Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see"

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

[quote author=10s link=board=Offtopic;num=1105043855;start=30#39 date=01/06/05 at 22:56:58]I don't know about what I'm reading here...hmmmm?

Lucas has brought more great innovation into film in the last 25 years than any other film maker. He's the one largely responsible for HD going 24P ....and your DVX. Yes, he got Sony to do it 1st & then others followed. HD 60i was around 15 years ago, only now is it a serious contender for 35mmm production.

Star Wars had some stupid stuff in it, I'll admit, but most of it was great and still is. he's responsible for the creation of ILM, Dolby sound, THX...

I think you guys got it wrong.

[/quote]

You got it right, unfortunatly, some people take a very narrow view of things. missing the important details.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

I've really enjoyed everything but Jar Jar. That is the only element I could live without, but there could be more to it than the surface would show.
Everything about Star Wars is based on a mans intensive study of mythology, archetypal metaphor, religion and humanity. Every character was created with that in mind, more or less. Maybe Jar Jar is here to teach us something about ourselves. Look at what strong passions developed toward the character immediately upon release of the movie. That characters presence just tore people up, and mostly with a negative emotion backing it up. Maybe in our more subtle psyche, we have issues from the influence of the dark side that coping with Jar Jar can help us to patch before the holes get too big.
This May we will be recieving some of the most important information about our collective concious that mankind will ever be given. Of course, I'm biased, because Star Wars and THX1138 have influenced my life in ways that I honor with all I have.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

I'm up late once again as usual & can't sleep.

Let me tell you my story about Start Wars.

Back in 1977 I believe, during my college days, six months prior to Start Wars a friend & I were at a terrible movie where we happened to see a trailer for this cool looking space movie. It was the best thing about the movie that night. In the trailer, there were these space ships that shot at each other and actually killed each other. We look at each other...cool...it's about time we had something like this! This should be like Star Trek on steriods. Time passed.......I forgot about it.

Six months later my friend calls me up, "hey that movies playing!, what movie, I said, you know the one we saw, the space ships that blow each other up, he said, lets go. yeah....I guess so, nothing else to do."

We head to downtown Seattle and went in the 1st showing at the nice theatre, (I forgot the name of it). About 3 or 4 other people were in the theatre, no one there for the 1st day, 1st showing. We sat down. I didn't expect much, it was just a movie... most of them let you down and stunk...., I could barely remember the trailer from six months prior. But hey, It was something to do.

The lights go down and the music starts, the old symphonic style... hmmm, that wasn't used much at all anymore, this was the 1970s! what! we have disco!...... hmmmmmm.......The titles came into the dark depth of space and tapered off out of view, hey...haven't seen that, that was pretty cool.

All of a sudden a speeding space ship goes racing by, Yeah....alright,  then this thing a rumbling image & sound came from the top right of the screen, the theatre shook, the speakers were louder than I had ever heard, what was this thing? it was a ......spaceship growing larger & larger every second, and it was burned and dirty & beat up on the outside. ....i had never seen anything even close to this.

It was enormous...the size of city, oh my gosh! Lazers were firing.....my friend & I turned to each other, our jaws dropped, we had never seen anything like it. Nothing was even remotely close....we were shocked.............................................................................................................................................................Sometime later we found ourselves walking out of the theatre transformed, somewhat dazed. What the heck did we just see?  We couldn't stop talking...it was fantastic. It was everything: fun, exciting, fast, dramatic, spiritual, it was an experience, a life lifting experience. How could we even tell others about it? Could we even express it? Would they listen? No one was there to see this movie, this is a crime..............................................................................I think I told a few people about it that day, they sort of listened and said, hmmmmm ...well that sounds fun.....what!....fun?....is that all....................

The next day...somehow the word got out. There was a line down the street.... and so it has been ever since.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

"Lucas didn't direct or write Empire or Jedi." Exactly. He's the most AMAZING One Hit Wonder of ALL Time!!!

He has ridden the Stars Wars gravy-train ever since 1977. Inspiring thousands of filmmakers and millions of moviegoers along the way. He was a genius and an innovator. That's more than most people. But I definitely feel that he hit is peak decades ago and has, ever since, been nothing more than "typical." Admit it, the last 2 Star Wars were nothing that screamed "LUCAS!" Anyone could have made them. But when the original came out it was revolutionary. He needs to be revolutionary again and come out with something that screams LUCAS!!! again. Not produce the Same Ole Same Ole (which, keep in mind, I'm not even capable of doing).
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Okay everybody - CALM DOWN!

We're all a little emotional about this, and I think we should take things slowly and point by point. Now, I love ILM just like the next guy. I've spent plenty of time with my tools up at Kerner Optical and have nothing but admiration for the analog effects and digital advances Lucas is directly responsible for. They even pay well.

Now, that said, I have to say that Lucas has lost his vision for the Star Wars franchise. He is desperately out of touch with his viewership - neither pleasing first-generation fans or capturing new ones to the extent he should be able to. Again, I point to Empire as the pinnacle of the series for its effects and the confidence exhibited by all the cast - they knew episode V was going to be huge.

Now, PK - I think we have to give Lucas a little credit on the directing lapse accusations. After all, wasn't he producing Raiders of the Lost Ark with Spielberg while Episode V was in production? Raiders is certainly one of the few perfect films in modern American cinema - it is almost completely without flaw. That's a testament to Lucas' vision and Spielberg's implementation of the project - their best collaboration.

Denholm Elliott. At what point did the well-educated and paternal Dr. Brody become a bumbling, incompetent heal? It's like John Cleese as Q. Not even funny in Denholm Elliott's case - just uncomfortable and odd to watch. Too bad he died before the 4th installment - maybe they would have just put him in a tutu and fuzzy slippers for a laugh.

I am a huge Sean Connery fan, but I thought his cartoonishly realized character was way light. Oh, he's so mean! He makes River Phoenix count in dead languages - ewwww! Maybe Lucas became somewhat more committed to creating lighter family-oriented entertainment with the maturing of his own kids?

Needless to say, Lucas has advanced technical filmmaking more than any other one person since George Eastman.

That is all I have to say about that.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

The Greeks might argue about their language being dead...or was it Latin?

The only thing Lucas needs to do, is whatever he wants to do. He has no obligation to us. I don't think I would like it if fans of my older work dictated to me what I should do. Of course, we don't have to like what he does either.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

I think he should do exactly what his vision tells him to - that's the true mandate for any real artist. Like Jim says, it is up to the public to accept his vision in commercial terms.

e
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Well see, we cant be too quick to negate the direct hand of The Force in the making of these movies. Perhaps he is indeed adhering very strictly to the vision he is being given. It takes a lot of effort to try to really understand what The Force is trying to tell us through these, and many other films by a great diversity of artists with a great diversity of angles being shown.

I think it is best to simply take the attitude that whatever we are given through Lucas's work is virtually perfect in the eyes of The Force, and it is up to us to seek understanding.

There is a piece of psycology I picked up somewhere, maybe from Jung, that pretty much says that anything you cant stand about someone or something...is a direct reflection of something within yourself. It says that you would otherwise not even be able to identify that quality in them if you were not first familiar with it....within yourself. So apply that to Jar Jar, and see where that takes you. Probably some interesting places.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

[quote author=pookie link=board=Offtopic;num=1105043855;start=30#40 date=01/06/05 at 23:15:03]

You got it right, unfortunatly, some people take a very narrow view of things. missing the important details.[/quote]

And Jerry Lewis invented the video assist. I still don't like his films. :)

Dan
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

:(
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Isn't it interesting how an audience tends to own an artist and demand they be served?

This is somethng we all do. We get something we appreciate and then we demand more. "More," we demand, "I want that feeling I had the 1st I experienced it."

Is this realistic?

When the artist delivers something not up to our liking we complain, "how dare they!" We then go off and fume about how this artist has lost it. When the artist delivers something that offends us but others enjoy we say, "he's caving-in to commercial interests and not being true." When the artist pleases us then it's, "well it's about time! yeah ...I guess he's still got it."

So on one hand we want the artist to do what we want, yet on the other hand we despize them when they lower themselves to pleasing others (they sold out), including ourselves. Seems like an artist can't win.

Cinematic stories extend out life experience by taking us into different worlds that we can't get to on our own. The storyteller / artist dreams up these worlds and builds them. We are invited in to experience it. Sometimes we find it pleasing to enter into these worlds while other times we are insulted by it.

If a film maker can tell me a story where I believe it for a short duration (suspension of disbelief) they're doing their job. If I have an emotional experience, the film maker is doing an even better job. If this artist can take me to a place where I have some sort of profound shift in my awareness, every so slight, this is great work. If the artist can do this for large numbers of people then I would have to say they are very good at their craft.

Maybe one sign of a good craftsman/artist is that they are both despised & loved.

What is really interesting to me is the realtionship we create with a person we don't know.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

The only problem I have with Lucas is making stupid changes to movies which had been in the public consciousness for 20 years. I don't even care if Episodes I and II have "Star Wars" in their title; I can ignore them and in my mind make them not exist. (Much as I do with "Highlander II.") They mean nothing to me. But to makes those changes to the originals and then declare the theatrical versions to exist no longer -- I do think the artist has a little bit of responsibility there. Those already-existing movies aren't ONLY his anymore.

Personally, I fully believe that making Greedo shoot first is as much an affront as colorizing a B/W classic, it so fundamentally changes the nature of Solo and as such, the triology.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

After years of therapy I had finally convinced myself that there was never a Highlander II. Thanks for reminding me of it's existence.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Highlander 2: The Debacle
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

[quote author=pookie link=board=Offtopic;num=1105043855;start=30#37 date=01/06/05 at 22:37:44]And of course you'd refuse an invitation to the ranch, wouldn't you?

Too bad, it's quite incredible.[/quote]

You have been?
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&a

[quote author=10s link=board=Offtopic;num=1105043855;start=30#39 date=01/06/05 at 22:56:58]

Lucas has brought more great innovation into film in the last 25 years than any other film maker.
[/quote]

This is true and should not be overlooked! Even if he makes "Dude, where's my car two"

[quote author=P.K. Gillock link=board=Offtopic;num=1105043855;start=30#43 date=01/07/05 at 01:24:22]"Lucas didn't direct or write Empire or Jedi." Exactly. He's the most AMAZING One Hit Wonder of ALL Time!!!

He has ridden the Stars Wars gravy-train ever since 1977..[/quote]

I agree 100% but this can also be a positive thing. Because of this gravy train he has been able to surround himself with amazing talent and create advancements of incredible scopes. Getting good people is a talent in itself. Jerry Bruckheimer has made some cool movies by getting good people, but has not written or directed a minute of film.


[quote author=Jim Brennan link=board=Offtopic;num=1105043855;start=30#38 date=01/06/05 at 22:54:05]For that I will forgive him Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks.[/quote]

I think the only thing that would forgive Jar Jar would be a cure for cancer.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Forgive me for being redundant as those know me have seen me stake this claim before;

1. Star Wars and Empire are phenomenal. Wonderful films; some of the best ever made. The franchise took its turn for the worse with the introduction of the EWOK; a little too cute for the Star Wars Universe in my opinion. The first (2) films forever rock sans the ridiculous CGI Jabba in the SE SW; talk about ruining a perfect film. I have trouble stomaching that scene and my son will never know the original in its purest form.

JEDI is a nice completion to the trilogy but even HAN has become a kind of nancy. What happended to the scoundrel and tough guy? I guess being frozen in carbonite will humble a man.


2. RAIDERS might be one of the top 10 best films ever made for me. Probally the single defining film that made me want to be a filmmaker. An amazing, serious, plausible world. Gritty, dangerous and serious! The film was even nominated for BEST PICTURE; now that is saying something. The next (2) films just go down hill.

SHORT ROUND doing Karate chops on Thuggies? I don't mind the little kid hanging out, but keep it real! The kid is beating up 2 and 3 guys at a time? Even at 14 I was let-down.

CRUSADE just sucks. BRODY being turned into an idiot is beyond me. Even Sallah lost that charm in the third one. The NAZI's are played out as bumbling bufoons whilst RAIDERS portrayed them as legitimate badasses. CRUSADE is a lame film with it's cutesy scenes: The man in library stamping the books as INDY hammers the marble floor? The opening sequence is absurd with the train sequence and the LION and RHINOS and SNAKES. As much as I love CONNERY, his character is lame. Even the effects suck.

They need to take RAIDERS back to a serious level. Contend for an OSCAR why don't they? Forget about MArketing for one second and the toys and lunchbozes. End the FRANCHISE on a positive note. How about a DRAMA with the ADVENTURE thrown in? Not an ADVENTURE with COMEDY thrown in. I don't mind comedy relief; even the most serious of films have them, but CRUSADE is a bad dream.

The new Star Wars films? Hate them.
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Let's get out our pitchforks and torches!
 
Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

Re: Lucas: "make movies nobody wants to see&q

... and make us some zombie pictures!
 
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