My defense of George Lucas...

He is definetely a stiff guy. I met him once at a party and he came across s quite witty but he did not speak much. I was too much in awe to be in the presence of Han Solo and Indiana Jones to care too much, mind you.

 

Why don't I believe you, Al?

You sound more like a "fanboy" talking about Harrison Ford than any other single post I've ever read here. I guess that makes you a moron by your own admission.

 

I remember reading a few months ago, Premiere magazine asked Harrison Ford if he had a favorite among the Star Wars films. He said "No."

Based on the interviews I've seen, including the one where he says "You can type this s--t George...", I think Harrison appreciates Star Wars for what it did for his career, yet just thinks lines like "travelling through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops boy" are ridiculous no matter what the movie they are in.

A close relative of mine once politely told me that he doesn't see the big deal about Star Wars, that they are kinda silly. He doesn't hate Star Wars, rather just believes they aren't his thing. I think Harrison is one of these people.

Kryatt Dragon - Give us your thoughts on puppet Yoda versus CG Yoda when you are ready. I am sure that I am not the only one interested to hear what you have to say.

 

HF is on cool cat. He always keeps it real.

 

Given the kind of ego that Hollywood produces, it's easy to believe Harrison Ford doesn't like to be reminded he owes his success to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Without them he has just as many bombs as successes.

 

Kryatt Dragon - Give us your thoughts on puppet Yoda versus CG Yoda when you are ready. I am sure that I am not the only one interested to hear what you have to say.

Sure thing.

I want to get some personal input first, though.

 

Without George Lucas, Harrison Ford would never have become involved with Steven Spielberg, and without Indiana Jones, Ford never would have become a star

 

According to the biography of HF I once bought my mom for Christmas, he's supposedly pretty shy, and tends to stay away from the spotlight when he's off the set. Nothing wrong with that, of course.

 

He's a mellow cat.

 

My friend from church's uncle knows Hayden Christensen's family. He used to live in Toronto. I saw a picture of the guy with a 12-year-old HC at a picnic.

 

Given the kind of ego that Hollywood produces, it's easy to believe Harrison Ford doesn't like to be reminded he owes his success to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Without them he has just as many bombs as successes.

Exactly.

Under those circumstances it's easy to see how he would have mixed feelings.

I think he needs to just accept it though.

When I see him give interviews he just comes across as taking himself too seriously.

Like he's actually quite self-conscious and maybe a little insecure.



Man!

This thread is going...going...gone.

 

Sometimes, by defending someone, you're just acknowledging that he needs a defense.


I don't think GL does.

 

Lucas is the beginning and the end of this story, Lucas and only *Lucas*, will determine how it plays out. Goodbye.

 

Mostly these threads boil down to an argument over whether Star Wars fans have a right to criticize Star Wars movies. "If you don't like all six films equally, you're not a fan" is the most extreme version.

I dislike Lucas's artistic vision for the prequel films. TPM and AOTC are fascinating failures, interesting to discuss. Lucas doesn't have to defend himself against other people's opinions, although you often see him getting very defensive in interviews. The way he tries to preempt criticism in his interviews show you exactly that he knows what the prevailing opinions are about his work.

1. he knows that people criticize his "digital editing" concept
2. he knows that many people think he doesn't care about actors and the craft of acting.
3. he knows that many people think his PT scripts have been poorly written, that his dialogue is amateurish.
4. he knows that his vast merchandising/licensing empire opens him up to criticism about whether or not he is more business man than artist.

He doesn't have to defend himself against any of these criticisms, yet we often find him defending himself even when he hasn't been asked to. A psyhcological analysis uggests that the criticism concerns him, worries him, maybe even upsets him.

 

So now you're saying that defending oneself from vicious and unwarranted criticism implies guilt? That's a bit unfair, don't you think?

It reminds of the scene from Monty Python's The Life of Brian:

Brian: Will you stop following me? I am not the messiah!

Crowd: Only the true messiah would deny his own divinity!

Brian: Ah, bugger! What kind of chance does that give me?

 

Ha! Life of Brian is a great movie with a wonderful homage to Star Wars and a parody of how so many movies of the time seemed to be trying to cash in on the success of Star Wars.

But I disagree with your value judgment about "vicious and unwarranted criticism." The criticism I mentioned is not vicious at all and certainly isn't unwarranted. I know many fans like to frame any and all criticism of Lucas as symptomatic of a vast media conspiracy against him, but that just doesn't wash. Those criticisms are real, common sense issues that come out of the simple act of watching TPM and AOTC.

TPM plays like a vast toy commercial with deliberate efforts to pander to young children and lure them and their parents into a film that in all was not really made for them.

And AOTC's amateurish dialogue and lackluster acting stand out against the lush visuals of the movie like a homeless wino at the Academy Awards.

 

"But I disagree with your value judgment about "vicious and unwarranted criticism." The criticism I mentioned is not vicious at all and certainly isn't unwarranted. I know many fans like to frame any and all criticism of Lucas as symptomatic of a vast media conspiracy against him, but that just doesn't wash. Those criticisms are real, common sense issues that come out of the simple act of watching TPM and AOTC."


Agree with you the council does

 

Jabba, your opinion on the quality of the prequels is noted.

I was merely reacting to your assertation that since Lucas has taken the opportunity to defend himself on occasion that it some how implies that he is validating said criticism, which is a ridiculous statement.

But I will agree with you that my characterizing all criticism as vicious is perhaps too general, but at the same time, it must be recognized that a lot of the anti-Star Wars criticism has been rather mean spirited.

 

Jabadabado,I never saw "Life of Brian" (I love "Holy Grail")what was the Star Wars reference in that movie?

 

Life of Brian came out in 1979, only two years after Star Wars. There's a scene with an alien ship crashing, kind of out of nowhere. I read that as a parody of how Star Wars changed Hollywood blockbusters and put a premium on expensive special effects, at the expense of story and plot, etc.

 

Jabba, that is a great comparison. I saw Life of Brian about ten years ago and thought the same thing! What a great scene.

Let's get one thing perfectly clear. If it was not for the OT, and what later arrived and called itself the PT, we would not have the INCREDIBLY entertaining game that is Jedi Outcast. I hate the PT, that much is obvious, but oh man am I a sucker for Jedi Outcast. It makes me think "who cares about the silly Star Wars, you might as well go out with a slow-mo arm-cutting-off bang!"

That said, I still loathe TPM and AOTC. You bastard movies you!

 

"That said, I still loathe TPM and AOTC. You bastard movies you!"

Stop kidding yourself man, you know you like the PT'S.

 

I hate the PT, that much is obvious, but oh man am I a sucker for Jedi Outcast. It makes me think "who cares about the silly Star Wars, you might as well go out with a slow-mo arm-cutting-off bang!"

Lol. I actually preferred the first Jedi Knight game for overall game play, but JK2 is awesome for saber fights. Have you discovered the cheats for JK2 yet? try the NPC SPAWN cheat. You can spawn in other characters into the level you are playing. Great for a tag-team sith/jedi fight. Hey why not have an interactive version of AOTC using the JK2 engine then we can have our own version of the film. Problem solved!

 

"Lucas is the beginning and the end of this story, Lucas and only *Lucas*, will determine how it plays out. Goodbye."

so, when you said "goodbye" just now... that means you're leaving, right?

*cry*

 

I dislike Lucas's artistic vision for the prequel films. TPM and AOTC are fascinating failures, interesting to discuss. Lucas doesn't have to defend himself against other people's opinions, although you often see him getting very defensive in interviews. The way he tries to preempt criticism in his interviews show you exactly that he knows what the prevailing opinions are about his work.

1. he knows that people criticize his "digital editing" concept
2. he knows that many people think he doesn't care about actors and the craft of acting.
3. he knows that many people think his PT scripts have been poorly written, that his dialogue is amateurish.
4. he knows that his vast merchandising/licensing empire opens him up to criticism about whether or not he is more business man than artist.

Damn Jabba, you took the thoughts right out of my head.

Always getting straight to the heart of the matter.

Jabbadabbado...my hero.


My own $.02:

Did anyone hear about the Connie Chung interview?

How she was denied access to a press junket at Skywalker Ranch because she ran a pre-interview clip which gave mention to there being ratial stereotypes in the prequels?

Sounds to me like Lucas has a pretty sizeable vindictive vein running through his ego.

I just have to laugh when I hear things like that.