George Lucas Retiring

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

From Entertainment Weekly . . .

 

Kathleen Kennedy to co-chair Lucasfilm as George Lucas 'moves forward with retirement'

 

Turns out George Lucas wasn’t bluffing with all that talk about retiring. Lucasfilm Ltd. announced today that Steven Spielberg’s longtime producing partner Kathleen Kennedy is joining the production company as co-chair. Lucas will retain his position as CEO but Kennedy’s new role will allow him to “move forward with his retirement plans,” according to a press release.

 

A former president of the Producers Guild of America, Kennedy has produced seven films that received Academy Award Best Picture nominations, including E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, War Horse, Seabiscuit, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, after having started out as Spielberg’s assistant in the late 1970s. To assume her position at Lucasfilm, she’ll be stepping down from production powerhouse The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which she leads with husband Frank Marshall. Lucas and Kennedy will be sharing co-chair responsibilities as she finishes work on Spielberg’s Lincoln and Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy.

 

Lucasfilm remains a lucrative business despite relatively minimal output aside from its ongoing curation of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. This January, the San Francisco-based company released the World War II fighter-pilot actioner Red Tails about the Tuskegee Airmen, which became the first non-Star Wars, non-Indiana Jones movie the studio had produced since 1994′s Radioland Murders. A fifth Indiana Jones movie is rumored to be in the works, however, along with a live-action Star Wars TV series that’s been teased since the release of the last theatrical installment set in that galaxy far far away, Revenge of the Sith, in 2005. The studio also continues to produce the highly rated animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars for Cartoon Network.

 

Whether or not the prolific Kennedy’s appointment indicates a new period of production activity for Lucasfilm remains to be seen. In a statement Lucas said, “As the company grows and expands I wanted to be sure the employees of Lucasfilm have a strong captain for the ship… It was important that my successor not only be someone with great creative passion and proven leadership abilities, but also someone who loves movies.”

 

Discuss . . .

[Malkior 476]

Things I am interested in knowing regarding the proceedings:

 

Will things Star Wars related still have to be reviewed by Lucas for approval?,

 

Will his "replacement" honor his wishes of holding off on doing more Star Wars movies?

 

Most importantly, who will end up owning the Star Wars franchise as a whole, after his retirement?

[hkmandalore47 3]

Things I am interested in knowing regarding the proceedings:

 

Will things Star Wars related still have to be reviewed by Lucas for approval?,

 

Will his "replacement" honor his wishes of holding off on doing more Star Wars movies?

 

Most importantly, who will end up owning the Star Wars franchise as a whole, after his retirement?

as to the first question: probably not since lucas will no longer be in charge. he would be giving up his position and letting someone else decide how to run lucasarts.

to the second: probably, since I dont see anything spawning a star wars movie in the future with the exception of the re-releases of the movies (though, we didnt all see the clone wars movie coming when it came)

third: i have no idea. i just hope this person will bring us back to the golden age of star wars videogames

[Fair Strides 510]

as to the first question: probably not since lucas will no longer be in charge. he would be giving up his position and letting someone else decide how to run lucasarts.

to the second: probably, since I dont see anything spawning a star wars movie in the future with the exception of the re-releases of the movies (though, we didnt all see the clone wars movie coming when it came)

third: i have no idea. i just hope this person will bring us back to the golden age of star wars videogames

 

I might be an old man at this rate, until Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII, IX are made. But I can't wait for them!

[GovernorTarkin 0]

It would be pretty cool to see a Darth Bane movie, also a Darth Plagueis movie. As far as the Post Return of the Jedi stuff i am ignorant, as I've been trying to read the books in somewhat chronological order.

however 1313(Uncharted 4: Bobba's Rise to Infamy) looks very intriguing.

[Boilpoint 12]

I might be an old man at this rate, until Star Wars Episodes VII, VIII, IX are made. But I can't wait for them!

 

They will NEVER be made! And it's all because you, yes YOU Fair Strides, had the audacity to question the writing in Episodes I, II, and III!

 

 

 

 

...Well, you and a couple other fans. Maybe some time away from the industry will help George relax. He seems to get very defensive lately.

[Fair Strides 510]

They will NEVER be made! And it's all because you, yes YOU Fair Strides, had the audacity to question the writing in Episodes I, II, and III!

 

 

 

 

...Well, you and a couple other fans. Maybe some time away from the industry will help George relax. He seems to get very defensive lately.

 

I question nothing! The original trilogy was but the middle part of the whole series, meaning there must be 3 more that come after them. And why is he getting defensive?

[Boilpoint 12]

I question nothing! The original trilogy was but the middle part of the whole series, meaning there must be 3 more that come after them. And why is he getting defensive?

 

 

This is what I meant about him getting defensive: http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/29/more-star-wars-never-says-george-lucas/

 

"Why would I make any more ['Star Wars' movies] when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?" he inquired. "I think there are a lot more important things in the world."

 

Although, when I look at the original NYT article, they make it sound more like he was mad that people questioned his changes to episodes 4, 5, and 6. So maybe I misspoke above.

[Fair Strides 510]

This is what I meant about him getting defensive: http://marquee.blogs...s-george-lucas/

 

 

 

Although, when I look at the original NYT article, they make it sound more like he was mad that people questioned his changes to episodes 4, 5, and 6. So maybe I misspoke above.

 

So, what changes did he make from the original? And who would dared to call him a bad person?

[Mandalore 61]

Well, the main change is that Greedo shot first.

 

I must agree, Lucas really isn't a very good script-writer.

 

I don't think there will be more films, but I don't think anything could go wrong making films of the Thrawn Trilogy.

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

As to the first question: probably not since Lucas will no longer be in charge.

 

You didn't read the article carefully enough.

 

Lucas will retain his position as CEO

He's still in charge.

 

I don't think there will be more films, but I don't think anything could go wrong making films of the Thrawn Trilogy.

 

And recast all the main parts? All of the actors are way too old to perform them now. Unless they made digital copies of their own old selves - like they did for Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy - it just wouldn't work that well IMHO.

[Mandalore 61]

That was indeed a concern, though I'm sure there are ways of getting round it.

[105491689125 3]

And recast all the main parts? All of the actors are way too old to perform them now. Unless they made digital copies of their own old selves - like they did for Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy - it just wouldn't work that well IMHO.

 

Bear in mind when those movies were supposed to be set. Lucas himself said once that they were supposed to take place when all the characters from the original trilogy (Ep. 4-6) were in their 70s or so.

 

So yes, they could certainly use the old actors. Trouble with that is that Harrison Ford long since declared he would never play Han Solo again, and even tried to convince Lucas to kill the character off in ROTJ for the same reason - in fact, it's the reason why when Leia says she loves him in Empire, he replies, "I know". Originally his line was supposed to be that she should remember, because he would come back. But Ford didn't want Solo to come back, so he changed the line... which is, of course, now a classic line.

 

But more than that, I don't think Lucas has a plot for those movies anymore. A major point was apparently going to be about finding Luke's sister. "But we know that's Leia", I hear you say? Yes, it is. Or at least, it is now. She wasn't supposed to be, though. Luke's sister was originally meant to be a totally unknown character. But after "Empire" Lucas became so tired of Star Wars that he wanted to end the series with ROTJ. It was a problem, however, that "Empire" had that "no, there is another" line in there, and he had to follow up on that. And so Leia became Luke's sister, tying up what would otherwise have been a loose end in the plot.

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

Bear in mind when those movies were supposed to be set. Lucas himself said once that they were supposed to take place when all the characters from the original trilogy (Ep. 4-6) were in their 70s or so.

 

I was referring specifically to the Thrawn trilogy being made into movies. The characters in those books are not in their seventies.

[105491689125 3]

I was referring specifically to the Thrawn trilogy being made into movies. The characters in those books are not in their seventies.

 

Oh sorry. I didn't catch that part.

[Guest Gatherum]

They would make a fortune adapting anything related to Knights of the Old Republic into either film or television. But then, that ship essentially sank with The Old Republic.

 

As to Lucas, I love the man. It's sad to see him go, but perhaps it's best for him to step down and let someone else who loves Star Wars take the reigns and bring new life to it. I won't lie: I think it's in a bad way right now, considering all of the retconning going on lately. I do hope that he has a peaceful retirement when it actually does come. Like him or not, he has earned that much in all the years he spent redefining science fiction.

 

Edit: Oops. Did not happen to read the timestamps. I didn't realise how old these threads were. Usually, gravedigging requires that you go back several pages.

 

Apologies.

[Darth_Sapiens 90]

http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/Disney_Buying_Lucasfilm_Plans_New_Star_Wars_Film_148646.asp#

 

omg its happening , :|

[Mandalore 61]

I've got a bad feeling about this...

[Darth_Sapiens 90]

I've got a bad feeling about this...

they have created a wound in the force, perhaps kreia will have her way , im going to be optimistic though as long as star wars stays seperate from all other things disney, ill survive lol

[zbyl2 811]

Well that's... surprising.

Episode VII in 2015? I have REALLY bad feelings about this.

 

Then again, between TOR and TCW, things can't get that much worse, can they?

[JoeWJ 11]

Disney are going to be looking to make some money out of Lucas Arts though, so maybe KoTOR III??

 

Would of thought it would be more profitable then a starting a new set of games.

[Zhaboka 91]

Oof. Really don't know how to feel about this.

[105491689125 3]

Well that's... surprising.

Episode VII in 2015? I have REALLY bad feelings about this.

 

Then again, between TOR and TCW, things can't get that much worse, can they?

 

Sure they can. They haven't yet announced that they will totally retcon any and all Expanded Universe material out of existence, so it won't conflict with these new movies, for example.

 

Not to mention Mickey Mousewalker, Duck Solo, Goofbacca, and Scrooge McDarth...

 

Certainly this is a coup de grace to Star Wars material about moral ambiguity such as KotOR2. I mean, who can seriously imagine a character like Kreia in a plot produced by Disney? Yeah, that'll happen...

 

Nope, I fear the evil corporate empire has taken over: "The last rudiments of the old republic have been swept away!"

[kyrie 17]

This is bad, one of the great privately owned film companies is no more. Stupid corporate greed.

[Hassat Hunter 571]

retcon any and all Expanded Universe material out of existence, so it won't conflict with these new movies, for example.

With the dubious nature of post-VI EU, I don't see the problem of being completely retconned. Heck, screw canon anyways... I never ever have changed said opinion anyway...

 

Disney made Pirates, Prince of Persia, Alice. Any more examples they do make proper adult movies? Unlike god-forbid Indy fuckin' IV of Lucas and Spielberg.

 

So all in all, I wouldn't count of off being a bad deal. Disney also made games like Split/Second: Velocity, which isn't all kiddie.

And they may throw a big fresh wind in LA, sweeping away bad SW-games and allow KOTOR3 and others to flourish.

 

Not quite sure where people here think Disney is only kiddies and all bad from. Hate much?