George Lucas To Quit Movie Business 520
CaroKann writes, "Variety is reporting that George Lucas is getting out of the movie business. Mr. Lucas laments that today's big-budget franchise films are too expensive and too risky. He believes American audiences are deserting their movie going habits permanently. Instead of making major films, Lucasfilm will instead focus on television. Lucas states that for the price of one $200 million feature movie, 'I can make 50-60 two hour movies' that are 'pay-per-view and downloadable.' Notably, he does not plan on distributing movies online, calling online distribution a 'rathole.'"
Too expensive and Too risky? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Ho Hum (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, except he should have quit before Howard the Duck [imdb.com].
Re:What I want to know is.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Lower proffits.
*rimshot*
GL is welcome to forge forward... (Score:3, Insightful)
George dug his own grave here, now he's lamenting he has to lie in it. I just hope he realizes it's not too late. There's always room for movies like "Walk the Line" and "Signs". Neither had awesome special effects, but they were still a joy to watch.
Re:Star Wars has run out (Score:4, Insightful)
We're all tired of the prequels.
Really? My understanding from my Star Wars loving friends was that the prequels could have been fantastic. Going into the fray they were all enthusiastic about the films. But, IMHO, it appears that it was the films themselves that killed their love for SW, not the concept of a prequel.
Who knows, maybe Lucas' number was up... maybe him time was over. Maybe the older core of SW fans just couldn't relate. There is a thousand things that could have gone wrong. I don't think he was brought down for doing a sequel, I think he was brought down by doing bad films.
But again, I'm not a Star Wars fan. Doubtlessly some will offset what I've said. But also consider that artists sometimes lose their focus on what once made them great artists too.
I for one (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Too expensive and Too risky? (Score:5, Insightful)
What he needed to do was recoup some of that cost into other things. When you make a "blockbuster" you trash almost all the sets with in a few weeks of shooting... sets that are more detailed and cost more than most of our houses! Compare SW:TPM to SG-1 where they use simple sets, and reuse, reuse, reuse to cut costs. They made more fully decorated sets for SW:TPM than an entire season of SG-1. Then let's get started on the digital models! Again, the cost nearly as much to create as the "meatspace" models, but they aren't being REUSED in anything else! Movies are full of huge non-recurring set costs that nobody thinks about. Lucas could do 3-4 seasons of a TV show with just the leftovers/reused props/efffects from his movies.. and we'd probably like the story better too.
Re:Praise the gods. (Score:2, Insightful)
story line (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously, if the special effect overshadows the story line, you've lost. The first three Star Wars were great, not because of the special effects (which were good at the time) but because of the people. Not computer generated crowds, but real people; Not a fake looking Jar-Jar, but a real actor pulling strings or whatever.
Peter Jackson did a great job with LotR. There were lots of special effects, to be sure, but most weren't relly all that spectacular. It just that they came in second to the actual story line and acting. Gollum was believable because of Andy Serkis; Jar-Jar just looked fake, as did many other CG characters in Star Wars.
Re:Alas, (Score:5, Insightful)
"I think the secret to the future is quantity," Lucas said
In other words, he's not going to make more movies, he's just going to make loads and loads and loads of terrible TV spin-off series.
Oh my.
He's probably right (Score:5, Insightful)
However, it's pretty clear that Hollywood is getting into a self-destructive cycle. Bigger movies, worse scripts, and ever-dropping returns due to too many OTHER forms of entertainment competing for your dollar. Yes, the SW Prequels and the Matrices and LOTR all made money... but in the past 7 years, how many summer mega-movies have bombed terribly? It's a much higher number, and most of them titles we don't even remember a couple years later.
What he's advocating IS the rational move. And if he can get a few more high-profile directors to join him, he could make a real difference in the industry. (again)
And it'd be terribly ironic (and Campbellian) that the man who basically invented the summer blockbuster would be the same man to end its death throws.
Re:Praise the gods. (Score:5, Insightful)
Anything he offers up has gotta be better than wrestling.
FUD, and DRM cannot be solidified (Score:1, Insightful)
Software is/was profitable without effective DRM.
People will buy online DRM-free content from official sites if it is available. It's quicker and cheaper (timewise) than hunting on questionable sites.
DRM, by nature cannot be solidified.
The current DRM model requires that DRM:
- be secret. This means that there is bound to be many incompatible formats.
- always changing. because the user is required to be given the decrypting mechanism to play. It is bound to be continuously broken.
Who is "forcing" him to spend so much money? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Anyone else noticing TV Movies lately? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:GL is welcome to forge forward... (Score:4, Insightful)
Did anyone RTFA? (Score:5, Insightful)
It seems like a lot of people are busy trying to yell at Lucas for going too heavy on the effects and not writing a good enough story. Let's say this is true, that the story writing was actually bad in the prequels (cant prove it to me though), and that the problem with it was NOT that the actors were shooting most scenes in front of a green screen and having a difficult time reacting (imagine if Dagobah had been all CG instead of an elaborate set in a London soundstage, how silly would Mark Hamill have looked then?)
What Lucas said about ratholes is linked to his not knowing how to get paid for online distribution. It's a simple enough question if you're a filmmaker, or a musician. "How does the money get from the consumer to me?" He uses a big word...monetization. He's asking how does a producer get paid. Gotta get paid, yo. Until somone can answer that question he feels it's a rathole.
And yeah, he's looking at the industry's current state and considering how much money and quality the Sopranos, Galactica, Lost, Firefly, Desperate Housewives, and looking back he's looking at Clerks, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction. He's realizing that low budget good stories with high quality actors are the way to go. He's realizing that people will be patient with a good story.
Just because he called your bitorrent addcition a rathole doesnt mean he's wrong. I'm sure he's so sorry he hurt your feelings.
Re:You must love the duck (Score:4, Insightful)
Bad kung fu movies have more character conflict that Darth Maul and Mr. Master Jedi.
That was what was great about the real #1 to #3 and what was so lacking from the new #1 to #3.
Re:What I want to know is.. (Score:2, Insightful)
You think that Lucas's ILM charges the same prices to Lucas production company as they charge to everyone else? I seem to recall a comment somewhere by Spielberg that he wished he could get access to ILM at Lucas' prices.
Yeah, Weta did Peter Jacksons movies but not sure they have the client base that ILM has.
"rathole" == "got me a better deal elsewhere" (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Too expensive and Too risky? (Score:2, Insightful)
One that makes over $320 Million profit?
http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross [imdb.com]
Re:Praise the gods. (Score:4, Insightful)
Get with the times (Score:5, Insightful)
1) Expensive. Not just the ticket cost, but the cost of food is unbearable now.
2) Less on story, more on special effects. Don't get me wrong, I really love special effects. But, there are a ton of movies with nothing BUT special effects, the plot is just trash.
3) Cell phones in movies really drive me nuts.
4) People who won't STFU in movies are worse. I can't tell you the last time I went to a movie and DIDN'T have some jack off yelling, laughing with his friends, standing up, etc. The movie theaters don't do jack about it these days also.
5) I am not amused about going to a movie, and hainvg to sit through 2 coke commericals, 4 car commericals, 2 fandago commericals, 1 about the snack bar, 1 about not using your cell, 2 commericals about the internet being evil and then, we finally get to the previews. The previews are my favorite part of the movie experience. Now, I am so annoyed by this point I can't even enjoy them.
6) Movie studios are tossing out good movies, and replacing it with quick easy to make movies that can line their pockets with quick green cash.
7) The bathrooms are like the bathrooms in Grand Central station. You don't wanna use them.
Looking at all the above, I can very well see why people want to download movies (legal or illegal). Personally, I would rather wait till I can buy the DVD, or download it from iTunes or what not. I have a very extensive DVD collection of well over 500 DVDs. In the past 5 years, I think I have seen 8 movies in the theater vs the few hundred DVDs I have purchased.
Hollywood now reminds me of what the postoffice was crying about when E-Mail first started to become popular. Then will learn to adapt, or be crushed and put out of business along the way.
Ok, so now that that is out of the way. On to George Lucas quiting the movie business. Good, its time. I enjoyed the last Star Wars, he should leave now while he made a good movie. If he tries to stay around, things will go down hill very fast. Steven Spielberg is a good example of this, that bastard should have quit a long time ago. His movies now are trash.
Are you forgetting Jaws? (Score:5, Insightful)
Those of us who lived through those times might remember when directors were critisized for spending too much money on their films as that was seen as a sign that too much emphasis was being placed on sets, stars, and other things besides the story. I remember Steven Spielberg being interviewed on Dick Cavett. When asked about the budget for his upcoming movie (ET: The Extraterrestrial), he was reluctant to talk about it because he feared some complaints and he gave the humorous example of using a multi-colored bedspread and being critisized for production values that were too high.
What George Lucas did give us was the dreaded sequel. Give him credit for that, but don't rob Steven Spielberg of credit for the summer blockbuster. Jaws had people waiting in lines around the block and dwarfed even "The Godfather". It was an impressive accomplishment.
Re:Anyone else noticing TV Movies lately? (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm really surprised that no one is taking on the one season as a 16-22 hour movie format. I would think this would finally be an opportunity to make a movie with the depth of a good novel.
To be good though, it needs a decent, well thought out conclusion.
I don't blame the guy one bit . . . (Score:2, Insightful)
Second - While the "Silver Screen" and its smaller relative "The Tube" have some differences (format, resolution, audio quality and the overall environment), they are essentially the same thing - moving pictures with speech. Now, in terms of cost to produce product, quality of product, ease of delivery to target audience . . . "The Tube" wins hands-down, especially with the coming implementation of digital transmission, HDTV, etc.
FInally - Mr. Lucas has shown great savvy in the past, demonstrating that he has an excellent grasp of the nature of his profession (his fame and bankbook are adequate proof of this assertion, I think). I've heard of George Lucas - the same cannot be said of his many critics here. There's a point in there somewhere: disinterring it is left as an exercise for the reader. I don't believe he would have his current ambivalence toward internet distribution of his work if there were a clear path for him to profitably ply his trade there.
Re:Alas, (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyway, I don't have any interest in anything else that George Lucas would do. If he wants me to go see something else he does, it will have to sell itself on its merits. If he puts out a shit movie that isn't a Star Wars, people just won't be interested. They want to see Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, not George Lucas.
American Graffiti? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Who is "forcing" him to spend so much money? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Praise the gods. (Score:3, Insightful)
A friend and I were discussing George Lucas' skill (or, more accurately, lack thereof) at writing dialogue and thought the same thing. Lucas has a knack for coming up with good stories, but lousy dialogue; his best movies have been where somebody like Lawrence Kasdan wrote a script from his story. Whedon's probably the best dialogue writer I can think of off the top of my head, and he appears to be a huge Star Wars nerd (eg. regarding how reading The Killer Angels led to Firefly: "This led me to the Millenium Falcon, as most things do."). Heck, half of Firefly's charm was that it was basically Star Wars without all the Jedi stuff that ended up being the focus of the prequels. (The other half of Firefly's charm had everything to do with Kaylee...)
Of course, given that both Lucas and Whedon appear to be control freaks of epic proportions, it'll probably never happen.