A Spirited Perfect Ten

[FrankLapidus]

I am aware of that because the sad truth is Lucas was given so much crap over the years that he gave up on the thing and got tricked into selling it to Iger and his cronies.

That's an absolutely laughable claim to make unless you have some sort of evidence to back it up.

 

[BrerJon]

Now you're just spouting nonsense. Lucas started swearing off Star Wars in the 1970s. He begrudgingly went back to the prequels to cash in on them

I wouldn't say he made them to cash in. Lucas's main interest is technical innovation and experimentation. The main reason he made the prequels when he did was he wanted to try out new ideas that technology only just allowed. All CG characters interacting with humans, scenes combining different takes from different performances into one, digital cameras... there were loads of cool ideas he wanted to try out.

He had a story he'd always wanted to tell in the Star Wars universe, so it made sense, both financially and creatively, that he made prequel films to do so. But it was a big financial risk. Knowing that he was making a quirky arty film, it was quite possible audiences would stay away. But Phantom needed to be a hit to bring in enough money to make Clone and Sith.

Once the box office numbers came in, Lucasfilm's future was safe, and all financial worries were gone, but the original decision to press ahead with prequels was by no means an easy cash-in the way that Disney's decision to make episode VII was, and was totally a creative motivated one rather than financial.

 

[FrankLapidus]

If that's the case why did he bother to write down Story treatments for VII -IX that Disney supposedly rejected?

If he had these treatments already written down then why didn't he make the films? Or why didn't he hire a director to make the films based off those treatments? If he had these treatments why did he claim that he left specific instructions that no more Star Wars films be made?

The reality is that Lucas had sworn off ever making another Star Wars film before he sold to Disney, he'd already gone into semi-retirment and hand-picked Kathleen Kennedy as his successor. If you do some actual research into the claims you're making you will find that Lucas had already exited the picture of his own accord before there was ever an opportunity for someone else to shove him out of it.

http://collider.com/george-lucas-retiring/

 

[BrerJon]

I think it was when JJ came on board that they got dumped.

Abrams originally quit the project, threatening 'my way or the highway', as he wanted to make a much more classic Star Wars film than Kennedy or Lucas originally intended. Disney agreed, and got him to come back by giving in to his demands, but they had to go back to the drawing board quite a bit, so that was when the release date got extended.

 

[asianway]

New EU's more of a "This time we've got editorial oversight" with the Lucasfilm Story Group. And the way reports on Episode 8 are sounding with Johnson planning to go off the rails, saying its just focus group driven might not be the right term.

I remember burning my copies of Shadows of the Empire and the Courtship of Princess Leia. It will have to take a lot for me to spend another nickel on that fanfic.

 

[LieutLaww]

I have to agree that Star Wars TV show has Netflix written all over it, they can make it as gritty and dark as they want and just see how it does, I also hope they do something with 1313 as that looked fantastic.

 

[Rodan75]

I have to agree that Star Wars TV show has Netflix written all over it, they can make it as gritty and dark as they want and just see how it does, I also hope they do something with 1313 as that looked fantastic.

A SW show, whether or not it is Underworld, is something I think they will hold onto until they need a launch vehicle for a new streaming service. Whether that be Apple TV or some form of DisneyLife ( Iger has said they could do speciality streaming for Marvel, Star Wars and ESPN if the model works).

I can't imagine them licensing it to Netflix, Amazon or Hulu given today's marketplace.

 

[Nubs70]

3 days left.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Some fanboy. Went straight to James Cameron first when trying to think of a Potter Swatter when Disney was in an amicable enough position to do a Star Wars expansion even before the buyout.

Because Disney already had the theme park rights to Star Wars and it was not king of the box office.

Then, So be it. instead we have a bunch of imbeciles claiming their childhood has been ruined and harass the creator of the thing they loved so much to begin with so much that he ends up selling his baby to a heartless corporation..

A baby he has repeatedly disowned over the decades.

Indeed, he said there would only ever be 6 films. I still wonder how Iger managed to make him change his position on that other than the obvious monetary benefits.

You're repeating lies. Before he said it was only 6 he said t would only be the 3. Before that he said there would be 9 and before that he said there would be 12. He even had a cheapquel ready that isn't at all part of his "vision" whipped up in case Star Wars wasn't a success.

I wouldn't say he made them to cash in. Lucas's main interest is technical innovation and experimentation. The main reason he made the prequels when he did was he wanted to try out new ideas that technology only just allowed. All CG characters interacting with humans, scenes combining different takes from different performances into one, digital cameras... there were loads of cool ideas he wanted to try out.

He had a story he'd always wanted to tell in the Star Wars universe, so it made sense, both financially and creatively, that he made prequel films to do so. But it was a big financial risk. Knowing that he was making a quirky arty film, it was quite possible audiences would stay away. But Phantom needed to be a hit to bring in enough money to make Clone and Sith.

Once the box office numbers came in, Lucasfilm's future was safe, and all financial worries were gone, but the original decision to press ahead with prequels was by no means an easy cash-in the way that Disney's decision to make episode VII was, and was totally a creative motivated one rather than financial.

Lucas didn't have a story to tell. He made one up as he went along.

 

[truecoat]

Abrams originally quit the project, threatening 'my way or the highway', as he wanted to make a much more classic Star Wars film than Kennedy or Lucas originally intended. Disney agreed, and got him to come back by giving in to his demands, but they had to go back to the drawing board quite a bit, so that was when the release date got extended.

Yeah, I thought Arndt was initially working off of George's treatments.

 

[WDW1974]

Happy 2016 to all the MAGICal folks here ... and those reading in the Twitverse and Celebration Place and Burbank and ... all points beyond.

I see it's become all Star Wars talk, all the time. I must wonder yet again how many Disney fans have become SW fans simply because its now a Bob Iger Joint. Yes, much like Marvel. And don't tell me about how popular SW has been, a tutorial on pop culture is one thing I don't need. I just see Disney fans who I KNOW who NEVER uttered a word about SW (one way or the other) for years who have been energized by this decent, but in no way special -- and quite derivative, film. Or its marketing.

For me, it was always a series from my childhood that had one excellent film and two good ones that were popcorn entertainment. I didn't really think much about them after that and I certainly didn't manically buy one special ed after another. I got a bit excited by the prequels until I saw the first, which is truly damn near unwatchable. I didn't rush to SWWs when they were held at TPFKaTD-MGMS so that I could wait in a line to hear some voice actor from a toon series talk ... or buy a $1000 Jedi Mickey figurine.

I looked forward to this film because I like J.J. Abrams and I wanted to see what he did with it. He made a pretty entertaining popcorn film that is no more great entertainment than Avatar or Titanic were despite big box office showings.

Now, we see George Lucas is unhappy with the direction that Disney took and he spoke honestly from the heart, which is why he had to walk back the comments because the truth is often not pretty and not what folks want to hear.

And, despite him being George Freaking Lucas he can't make words disappear (even his own) like Bob Iger can.

The thing is, George gave up control when he sold his babies to DIS for four billion dollars. They can and should be able to do whatever they want. And Bob Iger's Disney is very good at giving fans exactly what they want and not what they didn't even know they did. So much easier that way. Unless you think years of Frozen Summer Fun is as creatively daring as Mary Poppins, the Haunted Mansion or EPCOT.

But when fanbois turn around and attack George for being honest, I still have a problem with it. To me, it rings very much like the anti-Walt sentiment that is quite popular in fan circles today because Disney and The Weatherman most assuredly do not follow the mindset that created the MAGIC. It's like ''Eff George Lucas and Walt, I don't care about them. I care about BB-8 and Thor and Elsa and ... STAR WARS LAND!!! That is going to be soon awesome, doncha know. No one will be hanging at Diagon Alley in 4-5 years (at best) when it opens! UNI will be begging DIS to take the Marvel characters back so they can keep the lights on!!!''

If not for the incredible visionary and creative minds of George Lucas and Walt Disney, any and all of your points would be moot because none of this creative work would exist. Therefore, their ethos, their thoughts, their words should and DO carry weight. Even if you have seen TFA 18 times already and have told the world that it has changed your life.

 

[WDW1974]

If he was a good analyst, he would have been raising ESPN subscriber concerns 2 years ago. He may be one of the best, but analysts either didn't research or purposefully hid observations on linear TV subscriber growth from investors.

I don't wish to put words in his mouth, but I strongly think he was likely waiting to see if this was a blip or a trend. Again, just my not so humble opinion.

 

[WDW1974]

When he's gone for months at a time and then comes out cannons blazing, I picture @WDW1974 holed up creating a Starkiller base and training some sort of group of rabid followers (a 1st Order of some type?) ready to attack. Then he sucks up the nearest star and starts firing on the WDWMagic message boards. What makes you decide it's time to triumphantly return?

You are funny! I post when I am able and for much of 2015 I simply wasn't able.

But timing is everything they say ... and if you thought you saw a lot of fireworks on NYE, let's just say you ain't seen nuthin' yet!

 

[WDW1974]

Last summer Splash Mtn was looking dire, and RSR wasn't exactly in its prime (although it's been worse). Some stiff animatronics on Pirates. That's about all I can think of. No pendulum swinging just yet.

I haven't been since August and only Splash Mountain had what I would term ''issues'' ... beyond that, show quality is still worlds better than the swamps (gotta love that Pirates at MK is now a water ride!) I do recall one ride on RSRs where we didn't have audio as well. But you can't compare DL to MK when it comes to show quality, although Colglazier is just waiting for a job in Burbank and then Mary Niven will wind up leading the resort ... which if you knew her back when she first came to Disney as I did, you'd find shocking beyond belief.

 

[WDW1974]

for as low as $1 you can have twitter followers fast!
http://www.buycheapfollowersfast.com/twitter/

lmao...what has this world come to

That was just my point.

When I see some of the DIS/UNI social media Twits with ridiculous numbers of 'followers', I just sit back and think this is BS. They can list 10,000 all they want. The reality is if they are really lucky about 1,000 are actual people. It makes the whole push for the import of social media even more sleazy.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

*Destroyed the Expanded Universe
*Dictated the creative direction for Episode VII
I could go on.

*Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group and Kathleen Kennedy made that call, not Disney.

*Lucasfilm did not shackle "visionary director" JJ Abrams creativly. Michael Ardnt was Lucasfilm's chosen writer before a director was even selected. His version of the film focused primarily on earlier iterations of Rey and Finn with little time spent with the trio; Luke, Leia and Han. This comes from the premise of George's outline, two kids discover the force. When Michael Adrnt left Ep. VII, it was reported that JJ wanted there to be more time spent with the trio. [1] (The final film begins to fall apart once Han and Chewie enter the Falcon, everything before that is really, really good.) On an episode of the "Meet the Movie Press" podcast, Devin Faraci described JJ and Michael's working relationship as one of patience on Michael's part.[2] Michael even asked JJ to go with him to meet the Pixar Braintrust in Emeryville for constructive criticism on the script; which JJ reportedly refused. It has been since reported that Ardnt felt the film, the version focusing on the new characters, needed a years worth of work. [3][4] But Bob and Disney had already locked the film into 2015 and the best they could get was December. JJ was the one who brought Lawrence Kasdan on to make the film feel more like the OT. This is a JJ Abrams film, not the byproduct of a Lucasfilm committee.

In 1977, George Lucas showed a cut of "Star Wars" to his filmmaker friends. The screening did not go well and his friends didn't fully understand what George was going for because he had trouble articulating certain things to the viewer. That meeting lead to Brian DePalma writing the now legendary opening scrawl among other changes that gave us "Star Wars". [5] The biggest problem with the prequels was that George never sought criticism from anyone and those closest to him at Lucasfilm felt intimidated in doing so. When George created "Star Wars", he wasn't George "The Creator", he was a guy who needed a job after "Anerican Graffiti". George had to write five drafts to convince 20th Century Fox to greenlight production on "Star Wars". When you say things don't work on a fundamental level with a near theatrical cut of the film, as George did with "Phantom Mennace" there is a problem. [6]

As Lucasfilm begins to make Star Wars films, main saga and anthology, at an annual clip, they need to find a way to give filmmakers freedom to make what they want, but also be able to make these films the best they can be. The prequels were the uncompromised vision of one Mr. George Lucas, as was Mr. JJ Abrams's episode VII for better or worse.

[1]http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-rumors-who-is-669997

Spoiler

According to multiple insiders, the reason for the parting of ways was not due to a timeframe issue, as has been reported, but rather due to a difference of opinion of which characters to emphasize.

Arndt is said to have focused on the offspring of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), with the original trilogy's heroes taking on supporting roles. Abrams, however, wanted Episode VII to focus on the classic trio of characters, so audiences could have one more chance to enjoy them before a fitting send-off. The new characters, the offspring, will now be in supporting roles, according to these sources, and take center stage in Episode VIII and IX. Some characters have disappeared from the Arndt script and new ones are being added.

[2]http://schmoesknow.com/devin-faraci-from-badass-digest-scoop-culture-meet-the-movie-press/28061/
[3]http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/...nes-of-the-biggest-movie-of-the-year-20151202

Spoiler

Lucas had written what Kennedy describes as a "brief synopsis" for the sequels, but those ideas were treated as a starting point, at best. Abrams spent eight months or so working on a script with screenwriter Michael Arndt (of Little Miss Sunshine fame), with occasional help from Kasdan and Simon Kinberg (of the X-Men franchise). They came away with essentially nothing. Arndt said he would need 18 more months to finish – way more time than Disney or Abrams wanted to spend. "Movies are just like life," says Kasdan, sounding very much like the dude who wrote Yoda's best lines. "They are infinitely complicated and incredibly simple. I think that what had eluded the group was finding the simple spine of the story."

[4]http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayl...kens-a-much-larger-role-for-redacted-20151220

Spoiler

“Early on I tried to write versions of the story where [Rey] is at home, her home is destroyed, and then she goes on the road and meets Luke. And then she goes and kicks the bad guy’s ,” Arndt said (via EW). “It just never worked and I struggled with this. This was back in 2012.” Apparently the issue was Luke’s presence was always upstaging everyone in the script. “It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over,” Arndt continued. “Suddenly you didn’t care about your main character anymore because, ‘Oh f–k, Luke Skywalker’s here. I want to see what he’s going to do.’”

[5] Peter Biskind "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls"
Chapter 12- Star Bucks Pgs 334-335
[6]
The Beginning: Making Star Wars Episode I
55:00-56:22

 

[culturenthrills]

I haven't seen this kinda of insanity since Boba Fett had a kegger at Jabba's and was doing lines of Kessel Spice off a Twi'lek while Sly Snootles bit the head off a gundark.

Was that in the Special XXX Edition?

 

[HMF]

Abrams originally quit the project, threatening 'my way or the highway', as he wanted to make a much more classic Star Wars film than Kennedy or Lucas originally intended. Disney agreed, and got him to come back by giving in to his demands, but they had to go back to the drawing board quite a bit, so that was when the release date got extended.

Most smart studio executives would have let him go.

 

[FigmentJedi]

In 1977, George Lucas showed a cut of "Star Wars" to his filmmaker friends. The screening did not go well and his friends didn't fully understand what George was going for because he had trouble articulating certain things to the viewer. That meeting lead to Brian DePalma writing the now legendary opening scrawl among other changes that gave us "Star Wars". [5] The biggest problem with the prequels was that George never sought criticism from anyone and those closest to him at Lucasfilm felt intimidated in doing so. When George created "Star Wars", he wasn't George "The Creator", he was a guy who needed a job after "Anerican Graffiti". George had to write five drafts to convince 20th Century Fox to greenlight production on "Star Wars". When you say things don't work on a fundamental level with a near theatrical cut of the film, as George did with "Phantom Mennace" there is a problem. [6]

Additionally, George sought help on writing/directing the prequels from some of the people who worked with him on the OT including Kasdan and Kershner and pals like Spielberg, Chris Columbus, and Robert Zemeckis, but they were either busy with their own projects or felt George should do it himself or both.

 

[Tigger1988]

This "poor little Georgie" narrative is a better fantasy tale than all the prequels combined.