The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - Extended Edition (2D + 3D)

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Oh yeah, I know it doesn't just end at "prequel trilogies, digital and CGI". But I mean, to me it often feels like people get so hung up on the similarities between the two that they forget about all the differences that exist as well.

You make a good point that Jackson having the groundwork laid out for him re: the story he's telling in these movies certainly makes a big difference. In that respect you have to give Lucas some credit; he had to build his universe from the ground up so he had some much bigger stumbling blocks along the way. Chances are Jackson would mess up more than he did in spots if he was writing it all from scratch, by himself. That's also the thing though, Jackson had the good sense to leave most of the writing process to others while Lucas insisted on (mostly) doing it himself.

Indeed, filmmaking in general can be a very chaotic and spontaneous process. Jackson's productions are far from unique in that regard, it's just that he's more honest than many others are, and once again, huge props to him for that. It's much more interesting than the usual "it was great, everyone was great" fluff that's typical of special features for contemporary films.

That's yet another difference between the two, Jackson has some actual appreciation for the historical value and legacy of his films, and the contributions of his cast and crew (like mentioning he has too much respect for Ian Holm to be completely comfortable with the idea of replacing him with Martin Freeman in the prologue for Fellowship, unlike Lucas who was all too happy to erase people's work and pretend it never existed).

Agreed on all points MG. Jackson's got a sense of what film history really means and I think that stems from his childhood fascination with not just movies but movie-making itself. Whereas Lucas was the opposite, he wasn't interested in movies at all when he was a kid, he was into his cars and didn't care about much else.

I'll give Lucas all the credit in the world for the technical achievements that he pioneered which changed the face of movie-making (not just CG but non-linear editing, digital cameras etc) and the three American classics that he directed (THX, Graffiti and Star Wars) but he disappeared up his own Sarlacc years ago. IMO his split with Marcia cost us seeing how far Lucas could've gone as a filmmaker as she always grounded his work, much like how Jackson's wife (and Philippa Boyens) does the same for him. Heck, who's to say Lucas wouldn't have had his own ROTK-style landslide of Oscars if he'd carried on directing with her to back him up? (Yes, I know Star Wars won 7 but they were all technical, I'm talking about the big kahunas.) But it wasn't to be.