Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vigilance" data-source="post: 2107633" data-attributes="member: 4275">I keep seeing people mention Lucas having total control as if its purely a product of his being intergalactic warlord (or whatever his title is these days) of a global financial empire.But I seem to recall that Lucas wrote, directed and edited a movie called American Grafitti back in 73. This movie was shot documentary style and used MTV-style music video scenes, set to music from the 50's for god's sake. Everyone thought he was nuts.Yet the movie was a huge success, and I do not mean financially. This film was nominated for 5 academy awards and gave Lucas the clout to try something even more crazy.He would make a science fiction film in the vein of Flash Gordon and Planet of the Apes.Only he would do it in a way no one had ever done sci-fi. The FX would be state of the art. The sound would be state of the art. When no company could produce what he wanted, Lucas started two companies: ILM and Sprocket Studios (later changed to Skywalker Sound).Note to those who thing money has NOTHING to do with this equation, starting companies costs MONEY. Lucas, at a time when he had very little money, was already willing to spend his own money to achieve his VISION. (See how money isn't all about money? Its about art too. This is American Way. Capalism in action.). But we're talking about artistic success.So he makes this movie, which he again writes, and directs and edits. And this time he produces it too. Then he shops it around for a studio, and no one wants it. In fact, they hate it. They tell him it sucks. Finally, desperate to get the movie into which he has sunk so much of his time, energy, vision, reputation and (wait for it) money, produced, Lucas agrees to a deal with 20th Century Fox.He will receive NO SALARY for this film. Instead he will receive 40% of the profits, the complete rights to all sequals and the complete rights to all merchanidsing.Had the movie failed as EVERYONE (but George Lucas) predicted, he would have been penniless. He had sunk all the money he made on American Grafitti (his first and only real comercial film) into a labor of love.This is called, vision, and big brass ones. And THAT is why he has the right to make these movies any damn way he wants.It's his house, and he will paint it whatever color he wants, because he built it with his own hands. When it was going up everyone told him it was ugly and that it would fall down before he could move in.But it didn't, and now that everyone sees how beautiful and sturdy it is, they want him to paint it yellow.Chuck</blockquote>

Verification