^Where I draw the distinction between the two instances is that Yoda was shown instructing multiple students (and served as a surrogate mentor for Obi-Wan following Qui-Gon's death), whereas Dooku's master was created specifically for the novels and had no basis in canon.
^No doubt. For all his faults, Lucas does understand how sell a product. It's not all surprising that people would prefer his alleged vision for the saga over that another writer or director. However, that doesn't change the reality that Lucas no longer has any say in what's ultimately published--either in print or on-screen.
Anchorhead said:
That he can sit there and state all those lies with a straight face is insulting. That he thinks no one will challenge him or bother reading the original screenplays or 1977 interviews shows how colossal his ego really is.
You'll get no argument from me, as I've lost count of the number of times I've heard him claim to have either planned or written everything in advance. He's also stated repeatedly that Mace Windu was the first character he developed for Star Wars, although he wasn't able to find an appropriate actor for the part until Samuel L. Jackson was cast.
My question is to Lucas is, "If you created the character of Mace Windu first, why not use him in the Obi-Wan role for A New Hope? There were any number of African American actors who could have played Windu's part effectively (Paul Winfield comes to mind, as Jackson's career was in its infancy). Count me among those who isn't sorry Lucas is no longer calling the shots where these films are concerned.
Cthulhunicron said:
Does anyone have a link to an interview of George Lucas stating that he had the whole story planned out from the beginning?
This is an interview given by Lucas in 1995; it's one of three interviews released as part of the digitally remastered box-set that was released the same year. Lucas specifically states (at approximately six-and-a-half minutes) that he had the backstory for both the prequel films and the original trilogy planned out.
My apologies if this has been posted before. I've never cared for the idea that Dooku was trained by anyone other than Yoda; the novels establish that his master was Thame Cerulean. Although Yoda participated in the training of many Jedi (as evidence by his teaching a group of Younglings), Attack of the Clones established that Dooku had been his Padawan. The mention of another master for Dooku seems redundant and unnecessary.