George Lucas Briefly Talks About The Force Awakens With Stephen Colbert
Comedian Stephen Colbert interviewed Star Wars creator George Lucas at the Tribeca Film Festival Friday afternoon. During the hour long interview Lucas briefly talked about The Force Awakens among other things.
Lucas said that he’s holding off on watching the new trailer for The Force Awakens until he can watch it on the big screen. Definitely not going to see it on a phone or a computer. He even mentioned that he could stream it to his own bigscreen.
From FoxNews:
Lucas, who sold the franchise and his Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 for $4.05 billion, said he doesn’t know what the film’s plot will be but looks forward to seeing it.
“The one thing I regret about having made ‘Star Wars’ is that I never got to just go and see it,” he said.
“I hope it’s successful,” he said. “I hope they do a great job.”
He added that the original saga was about a father, children and grandchildren. “I’m hoping they take it in a different direction,” he said. “I have no idea what they’re doing.”
Lucas said one thing is sure: He’ll wait to see the movie on a big screen.
Make sure to click the FoxNews link above for the full interview.
Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.
Born on April 24, 1980.
I hope you love it George.
I hope George eats his own heart out.
ungrateful…
George Lucas created Star Wars.
It’s sad that people feel this way about George Lucas. He created a beautiful universe that made our imaginations run wild. Without him, and his willingness to give his baby up, we would not be eagerly awaiting ‘The Force Awakens’.
This exactly. I hated the prequels with a passion, but he created a great universe and the first three films were great (ESB a masterpiece).
He could have taken the prequel hate and gone all Sith with vengence. He instead choose to hand it off to a new generation of filmmakers. Sure he got 4 Billion but does he need it? He could have left this world and told his kids to sit on the merchandise profits and do nothing to expand the saga. Props to George’s decision.
I loved the PT as much as the OT. Thanks to Lucas for passing the SW universe down to the next generation of film makers.
With each passing year, people try and take more and more away from Lucas’ involvement. Soon they’ll say he had almost nothing to do with the original trilogy at all!
The bottom line is he got a lot of help from some brilliant people, and he didn’t get that same help the 2nd time around. The people he did listen to were 90’s cronies who believed all that mattered was making the next summer special effects blockbuster.
ah george not again the same lame excuse.
“I’m hoping they take it in another direction.”
Yeah, in a direction away from Lucas.
“I have no idea what they’re doing.”
They’re doing that on purpose.
You’re a moron. You’re on this forum because of George.
George Lucas is Star Wars.
Except he just said in that interview (and in several others, actually) that he *doesn’t want* to be Star Wars and how he is hoping the new movie will go in a DIFFERENT direction.
So, yeah, George Lucas is NOT “Star Wars” (and this is for the best).
P.S.
Whoever still cling to this “George Lucas is Star Wars” idea should go and watch “Empire of Dreams” in order to realize that “Star Wars” has been more than “George Lucas” from the very beginning.
So you did not like the original Starwars movies? Just wondering why you are here and what you expect from the new ones? It’s not that JJ is a great film maker who created complex and beautiful uniserses. That inconsistent LoST rubish was not even his idea and Trek he stole and ruined.
So I am so sure if Lucas is realy worse then JJ. I did not like the prequels much but Lucas AND HIS TEAM did create the universe in the first place and I am quite happy with it.
Actually I find it interesting that George WANTS them to do something new.
You know Lucas has got his problems but you gotta admit he’s handling this with a ton of grace!
The fact that he’s not ranting out hate shows that his Ego isn’t the only thing at play, it seems he actually wants the Saga itself to succeed.
[either that or there’s a “no-hate” clause in his contract]
But yeah, the whole thing, flaws in the PT included, could have been A LOT worse.
Any word on a teaser poster for TFA? Maybe at the Closing Ceremony?
He also said “They’re doing kind of a different story” as opposed to “They’re doing their own thing” (January, Strange Magic press junket). I think he’s just giving the spotlight over to them, they probably did use a lot from his version.
Colbert’s beard makes him look like he just took a bite out of George’s head.
screw you lucas haters if it wasent for him you would have no star wars mfrs
So Lucas’ treatments involved grandchildren. the new trailer definitely conveys a Skywalker family oriented plot. Maybe it’s misdirection but I don’t think so. The force is strong in my family is pretty telling. I dont think the direction is that much different. It’s all in the delivery. which I think will be amazing. Still I hope Lucas is happy with it. We owe him a great deal.
The hypocrisy of people to hate on the person who created one of the things they love the most. It’s troubling.
We don’t hate Lucas, He was the creator.. Yeah… But he is no longer a good movie director, just accept that.
I think George still has the ability to direct great movies. The biggest problem is he grew to big..with nobody to really argue or challenge him on his directors choices. Just look at the early behind the scene’s footage of angry ILM’ers or crew on ANH..then compare that with the total devotion and admiration people like Doug Chang or Dave Feloni have for Lucas. One can easily see where things went wrong. Same thing with the cast. I hope TFA turns out great and inspires Lucas to create new stuff outside the SW universe.
You know Directors have lapses of judgement all the time.
Francis Coppola is probably one of the best directors ever— would I watch anything he’s made in the past 2 decades? NO.
Again, what I find most telling is how a director handles the AFTERMATH.
If there’s one thing Lucas did well, it’s his graceful acceptance of the fans not liking his rather risky take on the SW franchise. That’s gotta count for something, sure he might hate us privately, but he ain’t gonna serve us that hate in public, he just ain’t gonna do it [which is more than can be said for Kanye]
I think at the end of the day he was just trying to see how far he could take the green-screen-heavy approach, and how far he could delve into the philosophy behind it all. What resulted was a film that was made for all the wrong reasons. It was being to self-intelligent, when that’s not what fans were asking for.
[Hayden Christensen DID NOT HELP THINGS though]
Even if JJ is as bad a director as I think he is, at the very least it seems the new sequels are at least aiming at the right market. They seem to understand WHY Star Wars was liked in the first place. At the very least they’re attempting to make it ENTERTAINING, whereas Lucas was attempting to make Prequels ENLIGHTENING, which given the nature of Star Wars, wasn’t quite appropriate.
“If there’s one thing Lucas did well, it’s his graceful acceptance of the fans not liking his rather risky take on the SW franchise.”
What risks did he take? He brought back Boba Fett and Chewy for fan service and borrowed heavily from the EU. He also relied heavily on excessive comic relief for young children in Ep1.
That’s not risk taking.
He is great director for Star Wars. He is Star Wars.
I hope you love it george and you get to see it an experience it like every die hard fan does! Best wishes
Most people are unhappy. Bad choices, uncle fingered them, don’t know how to be free, etc… These people whine and complain non stop to survive. There used to be natural selection, or the strong survive and the weak die off. But modern medicine and technology the past hundred years has brought the weak along with us. Whining, complaining, and perpetuating their inferior DNA. You can find them posting on sites like this one anonymously. Like me!
So true man. I often find myself opposed to this problem, while being part of it. Then you also get the notion of non-free speech. Critic which is a spiritual guide to visionary behavior- are extremely despised.
Yeah, and you are a nazi or what?
Survivalism is bullshit.
Feel free to not survive then. Or at least cut your vas deferens so future generations of humans aren’t accused of being nazis by your descendents.
I couldn’t agree more. Humans are devolving cause natural selection is no longer an issue. Just watch the movie “idiocracy” and mike Judd will make it all too apparent. It’s a hilarious movie on one hand and terribly horrifying on the other. Because it is true. It’s no longer the strongest, fittest, or smartest that survive. Not to mention dumb shit stains of society are out breeding everyone cause they can’t figure out how to use a condom, or because they can get another check from the government. Also, you’re right on the negativity front. It’s sickening and such a disease and people don’t even realize it. Negativity is spread from person to person and people are too slow on the uptake to notice. Hell I’ve even become more negative around people who are whining constantly and being negative about everything. From how we talk to people, and deal with life. I mean even in the comedies we watch or other media influences. Everyone just seems so hateful these days, and why?
George Lucas, Love to hate him, hate to love him
The Lucas hate has gone too far with SW fans. Did he kcuf up the prequels? Yeah. Was he more interested in selling toys than maintaining the integrity of one of the great myths of our time? Yeah. He made a lot of mistakes.
But this universe was born from his imagination. Everything you love about Star Wars he gave you. I’ll forever be annoyed at the tone he went with in the PT and the casting of Annakin, but every time I throw a hand in the air and holler when an X-Wing swoops through the screen blasting apart a TIE Fighter, or feel that sentimental bug tugging on my tear ducts when I see Luke resting a hand on his knee looking up at twin suns…I remind myself who gave this gift to the world. You should too.
He created Star Wars, but most important: he delivered a very hard movie for you to watch it. Really: no Lucas no Star Wars.
George Lucas and Stephen Colbert, two awesome people.
George lucas is a great guy who just made a mistake when he decided to make the prequels. Thats it in a nutshell. He redeemed himself by stepping aside and letting other directors take over. Everybody wants to see a continuation of the original saga. Prequels of any movie are a bad, bad idea……
The decision to make the prequels wasn’t a mistake. Some of the decisions made after the fact were.
Can anyone here name one prequel movie in the history of movies which was any good?…….and please dont say Prometheus…..
Prometheus is a masterpiece.
Visually stunning with great Symbolism.
It is things like the scene where, the Engineer removes Davids head, basically a reversal of the biblical scene of David and Goliath. Instead David is getting his head taken off by a giant.
Also David is a Combination of Hal in 2001 plus the fact his name is David, and appearing like David from 2001. Even though in the movie he is modeling himself after Peter O’Toole of Lawrence of Arabia.
The film is to make you think after the initial viewing. It is a great film that only suffered a few edits and cuts.
Overall it is a film that will last like BladeRunner.
The Prequels will be forever changed by the Sequals and later adored.
Only a few WillyWogs will cry and bitch, that have no imagination or that have to be spoon fed everything.
Are books explained to you after they are read?
The Prequals were well thought out, you just have to watch them again, the oddities, and inconsistencies that people bitch about will be resolved by the new films.
Prometheus is simply asking you to reexamine your surroundings, they may have a different meaning.
Just like Star Wars does.
The prequels were well thought out?!? Good Lord…
Yes, they were. Did you not see them, or something?
Yes I saw them and puked after each one. What on God’s green Earth was well thought out?
– Perhaps the thrilling trade dispute on Naboo was well thought out. The trade Federation was blockading trade!
– If not that, then maybe pandering to small children with Jar Jar Binks was well thought out. That was a real winner.
– Last but not least, maybe the ham-handed romance between Anakin and Padme was well thought out.
Please stop trying to justify the terrible choices GL made. He stunk it up, everyone knows it, and now he’ll never have creative input into Star Wars ever again.
Look up ring theory and the Prequels.
I think you are trying to read far too much into that movie my friend……David and Goliath and Lawrence of Arabia?……what exactly are you smoking?
At the beginning of the film, Michael Fastbender is reciting, mimicking lines from Lawrence of Arabia. By the way Alec Guinness is also in the scene that is playing in the background as David does his hair, parting it like Peter O’Toole.
Google David and Goliath art.
And Im not reading too much into it.
There are also depictions of xenomorphs in hieroglyphics being cruxified on the cave walls.
The film was very Ancient Aliens, just like Star Wars…if you missed it.
Its not what you smoke during the film, its how you pay attention to it.
“Can anyone here name one prequel movie in the history of movies which was any good?”
Simple:
Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Thats 3 and they were like cartoons…..at least The Force Awakens seems to be trying to connect once again with an adult audience…..
The Thing
I think it’s possible that Lucas doesn’t know what’s going on because he’s the only one who could spill the beans and no one could do jack squat about it. Even still, he said grandchildren and I bet that’s still in there.
it’s all Rick McGollum’s fault.
The only reason to hate the prequals is, that they created the most annoying prequel haters who always come out of their stinkholes, the moment, the name Lucas is mentioned.
If that’s your ONLY reason to hate the prequels, then you need a reverse-lobotomy.
Its a shame your comment is buried so deep as you are bang on the money about this.
We owe everything to George Lucas. He’s the greatest storyteller of our times, and without him there would be no Star Wars and our lives would have been much more empty.
But he’s just a man, not a god. He’s bound to make mistakes. And if you hate a great person just because he’s done a few mistakes, it says more about you than him.
I will forever love and be greatful to George and everything he’s created. He’s filled my entire life with joy, awesomeness, creativity and excitement. And his legacy continues to do that.
I owe nothing to George Lucas. I payed for every Star Wars product I own. A great storyteller he is. The most successful storyteller of our time he is – maybe.
The best? That is a subject for an endless discussion that leads to nowhere.
He knows more than he is saying. And grandkids?! Since when were there any grandkids in either the OT or the PT?!
IF the rumour that jj wanted the “big 3” to have Bigger Roles & Lucas script focused more on the offspring/next generation then i think that no fans Will weep over the changed script & with that Said i hope They at some point publishes the original Lucas script in book form or comic , like the comic that followed the early draft of the first film where han solo was àn Alien
George said, “I have no idea what they’re doing.” There’s a very, very good reason for this.
They are keeping him as far away as possible. The prequels were an unmitigated disaster and are known more for their poor writing, poor acting, overuse of green screens, and overuse of CGI. Lucas could not have done more to damage Star Wars.
Thank God people who truly have a vision are in control. At least there is a decent chance we’ll get to see one more great SW movie, which would have been impossible with GL’s involvement.
First off, SW was Lucas’ creation. It is *his* vision that still lies beneath the whole thing, not the one of these “people who truly have a vision” that are now in control. Love or hate his vision, this is a fact, and you’ve got to respect it.
Secondly, good or bad, the fact remains that the PT brought more fans into the fold. In my book, that’s far from doing damage to SW.
And finally, we’ve still yet to see if the new films will be hit or miss. Can’t judge TFA based on a few minutes of footage alone.
At least he Will not get the blame this time IF people dont like IT (and there Will always be someone who dont like IT.) i think he is happy With just sitting back and let others do the job & as he has Said several Times: “i never got to see the movies for the first Time” in his mind IT is probably not this mindblowing experience we all had When we Saw the first film for the first time. More likely à very exhausting process to realise à vision that never fully matched his imagination. As Mark Hamill Said about the prequels: “this is not the movies he wanted to make, this is EXACTLY” the movies he wanted to make” & now LFL has come to the point where everything is possible to do & he seems to have Faith in Kathleen Kennedy, . IF i Where George i would be very curious to see what They hade Done with IT & one of their top priorities is probably to make him proud over what They hade Done with his creation. Maybe thats Why JJ hesitated? What IF George doesn’t like IT ? So i dont think They rewrote the core of the script. You can make à LOT of changes & still keep the core intact (maybe Lucas Only had rough ideas & outlines Anyway ?) & that is how i watch the movies: as one long connected story/saga & not as individual movies. & i hope George is satisfied with knowing how IT Will end , bur have NO IDEA how They choose to tell the story that Will lead to that
I find your use of caps disturbing…:)
Apparently you haven’t figured out that GL was making the stuff up as he went along.
He deserves credit for the OT. He deserves credit for the special effects and digital filming technology he invented that modernized movie-making. And he deserves derision for how he handled the PT. That’s why he’s nowhere to be found when Kathleen Kennedy and friends are making major story/character decisions for the upcoming films.
This is the same exact thing he said before.
Sounds to me like George may just be trying the spoiler-free thing on this. A cool idea if that’s what he is doing.
“And though he promised that he wouldn’t ask more about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the first Star Wars film to be made without George Lucas’ direct input, Colbert couldn’t help but ask how Lucas felt about the idea of being able to simply watch a Star Wars film. ‘This time,’ the director said, ‘it’ll be very thrilling, because they’re doing kind of a different story, and so I don’t know what the story is. I don’t know anything about it.'”
http://www.polygon.com/2015/4/18/8448685/stephen-colbert-george-lucas-tribeca-talk
Lucas: “Well, I hope it’s successful. I hope they do a great job. The original saga was about the father, the children, and the grandchildren. I mean, that’s not a secret, anyway, it’s even in the novels and everything. And then the children were in their 20s and everything and so it wasn’t Phantom Menace again. But, so, I’m hoping–and they’ve taken it in a different direction—and I’m hoping… I’m excited to see—they didn’t use my stories, I have no idea what they are doing.”
Q&A section at the film festival
He said that he would try to see the second teaser on a big screen.
http://imgur.com/IR3QZC5
Interview with Lucas from 2008 Total Film magazine
“Q: Are you happy for new Star Wars tales to be told after you’re gone?
Lucas: I’ve left pretty explicit instructions for there not be any more features. There will definitely be no Episodes VII-IX. That’s because there isn’t any story. I mean, I never thought of anything! And now, there have been novels about the events after Episode VI, which isn’t at all what I would have done with it. The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn’t come back to life, the Emperor doesn’t get cloned and Luke doesn’t get married…”
Star Wars is about family.
Isaac: “The stories are about family.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjyQ5s199LM
Adam Driver: “The thing about Star Wars that’s so good—sure there’s this huge [canvas]. It’s space, it’s a long time ago in a galaxy far away. That’s set up immediately. But in the midst of all those things, what has made those movies last so long is that they’re all grounded, which is something that is not so far off from every movie with huge universal themes of siblings and parents and betrayal and trust. That’s so generic and obvious, but it’s hard to balance those things.
When you break all of those things down, really it’s just because someone wasn’t loved enough or felt betrayed. That’s what makes those movies so universal. I think they can get in your mind in big and sweeping ways.”
http://www.ew.com/article/2014/08/15/a-galaxy-faraway-so-close-adam-driver-on-the-intimacy-of-star-wars-episode-vii
George Lucas an amazing man.all the prequel haters I just don’t get them’iam a big fan since 1977 and the 3 movies were a large part of my childhood I loved them very much still do.the prequels had there faults phantom menace was weak for sure I agree but liked some parts.i left the cinema happy after attack of the clones and very happy after revenge of the sith they were fine movies’yes to much computer effects and could have been better but making prequels is very hard everybody knows the ending.my brothers kids loved the prequels and many more kids also.the force awakens will have those millions of fans also’many younger fans prefer the prequels that’s there right.of course the force awakens will be good you have the big 3 stars back and I can’t wait to see it.not sure the prequel haters are star wars fans really’its ok that imperial stormtroopers are beaten by ewoks bbut everything in the prequels is crap.its fantasy from Georges mind I just sit back and enjoy which I have with the six movies.
We know how things are going with this movie. Where’s the Rogue One movie rumors? I know there is a blackout thanks Mission Impossible but there must be rumors. They must be getting to start to filming soon.
Skywalker family bloodline.
“The Force is strong in my family.”
“My father has it.”
“I have it.”
“My sister has it.”
“You have that power, too.”
Lines originally said to Luke’s sister Leia in Return of the Jedi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngElkyQ6Rhs
Sorry george….it is going to be about the grandchildren…..thank GOD you didn’t write it
The casual fan might do more research and understand that Gary Kurtz have a lot to do with the mythology of the Force (which Lucas ignored in the prequels). For ESB and RotJ Lucas passed the directing torch because he knew he was unable to do it himself. Star Wars is nothing more than an hommage, a tribute to the Flash Gordon old serial with pieces of pre-existing things here and there.
You are way off.
Gary Kurtz did little in creation of the epic.
His job was to make sure people showed up to work.
Name a specific thing he created or inspired in the Star Wars Trilogy.
He encouraged things to happen or said…No we can’t do that, or yes we contacted them and the check is in the mail.
He did not write a single word of Star Wars nor did he inspire ship, costume, or set design.
Quote one thing he did other than his contribution to Yoda Cut Scenes that were colossal failures.
Or the fact he was a Producer to the films.
His role is too produce and distribute moneys and schedules, as well as locking in locations and calling the catering companies, as cheaply as possible.
One thing is certain, Gary did practically everything on ESB (except directing) while George was missing in action on the set.
He also came up with the title for The Empire Strikes Back!
The magic continued in The Dark Crystal 🙂
I don’t “hate” George for the prequels, they were his films to make the way he wanted to. But “I” choose never to watch them again. What I do “hate” about George was his ever-evolving changes to the OT. If he only just did a clean-up restoration, and accepted that they were made with late 70’s/early 80’s technology. Honor the visual effects people of the era instead of wholesale replacement with digital effects. I’ll love and honor the original OT with my despecialized versions and I would gladly buy blu-rays with just clean-up restorations.