Legendary filmmaker George Lucas is retiring from the business — of making blockbusters, that is. In a new profile with the New York Times, Lucas announced, “I’m retiring. I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.”
He’ll instead focus on experimental, personal films — the kinds of projects that will be screened in art houses. That means no more “Star Wars” projects, with the franchise’s legion of fanboys sending him script notes. “Why would I make any more,” he questions, “when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terribly person you are?”
Will you miss George Lucas’ big-budget films?
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I’m all for his new direction, but the biggest problem is his deep pockets. Certain films, including many of the very best, were improved by a limited budget and technical failures. Creativity flows in the face of unexpected challenges.
Now if GL says he’s going to make a small, personal film and sets its budget at a hundred grand, then writes up a script that would go over that budget, will he fit the story to the budget? Will he find a creative solution to keep the scene and stay within his limitations? Or will he be tempted to say, well, since this is my personal film, I’ll just chip in the 250k that we’ll need for the effects in this scene? Or, I’ll just pony up the $2 mil we need for this particular actor because I absolutely have to have her.
Throwing cash at creative problems is what got him into this situation in the first place. Not having an editor or creative consultant with the authority to say, “No, George” has really been his undoing.
Interesting direction for George Lucas, and probably a very smart move. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with and if it really is a new direction.
George Lucas is known for his extravaganza and I will definitely miss his films. He is a master storyteller. In spite of all the frills involved, his movies never fail to touch the heart. I wish him all the success for his future endeavors. His personal and experimental films will be equally endearing.