Book: George Lucas - A Life

"Wild Sex" is temporarily put aside while I dive into my Xmas book from my brother-in-law. So far, 113 pages in, it is readable and entertaining though it reveals nothing I haven't read a million times elsewhere. At least it isn't boring.

When Warner Bros took the print of THX-1138 and recut it, George was furious. What do suits know about film editing?

George Lucas wrote:

For them it was a good decision because they made a lot of money on that decision.

But I have seen THX. It needed editing. It needed cooler heads. It's a mess.

Also considered for Indiana Jones: Tom Selleck, Sam Elliott, David Hasselhoff and Christopher Guest.

That would have been interesting....

Also interesting - just thinking outside the box here -

"Outside the box" really???

Quote :

That didn't mean all of Lucas's ideas were popular.  Both cast and crew alike found his new heroes, the Ewoks, somewhat grating.  Lucas had sent the characters back through design again and again, finally settling on a cuddly teddy bear-like look.  ("Dare to be cute," Lucas told Rolling Stone later.  "The worst we could do is get criticized for it."). Ralph McQuarrie had thrown up his hands in resignation over the creatures. "There was a feeling that it was maybe too obvious a marketing idea," said one designer.  "I think Ralph didn't like that too much."  But Lucas loved them, instructing second-unit director Roger Christian to get lots of footage of Ewoks dancing and celebrating for Jedi's final scene. "So I started doing that, and George fell in love with it, but I said 'Please get me off this,'", said Christian.  The fact was "George love them.  Nobody else did."

Finished the book and listed it on Amazon.  It was readable and entertaining, although as I said nothing new.  The author apparently did no original research, but collated together thousands of articles and interviews for his book.

George Lucas is a visionary, who changed the way movies were made and risked everything, several times, to finance his films outside of the traditional Hollywood studio system, which he sees (ever since the debacle of "THX") as interfering with the filmmaker's art.

However, he's not without his critics.  I am one who agrees that, left to his own devices, he tends to make decisions that few other people share -- Ewoks, Jar Jar Binks, SW1, 2 & 3, engine noises in space, adding digital special effects to already-released movies....  Even the best among us can sometimes use an editor or at least a second opinion, and his insistence on doing everything his way (or the highway) has been his own worst enemy.

Here's hoping, in retirement, he finds some peace and contentment which seems to have been lacking in his frenetic creative life.

Picked up Episodes I, II & III on Blu-ray yesterday ($cheap) and watched #1 again. My opinion of it has not changed. AMAZING digital effects, crap story, major editing and scaling back of effects needed.