Has Lucas changed his Direction for Episode 2? (1 Viewer)

[KevinW]

Maybe he's simply following the same writing style he used in ep 4, 5 & 6. In the interview with Leonard Maltin on the VHS tapes, Lucas was asked why Empire was such a "dark" movie. His reasoning was that after writing the storyline, he realized that there was no way he could fit all of this into one movie, hence a 3-part series. Ep 4 was strictly introduction of characters and story, with ep 5 concentrating on character development, deeper plot, etc. Then, with Jedi, coming to a climax.
His rational was that this is the way any story was written. So, like Empire, I hope ep 2 does seem like it's a little more "adult" oriented, meaning that it concentrates on deeper plot development.
I don't know about ya'll but I was only 6 when Star Wars came out, so I'm sure I wasn't interested in plot so much. I was simply amazed by the movie itself. Phantom Menace seems childish to us now, but really, what do you think of Star Wars when you watch it now. Do you have the same feelings you remember from your younger days?

 

[Marc Colella]

Maybe a little Off topic...
I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, so my knowledge of this culture is very limited - but maybe someone can explain these "inconsistencies" of Episode I to me:
1. Why would the technology in Episode I be more advanced than what was available in the original Star Wars. Did Lucas cover this somehow with an explanation?
2. R2D2 and C3PO meet for the first time in Star Wars, and yet they appear together in Episode I. How was that explained?

 

[mark_d]

2. R2D2 and C3PO meet for the first time in Star Wars, and yet they appear together in Episode I. How was that explained?

We meet them for the first time in Star Wars. They're already together at the beginning and we don't know how long they've been knocking around together.
Mark

 

[Chad R]

The technology isn't any more advanced. They are all about the same. There're not better ships or blasters than the OT. Things are much more polished and clean because the OT was about a bunch of poorly funded rebels fighting the Empire. The empire is just as clean and polished as Episode I.
Threepio and Artoo already know each other by the time Star Wars opens. As Threepio says to Luke about Artoo, 'I've worked with him before.' Then, when asked if he's been in many battles threepio says 'Several, I think. ACtually I'm not all that good at telling stories.' So Threepio probably has lots of stories he just never tells Luke.

 

[Mike Broadman]

It's also likely that some technology did get lost. The Jedi were all wiped out. It's reasonable to say that they had lots of cool tech which got lost when they were eradicated.

 

[Carlo_M]

For anyone interested in why Star Wars and Empire are tonally different from Jedi and TPM (the latter two being deemed more "kiddified" because of the Ewoks in Jedi--rumored to have been Wookies in the original script--and Jar Jar in TPM, not to mention the "emergence" of Leia as Luke's sister despite the passionate kiss in ESB)...
Read this: http://www.filmthreat.com/Interviews...wsOne.inc&Id=8
It is very obvious that SW & ESB were collaborative films, with Lucas imagining the storyline and many people (including producer Gary Kurtz) challenging him and hammering out the details as a collaborative group. SW and ESB were made under duress (studio, budget, time constraints) while Jedi & TPM were made at his leisure. Coincidentally, Lucas jettisoned most of the personnel who worked creatively with him on SW & ESB before Jedi and TPM.
If you're a Star Wars fan, you should read this article.

 

[Jeff Rogers]

That was an amzing story. Good read
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If I could go back in time, I'd meet Snoopy

 

[Todd McF]

I just read the article. I have such diminishing faith in George Lucas...
Someone mentioned Jar Jar Binks will be in Episode 2 & 3?
Is that true? Please say its a lie...

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

An interesting read for sure. But just the fact that the interviewer seemed to be a total basher tainted the review. Also, just as you can't believe everything George says, you can't believe everything Gary says. Chances are, the truth is somewhere in the middle.
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My DVD Collection

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

As an aside, "Attack of the Clones" sounds no more or less cheesy/unwieldy to me than "The Empire Strikes Back" did when I first heard it at the age of 11. How come no one is attacking that lame title?
Regards,
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Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA

 

[Carlo_M]

Maybe because some of us didn't (and still don't) feel that The Empire Strikes Back is a bad title?

 

[RobertR]

Excellent link, Carlo.
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[Tom-G]

quote: But just the fact that the interviewer seemed to be a total basher tainted the review. Also, just as you can't believe everything George says, you can't believe everything Gary says. Chances are, the truth is somewhere in the middle[/quote]
Excellent point, Adam. Although old, the article is fodder for the bashers of George Lucas who despise him unconditionally.
I don't doubt there were "creative differences" between Kurtz and Lucas. There should be creative differences when filmmakers collaborate because that spawns good--and sometimes bad--ideas. Even if this was the case, you have to keep in mind that Star Wars is George Lucas' brainchild--his pet project. We, as fans, are at liberty to either love it or hate it.
So, the bottom line here is take that article with a grain of salt. I didn't care for the obsequious style of the interviewer. It was piss-poor because he didn't ask anything demanding of Mr. Kurtz. Last year, I even e-mailed the interviewer, calling him on that, but for some unknown reason, has failed to respond. Talk about self-indulgence.
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[Edited last by Tom_G on September 07, 2001 at 06:34 PM]

 

[RobertR]

I didn't care for the obsequious style of the interview

That sounds a lot like the objection many of us have to the style of Rick McCallum. McCallum's obsequiousness doesn't seem to bother some people at all.
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[Tom-G]

That sounds a lot like the objection many of us have to the style of Rick McCallum. McCallum's obsequiousness doesn't seem to bother some people at all.

Right, McCallum should blast Lucas every chance he gets. That would be analogous to an NFL quarterback, like Brett Favre, saying "Our team sucks. We aren't going to anything good this year."

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[Carlo_M]

I like to think of Stephen King in this instance--another popular creative force who is loved by some and hated by some.
The first person he always credits are his editors. Sure Stephen King, like Lucas, invents his writing subject. But Mr. King hasn't forgotten that everything is a collaborative effort. No man is an island, but Lucas is coming close.
As with Robert, I certain DO NOT HATE LUCAS! I love Star Wars & Empire Strikes Back. Love them. And I like Return of the Jedi. I dislike Phantom Menace. That's 3/4 successes with me, and that's a pretty good batting average. Many other directors don't do that well with me.
I think what you're confusing us with are people who are lucas-bashers. We don't bash him unfairly. We just lament the time when he was creatively open to outside ideas. Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back were born of that era.
Can anyone HONESTLY say they preferred Jedi and TPM to the first two. If so, that's fine. I personally can not.
Which should be puzzling because, by all accounts, he now has complete creative control over his enterprise. And we are now finding that perhaps that is not necessarily a good thing. Like King, when he got too big, had to change publishers. That shook him up, he found out that he's not above being dumped by a publisher and having to find a new one. He can't print his own books! So what does he do? He writes Bag of Bones, deemed to be critically among his best books. A little adversity never hurts, I guess is the lesson.
Of course the Kurtz article is not the "final word" on the subject. It's not intended to be. It's simply another viewpoint for people to digest, and make up their own minds. Some will see Kurtz as a sour-grapes dissenter. Fine. Some will see him as a man who brought some good things to the Star Wars universe. Fine. But don't seek to put down the man just because the interviewer was obviously unimpressed with TPM. Kurtz, for his part, stays pretty neutral and informative, not getting testy, upset or bitter. I thought it a great read which explained to me why the franchise has declined so precipitously (for me) when Lucas has more power and control than he ever had in the past.
The truth is probably somewhere in between. But we each have to make up our own minds exactly where we thing that "in between" area is.

 

[Tom-G]

Carlo, I'm sorry if I sounded like I was singling out you specifically, but I assure you that is not the case. I wasn't referring to anyone in this thread, I'm mostly speaking of people elsewhere, for example the interviewer (I refuse to use his name) in that Film Threat interview.
I know exactly how you feel, Carlo. We've discussed it before. George Lucas has strengths and weaknesses like any other filmmaker. His major weakness is writing. The dialogue was at it's best when he had Lawrence Kasdan assisting him. That's the only loss that the Star Wars prequels are suffering. I'm glad to see that Jonathan Hales was brought on as a script doctor. People seem to give too much credit to Kirshner for the greatness of Empire, but the truth is George Lucas probably could have had just about anyone direct (except Joel Schumacher) and it would have been good because of the influence of Lucas.
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[RobertR]

Right, McCallum should blast Lucas every chance he gets.

Not right. You’ve set up a false dichotomy. “Unconditional despising” (which you’ve claimed some people are guilty of) and unconditional obsequiousness (which many of us suspect McCallum of being guilty of) are NOT the only two possible choices. Gary Kurtz, for example, is guilty of neither. Lucas needs (and needed) some constructive criticism, not a “Lucas is the Star Wars god, and anything he says about the films is gospel” attitude.
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[Coressel]

Hasn't this exact same conversation been written on like 800 other threads?

 

[Norm]

Tom G, Why is it that anyone who criticizes Lucas's work, is considered a basher? You seem to be in the camp, that Lucas can do no wrong. I used to think Lucas was great but after Episode 6, then the Special Editions and now Episode 1, I've changed my opinion. I sure hope I love Episode 2 the way I like Empire & ANH, but if I don't I guess I will be considered a basher.
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