Originally posted by: Jumpman
It doesn't make him look like a fool. It humanizes him, more than anything. I mean, how many people remember everything they've ever said....especially in a 30 year span?
The greatest thing this shows is the creative process of ALL films. Whether he was lying, he forgot, he's spinning, or he just naturally changed his mind on alot of decisions concerning Star Wars, it just shows a guy continually altering his art until he gets it where he wants it.
The truth about Lucas, as in all things, lies somewhere in the middle.
Interesting and informative write-up, zombie....
It doesn't make him look like a fool. It humanizes him, more than anything. I mean, how many people remember everything they've ever said....especially in a 30 year span?
The greatest thing this shows is the creative process of ALL films. Whether he was lying, he forgot, he's spinning, or he just naturally changed his mind on alot of decisions concerning Star Wars, it just shows a guy continually altering his art until he gets it where he wants it.
The truth about Lucas, as in all things, lies somewhere in the middle.
Interesting and informative write-up, zombie....
It really depends on the specific issue. For certain things you can see that he just plain forgot or "mis-remembered" how things happened, which is why the earlier quotes of his where his memory is still fresh are the most valuable (for instance in the Rolling Stone 1977 interview he very clearly describes the specific earlier drafts in fair detail, but by today he only speaks about them in general and often inaccurate terms). For other issues he has actually cleared up previous misconceptions and admitted to the vagueness of his own story, such as his recent admission to how much of the ROTJ story was "stretched thin" and had to be padded, and ditto for TPM and AOTC. Other subjects he is very clearly lying about, in bold and often ridiculous ways--such as his recent claim that his original script was The Tragedy of Darth Vader. But once you get past the frustration of dealing with all the times the true nature of the saga has remained obfuscated and hidden, there is a deeper respect to be found in the fluid and serrendipitous way with which the story was continuously invented. From the 1973 treatment to the 1977 film we have two completely different series, and from the 1977 film to the 1980 sequel we have yet another totally different series, one that splinters again with the developments in ROTJ and then splinters even more drastically for the prequels, ending with yet another totally different series, and each one of these was mostly made up as it was written and was beset with unexpected last-minute changes. Its fascinating to look at it this way. My conclusion for all of the misleading sentiments about having everything pre-written is insecurity--with the saga upheld as the century's eminent mythology, Lucas had to satisfy the public expectation that all was in capable hands and proceeding according to his meticulous planning, when really he was just making most of it up as he went.
In this respect, yes, it very much humanises him and reveals the man beneath the "Storyteller" and "Creator" facade. I think most people will have a new understanding and respect for him if they read this and discover a more honest account of how the saga was shaped, even if they are exposed to some dishonesties of his.