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Why Direct?

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I was wondering if anyone had any documented reasons (i.e. interviews) that explains why George Lucas decided to direct all three prequels. This is something that's always interested me. In the Leonard Maltin interviews on the Faces release, he asks George what would get him back in the director's chair, and George said that if he directed any of them, it would be the first one, so he could set the stage for the other directors to follow him. Now, this isn't a pro-Lucas directing thread or an anti-Lucas directing thread. I'm just curious to know if there is any documented evidence as to why he changed his mind.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Because any good captain should go down with his ship!
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I think it's because Lucas is bascially a control freak and wanted as much say in his film as possible.

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Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
I think it's because Lucas is bascially a control freak and wanted as much say in his film as possible.


I believe that's about it. He was supposedly very upset at not being able to control Empire (maybe he was jealous that it performed better than Star Wars?). When it came to ROTJ, as far as I've heard he was pretty much the director. Marquand really didn't have much say, all he did was get thrown out of AT-STs .

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

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Yeah, I figured that was pretty much the reason. But I wondered if there were any public statements as to why he decided to. I'm sure he wouldn't say that to the press, but we all know it's true. ^_~

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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From an interview located here.

I personally know that making another trilogy would be difficult on you, would you ever consider leaving it in the hands of Steven Spielberg?

George Lucas: Steven has wanted to direct a Star Wars film for a very long time. I told him no. Star Wars is very personal to me. It would be like me directing a sequel to E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial. It wouldn’t feel right. Steven would make an amazing Star Wars film. No doubt about it, but in order to achieve my vision I must direct these films for myself.

Why did you choose to write and direct the prequels yourself when you did not for "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi?"

George Lucas: This is not true. I wrote the stories for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Lawrence helped me write the scripts, but the idea of what happened came from me. I didn’t direct the sequels to A New Hope because directing the first one almost killed me. It was too much work to do everything. I had to give up some responsibilities. I decided to let others direct the old films. It was a mistake. If I could go back, I would have directed all the films myself.

Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

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Wow, that's very interesting. Thanks. I liked this question and answer, though:

Concerning Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 video games for PC and Xbox, how involved were you in the production or contribution? I personally felt the story/plot in Knights of the Old Republic was brilliant. Star Wars has been your gift to modern culture. Thank you Mr. Lucas and I wish you many years of health and happiness.

George Lucas: I don’t have any hand in crafting the plot lines for the Star Wars video games. I can’t micro-manage every aspect of Star Wars. I’ve hired good people who can create entertaining games for the public. If you think the video-game plot lines are inferior to the films, then you are not alone. The video games will never equal what I can do with the films.

How pompous can you get?! Did he even read the question? The guy says he loves the story for KotOR, and George turns around and says, "Yeah, I know it sucks. My stories are better than that!" I laughed my ass off on that one.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Hold on. Are these interviews for real? I have a hard time believing that even Lucas would say:

"Let’s be honest. No one has the necessary genius to duplicate my vision for the films."

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I have the feeling that I have been, as they say on that accursed MTV, punk'd...

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Yep, if you read through the whole stuff posted there, it gets very obvious someone wrote this stuff by himself.
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Yeah, like his true vision for the Jedi and Sith are only available at this guy's website...

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I was wondering if anyone had any documented reasons (i.e. interviews) that explains why George Lucas decided to direct all three prequels. This is something that's always interested me. In the Leonard Maltin interviews on the Faces release, he asks George what would get him back in the director's chair, and George said that if he directed any of them, it would be the first one, so he could set the stage for the other directors to follow him. Now, this isn't a pro-Lucas directing thread or an anti-Lucas directing thread. I'm just curious to know if there is any documented evidence as to why he changed his mind.


maybe he realized that other directors can make better movies...

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I've never seen any information on why he directed, and untill I do, I guess I can only base my opinion I what I believe.

Someone with such a creative wit could never be stopped from exercising what they feel to believe their genious no matter how many people try to convince them they can't do it. Lucas established his influential powers early with the first Star Wars film and buddying up to other noted talents like Steven Spielberg. To do what Lucas wanted to do with Episodes I, II, and III, he strategically surrounded himself with a bunch of butt-kissing "yes" men. Those people gave him the liberty with 20th Century Fox he desired and was able to create a whole slew of crap without being hinged upon that was guaranteed success merely by name. He could have written the phonebook into either film, and they still would have grossed as well. They're "Star Wars" for crying out loud.
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i have no evidence to back this up, but my feeling is that lucas probably meant to only direct the first one, and when he realized how the new technology made it much smoother for him to direct than the older FX tech used on the first three films, he was able to actually relax and have fun with it, and so pushed on to direct all three.

too bad he's only directed one halfway decent one, though...
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Originally posted by: DarthAstuart
i have no evidence to back this up, but my feeling is that lucas probably meant to only direct the first one, and when he realized how the new technology made it much smoother for him to direct than the older FX tech used on the first three films, he was able to actually relax and have fun with it, and so pushed on to direct all three.


You're probably on to something here! Good theory DAS!