Why didn't George have somebody else Direct/Write the Prequels?

Now before you all come in here with your " Yeah, if he did that, the movies would be loads better!" or any of that that has been covered in a bajillion threads already..

Now looking back, making the prequels is/was a huge phenominal project, and I'm grateful for George Lucas for what he has done.

But if there is one thing that is on my mind, why didn't he have someone else direct/write the prequels, and he'd serve as an advisor of sorts?

He did it with Irvin Kerschner for ESB and Richard Marquand for ROTJ, and had 1 or 2 other people write the movie. I think he put too much pressure on himself with the prequels by writing and directing all 3 movies. If anything, he could have written and directed TPM, and chosen another person to work on AOTC and ROTS.

Anybody know why George decided to do everything himself this go around?

 

He did it with Irvin Kerschner for ESB and Richard Marquand for ROTJ,

Yeah, but he grumbled about it on the Classic Trilogies DVDs commentary tracks that he still almost had to do as much work, heh.

 

I always got the impression that was far more the case for ROTJ than TESB.

In the case of the PT, I think it was a case of him wanting to complete the SW journey and presumably he wanted that sense of completion to be as hands on as possible. I also think he was interested in doing some of the things he'd always wanted to do, now that the technology had caught up and wanted to be in the thick of it.

 

Maybe Zombie should say something in this thread. I haven't read his "Secret History" closely yet, but what I remember most were accounts that Lucas suffered a rather uncooperative working relationship with Kurtz & Kershner, specifically that the former more or less allowed the latter to do whatever he wanted, going off script & storyboards that Lucas created or approved of, resulting in schedule and budget fiascoes, not to mention a film he wasn't happy with until he had a chance to rework it. Of course, we might not really know until the "Making Of" book comes out later this year, supposing that does turn out to be an accurate, objective account of the events.

With all the recent talk about Lucas' reshoots on "Red Tails", I wonder if this might've been the starting point for his obsession with redoing his films, either by filming the material a second time, re-editing the material both before and after its release, and his infamous digital "special edition" treatments.

 

Don't get all hyper with speculation, people.

CT: Lucas fell out with Kurtz, true. But Lucas did ask Kershner to direct Return of the Jedi, which Kershner has said he regrets passing on. After that Lucas went to David Lynch, who also passed on it.

OT: Lucas wanted Frank Darabont to write The Phantom Menace with him, but Darabont was unable to because of union restrictions. Lucas then went to Lawrence Kasdan, who read a rough draft and passed on it, stating that he thought Lucas should just go ahead and do it himself.

Here's a Kasdan quote about TPM from Star Wars Insider in 2000: "I thought it was exactly what it should have been -- it was all George. Since THX he's really been interested in the same things, and when other people come into the mix, those things are there, but they're diluted. That's sometimes for the best -- Empire is a really good movie because Kershner's a really good director. Having me write those three movies had a big effect on them. But having George do the whole thing on Phantom Menace is great because you get to see all his stuff -- the hot rods, the thing about parents, everything. I dug it. I'd been dying for him to direct again."

Of course, Jonathan Hales co-wrote Attack of the Clones, and I have the impression that it's fairly official that Tom Stoppard helped out on Revenge of the Sith.

 

the real question is probably why should he have? in terms of directing, there's no reason. for ESB and ROTJ there was a reason - fundamentally that Lucas got so stressed making ANH and had vowed he didn't want to direct again. he was sticking to that vow. but with the prequels, even though he hinted he'd continue to hire directors, I think he felt Star Wars become something quite personal to him. Before it had maybe become a distraction on his life and career in some way, but from what I can gather, having listened to various accounts from Lucas, the opportunity to explore Anakin's journey and the exposition of the Star Wars world in an entirely new perspective is something he felt he could really involve himself in - something he could shine a mirror to all his visual storytelling instincts. Why would he want someone else to help him create that vision when he knew it and was so qualified to do it himself? even after deciding to direct TPM, before its production, i think there may have been an inkling Lucas would hire other directors to finish the prequels, having set their tone with Episode 1. But I also believe he enjoyed directing TPM and enjoyed directing for the first time since his student days - no studio pressures etc. Again, why give up the overall creative vision of his movie when it was no extra stress to just direct it himself.

about the writing, to follow up what Adali said, we know Lucas wrote ESB and ROTJ in collaboration with others, as he did with ANH unofficially (Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck rewrote the dialogue there too i believe) so there was never a doubt he'd be intimately involved in the scripting of the prequels, even if it wasn't by himself. other writers helped on AOTC and ROTS too. i suppose, considering it, TPM as the only script Lucas wrote from start to finish without assistance, it seems. even though he did try to get others to help, much like Kasdan, I agree its much better for it being entirely Lucas. I appreciate it more and more as I get older and more interested in screenwriting myself. I certainly think its the best script of the prequels. I remember too Carrie Fisher saying how she had read it before she saw it and absolutely loved it. Say what you want for the execution, I think its a fascinating piece of science-fiction writing which wasn't capitalised on as much as it could have been with AOTC and ROTS. the notion that Lucas can't write is simply not proven.

 

Very well said.
After all, what would any of us would do with such a personal project?

 

Well said, d_arblay. I think you're probably right.

--MissPadme

 

I share Kasdan's sentiments.

After watching Tartakovsky's beautifully rendered but unsubstantial Clone Wars series, I came to terms with AOTC. My frustration diminished, realizing that Lucas's virtues were as unique as his shortcomings.

I would rather have this beguiling, brazen, maddening, weighty, distinctive vision than any streamlined iteration that could have easily have been concocted.

 

I couldn't agree with you more, but it's a very un-hip opinion these days. That was my impression of TPM too - this is pure George Lucas; it's even got his race car fixation in it. Everyone's bitching about how the movies should have been more formulaic, conventional, watered-down ("the OT was a collaborative effort oh my childhood") and deliberately crowd-pleasing, to my bafflement. Crazy stuff, but thankfully these people have zero influence on anything Lucas does.

 

I think Lucas has said that he didn't enjoy directing Star Wars, because he had a horrible relationship with both the crew and some execs. After that, he brought in others to do the sequels. But when he came back and did The Phantom Menace, because he felt he was the only one who could do it considering the new technology he was experimenting with, plus he was the boss now, he enjoyed the new process, and therefore he decided to direct two and three.

In terms of why he wouldn't choose a "better" director, I doubt he thinks anyone is better, despite what he may claim, with the exception of Spielberg, who we know had a little input.

 

i doubt he's all that arrogant. i don't think for a minute Lucas believes he's the best director in the world. but he probably thought "this is my thing. i know it inside out. i know what i want it to be". why hire another director to try and implement that distinct vision, even if they could have executed elements of it slightly better? he'd be causing so much frustration for both him and the director he hired -who would no doubt want to make it something of their own vision. any director hired would have felt like a spare part, and for that reason its highly unlikely any of the director's who are actually better than lucas would have even accepted the job. spielberg apparently wanted Return of the Jedi but Lucas refused. i think he knew he'd have no authority over Spielberg once on set and would have to trade aspects of what he wanted it to be and it would have been the same on the prequels. this is Lucas' thing after all. he has the right to make it how he wants it to be.

 

The story I heard is that Lucas wanted to hire Spielberg for ROTJ but couldn't because he (Lucas) had quit the Directors Guild of America.





Lucas - he quits guilds
/LM

 

that's what I heard too, but a recent edition of Empire magazine had an interview with Spielberg where he claimed he wanted to do it and offered his services but Lucas refused. Spielberg cited the refusal being down to Lucas' and his own competitiveness - Lucas didn't want to give Star Wars over to one of his "rivals" apparently. All that said, the director's guild thing may have prevented it anyhow.

 

I do know that after ANH Lucas was expanding Skywalker Studios and the business of his technical breakthroughs in the early 80's. This was the main reason for getting the other directors, (along with the fact that he probably didn't like directing).

As for someone else doing the prequels. Would that it were. Damn. There are so many good directors out there that could have battled it out with George to try to make TPM really good. How did Kazdan and Kirshner win arguments for that matter? If not another director, a couple more writing credits would have really helped on the first two prequals. That's where the ego really shows. Not that he wanted to direct them. That's utterly understandable. But that he didn't have another writer to work off of? Why do that?

 

its already been stated here that Darabont and Kasdan were approached about helping to write TPM. Jonathan Hales helped with AOTC and Tom Stoppard ROTS. all writers who write alone have too much ego? sure they have some. they need to. but lucas is not incapable. nobody had a problem with ANH for which he took the sole writing credit.

 

Why didn't George have somebody else Direct/Write the Prequels?

He has a case of controlfreakitis. He can't allow anyone else to raise "his" baby (even though he's not the only one who conceived, gave birth, or nurtured the thing to begin with).

 

Does that mean that Citizen Kane isn't Welles's baby? You know, because he had a little help from Mankiewicz and Wise?

Who does Star Wars belong to?

 

According to Pauline Kael, yes. Which is one more reason not to give a damn about Pauline Kael.

Control freaks tend to be my favorite directors. Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Jean-Luc Godard, Michael Cimino, David Lynch, Michael Mann, Lars von Trier, etc. As far as I'm concerned, George Lucas being a dictatorial enfant terrible sort of filmmaker is a good thing. The best auteurs tend to be the ones who demand the most authority.

 

I haven't seen Citizen Kane or read anything about the making of the film, so I really can't say anything in regards to that topic.

In regards to Star Wars, I think everyone who had a hand in developing the original film has a right in determining how the franchise is handled. So that would include Lucas, but also Ralph McQuarrie, John Williams, etc.

Lack of willingness to collaborate means that there's no chance of receiving any constructive criticism. With no constructive criticism the bad/unweildy aspects of a film can never be culled. Then all you're left with is a testament to your own big fat inflated ego.

 

Why don't you ask him yourself (asked honestly; no snark)?.

Mr. Lucas, and LucasFilm,Ltd., have plenty of correspondence points, and a staff that forwards
the most relevant inquiries forward.

Cheers!

CUO

 

Absolutely not. The job of a film crew is to help realize the director's vision. Gary Kurtz, Ralph McQuarrie, Marcia Lucas, the 20th Century Fox mailman and janitors have no say whatsover in how the writer and director of Star Wars wants to handle his series.

 

And what was Lucas' vision? To create a modern day Flash Gordon for the kids of the 70s to enjoy, and that's it. Everyone else fleshed his idea out into something workable and made Star Wars what it is.

And mailmen and janitors don't actually have a hand in the creative process, just for the record.

 

there was just as much collaboration on any of the prequel films as there was on the original star wars film. possibly more. "controlfreakitis" as termed here would be Lucas insisting on doing absolutely everything, from penning the concept art and scoring the music. we know he did not do this. but somebody has to be in charge of it all. anyone care to suggest someone more deserving of controlling how the franchise should progress?

 

Collaboration is more than having people do your special effects and music for you. It's listening to others when they tell you things in your script don't make sense or are just lame. Judging by TPM and AOTC, George did little listening.