Thoughts On Why George Lucas Is An Enormous Hypocrite
I’m done. Absolutely finished with George Lucas. Finished with his ego and his posturing, completely done with the man’s pandering and pride.
To set the stage, first I have to make it clear, I once was Lucas’ biggest fan. I defended his every move. That asinine holiday special? Defended him. Two Death Stars and two repeating movies in episode 4 and 6? Han shot first debacle? Defended him. Even the prequels, throughout, I defended him. “It’s his vision… They are his creation!” I shouted out across the cacophony of opposing voices. “Let him constantly rework his magnum opus, they are his gift to the world.” I naively proclaimed.
Then Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney. 4 Billion dollars later the deal was done. Lucas wept on the shoulder of the Disney company and proclaimed how happy he was that someone he could trust was finally capable of taking over his vision. He did photo ops, and he schlepped around Hollywood and proclaimed his relief. He spoke about being 70 and how if it took 10 years to do another 3 movies he’d be 80 and even less likely to survive the next round. So, heck, Disney was the perfect choice to carry the mantle forward. Disney was Lucas’ savior.
Until they weren’t anymore.
The storm was coming. To anyone that was paying any sort of attention it was more than obvious. First was his quiet grumbling about how the Mouse had chosen not to use his scripts that came with the purchases of Lucas Film and Star Wars. There was the question from Lucas himself to J.J. about who Anakin’s grandchildren had become. Sort of a wink and a node to the fact that he was asking the upstart what he was doing with his babies. Then came his comments after seeing the film… “I am sure this is the film the fans are wanting to see.” Oh, so filled with passive aggressive hostility. Oh so filled with a quiet rage at his being cut out of the creative vision. And then there was the Charlie Rose interview and all hell broke loose in my brain.
But first, let’s review a few of the more egregious quotes from the interview…
In discussing his scripts for Episodes VII through IX he said, “They looked at the stories, and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans,’” Lucas said. “They decided they didn’t want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing. … They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway — but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. And I don’t have the control to do that anymore, and all I would do is muck everything up,” he said. “And so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.’”
But better yet was his now infamous slavers comment that is only now starting to get momentum on the interwebs. “I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and…,” and then Lucas stopped, because he realized he was about to get into some serious trouble. Actually, that one line, that single line was the line that caused me to leave Team Lucas and to join Team J.J. & Kennedy. Since these comments Lucas has tried to “clarify” what he had meant. And out came all the superlatives, I LOVE J.J.! And I’m so proud of the box office results! So excited. Whatever.
But it’s this comment that truly made me laugh and truly showed where Lucas had gone so wrong so many years ago, “They wanted to do a retro movie. I don’t like that,” Lucas told Rose. “Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different. I made them completely different—different planets, different spaceships to make it new.”
And there, in a nutshell, is where Lucas went so wrong with “his series”. He lost the point. He lost the truly capitulating aspect of his Space Opera. It never was the new ships, or the new planets that captivated his fans. Sure, they were fun. But they weren’t the draw. We had plenty of ships and planets in Jupiter Ascending… Yah, no thanks. He lost the fact that we care about the characters and the struggle against the rising darkness. Ewoks? Jar Jar Binks? Coruscant? Whatever. Flawed characters, lost in the galaxy, hoping for their parents to return, who may in fact be the heir apparent of the Force? Yes please. I’ll have seconds of that… (And thirds and fourths… Seeing as though I’ve seen it 4 times in the first week. Yeah, I dig the new story.)
I’m currently hyperventilating. You are probably like, hrrrmmm. Ok. Whatever. But for me, with Lucas’ latest comments and his “clarifications” just come off as absolute insane ramblings to me. I’m now clear, with these latest spewings that the man is the single biggest hypocrite to walk the planet today. Don’t get me wrong… I’m not without my own faults. But this guy sold his vision for 4 billion. And now he wants to decry the sale as profiteering by white slave traders? This is all pure tripe.
Lucas’ number one argument that has carried him all these years is that he is an outsider to Hollywood. And let me be the first to call him out on the utter falseness of this argument, the utter illogicalness of this obviously thin defense.
Let’s be clear here… Lucas IS Hollywood. Sure, Lucas was the first person to OUT Hollywood Hollywood. Lucas gave Hollywood Masters seminars on how to out monetize the rest of the field on your properties. Lucas showed Hollywood the value of merchandizing rights. Lucas taught Hollywood how to make real money instead of the paltry money available via ticket sales. And then, having made billions on toy sales he bought back the rights to his one first love in order to teach a new class on the meaning of the word prequels. And all along, Lucas was hiring people with talent and under paying them because of the prestige they would gain from having worked on a Lucas property. Lucas was known for profiteering off the backs of unknowns. This is a fact, and a well known truth within the industry.
What everyone hates about Hollywood isn’t the sign in the side of the Hollywood hills. And it isn’t the town. What everyone hates is the idea that studios are solely in it for the money. And let’s call a spade a spade here. Lucas has been in it for the money ever since he tasted the honey of success.
I probably would have too. I’m not above that particular siren song. No way. If someone were to come along and offer me a publishing deal for my Glitches story, I’d take it, and give them 10 more, all riding on the success of that first story. Sure! Who wouldn’t.
But for Lucas to press the back of his hand to his forehead and to swoon as he says… NOW WE SEE WHO THE WHITE SLAVE TRADERS ARE! Is pure hypocrisy. The timing of these comments come eerily close to the awareness that The Force Awakens is going to be a success. A huge huge huge success. It’s still a little early, but Awakens will surely be the second highest grossing film of all time, if not the number one highest. This is a forgone conclusion. And Disney, has successfully parlayed the merchandising off of Star Wars into Five Billion dollars of sales this year alone. Do remember what Lucas sold for? That’s right. 4 billion. There are four more movies in the works. There are whole theme parks based on Star Wars coming. And Star Wars has given Disney its first 5 billion revenue year. So of course George is sucking hard on that sour grape right about now. He is outraged that someone other than himself, is profiteering off the back of his ideas.
George is a control freak, and right now, he is dying on the inside. I’m guessing that Disney is still paying him something somewhere to continue to nod and give his thumbs up to the new age of Star Wars. But he’s done now that he’s seen how happy the fans are that he’s not involved any more. He’s literally finished with the current state of events. He won’t keep quiet about it all any longer. And that is where I am calling his bluff.
George, just because you’ve been out maneuvered in the court of public opinion, and inside the box office till, and at the theme parks, doesn’t make Disney slavers any more than you have been. And here’s some advice. The more you decry the new films and their new owner, the more you are going to drive your once allegheny fans into the arms of this new order. I’m already gone, and am calling you out on your duplicitousness. But maybe somewhere, someone will still respect you if you shut up now.