George Lucas: "I'm Retiring"

[jkno]

He still gave us the first STAR WARS and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, and ILM and THX, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I agree with this! If Lucas had remember the old days, then the situation would have been so different now.

 

[Khev]

in what world besides a weak willed one is that "out of touch"?

Its out of touch because the statement "On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie," is patently untrue.

There are two groups of "complainers" as he calls them, those who want the original versions of the movies preserved and available and those who want good special editions. I could definitely see him dismissing the latter as hypocrites but they are HARDLY representative of all fans, or even the majority of fans.

Fan edits of the OT didn't even exist until just a few years ago and people have been requesting the original OOT since 1997 or whenever the last set went out of print. He's just trying to paint everyone with a broad brush that makes them look absurd and hypocritical to inflate his own misguided position.

 

[devilof76]

If he is genuinely out of touch, then it's possible that he doesn't know the difference between the two.

 

[rubio95]

I think it's funny how people still act as if George doesn't care what people think. I would argue he does more than the average person. When you walk around saying you don't care or that you're just doing something for you, it screams overcompensation about how much you truly are looking for validation.

It all over my Facebook/Twitter pages, people screaming in defense of Lucas and almost blaming the fans for him walking away and the whole "How could you!" attitude. The fact of the matter is that ol' Georgie surrounded himself with "yes" men who told him every turd he laid was made of solid gold, so when he found heavy opposition to things he was doing and lower box office receipts he was shocked and is "taking his ball and going home".

I would have been more impressed if he said "You know what, it's time for me to really take a look at where I started with __________ and what made it so great. Time to get in touch with that magic that made people fawn over it. I'm going to step away and then come back for one big hurrah." You could fill in the blank with Star Wars, Indiana Jones... Instead of proving people wrong and showing he still has the juice, he is simply willing to creep slowly into the night. I don't for a minute believe that he will take a good hard look at Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and say "Let's fix it." mainly because he I'm sure can't see the forest for the tree and the people around him still gush about how fantastic it is.

I don't believe for a moment that Lucas has forgotten what made his films so memorable, the original trilogy was steeped in mythologies and references to other masterworks. The prequel trilogy was a "bam bam shoot 'em up" kind of show that even undid many of the mysterious and dogmatic things that he did in the originals.

I like the prequels for what they are and certainly have characters from it that I'm glad we had but it's difficult to say that Lucas wasn't simply pandering to the younger audience instead of making a "fairy tale for adults" that caught on with kids as he has been quoted as attempting back in the 70s. Filmmakers make stories to the masses, they tell their stories on the big screen for others to share and enjoy. If they aren't enjoying it widespread that has to say something. Imagine if an athlete was only performing at about half speed and while they still had their fans and people who would follow them off of a cliff, for the most part they weren't generally liked anymore and that same athlete said "I don't care what people say I think I play great and I'm playing for me." They'd be laughed out of their sport and their arrogance front and center of every ESPN report. This is generally no different.

Hate to quote the whole thing, but this is a rockstar post. Especially what's in bold. Nice work.

 

[IrishJedi]

I would agree that our ages are major differences. We expected Star Wars to evolve with us, for some it has, for the masses it missed that mark.

I, for one, didn't expect Star Wars to evolve. I just didn't expect/want it to devolve.

 

[toomanyfigures]

i wouldnt say the age thing has to do with the evolution of the series so much as if the ot came out in the last ten years, c3po would be what jar jar is to us now

 

[toomanyfigures]

Its out of touch because the statement "On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie," is patently untrue.

There are two groups of "complainers" as he calls them, those who want the original versions of the movies preserved and available and those who want good special editions. I could definitely see him dismissing the latter as hypocrites but they are HARDLY representative of all fans, or even the majority of fans.

Fan edits of the OT didn't even exist until just a few years ago and people have been requesting the original OOT since 1997 or whenever the last set went out of print. He's just trying to paint everyone with a broad brush that makes them look absurd and hypocritical to inflate his own misguided position.

i whole heartedly agree the oot should be made available on blu ray
however i believe he has to use broad strokes in interviews, to actually address every fan dissection would be splitting hairs and would require a statement longer then "war and peace" lol

but to counter that, the "fans" are making plenty of general assumptions themselves to say the least

 

[IrishJedi]

There are fundamental differences in the two trilogies and how/why they were made that have absolutely nothing to do with the age of the viewer.

Yes, C-3P0 and Jar Jar are both comic relief sidekick characters that some find endearing and others find annoying. But 3P0 in the OT was never nearly as over-the-top as Jar Jar (or even himself im AOTC).

There is a fine line between pop pulp and campy kitsch that SW has always walked. The problem is Lucas crossed that line (arguably with ROTJ and its bathroom humor) and never came back.

And that's just the humor aspect.

 

[toomanyfigures]

I, for one, didn't expect Star Wars to evolve. I just didn't expect/want it to devolve.

de evolve would suggest a decline in interest that im just not seeing
the animated series, the games the book and merch are all thriving regardless if it isnt lucas himself writing and directing its still to his credit who he trusts with his characters, hes gotta sign off on these things

 

[Darthrazz]

The problem is Lucas crossed that line (arguably with ROTJ and its bathroom humor) and never came back.

And that's just the humor aspect.

The funny thing is, no pun intended, that ROTJ starts out as a really, really good movie, the whole Han rescue is truly great, and felt like "Star Wars". Its from that point on, that ROTJ and the prequels decline. I also never realized that the Han rescue is about 50 minutes worth of the film.

 

[IrishJedi]

I never equate financial/commercial success with quality or critical success.

It's devolved in quality, IMHO. There's very little artistic equity left in the franchise and its credibility takes a hit all the time, with things like fart jokes, contrived tweener padawan chicks, Darth Vader girly "Noooooos!" and black hamburger buns.

 

[The Mike]

I have to agree with the Threepio and Jar-Jar parallels. While both over the top, Jar-Jar hits the lowest common denominator for humor using toilet humor and practical idiocy to get his jokes across, whereas Threepio's humor came from his naivete. I have always thought that with Jar-Jar had Lucas gone more "Country Mouse in the city" with the kind of humor, where instead of being an idiot Jar-Jar could have been a refined and wise warrior (more Chewbacca like) who was just out of his element and achieved the laughs he was going for. Not to mention that would harken back to the original inspirations for some of the Original Trilogy than what we had in the PT.

 

[IrishJedi]

Right. People like to say, "Well there's cheesy stuff in both trilogies." Sure. But there's a difference between provolone cheese and limburger cheese.

Also, too much of any cheese will clog the arteries.

 

[Darthrazz]

You could probably edit Jar Jar out of TPM and some of his scenes and the movie would probably flow just fine. I wonder if anyone has ever tried that?

 

[toomanyfigures]

There are fundamental differences in the two trilogies and how/why they were made that have absolutely nothing to do with the age of the viewer.

Yes, C-3P0 and Jar Jar are both comic relief sidekick characters that some find endearing and others find annoying. But 3P0 in the OT was never nearly as over-the-top as Jar Jar (or even himself im AOTC).

There is a fine line between pop pulp and campy kitsch that SW has always walked. The problem is Lucas crossed that line (arguably with ROTJ and its bathroom humor) and never came back.

And that's just the humor aspect.

i believe age is still a very important factor, much like rewatching old warner bros cartoons now as an adult, the humor is so much deeper, now i see the inside jokes, i think the amount of time and technology between the trilogies changed the audience as well where jar jar for example would HAVE to be more over the top, and please dont think me a jar jar advocate lol i cringe when hes on screen
it all just boils down to opinions, i think jedi is solid about 90% of the film and never find it notably kitchy, save for the ewoks and thats only now because it pisses me off that a storm trooper can be killed with a rock, but that never registered when i was a kid

 

[The Mike]

One could argue that films like Shrek or the Pixar films have the same "deep humor" that caters to the adult as well as the child in this day and age no problem. To say that kids today need an over the top baffoon in Jar-Jar to get that humor across isn't giving the kids today much credit.

 

[IrishJedi]

Yeah, I don't think you need fart jokes, pratfalls, and bathroom humor to make a 9 year old laugh.

 

[toomanyfigures]

when i watch shrek with my nephews we are laughing at very different times lol
my statement wasnt even to say kids are dumb, i noted the time and technology between trilogies, kids get a new blockbuster every month, they are spoiled with racks of dvds and endless cable channels, holding there attention is much harder then 20-30 years ago when vhs was a luxury and we only had a handful of movies to keep watching to the point that we love those movies

 

[Wor-Gar]

Pee-yousa.

*cringe*


Truth is, 3PO wasn't a bumbling, frightened fool in the original Star Wars. That's what he started to become in Empire. Remember, in ANH, he suggested going after R2 at night, he bravely told Luke to abandone him "he's done for", he demanded R2 rescue his master, and he stood up to the stormtroopers with some quick-wittedness.

Not really how we remember 3PO now. But neither is Star Wars.

 

[Sachiel]

I don't think making over-the-top retarded characters like Jar Jar is really helping...