Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[Kryptonic]

[camper]

Could care less if Lucas has/has not/will/will not see the trailer.

I saw it. I liked it. I want more.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by camper

Could not care less if Lucas has/has not/will/will not see the trailer.

I saw it. I liked it. I want more.

Fixed.

[DisneyBlu]

Originally Posted by Cook

It might make you sad, but after nearly 40 years of working on Star Wars and all the grief and fan backlash of the past 17 years I think he has earned retirement if he wants it. He's not getting any younger, and I'm sure he wants to be free of it and just enjoy life without having Star Wars and the fans hanging over his head. I know that might seem absurd, but put yourself in Lucas's shoes. He wouldn't be the first creator to grow tired of their creation and the weight and pressure that comes with having created such a popular thing.

For the longest time I've felt terrible for George Lucas. He seems like a really nice, good guy, and people have treated him terribly.

I wouldn't be surprised if he resents Star Wars based on the way a large portion of the fans treat him.

I've always found it amusing that some people love Star Wars so much, so passionately, that they would say terrible things like wanting him to burn in hell, or wishing bad things on him, when he's the man who created Star Wars in the first place.

Adding some CGI to older movies or making some movies that didn't live up to the original trilogy doesn't warrant that kind of intense hatred, in my opinion.

I'm not saying people have to like some of the things Lucas has done, but he's a filmmaker, not Hitler. And, as mentioned, he seems like an upstanding, kind hearted guy (who is very charitable and not the greedy bastard some people pretend he is), and he's talked about like he's the devil.

This isn't about anyone here, just some of the fanbase in general.

[camper]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Fixed.

No, it was right the first time. I could care less than I already do, I just don't care enough to care any less than I do.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by camper

No, it was right the first time. I could care less than I already do, I just don't care enough to care any less than I do.

Ah okay, so you do care on some level. Just wanted to clarify.

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by DisneyBlu

For the longest time I've felt terrible for George Lucas. He seems like a really nice, good guy, and people have treated him terribly.

I wouldn't be surprised if he resents Star Wars based on the way a large portion of the fans treat him.

I've always found it amusing that some people love Star Wars so much, so passionately, that they would say terrible things like wanting him to burn in hell, or wishing bad things on him, when he's the man who created Star Wars in the first place.

Adding some CGI to older movies or making some movies that didn't live up to the original trilogy doesn't warrant that kind of intense hatred, in my opinion.

I'm not saying people have to like some of the things Lucas has done, but he's a filmmaker, not Hitler. And, as mentioned, he seems like an upstanding, kind hearted guy (who is very charitable and not the greedy bastard some people pretend he is), and he's talked about like he's the devil.

This isn't about anyone here, just some of the fanbase in general.

The post of the decade. Absolutely true. It's just really strange for me that a person could have so much hatred about another person who's given everybody something amazing, then he did things you don't like that you can just ignore. I mean he don't even know you and he's done no crime. It's not common to see this from where I live. Something I only see on the internet forums that can never get used to. Disagreeing is fine, provide reasoning not hate. Sorry, just saying.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by DisneyBlu

For the longest time I've felt terrible for George Lucas. He seems like a really nice, good guy, and people have treated him terribly.

I wouldn't be surprised if he resents Star Wars based on the way a large portion of the fans treat him.

I've always found it amusing that some people love Star Wars so much, so passionately, that they would say terrible things like wanting him to burn in hell, or wishing bad things on him, when he's the man who created Star Wars in the first place.

Adding some CGI to older movies or making some movies that didn't live up to the original trilogy doesn't warrant that kind of intense hatred, in my opinion.

I'm not saying people have to like some of the things Lucas has done, but he's a filmmaker, not Hitler. And, as mentioned, he seems like an upstanding, kind hearted guy (who is very charitable and not the greedy bastard some people pretend he is), and he's talked about like he's the devil.

This isn't about anyone here, just some of the fanbase in general.

I seriously doubt he cares. Really. I know I wouldn't.

Look, once you put something out there, a movie, a novel, a TV show, a play, whatever, you're going to have to deal with negative criticism to some degree. And the bigger your project ends up being in the cultural milieu, the more intense feelings of fans and critics are going to be. That's simply reality. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen, in other words.

But at the end of the day, how much of this on-line bickering you are exposed to is up to YOU. It's why there are celebrities who never, ever Google themselves for instance. Does anyone like being torn to shreds on some blog? Probably not. Are there people who couldn't care less? Absolutely.

Your work has to speak for itself, and if you're happy or satisfied with it, then that's how you need to see it. My feeling is that Lucas is probably at that place. If not, then that's too bad. But he's been in this game for how long now? How many decades? If he hasn't learned to have a thick skin at this point, then I can only lay the blame at his feet.

Taylor Swift is only 24. She's a mega-star. And with that comes all sorts of constant attention, positive and negative. She has an incalculable number of things written about her on a daily basis. Doesn't seem to bother her, though. She seems happy.

Sorry, if a 24 year-old gal from Pennsylvania can brave the waters, then George Lucas has no excuse if he lets it get to him.

[jbloggs]

GL is creating his own special edition of the trailer

[DisneyBlu]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I seriously doubt he cares. Really. I know I wouldn't.

Look, once you put something out there, a movie, a novel, a TV show, a play, whatever, you're going to have to deal with negative criticism to some degree. And the bigger your project ends up being in the cultural milieu, the more intense feelings of fans and critics are going to be. That's simply reality. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen, in other words.

But at the end of the day, how much of this on-line bickering you are exposed to is up to YOU. It's why there are celebrities who never, ever Google themselves for instance. Does anyone like being torn to shreds on some blog? Probably not. Are there people who couldn't care less? Absolutely.

Your work has to speak for itself, and if you're happy or satisfied with it, then that's how you need to see it. My feeling is that Lucas is probably at that place. If not, then that's too bad. But he's been in this game for how long now? How many decades? If he hasn't learned to have a thick skin at this point, then I can only lay the blame at his feet.

Taylor Swift is only 24. She's a mega-star. And with that comes all sorts of constant attention, positive and negative. She has an incalculable number of things written about her on a daily basis. Doesn't seem to bother her, though. She seems happy.

Sorry, if a 24 year-old gal from Pennsylvania can brave the waters, then George Lucas has no excuse if he lets it get to him.

Whether he cares or not, I still feel bad that he gets so much vitriol directed towards him. Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and the like, are douchebags who deserve the hate they get online, and I wouldn't feel bad for them.

George Lucas, however, has never done anything to deserve the intense hatred that his very name conjures up.

I've seen so many nasty, hateful things said about the man, you'd think he was a dictator or a terrorist.

I don't know George Lucas. I don't know if what people say about him affects him or not. He seems to have a nice family, he has billions of dollars -- he's so rich that he donated the money he made from selling Star Wars to Disney -- he wrote and directed Star Wars, one of the most iconic films of all time, which birthed the Star Wars saga... arguably the most iconic film franchise in the history of cinema. He has inspired films and filmmakers alike. Star Wars and George Lucas will be remembered for generations and decades after George Lucas has passed away.

Should a man like that, one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, worry about what people say about him on the internet? Should he care about the opinions of his detractors? No, he shouldn't. But he is human.

And, as I've said, he seems like a genuinely kind-hearted, good man, and from some interviews with him, the hatred directed towards him has affected him.

I don't believe he ever set out to spit in the faces of Star Wars fans. He never wanted to hurt anyone, upset anyone, or - contrary to how something like South Park would portray him - gleefully "rape" the childhoods of millions of fans. Darth Vader's "nooooo" in Jedi was not a jab at fans. Jar Jar was not a jab at fans. CGI in the original trilogy was not a jab at fans. They were - however misguided - decisions that he made in films that he, ultimately, had creative control over. Nothing more, nothing less.

George Lucas made a masterpiece, oversaw another masterpiece, and oversaw a great film. Then he gave us three more pretty good films. Some of those films didn't live up to some fans' expectations, but that doesn't mean he should be open to the kind of hate-filled and vile comments he's been receiving since 1999.

15 years of "George Lucas is the worst person ever" from a very, very passionate and involved fan base would wear anyone down, no matter how happy and successful they may be.

Ultimately, regardless of whether or not Mr. Lucas is affected by the hatred, I still do feel bad that he's so hated on in the first place. This man gave the world Star Wars. Anyone can look up the charitable contributions he's made. Anyone can watch the hours of interview footage of him or read about what his peers have to say about him. He sounds and seems like a good guy, and I feel bad that someone like him is spoken of so terribly.

If someone loves Star Wars so much that they would get so angry, and say "I hope this person has something terrible happen to him because he slightly altered one of my favorite movies," I would think they would have more respect for the man who - if not for him - they wouldn't have that thing that they so dearly love to the point of wishing terrible things against the person who made slight changes to that thing they love very much.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by DisneyBlu

Whether he cares or not, I still feel bad that he gets so much vitriol directed towards him. Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and the like, are douchebags who deserve the hate they get online, and I wouldn't feel bad for them.

[Show spoiler]

George Lucas, however, has never done anything to deserve the intense hatred that his very name conjures up.

I've seen so many nasty, hateful things said about the man, you'd think he was a dictator or a terrorist.

I don't know George Lucas. I don't know if what people say about him affects him or not. He seems to have a nice family, he has billions of dollars -- he's so rich that he donated the money he made from selling Star Wars to Disney -- he wrote and directed Star Wars, one of the most iconic films of all time, which birthed the Star Wars saga... arguably the most iconic film franchise in the history of cinema. He has inspired films and filmmakers alike. Star Wars and George Lucas will be remembered for generations and decades after George Lucas has passed away.

Should a man like that, one of the most successful filmmakers of all time, worry about what people say about him on the internet? Should he care about the opinions of his detractors? No, he shouldn't. But he is human.

And, as I've said, he seems like a genuinely kind-hearted, good man, and from some interviews with him, the hatred directed towards him has affected him.

I don't believe he ever set out to spit in the faces of Star Wars fans. He never wanted to hurt anyone, upset anyone, or - contrary to how something like South Park would portray him - gleefully "rape" the childhoods of millions of fans. Darth Vader's "nooooo" in Jedi was not a jab at fans. Jar Jar was not a jab at fans. CGI in the original trilogy was not a jab at fans. They were - however misguided - decisions that he made in films that he, ultimately, had creative control over. Nothing more, nothing less.

George Lucas made a masterpiece, oversaw another masterpiece, and oversaw a great film. Then he gave us three more pretty good films. Some of those films didn't live up to some fans' expectations, but that doesn't mean he should be open to the kind of hate-filled and vile comments he's been receiving since 1999.

15 years of "George Lucas is the worst person ever" from a very, very passionate and involved fan base would wear anyone down, no matter how happy and successful they may be.

Ultimately, regardless of whether or not Mr. Lucas is affected by the hatred, I still do feel bad that he's so hated on in the first place. This man gave the world Star Wars. Anyone can look up the charitable contributions he's made. Anyone can watch the hours of interview footage of him or read about what his peers have to say about him. He sounds and seems like a good guy, and I feel bad that someone like him is spoken of so terribly.

If someone loves Star Wars so much that they would get so angry, and say "I hope this person has something terrible happen to him because he slightly altered one of my favorite movies," I would think they would have more respect for the man who - if not for him - they wouldn't have that thing that they so dearly love to the point of wishing terrible things against the person who made slight changes to that thing they love very much.

Very eloquent. I don't agree with much of it, but eloquently stated nonetheless.

Here's the thing. You -- rightly -- point out how huge Star Wars has been, is, and will be. I don't disagree with any of that. Heck, I saw the original film 12 times in the theater, and the first showing I had to wait in line for hours. So I'm right there with you on that.

But that's what I was trying to say: The bigger your project is, the more intense the reactions, both positive and negative, are going to be. There's just no way around it. I mean, heck, look at someone like Christopher Nolan. If he were still making little arty pics like Following no one would be talking about him at all outside of a handful of cinephiles. But now? His name comes up, and Every Single Time it's a veritable $#!&-storm erupting. Why? Because he's Nolan.

The same is going to be true for Lucas. And I can't believe that with a half-century in the game that he hasn't come to grips with it.

Also, it's not 15 years of crap from a very, very passionate and involved fanbase. It's 15 years of crap from the crazy fringe of that fanbase. There's always going to be a crazy fringe, whether it's movies, comics, TV shows -- if something is popular enough, it will generate that sort of feeling among a *few* unhinged fans that they OWN whatever the project is. If it doesn't go their way, they feel like were robbed, or had their childhood raped, or whatever.

But come on, it's the lunatic fringe. There are people in the world who have had cosmetic surgery to look like their favorite celebrity. These people aren't right in the head. There are comic book writers who have received death threats from fans who were unhappy with some change to a character or plot arc. When it's all said and done, you can only sit back and laugh (and call the FBI).

What you can't do is take the lunatic fringe seriously, or let them get under your skin. That being said, I would hate to be famous. I might never go on the Internet again! Not that I have to worry about that.

As you said, Lucas seems like a nice guy, he is charitable, and his peers like and respect him. At the end of the day, I would think that that's a fairly good life.

ETA: I just want to point out that I'm not comparing Lucas and Nolan. I may find Nolan's filmography a lot more impressive, but there's no question that Lucas has had a much, much bigger effect on the cultural zeitgeist than has Nolan. By far.

[Nightrunner]

No, hold on. This isn't some species that was obliterated by deforestation, or the building of a dam. Dinosaurs had their shot, and nature selected them for extinction. Oops. Wrong franchise!

----

This isn't someone that lost his rights by going bankrupt, or the senior partners took over. He sold the rights for 4 billion dollars. He had his shot to fix things with the prequels by making Revenge of the Sith , and instead of a triumph he bogged it down with the wooden dialog. Cool lava trick though. I loved what the effects teams did.

Now. We are getting and going to get the Disney version of Star Wars. JJ is setting the tone for the other two films in this trilogy.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by aiman04

I disagree, we might not want him in the director's chair or writing the full screenplay, but we need all his input we can get. He's a great ideas man, where he is now as a creative consultant is just perfect. I'm actually disappointed that now he don't care anymore, I really hope at least his story treatment stays intact in this trilogy.

I agree with this. I've done my fair share of criticizing Lucas (deservedly so), but he is intregal to Star Wars. But he seems to work best when he has other people with creative talent who are given a reasonable amount of freedom to take what he has created and make it even better.

The problem with the prequels is that he was calling all of the shots and mainly seemed to be surrounded by "yes men."

That's why I'm looking forward to Episode VII. It's based around his outline, from what I understand, but it's not him dictating everything point-by-point. Granted, it's not guaranteed to be good, but I feel there is good reason to be optimistic.

[camper]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Ah okay, so you do care on some level. Just wanted to clarify.

Sure, but its more of a curiosity such as "Really? He's not even curious what someone else would do?" then it is an OMG teh eND of intrweb!!!!!1111!!!!1!!lolomgyolowtf!!@!!!!

[Gaius Marius]

Originally Posted by aiman04

I disagree, we might not want him in the director's chair or writing the full screenplay, but we need all his input we can get. He's a great ideas man, where he is now as a creative consultant is just perfect. I'm actually disappointed that now he don't care anymore, I really hope at least his story treatment stays intact in this trilogy.

I agree. I think Lucas works best as an idea man, preferably surrounded by people willing to give constructive criticism (not 'Yes Men'). He needs a system of checks and balances to keep the ideas from going to 'out there' (which happened a lot in the PT). Give someone who can write and direct those duties, and let Lucas come up with the ideas.

[Ernest Rister]

George Lucas said, after the release of Red Tails (and this is a paraphrase, don't remember the exact quote):

"Why bother to make movies when all you get are people saying such terrible things about you?"

Of course it bothers him. He knows.

[camper]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

George Lucas said, after the release of Red Tails (and this is a paraphrase, don't remember the exact quote):

"Why bother to make movies when all you get are people saying such terrible things about you?"

Of course it bothers him. He knows.

Well, not all criticism is unwarranted...the film you brought up being a case in point.

And...Howard the Duck

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by DisneyBlu

For the longest time I've felt terrible for George Lucas. He seems like a really nice, good guy, and people have treated him terribly.

I wouldn't be surprised if he resents Star Wars based on the way a large portion of the fans treat him.

I've always found it amusing that some people love Star Wars so much, so passionately, that they would say terrible things like wanting him to burn in hell, or wishing bad things on him, when he's the man who created Star Wars in the first place.

Adding some CGI to older movies or making some movies that didn't live up to the original trilogy doesn't warrant that kind of intense hatred, in my opinion.

I'm not saying people have to like some of the things Lucas has done, but he's a filmmaker, not Hitler. And, as mentioned, he seems like an upstanding, kind hearted guy (who is very charitable and not the greedy bastard some people pretend he is), and he's talked about like he's the devil.

This isn't about anyone here, just some of the fanbase in general.

I view it more like a man who beats his dog (the fans). he abused them so badly for so many years with his lies, retractions, twistings and constant refusals on the OT that they finally got sick of it and turned on him, tearing him apart. You kind of feel sorry for him, but at the same time you look at him and say "you brought that on yourself".

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

You know, George Lucas is also responsible for pretty much everything that's GREAT about Star Wars.

he WAS responsible... the man today is not the same young film maker he was 35+ years ago.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

George Lucas said, after the release of Red Tails (and this is a paraphrase, don't remember the exact quote):

"Why bother to make movies when all you get are people saying such terrible things about you?"

Of course it bothers him. He knows.

Such a shame. No question, Lucas was a true visionary and industry innovator. I'm glad he was able to come to an agreement with Disney.
I think it would be so funny if he included some small clause in the Disney deal that stipulated UOT's couldn't be released for another 50 years.
Just as a final F.U. to all venom spewing nonsense he had to endure over the last decade.

Either way, I'll always know he gave me so much more than he's ever taken away...and for that I'll always be thankful.