The Real Force Behind 'Star Wars': How George Lucas Built an Empire

a thoughtful web.

Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!

The Real Force Behind 'Star Wars': How George Lucas Built an Empire · 4

thenewgreen · 4673 days ago

He may have crapped all over our childhoods with the prequels but the man sure knows how to go to market: What Star Wars has to do with selling cute German imports is not entirely clear. But the tie-in of Star Wars to Volkswagen's advertising is: The ads immediately went viral (as does virtually anything Star Wars), thus not only promoting the new Beetle but also the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, in theaters Feb. 10 in a new 3D conversion.

tweet · print · htmlmarkup tips · 0

lucky_cabbage · 4637 days ago · link ·

How come your ad didn't go viral? ;-) I guess my question is when is the dark lord going to stop releasing the umpteenth version of his movies and hand off this once great franchise to somebody who can develop a decent screenplay and come out with something fresh and new? Hopefully that person won't have to create some annoying as hell character to suck in the kids (jar jar!) to make up for his inability to write a halfway adult conversation. To your point of the prequels sucking, it feels like he recycled as much dialogue as possible from the originals. Maybe the next release will find some way to input product placement into the originals and destroy those for good as well?

+discuss+discuss

–

thenewgreen · 4636 days ago · link ·

Your question is a good one, I wish any of us knew the answer. In his defense, it must be difficult to let go of the reigns of something you've spent a life working on. That said, lets say he does relinquish control, who would you want to be at the helm? What directors out there do you think would be an interesting fit?

+discuss+discuss

–

lucky_cabbage · 4636 days ago · link ·

If i had to pick one director for a one off star wars movie, it has to be Christopher Nolan? I've always enjoyed the darker elements of star wars canon and I think he would bring that out the best. However, I wouldn't be opposed to Lucas being involved, just let someone else write the screenplay. The man can't write, his ego is too bloated to accept anybody's criticism.

My biggest gripe with Lucas isn't that he made a few bad movies ... every director has at some point. It's the endless re-release of the films with small tweaks or packaging changes. There have been at least three in the last ten years. These changes dont do anything except act as a cash cow for the mans ego. Just because there is demand for a release with the latest and greatest tech, doesn't mean he should do it. Maybe the next one will have a cgi image of a middle finger in the background.

+discuss+discuss

–

thenewgreen · 4636 days ago · link ·

Maybe the next one will have a cgi image of a middle finger in the background. -Nice.

Have you seen this yet? I think it's absolutely hilarious (even if it's a bit dark) and as a Star Wars fan you should check it out: http://hubski.com/pub?id=10154

The Christopher Nolan call is a good one, that would be great. I think he should let someone else take complete control. That would be so exciting as a fan. I would actually like to see someone recreate the prequels. Total re-write, totally different actors just erase the debacle. That will never happen but if it did, I would be thrilled.