I really hate George Lucas

[darthzew]

This... is worse than it seems, actually. Let me try to explain...

My little brother watches the "Clone Wars" all the time. It's his favorite show. At first, I thought it was cool how we both could like Star Wars, albeit his was version was crap. But one day I wanted to watch Star Wars (or Episode IV for the newer generation) with him. He complained that it was way too boring and that it wasn't "the real Star Wars".

He's only eight and he might grow into the good stuff, but part of why I love Star Wars is that I grew up with it. Now kids are going to grow up with all this stuff, which really won't be worth remembering, unlike the classics...

 

[TsunamiWombat]

This... is worse than it seems, actually. Let me try to explain...

My little brother watches the "Clone Wars" all the time. It's his favorite show. At first, I thought it was cool how we both could like Star Wars, albeit his was version was crap. But one day I wanted to watch Star Wars (or Episode IV for the newer generation) with him. He complained that it was way too boring and that it wasn't "the real Star Wars".

He's only eight and he might grow into the good stuff, but part of why I love Star Wars is that I grew up with it. Now kids are going to grow up with all this stuff, which really won't be worth remembering, unlike the classics...

John Stewart commented on this effect during his interview with Lucas. He said his son and he have discussions like this.

John:"Whats your favorite Star Wars movie, son?"
Son:"Episode One!"
John:"...No it's not. Go stand in the naughty closet"

 

[Neverhoodian]

As long as the series is treated as a parody, I won't mind. Regardless, I'll just ignore it and move on.

What many people don't realize is that hardcore Star Wars fans have had to put up with crappy tie-ins for decades now (even before the prequels). Just go to your local bookstore and check out the Star Wars books. There's absolutely no quality control for approving new Star Wars books, resulting in trash of monumental proportions. There are a few gems if you know where to look, but most are not even worth the time to pick up. The Dark Empire series, the Jedi Academy trilogy, the entire New Jedi Order series...there's no end to it. They even had the gall to introduce zombies into Star Wars. ZOMBIES!!!

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

If you want to get technical (and boy do I ever!), Lucas only directed the first Star Wars film (widely considered by Star Wars fans to be the weakest of the original trilogy) - in point of fact it was the last film he directed until 1999 (Star Wars came out in 1977), the year the near-universal loathing of Lucas started, because the film that prompted him to take up the director's chair again was The Phantom Menace.

You just listed all the good movies the man has ever made in his entire career as a director Furburt, and all of them date back to several decades before you were born. Looking at his latest efforts, one can reasonably conclude those films were good by accident.

Notice I said 'Made' not directed. Although he did only direct the first one, I think he had enough control over the production of the others that thye could probably be considered 'his films'. In much the same way that a lot of people consider the Indiana Jones series to be a co-work with Lucas and Spielberg, even though it was Spielberg that directed them.

Oh sure, he's been involved in some masterpieces over the years, certainly. What I'm suggesting is that those films ended up being good because, ultimately, somebody else was in charge of them. I think the recent Star Wars films are a pretty clear indication that Lucas needs somebody else standing between his brain and full creative control.

For all the flak they take, the prequels were not unredeemably bad movies - sure, they're awful, but it's pretty easy to imagine what they might have been if somebody else was in charge. The cores of good films are there - cut some of the really stupid ideas out, coax some actual performances from your actors, rewrite some of the more cringe-worthy dialog, and you would have decent movies. Those films could have been awesome if Lucas had somebody else directing them, someone who could tell him when his ideas were cool or when they were freaking stupid.

The direction the Star Wars franchise has taken is what happens when Lucas has the power to just do whatever the hell he wants. Some people, clearly, shouldn't ever have that power.

 

[Hollock]

I don't really like that idea, and I don't like Lucas that much (he's okay). But I must admit that I treat my posts like he treats his movies.

EDIT: I'm always fucking around with them when they're already good.
EDIT: trying in vain to make them better.
EDIT: when in reality I'm probably making them worse.
EDIT:

Spoiler

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

snip

However, I did think the first one of the originals was very good, and not weak in any way.

In fact, I think they're all consistently strong. Even the bizarreness of the Ewoks still doesn't break the flow.

I was suggesting the movie ended up being good because a lot of what George wanted to do was actually impossible, the state of graphics technology in the 70s meant he had to film things in real places, and the actors gave memorable performances despite working with a man who would much rather be filming puppets than people (I'm paraphrasing something Lucas actually said here).

So no, A New Hope isn't a weak film, but it is the weakest of the original trilogy (Empire being the strongest), and as his continual efforts to 'fix' it keep illustrating, I'm not sure Lucas actually understood what made it a good movie. Thankfully the directors who worked on the sequels did.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

and Lucas continues to destroy a once great cultural phenomenon. Why is this idiot still breathing?

 

[Klarinette]

Didn't Muppet Babies fail? I remember liking the actual Muppet Show over that one, even as a kid. By the way, I'm well aware George Lucas isn't responsible for that; I was just making a point about something else with the same idea, that failed because it was stupid.

I haven't actually liked anything he's done since Episode VI (no, I didn't really like Indiana Jones... just never got into it, I guess). The prequels were shite, and I really tried to like them, rationalizing it with, "It's connecting the past to the story I know and love," but yeeeah... no. The connections were weak if at all present. The only one that stuck out was when Anakin became Darth Vader. I mean, didn't princess Leia mention something about remembering images of her mother being beautiful but sad? How could she have known that? Is that a Force thing? If it is, how come Luke doesn't have any of that? And how come Uncle Owen's all like "Ben Kenobi's an old hermit, don't talk to him"? I didn't think they parted on bad terms; Obi Wan gave them a baby! What pissed me off most was that Yoda was CGI when he didn't have to be, like when he was just standing there. That being said, the puppet they used for Episode I was hideous. It's like they took a step back in puppet technology. It just felt like they didn't care, and it didn't feel at all genuine. Maybe I'm just picky.

Hm.. what was the question again? Oh right, Jedi Babies. Sucks. Bad idea. He'll make money off it; that's kind of inevitable. Not much we can do about the fact that it sucks.

 

[Lono Shrugged]

So he wants to make a kids series? Big deal. Let him. It's not targeted toward us.

Once I figured that out I stopped caring. I don't jump whenever he says Star Wars. when Bioware does it though I say "how high?"