Wow, so George always primarily intended Star Wars to be a money making machine. The artistic nature of Star Wars was clearly secondary to him. He practically comes right out and says it in that interview. He wanted the movies to be excellent only insofar as they made him more money.

AA: Does that worry you?
GL: Well, yes. I'm faced with a situation where everything I own, everything I ever earned, is wrapped up in this picture. If it isn't a success not only could I lose everything, but I could also end up millions of dollars in debt which would be very difficult to get out from under. It would probably take me the rest of my life to get back even again. That worries me. Everybody says "Oh, don't worry, the film will be a huge success" and I'm sure it will be, but if it is just one of those mildly successful film sequels, I'd lose everything. It has to be the biggest grossing sequel of all time for me to break even.

This is the most telling quote of the interview for me. It clearly shows how anxious he was about the success of the films. Then, when Empire earned less than Star Wars, George Lucas acquired the notion that people prefer superficial and lighthearted films.

Oh, and I like the following quote in light of the prequels.

In movies give someone $150 million and fifty years to make a film, and the odds are good that they'll make a professional movie.