MovieChat Forums > The People vs. George Lucas (2011) Discussion > No wonder the guy doesn't want to make a...

No wonder the guy doesn't want to make any more movies....

posted 13 years ago by NoTicket
27 replies | jump to latest

I just watched this doc a few days ago and I couldn't bring myself to recommend it to anyone because I felt it was such an incredibly negative viewpoint of all things Lucas. There was one man in particular named Edward Hines Jr. (whose commentary seemed to be recorded entirely on a webcam) who spoke in such a melodramatic and condescending tone directly to Lucas, that calling himself a fan is a huge insult to the entire idea of being a fan.

Now I don't agree with every single change George has made to the saga (Han shot first, no doubt about it), but watching 90 minutes of supposed fans tear down this man's life work, piece by piece, was utterly depressing. Then to add insult to injury, the filmmakers take a step back at the end and try to save face by showing their appreciation for George and the Star Wars empire he created. At this point though, the damage is done and no amount of back pedaling can make up for it.

A few weeks ago Lucas discussed how disenchanted he has become with making films and how he has no intention of making anymore Star Wars flicks, stating;

"why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?"

After watching this gripe-fest, I can't say I blame him.

[–] hobbit_mania 13 years ago

I think it was a mix of valid points from fans, and people who need to chill out.

I think the best point someone made was that when George Lucas goes over old scenes with CGI effects, in a way he is throwing away someone else's work. The least he could do is always offer up the original versions of the movies, alongside whatever new edition he wants to make. I don't care if the video quality isn't the best, it's still better than nothing.

The guy that compares George Lucas to a Holocaust denier, needs to gain some perspective and quit being so dramatic, because that comment made him look foolish.

Also, Indy 4 really wasn't that bad.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] clutchkman 13 years ago

I agree totally that the childhood rape and holocaust references go way to far and are just plain wrong. It just makes those people seem rotten and their points worthless, but I did laugh alot during this documentary and all in all, enjoyed the film.

I could totally relate with the people that were disappointed with the prequels and the special editions. I couldn't believe how bad episode one was, but I thought two and three were pretty good, but I never thought for a second that Lucas was trying to ruin Star Wars, or my life, like some of these people seem to think.

It's just impossible to recapture the magic of the original trilogy, and I think we as fans should be a little more understanding. Come to think of it; we are really lucky that we even got three great movies in a row with the original trilogy. How many great movies have great sequels?

Even though I wasn't thrilled by the prequels, I'm still glad they were made, instead of wishing and hoping for them for the rest of my life, but now, thanks to cruel people, like in this documentary, who don't seem to have other reasons to live, we will probably never see another Star Wars film.

I would like to thank George lucas for the inspirational, and thought provoking thrill-ride that is Star Wars.

[–] Killingforcompany 13 years ago

While fan expectations can sometimes be over exaggerated, Lucas played a key role in the dismantling of his legend and tarnishing of his name. The prequels are one thing, but as the fans in the film have stated the changes to the original trilogy and his stubbornness to release the original, unaltered films in a decent resolution is what has won him the disdain of Star Wars fans the world over. Lucas saying that he doesn't want to make any more movies and blaming it on the fanboys is just another cop out on the man's part. His recent films have been failures, albeit very expensive and flashy failures that have grossed large amounts of money based upon the reputations of his past works alone. The man couldn't and will never direct another film outside of the two franchises that have become his lifelong meal ticket again anyway. It's just more convenient to blame one's personal failures on the fans who fail to "understand" his recent work.

And I am not defending over zealous Star Wars fans here, just saying that in this film and this particular situation no one comes out looking good.

[–] clutchkman 13 years ago

You make some pretty good points there. Believe me, I want the unaltered versions of the original trilogy too. What he did to them didn't make them better; he made them worse, much worse. His changes are like stains on those fantastic movies. You're probably right and Lucas just doesn't have "it" as a filmmaker anymore, but I just can't be as angry as these people. I did enjoy this documentary though, I might watch it again. I loved Jar Jar encased in carbonite!

p.s. Han shot first!

[–] dash26354 13 years ago

no kidding some of those people need to chill out. It's like they talk about him like he's not even human yet they think they're on a first name basis with him. I mean geez i prefer the original versions compared to the special edition trilogy but I'm not about to invest considerable time and effort making fan films about how much it pisses me off. In the words of William Shatner "Get a life!"

[–] orlanahelmes 13 years ago

You have a giant misconception over what Lucas actually said and what he actually did. There are two reports on his "quitting". One was that he quit over how fans of SW have treated him and he was sick of it. It isn't the first time he has said that, yet he keeps coming back to it. In fact, I'm pretty sure those quotes used in recent articles were from several years ago because we all know how the media would never make up stories for spicier news. /sarcasm Second, and the actual reason he "quit", has nothing to do with SW at all, fans or the franchise. He spent 2 decades trying to get backing for his movie Red Tails from Hollywood but was forced to back the movie himself in order to get it made. Supposedly, no one in Hollywood would touch the movie due to the all black cast. He also never said he was quitting film making. He said he was quitting "blockbusters" because of his snub over Red Tails, but would continue to make art house films.

The problem I have with Lucas is he is extremely childish. Take Red Tails, as an example. The man could fill a swimming pool with $100 bills and still have barely touched his bank account. Yet, he spends TWO DECADES trying to get Hollywood to back a movie and is upset that he had to do it all himself. I understand that there is a deeper issue with to the reasons no one would back it, but there was nothing stopping him from taking an "I'll show you!" stance at Hollywood with this movie. Instead, he chosen to whine and quit because Hollywood doesn't play fair.

And for the record, other directors have even commented multiple times about Lucas's actions towards Star Wars. Both Spielberg and F.F. Coppola have shunned his refusal to release the unedited original trilogy, citing that both of them have DC but allow their fans the choice of the original. And heck, Spielberg took a page from Lucas on editing movies and has publicly admitted to what a huge mistake it was to edit E.T. His refusal to take advice from anyone is just terribly childish and if he really wanted the fans to stop berating him, all he needs to do is let go of the unedited originals. Everyone would shut up really quickly.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] amzavareei 13 years ago

The quality of those DVDs are awful. Check out Harmy's Despecialized Edition for the best avalable hi-res original trilogy.

[–] sasya 11 years ago

Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

[–] robert3750 12 years ago

"He spent 2 decades trying to get backing for his movie Red Tails from Hollywood but was forced to back the movie himself in order to get it made. Supposedly, no one in Hollywood would touch the movie due to the all black cast. He also never said he was quitting film making."

This is yet another claim by Lucas that has no credibility (such as claiming that he originally showed Han shooting and not Greedo due to "technical limitations"). Eddie Murphy had no trouble making the nearly all-black films Coming to America and Harlem Nights, and Steven Spielberg had no trouble making The Color Purple, yet we're supposed to believe that no one in Hollywood wanted to pay any attention to this mega rich and powerful movie mogul simply because the cast was black??? NOT buying that one, George, any more than I buy any of your Star Wars bullsh!t.

[–] pleckbo 12 years ago

Fu#king A!

I can't stop calling him a sloppy bastard, so, George Lucas is a giant sloppy bastard!

[–] BaileySEA 12 years ago

I agree with you (mostly). I do agree with some of what these people are saying. That stuff about there not being an original copy left, that's complete and utter crap. And I do agree George Lucas made hundreds of millions making new digital transfers, Special Editions etc. This coming from a man who has always said he's no businessman. The stuff about him being a control freak about it, well; he has every right, he owns the intellectual copyrights. But some of these people are complete freaks and nerds of the highest order. And I thought Star Trek geeks were weird. That stuff about George Lucas betraying their childhoods, well they need to grow up and stop thinking about how things were and accept things as they are now. In other words, GROW UP YOU FREAKY NERDS.

[–] YouKnowMyName68 11 years ago

@ BaileySEA:

You're full of it. It's denying a cultural experience to the new generations. Come down from your mountain, you old goat.

"You know, my name..."

[–] BillyBeefcake 12 years ago

I thought the documentary spoke volumes to how I have felt.

The worst part is the EVEN MORE changes that *beep* George Lucas made with the blu ray releases last year!

Now we have Darth Vadar saying, "No" "No" "NNNOOOOO" When Luke is getting electrocuted by the Emperor in ROTJ?

I refuse to even purchase the blu ray editions because of that *beep*

[–] crazyrabbits 12 years ago

I agree. For any fan looking to really get into the series, it's almost a monumental task trying to figure out which versions of the film are the best (I can't believe I'm saying that), and which home media releases are the best to get.

It seems absurd in this day and age, but we have one of the few (only?) film franchises where multiple versions of each film have been released over the years:

1) Original trilogy ('77, '80, '83) + ANH print with new title added
2) Laserdisc/VHS releases (early/mid-90s - color correction)
3) Special Edition releases (1997 - new scenes/edits)
4) 2004 releases (further changes to Special Edition)
5) 2012 "Complete Saga" release (further changes - ROTJ "NOOOOO" line, etc.)
6) Rumored "3D" releases

Not to mention the metric ton of specials, documentaries, deleted scenes, interviews and more that have been missing/unreleased for years, with Lucasfilm doing little to promote or even acknowledge.

On one hand, you have Lucas talk about how the fans hate him so much, yet on the other, he couldn't be bothered to get up off his rear anytime over the last 15 years and deliver a product that was not only respectful of the franchise itself (I don't consider the Complete Saga set to be the release this saga deserves), but offered the original versions of the films for public consumption. His need to continually tinker with his product and try to force "new" versions of his films and pretend the originals don't exist is highly disconcerting and anemic to the fanbase.

Look at the Alien Quadrilogy/Anthology - a new version of the film was offered alongside the theatrical films, with seamless branching between the two versions. James Cameron/Artisan Entertainment can put 3 versions of Terminator 2 on one DVD. Why can't Lucas do the same?

[–] FuzzyWzhe 11 years ago

When is the last time George Lucas made a film you liked? You might want to look up the credits to the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi before you respond.

That is why he doesn't want to make any more movies.

but watching 90 minutes of supposed fans tear down this man's life work, piece by piece, was utterly depressing

It wasn't just his work. He's destroying other people's work with his continual changes. This is the same man that got in front of Congress to testify against Ted Turner colorizing films. Something you can undo by simply turning down the saturation on a display to 0, and it's black and white again.

This man waited about 25 years to release the original films and during that time, he kept mucking with them. I don't even know if the original films really are original - it's impossible to know, what with all the re-releases, editing, etc.

And why did he do this? Because he is an obsessive artist? Because he wants to get it perfect?

I think he did it for money. Make a few modifications - release, modify some more, release, modify a little more, release. That's a lot easier than making a new film, and requires almost no creativity at all to do.

A few weeks ago Lucas discussed how disenchanted he has become with making films and how he has no intention of making anymore Star Wars flicks

Good - because he sucks at it.

As if this is something to get upset over.

[–] charles-bailey 10 years ago

I sometimes set and laugh, seriously out loud at the "fans" of STAR WARS and their hate for George Lucas. The bottom line is, the films are HIS property. Bought and paid for by him (personally), and YES, they STILL are his property even AFTER the sale to Disney-- since he's currently Disney's SECOND largest shareholder which means he can do with them whatever he feels.

George Lucas didn't ruin STAR WARS... It was the "fans" who ruined it. He was just smart enough to make a buck off an obsession.

-Charles W. Bailey
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2351682/

[–] bainebladetank 10 years ago

Incorrect on so many levels. He sold the rights to Disney for company shares and direct payment. He also requested to be allowed to continue to give input on any future Star Wars movies. Beyond that, he no longer owns any Star Wars or Lucasfilm properties. They are out of his reach. Just because he is a share holder does not mean he still owns what the company does. He no longer has directorial control over any projects, he no longer has any ownership rights to any Star Wars property. He's just a name now, and one that Disney will keep marginally involved. Beyond that there's nothing for him. As well, your comment about star wars fans "ruining" star wars. That's laughable in the extreme. One cannot ruin what one does not control.

[–] BaseBallZombies 9 years ago

I sometimes set and laugh, seriously out loud at the "fans" of STAR WARS and their hate for George Lucas. The bottom line is, the films are HIS property. Bought and paid for by him (personally), and YES, they STILL are his property even AFTER the sale to Disney-- since he's currently Disney's SECOND largest shareholder which means he can do with them whatever he feels.

George Lucas didn't ruin STAR WARS... It was the "fans" who ruined it. He was just smart enough to make a buck off an obsession.

This could be the dumbest post in the history of the Universe...

Once the films are released they belong to everyone! Go watch South Park's take on this matter...

Free Hat...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0766081/reference

The feeling we have here — remember it, take it home and do some good with it. Please be kind

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] JurorNr13 10 years ago

Two things:

The so-called fans don't give a *beep* about Lucas, all they care about is the movies, the original versions and themselves.

Lucas has a filthy *beep* ton of money, stop worrying so much about a rich guy you don't know, he'll live.

[–] mezuss 10 years ago

Now I don't agree with every single change George has made to the saga (Han shot first, no doubt about it), but watching 90 minutes of supposed fans tear down this man's life work, piece by piece, was utterly depressing.

Well, then maybe you're a bit too serious. The film is great fun to watch. If you ever been a fan of something AND if you felt it was somehow destroyed - you can easily relate to what all those "fanboys" feel.

Besides: it's a doc - and it does its job pretty well imo. And I can't wait for Episode II http://pvg2.com/

Oh, mr Lucas doesn't want to make any more movies ? How sad. How about he keeps changing and "enhancing" his past creations and keeps cashing on them instead ? Seems easier.

[–] charleswbailey 10 years ago

The last three comments in response to my own were what's laughable. You kids actually think your opinions matter to anyone but yourselves. I stated FACTS, not conjecture or opinion. Plain and simple FACTS and your inner geek got the best of you. You did to me, what millions have did to George himself-- granted on a smaller, and subpar level, but the same none the less. Without unfolding the entire plot, I'll just say that the experiment worked and in many ways, you should have followed suit with old Akbar when he shouted, "it's a trap!"

[–] charleswbailey 10 years ago

Here's the funny part.... He keeps changing the original films.... Just to piss off the disgruntled fans. He knows you'll buy them anyway, just to have something more to complain about. Honestly, NO ONE I know (PERSONALLY) who has worked on ANY of the STAR WARS films likes any of the "fans". Root word, fanatical.

Honestly... Your 46 years old. Put the plastic light saber down and hang up the bathrobe/ Jedi cloaks. It's time to get out of the house.

[–] BaseBallZombies 9 years ago

In the '80s George Lucas championed for the preservation of films, yet a decade later he butchered his masterpieces and refuses to release the original cut...Yeah, that's a d!ck move, big time...As great as he is, and as thankful I am to him for creating the Star Wars Universe, he basically gave a big middle finger to all of the fans...

The feeling we have here — remember it, take it home and do some good with it. Please be kind

[–] spamthis67 9 years ago

Indeed. Now that Disney owns Lucasfilm, they should REALLY grind in the screws and show him who's in charge by releasing a remastered edition of The Star Wars Holiday Special. So, anything else you'd like to suggest, George? No? Good. Now go sit in the corner and play with your Tinker Toys and let us get on with the work of actually making NEW movies.