George Lucas Blames 'Star Wars' Critics for Killing Series

[Jasperak]

"For any fans awaiting future "Star Wars" films from George Lucas, it's going to be a long wait. The creator of the famed series says he's not going to make any more of these movies and that he's essentially retiring. And for that he blames the harsh feedback from certain fans."

All I can say is good. If the prequels were the best he could do, then good riddance. I have read dozens of ideas that would work better than the prequels.

Read the whole article at the following link: http://movies.msn.com/paralleluniverse/george-lucas-talks-star-wars-critics/story/feature/

p.s. also posted on CM

 

[Starman]

The link is broken for me.

Lucas can really come off like a bitter old man sometimes. In the age of the Internet, you better realize that no matter how awesome you (and maybe many other people) think your stuff is, someone somewhere is going to trash it in some pretty harsh terms, rightly or wrongly. If you can't deal with, it might be best if you just didn't create something for other people to consume.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not one of those guys who spouted vitriol online when I saw The Phantom Menace with my folks, just as I had the original Star Wars as a kid.

We watched the whole movie...and left in abject disappointment. It was such crap, none of us bothered with the other prequels.

Lucas- you want to know who killed the franchise? Look in the mirror while you're washing the blood off your hands.

 

[Kzach]

Agree with all the above.

 

[pauljathome]

. If you can't deal with, it might be best if you just didn't create something for other people to consume.

That is EXACTLY what he is claiming to be doing.

 

[Relique du Madde]

I thought what killed Star Wars is the fact that George lucas only had 4 writing credits between the release of Return of the Jedi and Phantom Menace and zero directing credits between Star Wars and Phantom Menace..

 

[Kzach]

I thought what killed Star Wars is the fact that George lucas only had 4 writing credits between the release of Return of the Jedi and Phantom Menace and zero directing credits between Star Wars and Phantom Menace..

What made the first three successful was the fact that George was a nobody at the time and had producers and professionals in their craft and art telling him what to do and what not to do.

What made the last three such incredible suck was the fact that George was now up in the rarefied atmosphere of directing and producing legends and nobody could tell him what he was doing was stupid and idiotic even though it was stupid and idiotic.

And now, in his extreme arrogance, he blames everyone else but himself despite the fact that the rest of the planet blames him.

 

[jonesy]

The 'making of' footage from the prequel movies pretty much showed that George is no longer a part of reality. He is surrounded by yes-men and marketing people. When everyone around you tells you you are doing a spectacular job the critics outside of it will feel like they don't know what they are talking about.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I agree with all of the above to a degree. This seems like "Why We Can't Have Nice Things: The Force Edition." There is a huge difference to me between criticizing the man's work and the choices he made in the prequels and the add-ons to the originals. But when you make your criticism into attacks, as he states:

Why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?

And don't tell me he's using hyperbole, because I've read and listened to more than enough rabid fanboys calling him much worse than a 'terrible person.' Should he grow a thicker skin? Yes, IMO. But, not a single one of you can say you know how it feels when so much hate is directed at you. Not your work, but at you personally.

It's easy to say "boo hoo, poor George" sarcastically, as was my first reaction. But I'm not sure that's fair and this age of bullying people just because you're anonymously crapping all over the internet is getting out of hand.

 

[billd91]

And don't tell me he's using hyperbole, because I've read and listened to more than enough rabid fanboys calling him much worse than a 'terrible person.' Should he grow a thicker skin? Yes, IMO. But, not a single one of you can say you know how it feels when so much hate is directed at you. Not your work, but at you personally.

It's easy to say "boo hoo, poor George" sarcastically, as was my first reaction. But I'm not sure that's fair and this age of bullying people just because you're anonymously crapping all over the internet is getting out of hand.

When criticizing someone's art, is it really that different from criticizing them? Entwined in criticizing the art is criticizing their artistic vision, their personal preferences, their qualities of judgment. I can see how it would be taken to be incredibly personal. Perhaps not as personal as complaining that Lucas is a man with no neck or that, perhaps, Picasso was an asshat in his personal behavior, but it is stuff that gets at the core of who the artist is.

The terrible pieces of art Lucas foisted off on the public in the name of Star Wars deserve the criticism they get. I found them terribly disappointing on the whole with very few bright spots (the light saber fight between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Darth Maul being one of them). That wouldn't stop me from mingling with Lucas at a cocktail party or playing cards with him. It's not personal in that sense, but I do question his artistic vision and that is personal.