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George Lucas gave a long-winded explanation of why the re-release of the Star Wars prequel trilogy will be important, in an interview with G4′s Attack of the Show. Personally, I was underwhelmed by the prequel and am not as sparked up for a 3D conversion as I would if The Lord of the Rings were being converted. But Lucas dropped a nugget that will have Star Wars fans salivating. He said that on his planned Star Wars TV series, he’s got 50 completed scripts that are ready to go, if they can just find a way to chop down the cost of shooting them. That’s a lot of Star Wars, and Lucas seems determined to find a way to get them done. Here’s the interview, and you might also notice that Lucas does the chat with Disney Imagineering’s Tom Fitzgerald. He must be a silent partner in this operation, because Lucas doesn’t even let him get a word in:
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I’d be happier if he was not the author of the new scripts. I respect his previous creations, but it seems like some folks get so successful, they refuse to recognize the value of criticism or outside input. The prequels were successful based on good-will from fans toward the universe, but they were actually very weak on story. I wish Lucas would turn toward some of the books that have carried on the star wars universe– like those from Timothy Zahn.
He didn’t write them. He’s got a freelance army rolling in and out of Skywalker!
Star Wars is CURRENTLY a wack, bloated, milquetoast and pedestrian franchise — the prequels cuts the balls off the entire creative universe… Think about it? 2 of the 6 films are good, that’s a failing grade in ANYBODY’s book.
The best stuff was in the video games and Dark Horse comics from the past 15+ years, and NONE of the cream from that made it into the movies. So I would wager that the TV show is just as awful IF Lucas made any creative decisions, input or direction.
Here’s how Lucas can chop the cost down — he doesn’t take a salary, and neither does LucasFilm, until the show actually shows a profit.
You can’t say NONE. Aayla Secura started as a comic book character for instance.
There are no Star Wars fans…there is a dwindling, aging crop of Fanboys whose interest lessens by the years.
It’s not 1977 and nothing will be new again. It’s over.
So I guess this means Lucas will only make a few billion $$ this year, as opposed to many billions.
He won’t actually make even one billion this year, so whatever.
For the love of Christ, Mr. Lucas, can you please stop squeezing the Star Wars sponge? It has nothing creative left in it. It’s old, has fungus growing in it, and it smells. And you don’t have enough money to make them? Are you f’ing kidding me? He could finance it six times over and still not worry about it. It’s really too bad because I think George Lucas was an extremely talented filmmaker, in the seventies and eighties at least.
I don’t care. He lost this die-hard STAR WARS fan when he inflicted those god-awful prequels on the world.
Episode 1 would have been much better with Haley Joel Osment as Anakin and WITHOUT Jar Jar Binks. After that, it was all retread. So when are the 3-D versions hitting theaters? Let it rest, George.
I just don’t know…
I was a huge fan of the original 3 (Star Wars, Empire, Return) but the prequels were HORRIBLE.
I saw a bit of one of them on cable this weekend and it is remarkable how well they DON’T hold up.
I think my love for Star Wars is forever gone.
Good Lord I hate this man. Comparing 2D and 3D to black & white film and color? What is he smoking? Look at the recent box office numbers. The consumer is obviously so sick of 3D that they are purposely seeking out 2D as evidenced by the recent box office returns of “Pirates 4″ and “Kung Fu Panda 2″ (as reported by Deadline). His “Star Wars” prequels are some of the worst mainstream cinema Hollywood has ever seen. Jar-Jar in 3D is merely just a polished turd. Now he has written 50 hours of terrible dialogue? I could go on forever about how much I hate George Lucas, but I am sure there will be other comments on here that share my sentiment.
Sick of 3D IN AMERICA, where 99% can’t afford shoelaces at the moment anyway…..
Lucas started off as Luke but has transformed into the Emperor – a slave to power and money. If Indiana Jones 4 is any indicator of the caliber of these 50 scripts, Star Wars fans are in trouble.
FIFTY scripts? He couldn’t write THREE good ones! Pass.
Maybe a competent writer could take all 50 and narrow them down to five good ones?
Lucas should NEVER write again. The fact that he says he has 50 hrs of more STAR WARS can only mean he has more crap. Lucas is the luckiest, worst writer in the world. Period.
My George Lucas Boycott still stands.
Let’s be honest… he didn’t write shit.
Find a way to get them done?
Hey George, you’re worth FOUR BILLION DOLLARS. Pay for the f’n things yourself!
The prequels have had consequences. If he thinks the audience still lusting for Lucas-produced Star Wars is still what it was pre-1999, he’s gravely mistaken.
Until he hands over creative control to someone else, that passionate audience is not coming back.
Enough, George – there’s only one thing left that the original fans want from you: the original trilogy on Blu-ray. And I mean original; not the CGI’d, Greedo shooting first, awful, “re-mastered” crap.
Jar Jar in 3D!! Someone hand me a rusty spoon so I can carve out my insides.
I used to love Star Wars. But this guy keeps dragging it out and kicking it like a dead horse. He is much more concerned with money than he is with the star wars legacy.
I realize people have caught on to his lack of talent and will not include him in any other projects but can’t he just take his tube-like neck and go away?
Hopefully he can resurrect the careers of the whiny kid that played Anakin and Hayden Christianson and give them some work on this show. And by resurrect, I mean finally put those guys out of work for good. Too bad Lucas can’t do that to himself.
I wanna feel like those guys did in Fanboys again. Thanks Lucas, the “remastered” originals took a dump on my childhood and the prequel trilogy was the putrid turd on top.
@NSF – Star Wars merchandise was tops AGAIN in 2010, so Star Wars fans ARE still out there in (no pun intended) full force !
As far as the scripts, they’re probably written by the same team that writes Clone Wars on cartoon network, which (if you’ve been watching) are better than ANY and ALL of the prequels added up. The tv show will prob be the APOLOGY for the prequels, I expect them
To be much better
Uh, no it wasn’t. Disney was #1 in merchandise sales.
I don’t know what you guys are talking about. The original Star Wars movies are okay. All three of them. I laugh when I see the old Obi Wan just dispering after taping Darth Vader’s light saber. Episode 2 and 3 are really the best two movies of the series. Especially the third. With story telling, the third beats all of the others. The third beats everything else in CGI. Its pure epicness and action. Pure good story telling. Im looking foward to the series… I just hope its on one of the big Five nets, not HBO or Cartoon Network. XD
Look, the consensus is that “Empire Strikes Back” is a classic with or without the trilogy. “Star Wars” itself is also a classic because it was the first of its kind, a science fiction ‘B’ movie that fan boys WANTED; science fiction like WE imagined it. The third was little more than a merchandising commercial and the beginning of the end. By the time the prequels came they were no longer new and if they weren’t “The Empire Strikes Back” they certainly weren’t going to be given any special consideration for being unique. We had “Alien” and “Blade Runner” by then.
Consensus according to who?
Critics sitting in their little dungeons only liking things that are dark and somber?
Most fans prefer Star Wars or RotJ.
Personally, I agree with the previous poster that Return of the Jedi was the best of them all.
What most people fail to remember (or realize) is that Lucas did not write any of the first 3 films (Empire and Jedi were written by Lawrence Kasdan, and Star Wars itself was largely ghost-written by Joseph Campbell), nor did he direct Empire or Jedi. Lucas is best off as the technology guy developing sound systems and producing anything Star Wars related while giving creative talent who can actually write and direct as much free rein as possible (i.e. no imposed Indy-alien mcguffins).
You’re right about the original trilogy and completely glossed over the fact that he both wrote and directed the second trilogy.
As for giving others free reign? I’ve heard his latest production “Red Tails” is in post hell because he’s pretty much taken over from his chosen director, reshot half the movie and has been re-editing for the last year.
Lucas and Campbell didn’t even meet until after Jedi was finished. I doubt Campbell ghost-wrote Star Wars–Lucas just used a lot of his ideas.
I was going to make the same point. Luckily Empire was written by Kasdan. What was saw in the Episodes 1,2, and 3 were pure Lucas. If that’s the case then he can shove those 50 episodes up his azz. I used to have high respect for the Star Wars series, and then Lucas a reclusive billionare instead of hiring the best people money can buy decided to do everything himself, and the end result were characters like Jar Jar Binks, terrible casting, script, etc.
For the record:Willard Hyuck and Gloria Katz (Lucas’ co-writers on AMERICAN GRAFFITTI)assisted (uncredited) on the dialogue for the original STAR WARS film; Leigh Brackett(reknowned as both a screenwriter for Howard Hawks AND a sci-fi novelist) wrote the first draft of EMPIRE- Larry Kasdan stepped in after her death to complete the job; and Kasdan was unable to complete the script for JEDI (due to other commitments)- there was a revolving door of writers finishing that job.
It has never seriously been questioned that Lucas was the “idea man” behind the stories and characters- although long-time sci-fi fans know that they weren’t particularly “original” anyway. The success of STAR WARS has always been primarily due to the superior technical execution of material that had previously been produced as cheap “b-movie” material- not unlike the James Bond films.
I watch the prequels whenever they’re on TV. They’re like a horrible train crash, I just can’t look away. It may be the completely irrelevant story, the God-awful dialogue or the ridiculous performances by all actors involved – I don’t know.
The Red Letter Media review said it all.
As compared to the God-awful dialogue or the great thespian performances of the original trilogy? This is where I diverge from most Star Wars fans. They forget that the original movie was an homage to the serials of the thirties and forties. The dialog was MEANT to be cheesy and, I’m sorry, both Hammill and Fisher’s acting is god-awful (on a par with Christensen and Portman).
That’s why I don’t hate the second trilogy as much as most. No, they are in no way as good as the original three but they are hardly the blasphemy that most make them out to be. All six are good popcorn flicks that are not now and never have been the height of Hollywood acting and story telling.
Nobody would agree with you about comparing Hammill and Fisher to Christensen and Portman. Everyone was fine in IV-VI, not great, but fine.
The acting was terrible in I-III because everyone was acting to green screens, and they realized it was absurd and didn’t even have a neat set to distract their attention.
You sir, are crazy.
Hammil was a great innocent, naive kid, and Fisher was AWESOME. Her Princess Leia inspired tons of women to grow up and achieve greatness.
There’s one massive difference: the original Star Wars movies had characters. The new ones – don’t.
I’ll (once again) quote the Red Letter Media review, because the guy points out the biggest flaw of the new trilogy. If you think of Han Solo, Luke, even C3PO or Darth Vader – you can describe all their flaws, their characteristics, their goals with just a couple of words.
Now take Qui-Gon Jinn. Take Obi-Wan. Take Padmé and Anakin. Take ANY of them and tell me who they are, what they stand for, what kind of character they are. You can’t. Because they aren’t characters. They’re dummies without any significant characteristics whatsoever, saying random lines and doing random stuff.
When it comes to movies, I’m not an elitist. I like them loud and bold and entertaining. But I want two things: a basic storyline and someone to root for. The old trilogy gave me both, despite its flaws. The new trilogy? Nothing. It’s like watching two hours of flash internet banners.
Classic — “watching two hours of flash internet banners”, and yeah, Red Letter Media dude hits the bullseye — the characters are beyond weak, bottom of the barrel sh*t scrapes are better. Luke, Han, Leia, Vader and the Droids… all classic archetypes (lifted primarily from Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress in terms of their interactions and onscreen desires), and classic archetypes, as Joseph Campbell pointed out time and time again, resonate across cultures, languages and people… hence the reason why the dialogue doesn’t have to be great (which it is NOT requisite for great filmmaking, just tell me you favorite foreign film, and unless you’re fluent in that language then enjoyed it with barely passable subtitling, i.e., don’t put so much emphasis on dialog) the emotional resonance is what counted.
So when Greedo shots first, the essence of the buccaneer archetype is neutered (which is why a large collective of the audience felt like Lucas took a chili-bean liquified dump down their throat, while stepping on their d*cks with the rest of revisions).
But those emotional guide touchstones are grossly absent from the the prequels; also is any sense of mystery to the drama. Something that is more than key… I don’t want to know how the story ends until I get there, and I knew that Anakin Skywalker was seduced by power, turned evil and became Vader. I knew that 22 years before; show me something different.
Lucas’s main so-called creative genius was that he was a slave to the archetypes that Campbell codified over the previous 30 years and infused that with sci-fi tropes. To have shown true creative genius, to show that he had a 2nd Act in the tank, Lucas would have needed to end the prequel trilogy with the forming of the Jedi Knights or the discovery of Yoda as a young kid who had incredible innate master of The Force… oh, but wait, that would require some SERIOUS heavy lifting on the storytelling front… something that Lucas (and his army of sycophants) just happen to be bankrupt in.
“watching two hours of flash internet banners” – classic.
And here’s something else classic, the use of archetypes in the original films. As Joseph Campbell pointed out again and again, the classic character (and story) archetypes that he codified in the 30 years previous to Star Wars (1977)… Solo, Skywalker, Leia, Kenobi, Vader and the Droids (basically unapologetically lifted from Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress) are all classic archetypes that transcend cultures, languages, and peoples — and they resonate emotionally.
That’s why they struck a chord, and that’s what the dialog isn’t say Steven Zaillan caliber. But dialog isn’t key to great filmic storytelling (don’t believe me? Name you 5 favorite foreign films, and unless you are fluent in that foreign language, then you emotionally and intellectually enjoyed the film with lackluster summarized dialog stripped of its poetry… and guess what? you loved the film anyway. City of God, Run Lola Run, Kieslowski’s Colours Trilogy, Wild Strawberries, Wings of Desire, list goes on). The archetypes enable us to thoroughly enjoy the dance without so much gloss, but when you have something like Greedo shooting first you cut the nuts off of the buccaneer archetype and it instinctively feels bad (like someone taking a chili-liquified dump down your throat while stamping on your dick… which is what the rest of the “revisions” were). Can’t understand why Lucas didn’t see that?
Oh yes, I can, because his only so-called genius stroke was melding mythic archetypes with sci-fi tropes.
From Jedi on, most of the characters lack desires/wants, and Lucas was already re-hashing by bringing back a Death Star. But the characters are weak now too. Look at Solo is reduced to a mere puppet, because he has no want or desire.
And the prequel trilogy has nothing for emotional incentive (the same error Lucas made with the THX film). And it’s creatively bankrupt; if you’re telling Star Wars stories post the original trilogy you either tell the story of the aftermath or you tell the story where the third film in the new prequel ends up with the formation of the Jedi Knights and they are tracking down a young Yoda, who is catching everyone’s eye because he has such innate mastery of the Force.
But to come up with those stories requires a great deal of HEAVY LIFTING creatively, which the entire camp up at LucasFilm lacks in dump trucks.
Lastly, there’s no dramatic tension in the entire prequel trilogy (6 hours of cinema!!!). I don’t want to know how the story ends 22 years before I experience the story. And since I (and everybody else) knew that Anakin was seduced by pain and power, turned evil and then became Vader; so what’s the drama? We all probably have better “mind’s eye” versions of what actually happen to turn the young jedi into Darth Vader.
There’s some great stuff in the Star Wars expanded universe. It’s a rich world of characters, stories and mythologies that have been brought to life by a great many creative people. There’s no reason a vibrant and compelling new television series can’t be created within the many galaxies that have been created in the last 34 years.
To be fair, as the producer of this interview, I’d like to say that Tom did have a lot to say about Star Tours in the 1st part of this 2-part interview.
If Netflix wants to cause more controversy, they should step in to co-finance this series production in exchange for worldwide exclusivity to their service. And how much money George Lucas makes is his own damn business.
Here’s a thought George: why not try BUDGETING REALISTICALLY FOR TELEVISION? If Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Star Trek could all go the distance on the small screen, there’s no reason a Star Wars show can’t either as long as it’s done for a sensible TV budget. It really took you FIFTY scripts before you realised it was getting overambitious?
I’m still waiting for My Dinner With Andre: The 3D Experience.
I wouldnt mind seeing stories based on Galen Marek, aka Starkiller.
If anyone could, he could bring new life into the franchise.