Sad George Lucas Describes Making ‘Star Wars’: 'Not Much Fun'
Poor guy. Well, not poor exactly, but creatively frustrated (and still kinda into Jar Jar Binks).
Vanity Fair released a video interview Wednesday that was primarily a conversation with Star Wars creator George Lucas — and partially with filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who now is famously heading the latest Star Wars film — and in the piece Lucas seems less than enthralled with his own experiences bringing his films to fruition.
Lucas opened the chat expressing advice that anyone making a Star Wars film needs to remember that “there’s more to it than just spaceships,” and hopes that “The Force doesn’t get muddled into a bunch of ‘garbeldy-gook.’” He then wonders what happened to “Darth Vader’s grandkids” — and here’s where Abrams briefly enters the discussion, albeit from a different room. Lucas repeats his concern for Vader’s descendants for J.J., who is linked to George by tablet.
J.J. responds following a silent belly laugh, “You tell me man. You made all this s—- up.”
Once back on, Lucas he seems to take on a somewhat tense tone. When asked who he’d be if he could be any Star Wars character, his answer was “I don’t know…Jar Jar Binks.”
George’s dour thoughts continued:
“You go to make a movie, and all you get is criticized…and people try to make decisions about what you’re going to do before you do it…you know, it’s not much fun. And you can’t experiment. You can’t do anything…you have to do it a certain way. I don’t like that. I never did.”
Lucas continues, saying he wants to do “experimental films,” in the vein of his bleak 1971 sci-fi movie THX 1138. When the interviewer expressed she “loved” that movie, Lucas stayed down, adding, “Well, nobody else did.” He followed that with a note on his future:
“I will be directing…movies…but not movies, generally, that will be shown anywhere.”
However, the talk does end with an upbeat comment from Abrams, who thanks Lucas for “making my childhood, and the childhoods of so many that much better by creating this extraordinary universe you were then gracious enough to let me be a part of,” adding a quick murmured “…so thank you.”
