Posted on 05/04/2005 7:14:23 AM PDT by dead
Ask George Lucas about his hopes for the closing instalment of Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith, and he replies that he expects it to fail.
In an interview with TIME magazine, Lucas says that like everyone who makes movies, he is "always convinced the next one will be a flop".
"So right now I’m thinking it probably won’t make any money and will be considered a failure."
But in spite of his fears, he concedes he is very satisfied with the final product. "I think it turned out as well as I could have hoped, and at the same time I'm very glad that I finished it."
Others may be less glad the saga has finally come to an end. In the first published review of Revenge of the Sith, filmmaker, Kevin Smith described the film as "so satisfyingly tragic, you'll think you're watching 'Othello' or 'Hamlet'".
"This is the 'Star Wars' prequel the haters have been bitching for since 'Menace' came out, and if they don't cop to that when they finally see it, they're lying," added the maker of Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jersey Girl.
Despite the staunch enthusiasm of fans of the original Star Wars, Lucas said he never really entertained the fact that there would ever be more than one film. "I expected it to take me a year, year and a half to make, and then I expected to move on to other things."
Lucas considers the Star Wars storytelling format very stylised, and "very much in opposition to what my natural inclinations are".
He now hopes to explore more abstract forms of filmmaking that interested him in his days at film school. "It's vaguely in the land of music videos, I guess, but I don't even know how to describe them. I know they won't be mainstream movies. I'm sure they'll be just as criticized as Star Wars films are," he said.
Lucas also has a hankering to work in television principally to shift away from doing anything that may considered "important". He said television offered the chance to do "really great work" without all of the "megillah" that surrounds film.
Revenge of the Sith is being released around the world on May 19.
Would someone get this walking carpet out of this movie?
i've read the script, seen snippets of the movie from the XBOX and PS2 games, and read the reviews. This movie is going to be the best of the six. I have no doubt about that. It sold out advance tickets completely in several markets. it is going to be huge. People forget that Phantom Menace and Attack of The Clones were neccessary developmental stories that lead us into this one. if he had gone in numerical order, and we had no other "star wars" product to compare it to, people would probably recognize it for what it is, a trilogy of movies that develop a completed story in the last installment, much like Lord of the Rings did.
Interesting.
I think the opposite.
I liked the Phantom Menace but thought Attack of the Clones was pretty lame.
You're right about Jar-Jar Binks though. He had way too much screen time.
I am looking forward to seeing Revenge of the Sith though. Everything should all come together in this episode.
Like to see how they change the 20-something jedi into James Earl Jones.
After seeing that picture, I realize how much I wish I had a light saber...
Those movies went seriously downhill after
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away..........
"So right now I’m thinking it probably won’t make any money "
Edited out of the article: "However, the toys, posters, deals with McDonalds, DVD, video game etc. will make me hundreds of millions of dollars" he said with a wry smile.
The best Star Wars movie of all is Spaceballs.
I dunno. I've been reading rumors that the film will come off as an allegory about Bush and Iraq, and guess which character is the Bush stand-in. For example, apparently there is a scene where Annakin is fighting Obi-Wan and says "You're either with us or against us". Again, just a rumor but we'll see.
Is that the same as hugh?
Tried to watch TPM, but only make it about halfway through it.
Guess it's the whole 'prequel' concept.
Why would it matter how the characters GOT to the original trilogy if you already know how the whole thing ends?
Lucas took a gamble that most fans would care, and it wound up biting him on the arse.
LOL!
Had Lucas written in a Jar-Jar death scene he probably would have created the highest grossing movie of all time.
Bragging, are we?
Lucas absolutely lucked out in casting the first trilogy. Unfortunately, his luck hasn't held through the second set. Hayden Christensen can barely speak English, much less act. Natalie Portman is cute, but has acting skills better suited to Days Of Our Lives. She also affects an accent that comes and goes at random, a malady known in our household as "PLS", or "Princess Leia Syndrome", in honor of Carrie Fisher's come-and-go accent in the original. And now we're promised an epic bummer of a tragedy featuring these canned hams? I wonder if Lucas knows his audience as well as he thinks he does.
Hey Lucas! Quit putting out crap and it might just succeed. My 10yr old even thinks the last 2 were lame.
Does this movie have a plot?
LOL!!!
You're right.-
With the toys and stuff I got my son for his birthday (plus a few guilty pleasures for yours truly) I've already put Lucas in the black!
Let's face it.. the height of the Star Wars series was THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. RETURN OF THE JEDI was pretty weak, with its cute-and-cuddly Ewoks and the lame-o romance between Princess Lay-me and Han Solo.
THE PHANTOM MENACE put me to sleep, and THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES featured an even more lame-o romance between Anakin and another princess (although looking at Natalie Portman in a skin-tight white body suit made up for some of the poor human dramatics).
But I don't think Lucas has to worry about a failure. The faithful will turn out in sufficient numbers for the movie to make money. It will only be considered a failure when measured against the original.
I'm with you. That said,
I think George has it backward.
I'm sure this movie
will makes lots of cash,
and I'm pretty damn certain
it will be thought of
as a big failure
as entertainment and art.
But the folks that go
won't care much about
entertainment or art, they
just like flashing lights.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.