Shannon Nutt

I don't know what's worse, Lucas' continuing milking of past glory for profit, or the blind sheep that still consume everything he puts out.

To borrow a line from one of Lucas' own movies:

"Who's more foolish? The fool or the fool who follows him?"

Of course, what the hell do I know? I liked Indy IV.

Travis McClain

Again, people confusing George Lucas owning and creating the characters and situations with him writing and/or directing the animated feature. If he wrote or directed it, he decided not to take credit for doing either. This also pointed out to me that the original editorial by Emerson failed to even comment on the feature itself, choosing instead to oppose the very idea of the film being made. This, again, is hardly impressive work from a professional film critic.

Double_Oh_7

There's a reason "Empire" is the best of the movies. Lucas didn't write it or direct it.

DarkestPhoenix

I'll see it.

RD1973

I'm so sick of the Lucas bashing. For me, it got old years ago. But it goes on and on and on.

First of all there's much worse directors to go after. And as for milking his 2 franchises, EVERYONE does it. It doesn't bother me one bit. I buy or watch what I want to and the rest I don't even think about.

If you didn't like the prequels, shouldn't you have moved on by now? I was disappointed by the Matrix sequels and I've never given them a second thought.

To me, Lucas is still the guy responsible for my favorite cinematic moment: the Imperial Walkers attacking the rebels on Hoth.

RTisBetter

Until Lucas apologizes for his shitty Prequels, or at least makes another great SW film, then the bashing will deservedly go on and on and on and on..



Actually Irvin Kershner and Lawrence Kasdan were more responsible for that, your favorite cinematic moment.

RD1973

Yea, he had nothing to do with the movie at all.

NoirFan

Lucas' worst crime for me is neglecting to include the original cut of THX-1138 on the dvd release. If you want to destroy the one great film you made, that's fine, but at least have enough respect for your audience to include the version that they, not you, actually want to see.

Sean O'Hara

If you read The Secret History of Star Wars, it's clear that once Kershner, Kurtz, and Kasdan came in, they rode roughshod over Lucas. Lucas came up with the basic concepts (well, him and Leigh Brackett), but everything cool about "Empire" other than "Luke, I am your father," came about because the three Ks treated Lucas like an interfering suit and did things their own way.

And that's really the problem with Lucas -- he started off making arty indie films, and still claims he wants to again, but he's become a mogul who's more concerned with the bottom line than anything else.

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Mr. Cinema

I'd much rather Tyler Perry stop making movies than George Lucas.

Cameron

Shannon Nutt speaks gold.

NoirFan

It's only a matter of time before Tyler Perry issues director's cuts of his earlier works, adding CGI white people.

Troy Stiffler

Life-long critiquers unite! You guys seem to dwell on how much George Lucas sucks MORE than George Lucas dwells on Star Wars.

I think it's funny how so many people are so bothered by Lucas. To pop jokes, reference how bad the prequels are, mock the revisions, etc. seem fine. But I think that some people really get high blood pressure when thinking about this stuff. You guys seem to forget that none of this matters to 99.5% of people.

Lucas hasn't put out much other than Star Wars. But I can't help but think of ILM. ILM has made some fantastics leaps in how special effects are done. Sure, they've done some crappy CG. But a lot of that has advanced into some really good, photo-real stuff.

RD1973

I just don't buy that. Star Wars is his baby. You can tell Lucas has control on all his features. Even over Spielberg on IJATKOTCS.

Sean O'Hara

Read the book I linked to above -- it's extensively sourced, and reconstructs the development of the series in detail (plus it's free). At the time of "Empire," Lucas was focused on building his ranch and entrusted Kurtz and Kershner to make the film without his supervision. This was back when he was still talking about making a 12 part series, and his intention was to let a different director do each film in his own style and use the proceeds to finance his own version of American Zoetrope.

But then the budget kept increasing and Lucas didn't like the dailies he saw, so in fear of losing his shirt producing an expensive uncommercial film, he told Kurtz to reign things in; Kurtz refused. At one point Lucas tried to put together a cut of "Empire" that was more in keeping with the tone of the first film, but he couldn't get it to work and finally let Kershner release his own cut.

It was the bad experience with "Empire" that led him to choose a much weaker director for "Jedi" and micromanage the production, and ultimately to direct the prequels personally.

Terrell

This statement is an outright fabrication. It's hilarious considering Lucas could have canned them all at the drop of a hat. Kershner has even quoted in interviews that Lucas was rarely on set, and that he left him alone to make the film. So your painting of Lucas as an interfering suit is just as funny. Lucas pretty much stayed back in Marin and ran the effects department.

In fact, it was Lucas' experience with ANH, a film that hospitalized him, that led him to get Kershner for ESB. Lucas didn't even want to direct ESB. So no, they didn't run roughshod over the man who wrote their paychecks. Lucas left them to their own devices, which has been confirmed by Kershner in interviews.

No offense, but do you really know what you're talking about? Leigh Brackett's script was canned. None of it was even used. Lucas gave her credit because he liked her, and because she was ill when she wrote the first draft. There were in fact four drafts of the ESB script. These drafts reside in the Lucasfilm library. Lucas himself wrote drafts two and three, which is where the films story beat for beat was developed. Kasdan wrote the last draft.

More nonsense! Kurtz did nothing but run the production way overbudget. That's why Lucas canned him before ROTJ. Of course, Kurtz would have you believe he quit. We'll never know exactly how that went down. The only reason Kurtz had that job at all was because he was a film school buddy of Lucas. That also wasn't the last production problems Kurtz ran into. So please spare me the "Kurtz being responsible for ESB greatness" jive. Kasdan's involvement was done once he wrote the last draft. A film is a total effort. So you can try and take credit away from Lucas if you want, but he as well as Kershner and Kasdan deserve their due credit.

You have a vivid imagination. Kurtz could no more outright refuse Lucas than I could refuse my boss.

When you get to a point where you have hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, let's see where your priorties lie. It's no secret that Lucas stopped being a filmmaker and became a businessman. He freely admits so. His wife walking out on him and leaving him to raise their child alone right after ROTJ is the main reason he stopped making films. Sounds like a terrific lady.

I just find it hilarious when jaded, butt-raped former SW fans try and absolve Lucas of any credit for anything.

As for the topic at hand, I have little desire to see The Clone Wars film. It's really not a film, but the first three episodes of the TV series slapped together for the film. But Lucas did not write the Clone Wars nor did he direct.

As for this critic's article, it may be one of the most useless I've bothered to read. My advice for this critic is if all you have to worry about is what someone else is doing with their work(someone you don't even know), then you have serious problems.

coli

Star Wars to me is like a great TV show that has run its course. It reminds me of the last season of Archie Bunkers Place or Happy Days, where they are just hanging on and you sorta feel bad for them cause they were once a great show.

Lucas really should step away from Star Wars and Indy and let those series end with some grace. I am not mad at Lucas, but all great things have to come to an end, and now it looks like he is just milking these franchises cause he can't do anything original.

BTW, the Clone Wars will not even be the #1 movie this weekend as it opened a pretty bad 18 million. For a SW movie, that is sad, cause that tells me with this fanbase alot of people stayed at home for this one, including myself and all my friends, and SW fans have never done this in the past.

Come on George, just put the Original Versions of the Classic Trilogy out on BluRay so we can all move on from SW, and just remember what was great about this series!

Yakuza Bengoshi

It seems hardly like a sign of "serious problems" to write one article lambasting a filmmaker for saying one thing and doing another. You do know that writing about what filmmakers do with, and say about, their work falls within the scope of what professional critics are paid to do, right?

Sean O'Hara

Look, I'm citing my source -- "The Secret History of Star Wars", Chapter 7 "Wreckage" -- which includes quotes from Kershner and Kurtz at the time. And note that I never said Lucas was on set -- he was in California, not supervising the effects but planning Skywalker Ranch, which he intended to build with the profits of "Empire". But being on the other side of the world didn't preclude him from insisting that Kurtz make Kershner work faster and cheaper, and getting upset when that didn't happen. And once the shooting finished and Kershner and Kurtz returned to the US to cut the film, he was able to take greater control, and on one occasion completely lost it with them.

She participated in story meetings with Lucas before doing her draft -- and, more importantly, Lucas was developing his treatment at the same time as these meetings with Brackett. Even Bouzereau's officially sanctioned "Annotated Screenplays" states that Yoda was first developed during these meetings. So regardless of how much of her script made it to screen, she contributed to the development of the movie.

freshticles

Lucas doesn't give a shit if you go to the movie. He just wants you to buy the toys. I was in Zellers the other day. They have a tiny little toy section which usually has a lot of everything. This week over half of it was taken up with Clone Wars and Star Wars shit.

Jedi Master 33

George doesn't have to stop.

No matter how bad a director he is, no matter how much most fans hate the Specal Editions or the prequels, It's his movies and he can do what he wants with them. I bet he wouldn't be making them if they weren't sucessfull. Now, I'm no movie critic{far from it}, but I thought CW was a fun movie. And I hope he continues to make more. No matter how bad Episodes 1 and 2 were, I will go out of my way to defend George Lucas because without him, there would be no Star Wars or Indiana Jones.


I'd rather have more Star Wars{crappy or not} than more Uwe Boll movies.

Jedi Master 33

I think the original versions would look terrible on Bluray.

Travis McClain

Actually, as far as I understand things--and someone with proof that I'm wrong, please advise me--Lucas licenses out the merchandise. Hasbro bought the action figure license and has it until, like, 2016 or some such. If Hasbro fails to sell a single toy in all that time, it doesn't affect the money he pocketed from selling them the license rights. And if they sell every single thing they produce in that time, that also does not affect how much the deal is worth. The only reason he really even ought to care about how much merchandise is moved is that it will impact the perceived value of the brand for future licensing agreements.

Travis McClain

I realize this was not directed at me, but I'm going to jump in, anyway. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the original writing by Emerson upon which this thread is based is of such shoddy quality that if his entire professional career were represented by this one writing, I would condemn him as a hack. His "review" of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an attack on the film's existence, but does not address anything about the film itself. He cites it as evidence that Lucas has continued to write and direct nothing but Star Wars, and that accusation tells us that he is entirely unaware of--or uninterested in knowing--the fact that Lucas had nothing to do with this film outside of writing the checks that paid for it.

Whether one is a fan of Lucas and/or Star Wars , or can't stand either of them, this critique is amateurish at best. In fact, there is no evidence he even saw the film, because he never mentions anything about it. His rant boils down to, "I'm sick of hearing about anything Star Wars and that's all you seem to make, so just quit, George Lucas." Sorry, but that is not "writing about what filmmakers do with, and say about, their work."

RTisBetter

And the pathetic thing is none of it sells anymore. These days most parents are buying the new Transformers shit-line for their kids.