Lucas: "I Don't Want To Make Movies Anymore"

[bluejake01]

Those who know me know I'm always up for a "Lucas' brain has melted." conversation, but th^t's silly.

His lens has fogged up and he's lost touch with the hungry young artist he once was, and....apparently, as a result, morphed into a shockingly dumb writer...but he DOES care about producing quality art and depicting "compelling human moments"....he's just lost his chops, which, if you look back, is pretty common when Pop artists have unprecedented early success and then grow old.

He USED to care about film-making. His attitude these days is simply churn out the product in the cheapest and quickest way possible. I have many friends at ILM, and he doesn't care about art. He only cares about quality when it comes to the visual f/x because ILM has a reputation and brand name he wants to protect. Lucas' true calling is as a business man, not an artist.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Yeah, he doesn't care enough, but he does care.

Are you suggesting that he's just parroting sentiment about powerful character-driven scenes and over-arching human themes in his commentaries, and that it wasn't totally his decision to take a risk and have that long scene in RotS where it was just an intimate conversation between Palpatine and Anakin at the opera?

It's not Black+White, "He either 100% sucks ass or 100% rules."
He sucks, but to suggest that all he cares about is the business end is simply ridiculous.

It's GEORGE that's been holding up Indy 4 for years!...demanding re-writes and expressing his opinion that he doesn't even want to do it unless it's a really great story/script!

If all he cared about was profit and technical prowess, Indy 4 would've come out already and it would've been "Indiana Jones vs. the 50 Billion Space Aliens".

 

[ultimatefan]

What I don´t accept is some people say in his defense, "he was always like that and now people hate his movies". If you look back at A New Hope, which he directed, you can tell the difference. No, he never wrote David Mamet dialogue, but Luke, Han and Leia sounded reasonably close to actual people, not everybody in the franchise sounded like Shakespeare´s dumb cousin. Second, they were charismatic, likable characters, Han and Leia´s love/hate banter was pretty entertaining, now pretty much everybody is equally cardboard and pompous. I still liked ROTS, though.

 

[Ronny Shade]

Lucas needs to get one thing through his head. He should PRODUCE movie, not write or direct them. He's got all the makings of a great producer (he has a ****-load of money and an entire effects company at his disposal, he has ideas, but can't write dialogue, and he isn't afraid to spend it all on a pile of crap) If he just hired some competant screenwriters and directors to bring his ideas to the screen everyone would go happy land.

 

[black_dust]

No i think he means "Since indiana and star wars i aint had a decent idea that would justify a film, so im making crappy tv shows in the place of them"

 

[Wolfwood]

Uhm, maybe your movies wouldn't need a 200 million dollar budget if there wasn't CGI in 99% of the shots.

 

[Ronny Shade]

Uhm, maybe your movies wouldn't need a 200 million dollar budget if there wasn't CGI in 99% of the shots.

you mean there were some shots in Episode 3 without CGI??

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Lucas needs to get one thing through his head. He should PRODUCE movie, not write or direct them. He's got all the makings of a great producer (he has a ****-load of money and an entire effects company at his disposal, he has ideas, but can't write dialogue, and he isn't afraid to spend it all on a pile of crap) If he just hired some competant screenwriters and directors to bring his ideas to the screen everyone would go happy land.

Yerp!

That is why Empire is the best of them all.

 

[Cosmic]

He's not quitting, he's planning for the future.

Lucas told Variety, "For that same $200 million, I can make 50-60 two-hour movies. That's 120 hours as opposed to two hours. In the future market, that's where it's going to land, because it's going to be all pay-per-view and downloadable."

Lucas is not the first one to point any of this out, by the way...not by a long shot.

 

[SurfDUI]

Most's artist's best work come when your hungry, before establishment. Miami Vice is my favorite show, yet Michael Mann has moved on to crappier and louder fare (except for HEAT ) Same w/ Jay-Z.

I'm only a passing Star Wars fan who was a kid in the '80's-He forgets that you have majik in rubber maskes and cheap effects. I've seen the documentaries about how he made Empire, which is his greatest film achievment to date, and he handled all the little wires and stuff.
Hey power corrupts, and like marijuana robs you of your ambition.

I haven't seen Episode III, but If It's like I or II, then I can play X-Box and watch the opening of all the games at home.

Even as a producer-most that make decisions have there own 'vision' about how the show should go, and then you get beautiful fish caught in a plastic beer six pack ring. Recycle.

 

[Ronny Shade]

Yerp!

That is why Empire is the best of them all.

If Lucas did what Bruckheimer does, movies would increase in quality by 27%

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Even as a producer-most that make decisions have there own 'vision' about how the show should go, and then you get beautiful fish caught in a plastic beer six pack ring. Recycle.

I like your "schizophrenic old man urinating on the bus with a boom-box blasting "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers" Style there.

 

[Jackasscoley15]

Ummm... source?

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Variety magazine, but I just found this:

As it turns out Daily Variety was twisting his words quite a bit, he is not quitting the film business and actually told us the he will never give up filmmaking and agreed that the trade publication blew things out of proportion . “I’m still doing large features, we are not doing large budgets, even on Indiana Jones we are going to keep the budget down,” says Lucas.

 

[patrickbateman]

OUCH THAT'S GOT TO HURT LOL

 

[Dr. Fate]

What I don´t accept is some people say in his defense, "he was always like that and now people hate his movies". If you look back at A New Hope, which he directed, you can tell the difference. No, he never wrote David Mamet dialogue, but Luke, Han and Leia sounded reasonably close to actual people, not everybody in the franchise sounded like Shakespeare´s dumb cousin. Second, they were charismatic, likable characters, Han and Leia´s love/hate banter was pretty entertaining, now pretty much everybody is equally cardboard and pompous. I still liked ROTS, though.

I don't like ROTS (that's one unflattering acronym) but I agree with pretty much everything else you said.

 

[primemover]

Oh goodie, another Lucas bashing thread, you guys need to come up with some new material, this stuff is getting old.

I'm glad he's quitting cause I'm not interesting in seeing his garbage anymore. He is a BRILLIANT business man. I'll give him that. But, he ain't no filmmaker.

Nice double negative, I guess you 'ain't no' dummy either.

 

[livrule]

Oh goodie, another Lucas bashing thread, you guys need to come up with some new material, this stuff is getting old.



Nice double negative, I guess you 'ain't no' dummy either.

... I suppose you spend time looking for spelling mistakes too ...

Lucas bashing will NEVER get old!