Page 1 of 1
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 1:54 pm
by thibodeaux
Resolved: Irving Kirschner is responsible for the good parts of the Star Wars saga, and George Lucas for the bad.
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 1:57 pm
by GORDON
I think that's pretty much axiom at this point.
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 3:13 pm
by Malcolm
Not quite. George Lucas does not operate well in a vacuum or environments where he's got absolute authority. That's because, when it really comes down to it, his tendency to ignore reality backfires on all kinds of practical levels. Unless he has constant and complete sanity checking, there's a strong possibility he'll warp and destroy a perfectly serviceable idea.
Boba Fett's death ... Greedo shooting first .... Ewoks .... fucking Jar-Jar Binks ... mitochlorians ... need I go on?
Was it bad to kill Fett, redo the Greedo/Han thing, plant a native race on the moon of Endor, add comic relief to a flick, or explain a bit of how the Force works? No, not necessarily (although I'm really stretching that on a couple of those). Were they done shittily? Fuck, yes. Could they have been done in a decent, if not cool way? Probably.
Lucas just had "story by" credits for Ep. V. Other people produced it, wrote the screenplay, directed it, etc. His pulling off Ep. IV (mainly on his own) seems to be his lucky fluke. Or perhaps people are just more forgiving of the flick where it's likely they saw their first impromptu standing ovation.
Lucas's problem is that his stupidity tends to be radioactive. He needs lead lining. Oh yeah, and his goddamned ego.
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 4:55 pm
by GORDON
No, episode 4 was saved by his wife. She heavily edited what George produced, and most peeps in the know say she saved the movie.
This is why she got so much of the Star Wars pie in the divorce, but not money from merchandising... Which is why George does so much merchandising, and has all but destroyed the franchise adding all the cuddly kid shit that sells toys.
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 5:27 pm
by Malcolm
GORDON wrote:No, episode 4 was saved by his wife. She heavily edited what George produced, and most peeps in the know say she saved the movie.
This is why she got so much of the Star Wars pie in the divorce, but not money from merchandising... Which is why George does so much merchandising, and has all but destroyed the franchise adding all the cuddly kid shit that sells toys.
That still supports my theory of "his thoughts need external filtering."
Without Lucas, no one rips off a Japanese movie and adds Buddhist overtones, ergo no Star Wars, period.
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 9:15 pm
by GORDON
I think we all agree Lucas really kind of sucks, but got lucky.
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2010 11:08 pm
by Malcolm
GORDON wrote:I think we all agree Lucas really kind of sucks, but got lucky.
Yeah, he was lucky he insisted on keeping creative control of shit. And that merchandising thing. Goddamn, that merchandise.
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 10:08 am
by Leisher
How smart was Ford to insist upon a slice of that merchandising pie instead of an outright salary?
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 12:45 pm
by Malcolm
Leisher wrote:How smart was Ford to insist upon a slice of that merchandising pie instead of an outright salary?
I thought that originally started because Lucas had to give 1% of the gross (of everything) before Alec Guinness would sign on. He then retroactively made that offer to all the other main cast members.
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:49 pm
by Leisher
He then retroactively made that offer to all the other main cast members.
I thought it was just Ford. Somebody wiki that...
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:56 pm
by Malcolm
Leisher wrote:He then retroactively made that offer to all the other main cast members.
I thought it was just Ford. Somebody wiki that...
My mistake ... from wikipedia ...
Guinness agreed to take the part on the condition that he would not have to do any publicity to promote the film. He was also one of the few cast members who believed that the film would be a box office hit; he negotiated a deal for two percent of the gross
Apparently, Alec's estate gets two percent. I'm pretty sure Lucas went back and gave at least 1% to Mark, Carrie, Harrison.
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 4:28 pm
by GORDON
Probably to get them to sign on to the sequels.
Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:10 pm
by Malcolm
GORDON wrote:Probably to get them to sign on to the sequels.
Lucas is also the dude that told the SAG to fuck off before it was fashionable. But yeah, I'd be interested to know exactly the timeframe that elapsed between Alec getting the percentage & Ford et al getting their share.