Easterhay said:
Bingowings said:
Easterhay said:
Well, for one, your reply, bingowings was so predictable it doesn't warrant a reply. Other than this: over half a man's wealth is over half a man's wealth. It is academic how much wealth that man has.
The Widow's Mite is clearly something you have no agreement with.
Half of not much is clearly a greater sacrifice than half of quite a lot.
It's generous of Lucas to give what he does compared with many of the money hoarders in the industry but it is more generous to give the same proportion when you have much less to start with.
I don't hate Lucas, I don't even dislike him, without Lucas none of us would be on this forum for one thing but I do hate pettiness and stamping out Prowse's claims for residual payments and pulling stunts like banning the guy from conventions is petty for a company and a man as wealthy as Lucasfilm and Lucas.
As is not releasing a restored OT with every box set release of the films.
We can all be pious and worthy when we're outside of the fence, though. In my country, for example, in the late seventies the rich were taxed about eighty-to-ninety percent of their earnings because the country was in recession. Ergo, they left the country and it took a capitalist prime minister to entice them back. If you've come from nothing, and someone says "Give me more than half of what you earn" you say "No". You've earned your wealth - and yes, those of us who work in the arts do get paid a lot, but the fact is we go without whilst we make a name for ourselves for a long time. So, really, the big bucks that we end up earning is a kind of payback.
Now, Lucas is an independent filmmaker. He fronted the cash to realise his vision. So if he's a wealthy man, good luck to him. And he's giving over half back to fund education now. That's a massive commitment. You and I will never know that kind of money. Ever. So cut him some slack, yes?
If Prowse is legitimately owed money then of course he should be paid back. But he should also know when to shut up. And he's made some ill-advised comments, that have been well circulated, that prove that he doesn't know when to shut up.
I grew up on the picket lines under those same governments and demonstrated against Thatcher in my teens, Blair in my thirties and the current lot given half a chance.
I have very strong views about people who skip the country to avoid tax and are then allowed back in short, they shouldn't be allowed back.
I'm more than willing to cut George slack.
I think the documentary series glued into the Young Indiana Jones disc sets are the best media work he has funded for decades and I acknowledged before he didn't have to give anything away to charity and good on him for doing what he does but why should Prowse shut up when he is owed money from a very rich man, why should a very rich man stop a guy from appearing at a convention where he would be continuing to contribute to his charity work?
He would no doubt shut up when he felt he no longer had anything to make a noise about.
Just as we will shut up when we have the OUT restored and given equal place in future collected releases of the films.
When prints of the OUT aren't tracked down and seized so that George can burn his own contribution to cinema history.
It's the mixture of pettiness and cultural vandalism that people object to with Lucas, not his charity work.