Action Comedy TV: Showrunner Matt Nix 
SAG National Board Approves Joint Bargaining … 
BBC Drama Unfreezes Development Money; … 
Lionsgate Board Rejects Icahn's $6/Share 
Is Betting On Box Office Good For Films? 
Marvel Still Looking For Captain America 
'Sopranos' Creator To Film Rock Drama 
LIVE-SNARKING THE 82ND OSCARS... 
'ALICE' IS A MONSTER! $116.3M Blows Past … 
Oscar Not-So-Thriller: Diller Mogul Picnic 
'Precious' Sweeps 25th Indie Spirit Awards 
Howard Stern Won't Be Next 'Idol' Judge 
Justin Theroux Readying 'Zoolander 2' For … 
Mickey Rourke Wooed For Two Big Roles, … 
CBS Reups Les Moonves Through 2015 
A year ago, when I ran the teaser for The People vs George Lucas, comments flooded in both pro and con this documentary. And the pic itself intrigues me because it features so many Industry types talking about Lucas in a negative way as they debate his legacy. (Like calling him the "anti-Christ" and "evil genius of marketing"....) Now the film has been selected for the Spotlight Premiere section at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin next month.
'People vs George Lucas' Debuts At SXSW
By Nikki Finke | Category: Directors, Documentaries, Film Festivals | Thursday February 4, 2010 @ 5:44am PST
Comments (26)
|
Post a Comment
Comments On Deadline Hollywood are monitored. So don't go off topic, don't impersonate anyone, don't get your facts wrong, and don't bore me.
Breaking News
Marketplace
-
Two Weeks of Posts Comments 1 LIVE-SNARKING THE 82ND OSCARS... 656 2 Sundance 'Welcome To The Rileys' Bought 346 3 'ALICE' IS A MONSTER! $116.3M Blows Past 'Avatar' For Biggest … 245 4 Deadline Advisory: Comment On Format 238 5 Marvel Still Looking For Captain America 189 ‘Glee’ Returns In April…
News/Opinion Poll
Loading ...By The Numbers
Title Studio Gross 1 Alice In Wonderland Disney $62.7 M 2 Green Zone Universal $14.3 M 3 Shes Out Of My Leag Paramount $9.8 M 4 Shutter Island Paramount $8.1 M 5 Remember Me Summit $8.1 M 6 Our Family Wedding Fox $7.6 M 7 Avatar Fox $6.5 M 8 Brooklyns Finest Overture $4.5 M 9 Cop Out Warner $4.3 M 10 The Crazies Overture $3.7 M 11 Percy Jackson Fox $3.1 M 12 Crazy Heart Fox $3.0 M 13 The Blind Side Warner $1.6 M 14 Valentines Day Warner $1.4 M 15 Ghost Writer Summit $1.2 M 16 Dear John Sony $1.0 M 17 Tooth Fairy Fox $0.7 M 18 Alvin And Chipmunks Fox $0.5 M 19 Last Station SPC $0.4 M 20 The Wolfman Universal $0.4M SOURCE: RENTRAKBox Office Poll
Loading ...Twitter @nikkifinke
RT @mflemingjr: Gold Returns To Gang Tyre Fold http://bit.ly/9JUuk1About 40 min. agoRSS Feeds
This film is a travesty. It totally disrespectful to one of the greatest minds in pop culture, and I think the director and producers should be ashamed.
Debate his legacy? Any director would have a lifetime achievement award for a fragment of Lucas’ work: American Graffiti, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, plus his personal investment into knowledge to extend the range of filmmaking. He is beyond any criticism.
I guess the sequel will be “The People vs James Cameron”.
Looks like a mixed bag of pro and anti, but the fact so many are wound up about him and his movies in and of itself is sort of a complement. I’m curious about the pile of scripts Lucas allegedly said he wanted to make movies of (mentioned during the teaser). He’s had a hand in other great pics besides Star Wars and would be great to see more.
I actually participated in this as a talking head and I’m slightly worried about not remembering what I said and my future employment!
I hated the prequels as much as everyone else, but I find it ludicrous that people actually feel that he “raped their childhood.”
Um, he created those good childhood memories with the first three films.
episode I was pretty bad, II was alright, but III wasn’t bad at all.
An entire movie devoted to making bitchy, snarky remarks about someone’s success? Nikki, they’re stealing the bread from your table.
it’s about as subtle as a mike moore doc. pos. next.
Lucas made his fortune on Star Wars toys (because Fox was too stupid to see the potential payoffs). Is it any wonder that ALL his movies afterwards were basically extended commercials for toys?
And that this led to bad movies, but excellent toy commercials?
More evidence that Hollywood desperately needs a shake-up so that key creative people: Writers, Directors, Producers, and Actors, share in the upside AND Downside. If Lucas made more money from the movies than toys, he’d make better movies. Particularly if he risked a downside (i.e. not getting much money).
Hollywood is just friggin’ jealous of George Lucas. Too bad you’ll never be as talented as he.
What a pathetic idea for a movie. Lower than Jerry Springer. I hope they lose their shirts.
Well, it’s a documentary rather than a movie. Could be interesting if not too biased. Lucus has had a very interesting impact on hollywood. Compare it to a documentary on Bill Gates-lots of fans and critics, but would be an interesting documentary depending on how well made.
Regardless of Lucas, could be fun to hear some from the die hard Star Trek fans. I find those types entertaining. I know a guy invited to a Star Trek wedding in Vegas at some life size replicate of The Enterprise.
Regarding Jerry Springer, yes current show pretty trashing, but he was once a raising star in Dem party believed to be at the level of Kennedy. Check out the podcast on This American Life. He’s actually an interesting guy, but had a political downfall (something along the lines of writing personal checks to prostitutes).
I think people were really bent of shape when they saw Episodes 1~3. The effects where what made the originals cool and the CGI seemed like a cheat- and on top of that we all felt bad becasue we went and paid money to see them in the theatres anyway.
I guess this allows fanboys one last blast of “he raped my childhood with those sequels/prequels” anger.
Maybe we can agree that Lucas had a good run from THX-1138 through THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK–including the interesting misfire of MORE AMERICAN GRAFITTI.
With all due respect to George Lucas, he is not a world class director or writer. Only American Graffiti was great storytelling.
George Lucas is a true visionary. The Star Wars series is somewhat like Avatar in that the technological advances in storytelling have been monumental. His films, games, software and hardware advances have provided filmmakers with so many more colors on their pallets for film production. From Pixar to LucasArts to LucasFilms to ILM to THX and all his other companies, George has crafted a foundation on which the digital world resides.
He deserves the respect and gratitude of the industry for putting his money where his mouth is to develop these phenomenal tools. Without George Lucas much of this would not exist.
Thank you, George!
Whiskey:
Empire Strikes Back = toy commercial
Raiders of the Lost Ark = toy commercial
Personally, I’ve liked more than those two films, but I think they are considered by most as pretty good films and they came after Star Wars.
Please don’t say, “but he didn’t direct those.” Read the transcripts on the story meetings for Raiders. Also you said ALL his films after SW were toy commercials — doesn’t sound as if you were referring only to the three he directed.
Even Indiana Jones 4 made a ton of money. Was that money spent so that people could learn how to play with their toys? Seems a lot of people actually like Lucas’ films and that’s why they make money. All his films make a fortune. If you were right, and they are only toy commercials, wouldn’t the toys make money and the films bomb?
If you don’t like his films, fine. But you’re wrong to think he’s just in it for the money, and it’s arrogant to believe all of us who like his films are suckered into lining up for toy commercials.
Stephen
Nice job by film producer Janet Pierson for programming this!!
This year’s lineup at SXSW looks terrific.
Just because something or someone is hugely popular doesn’t mean you can’t say it or he or she blows.
George Lucas changed the movies forever, but not, in my opinion, for better.
If you get your panties in a twist about this, you probably are profoundly lame.
And not only that, Han shot first! I saw him.
I am still amazed at how George Lucas is trashed so much. He has done so much for Sound and F/X in films, TV and video games. When Disney sent John Lasseter and other 3D artists packing, he scooped them up and let them create what ended up being Pixar.
lol did you actually sit through any of the prequels? some of the worst writing and directing this side of straight to video–which is where they would have been dumped without the Star Wars branding
I think many people are the same as me in that they have a love-hate relationship with Mr. Lucas.
The reasons for the hate:
- He is a left winger to the nth degree and yet one the best and most effective Capitalists on the planet. How many times have I paid for the Star Wars movies? Way too many. I bought the VHS tapes, then the new ones with THX sound, and the gold pack, which were the 1997 re-issue, after I of course went to see all of the first 3 again in the movies. Then I bought the DVDs, more than once, because I had to have the Asian imports then the set with the original cuts and the re-issues.
- Lucas should be smacked upside the head for changing the Greedo scene with Han Solo, to make it look like Greedo shot first. C’mon George, that looked so awful, and even Greedo would not have missed. I have no idea why Lucas felt the need to strip something from Han Solo in order to satisfy some liberal nonsense about you shouldn’t take the first shot.
- Jar Jar Binks. Need I say more? At least his kids loved him.
- His arrogance in interviews. Really, have you heard anymore more smug in an interview than him?
- The guy railed against the studio system like no other became the epitome of the studio system and everything wrong with it.
Reasons to love Lucas:
- Is the undisputed father and king of special effects and is the #1 reason we have the outstanding movie visuals we have tonight.
- Created Star Wars. If you can ignore the silliness like the Ewoks, most of the Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones, he created perhaps the greatest collection of characters to grace the movie screen. (I would only put Mel Blanc on the same level for such a brilliant imagination). Darth Vader, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Emperor Palpatine, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and R2-D2 are as good as it gets.
- He brought together generations. My 8 year old nephew and I watched all the movies together and he thinks I am the coolest guy going because I know everything there is to know. I love my nephew like a son and there is nothing like Star Wars to bring us together. Nothing, not even football or baseball.
Even with the hate parts I noted above, we as moviegoers and lovers are MUCH better off thanks to Mr. Lucas. As much as I can critixize him, I am even more grateful he came along.
Lucas is such an easy target. what a ham-fisted attempt at a hard-hitting docudrama. i mean, there are SUCH bigger douchebags in this town that make the choice of george lucas pale in comparison. name the first significant 10 producers you pull from the nearest directory, and you’ll have waaay more dirt to dish. rudin, weinstein, and HALF of the agents on agency row. Lucas simply is so mainstream americana, and has reinvented himself several times over, that the schadenfreude these guys feel towards him is thick enough to cut with the dull knife that they stuck in lucas’s back. hacks.
Long live George and his perfect hair!
Man I cannot wait to see this. I find this subject fascinating mostly because I think its a cautionary tale of what massive financial success can to do an individual’s creative instincts. Make no mistake Lucas is one the great pioneers of mass entertainment, but in the end he really did get corrupted by his own success. Essentially the prequels are about him really. I mean just look at the quality of his output of the last several years. Dogshit. The guy is just going for the easy buck. “Give’em flash and they’ll be alright”. I’m very curious to see what others think on the matter.