Isn’t this the same guy who said the expanded universe (one of the biggest sources of new fans and continued interest in star wars) was a joke and didn't exist in his lexicon...meanwhile he kept cashing in the massive cheques it brought him? so clone wars, rebels, battlefront, all those video games, comics etc, that would never have existed had lucas been in charge
@@anakinskywalker921 Once again Lucas was the executive producer of the clone wars series meaning he basically was the financier and oversaw production (if even that) he is not credited with story, directing, script writing and or anything else, other than franchise creator Also the battlefront games (the ones from 2004-2013) weren’t even made by Lucas film, they were made by Pandemic for Lucas film Lucas film was merely the publisher of the game from 2004-2013 before EA took over as such lucas has no credits on battlefront (2004) or its sequel at all...
@@anakinskywalker921 Once again he had little if any connection to the games, the prequels still suck ass no matter how many anti-sjw’s want to try and pretend otherwise and most of the EU, comics and games had nothing to do with Lucas at all other than he had his name automatically posted on everything. So the idea of them being better under him is bullshit from the get go, the only thing they have in connection is the fact that he had his name atomically put n top because he was the original franchise creator his actual work and or connection to most of those preterites was non existent and or limited. He also is the one responsible for the 4th and most hated Indiana jones movie and altered all copies of the original star wars to be his crappy special edition and edited versions and then destroyed the original prints so only these copies now exist. That’s a dick move.
George really hit the nail on the head at the end there. If a young George Lucas came to Hollywood TODAY and pitched his idea for a crazy, bizarre, ambitious, flash gordan tribute, with cowboys, samurais, and giant dogs that shoot lasers, he would be laughed out of town. Hollywood studios, and even a lot of filmmakers, don't want to see new things. Sequels, reboots, any established franchises are guaranteed money-makers. Why make anything new if it has a chance to fail? As a result, moviegoers today are paying to be appeased, but they will never be surprised. You can see this clear as day in the new Star Wars movie. Disney takes something they know is well-loved, and they do it again, sprinkling some of their own ideas on an established template. Say what you will about the prequels (I love them), but they weren't made to feed a hungry mob. They were made because Lucas loved his universe and wanted to explore it further, now that technology made it possible. He told a clear and concise story over 3 films and expanded on his universe. The world is better for having the Star Wars prequels. Bash the dialogue, bash the acting, bash the writing, but don't forget that we may never see a film series so ambitious, so entertaining, and so IMAGINATIVE. Thank you George Lucas!
you are exactly right,the big studios are far too conservative+rely on tried and tested formulas,to the detriment of cinema-only world+independent cinema seems to take risks-as for the prequels,all 3 have good parts but they all have serious flaws unrelated to the faults of modetn cinema-for all that we should be grateful to George for in creating this amazing universe IMO he overreached himself with the prequels and they suffered as a result
+Jared Pahl "Say what you will about the prequels (I love them), but they weren't made to feed a hungry mob."No, they were made to correct the mistakes of the prequels. Less be honest no matter how you feel about the prequels there is no denying that the Star Wars story had been undermined because of the existence of the prequels.
neosoontoretro No, there IS denying that, and I'll be the one to do it. The prequels introduced the world to an expanded Star Wars universe, and told a pretty compelling story about the downfall of Anakin Skywalker. Any "mistakes" were things like acting or dialogue; pretty minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things. On the whole, they were sprawling, epic, fun movies, packed to the brim with imagination and genuine passion.
+MonetaryReformForum I disagree because it doesn't take a lot of money to make good music. You can find good music anywhere ie. soundcloud. Movies are different because of the money invested in it, there will never be another good Star Wars movie
It's so sad that George has to explain this :( Being innovative and creatively focused should be central to Hollywood and all filmmakers. Reminds me of the Jodorowsky's Dune story... I'm hopeful Villeneuve will do the right thing.
George Lucas is great at treatments, I mean . . his ideas are excellent. That's why I'm kinda upset that Disney didn't adapt his treatments for episodes 7,8 & 9 and scrapped it. It's the execution and dialogue and pacing he messed up with the prequels, but the actual story about a slave child, who becomes a jedi, while the republic is manipulated by a sith lord posing as a senator was Shakespearean and could have been great if it was adapted properly.
+Jesse Hopkins I hope they really come to their senses and realize that for episode 8 and 9, they should create something new, and if you are a real starwars fan you would accept it, and if you don't you ate not a real fan, a lot of work are put into them, just like the prequels, George did something completely different, and I personally loved it.
+Jesse Hopkins Yes, because Rogue One, a Saving Private Ryan homage in the Star Wars universe, is NOT a huge risk?? lol. Disney went safe for the first movie because they wanted to bring back classic Star Wars nostalgia. I'll bet my bottom dollar the movies from here on out will be all risk. The new characters from Force Awakens are better than any "character" in all the prequels.
+Frank Tobin When you look at the characters themselves and forget about how they were acted, they were actually quite strong, and I noticed a LOT of things that other people didn't notice about Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. And so far, I'm digging Palpatine more than what I've seen of Snoke. In any case, I don't mind how Anakin was acted, and IMO (which is subjective) Padme and Obi-Wan were better acted and more complex than Han and Leia, and also more original and unique than Poe and Finn. Again, I've gone off of what I've seen thus far, and I'm judging based _purely_ off of how the characters are written and what we understand of them. I think that the main factor here is that J.J. Abrams has a sense of humor with a broader sense of appeal (I also liked Lucas's sense of humor, for the record, but J.J. directed the funniest movie thus far out of _all_ of the _Star Wars_ movies). Otherwise, Rey so far has been a possible Mary Sue, depending on how you look at her. Fortunately, she was charmingly acted, but so far the most interesting discussion that people have about her afterword isn't about her as a character, but about _other_ characters that she might be related to. My assumption is that they wanted this first film in a (presumably) new saga to be incredibly simple, before diving into a more complex and risky story that takes the characters in places we've never seen them before. Because it seems like you and I think the same way: we know how to spot the signs of a studio that's playing things out intelligently and according to a game plan. So yes, it's a retread, and that's a bit understandable. I think that their vision for this one was to start off simple before getting complex (which is how most great stories work; in fact it's the _only_ reason that I might show my kids the films in order of release). Personally, though, I sort of wish that they had taken a _little_ more initiative to make this particular installment unique. Most of the parallels with _A New Hope_ I was okay with, because I wanted the same sort of timeless simplicity. But Death Star III? Yes, I know it's called Starkiller Base, but in my mind it's Death Star III. Weren't there complaints about Death Star II? I think it was at that point where it became _too_ much like Episode IV. If there was one thing that I could have changed about this movie, it's that. I mean, they had enough subtle throwbacks already, and I think people would have been pleased either way, and this would have made a ton of money (perhaps more?) _regardless_, so I basically just groaned at the whole Death Star III plot point.
The prequels had story, I don't know what the hell you guys are smoking. The whole point of the prequels was to show what led to the original trilogy, and I think they did that. I could have gone without the over-use of CG, but I got the story, I got the answers I wanted, I saw the answers. George Lucas is absolutely right, original ideas hardly get made, and when they do it is with a very small budget-which means most of the money will be spent making the movie and not on marketing, so it won't get seen. Birdman, Whiplash, two of the best films I've seen within the last 10 years, and yet nobody really saw them, they hardly hung out in the theaters cause they couldn't afford to do that. Quentin Tarantino and David O' Russell are really the only directors working right now that can put on a story that is original and have people come and see it. I personally want to see what George Lucas had in mind for the new trilogy, all the ideas he pitched to Disney that they rejected. I imagine they were probably pretty risky and new, and that's the starwars I want to see. Loved the new starwars, but there were serious problems with the writing in some areas of the film.
+ZombieKilla Stale characters, forced dialogue, lazy storytelling, notoriously poor acting, and of course unnecessary use of CGI which removed me from the film were my complaints with the prequels. They just weren't fun. Everything seemed rigid.
Tanner Treadway The only actor I felt was actually poor in the prequels was Hayden. The dialogue was a bit iffy at times, but it did the job. I agree with the CG, just far too much of it.
Hayden did well in scenes that mattered, like the scene where Obi Wan leaves Anakin on Mustafar. He was given a lot of scenes that would have been better with improved story telling, like the grassy vacation with Padme in episode 2, in which supposedly Anakin was there to protect her from danger. Hayden didn't ruin Vader, Lucas did.
+ZombieKilla I love the prequels... I'm a old school fan, I saw Empire in the theaters for gods sake.. lol... but Ep 3 is still my favorite. It's a fucking masterpiece. Saw it 10 times in the theater.... full of emotional, powerful and epic storytelling. I love the originals and 7 as well... but emotional power of the rise of Vader will never be topped no matter how hard Kylo tries.. which in itself well be a interesting journey.
See, George here speaks the truth. Although they had their flaws, and they were executed far from perfectly, the prequels are an INCREDIBLE example of taking chances, and not being afraid to try something new. I also think that most of us will agree that the prequels got better as they want, proving that they learned from their mistakes.
Funny that should be your avatar given that George had nothing to do with the Expanded Universe wherre Thrawn was conceived and featured, said the EU did not exist in his mind and that everything ended at episode six. " I also think that most of us will agree that the prequels got better as they want, proving that they learned from their mistakes." Allow me to proudly be the fist to say, no they didn't...
"For some crazy reason, I just read this comment with Thrawn's voice from Rebels in my head lol" Yes and rebels is disney and the only media outside of books where thrawn has ever been featured...but now back to Disney not using the franchise properly.
@@mckenzie.latham91 I still think the only in star wars is episodes 1-6, so I'm with George on thos one haha. The legends/Disney stuff was pretty silly. Minus the Darth Krayt stuff and Luke creating his own order that didn't vanish in a year or two...
The prequels literally took no chances and didn’t do anything new are you serious first of all they literally were sequels to one of the largest and most profitable movie franchises of all time so much so that not only was Lucas given a blank check he was allowed all executive and sole director power over the film to the point he didn't have to have any collaboration like he did in the original trilogy. that’s not taking a chances... and what “new” thing did they do...start the practice of making movies 90% behind a green screen? If you listen to the actors in the interviews and documentaries they talk about how difficult and strange it was to interact with thin air and or green/blue screen 90% of the time... yeah over reliance on cgi, that’s been great for the movie industry hasn’t it?
Every time he says the words "not taking chances, lack of imagination and lack of creativity", I really feel that he's directing those words towards The Force Awakens. lol
+Sky Young I think the Force Awakens' borrowing of a story arc was a necessity. It is a reintroduction yet a continuation. I think there will be more taking chances in the next ones.
+Studio2770 . There was no need for a reintroduction. It's Star Wars. People of all ages know the movies. The Force Awakens, even though it is a good movie, was unimaginative and unoriginal. Lucas pretty much was talking about Episode VII. You noticed he said fans will love it but he is not in love with the movie at all. There is really nothing new about this movie.
+Jeron Cradle No they didn't and as much as I LOVED the movie, it's like the sat down and modified the script of A New Hope, Luke is replaced by Finn and Rey, she's poor wants to escape her desert-planet. Death star is the starkiller, Kylo ren is Darth Vader, millenium falcon, still using TIE fighters all those decades later, cantina scene.. creepy/messed up sith supreme leader/emperor... it goes on and on but I don't want to spoil... I bet they're really scared for the next one...they can't keep copying the original trilogy, I mean this one was a nice homage but the next one needs to be more original like Lucas said.
LMAO Epsiode 1 is NOT a "great" movie at all, that movie was beyond terrible. People have crapped on the prequels and lucas for years and now that disney has star wars, people are now whining against it and praising lucas as if he's a saint.
@killwill83 Star Wars isn't "played out" at all, it's a massive franchise that can easily be expanded upon from it's massive incredible potenial for storytelling. And lucas didn't want to retire "even richer", at all. He literally gave off the BILLIONS of dollars disney gave to him to charity and children's help funds. Not acknowledging that he did makes you look ridiculously ignorant of what lucas was doing. The main reason he sold disney star wars was because he was so demoralized from prequel backlash and hate that he lost any drive in himself so he gave it off to people that he hoped when have made it better for the fans and expand it. Don't be ignorant when you say crap like that, you only look bad yourself as you clearly don't know the facts of the situation.
@@Gadget-Walkmen "The main reason he sold disney star wars was because he was so demoralized from prequel backlash and hate that he lost any drive in himself” what a load of shit the prequels were massive financial successes, but were critically panned and or mixed, the backlash came from everyone including critics cause the films weren’t that great and massively plot holed which is funny because the prequels were where George flew solo and was not constrained by the need of collaboration with others like he had been in the original trilogy Again it is massively telling that anything George has touched that isn’t star wars related since has failed, flopped and or been critically panned and or despised *And lucas didn't want to retire "even richer", at all. He literally gave off the BILLIONS of dollars disney gave to him to charity and children's help funds.* If he didn’t want the money, then why charge Disney at all? why not just signs it over to them after all he already has billions he could have given to charity and children’s education sounds more like a calculated executive decision to garner some good PR and poltical will huh? oh wait what’s this *George [Lucas] opted for a half-cash, half-stock deal. Technically, the deal was 55 percent cash, 45 percent stock. The report states that this amounted to Lucas being paid approximately $2.21 billion in a cash transaction and 37,076,679 shares of the Walt Disney Company. With Disney stock trading at $50 per share at the time, this amounted to a monetary stock value of $1.85 billion.* *Clearly, Lucas came out of the Disney sale an even wealthier man than he was before. However, in the years since the transaction, Disney’s stock value has risen to $200 per share, ballooning the monetary value of Lucas’ owned stocks to $7.4 billion. Additionally, the report states that Disney has given Lucas quite the payout since the sale:* dorksideoftheforce.com/2021/03/12/george-lucas-disney-acquisition-10-billion/ Ah so he didn’t just get cash he also chose stock options s that he gets money off disney shares into star wars hmmm seems a bit more caving right now doesn’t it he could afford to give away 4 billion cause he made an additional 6 billion off his stock options with Disney
Dialectical Monist if its nominated, it really just proves how stupid the fanbase can be. Not all of them but most of them. The truth is, fans never wanted something new. They felt the prequels didn't feel like star wars because they weren't the old trilogy. Now with the force awakens, its exactly like episode 4 and people are saying that this is the best star wars since empire strikes back? please. Lucas's idea for 7,8,9 are the true chapter of the star wars. The true canon
+Rustin Cohle I like how when you ask people why they feel TFA was bad its usually one of two reasons: "it copied ANH" or "Rey is an overpowered character". These are good points, and though I love the movie, I understand these flaws. But this is the only thing they have against it. Using the same storyline from A New Hope doesn't make the film bad, it just means it lacked a lot of creativity it could've had. And the "unimaginative" part is garbage, there were tons of new and original things.
+Alucard BloodyVampir To be fair, Marvel's President was behind a lot of bad decisions in the MCU, but now that Kevin Feige reports directly to Disney, it looks like Civil War and other films may not have that problem.
Yeah is that why Lucas literally felt like he had to go back to the original trilogy update all the horrible cgi and special effects in, then destroyed/altered the final print and every other copy so only that special edition exists to this day? and let’s not forget the prequels where the majority of every scene was a green/blue screen and or cgi character where the actors literally have to mention in the interviews and making of documentaries that they were interacting 90% of the time with empty air behind a cgi screen. but yeah let’s hear george talk about how tools are not telling a story.
George Lucas is a risk taker. He makes the movies that are so unique that no one knows if they will work. And sometimes they do work and sometimes they don't for George. But the fact of the matter is, that risk taking allowed for a movie called Star Wars to be made.
Risk taker..yeah back in the 1970’s/1980’s pretty sure the prequels coming off of one of the most largest and most profitable movie franchises of all time was not a big risk for studios as for the idea af unique movies what else has he done? ...Lucas has done nothing after star wars and indianan jones (which was co chaired and directed/produced by Steven Spielberg) that has been critically accomplished and or not a flop. Hell Spielberg in the making of and documentaries for kingdom of the crystal skull (the only other Indiana jones film that is more hated by fans and critics then temple of doom) all but admits that George was the one who wanted to do the film, George insisted that it be about aliens, George was behind the idea of adding mutt and the idea of being a son, you know basically every element of the film that was hated and criticized... after that what else has he done outside of the two franchises he started in the 1970’s/80s and has costed on for this entire career afterwards...? red tails...flop, strange magic...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH also star wars the original trilogy had multiple collaborative efforts between lucas and the best of the crew and writers and directors etc. they all made the movie happen together...and the collaborative effort as well as the editing work done by his now ex wife was what saved A New Hope and made it actually viewable since it’s historically noted the original unedited cut was trash. So unlike the prequels where he had total and complete executive and creational control... and totally fragged his own lore and work in the originals.
@@mckenzie.latham91 Still more than what you will ever accomplish. Besides so what if everything flops. Coming up with the story of Star Wars is more than enough to create a genius.
@@kianvandenakker126 lol what risks he got a bigger budget then he had on any of the original films he had full creative control, he had full merchandising rights as usual and he basically was given full studio support, they didn’t even send their suits to micromanage like they do on most other films. if you watch the behind the scenes documentaries they make a point that he spent most of his directing time in a chair and or in front of a green screen/blue screen, so much so many of the other actors who are real actors, complained about having to interact with nothing for hours a day cause everything from set to characters was CGI.
@@harrygoodberg5624 "Still more than what you will ever accomplish.” Bingo, nailed it! you can tell when some loser uses this defense/distraction that you’re right on the money and totally correct "Besides so what if everything flops.” sort of points out that other factors may have contributed or been part of the original success doesn’t it... yes, yes it does. "Coming up with the story of Star Wars is more than enough to create a genius” Ah yes the flash gordon and kurosawaka films inspired story, yes george totally came up with everything on his own, no influences at all...
This could also be applied to a lot of the newer MCU entries, where the "tool" is the shared universe - many disney+ series feel more in a rush to introduce new characters for future shows than actually telling a story.
George, you can't write dialogue, direct actors, and use too much green screen - as proven by your prequel films. BUT, you have a strong cinematic vision - one of the strongest in all of cinema history, and I completely agree with what you're saying here. Cinema these days is all about sequels, reboots, superhero films, or an adaptation of a well known fantasy novel. Anyone very rarely takes a chance anymore, studios will just stick to the safest option. Where is the daring, risk taking, hunger for creativity in filmmakers these days?
+Crichjo32 Actually the Prequels used more set models than the Originals ever did, specifically Episode III. He did use quite a bit of CGI and maybe over did it here and there, but a lot of the Prequel's story couldn't be told with practical effects. I'd rather have a CGI Yoda fighting Dooku and Sidious than a silly outdated puppet. It makes it more believable and less ridiculous. The dialogue is debatable though it was more average than anything with some powerful moments. And believe it or not George actually DID try to get other people to direct the Prequels too but no one was willing to step up so he had to take it. For a man doing so much on all these movies as a writer, director, producer etc he did a stellar job. I applaud his efforts and greatly admire and respect the outcome of those efforts. He had flaws but I don't believe they destroy Star Wars. Other than that I agree with you lol!
+starwarsnerd16 your completely right!! People these days act like he was some sort of lazy basterd when he did the prequels, and it can't be farther from the truth. Lots of people worked really hard on those films and for channels like redletter media to say they were nothing but lazily slapped together heaps of garbage is incredibly disrespectful to George Lucas and all the people involved in making the PT. I think it's a real shame how people disrespect Lucas these days, did u hear what Simon Pegg said about the prequels? Way outta line and very unprofessional of him.
+Mackenzie Mitchell thanks!! Yes that really bugs me about the haters. They honestly think no effort was put into these when in reality Lucas had many sleepless nights working on trying to make these movies happen. And the actors worked hard too especially with the lightsaber fights. Yes I know what that prick said which is ironic considering his butthurt over people criticizing the Star Trek movie he was in directed by none other than JJ himself.
+Crichjo32 boards.theforce.net/threads/practical-effects-in-the-prequels-sets-pictures-models-etc.50017310/ the prequal CGI bashing is misplaced. Blue screens aren't always there for CGI, they are sometimes used to fill in backgrounds later with models/minitures. too bad many people will never see the hardwork put into them. honestly my only gripe with the prequels was the dialogue and some story/Plot elements.. and a certain gungan.
+starwarsnerd16 he couldnt find anyone to direct star wars films? the only possible reason for that would be george refusing to let go and let the new director direct,otherwise surely he'd have dozens of directors fighting for a go at the greatest franchise ever
What a guy.. I see a philosopher..This guy takes film making so seriously..I agree with everything he said on this interview.. Truly, Respect for this man..
+Dialectical Monist Thats because not as many movies are good or as unique as they were. A lot of what is successful now is simply a calculated, corporately-engineered remake of what was successful before, almost completely on the nose.The Force Awakens may have been extremely well-made by 2015 standards, but that doesn't mean that what made it well-made was not out of things Lucas had already did himself and more uniquely with the original trilogy.
Dialectical Monist Watch my 4 part review on the movie. It's on my channel. Watch the whole thing and then sit back and ask yourself.... "ok, was this really a good movie?".
***** A "good" movie, is ultimately, something that makes you FEEL something. This movie made me feel something. Despite the retreaded plot etc. None of that matters, as long as the movie makes you FEEL something. I felt humor, I felt exciting anticipation. I felt wonder for the world, and yes, of course nostalgia. But most of the nostalgia was for the fact that the FEEL of Star Wars is back. I didn't feel much danger for any of the characters, that is probably what your review is about, along with a hundred examples of how it is similar to something else, but I already know that.
What vision is that? The vision in 1977? The vision in 1981? The vision in 1997? The vision in 2004? Or the vision in 2011? Because according to George, the vision YOU are most likely referring to, the one from 1977 was lost and isn't available anymore to be preserved in higher definition.
actually without a good editor there would be no star was... the fist edit of the film is infamous for having been terrible until it was edited...and it wasn't Lucas who edited it. lucas would also not direct or write Empire ( one of the most beloved and greatest one) and only co-wrote Return but he did not direct that either.
"an enormous lack of imagination and fear of creativity on the part of an industry"….. Thank you George Lucas, that describes "The Force Awakens" and what Disney and Jar Jar Abrams did with Episode VII perfectly!
You know it's hilarious for someone to use “jar jar” as an insult when George Lucas was the one who created Jar jar and literally said he would be the funniest character the franchise had ever seen.
LOL Piss off with that nonsense. The Force awakens is a VERY fun and awesome movie. Just because it has a similar style to a new hope, it's still a fantastically fun movie to watch with great action, good humor, fantastic visuals, likable characters and amazing sequences. The movie DOES have imagination AND creativity, you're just too blind to see it. What JJ abrams and Disney did with force awakens was amazing but the other two movies, not so much. Also good job at using the term "jar jar" when LUCAS was the one who made the character up.
@@Gadget-Walkmen TFA is a shit movie, it undermines the OT, anakin’s redemption, the fall of the empire. The rebels defeated the empire but oh wait theyre back and stronger than before (somehow). Anakin defeated the sith and brought balance but OH WAIT the dark side is still here and they are still making a dark side empire. Episode 9 makes it worse by not just having the dark side be back but also the guy anakin killed. It retcons anakin being the chosen one cuz theres no balance in the force all of a sudden. When the sith empire fell and the republic succeeded, it took a thousand years for the sith to get back at them. The sith didnt conquer the republic but used its corruption to their advantage. In the sequels just 30 years later the empire is just back and stronger than before. There is no republic fleet, just a band of rebels that makes no sense, why isnt leia an admiral or chancellor of the republic, why is she running this garbage rebel operation? Why is luke hiding? The old EU was much better. It showed how a republic would come back, the extended version of the empire’s fall, how luke made a better jedi order etc. TFA throws this all out the window
@@masterdeetectiv9520 Are you for real? Once again, this comment proves that Star Wars fans are just a bunch of complaining people who can’t stop talking nonsense every chance they get. The force awakens is NOT a “mOvIe” in the slightest. You’ve lose every credibility that you have the moment you said that nonsensical statement outright off the bat, nice going slick. Don’t ever make a movie as you’ve proven you don’t understand what makes entertaining in the slightest if you EVER would think that Force Awakens, one of the most FUNEST and engaging blockbuster movies ever that reached critical praise and world wide positive responses, is even close to “mOvIe” in ANY way, lol just stop talking as everyone knows that’s not true at all, Thanks for proving once again that Star Wars fans say this nonsense again and again for every Star Wars movie and media that comes out. People like you are out of it that should never be taken seriously as the world of force awakens is FAR from “tHrOwN iNto tHe dIsPoSal” lol not even close. Only in your dreams. It doesn’t “undermine” the original trilogy at all expect for the prequels and that mainly because of prequel backlash. And most people don’t care about this “Anakin’s redemption” in the slightest NOR was it EVER “uNderMinEd” because all that mattered was that Vader saved his son from the emperor and redeemed himself at the end, that’s literally it. None of this none of this nonsense that you seem to be badly hammering about which doesn’t matter AT ALL so just stop with this nonsense about “sOmEhOw” and “oH wAit” as you’re not proving anything at all here. The fall of the empire was FAR from being “unDerMiNes” lol not even close, just stop, The empire being defeated by the rebels and coming back stronger than before is literally no different from how Germany lost in WW1 and came back stronger than ever when the nazis came to power and made Germany even more powerful for WW2. If that can happen in real life, that can EASILY happen in a space fantasy universe. Just stop with this nonsense thinking it’s not. This whole “balance in the force” nonsense means absolutely nothing at all, just stop acting like it EVER did as it was always clear that dark side sith were ALWAYS going to come back. There is no “rEcTonS” (lol you people LOVE using that word, huh?) The dark side was ALWAYS going to come back inevitably in the sequels, your out of your mind if you think this “bring balance to the force” means no more sith forever than your out of your mind as they were ALWAYS going to come back. NOT EVEN George Lucas, you know; the guy who came up with that prophecy, kept to his own rules as his sequel plans still had the dark side alive with the sith running about. Episode 9 should not have brought back palpatine, but mainly be it doesn’t make any sense as he died once already. Not for any of this “balance” nonsense you people wrongfully believe without thinking it through. No one cares about the sith empire here, move on as the rules can be whatever in this space universe on how long it takes for whatever can be done as what you’re saying is just EU that’s not canon at all. And as I said, it’s a space fantasy universe, it can do whatever it wants even faster than ever that not tied to reality. And do you really believe think it’s hard to believe that the empire can come back stronger than ever in just 30 years? Lol are you for real? It took 200 years for the Roman Empire to fall due to so many people scrambling for power even after the emperor and the main capital fell as Division happened quickly but the empire Itself was still intact from have a massive widespread influence. Nothing about an empire coming back into power after 30 years is hard to believe at all and as I said, ESPECIALLY in a space fantasy. There is no “republic fleet” because unfortunately they didn’t want to have any callbacks to the prequel era due to incredible backlash. And having a band of rebels DOES make sense as getting people to fight back against oppressors isn’t hard to do at all so just stop with this “mAkEs nO sEnSe” as THAT claim makes no sense. You’re over here trying to think that the everything in the original timeline of Star Wars makes sense when there’s a ton of stuff in the prequels doesn’t make any sense at all that people have been throwing dirt at for years on end for “ruining the saga” and here you thinking that all of a sudden people care about any of that stuff? Lol what a laugh. Why isn’t leia “an admiral or chancellor of the republic”, lol you don’t become an “admiral” for the republic like that and her becoming “chancellor” isn’t her defined role And it’s NOT a “ ” rebel operation at all as it’s the force that’s going directly against the new empire who are the aggressors, that should be obvious onto why she’s “running it”. And the main reason for why there’s not mention of the high politics in the force awakens is because still hated the prequels in a large scale, even to this day, to the point where they didn’t want any mention of them at all, which is unfortunate. And why is Luke hiding? We get the answer in the last Jedi and it’s really bad reason which I’m sure the makers of first awakens did not plan out at all. Yes I’m sure the old “EU” was better but that was done in the “eu” NOT in the mainline movies that people didn’t know or care about at all which inevitably? By Lucas himself or Disney, the new sequel movies would have been different than whatever EU book out there. I’m not saying there aren’t any scattered issues with the force awakens because I still have my own, but the positives FAR outweighs the negatives to be a highly engaging entertaining movie incredibly so! The force awakens HARDLY “tHroWs tHis ouT tHe WidOw” at all as Force Awakens is more considered about making an entertaining movie that’s fun for the audience and a bunch of people to familiar on Star Wars back again as the fandom was still spiteful against the things that Lucas has done so the start of the sequel would have been something that brought Star Wars back to life again for most audiences and it HAS done that which why a lot of people go back and rewatch the force awakens over and over again. As a film it’s WAY more than just “alright”, the force awakens is a FUN Star Wars film full of life with great action, likable characters with PERSONALITY, fantastic visuals and special effects for character/creature/world design, gorgeous cinematography, and good humor. Things that were DESPERATELY needed for a Star Wars film in a while. And force awakens and rogue one does these things pretty amazingly well. As a sequel, it’s arguably not good at expanding the world but that’s all right as it’s more important to have a fun and enjoyable film which it does, and it mainly goes that way to not to be to different because of the prequel resentment so they wanted to go back to familiar ground that people can be accustomed too. But it’s not at all “ ” and you saying SHOWS that you don’t know anything about filmmaking at all here and how to make a movie in the slightest as it’s a safe start off to the next saga of films to come. That should obvious but you can’t see that. I’m not a fan of the sequel trilogy at all as I hate last Jedi and didn’t even watch rise of skywalker but you people are so blind with hate against them that you say nonsensical statements that are clearly not true when they DO have positive aspects to them which is alot. Just get out of here with your nonsense.
Alec Guiness said it in an interview in 1977: "It brings some kind of freshness." And that was the main reason for the sucess of SW. Before it. Science fiction was either low budget crap or highly philosophical arthouse or low budget highly philosophical arthouse-crap. Star Wars was the first who made an epic tale of fantasy and brought it into space. It was the beginning of Space Opera with a good effect-budget.
@@mckenzie.latham91 No, Alec Guiness was one of britains finest actors and already had a very long carrer. A Victim of typecasting was more Marc Hammil, who never got rid of his Skywalker image.
@@orlandofurioso7329 Although, I think Carrie Fisher probably saw herself as more of a writer than an actor, hence the latter half of her career writing screenplays and novels.
I think he realizes he's guilty of some of the things he's talking about. He's a great man with a great cinematic vision. The world will forever be in his debt for Star Wars. Thank you.
Yeah until he admits it, it just sounds like hypocrisy and circle jerking. Again if he wanted to keep the “franchise alive” and creative maybe he should have done something with it other than selling it off for 4 billion dollars Again for someone who loves story so much, lucas literally shat on and downplayed the expanded universe which literally was one of the biggest recruiters of new fans and or kept interest in star wars and kept a big paycheck coming into luca’s pocket every week.
Someone needs to tell george that Lucas literally went back to the original trilogy updated it with all the horrible cgi and special effects that he wanted to be in the vote but never had the technology or budget to do so then destroyed/altered the final print and every other copy so only that special edition exists to this day... and let’s not forget the prequels where the majority of every scene was a green/blue screen and or cgi character where the actors literally have to mention in the interviews and making of documentaries that they were interacting 90% of the time with empty air behind a cgi screen. but yeah let’s hear george talk about how tools are not telling a story.
@@hiranmaydas4921 No he meant cgi and stuff , he even refers to cgi and special effects in one scene when talking about how those enhance a story but cannot replace story and character
Such a genius that once he’s no longer bae to coast off of star wars and Indiana jones that he hasn’t;t had any commercial and or actual success in anything he’s done since? Yeah the guy who wrote strange magic and based it off a midnight summer’s dream, is really a creative and unique genius who has the right to criticize other people for lack of creativity.
@@stitchyboy-co2ju His own friends like Francis Ford Coppla have said that Lucas could've been a great director but he allowed Star Wars to consume his life and he cared more about the money from merchandise than making movies. Return of the Jedi was a much different, darker movie. Han died, it wasn't a happy ending. Lucas refused to allow it because he said these were movies for kids, fairytales. Good guys cant die. Writer Lawrence Kasdan wasnt happy with this. His own producer and Harrison Ford criticized him for this because he was worried a darker movie, dead Han would hurt merchandise sales. This was a huge reason Ford held a grudge for many years with SW. Even his own cast have criticized him as a director. Ford and Hamil have said he wasnt a good director. Anthony Daniels praised JJ Abrams as a director over Lucas. Hamill once told a story about Lucas as a director. He went to Lucas to discuss a scene. Asked him how he should play Luke in the scene, what were his emotions. Lucas told him we will discuss it after we shoot the scene! Lucas is a great storyteller. Star Wars though was brought to life by MANY people, not just Lucas. It was his idea but took many brilliant minds to create that film. Lawrence Kasdan wrote Empire, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark. He was vital to those films success. Consider The Empire Strikes Back. Lawrence Kasdan wrote that script. Irvin Kershner directed the movie. It's hailed as the best of the franchise and had the least interference by Lucas on set. Kershner and Kasdan even overruled Lucas on decisions. Most notable the "I Love you, I know" scene. Lucas hated it. He said it should be I love you, I love you too. It wasnt until a screening before it's release that Lucas saw how people responded that he allowed it. Just something as simple as that, which became one of the most iconic lines in any SW movie.
I couldn't agree more Mr. Lucas. Thank you for episodes 1-6. Fan boy know it alls hated episodes 1-3 and say the films lacked heart and criticize the political aspect of the films but I didn't mind because politics play a huge part in every day real life. Thank you for inspiring me and teaching me to dream. Thank you for teaching me the consequences of choosing the wrong path. Most importantly, thank you for teaching me that it takes courage and self belief to do what's right and accomplish my goals. May the Force be with you always
This aired on public broad cast stations on Christmas night of 2015. I really enjoyed watching the tail end of this program and glad i can see the entire thing here on YT. Very interesting interview.
He is absolutely right on his criticism of the industry when it comes to being overly cautious. Movies today either have to come from a marquee creator or be based on another property. Sony has their third Spider-Man. We've gone through a couple Supermen, we're on our second Batman. The MCU films are going into lower and lower tier heroes. We're doing a sequel to Kindergarten Cop and a remake of Point Break and Total Recall. A director like Lucas or Tarantino would have trouble gaining a foothold. Who would take a chance on Reservoir Dogs or American Graffiti today?
While I recognize the faults of the prequels, I've gained a new respect for them after seeing Episode 7. Episode 7 was a safe bet, Disney took no risks with a new interesting story and instead just recycled a story that had already proven successful. Personally I think the prequels were bad movies, but I would rather have more failed attempts at something new and innovative than just seeing Original Trilogy 2.0.
The prequels were the safest bet of all time they literally came off one of the largest and sot profitable movie franchises of all time so much so that lucas was allowed and given total creative and executive oversight/control over the films, unlike the original trilogy where he had to collaborate and work with multiple people and different points of views. Nothing innovative and or new about them, other than starting the practice of making movies 90-95% with green/blue screen and cgi The story is actually very cliche to the point it’s a Romeo and Juliet tragedy rip off...
there is one thing to fail miserably and one thing to fail unsuccessfully now the prequels well it wasn't the best but brought an interesting vision to star wars but failed unsuccessfully. now the sequels failed miserably because there was no vision or effort in creating a new film. so I would rather see Disney fail unsuccessfully than miserably. but they still fail miserably to this day.
BlackRaven In the prequels VFX was driving the movie more than the story. Entire scenes existed because they "look cool" not because the story required them. Sure there was a story about Anakin turning into Darth Vader, but it was weak, and poorly executed on many levels.
+quest 8899 u r a stupid fux 2 disney threw the real story in the trash and just winged it to make money the story is what its all about about that is what hes saying....... he is a sell out tho but fux u fux disney
+Carl Johnson Wow, calling people stupid on an internet message board when you can't even spell or put a coherent sentence together.. An interesting choice there. I'm guessing your parents don't have one of those "Honor Roll Student On Board!" on their cars, huh?
+deckard163 As upset as I am that he sold it, he did it to wash his hands clean of Star Wars fans. Why would he continue when half the fans don't understand the damn franchise and continue to chastise him? Star Wars isn't about space ships or Han Solo it's a Skywalker legacy. The fans wanted more of the same and Lucas proved with the prequels he wanted to tell a unique and original story. People didn't want change and were riding off nostalgia. So giving the franchise to Disney, they're going to get exactly what they want. More of shit like TFA. More references and wink wink nudge nudge.
MrCaine you're not wrong, I love Star Wars but I hate the fans they're a bunch of entitled brats! I don't blame Lucas for selling, just wish he didn't. -Pat
The stories for IV - VI were just perfect! Only for that, i will be thankful to him as long as i live. I am not so happy with I - III but there are still amazing movies (special effects and background story). I would have loved if he had written the scrips for the new ones....
George is right. At the end of the day, Star Wars is about the Skywalker family drama. Even if the sequels do have it, the real focus was on recycled plots, reused ships, and member-berries. Oh, and not to mention their boner for “real sets and practical effects”
Boba Fett If you think that TFA was disappointing then you are not worthy of your awesome username. TFA was fucking awesome and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. I will also fight anyone who says the Prequels are the worst movies ever (They aren't great but still very entertaining) and I will fight anyone who insults George Lucas, he may not be a great director/writer but at least he had an amazing, imaginative and original cinematic vision that a lot of directors are lacking today (Not all of them but certainly a lot of them.
In terms of overall vision, George Lucas is a genius. I think that when he made American Graffiti and more so on Star Wars, he was limited at what he could do. Therefore he had to focus on having stronger other elements of the film. As technologies grew, and as marketing changed, I believe that the growing ease in some areas of moviemaking, due to increasing technologies (CGI, etc), helped George to be less stringent in other areas. I think he is better when he is limited. Also, the Ewoks and other elements were added for marketing and toys, as opposed to plot and storytelling. It really started in ESB but they pulled it off with Yoda. George started to cross the line in ROTJ with Jabbas palace and all the Ewoks.
The success of Star Wars also prevented Lucas from pursuing his directorial ambitions for changing the medium. Hard to say if it was for better or worse. In the future all we got from Lucas as director was Radioland Murders, and Red Tails. He changed the technology and the mechanical process of making movies, but not much the language and grammar of film.
He forgot to say that Aliens was a spaceship movie that came after Star Wars that was good. And, yes, just like Star Wars - or Red Dwarf - space is often not seen. Space is not the main story/issue/even aesthetic- it is one of several backdrops.
Lucas is right in nearly everything he says here. Star Wars is most certainly about more than battles in space. There are deep psychological and mythological themes that touch poignantly on what it means to be human. There are also great characters, an amazing journey, mystery, real humor, and all of it anchored by the unfolding of an emotional family drama. It's spectacular! Whether or not the critics got that, from the beginning the fans were locked into it and got it right away. So, my question for Lucas in response to this would be: where were those psychological and mythological themes in the prequels? Where are the great characters, the amazing journey, the mystery, the real humor, or the emotion and drama? He's also right that the technology (particularly the digital technology) got employed in the service of some truly awful films. People forgot, as he said, that these are tools which exist to help you tell a story. They're not a substitute for a great story. He's right! And again, my question would be: Why did you abuse the technology in making those three ghastly prequel films, which seem to exist ONLY to showcase new digital effects and which lack the great story? He also rightly chastises the American film industry for lacking originality and playing it safe for the sake of huge profits, though the charge of greed always rings a bit hollow coming from a multi-billionaire. Where he is wrong, of course, is saying that Star Wars "came from nowhere." Come on, George! That movie owes debts to Flash Gordon, to Akira Kurosawa, to Joseph Campbell, and so on... You created a monumental cinematic universe, unparalleled in its scope and imaginative reach, but it wasn't invented 'ex nihilo.' It is so odd to me, given how guilty you are of all the things you complain about in this clip, that you're so self-righteous and self-unaware. Truly bizarre. Then again, when you're a multi-billionaire surrounded by sycophants and yes-men I guess you can pay to live in whatever deluded universe you like. Speaking as a lifelong fan of Star Wars, I'm grateful for your vision and tenacity and innovation, and I'm equally grateful that you're no longer responsible for making Star Wars films!!
George Lucas gave us Star Wars. I love the guy for that. He helped influence his special effects crew to create new tools for movie making and story telling. Episode IV was probably so good because he struggled to make it. He had so many limitations to work with. He actually had to check himself into a hospital because of the stress. Episode V was even better because Irving Kirshner directed it and Lawrence Kasdan(Raiders of the Lost Ark) wrote it. Some key scenes were even rewritten after they found the dialogue to be unnatural. Return of the Jedi 's only flaws were Ewoks and a Second Death Start, but Luke saving his father was the main focus of the story and that is powerful.
Goddamn the originals were for kids then they grew up and saw prequels, those were meant for the next generation. When I was young when they came out I loved them and liked them more then the originals. People hate him because movies that weren't made for that generation came out
Nah it was actually because of the Ot fanboys that were an actual minority that made a huge fuzz and started to harass people who liked the Prequels, and some people got brainwashed by that
Yeah meanwhile with the prequels watch the cast in interviews where they talk bout how difficult and strange it was to spend 90% of the film talking to nothing but air in front of blue and or green screens since the majority of the film was cgi and computer generated.
Everyone here in the comments hating on George and the prequels needs to shut the fuck up about them being horrible and a CGI fest. Yes there is a lot of it and the dialogue may not be great, but there is a story behind the 3 films: the downfall of the Jedi, Republic and Anakin, and the rise of the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader. Yes George may sound hypocritical in this interview, but ya know what? he learned his lesson about abusing technology. He probably wouldn't use as much CGI if he was still doing Star Wars today.
there's no such thing as an "original idea". everything is inspired by something. the original trilogy, as great as they are, took a lot of stuff from old westerns, samurai films, movie serials, and silent movies. what makes a film great are the characters, story arcs, and how they end up affecting the audience. I'd prefer to see a film based on something pre-existing that's well written, well made, and well acted, then something that's a completely original concept that's not as realized as the filmmaker intended.
+arthousefanatic Check out the monomyth theory by Joseph Campbell. It is what made the original trilogy so great. George Lucas used the monomyth as a blueprint for his first three movies. (Later he just tried using CGI and greenscreen and that failed miserably.) Ironically, JJ Abrams followed the monomyth once again. Result: we loved it. ps: Lucas tried to follow it too, but he got side tracked by pointless jibbering.
Coming from the guy who abused CGI for the prequels, which quit literally had no substance in terms of story, character depth, dialogue etc. At least it sounds like he learned his lesson.
+SwampyTV He's talking about a fear of creativity and trying new things, and while the prequels were far from good, they tried something new, at least where the Star Wars universe is concerned.
Indeed. The prequels werent that enjoyable but they still greatly expanded the universe. They did lack a compelling story though. So maybe George s point about 'you can't just have space battles without a story' also applies to 'you cant just create a rich universe without a story'
after seeing the force awakens I realized how much I missed this guy.. ya he's a poor director but he is a fantastic story teller that always tries new things, unlike most movies these days.
@@mr.z6776 poor director or not Star Wars 1977 is one of my favourite films ever made and has inspired millions of people for decades. Quite the accomplishment for a so-called poor director.
wow. Lucas's response really sums it up: If he could take-back his selling of Star Wars to Disney....he would. You can tell that he's CLEARLY not happy with the bland, non-chance taking direction that Jar Jar Abrams took.
Um yeah, he’s totally willing to give back 4 billion dollars lol if Lucas wanted the franchise to go somewhere he should have done something with it rather than let it fester for 10 years before selling it for billions also funny how you use jar jar as an insult given that George was the creator of jar jar and literally thought he was the funniest character the franchise had ever produced..
George is a genius, his philosophies are brilliant and his stories are revolutionary. Despite the fact that The Phantom Menace and the other prequels are almost unwatchable, the core story of ego being the downfall of society is not only amazing but politically relevant today. Well done Mr Lucas, we love you.
and as i continue to watch he says the cgi was abused but re does all his old movies with no cgi and makes it impossible to buy the original? no wonder this dude is hated
+unholychunk its the way he basically says 'fuck you' to the fans who loved him and made star wars famous in the first place that angers me above anything! He talks like the fans mean nothing at all to the franchise! He comes across as so pessimistic and ungrateful to the people who helped make him become one of the richest men in the world!
Yeah. after all the George bashing from the prequels I don't blame him. so he updated the originals. who cares. they look shit! I still have my vhs copies and the SFX, by today's standards is very bad. you can literally see the pasted on frames of the tie fighters n falcon. So he added a scene he had to take out with Jabba. and a ewoke blinks. still love those movies though. ..still do. and still think Lucas has been treated like complete shit. I was in the music industry for 20 years. All the big bands, all had a thing about the fans. calling them the Enemy. know why? They only want what they want. go to any show, you'll only want to hear the songs you want. the shit the band's played for 30 years. they play a new one. .."boooo"! Fans can be awful. and sw fans are the worst!
Idk one scene I saw there was a giant alien who looks so out of place and even blocks the camera view. But if you're going to do that why not also make the original available? Imagine if every 10 years jd Salinger decided to re write certain chapters or scenes. It wouldn't be the same.
OSheaHandMade mate it wasnt until the prequels came out the fans seriously turned against him! the prequels were his responsibility as were the special editions and if yo make a bad film you get called out on it, just like if you make a good film you get praised for it. N the reason those prequels are hated is because they are bad films, actual bad films! Im with the fans on this one, not george lucas! Those prequels came across like a genuine 'i dont care about those who got me success in the first place' whereas the newer ones you hear kathleen kennedy say 'the biggest thing about star wars is the fans'
what makes you think Lucas owes you in the first place? This is what always irritates me like, is that fans can be so indignant, and selfish. Lucas made the film's for him. Just like I write a song, draw or whatever I do. I do it because I had an idea. loads of bad films made. LOADS. and the directors are hardly given shit for it. it's only the directors with a fan base of nutters. Kubrick and the Shining was a good example. as is Lucas. bad movies? fine. rate it as bad. but why shit all over the guy? that's my issue. leave him alone. he gave far more than fans deserved. and he had every right to take it away and say feck off with ye.... just saying like...
despite the shitty prequels, lucas did create a really good story in them (he just didnt make the movies properly) when u think about it. luke's dad was a slave who became a jedi, anakin turning to the dark side to save his true love, the jedi order being slaughter by the very troops they fight alongside with, or yoda having his old padawan fight against him.
How I described The Force Awakens. Lack of imagination and creativity. Just make a carbon copy of Episode IV to make fans salivate and crack open their wallets.
+chiangui24 You're a fucking moron. Everyone that worked on the film was really exited to be in it and J.J.Abrams is actually a huge Star Wars fan himself. It was a good film anyway, especially when you compare it to the prequels.
As an independent director, I'm just afraid that my ideas don't go the "money way" studio I might send my screenplays to want to get. That's actually why I haven't really seriously started a project yet.
"What happens when theres something new, people have a tendency to overdo it, they abuse it." I take it he hasn't seen his prequel movies which were wall to wall cg in virtually every single scene?
I honestly beleive that, even though there was money to gain, Disney did very well in “The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One”. However, they became money hungry and said to hell with Lucas and just thought the story didnt matter.
Um lucas was the one who became money hungry since he literally sold Disney all the rights and ownership of star wars for 4 billion dollars. Lucas was not even involved in the force awakens and or rogue one either...
George Lucas did 2 great things in his career (to date), 1 he made star wars...2 he sold it,...the force awakens is the best star wars film since empire strikes back,. Its got better dialogue, script writing , and direction than anything Lucas did and its not drowned in horrible CGI,....good storyteller, but I'm glad someone else is actually making these now.
I have to agree with everything he says. But the sad thing is that sometimes it's not fear of imagination but lack of it. Nowadays every idea has been thought of so it's hard to come up with an original idea that hasn't been done before.
Please come back Mr Lucas, as a consultant or something like that. However you really created something special, it is more obvious now than ever before.
He's pissed that Disney didn't use his script, Finn not the same race as Jango, No Mention of Midichlorians, No Boring Political Debates, No Racially Offensive comic relief(AKA Spiritual Successor to Jar Jar).
+Conrado Javier Storm Troopers aren't clones, so no he would not be pissed. If you follow the theories on who Snoke is (Darth Plageius) then midichlorians makes sense because Darth Plageius could create life and it could be revealed he created Anakin and survived beyond death. The political debates is boring but at least gave some substance beyond a binary opposition of good vs bad plot. Have you not seen the hate Finn has been getting? The black community has been very vocal regarding the use of his character ( saying Disney mislead them into thinking he is a jedi) and by making him a coward and using comic relief (ie the scene he talks to Captain Phasma going, "I'm in charge! YEAH! WOO!"..).
Still to this day I will forever be sad he sold his rights to Disney.. imagine if we got the sequels from his point of view and not some random directors hired by Disney
We did get the sequels from his point of view...they're called the prequels and they still suck. Ironic to complain about people having no creative and or dedication to story when the only thing you’ve done with the franchise in decades is sell it for 4 billion dollars.... again lucas was totally against the expanded universe, everything from the force unleashed, the clone wars, rebels, the mandalorian and etc all would never have come from, and didn't come from lucas, but from others lucas is on record saying as far as he was concerned episode 1-6 was where star wars ended and should have ended so fuck that notion of him doing anything with the franchise...
Lucas nails it. The mindset now in the film industry is, how do we make money? How do we fill this story to make as many films as possible? Back then in the OT and even the Prequels, Lucas had so much to tell about his universe that he felt the need of making 6 movies. It wasn't the other way around. And despite its flaws, you can tell the Prequels were made with care and by someone who knew and cared about the franchise. Disney looks to take advantage of SW irregardless of the story telling, just to make toys, silly characters and liberal agenda.
Most everyone likes their COMFORT ZONE. CHANGE and FEAR go hand in hand. When you change you grow. One thing about change, you either embrace it or it will be forced upon YOU!
hate or love him, Lucas is right and I can understand his frustration even though I can only say from an artists/fantasy/fictional point of view it is extremely difficult to try and create something to please people unless you have the talent and can apply it to their demands. I don't blame Lucas.
Yeah the guy who wrote strange magic and based it off a midnight summer’s dream, is really a creative and unique genius who has the right to criticize other people for lack of creativity.
@@Lumosnight some elements of it were i liked the casting myself, great choices but the film is not that well written, the plot is lacking a bit, it’s cringe as hell and as stated it was a bomb and massively panned by critics and audiences a like. Also as stated lucas based the basis of the plot off a Shakespeare pay just like he based star wars off of Japanese samurai films and flash gordon he has no right to call out other people for lacking creativity.
@@mckenzie.latham91 there is no such thing as a purely original idea, everything created has been inspired or built on something else. What I really liked about Strange Magic was that the main villain and heroine fall in love. It is very loosely based on Shakespeare’s Midsummers Night Dream, but only because there are fairies involved and a love plot, and that’s it. This movie is quite original, you should actually read on Wikipedia about Shakespeare’s play. You’ll see it is quite different.
The downside of this clip is that Charlie Rose's voice is on the right channel and George Lucas's voice is on the left channel, even though Charlie is sitting on the left and George on the right. Anyone else notice that?
You Where the Best George Lucas. I will miss your Creativity. I will take The Phantom Menece any day than Disney The Force Awakens Copy and Paste A New Hope. I thought the Star Wars Story took place in a Galaxy Far Far Away. Not A Galaxy close by. I dont watch Star Wars for Feminism or Mocking Religious Beliefs with Crossswords and Knights of Ren. If Jar Jar Abrams Hates Christianity he can say it out loud and not put it in The Force Awakens.
+Lars Lindh I'm surprised the black hero didn't get a mention in your backwater-bible-basher rant. ROFL at "crosswords". I see your beef is against literacy as well!
"Lack of imagination"
"Fear of creativity"
Disney's Star Wars in a nutshell.
Isn’t this the same guy who said the expanded universe (one of the biggest sources of new fans and continued interest in star wars) was a joke and didn't exist in his lexicon...meanwhile he kept cashing in the massive cheques it brought him?
so clone wars, rebels, battlefront, all those video games, comics etc, that would never have existed had lucas been in charge
@@mckenzie.latham91 he and filoni made the clone wars and he gave us the best battlefront games that will ever be made. Rebels sucks on top of that
@@anakinskywalker921 Once again Lucas was the executive producer of the clone wars series
meaning he basically was the financier and oversaw production (if even that)
he is not credited with story, directing, script writing and or anything else, other than franchise creator
Also the battlefront games (the ones from 2004-2013) weren’t even made by Lucas film, they were made by Pandemic for Lucas film
Lucas film was merely the publisher of the game from 2004-2013 before EA took over
as such lucas has no credits on battlefront (2004) or its sequel at all...
@@mckenzie.latham91 well either way Star Wars was better under him, better games better shows better movies
@@anakinskywalker921 Once again he had little if any connection to the games,
the prequels still suck ass no matter how many anti-sjw’s want to try and pretend otherwise
and most of the EU, comics and games had nothing to do with Lucas at all other than he had his name automatically posted on everything.
So the idea of them being better under him is bullshit from the get go, the only thing they have in connection is the fact that he had his name atomically put n top because he was the original franchise creator
his actual work and or connection to most of those preterites was non existent and or limited.
He also is the one responsible for the 4th and most hated Indiana jones movie and altered all copies of the original star wars to be his crappy special edition and edited versions and then destroyed the original prints so only these copies now exist.
That’s a dick move.
George really hit the nail on the head at the end there. If a young George Lucas came to Hollywood TODAY and pitched his idea for a crazy, bizarre, ambitious, flash gordan tribute, with cowboys, samurais, and giant dogs that shoot lasers, he would be laughed out of town. Hollywood studios, and even a lot of filmmakers, don't want to see new things. Sequels, reboots, any established franchises are guaranteed money-makers. Why make anything new if it has a chance to fail? As a result, moviegoers today are paying to be appeased, but they will never be surprised.
You can see this clear as day in the new Star Wars movie. Disney takes something they know is well-loved, and they do it again, sprinkling some of their own ideas on an established template. Say what you will about the prequels (I love them), but they weren't made to feed a hungry mob. They were made because Lucas loved his universe and wanted to explore it further, now that technology made it possible. He told a clear and concise story over 3 films and expanded on his universe. The world is better for having the Star Wars prequels. Bash the dialogue, bash the acting, bash the writing, but don't forget that we may never see a film series so ambitious, so entertaining, and so IMAGINATIVE. Thank you George Lucas!
you are exactly right,the big studios are far too conservative+rely on tried and tested formulas,to the detriment of cinema-only world+independent cinema seems to take risks-as for the prequels,all 3 have good parts but they all have serious flaws unrelated to the faults of modetn cinema-for all that we should be grateful to George for in creating this amazing universe IMO he overreached himself with the prequels and they suffered as a result
+Jared Pahl It seems that if you want to create a new IP, write a novel. I'm 100% in agreement with you. Sarcasm free zone
+Jared Pahl "Say what you will about the prequels (I love them), but they weren't made to feed a hungry mob."No, they were made to correct the mistakes of the prequels. Less be honest no matter how you feel about the prequels there is no denying that the Star Wars story had been undermined because of the existence of the prequels.
neosoontoretro No, there IS denying that, and I'll be the one to do it. The prequels introduced the world to an expanded Star Wars universe, and told a pretty compelling story about the downfall of Anakin Skywalker. Any "mistakes" were things like acting or dialogue; pretty minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things. On the whole, they were sprawling, epic, fun movies, packed to the brim with imagination and genuine passion.
neosoontoretro Are you serious? I'm blocking you.
The music industry has become the same way.
+MonetaryReformForum Wonderful, yet sad, comment
+MonetaryReformForum "When something's original and is popular, it becomes a product". - Marilyn Manson
+MonetaryReformForum Not if you reject the music industry and listen to indie label music.
+MonetaryReformForum The music industry died when the '80s ended.
+MonetaryReformForum I disagree because it doesn't take a lot of money to make good music. You can find good music anywhere ie. soundcloud. Movies are different because of the money invested in it, there will never be another good Star Wars movie
It's so sad that George has to explain this :(
Being innovative and creatively focused should be central to Hollywood and all filmmakers.
Reminds me of the Jodorowsky's Dune story... I'm hopeful Villeneuve will do the right thing.
ok dude just keep making skyrim episodes
Didn't expect to see Will here
Wow surprised to see a youtuber I watch’s comment
corndrinker
You told him big boss. Nobody mess with this guy.
But then, they wouldn't make _money_ ! xD
George Lucas is great at treatments, I mean . . his ideas are excellent. That's why I'm kinda upset that Disney didn't adapt his treatments for episodes 7,8 & 9 and scrapped it. It's the execution and dialogue and pacing he messed up with the prequels, but the actual story about a slave child, who becomes a jedi, while the republic is manipulated by a sith lord posing as a senator was Shakespearean and could have been great if it was adapted properly.
+Jesse Hopkins I hope they really come to their senses and realize that for episode 8 and 9, they should create something new, and if you are a real starwars fan you would accept it, and if you don't you ate not a real fan, a lot of work are put into them, just like the prequels, George did something completely different, and I personally loved it.
+Jesse Hopkins Said no one ever
+Jesse Hopkins Yes, because Rogue One, a Saving Private Ryan homage in the Star Wars universe, is NOT a huge risk?? lol. Disney went safe for the first movie because they wanted to bring back classic Star Wars nostalgia. I'll bet my bottom dollar the movies from here on out will be all risk.
The new characters from Force Awakens are better than any "character" in all the prequels.
+Frank Tobin When you look at the characters themselves and forget about how they were acted, they were actually quite strong, and I noticed a LOT of things that other people didn't notice about Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. And so far, I'm digging Palpatine more than what I've seen of Snoke. In any case, I don't mind how Anakin was acted, and IMO (which is subjective) Padme and Obi-Wan were better acted and more complex than Han and Leia, and also more original and unique than Poe and Finn. Again, I've gone off of what I've seen thus far, and I'm judging based _purely_ off of how the characters are written and what we understand of them. I think that the main factor here is that J.J. Abrams has a sense of humor with a broader sense of appeal (I also liked Lucas's sense of humor, for the record, but J.J. directed the funniest movie thus far out of _all_ of the _Star Wars_ movies).
Otherwise, Rey so far has been a possible Mary Sue, depending on how you look at her. Fortunately, she was charmingly acted, but so far the most interesting discussion that people have about her afterword isn't about her as a character, but about _other_ characters that she might be related to.
My assumption is that they wanted this first film in a (presumably) new saga to be incredibly simple, before diving into a more complex and risky story that takes the characters in places we've never seen them before. Because it seems like you and I think the same way: we know how to spot the signs of a studio that's playing things out intelligently and according to a game plan.
So yes, it's a retread, and that's a bit understandable. I think that their vision for this one was to start off simple before getting complex (which is how most great stories work; in fact it's the _only_ reason that I might show my kids the films in order of release). Personally, though, I sort of wish that they had taken a _little_ more initiative to make this particular installment unique. Most of the parallels with _A New Hope_ I was okay with, because I wanted the same sort of timeless simplicity. But Death Star III? Yes, I know it's called Starkiller Base, but in my mind it's Death Star III. Weren't there complaints about Death Star II? I think it was at that point where it became _too_ much like Episode IV. If there was one thing that I could have changed about this movie, it's that. I mean, they had enough subtle throwbacks already, and I think people would have been pleased either way, and this would have made a ton of money (perhaps more?) _regardless_, so I basically just groaned at the whole Death Star III plot point.
well put. agree 100%
The prequels had story, I don't know what the hell you guys are smoking. The whole point of the prequels was to show what led to the original trilogy, and I think they did that. I could have gone without the over-use of CG, but I got the story, I got the answers I wanted, I saw the answers.
George Lucas is absolutely right, original ideas hardly get made, and when they do it is with a very small budget-which means most of the money will be spent making the movie and not on marketing, so it won't get seen.
Birdman, Whiplash, two of the best films I've seen within the last 10 years, and yet nobody really saw them, they hardly hung out in the theaters cause they couldn't afford to do that.
Quentin Tarantino and David O' Russell are really the only directors working right now that can put on a story that is original and have people come and see it.
I personally want to see what George Lucas had in mind for the new trilogy, all the ideas he pitched to Disney that they rejected. I imagine they were probably pretty risky and new, and that's the starwars I want to see.
Loved the new starwars, but there were serious problems with the writing in some areas of the film.
+ZombieKilla Stale characters, forced dialogue, lazy storytelling, notoriously poor acting, and of course unnecessary use of CGI which removed me from the film were my complaints with the prequels. They just weren't fun. Everything seemed rigid.
Tanner Treadway
The only actor I felt was actually poor in the prequels was Hayden. The dialogue was a bit iffy at times, but it did the job. I agree with the CG, just far too much of it.
Hayden did well in scenes that mattered, like the scene where Obi Wan leaves Anakin on Mustafar. He was given a lot of scenes that would have been better with improved story telling, like the grassy vacation with Padme in episode 2, in which supposedly Anakin was there to protect her from danger. Hayden didn't ruin Vader, Lucas did.
Sloppy execution describes the prequels to a tee. I agree, Ewan, Liam, and Natalie are extremely solid. There just wasn't any chemistry.
+ZombieKilla I love the prequels... I'm a old school fan, I saw Empire in the theaters for gods sake.. lol... but Ep 3 is still my favorite. It's a fucking masterpiece. Saw it 10 times in the theater.... full of emotional, powerful and epic storytelling. I love the originals and 7 as well... but emotional power of the rise of Vader will never be topped no matter how hard Kylo tries.. which in itself well be a interesting journey.
See, George here speaks the truth. Although they had their flaws, and they were executed far from perfectly, the prequels are an INCREDIBLE example of taking chances, and not being afraid to try something new. I also think that most of us will agree that the prequels got better as they want, proving that they learned from their mistakes.
For some crazy reason, I just read this comment with Thrawn's voice from Rebels in my head lol
Funny that should be your avatar given that George had nothing to do with the Expanded Universe wherre Thrawn was conceived and featured, said the EU did not exist in his mind and that everything ended at episode six.
" I also think that most of us will agree that the prequels got better as they want, proving that they learned from their mistakes."
Allow me to proudly be the fist to say, no they didn't...
"For some crazy reason, I just read this comment with Thrawn's voice from Rebels in my head lol"
Yes and rebels is disney and the only media outside of books where thrawn has ever been featured...but now back to Disney not using the franchise properly.
@@mckenzie.latham91 I still think the only in star wars is episodes 1-6, so I'm with George on thos one haha. The legends/Disney stuff was pretty silly. Minus the Darth Krayt stuff and Luke creating his own order that didn't vanish in a year or two...
The prequels literally took no chances and didn’t do anything new
are you serious
first of all they literally were sequels to one of the largest and most profitable movie franchises of all time
so much so that not only was Lucas given a blank check he was allowed all executive and sole director power over the film to the point he didn't have to have any collaboration like he did in the original trilogy.
that’s not taking a chances...
and what “new” thing did they do...start the practice of making movies 90% behind a green screen?
If you listen to the actors in the interviews and documentaries they talk about how difficult and strange it was to interact with thin air and or green/blue screen 90% of the time...
yeah over reliance on cgi, that’s been great for the movie industry hasn’t it?
"You can't just go out and do spaceships!" Tell that to Disney.
Every time he says the words "not taking chances, lack of imagination and lack of creativity", I really feel that he's directing those words towards The Force Awakens. lol
+Alex B. Actually it took a big risk, a very big one.
+Sky Young Look at the lead characters. They(Disney) took all the risk they could afford to take right there.
+Sky Young I think the Force Awakens' borrowing of a story arc was a necessity. It is a reintroduction yet a continuation. I think there will be more taking chances in the next ones.
+Studio2770 . There was no need for a reintroduction. It's Star Wars. People of all ages know the movies. The Force Awakens, even though it is a good movie, was unimaginative and unoriginal. Lucas pretty much was talking about Episode VII. You noticed he said fans will love it but he is not in love with the movie at all. There is really nothing new about this movie.
+Jeron Cradle No they didn't and as much as I LOVED the movie, it's like the sat down and modified the script of A New Hope, Luke is replaced by Finn and Rey, she's poor wants to escape her desert-planet. Death star is the starkiller, Kylo ren is Darth Vader, millenium falcon, still using TIE fighters all those decades later, cantina scene.. creepy/messed up sith supreme leader/emperor... it goes on and on but I don't want to spoil... I bet they're really scared for the next one...they can't keep copying the original trilogy, I mean this one was a nice homage but the next one needs to be more original like Lucas said.
He was the reason Star Wars was great, without him, its nothing. So sad what Disney did to him
LMAO Epsiode 1 is NOT a "great" movie at all, that movie was beyond terrible. People have crapped on the prequels and lucas for years and now that disney has star wars, people are now whining against it and praising lucas as if he's a saint.
@killwill83 Star Wars isn't "played out" at all, it's a massive franchise that can easily be expanded upon from it's massive incredible potenial for storytelling.
And lucas didn't want to retire "even richer", at all. He literally gave off the BILLIONS of dollars disney gave to him to charity and children's help funds. Not acknowledging that he did makes you look ridiculously ignorant of what lucas was doing.
The main reason he sold disney star wars was because he was so demoralized from prequel backlash and hate that he lost any drive in himself so he gave it off to people that he hoped when have made it better for the fans and expand it.
Don't be ignorant when you say crap like that, you only look bad yourself as you clearly don't know the facts of the situation.
@@Gadget-Walkmen Ok boomer
@@Gadget-Walkmen "The main reason he sold disney star wars was because he was so demoralized from prequel backlash and hate that he lost any drive in himself”
what a load of shit
the prequels were massive financial successes, but were critically panned and or mixed, the backlash came from everyone including critics cause the films weren’t that great and massively plot holed
which is funny because the prequels were where George flew solo and was not constrained by the need of collaboration with others like he had been in the original trilogy
Again it is massively telling that anything George has touched that isn’t star wars related since has failed, flopped and or been critically panned and or despised
*And lucas didn't want to retire "even richer", at all. He literally gave off the BILLIONS of dollars disney gave to him to charity and children's help funds.*
If he didn’t want the money, then why charge Disney at all?
why not just signs it over to them
after all he already has billions he could have given to charity and children’s education
sounds more like a calculated executive decision to garner some good PR and poltical will huh?
oh wait what’s this
*George [Lucas] opted for a half-cash, half-stock deal. Technically, the deal was 55 percent cash, 45 percent stock.
The report states that this amounted to Lucas being paid approximately $2.21 billion in a cash transaction and 37,076,679 shares of the Walt Disney Company. With Disney stock trading at $50 per share at the time, this amounted to a monetary stock value of $1.85 billion.*
*Clearly, Lucas came out of the Disney sale an even wealthier man than he was before. However, in the years since the transaction, Disney’s stock value has risen to $200 per share, ballooning the monetary value of Lucas’ owned stocks to $7.4 billion. Additionally, the report states that Disney has given Lucas quite the payout since the sale:*
dorksideoftheforce.com/2021/03/12/george-lucas-disney-acquisition-10-billion/
Ah so he didn’t just get cash he also chose stock options s that he gets money off disney shares into star wars
hmmm seems a bit more caving right now doesn’t it
he could afford to give away 4 billion cause he made an additional 6 billion off his stock options with Disney
@@AM-nz6pn fantastic response. Great thinking.
lack of imagination, fear of creativity.. sounds like the force awakens lol
+Ken Lopez (Sirfishe) And when it's nominated for "Best Picture," you will have a lack of words to describe what happened.
Dialectical Monist if its nominated, it really just proves how stupid the fanbase can be. Not all of them but most of them. The truth is, fans never wanted something new. They felt the prequels didn't feel like star wars because they weren't the old trilogy. Now with the force awakens, its exactly like episode 4 and people are saying that this is the best star wars since empire strikes back? please. Lucas's idea for 7,8,9 are the true chapter of the star wars. The true canon
It's not going to be nominated for best picture, it has no chance at all. Maybe in the special effects, but will lose to Mad Max.
Jared Cruz Oh really? We'll see. It's certainly a better film than "The Martian," I movie I liked, and another likely nominee.
+Rustin Cohle
I like how when you ask people why they feel TFA was bad its usually one of two reasons: "it copied ANH" or "Rey is an overpowered character". These are good points, and though I love the movie, I understand these flaws. But this is the only thing they have against it. Using the same storyline from A New Hope doesn't make the film bad, it just means it lacked a lot of creativity it could've had. And the "unimaginative" part is garbage, there were tons of new and original things.
"You're telling a story using tools but you're not using tools to tell a story." - George Lucas
It's kind of sad because it's trues. Disney will turn star wars into another soulless MCU
+Alucard BloodyVampire It's already happened with the Force Awakens.
+Alucard BloodyVampire or rescue it from Lucas's prequils?
+Alucard BloodyVampir To be fair, Marvel's President was behind a lot of bad decisions in the MCU, but now that Kevin Feige reports directly to Disney, it looks like Civil War and other films may not have that problem.
You are a fucking idiot.
+Alucard BloodyVampire Only that the MCU is anything but soulless...It gave us some of the best Hero movies ever and it keeps going strong.
The situation is so out of hand that for the first time ever, a Star Wars movie ( _Solo_ ) failed to meet Box Office Expectations.
"You're telling a story using tools, you're not using tools to tell a story."
Good catch. I picked it too. its the exact same thing. -_-
@@LeninMcDonalds it is but we all got what he meant lol.
@@LeninMcDonalds The point of the quote is that the story comes before the tools, not the other way around...
I understand it as 'telling a story is not just using tools'
Yeah is that why Lucas literally felt like he had to go back to the original trilogy update all the horrible cgi and special effects in, then destroyed/altered the final print and every other copy so only that special edition exists to this day?
and let’s not forget the prequels where the majority of every scene was a green/blue screen and or cgi character where the actors literally have to mention in the interviews and making of documentaries that they were interacting 90% of the time with empty air behind a cgi screen.
but yeah let’s hear george talk about how tools are not telling a story.
George Lucas is a risk taker. He makes the movies that are so unique that no one knows if they will work. And sometimes they do work and sometimes they don't for George. But the fact of the matter is, that risk taking allowed for a movie called Star Wars to be made.
Risk taker..yeah back in the 1970’s/1980’s
pretty sure the prequels coming off of one of the most largest and most profitable movie franchises of all time was not a big risk for studios
as for the idea af unique movies what else has he done?
...Lucas has done nothing after star wars and indianan jones (which was co chaired and directed/produced by Steven Spielberg) that has been critically accomplished and or not a flop.
Hell Spielberg in the making of and documentaries for kingdom of the crystal skull (the only other Indiana jones film that is more hated by fans and critics then temple of doom)
all but admits that George was the one who wanted to do the film, George insisted that it be about aliens, George was behind the idea of adding mutt and the idea of being a son, you know basically every element of the film that was hated and criticized...
after that what else has he done outside of the two franchises he started in the 1970’s/80s and has costed on for this entire career afterwards...?
red tails...flop,
strange magic...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
also star wars the original trilogy had multiple collaborative efforts between lucas and the best of the crew and writers and directors etc.
they all made the movie happen together...and the collaborative effort as well as the editing work done by his now ex wife was what saved A New Hope and made it actually viewable since it’s historically noted the original unedited cut was trash.
So unlike the prequels where he had total and complete executive and creational control...
and totally fragged his own lore and work in the originals.
@@mckenzie.latham91 Still more than what you will ever accomplish. Besides so what if everything flops. Coming up with the story of Star Wars is more than enough to create a genius.
@@mckenzie.latham91 He did take many risks with the prequel trilogy. It's the reason TPM ended up being so mediocre.
@@kianvandenakker126 lol what risks
he got a bigger budget then he had on any of the original films
he had full creative control, he had full merchandising rights as usual
and he basically was given full studio support, they didn’t even send their suits to micromanage like they do on most other films.
if you watch the behind the scenes documentaries they make a point that he spent most of his directing time in a chair and or in front of a green screen/blue screen, so much so many of the other actors who are real actors, complained about having to interact with nothing for hours a day cause everything from set to characters was CGI.
@@harrygoodberg5624 "Still more than what you will ever accomplish.”
Bingo, nailed it!
you can tell when some loser uses this defense/distraction
that you’re right on the money and totally correct
"Besides so what if everything flops.”
sort of points out that other factors may have contributed or been part of the original success doesn’t it...
yes, yes it does.
"Coming up with the story of Star Wars is more than enough to create a genius”
Ah yes the flash gordon and kurosawaka films inspired story, yes george totally came up with everything on his own, no influences at all...
This could also be applied to a lot of the newer MCU entries, where the "tool" is the shared universe - many disney+ series feel more in a rush to introduce new characters for future shows than actually telling a story.
George, you can't write dialogue, direct actors, and use too much green screen - as proven by your prequel films. BUT, you have a strong cinematic vision - one of the strongest in all of cinema history, and I completely agree with what you're saying here. Cinema these days is all about sequels, reboots, superhero films, or an adaptation of a well known fantasy novel. Anyone very rarely takes a chance anymore, studios will just stick to the safest option. Where is the daring, risk taking, hunger for creativity in filmmakers these days?
+Crichjo32 Actually the Prequels used more set models than the Originals ever did, specifically Episode III. He did use quite a bit of CGI and maybe over did it here and there, but a lot of the Prequel's story couldn't be told with practical effects. I'd rather have a CGI Yoda fighting Dooku and Sidious than a silly outdated puppet. It makes it more believable and less ridiculous. The dialogue is debatable though it was more average than anything with some powerful moments. And believe it or not George actually DID try to get other people to direct the Prequels too but no one was willing to step up so he had to take it. For a man doing so much on all these movies as a writer, director, producer etc he did a stellar job. I applaud his efforts and greatly admire and respect the outcome of those efforts. He had flaws but I don't believe they destroy Star Wars. Other than that I agree with you lol!
+starwarsnerd16 your completely right!! People these days act like he was some sort of lazy basterd when he did the prequels, and it can't be farther from the truth. Lots of people worked really hard on those films and for channels like redletter media to say they were nothing but lazily slapped together heaps of garbage is incredibly disrespectful to George Lucas and all the people involved in making the PT. I think it's a real shame how people disrespect Lucas these days, did u hear what Simon Pegg said about the prequels? Way outta line and very unprofessional of him.
+Mackenzie Mitchell thanks!! Yes that really bugs me about the haters. They honestly think no effort was put into these when in reality Lucas had many sleepless nights working on trying to make these movies happen. And the actors worked hard too especially with the lightsaber fights. Yes I know what that prick said which is ironic considering his butthurt over people criticizing the Star Trek movie he was in directed by none other than JJ himself.
+Crichjo32 boards.theforce.net/threads/practical-effects-in-the-prequels-sets-pictures-models-etc.50017310/ the prequal CGI bashing is misplaced. Blue screens aren't always there for CGI, they are sometimes used to fill in backgrounds later with models/minitures. too bad many people will never see the hardwork put into them. honestly my only gripe with the prequels was the dialogue and some story/Plot elements.. and a certain gungan.
+starwarsnerd16 he couldnt find anyone to direct star wars films? the only possible reason for that would be george refusing to let go and let the new director direct,otherwise surely he'd have dozens of directors fighting for a go at the greatest franchise ever
This is the best thing I have heard come out of Lucas's mouth in the past thirty years. Nailed it.
Also the biggest load of hypocritical bullshit I've ever heard.
+Nostro200 billionaire complaining about capitalism, something that made him billions of dollars.
+Severian Wintermute And I thought he smelled bad from the OUTSIDE!
@@TheAmpharosFreak
He actually gave most of his money given by Disney sale to charity . Sure he still has the money left .But a man's gotta live
What a guy..
I see a philosopher..This guy takes film making so seriously..I agree with everything he said on this interview..
Truly, Respect for this man..
He's absolutely spot on. Even the new Star Wars movie is nothing new. In fact they copied the plot from A New Hope.
+Bobby Nixon For me the new film is worse than that, I was half of the movie thinking when it was going to "begin".
Forever_UT_ fan
You're not alone, many people really disliked it. Once the hype dies down, the hate for Episode 7 will be epic.
+Bobby Nixon Nah, it's the plot to There Will Be Blood
+Bobby Nixon THe new movies are a Disney reboot of 4-6, and that's fine. It's better than nothing.
+Bobby Nixon And New Hope is a copy of Lensman.
The Force Awakens had no creativity or originality. lol! But few people want to admit that it sucks. Lucas knows it sucks.
+Cabbage Reloaded And that's why it will be nominated for best picture, unlike Lucas's laughable cartoons.
+Dialectical Monist Thats because not as many movies are good or as unique as they were. A lot of what is successful now is simply a calculated, corporately-engineered remake of what was successful before, almost completely on the nose.The Force Awakens may have been extremely well-made by 2015 standards, but that doesn't mean that what made it well-made was not out of things Lucas had already did himself and more uniquely with the original trilogy.
Dialectical Monist Watch my 4 part review on the movie. It's on my channel. Watch the whole thing and then sit back and ask yourself.... "ok, was this really a good movie?".
***** A "good" movie, is ultimately, something that makes you FEEL something.
This movie made me feel something. Despite the retreaded plot etc. None of that matters, as long as the movie makes you FEEL something.
I felt humor, I felt exciting anticipation. I felt wonder for the world, and yes, of course nostalgia. But most of the nostalgia was for the fact that the FEEL of Star Wars is back.
I didn't feel much danger for any of the characters, that is probably what your review is about, along with a hundred examples of how it is similar to something else, but I already know that.
Dialectical Monist The review has much more.
George Lucas is right, There has been a lack originality in scifi and fantasy, everyone is trying to copy star wars, and fail at it.
it is funny people knock this guys vision but he was the director on a new hope and without that you would not have star wars
why would people knock his vision he is one of the best visionary's in Hollywood. and his bank account proves it. winning! winning!
What vision is that? The vision in 1977? The vision in 1981? The vision in 1997? The vision in 2004? Or the vision in 2011? Because according to George, the vision YOU are most likely referring to, the one from 1977 was lost and isn't available anymore to be preserved in higher definition.
actually without a good editor there would be no star was...
the fist edit of the film is infamous for having been terrible until it was edited...and it wasn't Lucas who edited it.
lucas would also not direct or write Empire ( one of the most beloved and greatest one) and only co-wrote Return but he did not direct that either.
The film was saved in post. The deleted scenes show how incompetent he is as a director
@@mckenzie.latham91 Without his vision, there would be nothing to edit.....
"an enormous lack of imagination and fear of creativity on the part of an industry"…..
Thank you George Lucas, that describes "The Force Awakens" and what Disney and Jar Jar Abrams did with Episode VII perfectly!
You know it's hilarious for someone to use “jar jar” as an insult when George Lucas was the one who created Jar jar and literally said he would be the funniest character the franchise had ever seen.
LOL Piss off with that nonsense. The Force awakens is a VERY fun and awesome movie. Just because it has a similar style to a new hope, it's still a fantastically fun movie to watch with great action, good humor, fantastic visuals, likable characters and amazing sequences. The movie DOES have imagination AND creativity, you're just too blind to see it.
What JJ abrams and Disney did with force awakens was amazing but the other two movies, not so much.
Also good job at using the term "jar jar" when LUCAS was the one who made the character up.
@@mckenzie.latham91 exactly! Force awakens was very amazingly fun despite it's scattered issue and JJ abrams did a fantastic job with it.
@@Gadget-Walkmen TFA is a shit movie, it undermines the OT, anakin’s redemption, the fall of the empire. The rebels defeated the empire but oh wait theyre back and stronger than before (somehow). Anakin defeated the sith and brought balance but OH WAIT the dark side is still here and they are still making a dark side empire. Episode 9 makes it worse by not just having the dark side be back but also the guy anakin killed. It retcons anakin being the chosen one cuz theres no balance in the force all of a sudden.
When the sith empire fell and the republic succeeded, it took a thousand years for the sith to get back at them. The sith didnt conquer the republic but used its corruption to their advantage.
In the sequels just 30 years later the empire is just back and stronger than before. There is no republic fleet, just a band of rebels that makes no sense, why isnt leia an admiral or chancellor of the republic, why is she running this garbage rebel operation? Why is luke hiding?
The old EU was much better. It showed how a republic would come back, the extended version of the empire’s fall, how luke made a better jedi order etc.
TFA throws this all out the window
@@masterdeetectiv9520 Are you for real? Once again, this comment proves that Star Wars fans are just a bunch of complaining people who can’t stop talking nonsense every chance they get.
The force awakens is NOT a “mOvIe” in the slightest. You’ve lose every credibility that you have the moment you said that nonsensical statement outright off the bat, nice going slick. Don’t ever make a movie as you’ve proven you don’t understand what makes entertaining in the slightest if you EVER would think that Force Awakens, one of the most FUNEST and engaging blockbuster movies ever that reached critical praise and world wide positive responses, is even close to “mOvIe” in ANY way, lol just stop talking as everyone knows that’s not true at all, Thanks for proving once again that Star Wars fans say this nonsense again and again for every Star Wars movie and media that comes out. People like you are out of it that should never be taken seriously as the world of force awakens is FAR from “tHrOwN iNto tHe dIsPoSal” lol not even close. Only in your dreams.
It doesn’t “undermine” the original trilogy at all expect for the prequels and that mainly because of prequel backlash.
And most people don’t care about this “Anakin’s redemption” in the slightest NOR was it EVER “uNderMinEd” because all that mattered was that Vader saved his son from the emperor and redeemed himself at the end, that’s literally it. None of this none of this nonsense that you seem to be badly hammering about which doesn’t matter AT ALL so just stop with this nonsense about “sOmEhOw” and “oH wAit” as you’re not proving anything at all here.
The fall of the empire was FAR from being “unDerMiNes” lol not even close, just stop, The empire being defeated by the rebels and coming back stronger than before is literally no different from how Germany lost in WW1 and came back stronger than ever when the nazis came to power and made Germany even more powerful for WW2.
If that can happen in real life, that can EASILY happen in a space fantasy universe. Just stop with this nonsense thinking it’s not.
This whole “balance in the force” nonsense means absolutely nothing at all, just stop acting like it EVER did as it was always clear that dark side sith were ALWAYS going to come back. There is no “rEcTonS” (lol you people LOVE using that word, huh?) The dark side was ALWAYS going to come back inevitably in the sequels, your out of your mind if you think this “bring balance to the force” means no more sith forever than your out of your mind as they were ALWAYS going to come back. NOT EVEN George Lucas, you know; the guy who came up with that prophecy, kept to his own rules as his sequel plans still had the dark side alive with the sith running about.
Episode 9 should not have brought back palpatine, but mainly be it doesn’t make any sense as he died once already. Not for any of this “balance” nonsense you people wrongfully believe without thinking it through.
No one cares about the sith empire here, move on as the rules can be whatever in this space universe on how long it takes for whatever can be done as what you’re saying is just EU that’s not canon at all.
And as I said, it’s a space fantasy universe, it can do whatever it wants even faster than ever that not tied to reality.
And do you really believe think it’s hard to believe that the empire can come back stronger than ever in just 30 years? Lol are you for real? It took 200 years for the Roman Empire to fall due to so many people scrambling for power even after the emperor and the main capital fell as Division happened quickly but the empire Itself was still intact from have a massive widespread influence.
Nothing about an empire coming back into power after 30 years is hard to believe at all and as I said, ESPECIALLY in a space fantasy.
There is no “republic fleet” because unfortunately they didn’t want to have any callbacks to the prequel era due to incredible backlash. And having a band of rebels DOES make sense as getting people to fight back against oppressors isn’t hard to do at all so just stop with this “mAkEs nO sEnSe” as THAT claim makes no sense.
You’re over here trying to think that the everything in the original timeline of Star Wars makes sense when there’s a ton of stuff in the prequels doesn’t make any sense at all that people have been throwing dirt at for years on end for “ruining the saga” and here you thinking that all of a sudden people care about any of that stuff? Lol what a laugh.
Why isn’t leia “an admiral or chancellor of the republic”, lol you don’t become an “admiral” for the republic like that and her becoming “chancellor” isn’t her defined role
And it’s NOT a “ ” rebel operation at all as it’s the force that’s going directly against the new empire who are the aggressors, that should be obvious onto why she’s “running it”. And the main reason for why there’s not mention of the high politics in the force awakens is because still hated the prequels in a large scale, even to this day, to the point where they didn’t want any mention of them at all, which is unfortunate.
And why is Luke hiding? We get the answer in the last Jedi and it’s really bad reason which I’m sure the makers of first awakens did not plan out at all.
Yes I’m sure the old “EU” was better but that was done in the “eu” NOT in the mainline movies that people didn’t know or care about at all which inevitably? By Lucas himself or Disney, the new sequel movies would have been different than whatever EU book out there.
I’m not saying there aren’t any scattered issues with the force awakens because I still have my own, but the positives FAR outweighs the negatives to be a highly engaging entertaining movie incredibly so!
The force awakens HARDLY “tHroWs tHis ouT tHe WidOw” at all as Force Awakens is more considered about making an entertaining movie that’s fun for the audience and a bunch of people to familiar on Star Wars back again as the fandom was still spiteful against the things that Lucas has done so the start of the sequel would have been something that brought Star Wars back to life again for most audiences and it HAS done that which why a lot of people go back and rewatch the force awakens over and over again.
As a film it’s WAY more than just “alright”, the force awakens is a FUN Star Wars film full of life with great action, likable characters with PERSONALITY, fantastic visuals and special effects for character/creature/world design, gorgeous cinematography, and good humor. Things that were DESPERATELY needed for a Star Wars film in a while. And force awakens and rogue one does these things pretty amazingly well. As a sequel, it’s arguably not good at expanding the world but that’s all right as it’s more important to have a fun and enjoyable film which it does, and it mainly goes that way to not to be to different because of the prequel resentment so they wanted to go back to familiar ground that people can be accustomed too. But it’s not at all “ ” and you saying SHOWS that you don’t know anything about filmmaking at all here and how to make a movie in the slightest as it’s a safe start off to the next saga of films to come. That should obvious but you can’t see that.
I’m not a fan of the sequel trilogy at all as I hate last Jedi and didn’t even watch rise of skywalker but you people are so blind with hate against them that you say nonsensical statements that are clearly not true when they DO have positive aspects to them which is alot.
Just get out of here with your nonsense.
Alec Guiness said it in an interview in 1977: "It brings some kind of freshness." And that was the main reason for the sucess of SW. Before it. Science fiction was either low budget crap or highly philosophical arthouse or low budget highly philosophical arthouse-crap. Star Wars was the first who made an epic tale of fantasy and brought it into space.
It was the beginning of Space Opera with a good effect-budget.
Yeah didn’t Alec also criticize and curse the film for killing his career with type casting...
@@mckenzie.latham91 No, Alec Guiness was one of britains finest actors and already had a very long carrer. A Victim of typecasting was more Marc Hammil, who never got rid of his Skywalker image.
@@mckenzie.latham91 i think that honor goes to Carrie Fisher, at least Mark Hamill made a fortune with voice acting.
@@orlandofurioso7329 Although, I think Carrie Fisher probably saw herself as more of a writer than an actor, hence the latter half of her career writing screenplays and novels.
I think he realizes he's guilty of some of the things he's talking about.
He's a great man with a great cinematic vision. The world will forever be in his debt for Star Wars.
Thank you.
prequels = too much CGi
@@longmemory1620 mkay
Yeah until he admits it, it just sounds like hypocrisy and circle jerking.
Again if he wanted to keep the “franchise alive” and creative maybe he should have done something with it other than selling it off for 4 billion dollars
Again for someone who loves story so much, lucas literally shat on and downplayed the expanded universe which literally was one of the biggest recruiters of new fans and or kept interest in star wars and kept a big paycheck coming into luca’s pocket every week.
"You're not using tools to tell a story."
Someone needs to let Michael Bay know that.
Paul Taylor no you
Someone needs to tell george that
Lucas literally went back to the original trilogy updated it with all the horrible cgi and special effects that he wanted to be in the vote but never had the technology or budget to do so
then destroyed/altered the final print and every other copy so only that special edition exists to this day...
and let’s not forget the prequels where the majority of every scene was a green/blue screen and or cgi character where the actors literally have to mention in the interviews and making of documentaries that they were interacting 90% of the time with empty air behind a cgi screen.
but yeah let’s hear george talk about how tools are not telling a story.
@@mckenzie.latham91 by tools, he meant "tropes", not cgi or stuff like that
@@hiranmaydas4921 No he meant cgi and stuff
, he even refers to cgi and special effects in one scene when talking about how those enhance a story but cannot replace story and character
George Lucas is so humble. Heaven forbid anyone criticize him.
"Jar jar is the key to all of this"
George Lucas is a genius. I love his take on film and the industry as a whole given the massive impact he's had on both over the decades.
Such a genius that once he’s no longer bae to coast off of star wars and Indiana jones that he hasn’t;t had any commercial and or actual success in anything he’s done since?
Yeah the guy who wrote strange magic and based it off a midnight summer’s dream, is really a creative and unique genius who has the right to criticize other people for lack of creativity.
You make something like Star Wars then, lol
@@stitchyboy-co2ju His own friends like Francis Ford Coppla have said that Lucas could've been a great director but he allowed Star Wars to consume his life and he cared more about the money from merchandise than making movies. Return of the Jedi was a much different, darker movie. Han died, it wasn't a happy ending. Lucas refused to allow it because he said these were movies for kids, fairytales. Good guys cant die. Writer Lawrence Kasdan wasnt happy with this. His own producer and Harrison Ford criticized him for this because he was worried a darker movie, dead Han would hurt merchandise sales. This was a huge reason Ford held a grudge for many years with SW. Even his own cast have criticized him as a director. Ford and Hamil have said he wasnt a good director. Anthony Daniels praised JJ Abrams as a director over Lucas. Hamill once told a story about Lucas as a director. He went to Lucas to discuss a scene. Asked him how he should play Luke in the scene, what were his emotions. Lucas told him we will discuss it after we shoot the scene!
Lucas is a great storyteller. Star Wars though was brought to life by MANY people, not just Lucas. It was his idea but took many brilliant minds to create that film. Lawrence Kasdan wrote Empire, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark. He was vital to those films success. Consider The Empire Strikes Back. Lawrence Kasdan wrote that script. Irvin Kershner directed the movie. It's hailed as the best of the franchise and had the least interference by Lucas on set. Kershner and Kasdan even overruled Lucas on decisions. Most notable the "I Love you, I know" scene. Lucas hated it. He said it should be I love you, I love you too. It wasnt until a screening before it's release that Lucas saw how people responded that he allowed it. Just something as simple as that, which became one of the most iconic lines in any SW movie.
I couldn't agree more Mr. Lucas. Thank you for episodes 1-6. Fan boy know it alls hated episodes 1-3 and say the films lacked heart and criticize the political aspect of the films but I didn't mind because politics play a huge part in every day real life. Thank you for inspiring me and teaching me to dream. Thank you for teaching me the consequences of choosing the wrong path. Most importantly, thank you for teaching me that it takes courage and self belief to do what's right and accomplish my goals. May the Force be with you always
What an amazing clip. I can't believe I just now found this. He really puts it plain out their the state of the entertainment industry.
Thanks for everything George.
This aired on public broad cast stations on Christmas night of 2015. I really enjoyed watching the tail end of this program and glad i can see the entire thing here on YT. Very interesting interview.
he's is 100% right. This is exactly how I feel about everything that is made today.
He is absolutely right on his criticism of the industry when it comes to being overly cautious. Movies today either have to come from a marquee creator or be based on another property. Sony has their third Spider-Man. We've gone through a couple Supermen, we're on our second Batman. The MCU films are going into lower and lower tier heroes. We're doing a sequel to Kindergarten Cop and a remake of Point Break and Total Recall.
A director like Lucas or Tarantino would have trouble gaining a foothold. Who would take a chance on Reservoir Dogs or American Graffiti today?
While I recognize the faults of the prequels, I've gained a new respect for them after seeing Episode 7. Episode 7 was a safe bet, Disney took no risks with a new interesting story and instead just recycled a story that had already proven successful. Personally I think the prequels were bad movies, but I would rather have more failed attempts at something new and innovative than just seeing Original Trilogy 2.0.
The prequels were the safest bet of all time
they literally came off one of the largest and sot profitable movie franchises of all time
so much so that lucas was allowed and given total creative and executive oversight/control over the films, unlike the original trilogy where he had to collaborate and work with multiple people and different points of views.
Nothing innovative and or new about them, other than starting the practice of making movies 90-95% with green/blue screen and cgi
The story is actually very cliche to the point it’s a Romeo and Juliet tragedy rip off...
there is one thing to fail miserably and one thing to fail unsuccessfully now the prequels well it wasn't the best but brought an interesting vision to star wars but failed unsuccessfully. now the sequels failed miserably because there was no vision or effort in creating a new film. so I would rather see Disney fail unsuccessfully than miserably. but they still fail miserably to this day.
The prequels were fine. Amazing? No. But fine. You idiots had been fed the “prequels suck” narrative for decades and can’t think for yourself.
"Fear of creativity" is truly a scary statement
Three years later and I'm still going back to this on the exact date shown above.
Is Lucas describing himself?
+Niner Miner No. He is describing people like you.
+Niner Miner Yes. Yes, he is. It's called projection...
"Jar Jar is the key to all of this" George Lucas
Come back George, all is forgiven.
George Lucas isn't dumb. He's thoughtful about every move he's ever made.
It's weird to hear him say this... The prequels were "space ship movies". Everything he says sounds like a self critique.
BlackRaven
In the prequels VFX was driving the movie more than the story. Entire scenes existed because they "look cool" not because the story required them. Sure there was a story about Anakin turning into Darth Vader, but it was weak, and poorly executed on many levels.
+quest 8899 u r a stupid fux 2 disney threw the real story in the trash and just winged it to make money the story is what its all about about that is what hes saying....... he is a sell out tho but fux u fux disney
+Carl Johnson Wow, calling people stupid on an internet message board when you can't even spell or put a coherent sentence together.. An interesting choice there. I'm guessing your parents don't have one of those "Honor Roll Student On Board!" on their cars, huh?
+quest 8899 I believe this interview was recorded well before the new movie came out.
+BlackRaven the prequals had no character development, it was all about space ships and flashy sword fights
thank you georges for the prequels, it made my childhood
they destroyed mine...
seriously the prequels piss on everything that made the original films unique and powerful.
@@mckenzie.latham91 you maybe right, dont forget star wars was made for children
lol these people saying prequels were filled with cg. Prequels had more practical effects than the OT.
+deckard163 As upset as I am that he sold it, he did it to wash his hands clean of Star Wars fans. Why would he continue when half the fans don't understand the damn franchise and continue to chastise him? Star Wars isn't about space ships or Han Solo it's a Skywalker legacy. The fans wanted more of the same and Lucas proved with the prequels he wanted to tell a unique and original story. People didn't want change and were riding off nostalgia. So giving the franchise to Disney, they're going to get exactly what they want. More of shit like TFA. More references and wink wink nudge nudge.
+MrCaine Yeah, and your icon is a real dog.
MrCaine you're not wrong, I love Star Wars but I hate the fans they're a bunch of entitled brats! I don't blame Lucas for selling, just wish he didn't. -Pat
Exactly. Bunch dipshit hating on the prequels
MrCaine They also had more shitty CGI. Like, ALL the shitty fucking CGI. And then he went back and bastardized the original trilogy aswell.
The stories for IV - VI were just perfect! Only for that, i will be thankful to him as long as i live. I am not so happy with I - III but there are still amazing movies (special effects and background story). I would have loved if he had written the scrips for the new ones....
George is right. At the end of the day, Star Wars is about the Skywalker family drama. Even if the sequels do have it, the real focus was on recycled plots, reused ships, and member-berries. Oh, and not to mention their boner for “real sets and practical effects”
Star Wars The Force Awakens is the most disappointing thing since my son's court appointed lawyer Larry Gruber...
Boba Fett If you think that TFA was disappointing then you are not worthy of your awesome username. TFA was fucking awesome and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. I will also fight anyone who says the Prequels are the worst movies ever (They aren't great but still very entertaining) and I will fight anyone who insults George Lucas, he may not be a great director/writer but at least he had an amazing, imaginative and original cinematic vision that a lot of directors are lacking today (Not all of them but certainly a lot of them.
Boba Fett It's like poetry, it rhymes.
Jake The Snake I liked the movie too, you just didn't get the reference.
did you see force awakens in the cinema ?
In terms of overall vision, George Lucas is a genius. I think that when he made American Graffiti and more so on Star Wars, he was limited at what he could do. Therefore he had to focus on having stronger other elements of the film. As technologies grew, and as marketing changed, I believe that the growing ease in some areas of moviemaking, due to increasing technologies (CGI, etc), helped George to be less stringent in other areas. I think he is better when he is limited. Also, the Ewoks and other elements were added for marketing and toys, as opposed to plot and storytelling. It really started in ESB but they pulled it off with Yoda. George started to cross the line in ROTJ with Jabbas palace and all the Ewoks.
The success of Star Wars also prevented Lucas from pursuing his directorial ambitions for changing the medium. Hard to say if it was for better or worse. In the future all we got from Lucas as director was Radioland Murders, and Red Tails. He changed the technology and the mechanical process of making movies, but not much the language and grammar of film.
He forgot to say that Aliens was a spaceship movie that came after Star Wars that was good. And, yes, just like Star Wars - or Red Dwarf - space is often not seen. Space is not the main story/issue/even aesthetic- it is one of several backdrops.
George Lucas talking about overdoing and abusing technology to the detriment of a story. Ironic.
Lucas is right in nearly everything he says here. Star Wars is most certainly about more than battles in space. There are deep psychological and mythological themes that touch poignantly on what it means to be human. There are also great characters, an amazing journey, mystery, real humor, and all of it anchored by the unfolding of an emotional family drama. It's spectacular! Whether or not the critics got that, from the beginning the fans were locked into it and got it right away. So, my question for Lucas in response to this would be: where were those psychological and mythological themes in the prequels? Where are the great characters, the amazing journey, the mystery, the real humor, or the emotion and drama?
He's also right that the technology (particularly the digital technology) got employed in the service of some truly awful films. People forgot, as he said, that these are tools which exist to help you tell a story. They're not a substitute for a great story. He's right! And again, my question would be: Why did you abuse the technology in making those three ghastly prequel films, which seem to exist ONLY to showcase new digital effects and which lack the great story?
He also rightly chastises the American film industry for lacking originality and playing it safe for the sake of huge profits, though the charge of greed always rings a bit hollow coming from a multi-billionaire.
Where he is wrong, of course, is saying that Star Wars "came from nowhere." Come on, George! That movie owes debts to Flash Gordon, to Akira Kurosawa, to Joseph Campbell, and so on... You created a monumental cinematic universe, unparalleled in its scope and imaginative reach, but it wasn't invented 'ex nihilo.' It is so odd to me, given how guilty you are of all the things you complain about in this clip, that you're so self-righteous and self-unaware. Truly bizarre. Then again, when you're a multi-billionaire surrounded by sycophants and yes-men I guess you can pay to live in whatever deluded universe you like. Speaking as a lifelong fan of Star Wars, I'm grateful for your vision and tenacity and innovation, and I'm equally grateful that you're no longer responsible for making Star Wars films!!
George Lucas gave us Star Wars. I love the guy for that. He helped influence his special effects crew to create new tools for movie making and story telling. Episode IV was probably so good because he struggled to make it. He had so many limitations to work with. He actually had to check himself into a hospital because of the stress. Episode V was even better because Irving Kirshner directed it and Lawrence Kasdan(Raiders of the Lost Ark) wrote it. Some key scenes were even rewritten after they found the dialogue to be unnatural. Return of the Jedi 's only flaws were Ewoks and a Second Death Start, but Luke saving his father was the main focus of the story and that is powerful.
Goddamn the originals were for kids then they grew up and saw prequels, those were meant for the next generation. When I was young when they came out I loved them and liked them more then the originals. People hate him because movies that weren't made for that generation came out
Nah it was actually because of the Ot fanboys that were an actual minority that made a huge fuzz and started to harass people who liked the Prequels, and some people got brainwashed by that
"You're telling a story using tools"
"You're not using tools to tell a story"
Disney focused too much on the VFX rather than making up a good story
People said the same about George 1999-2005
Yeah meanwhile with the prequels watch the cast in interviews where they talk bout how difficult and strange it was to spend 90% of the film talking to nothing but air in front of blue and or green screens since the majority of the film was cgi and computer generated.
where is the full interview please please please I gotta watch it
The fact we will never see 'Directed by George Lucas' after another Star Wars movie again is so depressing.
I miss you so fucking much, George.
AMEN!, Mr. Lucas, the Force is strong with you., Indeed!!~
Everyone here in the comments hating on George and the prequels needs to shut the fuck up about them being horrible and a CGI fest. Yes there is a lot of it and the dialogue may not be great, but there is a story behind the 3 films: the downfall of the Jedi, Republic and Anakin, and the rise of the Galactic Empire and Darth Vader.
Yes George may sound hypocritical in this interview, but ya know what? he learned his lesson about abusing technology. He probably wouldn't use as much CGI if he was still doing Star Wars today.
+JelloDemon
The prequels do have a story, but it was told in probably the worst possible way.
+JelloDemon Well. . . honestly the 2011 Original Trilogy Blu-Ray special editions speak differently. . : /
+JelloDemon I agree, the prequels are SUPPOSED to be drawn out, to set up the story.
But seriously: HAYDEN?
there's no such thing as an "original idea". everything is inspired by something. the original trilogy, as great as they are, took a lot of stuff from old westerns, samurai films, movie serials, and silent movies. what makes a film great are the characters, story arcs, and how they end up affecting the audience. I'd prefer to see a film based on something pre-existing that's well written, well made, and well acted, then something that's a completely original concept that's not as realized as the filmmaker intended.
+arthousefanatic Check out the monomyth theory by Joseph Campbell.
It is what made the original trilogy so great. George Lucas used the monomyth as a blueprint for his first three movies. (Later he just tried using CGI and greenscreen and that failed miserably.)
Ironically, JJ Abrams followed the monomyth once again. Result: we loved it.
ps: Lucas tried to follow it too, but he got side tracked by pointless jibbering.
+arthousefanatic yes you're right. Star wars isnt original at all.
I wish George could know how much we love him
Coming from the guy who abused CGI for the prequels, which quit literally had no substance in terms of story, character depth, dialogue etc. At least it sounds like he learned his lesson.
+SwampyTV He's talking about a fear of creativity and trying new things, and while the prequels were far from good, they tried something new, at least where the Star Wars universe is concerned.
Indeed. The prequels werent that enjoyable but they still greatly expanded the universe. They did lack a compelling story though. So maybe George s point about 'you can't just have space battles without a story' also applies to 'you cant just create a rich universe without a story'
Bubo 25 Well if that's criticism then the overuse of Coruscant would be worse.
+SwampyTV i highly doubt he learned his lesson.
From your point of few
Damn, George roasted the film industry harder than Anakin's burns from the lava of Mustafar.
say what you will. this man made my childhood and i'm quite thankful for that.
Truer words were never spoken!
after seeing the force awakens I realized how much I missed this guy.. ya he's a poor director but he is a fantastic story teller that always tries new things, unlike most movies these days.
Directors tell stories,. That's it.
The problem was mostly the dialogue, especially in the prequels, but George is not a poor director. His storytelling is breathtaking.
@@mr.z6776 poor director or not Star Wars 1977 is one of my favourite films ever made and has inspired millions of people for decades. Quite the accomplishment for a so-called poor director.
wow. Lucas's response really sums it up: If he could take-back his selling of Star Wars to Disney....he would. You can tell that he's CLEARLY not happy with the bland, non-chance taking direction that Jar Jar Abrams took.
Um yeah, he’s totally willing to give back 4 billion dollars lol
if Lucas wanted the franchise to go somewhere he should have done something with it rather than let it fester for 10 years before selling it for billions
also funny how you use jar jar as an insult given that George was the creator of jar jar and literally thought he was the funniest character the franchise had ever produced..
George is a genius, his philosophies are brilliant and his stories are revolutionary. Despite the fact that The Phantom Menace and the other prequels are almost unwatchable, the core story of ego being the downfall of society is not only amazing but politically relevant today. Well done Mr Lucas, we love you.
Why was the audio swapped? Left and right ?
Yep, he's right.
and as i continue to watch he says the cgi was abused but re does all his old movies with no cgi and makes it impossible to buy the original? no wonder this dude is hated
+unholychunk its the way he basically says 'fuck you' to the fans who loved him and made star wars famous in the first place that angers me above anything! He talks like the fans mean nothing at all to the franchise!
He comes across as so pessimistic and ungrateful to the people who helped make him become one of the richest men in the world!
Yeah. after all the George bashing from the prequels I don't blame him.
so he updated the originals. who cares. they look shit! I still have my vhs copies and the SFX, by today's standards is very bad. you can literally see the pasted on frames of the tie fighters n falcon.
So he added a scene he had to take out with Jabba. and a ewoke blinks.
still love those movies though. ..still do.
and still think Lucas has been treated like complete shit.
I was in the music industry for 20 years. All the big bands, all had a thing about the fans. calling them the Enemy. know why? They only want what they want. go to any show, you'll only want to hear the songs you want. the shit the band's played for 30 years. they play a new one. .."boooo"!
Fans can be awful. and sw fans are the worst!
Idk one scene I saw there was a giant alien who looks so out of place and even blocks the camera view. But if you're going to do that why not also make the original available? Imagine if every 10 years jd Salinger decided to re write certain chapters or scenes. It wouldn't be the same.
OSheaHandMade
mate it wasnt until the prequels came out the fans seriously turned against him!
the prequels were his responsibility as were the special editions and if yo make a bad film you get called out on it, just like if you make a good film you get praised for it. N the reason those prequels are hated is because they are bad films, actual bad films!
Im with the fans on this one, not george lucas! Those prequels came across like a genuine 'i dont care about those who got me success in the first place' whereas the newer ones you hear kathleen kennedy say 'the biggest thing about star wars is the fans'
what makes you think Lucas owes you in the first place? This is what always irritates me like, is that fans can be so indignant, and selfish. Lucas made the film's for him. Just like I write a song, draw or whatever I do. I do it because I had an idea.
loads of bad films made. LOADS. and the directors are hardly given shit for it.
it's only the directors with a fan base of nutters. Kubrick and the Shining was a good example. as is Lucas.
bad movies? fine. rate it as bad. but why shit all over the guy? that's my issue. leave him alone. he gave far more than fans deserved. and he had every right to take it away and say feck off with ye....
just saying like...
despite the shitty prequels, lucas did create a really good story in them (he just didnt make the movies properly) when u think about it. luke's dad was a slave who became a jedi, anakin turning to the dark side to save his true love, the jedi order being slaughter by the very troops they fight alongside with, or yoda having his old padawan fight against him.
"You just can't go out and do spaceships" Darn, I was sooooo looking forward to that Cars spin-off... :(
How I described The Force Awakens. Lack of imagination and creativity. Just make a carbon copy of Episode IV to make fans salivate and crack open their wallets.
+chiangui24 You're a fucking moron. Everyone that worked on the film was really exited to be in it and J.J.Abrams is actually a huge Star Wars fan himself. It was a good film anyway, especially when you compare it to the prequels.
Even Daisy Ridley calls SW fans who question the narrative a "sexist". Well I guess I'm a sexist but, it still doesn't look good for pr...
SBC
As an independent director, I'm just afraid that my ideas don't go the "money way" studio I might send my screenplays to want to get. That's actually why I haven't really seriously started a project yet.
"What happens when theres something new, people have a tendency to overdo it, they abuse it." I take it he hasn't seen his prequel movies which were wall to wall cg in virtually every single scene?
It's weird seeing a really good camera in 480p
I honestly beleive that, even though there was money to gain, Disney did very well in “The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One”. However, they became money hungry and said to hell with Lucas and just thought the story didnt matter.
Um lucas was the one who became money hungry since he literally sold Disney all the rights and ownership of star wars for 4 billion dollars.
Lucas was not even involved in the force awakens and or rogue one either...
George Lucas did 2 great things in his career (to date), 1 he made star wars...2 he sold it,...the force awakens is the best star wars film since empire strikes back,. Its got better dialogue, script writing , and direction than anything Lucas did and its not drowned in horrible CGI,....good storyteller, but I'm glad someone else is actually making these now.
This didn't age well, not only that you have no say on this matter he made the story it's his ip
I have to agree with everything he says. But the sad thing is that sometimes it's not fear of imagination but lack of it. Nowadays every idea has been thought of so it's hard to come up with an original idea that hasn't been done before.
Please come back Mr Lucas, as a consultant or something like that.
However you really created something special, it is more obvious now than ever before.
He's pissed that Disney didn't use his script, Finn not the same race as Jango, No Mention of Midichlorians, No Boring Political Debates, No Racially Offensive comic relief(AKA Spiritual Successor to Jar Jar).
+Conrado Javier Storm Troopers aren't clones, so no he would not be pissed. If you follow the theories on who Snoke is (Darth Plageius) then midichlorians makes sense because Darth Plageius could create life and it could be revealed he created Anakin and survived beyond death. The political debates is boring but at least gave some substance beyond a binary opposition of good vs bad plot. Have you not seen the hate Finn has been getting? The black community has been very vocal regarding the use of his character ( saying Disney mislead them into thinking he is a jedi) and by making him a coward and using comic relief (ie the scene he talks to Captain Phasma going, "I'm in charge! YEAH! WOO!"..).
Kieran Emery Why can't Disney use Terminator Genesis as an Example how to Promote your Movie?
Still to this day I will forever be sad he sold his rights to Disney.. imagine if we got the sequels from his point of view and not some random directors hired by Disney
We did get the sequels from his point of view...they're called the prequels and they still suck.
Ironic to complain about people having no creative and or dedication to story when the only thing you’ve done with the franchise in decades is sell it for 4 billion dollars....
again lucas was totally against the expanded universe, everything from the force unleashed, the clone wars, rebels, the mandalorian and etc all would never have come from, and didn't come from lucas, but from others
lucas is on record saying as far as he was concerned episode 1-6 was where star wars ended and should have ended
so fuck that notion of him doing anything with the franchise...
Lucas nails it. The mindset now in the film industry is, how do we make money? How do we fill this story to make as many films as possible? Back then in the OT and even the Prequels, Lucas had so much to tell about his universe that he felt the need of making 6 movies. It wasn't the other way around. And despite its flaws, you can tell the Prequels were made with care and by someone who knew and cared about the franchise. Disney looks to take advantage of SW irregardless of the story telling, just to make toys, silly characters and liberal agenda.
Most everyone likes their COMFORT ZONE. CHANGE and FEAR go hand in hand. When you change you grow. One thing about change, you either embrace it or it will be forced upon YOU!
The Force Awakens = An enormous lack of imagination
it felt fresh while at the same time bringing back characters we love
@@longmemory1620 na
The prequels were an example of Star Wars abuse.
hate or love him, Lucas is right and I can understand his frustration even though I can only say from an artists/fantasy/fictional point of view it is extremely difficult to try and create something to please people unless you have the talent and can apply it to their demands. I don't blame Lucas.
The wisdom of a true filmmaker
He's a genius
more then a genius
Yeah the guy who wrote strange magic and based it off a midnight summer’s dream, is really a creative and unique genius who has the right to criticize other people for lack of creativity.
@@mckenzie.latham91 Strange Magic was pretty cool actually
@@Lumosnight some elements of it were
i liked the casting myself, great choices
but the film is not that well written, the plot is lacking a bit,
it’s cringe as hell
and as stated it was a bomb and massively panned by critics and audiences a like.
Also as stated lucas based the basis of the plot off a Shakespeare pay
just like he based star wars off of Japanese samurai films and flash gordon
he has no right to call out other people for lacking creativity.
@@mckenzie.latham91 there is no such thing as a purely original idea, everything created has been inspired or built on something else. What I really liked about Strange Magic was that the main villain and heroine fall in love. It is very loosely based on Shakespeare’s Midsummers Night Dream, but only because there are fairies involved and a love plot, and that’s it. This movie is quite original, you should actually read on Wikipedia about Shakespeare’s play. You’ll see it is quite different.
Well, that was ironic.
where do I see the full interview?
Where is the whole interview, please?
George, do you know what projection means?! for gods sake! You did the exact same thing!!!!!
The downside of this clip is that Charlie Rose's voice is on the right channel and George Lucas's voice is on the left channel, even though Charlie is sitting on the left and George on the right. Anyone else notice that?
Thank you for doing this.
You Where the Best George Lucas. I will miss your Creativity. I will take The Phantom Menece any day than Disney The Force Awakens Copy and Paste A New Hope. I thought the Star Wars Story took place in a Galaxy Far Far Away. Not A Galaxy close by. I dont watch Star Wars for Feminism or Mocking Religious Beliefs with Crossswords and Knights of Ren. If Jar Jar Abrams Hates Christianity he can say it out loud and not put it in The Force Awakens.
+Nonesuch 77 ? Can you be more specific what you are saying ? Or are you just Disney Trolling ?
+Q. “Quexio” Boberts Who are You ?
+Q. “Quexio” Boberts Another Disney Troll. Why dont you stick to a Disney Channel or watch Ign. Go Buy another The force awakens ticket.
If you didn't see it, he won't bother telling you.
+Lars Lindh I'm surprised the black hero didn't get a mention in your backwater-bible-basher rant. ROFL at "crosswords". I see your beef is against literacy as well!