PT George Lucas expanded interview with Charlie Rose

A little bit of this interview was previously released in clips (part of the "break up" part), but now there is new stuff about all the Star Wars movies being his "kids", the industry, and the sale to Disney. It's nice and hear to see how emotionally invested in the whole saga Lucas was. I think it really shows how important it was to him, and I think prequel fans can see that, even though some people don't agree, and see the prequels as half-hearted cash-ins. I hope there is more to come, because it seems like there is more to this conversation.

I was so excited when he basically said Star Wars itself (and the technology developed by ILM) is like the balance of the force, and can be used either for good (imagination, serving a new story, risk taking and creativity) or for evil (risk averse, doing what's proven just to make money.)

 

Rose: How do you feel about the movie business today, because you and Steven Spielberg were down at USC and you made a note of the fact that if we have 7 or 8 of these sort of big extravagance films, that we have now, if 5 or 6 of those don't make it there's going to be an implosion, right?

Lucas: Yeah, I think the issue is ultimately what are you selling? And the answer is you are selling creativity, raw creativity. From talented people. Now, look the problem has always been that the studios, although in the beginning of the studios, the entrepreneurs who ran the studios were creative guys. They would just take books and make them into movies and doing things like that, but when I grew up it was the first time they allowed film students. Before you could never get into the movie business, but in the 60s the kids who were in film school loved films, they just loved it. And so they didn't care they couldn't get a job or make movies or anything, but they were doing it in school so they just stayed there as long as they could. So the issue came, the day I arrived at WBs lot with a scholarship Jack Warren left. And then they sold it to Seven Arts which was in Canada, and then another one sold it to Sony, to Coca Cola, suddenly all these corporations were coming in. They didn't know anything about the movie business. So they said, maybe we should hire kids from film school, they supposedly know how to make films. So suddenly we got get jobs, which was a fantastic thing. And for a few years they kind of let us do our job. We, the producers made the movie, the budget and we did it. All of my movies came in on budget and on time and they made money. A lot of my, all my friends, this gang of people made successful movies. But then the studios went back to saying "we don't trust you people and we think we know how to make movies. You know, I took a script course at San Diego State so I'm gonna tell you how to make these movies". And of course, that was, I fortunately got through before that really happened. By the time I got to Star Wars I said "I'm outta here". I mean I was still in San Francisco but I never got bugged by the LA industry, because all the executives had to fly to San Francisco to talk to me. But then I just said, I'm gonna do the worst thing that you can do, which is to finance your own movies, but then nobody can touch me. And so I did that, but the guys who stayed behind, it became almost intolerable. The studios changed everything, all the time. And unfortunately they don't have any imagination, and they don't have any talent, so what are you selling? You know, so they're gonna make the same movie over and over and over again.

 

Great interview.
Lack of imagination and creativity surrounding the industry of movie making; all studios want to do is sequels to successful movies...
Sounds an awful lot like what Disney is doing now.

 

definitely a TON of subtext there..

 

That was a very satisfying interview to watch.
"I had a story to tell and there was a gap between what is possible and where my vision is and I had to fill the gap. You don't invent technology and figure out what to do with it. You come up with an artistic problem and then you have to invent the technology in order to accomplish it (regarding to art).

I love how this man's mind works.

 

Rose got a little factoid wrong. Spielberg was at Cal Long Beach. He was never at USC. That was Lucas, Zemeckis, Carpenter, etc.

 

And now we know what he really thinks of TFA...

 

Let's not forget he did sell his "child" to Disney for 4 billion dollars, so it's kind of odd that he's now criticising the way they try to get a return on their investment. It's also interesting, that his vision is still so closely linked to the technology, when that's only a part of what made the films so great, to many of his fans. This was also the impression I got while he was making the PT: let's get the story and characters out of the way, such that I can get to the stuff I really love. It's like what he said in an interview with Stephen Colbert. He thinks of Star Wars as a silent movie: “It really lies in the art of movement, but that sound is just as important as the image onscreen. “I believe half a movie is the sound,” he said. “The sound is extremely important. But the dialogue is not.”

This is really the fundamental issue, that he sees the OT as one big compromise to his vision, and he's spent the last 20 years showing the world what he really thinks Star Wars should be. This undiluted uncompromising vision for Star Wars is a blessing to some, but a curse to others.

 

it's still generational what they did. this is why i was shocked when he sold it and didn't just let it die with him. he must have known this would happen. he's spent the past 20 years talking about big corporations not knowing how to make movies

 

Why would it be odd? If you sell a customized car to someone that you poured your heart and soul into renovating and developing and they take it and revert it back to factory settings, you're not allowed to be disappointed? Moreover, what else is Lucas supposed to do? Lie? I think he's being diplomatic -- he's disappointed but understands that Star Wars now belongs to Disney and that they don't really want him around anymore.

Also, Lucas has always said that he's a visual person and one of the reasons he likes film so much is because it allows him to tell a story in a medium he can master. Because movement, sound, music, images -- that's all things that film can offer that books, for example, cannot. Dialogue is important to film too, but it's present in many, many other mediums as well and is not one of film's particular advantages.

And I don't think he sees the OT as a big compromise. Rather, it's that Lucas is incredibly particular about his films.

 

Whatever you think of his decisions, he is a fascinating man.

 

Great interview! I think he's absolutely right, and I respect him wanting to move on, but I would've loved to have seen him do a Sequel Trilogy.

 

HeadingSouth: Not me. I've been so disappointed with follow-ups by returning helmsmen over the years (e.g., Nolan and The Dark Knight Rises, Jackson and the Hobbit trilogy, Mendes and SPECTRE) that I'm glad Lucas severed the cord with Revenge of the Sith. It's my favorite film of the cycle.

I only wish Lucas would get to those esoteric art films he keeps hinting about.

 

I think this is a great way of putting it. It has to be at least a little bit hard for him, even if he knows it was his choice and even if he knows he couldn't make Star Wars forever...he's not made of stone.

 

I wouldn't have minded if Lucas just got a team of talented youngsters to help write/direct the sequel trilogy so that it could get done in less than 10 years. I bet it would have been a better story than TFA regardless.

 

The last part of this interview shows what Lucas was thinking when he sold Lucasfilm..

 

^ I said that mostly as a joke earlier. That this film would make Lucas' films look better, and that's why he is selling.

Didn't expect to hear Lucas say it...

 

Lucas is still very hurt about the prequels. It's kind of ironic and sad that he can't even listen to his own words sometimes. In many ways the prequels felt like an abuse of a tool and that was CGI. People need to realize that even the OT is Lucas' original idea improved and scrutinized by others. He was essentially in full control of the prequels and it lead to some terrible dialogue decisions, too much CGI, and poor character choices.

He is both very right and wrong when he discusses Hollywood's lack of creativity. He feels like his prequels were shamed because they were too different. Trust me, I would be the first one to raise my hand and approve of change if it is done right. I don't need the nostalgia pandering and fan-service of episode VII, which is a great example of what he deems to be a fear of change. I personally believe or at least very much hope that episode VII was overly like the OT to ease people in and restore faith. I really hope that episode VIII blossoms into its own because it has the potential to be phenomenal.

George, you speak of capitalism like it is an evil of Star Wars and yet you approved of the Ewoks, which were a giant scheme for money...

Lucas has his flaws but he is also a great man in many ways. His interviews about telling old stories to a new generation, philosophy, and the force are fantastic. I understand why he feels so hurt. I just hope he'll one day realize that we aren't all blinded by nostalgia and unappreciative.

Lucas will pass away one day and that will be a day when so many people realize what this man did for the world. He sparked the imagination of 100s of millions of people. Even the staunchest hater of the prequels will shed a tear that day. We love you Lucas but that doesn't mean we can't criticize.

 

Too bad the part with Marcia didn't work out. Who knows, maybe we'd have gotten the PT earlier and then the ST, too.

 

Lucas on Star Wars: They are my kids. I loved them. I created them. I'm very intimately involved with them... and I sold them to the white slavers who take these things and...

Well, Lucas seems to have a high opinion of Disney!

Lucas on the legacy of Star Wars: The other thing that got abused, naturally in capitalist society, especially in an American point of view, which is the studios and everyone said, "Wow we can make a lot of money. This is the license to kill," and they did it, and of course the only way you can really do that is to not take chances. Only do something that's proven. You gotta remember that Star Wars came from nowhere. American Graffiti came from nowhere. There was nothing like it. Now, if you do anything that's not a sequel, or a TV series, or looks like one, they won't do it... That's the down side of (the influence of ) Star Wars (on Hollywood), and it really shows an enormous lack of imagination, and fear of creativity on the part of an industry.

Lucas on the state of Hollywood filmmaking: By the time I got to Star Wars I said "I'm outta here". I mean I was still in San Francisco but I never got bugged by the LA industry, because all the executives had to fly to San Francisco to talk to me. But then I just said, I'm gonna do the worst thing that you can do, which is to finance your own movies, but then nobody can touch me. And so I did that, but the guys who stayed behind, it became almost intolerable. The studios changed everything, all the time. And unfortunately they don't have any imagination, and they don't have any talent, so what are you selling? You know, so they're gonna make the same movie over and over and over again.




From these quotes, I think it's pretty obvious what Lucas thinks of TFA, which essentially re-tells the story of ANH. From his point of view, Disney sees ANH's storyline as formula that guarantees profits, and they showed an enormous lack of imagination and fear of creativity taking this approach, but that doesn't matter to them because ANH's storyline is something proven, so there was no reason for them to take chances telling a new story. Just re-telling his old story guaranteed that they'd make a big profit, and TFA's box office success has proven them to be correct. There's no real reason for them not to change the formula if it's working, so they're just going to keep making the same movie over and over and over again.

Well, Lucas's predictions about TFA seem pretty much on the money. I just hope his predictions about what they'll be doing with Star Wars in the future won't turn out correct. Hopefully some of the pushback against Into Darkness and AoU for being too redundant, too much of retreads, might convince them to take some chances, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part.

One other thing that really strikes me after seeing these interviews. Lucas really cares much more about telling a story than boosting his own ego. If Lucas were arrogant, he would have this attitude after seeing TFA: "Well, look at this. I came up with this storyline 40 years ago, and they've re-used nearly all of it, and it still works. My ideas now are just as great as they were then. I'm awesome." Instead of getting an ego boost from this, Lucas has the opposite point of view. He's regretful that they didn't move far enough from what he accomplished in the past and take the story in new directions. He's an artist first and foremost. I think the sentiment in my signature is correct, but Lucas couldn't care less about being flattered in this way.

 

But ANH has been copied or redone in some many ways... including JJ's Star Trek. And some movies do it much better (Guardians of the Galaxy, for example, has the OT vibe but a more original and fun story than TFA).

 

Mission accomplished George. TFA certainly gave us that clarity.

But really, how hard would it have been for Abrams to give us some wide shots? I admit I dont know anything about the actual process of filmmaking, but is it really that hard to get some good wide open shots that would have allowed us to experience these worlds better? Did he really not see the first 6 episodes that often?? Is it just that hard to get those kinds of shots or did he really just not think it was important??

 

I fail to see what was so wrong with him using CGI. He wanted to use the modern technology at his disposal what is sooo wrong with that? I happen to find the CGI in the PT beautiful. As far as poor dialogue and casting that is subjective. I had no issues with any of that. Too each their own I suppose but I love the PT and really miss Lucas being at the helm of this saga.

 

It's pretty obvious that Abrams and Disney wanted to adhere as closely to the OT stylistically as possible, and stuck to medium and closeup shots, because technology wasn't at the point of showing off otherworldly planetary landscapes (Dagobah is a good example, it's pretty obviously shot on a soundstage). With the PT, Lucas was able to show off long shots showing off landscapes you could never have on Earth (Coruscant, Kamino, Utapau, Mustafar), but since Disney wants to distance TFA from the the prequels, the visuals suffer as a result.