal what they were when you first were paid for your business. That takes some work and some dedication. They don't seem to teach this sort of thing in college or anything. I understand that they do have special coaches for this but I've also heard that they're a scam - mostly. People who win the lottery usually end up broke for a reason.

      Really, though, you don't spend like that. What you do is you invest it - almost all of it, and then build up the other funds slowly on earnings from your investments. This keeps the money from being taxed as you're still keeping it in the investment pool and not spending it. Well, if it's taxed then it's at a lower rate. It depends on where you move it and *how* you move it. So, it's not quite as bad as I'm depicting above and you can certainly avoid a lot of that. That doesn't mean that you go spending on things like a jet, however. Sure, you can

    7. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by KGIII · · Score: 2

      You know, the world is a bit more gray than that black and white statement you've made. For example, I know plenty of people who are "job creators." Personally, I own a portion of (non-controlling shares or "silent partner" ownerships) a number of businesses and, quite literally, create jobs. I guess, in most cases, I help people maintain the jobs they have but I've helped create more than my fair share of jobs in my day and still do. At one point, I even had a business that employed over 200 people.

      Now, to the point, no! I'll speak for me and me alone. I can't and won't speak for others but I know a number who feel similarly. I don't mind taxes. In fact, I could stand to pay more in taxes - sometimes I don't even write off donations which means I'm paying more in taxes than I am obligated to pay. What I do mind is that my taxes are spent poorly! I still employ three staff members directly as well as an accountant, a lawyer, and a personal finance manager. I pay a higher sum total but a lower percentage overall than they do. And it's not because I pay them poorly - it's because that's where the tax rates are.

      See, almost all of my income is derived from "capital gains." Now, they tax me at the rate they do (about 15% overall, I guess) not because they like me - but because they want to encourage me to keep my money invested. I quite agree - it's nice to keep it invested. I honestly had no idea that it was this lucrative. There's something to be said about municipal bonds! At any rate, I don't actually even get taxed until I *spend* the money (pretty much). So long as the money remains in the market then, as near as I can tell, err...

      Hmm... I'm not actually sure what rules apply? I don't think I get taxed until it's spent. I'm pretty sure that if I move some funds earned into the market then that too isn't taxed - so long as it's in a fairly reasonable period of time. If I move it into the credit union account then I'm taxed on it but I don't really pay any taxes other than that (on income).

      It's a little embarrassing, now that I think about it, but I have to admit that I don't know all the specifics but, in my defense, that's kind of my point. I don't worry about taxes - at all. Well, I worry that they're paid on time and to the exact amount (or greater) owed. I'm not even very good at keeping receipts or anything. Sure, I pay a pretty big number but it's not that big, comparatively speaking.

      My taxes could go up, a reasonable amount, and it would not even begin to be noticed by me. It would not stop me from investing until it reached the point where it was less costly to simply live elsewhere or to not invest at all, that's quite a ways away from where it's at. I've said before, and I repeat, go ahead and raise my taxes and lower the tax burden of the low and middle class brackets. The upper-middle class kind of gets screwed, from what I've read. They can deal with it.

      However, if you want me to pay more in taxes then I ask that you spend it wisely. I have a social contract to uphold but so don't you. I'm willing, able, and doing so. I am willing and able to do more but, again, I ask simply that you spend it wisely. Do you really need a giant military? Do you really need as much waste as you do have? Do we really need to be giving tax breaks to the wealthy? Do we really need to incarcerate so many people? If you want more of my money then how about you use it to feed the hungry and treat the ill? Is that too much to ask?

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    8. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by kilfarsnar · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think I know how you made all that money: You get paid by the word!

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
    9. Re:Lucas not having control to do what he wanted by camazotz · · Score: 2

      That is all quite cogent and true, but please remember, most people would love to have those money management problems. Not the typical problems salaries under $100K tend to have, like running short on rent, being unable to afford basic utilities, constant medical or school debt that will haunt you for decades, and the never-ending risk that one major health issue or bad accident will put you in poverty and reduce your quality of life from a square meal to ramen, or worse, hand-outs. I feel your pain, and wish I had it; the stress of money management with a $250 million fortune is something I would gladly take in place of worrying daily about the perpetual risk of losing it all due to one bad week.

  4. Jar Jar Binks by rbrandis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He lost all credibility with Jar Jar Binks

    1. Re:Jar Jar Binks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If only this were true...

      https://www.reddit.com/comments/3qvj6w
      https://www.reddit.com/r/DarthJarJar/comments/3rntpj/theory_support_megathread/

      That would have been the best twist ever. Alas we just have a meandering annoying character.

    2. Re:Jar Jar Binks by Z00L00K · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, that's not the problem. The problem was the re-edits of the old movies where things like the sarlacc was changed for no useful reason, the original Darth Vader actor was edited out and Hayden Christensen was edited in instead of finding a Darth Vader actor that did resemble the original Darth Vader actor in the death scene in Return of the Jedi. (Anakin in first episode was not a problem) But the transition from a kid with rounded features to the thin Hayden and then to the more rounded features of the face that Darth Vader had in the death scene annoys me more.

      Smaller changes that aren't obvious to the watcher - they don't make things worse or better, at least when it comes to background items or pure graphical enhancements of stuff that weren't good in the original movies due to the fact that special effects weren't good at that time.

      You may be annoyed with Jar Jar Binks, but in the first movie C3PO was an annoyance. But his character actually got better over time. Initially the way Yoda talked was also an annoyance. So forget about Jar Jar and figure out that there are worse problems.

      What's possible to be more annoyed about is the story incoherences between the original movies (Episode 4 to 6) and the newer movies (Episode 1 to 3) where some things went on in a way didn't make sense to someone that had seen the original movies. Luke was a teenager and considered to be "too old", Anakin was a lot younger and still considered to be "too old".

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    3. Re:Jar Jar Binks by oakgrove · · Score: 2

      You know, the more I read discussion of the changes to the first three movies, the more I'm glad I just watched them at the time and left it at that.

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      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    4. Re:Jar Jar Binks by SvnLyrBrto · · Score: 2

      I actually quite likes a fair bit of the re-done & enhanced effects in the Special Editions. Where they went wrong, IMO, is where they changed plot or characterization (Greedo shooting first.), added scenes that just didn't make sense (Palpatine's not dead a whole day, and his statues are already being torn down on Coruscant? How did the news get there so fast? What happened to the empire's military and police forces? Did they all just decide to take the day off?), and where they were obviously half-baked (Jabba the Hutt inserted into Ep.4).

      Inserting Hayden Christensen into the ghost scene at the end wasn't offensive so much for the replacement of the original actor; but because Hayden Christensen is just so bloody awful I didn't want to be reminded of his casting. And I think that's a big part of why the prequels were bad too. Sure Jar-Jar was annoying. But he was really a non-essential bit of (bad) comic relief... easily ignored. Midichlorians were dumb fake science, but no more than timing the Kessel run in units of distance. No, the main thing that made the prequels so terrible was casting two of the most obnoxious, annoying, incompetently-acting, prats to play the most important character of the trilogy. Hell, Christensen was so terrible that even sharing the screen with Natalie Portman couldn't make him anything better than craptastic. And the less said of that other one, the better.

      Also, if Lucas ever tries to write a romance subplot again, someone should break his fingers.

      --
      Imagine all the people...
    5. Re:Jar Jar Binks by Nidi62 · · Score: 2

      He lost all credibility with Jar Jar Binks

      You know, in the CNN article I read about this, Lucas said the character he most identified with and would want to be was Jar Jar. Seriously.(look at the final few lines of the article)

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    6. Re:Jar Jar Binks by captjc · · Score: 5, Interesting

      There is still a belief that Kylo Ren may be Jar-Jar. Just look at the mask. Only time will tell.

      "No one cared who me-sa was until me-sa put on da bombad mask"

      --
      Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
    7. Re:Jar Jar Binks by RobinH · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Natalie Portman is an award winning actor and quite good in other movies. Hayden Christensen might be terrible, but you can't come to that conclusion solely on his performance in episodes 2 and 3 because clearly even a really good actor couldn't act well in that situation. The blame has to fall on Lucas. He thought he was inventing a new form of film-making where he could fix everything in post production so he didn't push for good performances. He was wrong.

      --
      "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
    8. Re:Jar Jar Binks by NormalVisual · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Natalie Portman is an award winning actor and quite good in other movies.

      The parent poster wasn't saying she was bad, and was pointing out that even she couldn't save Hayden's performance. The other obnoxious, annoying, incompetently-acting individual he was talking about was Jake Lloyd. Part of my disappointment was due to Christensen's performance, but a lot of it was due to the awful script and having to deal with Lucas's idea that Darth Vader was a whiny little bitch most of the time.

      As for my part, I felt it was quite disrespectful to Sebastian Shaw's memory and career that he was replaced in the ending scene for no good reason. It doesn't make sense either - Obi-Wan's ghost was still old, as was Yoda's, so why is Anakin magically returned to his 20-something self when no one else is? And if you're going to replace Shaw with Christensen, why not also replace Alec Guinness with Ewan McGregor?

      --
      Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    9. Re:Jar Jar Binks by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

      Don't blame Portman for Lucas's awful dialog.

      By the same token, Christensen just sucks. At least Portman and McGregor did their best with a really awful script, but Christensen was awful; wooden most of the time, delivering his lines like a Speak-and-Spell, and then finding the magic way to be wooden AND over-emotive in other scenes. It's little wonder he's done so little work since the Prequels. He's just unbearable.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    10. Re:Jar Jar Binks by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm still waiting for a remake of Corvette Summer with Christensen as lead...

    11. Re:Jar Jar Binks by captjc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I agree, the problem wasn't so much Hayden as it was Lucas' poor writing and lack of direction. The fact that the sets were just giant blue screens didn't help. In the prequels, Ewan McGreggor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, and Samuel L Muthafucking Jackson are all giving lackluster performances. If Sam Jackson comes off as wooden, what chance does a novice like Hayden Christensen stand?

      I really don't care for the guy, and I couldn't stand the character of Anakin but I think he just gets too much of the blame for the prequels.

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      Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
  5. Good news by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    Good news, but several parsecs too late.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  6. Re:"For the fans"? Really? by burtosis · · Score: 4, Funny

    Star Wars the flame thrower!

  7. Re:So now? by cfalcon · · Score: 5, Funny

    Had doesn't shoot first.

    Han shoots.

    Greed doesn't shoot at all.

    Because he's dead.

    Because that's what happens when Han Fucking Solo shoots you.

  8. Re:The real reason by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The last few Tarantino films have been pretty big budget, so I think whatever Tarantino wants, Tarantino gets. Despite the apparent excesses of Tarantino's films, you can tell they're very tightly plotted, edited to near perfection, and most importantly, Tarantino has a gift for a dialogue that Lucas never had.

    Lucas was a great filmmaker, and there was a time when the technology was at just the right level of development that he couldn't go hog wild. The real problem with the prequels, to my mind, were that he didn't in fact have nearly enough story for 360+ minutes of film. I swear you can edit all three prequels into a reasonably watchable 150-180 minute film. You could get rid of most of the Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith could be married together by turfing most of the romance (which was just awful anyways).

    And yeah, edit down the final battle between Obiwan and Anakin to about two minutes. We've known it was coming since 1977, so no need to overplay it.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  9. Re:"For the fans"? Really? by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Funny

    Meesa so happy Mickey Mouse will be here with me, and Ani! Meesa hopes the Muppets come too!

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  10. Best part of the summary by grimmjeeper · · Score: 3

    Lucas came up with story treatments for a new trilogy, those materials, to put it bluntly, were discarded

    This is absolutely the best thing that could have happened to Star Wars. While he did have good ideas back in the 70's, he's long since used up whatever talent he ever had. He single handedly turned his franchise into "mule fritters" with Episodes 1-3. There is no way for the franchise to go but up now that Lucas is no longer involved.

    Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

    1. Re:Best part of the summary by quantaman · · Score: 2

      Lucas came up with story treatments for a new trilogy, those materials, to put it bluntly, were discarded

      This is absolutely the best thing that could have happened to Star Wars. While he did have good ideas back in the 70's, he's long since used up whatever talent he ever had. He single handedly turned his franchise into "mule fritters" with Episodes 1-3. There is no way for the franchise to go but up now that Lucas is no longer involved.

      Good riddance. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

      I'm not sure it's so much that he lost the talent as he lost the perspective or relationship with the state of film that made the first trilogy so good.

      Both the first and original trilogy involved a boy getting recruited into an order of what was essentially mystical monks.

      Both had really goofy aliens in the main cast (Chewy and JarJar), both had influential family connections (Anikan's wife and mother and Luke's sister and father), and both really pushed the technological bounds of what was possible.

      I think one of the main problems is that acting styles have changed. In the first trilogy Lucas got more emotion when ranges were subdued and got emotional connection, in the second trilogy he did the same when actors tend to overact and he got whiny melodrama.

      The other big problem is in the 70's he was very limited to a few props, cheap costumes, and lines drawn on the film. So by necessity he ended up with a very stark aesthetic that gave the feel of a western and felt very physically present.

      In the 2000's he could give people superpowers and create entire cities, instead of a fantastic turn on real life he ended up with a completely different world no one could relate to.

      Put today's George Lucas back in the 70's with the same concept of a fantasy space opera and he might make the original Star Wars again, but take the George Lucas from the 70's and take him to 2000 and Star Wars IV-VI might look a lot more like I-III.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    2. Re:Best part of the summary by grimmjeeper · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The difference is that Star Wars started out as an action movie. Trek did not. Turning Trek into an action movie was a "questionable" move at best. Keeping Wars an action movie is staying with it's roots. Still, I'm hedging my expectations so as to not be completely disappointed.

  11. Now he gets it by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    All I would do is muck everything up.

    Interesting avoidance of past tense, there.

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    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  12. Re:"For the fans"? Really? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

    I have a bad feeling about this.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  13. I was never a big Star Wars fan by AndyKron · · Score: 2

    I was never a big Star Wars fan. It was OK like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was OK. I think 2001 a Space Odyssey is still the best.

    1. Re:I was never a big Star Wars fan by iggymanz · · Score: 2

      that's ok, the second group of three movies was more like Duck Dodgers in the 24th Century

    2. Re:I was never a big Star Wars fan by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      I was never a big Star Wars fan. It was OK like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was OK. I think 2001 a Space Odyssey is still the best.

      2001: A Space Odyssey would have been far better if someone were to cut everything until the scene in the lunar pit where they discover the monolith, and everything after disconnecting the HAL 9000. Sometimes, less is more.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  14. Re:That's what Daniel Craig said by roc97007 · · Score: 3

    George Lucas: "I'm Done With Star Wars"

    That's what Daniel Craig said about Bond after 007 Spectre.

    The difference is, with Lucas we hope it's true.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  15. Re:The story didn't advance by MightyMartian · · Score: 2

    Hey, the Star Wars Christmas Special did have Wookie porn!

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  16. Re:"For the fans"? Really? by DogDude · · Score: 2

    Last I checked Disney started putting light sabers into the hands and paws of their cartoon characters,

    They did it BEFORE Jar Jar? How'd they do that?

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    I don't respond to AC's.
  17. George Lucas did not create Star Wars by Dega704 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Contentious thing to say, but it's technically true. The only thing he deserves credit for are the initial story ideas. In the end, the original trilogy was the result of a lot of creative input from a lot of people; to his great displeasure. Some of its most iconic moments happened in spite of him rather then because of him. (Actual quote to him from Harrison Ford during filming: "You can type this shit but you can't say it.") He has made it excruciatingly clear that he hates the original trilogy and has always hated it because he didn't have total control over it; and thinks that the only thing that made everyone love it was HIS creative input. All of the praise and fame he earned as a result of it's success, which he literally bet against with Spielberg, led him to think "Wow, if everyone loved movies that only slightly showcased my vision, imagine how much they will love them when I DO have control over every aspect!" At this point he was rich, powerful, and surrounded by yes men who dared not question him. We all know what the results looked like. The only thing he as proven beyond a shadow of a doubt is that if Star Wars had turned out how he wanted, it would have been terrible. There would have been no sequels, no merchandising empire, no worldwide generation-defining cultural impact. Just another sub-par sci-fi flick from the 70s. The "creator" of Star Wars was also its biggest liability.

  18. Re:That's what Daniel Craig said by roc97007 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While Daniel Craig hasnt been as bad for James Bond as Lucas was for Star Wars I tell you as a good bit of a Bond fan since childhood that I cant wait to see him go as he's been one of the worst at playing Bond. Bond is supposed to be suave and charismatic while Craig's Bond has all the charisma of a rock. The new Bond movies are just Mission Impossible movies (or any other big Holiwood action brand) which is fine if you like that sort of thing (and i do sometimes) but they certainly dont watch like any of the movies before Craig.

    I understand what you're saying (Sean Connery is still everyone's favorite Bond) I'm not sure I agree. I guess I got so tired of the camp (Connery starting with Diamonds Are Forever, *all* of the Roger Moore Bonds, a short break from the silliness with Dalton and then baaaaack to campycampycamp with Brosnan) that the serious tone of Casino Royale (and other than the game changing to Texas Hold-whatever, not a complete travesty re: the book) that I was able to overlook Craig's ... ears. That's it really, isn't it?

    It helps to remember that in the novels Bond is a stone killer. He occasionally does the right thing just because, but in general he can be pretty callous, at least up to the death of his wife. (Most people don't know the novels all follow a story arc, and specifically OHMSS-YOLT-TMWTGG is one complete story.) Craig fit that mindset pretty well, in my opinion.

    I think the Craig movies did a good job of capturing the spirit of the novels without rehashing the story elements that had already been done (Casino being the obvious exception). I especially loved the call-backs to both the earlier films and the novels, even stories that had never been filmed. Did you catch the reference to The Hildebrand Rarity in Specter?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.