George Lucas Shares His Thoughts on STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
This last weekend, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealed that George Lucas had seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens and she said that "he liked it." But now Lucas shares his thoughts on the film in his own words.
Vulture recently caught up with the legendary filmmaker at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington D.C. The creator of Star Wars was being honored for his lifetime achievements in arts and culture. While he was walking down the red carpet, Lucas was asked what he thought about the movie, and this was his brief response:
"I think the fans are going to love it. It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for."
It's good to know that the fans are going to enjoy it! His response is interesting because he doesn't really say that he liked it. He knows that the fans are going to love it, but at the same time his response says that this isn't the film he would have made...which is probably a good thing.
A couple of weeks ago, Lucas talked to Vanity Fair about how he and Disney went their separate ways because the studio didn't want to take the new Star Wars trilogy in the direction that Lucas wanted. He explained:
"The issue was ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans.’ People don’t actually realize it’s actually a soap opera and it’s all about family problems – it’s not about spaceships. So they decided they didn’t want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, ‘Fine.’"
If he really believes that, then why didn't he do that with the prequel films? The prequel films had more to do with politics than it did family. He was also throwing out spaceships and lightsaber duel eye candy all over the place!
I wonder if Lucas ever regrets letting Star Wars go. I know he got $4 billion out of the deal, but I wonder what he really thinks. I'd like to hear what he's saying about the film behind closed doors. At least he admits that J.J. Abrams is going to give the fans a film that we're going to enjoy.
In the end, it sounds like if Lucas would have made a new Star Wars movie, it wouldn't have been for the fans — it would have been for himself.