The Force is No Longer Strong with Uncle George

[Guydowood]

from Moviehole.net


They said Jar Jar Binks would finish George Lucas, not so – “Red Tails” has the honour of being the prolific filmmaker and powerhouse’s final big-money movie (though he’s leaving an out clause just in case an “Indiana Jones 5″ comes to fruition). The airmen actioner, featuring the likes of Cuba Gooding Jr and Bryan Cranston, was the one project Lucas wanted to do before handing in his DGA card.

The “Star Wars” helmer, who struggled to get “Red Tails” distribution and seems rather frustrated by all the negative feedback he received for the “Star Wars” prequels (apparently the Golden Globes failed to recognize them, too), says he’s done with Hollywood.

“I’m retiring. I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff”, Lucas tells the NY Times.

Lucas will instead turn his attention to making personal, micro-budget movies – - much like his friend Francis Ford Coppola has been doing the past decade (but can anyone actually name something Coppola has made since 2000? Oh yes, of course, he was one of the many ghost-directors on the 2000 sci-fi blunder “Supernova”).

Though there’s a chance that “Star Wars” TV show might still happen, Lucas says he won’t be returning to the “Star Wars” movieverse. He said the fanboys hate him enough for making the prequels – I sense sadness, George? – let alone for making some unfortunate changes (‘nooooooooooo!’) to the original trilogy Blu-ray.

“Why would I make any more,” Lucas says of the “Star Wars” movies, “when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?”

“On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie,” Lucas says, referring to fans who, like the dreaded studios, have done their own forcible re-edits. “I’m saying: ‘Fine. But my movie, with my name on it, that says I did it, needs to be the way I want it.’ ”

Fair enough.

Look, I know everyone’s going to be doing the ‘Yahoo!’ dance (put your hands on your hips, stick out your tongue, shake it all about) about Lucas retiring, but remember, this is the man that gave us one of the best film trilogies of all time – heck, two top trilogies. I’m thankful for that. So no more making George cry, Okay!?

I, for one, am genuinely interested to see what a micro-budgeted George Lucas movie looks like – might we see something along the lines of “American Graffiti” again, maybe!?