Lucas special on Encore tonight

The Encore channel is running a series called "The Directors," and Lucas is featured in tonight's segment, starting at 7:00 pm. Wonder of wonders, "TV Guide" ran a complimentary article about it (usually it takes potshots at Lucas whenever it can):

BY GEORGE
The Directors: George Lucas
(7 pm/ET, ENC)

A few years ago, new episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles were picked up on cable. TV Guide set up a phone interview with series creator George Lucas and there was some maneuvering to find a convenient time for the filmmaker. When the interview finally happened, I started the conversation with "Thanks for squeezing in this phone interview. I know you are incredibly busy. What am I tearing you away from?"

"I was just writing the prequel to Star Wars, he replied matter-of-factly.

I felt as if I was pulling Michelangelo from the Sistine Chapel, or as if I had caught Shakespeare in the middle of Romeo and Juliet rewrites.

But Lucas allowed me to stretch my 15 minutes of interview time into a half hour, and the man was informative, self-deprecating, thoughtful, candid, interesting, amiable and provocative. All of those qualities are on view in tonight's edition of The Directors.

In his entire career, Lucas has only directed five full-length motion pictures: THX 1138 (1971), American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars (1977), Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002). That's right, you can count the number of movies he's directed on one hand. And that's a career that spans more than 30 years.

So why does he merit an hour on a series called The Directors? Because he is a trailblazing, groundbreaking movie master who has made classic films and has had a hand in producing, writing and/or editing a significant number of projects for the big screen and television. Plus, he is responsible for a series of technological innovations that have, according to Harrison Ford, advanced "the science of filmmaking."

Tonight's program offers a biography of Lucas the man as well as the moviemaker. A collection of Lucas admirers salute the director ? including stars from his movies (most of the American Graffiti cast members are on hand) and his friend Francis Ford Coppola. Carrie Fisher marvels at his "amazing imagination [and] his ability to create worlds"; Cindy Williams talks about how "he exudes wisdom and creativity"; and Liam Neeson praises his cinematic vision, noting that he "is always conscious of the overall arc of the film."

Lucas himself says he started the company Industrial Light & Magic in an effort to "push the limits of the technology of the film medium." The special-effects factory has developed a revolutionary non-linear editing system, the THX theater sound system and made great strides in using digital video.

And for all you Jedi diehards, Lucas throws out some tantalizing tidbits about the upcoming Star Wars Episode III, which he describes as "a darker version of Star Wars."

May the Force be with him.

? Ray Stackhouse

 

This would be better suited in the Small Screen Star Wars forum. You might want to try reposting it there.


Ken Kenobi- And you have a nice day