Yesterday, the Sundance Film Festival’s hottest ticket was a panel discussion involving Sundance founder Robert Redford and bajillionaire Star Wars creator George Lucas. There was a lot said by Redford and Lucas, and I’m thinking about splitting up this stuff into two posts (especially if it’s dead today) because Redford did say some notable, interesting things about women in Hollywood. But everybody is talking about George Lucas. Lucas gave some “Get off my lawn” realness to the panel discussion, throwing shade at filmmakers today, comic book films and CAT VIDEOS. Dude, you’re going after cat videos?! TOO FAR. You can read Variety’s write-up here and here are the biggest Moments in Shade.
Lucas on the current films being offered: “More and more circus without any substance behind it.”
He denies that Star Wars began the trend: “If you go into ‘Star Wars’ and see what’s going on there, there’s a lot more substance than circus…All art is technology. That’s the one thing that separates us from animals.”
How Lucas made his money: “All the money is in the action figures.”
Creating Industrial Light & Magic, LucasFilm and basing them in San Francisco: “Studio executives generally are not the most sophisticated people in the world…you do not want to be oppressed by people who are not as smart as you are and I’m dumb… I didn’t want anything to do with them. And I didn’t. I never made a movie in Hollywood… as a result, I got to have all my own stuff.”
Lucas doesn’t get YouTube or cat videos: “I would never guess people would watch cats do stupid things all day long.”
Lucas also denied the idea that he’s made any kind of long-term profit from Industrial Light & Magic, that visual effects really aren’t big moneymakers. He also detailed the struggle he had to get The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi financed, but how he built the toys and licensing of his films from the ground up – go here to read that.
I have mixed feelings about Lucas these days – I think he was brilliant and he revolutionized the industry in such a huge way, but he really is the godfather of these CGI-heavy comic book movies that saturate the film industry these days. While I agree with him, the story was actually important in the original three Star Wars films, why did he mess up the story so badly in the next three?
And who doesn’t love a cat video?!
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
Clearly, he is some sort of alien in disguise plotting to take over Earth. The cats know all, and will light saber his ass back to whatever galaxy he came from. And yes, the new SW movies suck deflated (foot) balls.
I want to see a new Star Wars starring all the cats in youtube videos.
HA. Somebody needs to make this happen immediately. Scottish Folds as Ewoks, Pixie bobs as bounty hunters, COLONEL MEOW(rip) as Chewbacca…I could do this all day.
They could also star in “More and more circus without any substance behind it”, the newest Lucas franchise. Who doesn’t love beautifully shallow cats in the three ring?
Oh. My. God. The rest of my day is officially ruined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBq8LihAd68
Bookmarked for later, have to update adobe flash.
I would watch that ALL day, EVERY day.
And this old man can eat BALLS furrealzies.
Haha, I’m totally mouthing this to the next person who cuts me off in traffic.
I was just watching the video of the two cats having a lengthy discussion.
Cats Rule
I just went on a Maru bender.
Maru’s great.
I didn’t realize he was a SF! I might have to get one, Kitten….I want a blue boy just like yours. Dude, this woman I know FOUND a SF living behind a dumpster where she works. Vet said she’s 13 years old and has probably been on her own for a while due to malnutrition, fleas, etc. She’s the sweetest cat in the world (those eyes!) and this woman takes her everywhere with her now. It’s so cute.
WHAT???
Someone abandoned a sweet Foldie? That’s awful! Do they have a home for her now? Is the woman who found her adopting her?
Because if not, this is a great site: http://scottishfoldrescue.homestead.com/
Pickles has a bit of a cult following among my friends, mainly because he is a total rag doll that you can pick up and hold like a baby for hours. Also, he’s a really fun, expressive cat.
Yeah dude, some piece of sh-t dumped her, no microchip, no one responded to any of the found ads, so you bet your sweet Patriot loving balls she adopted her. And count me as a Pickles stan, Zizou too. They are too cute.
Wow, that breaks my cold, black heart.
That’s so sweet that she adopted her. My boyfriend would probably sell her to buy more video games (this is what he threatens to do when my kitties act up).
I cannot imagine how anyone would abandon a pet. It just floors me.
When I lived in my old place Zizou escaped onto the roof deck and we couldn’t find her for hours. It was a nightmare. Losing one of my cats is the kind of sh*t that keeps me awake at night, even more so than BALLS and stuff…..
Ugh, it’s a horrible feeling I know. Harry got out for a full 36 hours this week and I was a complete and total mess, especially considering I live like in a national $%^&*( zoo. Glad you found Zizou(!), sorry my boys are going to crush the Pats on Sunday(!!), and long live Affleck’s moobs!!!😻
Those wild boars would make a snack out of Harry. You must have been terrified. Does he ever go outside or is he indoors-only?
I’m not gonna lie–the Hawks scare me, but I think all the deflategate sh*t is gonna fire up my Pats–they thrive on an Us Against The World mentality.
Either way, if your boys do it, I’ll be the first to congratulate you with a tiny kitten dressed like Paul Revere.
i know i’ve been on youtube (*) for far too long when, for the longest time i thought that Macklemore song went : “and so we pulled our pants up/like the ceiling cat told us”
(*)particularly in the Cat section, Weird Part of Youtube section, and cute baby animals falling asleep section. and i adore FinalCutKing’s Jedi Kittens series
Like the ceiling cat told us! *dead*
Animals falling asleep is just the BEST.
I can watch that for hours.
I blame Lucas for my 40 year old husband acting like a five year old whenever the star wars theme song comes on. I also want the HOURS of my life back for the time I spent in the movie theater watching the last three Star Wars.
I kinda love everything he said.
I understand they’re making money but I’m kinda over Marvel movies and four-piece movies that will slowly be beaten down from their promising first movie to a slow dragging fourth movie just to make the shareholders happy.
He also made brilliant points earlier about how women and girls don’t get ‘their’ action movies because there’s always a deep belief that if its not worth profit then it’s not worth making.
Jose semi did too, but then he backtracked.
Have you seen Star Wars I, II, and III? Those are three of the most soulless, wooden, 2 hour action figure and merchandise commercials around. George Lucas has NO PLACE EVER discussing movies and quality. That would be like Joe Francis discussing feminism.
^^THIS!!^^ (Great analogy, btw. I don’t know if he’s just managed to excise any memory of 1,2, and 3…or if selling to Disney was meant to be some sort of psychic surgery.)
Hands off the cat videos, buster. You went too far this time.
Word. These days the only reason I Internet is for cat videos.
There was substance behind the first three movies, but was there any more than what’s behind the best of today’s action movies? I’m going to say no. Compared to the worst of them, of course Episodes IV-VI look great, but it’s worth remembering there were plenty of terrible movies in the 70s and 80s as well.
As for why the prequels didn’t work out, I think the simple and depressing answer is that Lucas is one of those artists who needs a collaborator to help edit his ideas. Once he was powerful enough not to need one anymore, the quality of his work went downhill.
You can’t give anyone unlimited funds and unlimited creative control and not expect a hot mess. Its important to be thwarted. The first movie was nothing, but George Lucas being thwarted, even Empire, was a big nightmare of bitchslappery for George, by Return of the Jedi… he and everybody else were starting to believe his press and you could see it all over the place.
The prequels were just nobody daring to ask, “who cares about trade disputes? Are we trying to offend all races?”
Ugh. There’s a reason why George “My kids really liked Jar Jar Binks” Lucas is no longer allowed to have any input about Star Wars now that he sold to Disney.
A lot of people think the rise and success of cat videos (dog videos, cute pets and babies) has to do with society becoming more repressed and afraid. We’re dealing with a lot of stress in the world with fears about school shooters, possible wars, racial struggles, and power imbalances and in public we have to pretend we’re all doing okay but in private we can watch simplistic soothing things.
I’m a major lover of cat videos but I think the ‘industry’ of it where Grumpy Cat can make millions and have merchadise definitely says something interesting about it our society.
Lol, I must be the ONLY person on this site that liked the first three Star Wars movies (although I can do without the last one)….I guess because I’m not super into it? Like I like watching them, but I am not a Star Wars nerd.
I don’t see the issue…..the first three, in terms of writing/storyline were not all that revolutionary to me. I mean, it’s a great, epic story, with a decent script, but I think that it could’ve gone HORRIBLY wrong. It could’ve been “Jupiter Ascending”….but in 1980. Where you take what SHOULD be a great popcorn movie (with a message), and just ruin it.
I think that everything together made it–the story, the script, the costumes, the actors–amazing and revolutionary for our cinema. But beyond the technical aspects, I don’t see how it was so groundbreaking….I guess it’s a generational thing? I don’t know. But I like all of the movies—I like Episode II and Episode V the best (lol, Anakin and Padme’s romance; Leia and Han’s romance)…..
And I had no idea George Lucas was hot when he was younger……my ladyparts are starting to lurve some beards.
Dumb question alert. You mean the first real original totally bad ass best in the world three, or the three shitty omg what am I watching WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME prequels?
And obviously you’ve been hanging out with your beer drinking aunt because Lucas is not hot ever no way no. *throws ice water on VC’s lady parts*
When he was younger, he was kinda hot, but it was obscured by the beard. I LOVE beards. OMFG. No ice water!
Pssss….the beard is just hiding the chin situation.
I don’t really love any of the Star Wars movies. I’m in it for the lack of substance, cats with James Earl Jones voices, and sticky bun hair styles…NO regrets.
That’s what I mean. I like them all okay, and once every ten years I might marathon watch them all (I did, like ten years ago when I was a kid, lol), but I don’t see how any of them (especially Episodes I-III) are any worse than the crap that gets put out now. I’d rather watch all of them over and over again, than crap like “Divergent”, “Twilight”, and “Jupiter Ascending”…for me, all of the Star Wars movies work.
“And I had no idea George Lucas was hot when he was younger……my ladyparts are starting to lurve some beards”
This is a cry for help if I’ve ever seen one.
Lol Bridget, you are sassy today. 😀
I’m always sassy! But I don’t get to sit down for long Monday – Thursday until 2:30pst between training clients, shuttling the kids to school, and then running for an hour or two.
Though I’m sure VC was just taken by a temporary insanity with that George Lucas thing, right?
mimif likes the mad ostrich and bostonbenboob. Talk about a cry for help.😱
It would only be a cry for help if it was a John Krasinski moob.
Well, there’s definitely a wide variety in terms of the quality of cat videos, but I’ve never watched one and had a kneejerk reaction of “what a waste of time, I want my money back” which is how I felt after sitting through the turd known as Attack of the Clones. I could deal with Phantom Menace, despite the real time pod race scene, due to the chemistry of Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor.
He had a lot of help with the original trilogy. He’s not credited for the screenplay for Empire Strikes Back and he shares a credit for the screenplay for ROTJ. So while he provided the stories for the first trilogy, there were a lot of other hands in the pot who elevated his material. Versus the prequels, which were basically his and his alone.
All I can think of is the Board of Education song about the prequels…”Why does dad get so mad about Star Wars? Mr. Lucas, what did you DO?!”
I remember way back when how people thought Lucas was smart for going for merchandising rights when he negotiated with the studio to distribute Star Wars (the first movie) because it blew up and made him loads of money.
But then, imo, when he started to make mad money from Star Wars merchandising, he started making all the following movies more into an extended commercials for the merchandise.
I think the reason why the third movie included Ewoks was to sell Ewok-related toys. And it suffered from a lack of substantial story-telling. And it got progressively worse. I could barely get through Phantom Menace because all I noticed from it (besides a weak story with weakly developed characters) was all the aliens and vehicles that I figured would be selling in stores. It was like one of those commercials that involved a short story to sell the products.
Even the first movie wasn’t all that. The innovation was that the space ships looked old and beat up instead of shiny and flawless. The Millennium Falcon was a piece of junk! Which was pretty much it – that and the merchandising. Other than that it’s just another boy movie with one girl in it, and of course she’s basically the prize and has to be rescued so some man can be manly. Lucas lucked out.
Oh, puhleez-ever since he introduced Star Wars-1-3 (yeah, we old folks know better), he has written some of crappiest scripts in showbiz. But still, the franchise plugs on.
He shouldn’t throw shade on anyone-especially cats!
Too perfect that one of the “featured links” above is pets interrupting yoga.
;
Says the man that sold to Disney.
where are the creative interesting projects that he’s backed? No point throwing shade when you won’t put your money where your mouth is.
Allow mw to throw some shade, then, on his crappy dialogue writing skills in the equally crappy Star Wars prequels. I actually laughed out loud in theaters, then stopped when I realuzed I had paid actual money (as opposed to Monopoly money) to watch them.