Kurtz versus Lucas

[Valmy]

Yeah I remember thinking it was silly they did the Death Star thing again. 

[CountDeMoney]

It's sad how, with the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars he would have made normally had he not reduced the franchise to a mere marketing machine, Lucas would be prepared to sabotage his magnum opus and reputation to make still more money. 

Sure, buying your 5th luxury car for your collection would be nice, but after some level of material comfort, I'd rather have my immortal works live on as best I could make them.

Didn't stop Gene Roddenberry.

[Valmy]

He already has loyalty of millions of nerds.  Would making the films better change anything?  Nobody was going to think this was high art.

Lucas is a pretty hated man.  I used to think he was laughing all the way to the bank but it seems to have really gotten to him.

[Eddie Teach]

I like the ewoks,

Go fuck yourself and your teddy bears.

Not my fault you were too old to appreciate it when it came out.

[Razgovory]

He already has loyalty of millions of nerds.  Would making the films better change anything?  Nobody was going to think this was high art.

Lucas is a pretty hated man.  I used to think he was laughing all the way to the bank but it seems to have really gotten to him.

In 1984?  This is before the prequels.

[Syt]

He already has loyalty of millions of nerds.  Would making the films better change anything?  Nobody was going to think this was high art.

Lucas is a pretty hated man.  I used to think he was laughing all the way to the bank but it seems to have really gotten to him.

IIRC, one of GL's goals was to become independent of the film studios to be able to pursue his "artistic vision". After Star Wars and Indy he's basically achieved that to a very large degree. Problem is that his visions aren't as popular as he thought they might be and that by the time of the prequels he was surrounded by yes-men who didn't dare challenge his ideas and concepts.

[Valmy]

In 1984?  This is before the prequels.

I thought you were asking if things would have turned out differently if the films had been better.

[Razgovory]

In 1984?  This is before the prequels.

I thought you were asking if things would have turned out differently if the films had been better.

Eh, I was thinking about the third one.  Even with the teddy bears it had the fanboy devotion.

[Valmy]

Problem is that his visions aren't as popular as he thought they might be and that by the time of the prequels he was surrounded by yes-men who didn't dare challenge his ideas and concepts.

The prequels made a shitload of money.  But man I was amazed at the time and am still rather puzzled by just how bad they were as films.  It is almost like Lucas forgot the basics of how to do a script and develope characters and make story arcs and the whole deal. 

[Valmy]

Eh, I was thinking about the third one.  Even with the teddy bears it had the fanboy devotion.

It is because people loved the characters.  And it was not like Return of the Jedi wasn't without its moments.  It just seemed to lack coherence in a way the previous ones didn't.  The three climaxes at the same time was particularly awkward I think.

[Tonitrus]

The three climaxes at the same time was particularly awkward I think.

That's what she said...

Sorry, couldn't resist. 

[Camerus]

He already has loyalty of millions of nerds.  Would making the films better change anything?  Nobody was going to think this was high art.

It doesn't need to be "high art" to achieve greatness. There is such a thing as demotic great art. And I think had Lucas kept up the quality of episodes 4 and 5, he could be remembered as a visionary who created an immortal story that drew on our universal archetypes, instead of how he is thought of now.

Regarding using the Star Wars franchise to finance other visions, one can't help be reminded of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who felt the same about his Sherlock Holmes books.  Of course, nobody remembers anything about him now but the Sherlock Holmes stories...

[The Brain]

Lucas followed his vision: make money and use racist stereotypes.

[The Brain]

Actually I think that the later movies demonstrate how he later refocused on artistic vision. He can't seriously have believed that total crap would maximize his profits, but he went for it anyway. His vision demanded Der Stürmer level antisemitism and minstrel show sensitivity to black issues.

[CountDeMoney]

I like the ewoks,

Go fuck yourself and your teddy bears.

Not my fault you were too old to appreciate it when it came out.

I was 14.  It was enough to wreck my childhood.