George Lucas---What Happened?

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First off, I'll express my biases--I'm not a George Lucas fan. I loved THX-1138 & American Graffitti, and I loved Star Wars as a kid, but he's long been my symbol of everything that is wrong with Hollywood--commercialization, pandering, serialization, FX for FX-sake, complacency with a winning formula, etc.

However, I love the kitsch value of the early Star Wars marketing, and a co-worker set me up with a copy of the original "Star Wars Christmas" album (featuring the first recording by Bon Jovi, recording under his given name, Jon Bongiovi!)

The discussion turned to "What the hell happened to Lucas?". My co-worker was a huge Lucas fan back in the "original" Star Wars days, and he brought up an interesting point--after the initial success of Star Wars, Lucas pretty much became a "golden boy" and nobody really questioned what he did. As a result, his unchecked imagination and money lust just ran rampant.

Examples:

1) Star Wars Christmas Special--Lucas tried to have it banned after its initial showing. What a trainwreck; a twenty minute opening scene of "Chewie's Family"--a domestic treehousehold of Wookiees. No words spoken, just grunts. A later music number by Mark Hammill. Frightening.

2) Star Wars Christmas Album--the best song is "What Do You Get A Wookie For Christmas (When He Already Has A Comb). Enough Said.

3) Ewoks. Sure they're cute, but they don't make any sense at all.

4) Darth Maul/Double-sided lightsabers--uh, Originality called...you weren't in your office...?

AND THE MOST SHINING EXAMPLE THE GEORGE LUCAS HAS LOST HIS MIND AND THAT NO ONE HAS THE COURAGE TO STOP HIM:

5) Jar-Jar Binx. What in the HELL was he thinking with this one? I don't think there's a human being alive who doesn't find Jar-Jar offense in at least one of many possible ways.

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Friday, 24 December 2004 14:19 (twenty-one years ago)

All this can be explained by the fact that he never had it to begin with. Therefore the "what happened" question is a bit beside the point. Witness THX-1138, which probably would've been better left as a student film. Witness American Graffiti, a decent idea that's based on a lot of the old cliches, and which was weak enough to be coopted and outdone by Dazed and Confused. Witness Star Wars, which in retrospect ain't such a great film - and he didn't direct Empire, so less credit there. Witness all the rest of the Star Wars films.

To ask questions like these is to give him more credit than is worthy. On the other hand, reading Biskind's book, he does sorta come off as a pathetic and insular character who gave into the values and provincialism of his father.

― Girolamo Savonarola, Friday, 24 December 2004 17:11 (twenty-one years ago)

IE - read the original trilogy as George's inverted fantasy of himself (Luke) vs. father (Vader) and small town (Empire).

― Girolamo Savonarola, Friday, 24 December 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

i think the appeal of the original films lies in all the cool stuff he thought up. light sabers, wookies, R2D2, those crazy sounding llama type things, etc.

he has produced nothing that imaginative or just funny and weird since.

― ryan (ryan), Friday, 24 December 2004 17:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Girolamo harsh but otm.

― Ken L (Ken L), Friday, 24 December 2004 19:19 (twenty-one years ago)

American Graffiti: far and away his best film.

As for the cash cow, he should've kept hiring outside directors and writers as he did for Empire Strikes Back, and not believed all the Joseph Campbell shit.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 26 December 2004 04:17 (twenty-one years ago)

"he should've kept hiring outside directors and writers as he did for Empire Strikes Back"

Good call. His directing has been an absolute flop.

I still think "American Graffiti" was brilliant--it was the first real "retro" film, revisiting all of the colors and energy of the 50's teen rebellion films with a 70's outlook. And it was the inspiration for "Happy Days!"

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Sunday, 26 December 2004 20:59 (twenty-one years ago)

heh

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Friday, 31 December 2004 18:37 (twenty-one years ago)

No one is stopping him because he's still making shitloads of money, and it's hard to argue with that. I mean, good lord, The Phantom Menace is the 4th top grossing movie, world-wide, OF ALL TIME.

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Friday, 31 December 2004 20:33 (twenty-one years ago)

well, yeah, nobody's denying the power of the almighty box office here. but there's a HUGE difference between a good filmmaker & one who can make a shitload of money based on a good marketing scheme & overwrought nostalgia.

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Friday, 31 December 2004 21:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Great link, latebloomer!

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Friday, 31 December 2004 21:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree, Jay, but my point was that as long as he's making tons of money, nobody in the biz really cares about quality. Lucas himself considers the Star Wars films to merely be "movies for kids," so he doesn't really take them very seriously, relatively speaking.

― Ernest P. (ernestp), Saturday, 1 January 2005 00:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i doubt Lucas' sincerity about the "movies for kids" line--it's just as safe opt out for him. I think he takes the films quite seriously.

You're right about the "as long as he's making money, nobody cares about quality" line--that's just an epidemic of studio filmmaking that has spread like a wildfire over the past forty years. There will never be a high-grossing piece of art in the cinema again.....maybe. I never give up hope!

― jay blanchard (jay blanchard), Saturday, 1 January 2005 03:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Let's face it, with all the build up the FIRST NEW STAR WARS FILM IN FOREVAH, The Phantom Menace could've been an eight hour shot of the Empire State Building, or had an opening crawl that lasted two hours and was the entire screenplay, or been JarJar nonstop, and it would've still grossed at least $300 mil. Sad, but true.

― Girolamo Savonarola, Saturday, 1 January 2005 07:29 (twenty-one years ago)

five years pass...

Wanted to post this in that thread about famous people in photos together but couldn't remember its name

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2010/12/lucas_web_2010_a_l.jpg

― Cunga, Friday, 17 December 2010 06:58 (fifteen years ago)

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