The People vs. George Lucas

The People vs. George Lucas

The new documentary exploring the "love-hate" relationship between fans and creator debuted at SXSW.

Feature Opinion
By ecksmanfan - Mar 14, 2010 07:03 PM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi
Source: EW.com

Film director Alexandre Phillipe has been working on this film for the better part of three years. The film explores the less than stable relationship between "Star Wars" fans and the franchise's creator George Lucas. In it, he interviews some interesting people such as Neil Gaiman, Darth Vader actor David Prowse, and "Star Wars" producer Gary Kurtz. However, the man himself declined to be interviewed for the film.

Here is a portion of the interview, for the full discussion, follow the link below.

EW: Why did you want to make a film about this disconnect between George Lucas and his fans?

Phillipe: Well, we’re talking about a truly unique pop culture phenomenon. This intensely dysfunctional relationship has only increased in intensity over the years, and doesn’t seem to want to go away. The dynamic between George and his fans is singular in the history of film, and it’s a fascinating one, because it relates to a number of larger themes like ownership in the digital age, film preservation and cultural heritage, an author’s right to alter his/her work once it’s been released and inducted into the National Film Registry, etc. There’s a lot more to this disconnect than people might think, and that’s probably what will surprise audiences when they watch the film.

EW: Did you try to interview Lucas himself, and if so what happened?

Phillipe: Yes, we originally approached Lucasfilm when we launched our website, and again when we released our first teaser trailer. We did invite them to participate, but they respectfully declined. That said, we interviewed a number of individuals who worked closely with George Lucas–most notably Gary Kurtz and David Prowse, as well as a number of original Star Wars crew members like Anthony Waye, who now helms the James Bond franchise.

Trailer for "The People vs. George Lucas"

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erickrivers
erickrivers - 3/14/2010, 7:42 PM
star wars is beast, remake of the originals plz? haha
ThisFan
ThisFan - 3/14/2010, 8:07 PM
i was reading about this the other day it sounds really good
TheNameIsBetty
TheNameIsBetty - 3/14/2010, 11:08 PM
Why can't everybody just shut the [frick] up and accept that he made the movies how they are.

All of them were good. No remakes. No recasts.

No. Shut up.





No.
Hellebus
Hellebus - 3/14/2010, 11:14 PM
luv1138
luv1138 - 3/14/2010, 11:44 PM
No remakes!!! Leave them as they are PLEASE!!!

BTW: These people are retarded... period.
Bezzacat
Bezzacat - 3/15/2010, 12:49 AM
I can argue with you all day about "all these films are good". I saw Star Wars when it opened, the theater was standing room only. I had to sit on my aunts lap. Darth Vader was the most ominous villain for years. Darth Vader was totally pussified after Empire Strikes Back go back and watch it again. The first two films are far superior to the rest of the garbage. Return is ok but teddy bears come on really? Doesnt it seem to have gone to crap, there were parts in Star Wars and Empire that were shocking for the time ex Cantina, Slicing open the taun taun, Lukes hand being cut off. There is drama in those scenes. What about Boba Fett the guy backs off Luke in the Empire, tracks Solo. So how do we see him go out? His friggin jet pack gets hit. Come on really. Darth Vaders first words are Padame. Its just aweful. Instead of cloning Jedi Knights and having several Obi Wans, Anakins, so on and so forth we get a bunch of hawaiins. There are nice action sequences in all films after Empire but that doesnt make a good movie. The acting in episodes 1 through 3 is so aweful I almost walked out on parts 2 and 3. I stuck around praying it would get better... it didnt. Instead of tense action and drama you get a bunch of wooden acting and decapitations...nice. Seriously its a joke. Episodes 1 through 3 are no better than Electra with a bunch of special effects.
TheNameIsBetty
TheNameIsBetty - 3/15/2010, 12:56 AM
Heres an idea:

Go to college.
Get a degree.
Go to film school.
Get a degree.
Write a script.

Film your own dang Star Wars Trilogy. Then wait years and years and try to make prequels. THEN you can talk all this shit about Lucas.
JD22
JD22 - 3/15/2010, 1:28 AM
Damn...

Fartman just dominated the guy above him lol....
batman001
batman001 - 3/15/2010, 5:19 AM
yes but the batman is here and he says that george needs to stop making star wars films the batman has spoken
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/15/2010, 5:21 AM
dannyrand is right. i actually hate that argument. everyone in the world has seen a movie they didn't like. played a video game they didn't like. heard a song they didn't like.

by fartman's logic, that means no one is allowed to dislike a movie, video game, or song unless they themselves have made one before. and if you're not allowed to DISLIKE it, then doesn't that also mean you shouldn't be allowed to LIKE it? your only allowed to have an opinion if you've made something yourself? completely ridiculous.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/15/2010, 5:48 AM
Fartman your full of shit. "Shut up..those movies were good..they were..THEY WERE..WAAHHHHHHH.WAHHHHHHH" I have heard it from so many Star Wars fans, living in denial and trying to convince themselves that those prequels were even half the movies they should have been. And your other point about getting a degree first...tut tut, the "go do better yourself" argument is beneath you man. Also, does a diploma count?
SolidSnake
SolidSnake - 3/15/2010, 6:33 AM
Make episode 7, 8 and 9 already Lucas!!!!!!
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 3/15/2010, 6:50 AM
This is a pretty good idea for a documentary.

Too bad Georgie boy declined to be interviewed because his thoughts on these matters would probably be the most interesting of all.
I mean I have heard him say in an interview a long time ago that he never read reviews or paid any attention to what the public thinks of his prequels. That's probably not even true, but if it is, it would be interesting to see what would happen if he was confronted with a bit of constructive criticism or maybe some peer review of his work. I would definitely like to hear his thoughts on all of this.
Anyhow I definitely plan on seeing this.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/15/2010, 10:08 AM
@ quagmire

lol, thats pretty funny, considering the Watchmen movie is pretty damn close to the comics. it might have left out some of the side stories, but those were not important to the overall point and story. like the lesbians, the newspaper salesman and the kid, and the psychiatrist that gets in the head of Rorshach...none of those things from the GN are important. the only real change is the Squid...and lets face it, the way the movie did it, makes more sense. its not like they had to fight the squid in the comics, or anything, it appeared, then blew up. the world was still united because of an outside threat. so really, nothing changed.

and anyone that complains about the costumes and slow motion fight scenes in the watchmen movie are idiots. Zach Snyder explained that he went with the leather/rubber costumes to make fun of CBM's that are popular these days, just like Moore did with the comic version. Moore based all his characters off of existing characters to make a statement about the Comics medium at the time, and thats exactly what Snyder did, he made a statement to the CBM's of our time. just look at the nipples on Ozy's suit if you need proof. He didn't put those there because they're stylish. That was clearly him taking a shot at Joel Shumacher. if people can't realize that, then maybe they don't know as much about the history and creation of Watchmen as they think.

Watchmen the movie deserves a lot more credit than people give it.
selinakyle
selinakyle - 3/15/2010, 10:09 AM
Oh pls. The Prequels were horrible save for Revenge of the Sith. Did we all watch the same movies? The wooden acting by Hayden/natalie, the over the top-ness of it all? They were atrocious.
By the way, shut up Fartman or get off CBM!
ecksmanfan
ecksmanfan - 3/15/2010, 11:16 AM
Sith had it's moments, but over all...a movie that is lacking in the quality department. The three prequels were a CGI showcase and were cool to look at, but they had no substance to them at all. The acting was stiff...at best. When you have someone like Ewan McGregor who is an amazing actor, and even he comes across as a piece of particle board, there's a problem.
Jib7z
Jib7z - 3/15/2010, 12:07 PM
No. There is no talking about the prequels and how "good" you think they are. They were broken movies. They were not prequels, they were their own trilogy. The Originals were the tops, and if you can find the REAL originals, they still are tops.
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 3/15/2010, 1:14 PM
This looks like it could be an interesting documentary, from that trailer it looks like it at least attempted to be balanced which is really good. And I agree with mulder, it's too bad George declined to be interviewed, I'd really like to hear his take on the fan disconnect he has to deal with.
TheNameIsBetty
TheNameIsBetty - 3/15/2010, 1:31 PM
Okay, so I'm wrong. My apologies.

But why does every article about George Lucas or Star Wars have to be a hate session?

This ain't "1984" by George Orwell. You don't have to boo and throw tomatoes every time an article is posted about Star Wars. What about not saying anything if you can't say anything nice?
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/15/2010, 1:35 PM
@ fartman

"But why does every article about George Lucas or Star Wars have to be a hate session?"

that i can definately agree with!! i loved all 3 original movies, and i even kinda liked episode 1. episodes 2 and 3 were god awful though.

ScottScottScott
ScottScottScott - 3/15/2010, 2:40 PM
Personally I loved episodes 4-6. I though the Prequels had redeeming moments, over all they were meh. Ewan McGreagor was a fantastic Obi-Wan (no one ever complains about him :) ) and by far the single reason to watch the Prequels.

Personally I feel that if 1-3 were re-filmed with better actors and a lack of Jar Jar, we'd all feel differently about them. But it wasn't so all you can say is at least Obi-Wan rocked.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 3/16/2010, 9:08 AM
@ T2

lol, i can say episode 3 sucked because, it had awful acting, and not a very good story. it was very cheesed out. the whole lightsaber fight over the lava?? come on, they just went overboard with that.

and yeah, vader's first breath was cool...until he took his first STEP and delivered one of the worst lines in movie history..."NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..."

they made Anakin, someone who is supposed to be one of the most powerful jedi ever, a complete idiot that bordered on being mentally handicapped. i mean, how good of a jedi are you if you believe EVERYTHING that ANYONE tells you?? he got tricked by the emperor, and really, all the emporer did was play the "he said, she said" game.

it was just terrible. i'll watch episode 1 over episode 3 any day of the week.
WOLVERINEDECADE
WOLVERINEDECADE - 3/18/2010, 6:54 AM
its just this:

"we cannot please everybody".
phil3000
phil3000 - 11/18/2010, 3:48 AM
Hi there!

I’m a member of the production team for ‘The People vs. George Lucas’. Firstly, thanks to all of you who left such positive comments about our film. It sounds like many of you are very keen on seeing it. We’d love to get the film to as many of you as possible; so if you haven’t done so already, please visit our main site www.peoplevsgeorge.com and demand a screening in your local area through the 'Screenings' tab. While this isn't a guarantee we can get to you, with enough of you behind us and your continued greatly appreciated support we’ll be able to show distributors just where you are and so do our upmost to reach as many of you as possible.

Thanks to all; and remember this movie, truly, is by and for you!

Phil
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