Xixax Film Forum

The Director's Chair => The Director's Chair => Topic started by: tpfkabi on April 22, 2003, 09:20:48 PM

Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: tpfkabi on April 22, 2003, 09:20:48 PM
i caught the tail end of American Graffitti on tv and there was a little making of special after it. i've only seen parts of the film so i can't quite compare.

they were talking about how AG was very experimental in terms of multiple story lines going on simulataneously.

this was made before any of Altman's character vehicles right?

if so, in a way george is an influence on pta then.

not that i'm a big lucas fan, but i do love the original star wars trilogy. i think the fact that those films were so popular, that people over look the experimental nature of those films. also, if you know anything about sound design, lucas walter burch were very experimental with that area as well.

any corrections on time lines, or comments are welcome.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Gold Trumpet on April 22, 2003, 11:04:12 PM
OK, as always dealing with the topic of Lucas, and especially talk of American Graffitti, there has to be some non important matters first talked about and that is only this:

American Graffitti is Lucas' only good movie.

Now onto the real things spoken about Lucas. AG came out in 1973, 3 years after MASH came out. AG did absolutely nothing though in anything at all in multilayer storytelling or whatever. It was actually seen as a return to a simpler way of telling a story, and that was one set in the 1950s with the cheerfulness and romanticism of sorts brought back into a movie, aka nostalgia. Where MASH is based completely off multilayer interaction that does not seem scripted at all and more off improv acting and improv placement of scenes that had not only a multi layer feeling, but a realism of sorts, AG has small little snippets of improv realism and basically all that serves me from memory is when the dorky kid loses control of his mo ped and crashes into a building while it is just in park. Ah well, after AG, Lucas made Star Wars, which was great in visuals for the time, but imposed on a B style film platter to speak for its "mythological inspiration". Then Lucas became the business man as he stopped directing for the last two movies in the series and acted as overseer and God, and then went back into directing with the new ones but acted even more as businessman while he now promotes digital filmmaking as the great thing when in fact, it is a terrible waste of money that has no effect. Not to be mean, I am really am an asshole starving for blood, but Lucas also personally is the business man of the toilet paper I use so my non essentials can personally meet the most non essential man in the movie business. *middle fingers up*

~rougerum
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MrBurgerKing on April 22, 2003, 11:13:03 PM
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetOK, as always dealing with the topic of Lucas, and especially talk of American Graffitti, there has to be some non important matters first talked about and that is only this:

American Graffitti is Lucas' only good movie.

Now onto the real things spoken about Lucas. AG came out in 1973, 3 years after MASH came out. AG did absolutely nothing though in anything at all in multilayer storytelling or whatever. It was actually seen as a return to a simpler way of telling a story, and that was one set in the 1950s with the cheerfulness and romanticism of sorts brought back into a movie, aka nostalgia. Where MASH is based completely off multilayer interaction that does not seem scripted at all and more off improv acting and improv placement of scenes that had not only a multi layer feeling, but a realism of sorts, AG has small little snippets of improv realism and basically all that serves me from memory is when the dorky kid loses control of his mo ped and crashes into a building while it is just in park. Ah well, after AG, Lucas made Star Wars, which was great in visuals for the time, but imposed on a B style film platter to speak for its "mythological inspiration". Then Lucas became the business man as he stopped directing for the last two movies in the series and acted as overseer and God, and then went back into directing with the new ones but acted even more as businessman while he now promotes digital filmmaking as the great thing when in fact, it is a terrible waste of money that has any effect. Not to be mean, I am really am an asshole starving for blood, but Lucas also personally is the business man of the toilet paper I use so my non essentials can personally meet the most non essential man in the movie business. *middle fingers up*

~rougerum

Great post! It's ironic that Mr. Lucas doesn't like Star Wars that much. That's like if Dave Thomas hated Wendys (RIP). It's his life! He better grow to love it.

I'm still sick to my stomach though of that cowboy guy's image that he had earlier.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Duck Sauce on April 22, 2003, 11:27:08 PM
I loved American Grafitti, and it showed a lot of promise from Lucas, I just want to know where he lost interest in making films and why he felt he was obligate (or wanted to make $$) to make prequels instead of something else. Or what if anything he will do after star wars.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Pwaybloe on April 23, 2003, 10:18:55 AM
Hold on while I hold my food down, but I have to agree with GT.  

Did anyone like THX-1138?  I thought it was pretty good... had a weird 70's vibe to it.  I think the original Rollerball ripped off a lot of that movie.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: tpfkabi on April 23, 2003, 10:46:39 AM
ok. i haven't seen Mash. i have seen Nashville which came out in 75 i think. i believe i read that lucas will try something non Star Wars after the next one. i don't know why he didn't do something in between the first trilogy and the new one. maybe the fact that he was set for life as far as money goes, is one reason. i guess he worked more on establishing his ranch and stuff. he owns ILM, right? no doubt, they are always on the cutting edge of special effects. he was the catylyst to THX and improved theater sound. i have yet to see THX. he has definitely made some important contributions to the cinema, it's sad to see what he's doing now. he really needs to collaborate on his scripts. the dialogue is horrible. if you have to break the 3 year time span, do it. don't make the film suffer. i admire the fact that he has total control over what he does. the film co's just help with distribution i believe.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Gold Trumpet on April 23, 2003, 02:01:05 PM
To answer Duck Sauce, Lucas never really had much interest in directing films like American Graffitti at all. The only reason he even directed it because he couldn't find a job to do the stuff he wanted to and his studio, Zentropa Studios, which he was partnered with Coppola, was falling under. Coppola had to be a hired gun for The Godfather and Lucas for American Graffitti just to stay in the business basically because things had gotten so bad. Lucas never really even came from the filmmaker type of background. His background mainly was an expertise in engineering and the technical things attributed to the movies. AG was likely a way for him to get financing to make Star Wars, which is what he really wanted to do and his actions since then has shown what he is mainly interested in doing. Only reason he is directing the new ones is for control reasons, to just gurantee that he has it as he is making films that, in his mind, is pushing technology farther and farther.

~rougerum
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: SoNowThen on April 23, 2003, 03:03:45 PM
I wouldn't call Lucas a director-for-hire on AG. It was a pretty personal story. I read in Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (bio book on 70's directors) that Lucas wanted to prove to people that he could make an accessable film, after nobody liked THX. He really put his heart and soul into AG, and that's probably why it's his best movie. Coppola, by the way, had to fight to help get AG released, so it's obvious the whole group really felt strongly about the film.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Gold Trumpet on April 23, 2003, 03:20:57 PM
I think you're right SoNowThen, and I am going to concede to you in many ways but keep the point that I do remember American Graffitti was a project Lucas was forced to do in order to keep afloat after his personal sci fi arthouse film, THX, failed. I haven't seen that movie so can't speak on it. But I do remember the project was one Lucas really had to do, and when he did do it, he was, like you say, very committed to making it work to prove he can direct accessable films and such. But I still think his heart belonged mainly to the advancement of technology in the movies because after gaining all the power, he hasn't come 200 miles near a project like AG at all.

~rougerum
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: SoNowThen on April 23, 2003, 03:22:45 PM
True true.

Which is a shame, really.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on October 15, 2004, 06:07:24 PM
Lucas to Receive AFI Lifetime Award

After creating "Star Wars," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "American Graffiti," Darth Vader might insist it was George Lucas' DESTINY to get the American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award.

Lucas, 60, was picked on Friday to be the recipient of the organization's 33rd annual prize, following such recent recipients as Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Tom Hanks.

"I've been very fortunate to have had a long career doing what I love to do, and being recognized by the AFI for it is really an honor," Lucas said. "I'm proud to be counted among such an extraordinary group of people whose lives are dedicated to the art of making movies."

Previous honorees include Jack Nicholson, Barbra Streisand, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Poitier and Orson Welles.

The gala dinner and ceremony, in which clips of his films will be presented by many of the stars he worked with over the years, is set to take place next June in Los Angeles.

The award marks a busy year for Lucas. Last month his original "Star Wars" trilogy debuted for the first time on DVD (and became a best seller) along with a revised version of his first film, the sci-fi dystopian thriller "THX 1138."

Lucas also was one of the key presenters recently at the 75th anniversary celebration for the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television (which boasts him as one of its most famous graduates).

And in May, he will wrap up his "Star Wars" prequels with the release of "Episode III Revenge of the Sith," which will reveal how Darth Vader became a scarred, half-human half-machine villain.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: tpfkabi on October 15, 2004, 06:24:35 PM
well, they won't have many films to show clips from unless they add ones he produced or wrote the story for.....still, that's not even that many i don't think.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Chest Rockwell on October 15, 2004, 11:50:48 PM
Yea but they can talk about the ones he did do forever, unlike the 2 minutes they give to others' movies. Star Wars alone could take up an hour.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: tpfkabi on October 16, 2004, 10:45:49 AM
quality over quantity.........except when they get to eps 1 & 2:
"after blankity blank years George revisited the Stars Wars universe. he pushed the envelope in the digital realm by filming using only digital cameras..............that's it."
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: soixante on October 17, 2004, 12:03:10 PM
For a brief, shining moment in the 70's, Lucas was an auteur.  THX was his despairing vision of the future, and Graffiti was his fond look back at an idealized past.  Graffiti is indeed a highly personal film, as it draws upon Lucas' own experiences growing up in Modesto in the early 60's.

Star Wars combines the technical innovations of THX and the humanistic concerns of Graffiti into a mythological vision of people coexisting with high technology, with virtue triumphing over tyranny.  Art Murphy's original 1977 review in Variety stated it best -- "Lucas doesn't allow the technology to overshadow the human drama."

Once Lucas turned to producing, his films became more effects-driven, and he forgot about the most important element of all -- telling a story.  

I remember when Star Wars first came out, Lucas claimed he would concentrate on smaller films.  He's saying the same thing now.  

As for Altman, his experiments with sound design and multi-character scenarios predate THX by about two years.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: soixante on October 17, 2004, 12:07:03 PM
I certainly think that George Lucas deserves the AFI award, if only for Graffiti and the first Star Wars.  But they should also honor Robert Altman and Woody Allen.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: pete on October 17, 2004, 06:19:21 PM
I think Lucas should totally pay for child supports to Nashville.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: modage on October 17, 2004, 11:21:39 PM
Quote from: soixanteI certainly think that George Lucas deserves the AFI award, if only for Graffiti and the first Star Wars.  But they should also honor Robert Altman and Woody Allen.
for Empire and Jedi respectively.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Myxo on January 11, 2005, 11:15:41 PM
Charlie Rose

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

GEORGE LUCAS
Filmmaker
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: cine on January 11, 2005, 11:22:24 PM
Quote from: MyxomatosisFilmmaker
:roll:
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on January 12, 2005, 12:01:53 AM
Quote from: Myxomatosis[Independent] Filmmaker
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: life_boy on January 12, 2005, 05:09:47 PM
Does anyone really care what Lucas does after Star Wars?  Hell, I stopped caring, oh.....around May 19th, 1999.  

Perhaps I'm not ready for the Star Whore to molest me with his Phantom Penis.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: RegularKarate on January 12, 2005, 06:22:10 PM
What if he made another American Graphitti or THX-1138?

Copalla said that once Lucas was done with all this Star Wars business, he'll probably make a great film.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: picolas on January 12, 2005, 08:21:33 PM
i thought he was done with all this Star Wars business for over two decades and then the special editions made him do the preqs.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Myxo on January 12, 2005, 10:28:31 PM
Quote from: picolasi thought he was done with all this Star Wars business for over two decades and then the special editions made him do the preqs.

..and in another ten years he'll make 7, 8, 9 and resurrect a few careers.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: life_boy on January 12, 2005, 11:07:55 PM
Quote from: RegularKarateCopalla said that once Lucas was done with all this Star Wars business, he'll probably make a great film.

I'm sure a number of us are still waiting for Coppola's post-Godfather/Apocalypse greatness.  

Make no mistake, 1972 to 1979 was a great run (four towering cinematic achievements back to back to back to back), but where the hell are the goods after a run like that?  How can one simply fade away into mediocrity after something like that?  A number of directors never get back to what they once were, but they still churn out some decent flicks.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Myxo on January 12, 2005, 11:16:57 PM
Quote from: life_boy
Quote from: RegularKarateCopalla said that once Lucas was done with all this Star Wars business, he'll probably make a great film.

I'm sure a number of us are still waiting for Coppola's post-Godfather/Apocalypse greatness.  

Make no mistake, 1972 to 1979 was a great run (four towering cinematic achievements back to back to back to back), but where the hell are the goods after a run like that?  How can one simply fade away into mediocrity after something like that?  A number of directors never get back to what they once were, but they still churn out some decent flicks.

Bram Stoker's Dracula was great..

Rainmaker wasn't bad either.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Myxo on January 13, 2005, 02:08:20 AM
I love Charlie Rose' first question..

"You've only directed five films. How come?"

- "Yeah. Five films in 35 years. But you've gotta remember, I've produced alot in that time too!"
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on June 09, 2005, 12:10:20 AM
Star man
George Lucas reflects on his early days, becoming successful and the next phase of his career.
By Stephen Galloway, Hollywood Reporter

Until he was involved in a 1962 automobile accident, George Lucas dreamed of being a race-car driver -- but that was before he attended film school at USC and became the acclaimed director of 1971's "THX 1138" and 1973's "American Graffiti." Today, Lucas' reputation stands above all on 1977's "Star Wars" and its sequels and prequels, a franchise that has transformed the entertainment industry. The American Film Institute's 33rd Life Achievement honoree spoke recently with The Hollywood Reporter's contributing editor Stephen Galloway about "Star Wars" and how he sees his future now that the franchise's final installment, "Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," has been released.

The Hollywood Reporter: How did you envision your career before the car crash?
George Lucas: I wanted to be a race-car driver or work in cars, (but after the accident,) I decided to go back to school. I went to junior college in Modesto (Calif.) and got very involved in social sciences, (and) I was going to go to San Francisco State to get my degree in anthropology. I was also trying to get into Art Center College of Design (in Pasadena) to become an illustrator and photographer. (Meanwhile,) a friend of mine was going to USC and thought they had a cinematography school; I applied, got in and was surprised to see there was a film school -- I didn't even know there was such a thing. When I got there, I fell in love with film.

THR: How great was your awareness of film before you attended film school?
Lucas: I grew up in Modesto, (but) as soon as I could drive, I would drive up to San Francisco and go to underground film festivals and watch very abstract, avant-garde films. It wasn't until film school that I started seeing historical pieces like (1941's) "Citizen Kane," (and) I was very interested in (Federico) Fellini and (Jean-Luc) Godard. I also liked Richard Lester and (Stanley) Kubrick and (1964's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"). I thought I was going to go into documentary filmmaking, so I had a tendency to like (movies) that were more documentary-oriented, but (Akira) Kurosawa made a very big (impression), especially (the 1956 U.S. release) "The Seven Samurai" -- I was blown away by it. Right from the get-go, I said: "I love this. I've found my passion."

THR: How autobiographical was your second film, "American Graffiti"?
Lucas: I spent a huge amount of time in high school and college cruising the main street of town (because that was) the main source of entertainment, but (the film) also comes from my anthropological interest: I had studied mating rituals and things like that. One thing I found fascinating was that the U.S. was the only place where people used cars (to date members of the opposite sex); usually there was a town square -- that's how people would meet. Here, it was done in cars -- it was a remarkable American tradition that had disappeared by the time I made the movie in 1970, when sex, drugs and free love had taken over. It disappeared after the hippies and came back after the film.

THR: Did you expect "Graffiti" to be such a success?
Lucas: No. It was a very low-budget film, the studio (Universal) was not particularly happy with it, and it took a while for us to convince the studio (to release it) as a theatrical film, not a TV movie. At the time, it was pretty remarkable in being a low-budget movie that made over $100 million (at the domestic boxoffice).

THR: If Universal didn't like "Graffiti," then it was hardly surprising that it passed on "Star Wars." How did it end up at 20th Century Fox?
Lucas: I had a deal at both Universal and United Artists, and they didn't want it. (Fox executive Alan Ladd Jr.) had seen "American Graffiti" and said, "I figure you're a talented guy, (but) I don't understand the story you're trying to tell me." I had this idea about funny robots and kids running around, and they shot laser guns -- not something you would look at and say, "This is a great idea!" I finished the screenplay, and (studio executives) still didn't understand it. Laddie said, "I read the screenplay and it doesn't make any sense to me, but I think you are extremely talented and I want to see this made."

THR: You have been credited for having enormous prescience in asking for sequel and merchandising rights. Why?
Lucas: The two things I insisted on with "Star Wars" were the sequel rights and the licensing. It wasn't that I just got it outright; we shared it. The other (perception) is that somehow I was smart -- (but) I wasn't. I had written three ("Star Wars") screenplays, and I swore to myself I would get the other two made somehow; the assumption was that the first (movie) would tank and (Fox) would hold up (the sequel rights). In terms of licensing, all I wanted was to get some promotion for the film; (I thought), "I can get some posters and T-shirts and sell them at science fiction conventions." It wasn't until (1980's) "The Empire Strikes Back" that we had a real licensing program, and even then that was really experimental.

THR: When you began in the industry, you were closely associated with a group of filmmakers who seemed to tilt at the studio system, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma. Do you still identify with that group?
Lucas: Oh yeah. We started out in the industry together, (and) we all helped each other -- and still do. That particular group (is now) called "postmodern" cinema because we were educated (in film), as opposed to growing up in it. We all loved movies; we all know a lot about movies, about the technology of movies. We were the first generation of film students to make it into the industry; of that group, everybody has produced everybody's pictures; it's very incestuous. We've all been able to become independent of the system, (and) even though there are different levels of independence, we all work from our hearts -- there wasn't a "director for hire" from that group.

THR: Do you see similar themes among your movies?
Lucas: No, we're very individual. I couldn't make a Marty Scorsese picture or a Francis (Ford) Coppola picture in a million years if I tried, and they couldn't do "Star Wars" -- well, Steven might, and I might be able to do (1975's) "Jaws," but I don't think I'd want to. Steven, Ron Howard and I are the closest in temperament and aesthetic, but even so, we do have very different aesthetics.

THR: Those other filmmakers have kept on directing, but you chose not to for two decades. Why?
Lucas: I had the 20-year gap because I finished (1983's) "Return of the Jedi" and I had a daughter. I had just gotten divorced, (and) I was raising my daughter and felt that was the most important thing -- and I was going to spend my time raising her. Then I adopted other children and spent 15 years raising them. At the same time, there was another aspect to it: Because of the divorce, (Lucasfilm) was in difficult financial straits. To straighten out the company and get it solid without "Star Wars," without me producing product for them, I basically ended up getting a job where I could go to work at 10 or 11 (a.m.) and come home at 4 or 5 (p.m.).

THR: But your rap is that you do not like directing.
Lucas: It's no secret that I whined about directing because it's hard work, (but that) doesn't mean I didn't like it. I still like to direct -- it's my main interest -- but I do like to experiment with things. Producing is a way of sometimes being able to oversee things and still have a life. When I decided I was going to come back and direct, I had to decide whether I was going to do the prequel to "Star Wars" or my own films. I figured if I didn't do "Star Wars," then I'd probably never do it: I was 50 years old at the time, and it was a 10-year project and I now had the technology to do those projects.

THR: What's next after this "Star Wars" film? Will there be others?
Lucas: No, there won't.

THR: Are you making another "Indiana Jones" installment?
Lucas: We're working on it; the writer (Jeff Nathanson) has just given us a new script. I'm also working on an animated TV series, "Clone Wars," which we've done little bits and pieces of and are going to try and do as a half-hour show. And we're going to do a live-action spinoff TV series of "Star Wars," an hour drama, (but) not with the main characters. I'm also producing a film about African-American fighter pilots called "Red Tails," and then I'm working on my own little personal films -- I have put aside some money to do what I want to do. I am doing that once I have everything else sorted out, which will take a year or 18 months -- not really designed to make money, but for me to enjoy myself.

THR: Do you have your next film in mind?
Lucas: No. Over the years I got probably dozens of them (that) I have to dust off and figure out which ones still inspire me. I have set the money aside ($20 million-$30 million a movie), enough to keep me going for 10 years; if I make a movie a year, it will take me 10 years to get (through it), and then I'll be 70 or something. And if I still have the ambition then, I'll go to a studio!
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: grand theft sparrow on June 09, 2005, 09:23:37 AM
Would he just fund Megalopolis already?! For Christ's sake!
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Myxo on June 09, 2005, 11:06:11 AM
Quote from: LucasAnd we're going to do a live-action spinoff TV series of "Star Wars," an hour drama, (but) not with the main characters.

What? :saywhat:

Here I was thinking the T.V. series would be about Luke and Leia's upbringing.
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: RegularKarate on June 09, 2005, 12:59:11 PM
Why did you think that?  It's been pretty clear from the start.

It's going to be Battle for Endor: The Early Years: The Series
Title: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: mogwai on October 23, 2005, 04:25:39 AM
Star Wars creator George Lucas has donated $1m to build a memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr in Washington.

The landscaped memorial would lie near the Lincoln Memorial, where King gave his "I have a dream" speech in 1963.

"The ideals and principles for which Dr King fought have never been forgotten and are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago," Lucas said.

He also said a memorial would ensure King's message endured for the future.

Other notable supporters of the project include former US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Jack Valenti, former president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

More than $40m has been raised for the memorial, with $100m needed to finish the project, organisers said.

The US Congress authorised the memorial in 1996, and groundbreaking is scheduled for late next year on a four-acre site among trees on the National Mall, beside Washington's Tidal Basin.

Other causes supported by Lucas include his own educational foundation set up to help bring about a technology-enriched educational system of the future. Premiere screenings for the Star Wars movies have raised $5.6m for charity.
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on March 09, 2006, 10:58:17 AM
Lucas: "The Blockbuster Is Dead"

Movie mogul George Lucas predicts Hollywood will soon start shifting away from mega-budget blockbusters in favor of making more independent films for less money. Alongside Steven Spielberg, Star Wars creator Lucas is cited as being chiefly responsible for the blockbuster phenomenon that has gripped the movie industry for the last three decades. But he now believes big-budget films can no longer be profitable and are going out of fashion, as evidenced by this year's Academy Award nominees, including independent movies Crash and Good Night, And Good Luck. Lucas tells the New York Daily News, "The market forces that exist today make it unrealistic to spend $200 million on a movie. Those movies can't make their money back anymore. Look at what happened with King Kong. I think it's great that the major Oscar nominations have gone to independent films. Is that good for the business? No - it's bad for the business. But movie-making isn't about business. It's about art. In the future, almost everything that gets shown in theaters will be indie movies. I predict that by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15 million."
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: modage on March 09, 2006, 11:18:11 AM
 :crazyeyes:  cuckoo!
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on March 23, 2006, 11:26:29 AM
"Star Wars" film legend George Lucas wants more worldly Hollywood

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Legendary "Star Wars" film creator     George Lucas told a packed house the United States is a provincial country with a culture that has invaded the world via Hollywood.

Lucas made the comments as he was honored with a "Global Vision Award" by the World Affairs Council in a downtown San Francisco hotel ballroom.

"As long as there has been a talking Hollywood, Hollywood has had a huge impact on the rest of the world," Lucas said as he discussed his films and enhancing education with computer technology.

"It shows all the morality we espouse in this country, good and bad. The French were the first to start yelling cultural imperialism."

Some people in other countries are troubled by what they see as US culture "squashing" local art and cinema, Lucas said.

"I hate to say it, but television is one of the most popular exports," Lucas said.

People see shows such as "Dallas," about a wealthy Texas oil family, and decide they want the grand lifestyles portrayed, according to Lucas.

"They say that is what I want to be," Lucas said. "That destabilizes a lot of the world."

"There has been a conflict going on for thousands of years between the haves and the have-nots, and now we are in a position for the first time to show the have-nots what they do not have."

Lucas endorsed US students studying abroad to help imbue them with more global perspectives.

"Study abroad is extremely important; just for kids to get outside this country and experience the fact there is a big world out there," Lucas said.

"We are a provincial country. Our president has barely been out of the country."

An onus is on film makers to be careful with the messages they send because they speak "with a very loud voice," the famed movie director said.

California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi presented Lucas his council award, likening him to renowned classical music composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The council crowned Lucas "the father of digital film" with profound insights into the globalization of culture.

"Like Mozart, George Lucas is no ordinary genius," Pelosi said. "He is a magician. He will be remembered as a legend."
Title: George Lucas
Post by: MacGuffin on August 28, 2007, 12:28:05 AM
Lucas taps Ridley to write 'Tails'
Filmmaker exec producing WWII movie
Source: Variety

George Lucas has hired John Ridley to write "Red Tails," a WWII action adventure about the Tuskegee Airmen based on a story by Lucas, who is financing development through his Lucasfilm production company and exec producing.

Pic charts a group of young pilots as they overcame racism to form the Tuskegee Airmen, a distinguished group of fliers who broke the aviation color barrier to become the first African-American fighter pilots in U.S. military history.

Lucas, who has been busy with the fourth installment of "Indiana Jones," has long had a passion for the Tuskegee Airmen, whose planes were distinguished by the red-painted tails that give the film its title.

He hired Ridley after reading "L.A. Riots," the Universal/Imagine drama Ridley just turned in to director Spike Lee. Ridley's just getting off the ground on "Red Tails" after meeting with the surviving pilots at a convention in Texas.

Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson are producing.

"These were guys who had to figure everything out for themselves, because military units were completely segregated at the time and there was no seasoned war pilot to teach them," Ridley said. "President Roosevelt formed the unit as a publicity stunt because he wanted the black vote for his re-election campaign, but these guys were such skilled pilots that they ended up becoming true heroes by escorting bombers in North Africa and Italy."

Ridley added: "ILM will make the fight sequences come alive, and make you feel what it must have been like to be 19 and flying in a fighter plane."
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on September 18, 2007, 01:17:47 PM
George Lucas Hails Maverick Filmmakers, Teases Indy 4
Source: TV Guide

George Lucas is feeling good about television. In his life post-Star Wars franchise, the legendary writer, director, producer, special-effects czar and mega-mogul is still embracing his legacy — the far-far-away galaxy he created for six films that changed the cinematic universe and became a part of world pop culture. But now a new medium will bear the message. In a conversation with TV Guide executive editor Steve Sonsky that began with a discussion of Fog City Mavericks, a Starz documentary (premiering Monday, Sept. 24, at 9 pm/ET) about the history of San Francisco-based filmmakers like himself, Francis Ford Coppola and Clint Eastwood, Lucas also held forth on the status of his two forthcoming television series that will expand the Star Wars saga, his own TV-watching habits, the Internet culture, and why it turned out OK that Sean Connery wouldn't reprise his role as Harrison Ford's dad in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, scheduled for release next May. Here is Part 1 of that conversation.

TV Guide: So, Fog City Mavericks — a wonderful couple of hours. It was great fun to watch.
George Lucas: I'm a firm believer in regional cinema, cinema that's not made by people who live in Hollywood but who live in [places] like Austin or New York City or Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco. There are several little film communities that exist outside the main center, Hollywood, and who take their ideas from different places and do different kinds of things and have more of a creative say in what they do. This film is about San Francisco. I hope, at some point, somebody makes one about New York and Austin and all of the other places.

TV Guide: It seems almost as much an homage to San Francisco as it does to all of you, the filmmakers. It paints a great portrait of the city as an incubator for artistic individuality.
Lucas: Well, yeah, the thing most people don't understand is that San Francisco has a long tradition of making films, not just having films shot here but actually [hosting] an indigenous film industry. It's very, very small, but the people who live and work here have a different outlook and get their ideas from different sources, and [so] the films come out differently. I think [Mavericks] clarifies that some of the more successful films that have come out of Hollywood actually haven't been made in Hollywood.

TV Guide: What do you think it is about San Francisco that makes that happen? There's a fun quote in the film from [Toy Story director] John Lasseter — who says it's the great food, it's the great wine — but, more seriously, there's also a lot of discussion obviously of the spirit of independence and the nonconformist ethic of San Francisco.
Lucas: Well, yeah. We're free of the institution, the institutionalized creative system, which means that we've been able to do things pretty much on our own without much interference. And even when things do get assigned to us, we still have a very independent way of looking at things. Everyone here kind of thinks outside the box, and Hollywood is the box.

TV Guide: Could you ever do good work in Los Angeles — or do you think it's just not your nature?
Lucas: It's not my nature. I've never worked down there, and I don't see any reason why I ever would.

TV Guide: So what lessons would you impart to young artists trying to fight authority?
Lucas: Well, it's not a matter of fighting authority. It's a matter of realizing that you don't have to go to Hollywood to make movies. A lot of independent filmmakers around this country make movies in their hometowns. You know, there's like a thousand independent films made every year. Not that many of them make it into the mainstream, and what [Mavericks] is about is the ones that do. This is about how even the most mainstream of movies can be made outside the system. And, for a lot of the independent filmmakers who are working outside the system and working all around the country, I think the message of the [documentary] is to stay there. If you become successful, if you make a movie that actually hits the mainstream, that becomes successful, don't move. Stay home. Work out of your own background. Work out of your own milieu. Work out of your own history.

TV Guide: Who are the young filmmakers you see out there, the regional filmmakers who you think are particularly doing wonderful stuff that should be noticed?
Lucas: That's one of those things like, "What's your favorite film?" Whoever I say, somebody else is going to say, "Why didn't you mention me?" [Laughs]

TV Guide: Yeah, it's a loaded question, I know. Come on.
Lucas: There are a lot. There are some great filmmakers who are working, and you see them at Sundance every year, and the problem there is people sort of get sucked into the system and then they lose their voice. And my plea is for them to stay outside the system and try to work out of their heart instead of out of their pocketbook. Because ultimately, if you're good at it... Those of us in San Francisco and New York and Austin, especially, we've done financially fine. We're not sacrificing anything by not working down there.

TV Guide: Yeah, I think you've done OK, George.
Lucas: Yeah, and so have Francis [Coppola] and John Lasseter.... If you've got the talent and you can tell a story, you'll do fine. And if you want to be personal and esoteric and not go to a mass market, then you will struggle to tell your story, which is equally valid. But to go and get paid a lot of money not to tell your story is definitely not what you want to do.

TV Guide: As the documentary unfolds, telling the history of San Francisco filmmaking, there are some just amazing parallels — your nearly fatal car accident at 18 and the nearly fatal stagecoach accident of [motion-picture camera inventor] Edward Muybridge put each of you on new paths that maybe wouldn't have been the case otherwise, as filmmakers.
Lucas: [Laughs] Well, life throws you funny curves, and you can either look at it as a detour, or you can look at it as an opportunity. In both cases, we reassessed our priorities, which people do when they're in those kinds of life-and-death situations. You end up doing what's more in your heart, what you actually want to do rather than what you think you have to do, because you have a feeling that you're kind of on borrowed time and you don't want to waste it.

TV Guide: Do you still have that feeling at this point in your life?
Lucas: I still feel very lucky about what happened and grateful that I managed to survive and have a life after that. And so I try to make the most of every day, and I have ever since then. I was basically putzing around, not doing anything. It sort of said, "Hey, wake up and make something out of your life because it may be over before you think."

TV Guide: More amazing serendipity in the history of San Francisco filmmakers: If THX 1138 [Lucas' ambitious 1971 box-office failure, which nearly bankrupted his friend and producer Francis Coppola's American Zoetrope studio] was a hit, Coppola might not have made The Godfather.
Lucas: [Laughs] Possibly, yeah. You know, you sort of have to look at opportunities and sometimes things come along and you sort of, even though you want to reject them outright, you have to look at the other side of it. Fortunately, in terms of The Godfather, Francis would never have done that just for the money, no matter what. He had to find something that he loved about it. He had to find the hook that would get him into it, to say, "How can I make this mine? I know something about Italians, I know something about the Mafia and I know something about family" — and those are things that really interested him. And so he turned it into his movie. And you know, it's different than the book, and obviously he had to fight very hard against the system to do that. Fortunately, he managed to survive and overcome all of the influences. That was literally going to be a very cheap gangster movie starring Kirk Douglas, and he made it something extraordinary.

TV Guide: Do you ever see you and Francis working together again?
Lucas: You never know. We're all kind of loose. We help each other out, basically. And you know, we obviously are friends and communicate with each other. So there's no formal reality to all of it. It's just basically what happens when people are friends and hang out together.

TV Guide: Speaking of friends working together... you and Steven Spielberg — how's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull going?
Lucas: Very well. Very well indeed.

TV Guide: Were you disappointed about Sean Connery not coming out of retirement to play Indy's father?
Lucas: No, in the end, it turned out better. In the beginning, he was just in a little bit of it, and I think with the strength of Sean Connery, people would've wanted him to go all the way through the whole thing, and the story really didn't work that way. And so I think there would've been some disappointment that [his character] dropped out partway through the movie. By having somebody else fill that role, you lose him without any regret, so to speak, even though we got a great actor to play the part. And I mean, he's not his father, so it's much easier....

TV Guide: You mean [the other actor] is not playing Indy's father?
Lucas: That's right. It's just a completely different character, so you're not invested in him in any way. The fact that that character, after the first part of the movie, isn't needed doesn't become a problem. Whereas I think with the scene we had, where [Indy] says goodbye to his dad, everybody was, "Wait a minute! Isn't he coming back?" So in the end, I think it turned out for the best. Sean just retired and he wants to stay retired, and I understand that. [Laughs] I think he just said, "Look, I've done it, I've done it." He was very tempted, you know, and we talked for a long time. But in the end, he just said, "Eh, I'm playing golf."

TV Guide: Anything about the film that's been out there, wrong Internet buzz, that you want to correct?
Lucas: Well, I don't really read the Internet buzz.

TV Guide: Probably healthy.
Lucas: Yeah, I don't get involved in all that. A film is what it is. And you know, I think it's turned out well. It's very funny, it's very exciting, and it's everything that the other ones were. I can't wait to see it! [Laughs]
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on October 17, 2007, 01:04:43 AM
George Lucas planning 'Star Wars' TV series
By Geoff Boucher, Los Angeles Times

Attention, TV executives: The Force may soon be with you.

Filmmaker George Lucas said Tuesday that he has "just begun work" on a live-action television series rooted in the "Star Wars" universe, which is huge news not just for fans of the science-fiction epic but also for networks looking for a piece of the Lucas magic that has grossed $4.3 billion in theaters worldwide.
 
There is a caveat, though: The proposed series doesn't have anyone named Luke or Anakin in it, a story path that Lucas concedes is "taking chances" as far as connecting with an audience expecting the familiar mythology.

"The Skywalkers aren't in it, and it's about minor characters," Lucas said in an interview. "It has nothing to do with Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader or any of those people. It's completely different. But it's a good idea, and it's going to be a lot of fun to do."

Lucas joked that the series would be about "the life of robots" but wouldn't let any details slip about the true premise. The "extended universe" of "Star Wars" has come to life already in Lucas-sanctioned novels, comics and games that chronicle the history of the Jedi and tell the tales of bit players in the films, such as the bounty hunters from "The Empire Strikes Back."

Lucas already has another television series percolating: Lucas Animation has been working for months on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," a computer-animated series that he hopes will introduce a new era of visuals to weekly episodic television. Lucas plans to produce it through his own companies before shopping the finished product to networks.

That model may also be used for the live-action show, although producer Rick McCallum said Tuesday that it's too early to say. McCallum is interviewing writers for the live-action series.

Lucas is confident he can find a home for his droids and Jedi, but he also knows the projects are unorthodox enough to give network executives pause.

"They are having a hard time," Lucas said. "They're saying, 'This doesn't fit into our little square boxes,' and I say, 'Well, yeah, but it's "Star Wars." And "Star Wars" doesn't fit into that box.' "
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: squints on October 17, 2007, 02:05:33 AM
Quote from: MacGuffin on October 17, 2007, 01:04:43 AM
"They are having a hard time," Lucas said. "They're saying, 'This doesn't fit into our little square boxes,' and I say, 'Well, yeah, but it's "Star Wars." And "Star Wars" doesn't fit into that box, motherfucker. Eat shit and die.' "
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on June 17, 2008, 01:40:20 PM
Tuskegee Airmen to be subject of George Lucas film

The black airmen whose lives will be the basis of a George Lucas movie know the picture will highlight their record of successfully escorting thousands of U.S. bombers in World War II.

They also feel it should tell of the trials they encountered stateside, like seeing German prisoners of war being treated better and afforded rights that were withheld from black American citizens.

Now that "Red Tails" is in preproduction, some of the airmen say they are excited their story is coming to the big screen but torn over how much it should devote to each of their two historic fights against Adolf Hitler abroad and Jim Crow at home.

Lt. Col. Eldridge F. Williams, 91, wants the film to recount the discrimination they had to overcome in their own country. Williams, who served in the military from August 1941 to November 1963, said a white doctor's false diagnosis of an eye condition kept him from achieving his dream of being a pilot, though he became a navigator.

"I think the story that has not been told is stories like mine in which the home battle that was waged ... shall we say, helped open the door so that the unit could enter combat and demonstrate its capabilities and be successful," he said.

Col. Herbert Carter, who also was with the airmen in the '40s, said the racism the men encountered should definitely be mentioned but not dwelled upon in the Lucas film.

"So many want the movies to focus in that sense and that's bitter history that has been thoroughly emphasized and publicized," the 88-year-old said in an interview.

He said the real story is how they blew apart the notion that blacks could not fly planes in war.

Producer Rick McCallum said both elements are addressed in a script by John Ridley that "balances difficult and painful issues with what is, at its heart, the story of men with a dream to fly and serve their country."

Lucas hopes to begin shooting by year's end or early 2009, McCallum said. The movie's title refers to the color of their fighter planes' tails, which were distinctive and allowed U.S. bomber crews to know they were being escorted by the aggressive Tuskegee Airmen.

"It is a story of incredible adventure and enormous courage," said the producer, who's scouting locations for "Red Tails" in Prague, Czech Republic, and Italy. "I think the story will speak to anyone who has ever wanted to succeed at something others told them was impossible."

At first called the "Tuskegee Experiment," the first aviation cadet class began with 13 students at the Tuskegee Army Air Field, about 40 miles east of Montgomery, in July 1941. Black people weren't allowed to fly in the military at the time and the "experiment" was to see whether they could pilot airplanes and handle heavy machinery.

Over the next four years, the airmen went on more than 15,000 combat trips throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa.

Nearly 1,000 pilots were trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field before its 1946 closing, after which the men from the all-black units were sent to an air base in Ohio. President Truman's 1948 order to desegregate the country's armed forces eventually led to a racially mixed military.

The men have been the subject of several documentaries and books. But a 1995 HBO movie "The Tuskegee Airmen," starring Laurence Fishburne, was the film that jump-started much of the attention the airmen have received in recent years, said Christine Biggers, a park ranger at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.

The HBO movie "was about 50 percent Hollywood, but it gave a good overview and got the word out. People all over the world saw it and it whetted their appetite to want to know more," Biggers said.

Lucas plans for the movie to be based on the historic record that brought the Tuskegee Airmen fame, drawn from their own accounts.

Carter was one of several airmen who were invited to Lucas' Skywalker Ranch a few years ago to record their oral histories, which will be used in developing the film.

Carter tells of the constant adjustment of being respected as a soldier on base, then having that dignity snatched away once off-base, where they were "just another Negro in Alabama in the eyes of the civilian population."

But he said the real story is how they overcame an environment that said "they didn't have the ability, dexterity, physiology and psychology to operate something as complicated as aircrafts or tanks."

The black airmen's response was "train me and let me demonstrate I can," Carter said. "We said the antidote to racism was excellence and performance and that is what we did."
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on April 06, 2009, 04:36:23 PM
Trio set for Lucas' 'Red Tails'
Howard, Gooding, Cranston cast in WWII pic
Source: Variety

Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Bryan Cranston have joined the cast of George Lucas' "Red Tails," the WWII action adventure about the Tuskegee Airmen.

Thesps join a cast that includes Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Method Man, Lee Tergesen, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Andre Royo and Jesse Williams.

Anthony Hemingway directs and Lucas is exec producing and financing through his Lucasfilm production company with Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson producing. Lensing begins soon in Europe.

John Ridley wrote the script, which revolves around the young pilots who overcame institutional racism in the military to form the Tuskegee Airmen, who become the first African-American fighter pilots in U.S. military history. Their planes featured the red-painted tails that give the film its title.

"I've been wanting to do 'Red Tails' for 20 years, and we've finally got the means to showcase the skill of the Tuskegee pilots," Lucas said. "We're working on techniques which will give us the first true look at the aerial dogfighting of the era."
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: Reinhold on April 06, 2009, 06:49:58 PM
as much as i fear lucas going nostalgic or spectacular for no particular reason with this story, i'm inclined to think that those dog fights are going to look incredible.

i always thought that a film about air combat would be amazing for 3d... i wonder if they'll do that.
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: MacGuffin on January 27, 2010, 11:43:40 AM
George Lucas producing a CGI musical! Featuring ... fairies?
Source: Hollywood Reporter

George Lucas is tackling his first musical.

The untitled, top-secret CGI-animated film is in preproduction at Lucas' Skywalker Ranch in Marin County.

The project marks a rare foray outside the "Star Wars" universe for Lucas who, while not directing a movie since "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005, is putting the finishing touches on "Red Tails," the adventure movie that tells the World War II story of the Tuskegee Airmen, America's first black pilots. Lucas wrote the screenplay for "Tails" and is exec producing.

Kevin Munroe is directing the CGI film, which is expected to feature music from a variety of sources. Munroe hails from the animated world and made his directorial debut in 2007 with the fourth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, "TMNT." He recently wrapped production on his live-action debut, the adaptation of the "Dead of Night" comic that stars Brandon Routh and Taye Diggs.

David Berenbaum, who wrote the Will Ferrell comedy "Elf" and children's fantasy "The Spiderwick Chronicles," penned the screenplay. Plot details are locked tighter than the plans for the Death Star, but one element known is that the script features fairies.

It is not known whether Berenbaum is working from a story by Lucas, who tends to originate much of Lucasfilm's intellectual property.

A Lucasfilm spokesperson said it was too early to comment on the details of the project.
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: jenkins on May 14, 2021, 08:47:30 PM
https://twitter.com/WilliamHPerkins/status/1393212244473876481

https://twitter.com/KylosSabers/status/1393258630623993858
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: wilberfan on May 14, 2021, 08:59:49 PM
LOL.  Those were great.  Happy birthday, George.
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: WorldForgot on May 14, 2021, 09:03:59 PM
That second one with the Metal Gear music always makes me laugh. Basically what it's like to go to the TCL Chinese Theater or (once upon a time...) Arclight HWood and peeping QT.
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: tpfkabi on May 22, 2021, 08:57:20 AM
That Oscar video made me laugh. I guess you can't "like" posts in this board format.
Oh....and release the OG version of the OG Trilogy George. Yub Nub 'til the day that I die.
Title: Re: lucas the father of the altmanesque multi character movie?
Post by: WorldForgot on May 22, 2021, 10:17:43 AM
You might already be aware that they're available on the net -- don't know that you can expect an official release til like the 100th anniversary, hah.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMh-VfywI94