George Lucas Says He's Retiring

[Swede]

He ran out of movies to tinker with,I guess?


George Lucas may well be one of the most controversial figures in modern moviemaking. His unwavering devotees declare that he is a groundbreaking genius who not only created an incredible six-part space saga, but also validated the science fiction genre. His detractors, however, insist he's spent the latter half of his career undermining his early glory and destroying his legacy. Both sides are sure to have plenty to say about Lucas's latest ambition.




http://www.cinemablend.com/new/George-Lucas-Says-He-Retiring-31174.html

[HopeHoops]

1. Is he going to go all translucent and glowing in a brown robe or something?

[HappyMe]

2. Okay.

[MicaelS]

3. Never understood the attitude of the public

Who think they somehow "own" some artist's work, and object when said artist wants to "tinker" with something he or she created. Lucas said several times if the CG technology had been available back then, he would have used it.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

4. The baker owns the cake but the eater is free to say there's too much salt

[sarge43]

6. Particularly true when the eater has paid for the cake. n/t

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. I guess he realized Jar Jar Binks is one tough act to follow. n/t

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. Jar Jar Binks cured me of my pacifist urges.

[RZM]

8. He seems quite unhappy

I think he's tired of the constant criticism, which is understandable. But it's also true that he lost his touch when it comes to directing people and not just special effects. The dialogue in in all three Star Wars prequels elicited groans and laughter in the theaters.

And he also has egg on his face from the 'Red Tails' fiasco, where he unsuccessfully tried to show that he knows better than the big studio execs. He claims that they wouldn't finance the film because of its mostly black cast, but that's only party true. The execs knew that it was a losing proposition even though (or perhaps because) Lucas was at the helm. He decided to finance it himself and ended up taking a bath on it, in no small part because the film was poorly reviewed.

It reminds me of an argument that Chris Rock and Spike Lee had on Rock's old HBO show. Lee was chastising the black community for not coming out to support black films, while Rock reminded him that if you want the community to come out support a film, it first has to be good enough to be worth seeing. Apparently 'Red Tails' wasn't.

Maybe it's for the best. He still has an amazing body of work under his belt and I think his legacy as a legendary filmmaker will remain intact.

[edbermac]

9. He should have retired after American Graffiti.

That was on cable the other day, it was still fun to watch.