skyjedi2005 said:
It seems to me an artists rights are in conflict with the historical preservation of these classic films. Why can't Lucas do both?

Oh, the irony...

With Martin Scorsese and other filmmakers, Lucas also continues to lead the fight for film preservation. "It's amazing," he says, "that you have to fight the studios to get them to preserve their films. . . . Parts of 'Dr. Strangelove' are gone; some of the music is lost. Kubrick is having to photograph individual frames to create a new fine-grain negative. That's madness, tragic madness."

from The Home Audience Is Listening - Technology: George Lucas' THX sound system