recorded episode 2 last week; it was going to be a star wars two-parter. well it still is one, I guess, we just ran out of time to get the second half recorded. just looking for some opinions on a few things.
1.) the prequels - I know, I know. but are they just objectively shitty films, or do they suffer from the core fandom having grown up since the originals? are we blind to some of the same quirks in the originals simply because we were kids at the time? if we could watch the originals for the first time right after the prequels, would the prequels seem to suck as much?
2.) what are you optimistic they'll get right with 7 through 9? based on lessons learned from the prequels, displacing potentially problematic expanded universe stuff to the 'legends' canon limbo, different creators on board this time... better than the prequels, at least?
3.) many fictional universes that are extremely popular in western cultures have comparatively limited pull in other societies. somehow, star wars seems to transcend those cultural divides, to say nothing of language barriers, generational differences, etc. how and why? what makes this particular world so appealing to so many people?
any opinions are welcome, even if I have to extensively paraphrase them to keep it a pg-13 podcast...
Back to one in a bit, as it's the meatier part of your queries (hehe, sounds like 'queer').
2)As I've said before, the reasons that Abrams is a terrible director for Star Trek make him a good choice for Star Wars. A good eye for pacing and action if not story. I want it to be wish fulfillment for all ages and not just a merchandising ploy to make kids have their parents buy them the latest lightsaber.
3)Lucas used Joseph Campbell's writings on the Hero's Journey as the basis of his story. Campbell claims that all cultures share certain elements in their folklore. Even with it being foreign, it is still familiar and, therefore accessible. Plus, laser swords.
1)There are many reasons why the prequels are shit and the originals aren't. I'll admit that nostalgia is a big part of it, but not all. First, I'll point out that kids who grew up when the prequels came out fucking loved them. I'm not surprised by that. What I'm not seeing that the originals had is that now, ten years + later, they're not going back to them as we did with 4-6, at least not that I've seen. They've left them behind as all other flash in the pan blockbusters are.
The biggest reason, though, is that the George Lucas of the 90's and 2000's isn't the same as the one in the 70's. The most obvious being that The Phantom Menace is the first film he'd directed since the very first Star Wars film. There's a twenty year gap between his directing jobs. It's like letting a doctor operate on you after he hadn't practiced medicine in twenty years. Yeah, he's visited the hospitals and even talked about the future of medicine and its importance; but he hasn't even done a physical in two decades. And we're not talking about a great doctor either. He was good to take out your tonsils; but if there was a major problem like your heart, you're seeing who else is on call. (Hey, how about that Jewish doctor, Speilberg? Can we get him?)
On top of not having directed a movie in decades, his first one is an FX heavy movie using technology that he'd never personally used. Yes, Lucas helped spearhead and even create, through ILM, CG effects for films; but he'd never actually made a movie himself with them. The last film he made used matte paintings, scale models, and animatronics. He didn't even try to dip his toes in to get used to the process with a smaller film with a few green screen shots. He did a movie that was like 90% CGI.
Lucas doesn't understand that sometimes it's what you can't do that helps create a movie. He'd complained over and over that FX weren't where they needed to be with the original trilogy to give him everything that he wanted. So they had to sacrifice and change certain things. Low budget directors like Carpenter will tell you that's where a lot of creativity comes from. Think of how different Jaws would be if the fucking shark had worked. Not getting everything you want can actually be good for the finished product, especially if you don't even really know what it is you want as the vast archives of contradictory Lucas interviews proves. As the saying goes, "Art isn't created. It's abandoned."
Finally, the Lucas of the prequels had no passion. He didn't love movies anymore. It was all clearly about $$$. He held a tight grip over something that he claims to love but really didn't give a shit for anymore (as the sell to Disney proved). Before he let other creative people take their shots and we got The Empire Strikes back. A fucking brilliant movie. Return wasn't as great because he came back in with "Hey, let's have some tribal teddy bears! That'll sell some fucking toys." When Lucas is out of the picture, or at least sidelined, the product is better. The prequels were shit, but the Clone Wars cartoon was damn good. The EU books and Dark Horse comics brought some great creators and stories to fandom, all without Lucas's help. He's a guy who just didn't get it. He never understood why Boba Fett was popular. Hell, he wasn't even convinced that his own movie was going to do well at all. He got lucky with Star Wars and forgot that it was the creative people he let in to help him that really created a huge franchise. He tried to capture lighting in a bottle for the prequels. He didn't make films as good as the originals, but he walked away with a shitload of money. I guess he won after all.
