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But fans have always overestimated his importance to the story elements of Star Wars. they seem to think Producer means co-writer or something, when it's not necessarily the case. It CAN be, but that wasn't Kurtz's role on these movies.
bizzle, i'm not sure why you'd continue to argue that kurtz had no creative involvement in the prequels after reading this quote. i think it's spot-on, and everything we know about both the creative process of the OT versus the creative process of the PT seems to bear it out.
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"I think one of the problems that Lucas has now, in the Lucas Film empire, is the fact that he doesn't have more people around him who really challenge him. We had lots of arguments and discussions; heated discussions about the way things were going."
i also don't get the whole "producers aren't creative" argument. i think that may be true in many cases, that producers are organizers and budget minders and gladhanders who keep the trains coming and going on time, so to speak. but I don't think that's ALWAYS the case. and i don't think it was the case with regard to gary kurtz. i would never presume he was a co-writer or even a heavy creative collaborator on the level of a lawrence kasdan--but it seems clear he was in the mix, based on everything he says above.