George Lucas has been talking about going off and making smaller movies for years now, but we’ve seen little concrete evidence to make up his statements. But earlier this week, he told Empire:
“I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.” Does he really mean it this time? Only time will tell.
But today, we have real some real evidence to back up his statements: Kathleen Kennedy, a producing partner of Steven Spielberg, will become co-chair of Lucasfilm. Lucas will remain as co-chair and CEO of the company.
The two worked together on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Kennedy said she would like to look into “the possibility of [Lucasfilm] making more movies.”
Top-notch reporting!TMZ harassed George Lucas in Los Angeles yesterday to learn what (almost) every Star Wars fan already knows: There will be no more Star Wars movies. “Never,” you can barely hear Lucas say over the ‘reporter.’ Just let the guy have a visit with his daughter, jeez.
Games. For those who roll their eyes at the very mention of Kyle Katarn, stop here: Gaming media are theorizing that LucasArts may revive a certain first-person shooter. Whatever.
Tours. ‘Where Science Meets Imagination’ is still out there, and its next stop will be the Indiana State Museum in our beloved Indianapolis.
Untruths! An article about Jake Lloyd has been floating around in which claims he called his post-Star War childhood a “living hell.” Lloyd took to Facebook on Sunday to deny it: “The quotes in the article do not accurately reflect my feelings for the time I spent on Star Wars or the time I spent in high school.” The article says the quotes came from “a magazine” and also attributes comments from his mother to a (defunct) domain similar to Sci Fi Channel Australia, which did do an interview with Lloyd (though not his mother) in 2009.
Culture. In The New York Times, Matt Richtel takes a look at how Star Wars is still captivating kids. (Did no one tell him about The Clone Wars, which doesn’t get a single mention?) Last week in the NYT: The New York Jedi. Pity about the headline fail. (Jedi is the plural. Tell your copy editors.)
Randomly… Actor Topher Grace (That 70’s Show) edited all three prequels into one 85-minute film. The cut was shown only to “a private gathering of Topher’s industry friends.” There are no plans to show or release it publicly – Grace refuses to do so without permission, which seems unlikely.
The blogside. With a title like ‘We Don’t Need George Lucas,’ the latest Action/Reaction over at EU Cantina was was bound to be controversial. Chris has some interesting points (yes, George Lucas worship does get out of hand from some aspects of fandom) but I don’t really agree with everything he says (I have no regrets on our coverage of Red Tails or Amanda Lucas) And course we’ve always had coverage of thingsoutside the realm of Star Wars and the Expanded Universe. I’m not so fond of the ‘telling other people how to be a fan’ aspect, but it’s certainly an issue worth giving some thought.
Street date shuffle. In responses to a query about Paul S. Kemp’s duology, Frank Parisi says it’s “a very ambitious project” but the first book won’t be coming out this November as it was previously (tentatively) scheduled.
The Science Channel’s Prophets of Science Fiction will air an episode devoted to George Lucas on March 7. Here’s the description:
From Luke Skywalker’s light sabre to Darth Vader’s Death Star, the Star Wars franchise is one of the defining science fiction works of the later 20th century. George Lucas’ prolific imagination has already inspired two generations of scientists and engineers to push the envelope of technology. By introducing computers into the filmmaking process, he changed the way movies are made, and the way we all see the future.
(It’s lightsaber. Sigh.) Most of the subjects of the show are science fiction authors (Mary Shelley, Issac Asimov) so Lucas appears to be a controversial choice in the comments. Still, you can’t deny that Star Wars has had a lot of influence over the genre.
Being Ackbar. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Peter Hartlaub catches up with Erik Bauersfeld, the radio dramatist who provided the voice of Admiral Ackbar and Bib Fortuna.
Honors.George Lucas accepted a Vanguard Award from Samuel L. Jackson at Saturday’s NAACP Image Awards. In his presentation, Jackson talking about lobbying for a role in the prequels: “I’ll be a Storm Trooper and just run across the screen. Nobody even has to know I’m in it.”
The Phantom Menace is loose! Run for your lives! Or, chill out as we round up some of the press floating around about the movie. (And don’t forget that the new Her Universe stuff is now on sale!) Onward!
Over at Entertainment Weekly, George Lucas talks about the 3D conversions came out of his efforts to get movie theaters to switch to digital, and why the format is beneficial to movies.
If you’re intrigued by some of the details Lucas mentioned in the EW video, learn more about The Phantom Menace’s 3D conversion from movieScope.
I’ve been looking at a lot of Phantom Menace stuff this week, and my favorite thing so far? Next Movie’s Eight biopics recast with Jar Jar. Yes, it’s total clickbait, but you certainly know by now that I love me some funny.
If you’re looking for something (sort of) serious, they also have an item about why Millennials (you know, those kids people us GenXers and GenCatalanos yell at to ‘get off our lawns’) don’t hate the prequels. But it’s in the form of a one-act play, so it’s not that serious.
What’s TPM going up against at the box office? I don’t think it has much to worry about from The Vow, a romantic drama starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum… But the kid-friendly Journey 2: The Mysterious Island may also be a draw for the action-adventure crowd, not to mention the 3D big bucks.
Coming Soon is projecting The Vow to take the top spot, but has Episode I beating Journey by several million. Entertainment Weekly projects the same, but with a few more million between TPM and Journey.
Top-notch reporting! 
Untruths! An article about Jake Lloyd has been floating around in which claims he called his post-Star War childhood a “living hell.” 
The Science Channel’s 
Rumor! Pocket Lint report that sources at the Panasonic conference in Hamburg are saying that 
Random… George Lucas at Fashion Week? Yes, indeed: Lucas was 
I’ve been looking at a lot of Phantom Menace stuff this week, and my favorite thing so far? Next Movie’s