We may rag on Lucas a bit, but this is honestly heartwarming. There’s something so pure about seeing him with his yellow sheets, fresh pencils, and not an idea in the world, as compared to the glossy exterior presented in the Disney “behind the scenes” features. I cannot wait for the three hour documentary to come out in 20 years which discusses what really happened in them. The honesty of the prequel documentaries really makes you understand that film production is a mess and it just fascinates to see how things are done.
It was more than ragging. He was insulted & insulted & told he was a terrible director, a terrible writer. So-called fans were saying Lucas “ruined their childhood” & Jar Jar Binks was literally worse than the Holocaust. It was disgusting.
I hate prequel haters and want to punch them all in the face...i hope they are happy with their new goddess Rey...who is the REAL chosen one and founder of the new Jedi order!!! Screw luke and Anakin!
The guy is a talentless hack. That's not a subjective opinion, that's a verifiable and objective fact supported by huge amounts of empirical evidence. I'm half-kidding. Just because somebody did something cool one time doesn't mean they're going to be capable of continuing to do cool things for the rest of their life. That sort of inductive inference is fundamentally flaky logic. The amount of idolatry in the world is totally disproportionate to the number of worthy idols.
@Fred Fredson yeah it was all luck, a great production team, brilliant actors and an amazing script had nothing to do with star was taking of in 1975, just.. Luck (btw there's no such thing as luck, you make your own way in this world)
At the end of the day I would prefer one man sitting in front a desk working his ass off the create something genuine than a team of writers at the Disney offices playing it waaaay too safe.
I will always applaud the person or the people who dare to risk things with story, design and so on when creating a narrative, whether it's a novel, comic or graphic novel, film, TV series or video game. And I wish that for some things, they would've dared instead of playing it safe like with Star Trek Voyager or The Force Awakens and especially The Rise of Skywalker. I never hated a film but this was the first (and luckily so far only) time where I did. That's why out of the sequel films, I love The Last Jedi because Ryan Johnson dared, at least a little bit, within the confines of what he was allowed to do.
I feel very sorry for Lucas - I think he became invested in universe building, by the prequels, which is why they've convoluted plots and weak characters, but he still had genuine enthusiasm and love for what he was doing, and he seems like a nice guy. People shouldn't level so much hate at him.
Everytime a new format was invented, (vhs, laserdisc, dvd, bluray, 3D), he'd rerelease the saga and make a billion more dollars. I remember him releasing The Phantom Menace on vhs ONLY and waiting a couple yrs to release it on dvd, knowing very well that everyone that bought the vhs would also later buy the dvd versions. Lucas is a money hungry sow and he's NOT a nice guy and the latest rumor is that he's attacking Disney, probably cuz of Episode 8s success.
+John Smith Yea with all hes made off of the toyline based off the actors likenesses and he utterly destroyed Jake Loyd. Loyd was doing like 50-60 interviews a day as a child for Epidode 1 and hes now a certified schitsophrenic .
"The hole I hibernate in, the cave I hide in" *beautiful panoramic shot of a spacious interior, complete with library, computers, massive several-thousand dollar desk set up against a panoramic view of his manicured estate*
Do it! maybe you'll have the next big idea! Look at George he isn't the greatest writer or director not even top 50. But he created the biggest franchise of all time!! Don't let your doubts weigh down a potential hit!
This video shows a very different George Lucas than I'm used too. This one, he seems excited and optimistic about the three films he was about to write. He seemed interested and engaged. Footage of Lucas after 2005 seemed different. He seemed depressed and alone. It feels like something terrible has happened to him. Well, something did. The fans treated him like garbage to the point where he didn't even feel interested or engaged into Star Wars like he once was.
@@boscopappas234 You are absolutely delusional. Rogue One is a great film, yes, yet it still doesn't nearly match ROTS. It also is the only good Star Wars film Disney has thus far put out. And the Mandalorian? Severely overrated. Watch the Clone Wars series and you'll realize how much was stolen.
@@robrorry2841 ROTS ?! Are you kidding me? “I have the high ground” The most powerful Sith Lord is defeated because of his positioning? The prequels are pretty to look at but the dialogue and acting is atrocious. The Mandalorian is a bit overrated, but in all honesty, so is the entirety of the Star Wars franchise.
@@boscopappas234 You don't seem to understand the narrative being established in that scene; it really has nothing to do with "positioning". In TPM, Obi-Wan does the move you are referencing to defeat Darth Maul and goes on to teach Anakin that move as well. In ROTS, Anakin, overcome with pride and arrogance at the time he is on Mustafar, foolishly decides to use that same move against Obi-Wan when they are fighting. It's a classic example of using your master's trick against him, but as it usually works elsewhere, here it backfires tremendously. And perhaps more so, it is a beautiful use of parallelism to showcase Anakin's fall. That fight isn't just a fight - otherwise Anakin, as you point out, would win it handily.
@@robrorry2841 Obi-Wan never taught Anakin that move. Not on screen at least. The placement of the dialogue during that point in the duel was ridiculous. If some fans prefer Lucas’ trilogy, that’s their preference. I don’t think anything in the prequels makes them better than the Disney sequels. All six films are immensely flawed. Rogue One didn’t have to further the Skywalker narrative and it’s all the better for it.
Video quality was already great by the 90s, why do so many people act.like it was so long ago, like its ancient history! News flash! We had tv's and bathrooms and cars and music too!!!!
When I purchased the Episode 1 DVD in late 99/early 00, I looked through all the bonus features of the disc. This clip was the one I watched the most. Being a writer myself, it's a fascinating insight into the craft of writing Luca goes through, however brief it is. And it's also very reaffirming to be reminded that everything that's ever been created on a large scale, starts with a person sitting alone in a room, with a notepad and their imagination.
_The Secret History of Star Wars_ said he had 7-8 pages for the prequel trilogy. People talk about him being a world creator, but he didn't have a full story, or even back-story tales like Tolkien's _The Silmarillion._ He could have been adding bits or ideas to it over the years whenever the mood struck him, but didn't. So now he sits down and says, "I need an idea"?!
I like his house. His office area is awesome, that would be very conducive to story telling, for me anyway. In fact, his office is better than my entire house xD.
@@itiswhatitisbitch That's because he's a member of the Giving Pledge; It's a pledge certain billionaires are members of to give the vast majority of their wealth to charities or people in need, and only keep what they need to survive.
I love you George Lucas. You truly gave the breath of life to Star Wars. I wish i could give you a hug and say how much you impacted my life. Star Wars will never be the same without you
I like George Lucas. Star Wars will never be the same without his touch, imagination and direction. Say what you want about his writing skills, but without Lucas, Star Wars would've never been what it was. Disney's Star Wars will try to emulate Lucas's Star Wars but it just won't be the same.
Isaac Plascencia noeproductions That's what I'm afraid of. Especially since Disney had Lucas's ideas for 7-9 and just disregarded them. We'll see how it goes. It won't have come from George's head though, which to me doesn't make it Star Wars
I've always found that moment funny because it looks kinda scripted, but in a good sense, as if the cameraman wanted to record Lucas in his most pure creative form.
It's seems like almost a play on classical procrastination. He spends what seems like 10 minutes working and then cut to him wacking a video in the vcr and sitting back.
That's not so far fetched, Lucas and Spielberg draw a lot of inspiration from these movies and especially the stunts, which were pretty amazing for their time.
It's obvious that he took inspiration from old films and used them as ideas for his films. It's a shame some people never understood that and just played it off as Lucas being a bad filmmaker.
I was surprised to hear a book author say he hadn't read his own book in years, so didn't know the details. Meanwhile I'm pulling it off the shelf and reading it every 4 years, and he hasn't read it or remembered what he wrote in much longer? So, yeah if the author hasn't done anything with it in years, then the reader might know more about it.
I disagree. Readers often focus on minor details which they think matter. It's like the knowledge that wins you a trivia quiz. The author would know a lot more, because the author knows the background of characters and their inner workings, a lot of stuff that isn't even mentioned in the books. So the author would know things that the reader cannot even know. Also, many readers have opinions and interpretations, which the author may prove incorrect. When readers and viewers care about something, they often like to think that they know what is happening. It is often a lot of guesswork though.@@sandal_thong8631
@@sandal_thong8631it definitely doesn’t work like that with something like this. Many fans are just arrogant and ungrateful. They’ll trash anything that slightly changes what they are use to. Lucas had to work for years on writing and directing and producing the films and is constantly talking about it in interviews. That’s not the same as one out of many books an author may have written years ago also the author still has insight you wouldn’t have. Fans rarely know more than the creator they just attack their life meaning to it and act like they do.
It's fascinating watching this Star Wars Episode 1 webisode again after all these years. Crazy to think that only 11 years passed between Return of the Jedi and Lucas beginning the writing process on Phantom Menace. And look at how young he looks! It's also crazy to think that this was 22 years ago!!!
@Fred Fredson you can like the new ones... if you are incapable of forming a coherent critical thought. The old ones were cheesy as fuck and Hayden Christensen as Anakin was the worst casting ever, but at least Lucas had passion and a plan, he really really tried to do something interesting and new.
@@christianschmidt8476 I've actually grown to really like last Jedi, though I can 100% see why people wouldn't like it. I'm not sure where I'd rank rise of skywalker....
@@iconic2310 I actually found out last night that 'gungan' was what George's son called the toy trucks he played with. I guess while writing the script the name stuck.
@@iconic2310 Inspiration comes from all sorts of places. George was with someone driving one night and they hit something and the passenger said they must have hit a wookie. Didn't know what it meant, but liked the name. During production of American Graffiti he requested a piece of film that was labeled R2-D2 and it sounded catchy and he wrote it down in his note book.
Actually, most people in his actual life and circle encouraged him and told him to direct the prequels himself, it's some of the original trilogy fans that complain about them.
@@RevoltOfAges The prequels were amazing. "But CGI!" boards.theforce.net/threads/practical-effects-in-the-prequels-sets-pictures-models-etc.50017310/ What CGI?
YT Channel The Force is not balanced. Anakin dies for nothing. The Emperor still lives & can probably just come back to life. Luke becomes a miserable old man because he sensed his nephew having evil thoughts one day & tried to kill him. Lol
Fred Fredson episode 1 shouldn’t exist really. The prequel trilogy would have worked better of episode 1 was scrapped with Attack of the clones being the first film and the 2nd film being a film set during the clone wars before episode 3. That’s the first way anyways to structure it because I feel that episode 1 feels unnecessary and adds little to the story. The only good things about episode 1 is all the OG actors.
@Fred Fredson phantom menace is enjoyable to watch. Even if it's not needed story-wise I still enjoy it. Certainly has more charm than attack of clones. I can't even watch the new trilogy movies. They aren't real star wars.
George's books (that I can make out) The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames Your Child's Self Esteem - Dorothy Briggs The Gnostic Gospels - Elaine Pagels Peasant Customs and Savage Myths - Richard Dorson Landscape and Memory - Simon Schama Telling Lies - Paul Ekman Bulfinch's Mythology - Thomas Bulfinch Authority - Richard Sennett The Study of Folklore - Alan Dundeste War - Gwynne Dyer Motif-Index of Folk-Literature - Stith Thompson The Civil War - Julius Caesar The Gallic War - Julius Ceasar 100 Great Operas and their Stories - Henry W. Simon The Moon Maid - Edgar Rice Burroughs The Hounds of Skaith - Leigh Brackett A Jungle of Stars - Jack L. Chalker Inherit the Stars - James P. Hogan Galactic Patrol - E. E. Smith
Lucas fucked up the prequels and was just about fucking up everything he touched. He’s an ideas guy, but not the guy to direct and be in ultimate creative control, surrounded by yes men.
He needed a collaborator like Spielberg; someone he could listen to and take advice from - a colleague. Watching scenes from the doco about Phantom Menace, only Ben Burtt expresses his frustration, but it's too late in editing. One thing he could have done is take out the line by Obi-Wan that tells us to hate Jar Jar and Anakin. ruclips.net/video/58JwbQCnpmA/видео.html
People will complain, even in a perfect world. I love the prequels, I can understand why people don't like them, but I won't hold little things against it, and can instead have an appreciation for them, and end up really loving them anyway. He tends to do things that aren't necessary and do become annoying, but I will always respect the man, and hold him in high regards. He really is an innovative person.
Damn, 8 years ago... 2012 or so. To have been brave enough to say positive things about Lucas and the Prequel Star Wars? Much love to you, my friend. I only wish more people had shared your thoughts and given voice to them.
@@starwarsrebel2006 And if he'd died in 1978 we'd say he created the beloved movie of a generation and wondered what else he might have come up with had he lived. Or suppose he got the rights to _Flash Gordon?_ Then we'd have that movie instead of _Star Wars._
+iMaxAL I would say he is a great producer and an average script writer. But he is a horrible director and editor. Better with the big picture, but not character development.
+Eric Genest Spielberg wanted to do Schindler's List at the same time. After principle photography was finished, he left and Lucas took his place during post production, I believe.
I loved watching these behind the scenes as a kid and still love them as an adult. Him talking about his writing process always makes me want to write.
I’m so glad I grew up during the prequel era, with Georges Lucas still around doing Star Wars movies, with his own vision, mind and creativity put into it. Even though I was still very young when the Ep. 1 (1yo) and Ep.2 (4yo) came out, I was able to watch Ep.3 in cinema with my dad. And then I would endlessly watch all these 3 films, because I found everything so appealing, from lightsabers duel, Anakin’s fall, and the gorgeous battle sequences with all these mad sound effects and stuff. Also, growing up with all these games and stuff was a bless too.
George Lucas is amazing! I love how he said he focused on his family. He managed to do that, as well as become very succesful with my favorite movie series of all time! :)
Wow, how many filmmakers have been in George Lucas's position? Sitting on a pile of cash, not beholden to the film studio executives, with the luxury of hatching new ideas?
He was in a very different position in the early 70's. He was definitely not sitting on a pile of cash. He was using film students in his production team for the first Star Wars movie because they would do it for free and get college credit. Apart from the legends of Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness, he used three unknown actors for the lead roles of Luke, Leia, and Han. Again, because he couldn't afford to pay the big name stars (Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, and Al Pacino all auditioned for the role of Han Solo).
George Lucas had plenty of new ideas. Shame he was not a creditited creative consultant on the Sequel trilogy. Those films could have used some of his imagination.
Georges ideas for the sequels involved more Midiclorians and giant space whales called Whiles that eat the force and controlled the universe. I'm 100% serious.
@@hanniffydinn6019 The prequels had a few good ideas that were executed terribly. They were shit. George did more damage to star wars than Disney ever could.
Here sits one of the most creative geniuses of our time and people hate on him so much? What have those people ever done with their lives. George has more talent in his left pinky than the entire hateful fandom combined.
Just because it's george lucas that created something that can't be critiqued. The trilogy was arguably very bad compared to the original trilogy. You don't have to be a complete fanboy that can't think logically.
I don't know if other people have said it, but "disappointment is a bitch." Waiting 16 years for another Star Wars, maybe he couldn't deliver, or maybe he could have made a Star Wars movie like E.T. where the main character was 10-years old, played by Henry Thomas, who also starred in _Cloak & Dagger,_ another good movie where you care about the kids.
Great movie. Amazing characters and worlds. Thanks George for all these imagination and creativty. Star Wars 1 to 6 chapters the real Star Wars made by genious.
When I was in my teens, I rented the prequel DVDs, watched the special featurettes / behind the scenes. So inspired back then. Man, how I desperately wanted to be a filmmaker! Now, I am.
I got out of the Army 2 days before he filmed this, what a trip! The prequels are an awesome addition to the saga; I love Revenge of the Sith. All 3 movies have the best fight scenes of the 9 movies...
+Michael Challinoir your ego is so big you think your opinion o the prequels is absolutely correct. If people hated them so much, how did even the last prequel manage to become the year's top grosser? Not that a majority of opinions matter though.
I too believe the originals where so good because they had to work extra hard to overcome their limitations. The same can be said for the first two alien films. Without a dynamite script, charismatic actors and an innovative production you'll never achieve excellence. The Force Awakens falls into the same pitfalls as Ep1, 2 and 3. Overly reliant on uninspired CG and a hollow script. At least with the prequels George dared to give us something original. But that alone is never enough. Story and character has to be the driving force behind any great film.
This is the man who turned blank yellow legal tablets into something that made just over a billion dollars at the box office to date. Look at those blank tablets and then look at the box office for TPM. It's absolutely incredible.
Probably the greatest story teller in cinematic history. One of his generations best directors. And now.... We have disney shitberg writing that couldn't touch Lucas' talent. Sad.
DEUnknownPLAY3R Oh yeah. Who else could have come up with a name like Obi-Wan Kenobi? Qui-Gon Jinn? Chewbacca? His beautiful story of fall & redemption. He’s an excellent writer.
Sir Mount I mean three of the four Star Wars movies he directed were horse shit. He’s a great story treatment writer and producer. Wish he’d stuck with that but hey at least the prequels breathed enough life into the franchise that it’s now in a better place
Just goes to show you that love him or hate him, Lucas really did care about his movies. So much so that he puts years of pre-production into them. He effectively started working on it in 1994 and released Episode I in 1999. That's 5 years from start to finish. Then 3 years for the rest of the prequels. Disney turned into it into an assembly line hot potato, with no cohesive vision and throwing the script to any hungry director that had at least 1 bankable movie under their belt. Abrams (decent, though kind of Diet Spielberg), Johnson, Trevorrow (which became Abrams again). Too many cooks spoil the broth, not to mention the 2 year rushjob between films. IMO, there should have been 1 strong vision overseeing the sequel trilogy and less Disney shareholders wanting to induce labor to speed up what they though would be a moneymaking franchise that "dumbass sheep" fans would eat up anyway.
Calling Abrams a diet Spielberg is an insult to Spielberg, and that isn't because I have any strong love of Spielberg! Every single project Abrams has done is half assed and only succeeds at getting butts in seats, not in creating anything you would ever want to watch twice!
It's too bad kids didn't get their views published on the internet back then, the opinions being entirely by adults, some few who did like the Phantom Menace. The documentary I listened to had a quote saying you can't go back to being 8 years old again at the movies.
Litshttam It’s funny because they were intensely well-received when they came out. I didn’t hear truly negative response until 2008-2009. You can look up audience reactions to TPM from ‘99 & they are universally positive.
Just think how warm and nostalgic this private insight into his little writing set-up would make us feel, had the movies turned out half as good as the classic movies...
I didn't understand why he'd say Anakin was a product of virgin-birth, until I learned recently he was sterile. Pacific Islanders and others used to laugh at missionaries who seemed not to know how sex worked. If you count putting your life into a movie as putting your soul?
I think if Kasdan had agreed to help write or do a second pass on the scripts like George Lucas wanted him to, the prequels would have been considered stronger than they were. George is an unmatched visionary, but he's not a great writer, and he said that himself well before he even wrote the prequels. That being said, I realized that despite their flaws, the prequels really created worlds I was interested in that felt like Star Wars. The sequels...didnt really at all.
Kasdan is incredibly overrated. He also wrote the Force Awakens and Solo a Star Wars story. Lucas had better story instincts and he knew the characters. Kasdan was good at drama and dialog. I mean he was. He lost those skills. He hasn't written anything decent in decades.
Lawrence Kasdan only really polished Empire. George had it nearly all written before he even got involved. It was actually George who wanted Han and Leia's romance as shown in the film. Kasdan was against it. So those who said he can't tell a love story are wrong. Source: Jonathan Rinzler's Making Of Empire book.
I had in my head before the prequels that Darth Vader had experienced something similar to what he put Luke and his friends through on Cloud City. That he had friends and felt their pain across the galaxy, and turned himself in to the Emperor in exchange for their freedom. Once the Emperor got through with him, he embraced the Dark Side, destroyed his previous identity and forgot his friends.
Episide 1 was one of the very first DVD's I purchased back in late 99 / early 00. As I worked my way through the barrels of bonus materials on the 2nd DVD, I kept coming back to this short little clip. For me, it explored the journey every writer faces at the start of a new project. It really does all start with an idea, and how much life and work you give that idea depends on how far it goes. Regardless of how the prequels hold up today, I've always admired George Lucas from watching this clip - catching a glimpse at how it all started in his little writing cave with just his imagination and a pen and pencil to get started.
We were too harsh on the man, he created the prequels the way he wanted. He should release the original cut of the original trilogy though. for history and art's sake if anything
He had no one to throw ideas against like a colleague. Editor Ben Burtt was the only one that spoke out and it was too late in editing to change what was filmed. I saw the scenes of casting the kid for Phantom Menace and he picked the wrong one (because he was blonde), and his casting assistant couldn't contradict him. That's one example, but it goes idea>script>casting>filming>editing and it went ca-ca throughout the Phantom Menace. (Just saw the title of a 1930s serial called, Phantom Empire.)
@@sandal_thong8631His collaborators all challenged him according to Jonathan Rinzler. George was always open to hearing other people's ideas. He's an auteur though. The films are his vision and everything was filtered through his final approval. It's the same process as all of his other films and any other auteur.
That's right. Lucas had a plan, a story structure and wasn't in the mood to pay lip service to hardline fandom. It was his vision and like it or not, at least he was educated enough in mythology to know how to create an epic coherent story which is the opposite of what Disney did. They missed the whole point of what made a Star Wars story with the sequel trilogy.
In all fairness to Mr. Lucas, he's got it made there. A beautiful house in the beautiful mountains. I'd find it hard to write with that kind of scenery around me, too. It's too distracting.
You can say all you want about the actual execution of the Prequels but at least he actually had a plan where he was going with the story, unlike a certain trilogy that had all the money in the world and used 0 with planning a goddamn story.
Not really. He'd changed his couple page outline of Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting in the Clone Wars and Darth Vader killing Anakin, so had to go back and come up with something new.
I Don't think most people realize how hard it actually is to just sit in a room by yourself with pen/pencil and paper or a laptop/typewriter/etc. And come up with interesting ideas from the imagination.
When I was a kid, being Star Wars obsessed, watched this as a special feature on the DVD and it truly made me want to become a writer. Just to have fun in your office, using your imagination, creating a universe and being passionate about writing a great story, regardless of any outside opinions or influence. It was once a dream..
George Lucas does a great job at building this universe and laying out the basic overall story, but he's a terrible director and very bad at executing the finer details. The reason lucas did such a brilliant job with the original trilogy is because he collaborated with other writers and directors. I wish he would have done the same thing with the prequels, and to his credit, he did try to get someone else to direct them, but everyone turned him down because they thought he should direct them. Lawrence Kasden also declined to write the screenplay for the same reason. So while I do believe the prequels should have had co-writers and other directors, I will give lucas credit in that he at least tried to get other people involved
everyone saw him as one of the best for making the Original star wars and all the risks he took for that movie and how well it turned out on that movie. people thought he would be able to do that againg and come up with something amazing again. plus his ideas were so out there and unique, together with what I just said. they thouht they couldn't help him
Nothing is flawless and hers hardly a terrible director he just dosent like doing it that’s why he got Spielberg to direct Indiana Jones his screenplays are fine the ot dialogue was pretty crappy aswell Star Wars has its own humour dialogue I just think the development of story and chcractwrs in the prequels wasn’t as good but ot was easy empire vs rebellion like vs Vader the prequels actyally added
One of the biggest mistakes he made was making Anakin a 9 year old. It would of been better if he was 18-19 and already in training to becoming a Jedi.
+Dean Sullivan sure, let's have another A new hope. Let's keep rehashing. I loved it when they showed him as a prodigious kid. It was a cruel shock to see such an innocent looking kid turn out to be Anakin, who'll become Darth Vader. I had the same effect on me as I am your father, when I found out the kid was Anakin (I saw it as a child, so sometimes you miss certain elements.. took me a while into the film). You feel the element of tragedy this way.
Why does it have to be another new hope exactly? Anakin could have just been a great jedi, friendly, honorable, and so on who was seduced by the dark side. Instead we got "I'm a person and my name is anakin."
The Coffee Nut "I'm a person and my name is Anakin" is bad why? And yes, it is another new hope! Not EXACTLY, but still, why must we have another element of similarity? I can't help it if you have a problem with kids in a movie because you are ashamed of your childhood or you think children are dumb (pardon me if I'm wrong, it could just instead be that you're out of touch with your childhood which was probably too long ago). I explained why I thought showing a character like Darth Vader as a kid was a very cool and wry idea, how the irony of it was artistically pleasing. You have given no clear reason why you have a problem with him being a nine year old. You just can't stand to appreciate the irony, it's too out of what you "expect", and that displeases you. Obviously Vader was a child once, a child with great promise. You would just prefer to see a more relatable character. That's not the film's problem, it's your personal choice.
The Coffee Nut yeah I was wrong. You're just another idiot who has no brains of his own. Keep thinking that Jake Lloyd was a bad actor. There was no problem in his portrayal, or his character.
It's really cool to see his notes from way back in 75 or so about the back story. It really is incredible everything George came up w/ for a new hope. ImGine creating 100's of people places & things in another galaxy that is totally original & part of our vocabulary.
The contrast is incredible, after all these years, this makes me feel much more empathetic towards him, I kinda love this guy, man, I think I’ve finally forgiven Lucas!
@@sandal_thong8631 That book is filled with inconsistencies and non-factual information. The more correct information comes from George himself. "Back when I was writing Star Wars in 1974. I didn't really flesh out the storyline of the first three episodes. I had a rough of idea of what happened and who the major characters were, but I didn't include a scene-by-scene scenario of what happened in my treatment. That is what made writing the script in 1995 and 1996 more difficult because I had to go back to my sparse treatment of the prequel and greatly flesh it out. Some old ideas that really didn't work anymore were thrown out. And I added a great deal of ideas that have developed in my mind over the years to the script. Over the past 15 years since the release of Jedi, I have been jotting down neat ideas I've come up with in one of my spiral notebooks. I took all the new ideas and the old ones from my original treatment and came up with a character-driven adventure."
Shame on people who criticized George Lucas for Star Wars episode 1. George Lucas is a very creative person capable of finding the right storytelling, using the leftovers of some bad ideas to make something much watchful to see ! 🙏
Just think if he'd made him a sympathetic character instead of an asshole that shits on everything? He could have been Anakin's friend like E.T. to Eliot. Maybe we'd find out on Coruscant that he had a neurological problem or inner-ear infection that made him clumsy? The Jedi could have given him some exercises to do like in _The Karate Kid_ if they didn't think he was pathetic.
anyone else notice how family-centered his office is? He had tons of parenting books, talked at length about putting his family first after Jedi, the guy had his priorities in the right order.
He's a brilliant idea guy. If you want a gold ticket concept then go to him. He's given us some of the greatest stories told from our childhoods. However it was his collaboration with other talented filmmakers who executed his ideas that made them magic. Sure you've got to hand it to him with American Graffiti and A New Hope. However, his best films were always when he served as a story man who handed off scriptwriting duties to someone else and as a producer who allowed someone else to direct. He does deserve more credit than some give him though because we wouldn't have these great films with out him.
Just think. That little office was a meme factory.
That meme factory released a trilogy ten times better than our current Disney "sequel" trilogy
Your meme factory is very Impressive, you must be very proud
Memes for days
I AM THE SENATE
@BrEMHel Boomers should not have access to the internet
We may rag on Lucas a bit, but this is honestly heartwarming. There’s something so pure about seeing him with his yellow sheets, fresh pencils, and not an idea in the world, as compared to the glossy exterior presented in the Disney “behind the scenes” features. I cannot wait for the three hour documentary to come out in 20 years which discusses what really happened in them. The honesty of the prequel documentaries really makes you understand that film production is a mess and it just fascinates to see how things are done.
It was more than ragging. He was insulted & insulted & told he was a terrible director, a terrible writer. So-called fans were saying Lucas “ruined their childhood” & Jar Jar Binks was literally worse than the Holocaust.
It was disgusting.
I hate prequel haters and want to punch them all in the face...i hope they are happy with their new goddess Rey...who is the REAL chosen one and founder of the new Jedi order!!! Screw luke and Anakin!
Sir Mount “is disgusting” i have family that think this still today
It’s because they are terrible...
The guy is a talentless hack. That's not a subjective opinion, that's a verifiable and objective fact supported by huge amounts of empirical evidence. I'm half-kidding.
Just because somebody did something cool one time doesn't mean they're going to be capable of continuing to do cool things for the rest of their life. That sort of inductive inference is fundamentally flaky logic. The amount of idolatry in the world is totally disproportionate to the number of worthy idols.
Look, the man created his own universe. Not many could say the same haha. Huge respect for that
Er, yes, they could. It's not as rare as you'd think.
@@tahunuva4254 then you do it, what is your universe
@Fred Fredson yeah it was all luck, a great production team, brilliant actors and an amazing script had nothing to do with star was taking of in 1975, just.. Luck (btw there's no such thing as luck, you make your own way in this world)
Fred Fredson Luck doesn’t exist
It was great-until Disney crapped on it
At the end of the day I would prefer one man sitting in front a desk working his ass off the create something genuine than a team of writers at the Disney offices playing it waaaay too safe.
Same. 🥲
Problem here though, George cannot write.
Specially when you have a board talking about specific ideas such as Inclusion, Feminism, Equality, Genders, etc.
I will always applaud the person or the people who dare to risk things with story, design and so on when creating a narrative, whether it's a novel, comic or graphic novel, film, TV series or video game.
And I wish that for some things, they would've dared instead of playing it safe like with Star Trek Voyager or The Force Awakens and especially The Rise of Skywalker. I never hated a film but this was the first (and luckily so far only) time where I did.
That's why out of the sequel films, I love The Last Jedi because Ryan Johnson dared, at least a little bit, within the confines of what he was allowed to do.
I feel very sorry for Lucas - I think he became invested in universe building, by the prequels, which is why they've convoluted plots and weak characters, but he still had genuine enthusiasm and love for what he was doing, and he seems like a nice guy. People shouldn't level so much hate at him.
ThoseTolerableNoobs I doubt he gives a fuck about the whining rabble, really
ThoseTolerableNoobs I agree with you.
+Physwe He does, he's a pretty sensitive guy.
Everytime a new format was invented, (vhs, laserdisc, dvd, bluray, 3D), he'd rerelease the saga and make a billion more dollars. I remember him releasing The Phantom Menace on vhs ONLY and waiting a couple yrs to release it on dvd, knowing very well that everyone that bought the vhs would also later buy the dvd versions. Lucas is a money hungry sow and he's NOT a nice guy and the latest rumor is that he's attacking Disney, probably cuz of Episode 8s success.
+John Smith Yea with all hes made off of the toyline based off the actors likenesses and he utterly destroyed Jake Loyd. Loyd was doing like 50-60 interviews a day as a child for Epidode 1 and hes now a certified schitsophrenic .
"The hole I hibernate in, the cave I hide in"
*beautiful panoramic shot of a spacious interior, complete with library, computers, massive several-thousand dollar desk set up against a panoramic view of his manicured estate*
honestly we can't even tell if he was saying it out of irony or was serious
@@TheBrainn Much like the prequels themselves...
Better than being around a bunch of college made commies with chips on their shoulders and an axe to grind.
It is still a cave, you're just paying too much attention to luxury stuff.
*and merchandise of the universe and characters he created.
Jar Jar was conceived in that room.
Those people running on the train was Jar Jar's inspiration.
Mother of God .....you're right
So was Darth Maul and Samuel L. Jackson.
Don't spoil the atmos.
@@MrParkerman6 lol poor Samuel Was conceived in a room
I don’t know why, but whenever I watch this, it makes me want to sit down and write down ideas for stories I want to tell.
Same
Yes. Me too. I'm not even a writer
Do it! maybe you'll have the next big idea! Look at George he isn't the greatest writer or director not even top 50.
But he created the biggest franchise of all time!!
Don't let your doubts weigh down a potential hit!
@@greenkidd529 thanks
This video shows a very different George Lucas than I'm used too. This one, he seems excited and optimistic about the three films he was about to write. He seemed interested and engaged. Footage of Lucas after 2005 seemed different. He seemed depressed and alone. It feels like something terrible has happened to him. Well, something did. The fans treated him like garbage to the point where he didn't even feel interested or engaged into Star Wars like he once was.
@@bilbobaggins9451 Rogue One is a better film than any of the prequels. The Mandalorian is also better.
@@boscopappas234 You are absolutely delusional. Rogue One is a great film, yes, yet it still doesn't nearly match ROTS. It also is the only good Star Wars film Disney has thus far put out. And the Mandalorian? Severely overrated. Watch the Clone Wars series and you'll realize how much was stolen.
@@robrorry2841 ROTS ?! Are you kidding me? “I have the high ground” The most powerful Sith Lord is defeated because of his positioning? The prequels are pretty to look at but the dialogue and acting is atrocious. The Mandalorian is a bit overrated, but in all honesty, so is the entirety of the Star Wars franchise.
@@boscopappas234 You don't seem to understand the narrative being established in that scene; it really has nothing to do with "positioning". In TPM, Obi-Wan does the move you are referencing to defeat Darth Maul and goes on to teach Anakin that move as well. In ROTS, Anakin, overcome with pride and arrogance at the time he is on Mustafar, foolishly decides to use that same move against Obi-Wan when they are fighting.
It's a classic example of using your master's trick against him, but as it usually works elsewhere, here it backfires tremendously. And perhaps more so, it is a beautiful use of parallelism to showcase Anakin's fall. That fight isn't just a fight - otherwise Anakin, as you point out, would win it handily.
@@robrorry2841 Obi-Wan never taught Anakin that move. Not on screen at least. The placement of the dialogue during that point in the duel was ridiculous. If some fans prefer Lucas’ trilogy, that’s their preference. I don’t think anything in the prequels makes them better than the Disney sequels. All six films are immensely flawed. Rogue One didn’t have to further the Skywalker narrative and it’s all the better for it.
I love his office, but clearly he also spent some time writing at the beach and hated it since sand got into everything.
I see what you did there
😂😭
That video quality is freaking remarkable for 1994.
connorsoldvideos nikka is a billionaire
I thought the same thing about Hoop Dreams!
This is pretty typical video quality for 1994. There were HD cameras in 1993.
What an ignorant comment holy fuck
Video quality was already great by the 90s, why do so many people act.like it was so long ago, like its ancient history! News flash! We had tv's and bathrooms and cars and music too!!!!
When I purchased the Episode 1 DVD in late 99/early 00, I looked through all the bonus features of the disc. This clip was the one I watched the most. Being a writer myself, it's a fascinating insight into the craft of writing Luca goes through, however brief it is. And it's also very reaffirming to be reminded that everything that's ever been created on a large scale, starts with a person sitting alone in a room, with a notepad and their imagination.
Not true! Lots of people collab. But I see what you are saying!
_The Secret History of Star Wars_ said he had 7-8 pages for the prequel trilogy. People talk about him being a world creator, but he didn't have a full story, or even back-story tales like Tolkien's _The Silmarillion._ He could have been adding bits or ideas to it over the years whenever the mood struck him, but didn't. So now he sits down and says, "I need an idea"?!
And he gave us so much.
There are no ways to thank him enough for it.
I like his house. His office area is awesome, that would be very conducive to story telling, for me anyway. In fact, his office is better than my entire house xD.
Also it's surprisingly modest for a billionaire
@@itiswhatitisbitch That's because he's a member of the Giving Pledge;
It's a pledge certain billionaires are members of to give the vast majority of their wealth to charities or people in need, and only keep what they need to survive.
That room is the opposite of a creative space. It's way too comfortable and ordinary.
U live in a bin so that don’t surprise me oscar
I love you George Lucas. You truly gave the breath of life to Star Wars. I wish i could give you a hug and say how much you impacted my life. Star Wars will never be the same without you
Agree 100%
Yeah it got good again.
This, especially with hugging him. I dunno how to describe it but just hugging George Lucas would make my life.
@@BabysitterSky *bad
@@spank9898 No no no, it was bad. The Prequels were terrible movies. They made them better.
I like George Lucas. Star Wars will never be the same without his touch, imagination and direction. Say what you want about his writing skills, but without Lucas, Star Wars would've never been what it was. Disney's Star Wars will try to emulate Lucas's Star Wars but it just won't be the same.
Exactly. I agree
Isaac Plascencia noeproductions That's what I'm afraid of. Especially since Disney had Lucas's ideas for 7-9 and just disregarded them. We'll see how it goes. It won't have come from George's head though, which to me doesn't make it Star Wars
You may be 100% correct... But don't judge it before you see it.
+John Smith Whattt??! It was shit
+Toprak Şen I would love to know what his ideas were compared to what they did in episode 7.
The part where Lucas is watching the silent film and goes “How did they do that?” Is really funny to me for some reason.
Lol same, it's so random.
There's a bluff innocence to him, almost like a little kid. Sweet but kind of goofy.
I can't help think that scene inspired the Jar Jar scene fumbling around on the Trade Federation tanks.
I've always found that moment funny because it looks kinda scripted, but in a good sense, as if the cameraman wanted to record Lucas in his most pure creative form.
It's seems like almost a play on classical procrastination. He spends what seems like 10 minutes working and then cut to him wacking a video in the vcr and sitting back.
The black and white film he was watching reminded me of the sequence in Attack of the Clones with C3PO and R2D2 in the factory.
It's a Buster Keton film. They are really awesome.
@@rczeien By any chance do you know the name of the one movie showed in this video? I've watched some of his movies I never found this scene.
That's not so far fetched, Lucas and Spielberg draw a lot of inspiration from these movies and especially the stunts, which were pretty amazing for their time.
It's obvious that he took inspiration from old films and used them as ideas for his films. It's a shame some people never understood that and just played it off as Lucas being a bad filmmaker.
@@christophzeit6282 jar jar's whole character is based on the General, one of Buster's more famous movies.
I really feel bad for George, so many people talk about Star Wars as if they know more about it than it's creator. This video is so wholesome.
Just like Human Life.
I wonder why people do that.
I was surprised to hear a book author say he hadn't read his own book in years, so didn't know the details. Meanwhile I'm pulling it off the shelf and reading it every 4 years, and he hasn't read it or remembered what he wrote in much longer? So, yeah if the author hasn't done anything with it in years, then the reader might know more about it.
I disagree. Readers often focus on minor details which they think matter. It's like the knowledge that wins you a trivia quiz. The author would know a lot more, because the author knows the background of characters and their inner workings, a lot of stuff that isn't even mentioned in the books. So the author would know things that the reader cannot even know. Also, many readers have opinions and interpretations, which the author may prove incorrect. When readers and viewers care about something, they often like to think that they know what is happening. It is often a lot of guesswork though.@@sandal_thong8631
@@sandal_thong8631it definitely doesn’t work like that with something like this. Many fans are just arrogant and ungrateful. They’ll trash anything that slightly changes what they are use to. Lucas had to work for years on writing and directing and producing the films and is constantly talking about it in interviews. That’s not the same as one out of many books an author may have written years ago also the author still has insight you wouldn’t have. Fans rarely know more than the creator they just attack their life meaning to it and act like they do.
11-01-94. Never forget.
Two years later i find you here
Great date. We got so much great music and lore and everything from this trilogy
JarJar Binks's birthday?
@@anomalyinc3239 hello friend!
@@TS-qq7vr Possibly.
It's fascinating watching this Star Wars Episode 1 webisode again after
all these years. Crazy to think that only 11 years passed between Return
of the Jedi and Lucas beginning the writing process on Phantom Menace.
And look at how young he looks! It's also crazy to think that this was
22 years ago!!!
@Fred Fredson I think you spelled "sequels" wrong
@Fred Fredson whats objectively good about the sequels?
25 years now. I'm late 🤷🏾♂️
@Fred Fredson you're the god damn man baby who is a mouseketeer with the low IQ to tolerate the moronic sequels
@Fred Fredson you can like the new ones... if you are incapable of forming a coherent critical thought. The old ones were cheesy as fuck and Hayden Christensen as Anakin was the worst casting ever, but at least Lucas had passion and a plan, he really really tried to do something interesting and new.
It's so dense. Every single frame has so much going on.
Lol oh no you di'nt!
@odeerg I am happy! Competent films are being made.
George is a terrible film maker.
@@BabysitterSky Last Jedi and rise of skywalker are awful. But still not as bad as Attack of the clones or phantom menace
@@christianschmidt8476 I've actually grown to really like last Jedi, though I can 100% see why people wouldn't like it.
I'm not sure where I'd rank rise of skywalker....
@@BabysitterSky 8 and 9 are horrible films by an objective standpoint, regardless of how you feel
"My first day of writing the new Star Wars series..."
"...I got no sleep whatsoever."
:0
& he still ended up creating three more masterpieces. Wow.
Now that i think about it how did
George come up with the names for episode 1? Like Darth maul,gungans. And my favorite
Plo koon.
@@iconic2310 I actually found out last night that 'gungan' was what George's son called the toy trucks he played with. I guess while writing the script the name stuck.
@@raph2954 oh nice
@@iconic2310 Inspiration comes from all sorts of places. George was with someone driving one night and they hit something and the passenger said they must have hit a wookie. Didn't know what it meant, but liked the name. During production of American Graffiti he requested a piece of film that was labeled R2-D2 and it sounded catchy and he wrote it down in his note book.
He had a vision and no matter how many people complained about it he stuck to it, for that I respect him.
Actually, most people in his actual life and circle encouraged him and told him to direct the prequels himself, it's some of the original trilogy fans that complain about them.
MrParkerman6 “Fans”.
In light of recent contributions to the SW universe, i respect George Lucas more and more. I always did, though.
He’s a visionary. & the problem with visionaries is that they aren’t always immediately appreciated.
I now feel he was a hack that got lucky and made one good movie.
@@firehazzard8497 ?
@@firehazzard8497 well he didn't make 7....he made 4....and I'd argue 3 were bad.
@@firehazzard8497 2.1?
He had nothing to do with 7 and didnt direct 5 and 6 so....
I miss those days,, back when STAR WARS was great
Back before the prequels were released? Yup, I agree completely, wish we could go back!
@@RevoltOfAges No before the shit released by Disney!
@@RevoltOfAges The prequels were amazing. "But CGI!"
boards.theforce.net/threads/practical-effects-in-the-prequels-sets-pictures-models-etc.50017310/
What CGI?
Still is. Just on the small screen.
@@elijahblechman8633 tbh Mandalorian is just okay. I'd rather watch a lot of different non-Star Wars shows than it.
This man is so adorable. I love him
I love hearing him talk about his idea processes and about his Star Wars mythology. I could listen all day.
Daughter is sick all night, George gets no sleep whatsoever, begins writing Phantom Menace. Explains a lot.
Can you explain then how Disney fucked up Star Wars so bad to the point of becoming almost obsolute?
@@MinasTsambanis they didnt. Shit dick
YT Channel They made Anakin’s sacrifice meaningless. So they did in fact destroy everything that made Star Wars special.
@@sirmount2636 How? Vader still saved luke and betrayed the emperor. How does it make his sacrifice meaningless you whiny toxic crybaby?
YT Channel The Force is not balanced. Anakin dies for nothing. The Emperor still lives & can probably just come back to life. Luke becomes a miserable old man because he sensed his nephew having evil thoughts one day & tried to kill him. Lol
I was two years old when George started writing the prequels. I was six when I saw episode one in the theatre.
His Ideas are simply amazing, but his dialogue not so much...
ideas like the holiday special?
He did not make that
dan he didn't write the holiday special. Abc writers did
In a movie like these, the story is the the steak, and dialogue is the A1 sauce.
Like the ot dialogue was anything special lmao
If only he got that night of sleep 😊
850617and As if he wrote it all in one sitting and didn’t take him years to finish the script
@@thelittlepasty8360 ofc.. However based on the finished product of episode one, one sitting sounds about right.
Fred Fredson episode 1 shouldn’t exist really. The prequel trilogy would have worked better of episode 1 was scrapped with Attack of the clones being the first film and the 2nd film being a film set during the clone wars before episode 3. That’s the first way anyways to structure it because I feel that episode 1 feels unnecessary and adds little to the story. The only good things about episode 1 is all the OG actors.
@Fred Fredson phantom menace is enjoyable to watch. Even if it's not needed story-wise I still enjoy it. Certainly has more charm than attack of clones. I can't even watch the new trilogy movies. They aren't real star wars.
The Little Pasty Google “sarcasm”
George's books (that I can make out)
The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames
Your Child's Self Esteem - Dorothy Briggs
The Gnostic Gospels - Elaine Pagels
Peasant Customs and Savage Myths - Richard Dorson
Landscape and Memory - Simon Schama
Telling Lies - Paul Ekman
Bulfinch's Mythology - Thomas Bulfinch
Authority - Richard Sennett
The Study of Folklore - Alan Dundeste
War - Gwynne Dyer
Motif-Index of Folk-Literature - Stith Thompson
The Civil War - Julius Caesar
The Gallic War - Julius Ceasar
100 Great Operas and their Stories - Henry W. Simon
The Moon Maid - Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Hounds of Skaith - Leigh Brackett
A Jungle of Stars - Jack L. Chalker
Inherit the Stars - James P. Hogan
Galactic Patrol - E. E. Smith
Thank you for this. It's fascinating seeing Elaine Pagels on his bookshelf as I saw a great conversation with her and Bill Moyers awhile back.
Rather him than Disney! Come back, George...
You realise the main reason he sold, was because every cunt back then hated him.
Lucas fucked up the prequels and was just about fucking up everything he touched. He’s an ideas guy, but not the guy to direct and be in ultimate creative control, surrounded by yes men.
@@TheBroz George > Disney
@@TheBroz disney is not even "ideas guy"
TheBroz The prequels were fantastic. Highly original.
I really love his office setup!
You can tell he’s really scared.
He’s so quiet and just kinda sounds frightened at the thought of writing the new movies
He needed a collaborator like Spielberg; someone he could listen to and take advice from - a colleague. Watching scenes from the doco about Phantom Menace, only Ben Burtt expresses his frustration, but it's too late in editing. One thing he could have done is take out the line by Obi-Wan that tells us to hate Jar Jar and Anakin. ruclips.net/video/58JwbQCnpmA/видео.html
People will complain, even in a perfect world. I love the prequels, I can understand why people don't like them, but I won't hold little things against it, and can instead have an appreciation for them, and end up really loving them anyway. He tends to do things that aren't necessary and do become annoying, but I will always respect the man, and hold him in high regards. He really is an innovative person.
Damn, 8 years ago... 2012 or so. To have been brave enough to say positive things about Lucas and the Prequel Star Wars? Much love to you, my friend. I only wish more people had shared your thoughts and given voice to them.
He came up with the idea of creating a movie called Star Wars. Nuff said.
@@starwarsrebel2006 And if he'd died in 1978 we'd say he created the beloved movie of a generation and wondered what else he might have come up with had he lived. Or suppose he got the rights to _Flash Gordon?_ Then we'd have that movie instead of _Star Wars._
Say what you like about Lucas, he's an amazing storyteller.. He just can't write a script
+iMaxAL I would say he is a great producer and an average script writer. But he is a horrible director and editor. Better with the big picture, but not character development.
+mathfridge Did you know he edited a great portion of Jurassic Park?
+Christus Regnet No i didn't. Did he?
+Eric Genest Spielberg wanted to do Schindler's List at the same time. After principle photography was finished, he left and Lucas took his place during post production, I believe.
+Christus Regnet
On Wiki, It says that he "supervised the sound effects crew"
I loved watching these behind the scenes as a kid and still love them as an adult. Him talking about his writing process always makes me want to write.
I don’t like these movies a whole lot but watching these videos is awesome. Lucas is a really interesting guy.
I’m so glad I grew up during the prequel era, with Georges Lucas still around doing Star Wars movies, with his own vision, mind and creativity put into it.
Even though I was still very young when the Ep. 1 (1yo) and Ep.2 (4yo) came out, I was able to watch Ep.3 in cinema with my dad.
And then I would endlessly watch all these 3 films, because I found everything so appealing, from lightsabers duel, Anakin’s fall, and the gorgeous battle sequences with all these mad sound effects and stuff.
Also, growing up with all these games and stuff was a bless too.
George Lucas is amazing! I love how he said he focused on his family. He managed to do that, as well as become very succesful with my favorite movie series of all time! :)
Wow, how many filmmakers have been in George Lucas's position? Sitting on a pile of cash, not beholden to the film studio executives, with the luxury of hatching new ideas?
The original Star Wars was successful because he refused to compromise his artistic vision. Quentin Tarantino has had a similar career.
Very few my friend, very few.
@Pooh Xi but he also wasn't challenged. Who would a simple effects supervisor or actor be to tell George Lucas how to write.
@Pooh Xi Except that's not true, all the times Lucas yielded from unleashing his vision it was undone by the final cut.
He was in a very different position in the early 70's. He was definitely not sitting on a pile of cash. He was using film students in his production team for the first Star Wars movie because they would do it for free and get college credit. Apart from the legends of Peter Cushing and Alec Guinness, he used three unknown actors for the lead roles of Luke, Leia, and Han. Again, because he couldn't afford to pay the big name stars (Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, and Al Pacino all auditioned for the role of Han Solo).
George Lucas had plenty of new ideas. Shame he was not a creditited creative consultant on the Sequel trilogy. Those films could have used some of his imagination.
@nabor605 his ideas probably weren't in alignment with their feminist SJW agenda. "The Force is female" right
Disney destroyed Star Wars. The prequels were full of great ideas and imagination , they felt like Star Wars.
Georges ideas for the sequels involved more Midiclorians and giant space whales called Whiles that eat the force and controlled the universe.
I'm 100% serious.
@@hanniffydinn6019 The prequels had a few good ideas that were executed terribly. They were shit.
George did more damage to star wars than Disney ever could.
@@Tomn8er you're an idiot. Please use that quote in the correct context, not to just be a butthurt white dude.
Here sits one of the most creative geniuses of our time and people hate on him so much? What have those people ever done with their lives. George has more talent in his left pinky than the entire hateful fandom combined.
Just because it's george lucas that created something that can't be critiqued. The trilogy was arguably very bad compared to the original trilogy. You don't have to be a complete fanboy that can't think logically.
Took too long? This is only 12 hears after Jedi and he had to wait for technology to catch up.
I don't know if other people have said it, but "disappointment is a bitch." Waiting 16 years for another Star Wars, maybe he couldn't deliver, or maybe he could have made a Star Wars movie like E.T. where the main character was 10-years old, played by Henry Thomas, who also starred in _Cloak & Dagger,_ another good movie where you care about the kids.
Great movie. Amazing characters and worlds. Thanks George for all these imagination and creativty. Star Wars 1 to 6 chapters the real Star Wars made by genious.
Needed more hot chicks with boobs!!!! I mean main characters!!!!
Lucas has so much passion and heart in his creation, disney is just churning out what they know will make a quick buck.
When I was in my teens, I rented the prequel DVDs, watched the special featurettes / behind the scenes. So inspired back then. Man, how I desperately wanted to be a filmmaker! Now, I am.
Alan Castaneda Good for you!! Keep living your dreams!! ^_^
Sweet! Where can we see your work?
Now you are and i have not heard about you.
@Litshttam same here
@SonicNights at home
I got out of the Army 2 days before he filmed this, what a trip! The prequels are an awesome addition to the saga; I love Revenge of the Sith. All 3 movies have the best fight scenes of the 9 movies...
The one thing that could have saved everything was CREATIVE COLLABORATION.
+Michael Challinoir your ego is so big you think your opinion o the prequels is absolutely correct. If people hated them so much, how did even the last prequel manage to become the year's top grosser? Not that a majority of opinions matter though.
Howard the duck was actually a Movie where he didn't had a whole lot of control.
I too believe the originals where so good because they had to work extra hard to overcome their limitations. The same can be said for the first two alien films.
Without a dynamite script, charismatic actors and an innovative production you'll never achieve excellence.
The Force Awakens falls into the same pitfalls as Ep1, 2 and 3. Overly reliant on uninspired CG and a hollow script. At least with the prequels George dared to give us something original. But that alone is never enough. Story and character has to be the driving force behind any great film.
PurpleMonkeyDishwasher prequels is also colaboration
Gary Kurtz or someone that has the balls to say No George terrible idea. Instead he was surrounded by sycophants.
Prequels and originals where my childhood
Me too. I was 18 when episode 3 came out. The end of my childhood.
It is absolutely charming how much he cares about what he's doing & the attention to detail he appreciates to make a phenomenon known as Star Wars.
This is the man who turned blank yellow legal tablets into something that made just over a billion dollars at the box office to date. Look at those blank tablets and then look at the box office for TPM. It's absolutely incredible.
Probably the greatest story teller in cinematic history. One of his generations best directors. And now.... We have disney shitberg writing that couldn't touch Lucas' talent. Sad.
I was 1 year old when this vid was releases
George Lucas is a visionary. & too many so-called fans couldn’t see it.
I'll admit he is a visionary, he's just not a very good writer and director.
Secret Guy I strongly disagree. He’s a great writer & groundbreaking director.
@@sirmount2636 "great writer". HA
DEUnknownPLAY3R Oh yeah. Who else could have come up with a name like Obi-Wan Kenobi? Qui-Gon Jinn? Chewbacca? His beautiful story of fall & redemption. He’s an excellent writer.
Sir Mount
I mean three of the four Star Wars movies he directed were horse shit. He’s a great story treatment writer and producer. Wish he’d stuck with that but hey at least the prequels breathed enough life into the franchise that it’s now in a better place
Just goes to show you that love him or hate him, Lucas really did care about his movies. So much so that he puts years of pre-production into them. He effectively started working on it in 1994 and released Episode I in 1999. That's 5 years from start to finish. Then 3 years for the rest of the prequels. Disney turned into it into an assembly line hot potato, with no cohesive vision and throwing the script to any hungry director that had at least 1 bankable movie under their belt. Abrams (decent, though kind of Diet Spielberg), Johnson, Trevorrow (which became Abrams again). Too many cooks spoil the broth, not to mention the 2 year rushjob between films. IMO, there should have been 1 strong vision overseeing the sequel trilogy and less Disney shareholders wanting to induce labor to speed up what they though would be a moneymaking franchise that "dumbass sheep" fans would eat up anyway.
Calling Abrams a diet Spielberg is an insult to Spielberg, and that isn't because I have any strong love of Spielberg! Every single project Abrams has done is half assed and only succeeds at getting butts in seats, not in creating anything you would ever want to watch twice!
George is such a fun guy. That's why I don't get the hate for him. Look at him compared to the soyboys behind these new movies.
I love the prequels. I hate how George felt about their reception. I loved these documentaries as a kid on the DVDs
It's too bad kids didn't get their views published on the internet back then, the opinions being entirely by adults, some few who did like the Phantom Menace. The documentary I listened to had a quote saying you can't go back to being 8 years old again at the movies.
I hope he experiments now. I'm looking forward to his future works.
He said he's retired and is putting himself into raising his kids and making art-house movies he doesn't plan to show anyone or release.
Great for him. If any of his experiments come to an art-house in Chicago, I will be THRILLED!
Litshttam It’s funny because they were intensely well-received when they came out. I didn’t hear truly negative response until 2008-2009. You can look up audience reactions to TPM from ‘99 & they are universally positive.
Life was so beautiful in the 90's. Even home offices.
It was The Peak of Human Existence! It was all down Crap Hill from there!
Just think how warm and nostalgic this private insight into his little writing set-up would make us feel, had the movies turned out half as good as the classic movies...
3:00 That's Jett Lucas, who made a cameo in ROTS.
He's also in AOTC during the Jedi Library scene.
Haha 😂 love the way he was making excuses before he even wrote first word.
He wasn't, It's called thinking. Something you obviously know very little about.
People think he didn’t put any heart into the prequels but he showed them wrong when he sold it to Disney
I don't understand why people think he didn't put his soul into those films.
I didn't understand why he'd say Anakin was a product of virgin-birth, until I learned recently he was sterile. Pacific Islanders and others used to laugh at missionaries who seemed not to know how sex worked. If you count putting your life into a movie as putting your soul?
I think if Kasdan had agreed to help write or do a second pass on the scripts like George Lucas wanted him to, the prequels would have been considered stronger than they were.
George is an unmatched visionary, but he's not a great writer, and he said that himself well before he even wrote the prequels.
That being said, I realized that despite their flaws, the prequels really created worlds I was interested in that felt like Star Wars. The sequels...didnt really at all.
Kasdan is incredibly overrated. He also wrote the Force Awakens and Solo a Star Wars story. Lucas had better story instincts and he knew the characters. Kasdan was good at drama and dialog. I mean he was. He lost those skills. He hasn't written anything decent in decades.
Lawrence Kasdan only really polished Empire. George had it nearly all written before he even got involved. It was actually George who wanted Han and Leia's romance as shown in the film. Kasdan was against it. So those who said he can't tell a love story are wrong. Source: Jonathan Rinzler's Making Of Empire book.
This vlog is like poetry. It rhymes.
Not all Poetry Rymnes.
I had in my head before the prequels that Darth Vader had experienced something similar to what he put Luke and his friends through on Cloud City. That he had friends and felt their pain across the galaxy, and turned himself in to the Emperor in exchange for their freedom. Once the Emperor got through with him, he embraced the Dark Side, destroyed his previous identity and forgot his friends.
I think this is an amazing video despite what many think about the prequels - it’s amazing to watch his process
Episide 1 was one of the very first DVD's I purchased back in late 99 / early 00. As I worked my way through the barrels of bonus materials on the 2nd DVD, I kept coming back to this short little clip. For me, it explored the journey every writer faces at the start of a new project. It really does all start with an idea, and how much life and work you give that idea depends on how far it goes. Regardless of how the prequels hold up today, I've always admired George Lucas from watching this clip - catching a glimpse at how it all started in his little writing cave with just his imagination and a pen and pencil to get started.
This is what we need, more behind the scenes of the writing process of films
Just get a good book on Script writing. There is actually a strict Format you must follow in Hollywood.
Well, you're not going to get it under the current model.
His camera quality in 94 is better then what most people had until the mid 2010s
We were too harsh on the man, he created the prequels the way he wanted. He should release the original cut of the original trilogy though. for history and art's sake if anything
He had no one to throw ideas against like a colleague. Editor Ben Burtt was the only one that spoke out and it was too late in editing to change what was filmed. I saw the scenes of casting the kid for Phantom Menace and he picked the wrong one (because he was blonde), and his casting assistant couldn't contradict him. That's one example, but it goes idea>script>casting>filming>editing and it went ca-ca throughout the Phantom Menace. (Just saw the title of a 1930s serial called, Phantom Empire.)
@@sandal_thong8631His collaborators all challenged him according to Jonathan Rinzler. George was always open to hearing other people's ideas. He's an auteur though. The films are his vision and everything was filtered through his final approval. It's the same process as all of his other films and any other auteur.
1:12 there’s a book called your child’s self esteem. Really shows that he cares about his kids
A book by the late Leigh Brackett who wrote the first screenplay for ESB.
Awesome Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Video.
Notice that he wrote story outlines for all three films. Something Disney didn't do, and is but 1 of many reasons why the sequel trilogy is terrible.
Every Star Wars film is terrible 😂
@@mypasswordisredcarrot Tell that to the Empire Strikes Back!
@@mypasswordisredcarrot If you think that then why waste your time on here? What's the point?
That's right. Lucas had a plan, a story structure and wasn't in the mood to pay lip service to hardline fandom. It was his vision and like it or not, at least he was educated enough in mythology to know how to create an epic coherent story which is the opposite of what Disney did. They missed the whole point of what made a Star Wars story with the sequel trilogy.
Writing a 1-2 page "outline" for the films doesn't mean what you imply.
In all fairness to Mr. Lucas, he's got it made there. A beautiful house in the beautiful mountains. I'd find it hard to write with that kind of scenery around me, too. It's too distracting.
You can say all you want about the actual execution of the Prequels but at least he actually had a plan where he was going with the story, unlike a certain trilogy that had all the money in the world and used 0 with planning a goddamn story.
Not really. He'd changed his couple page outline of Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting in the Clone Wars and Darth Vader killing Anakin, so had to go back and come up with something new.
*looks at jar*
I got it, a funny Jamaican sounding alien called Jar Jar. Everyone will love him!
0:48 me procrastinating over my screenplays.
George is a genius. The prequels are better than the originals.
No
Mr.Ridley Silence.
Put down the coke and step away from the keyboard.
Jake Barker the prequels May not be better as a trilogy compared to the originals, but episode 3 is easily the best Star Wars movie.
I Don't think most people realize how hard it actually is to just sit in a room by yourself with pen/pencil and paper or a laptop/typewriter/etc. And come up with interesting ideas from the imagination.
Speaking from personal experience, I actually agree with you.
Thanx.
I saw inspiration 4 Jar Jar with those people train surfing in that old silent movie he was watching.
I bet Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams and Rian Johnson burned those binders with George Lucas ideas.
thegooseman It was said in Bob Iger’s novel that they turned their back on their promises made to George Lucas.
MrGojira95 It’s disgusting. They misled him into believing they would consider his ideas. He wasn’t even invited to The Rise of Skywalker premiere.
When I was a kid, being Star Wars obsessed, watched this as a special feature on the DVD and it truly made me want to become a writer. Just to have fun in your office, using your imagination, creating a universe and being passionate about writing a great story, regardless of any outside opinions or influence. It was once a dream..
All I need is an idea. And the idea remained in a galaxy far far away
George Lucas does a great job at building this universe and laying out the basic overall story, but he's a terrible director and very bad at executing the finer details. The reason lucas did such a brilliant job with the original trilogy is because he collaborated with other writers and directors. I wish he would have done the same thing with the prequels, and to his credit, he did try to get someone else to direct them, but everyone turned him down because they thought he should direct them. Lawrence Kasden also declined to write the screenplay for the same reason. So while I do believe the prequels should have had co-writers and other directors, I will give lucas credit in that he at least tried to get other people involved
but why did they all think he should do it himself?
everyone saw him as one of the best for making the Original star wars and all the risks he took for that movie and how well it turned out on that movie. people thought he would be able to do that againg and come up with something amazing again. plus his ideas were so out there and unique, together with what I just said. they thouht they couldn't help him
I remember hearing years ago that Lucas went to Carrie Fisher too look over his script.
Sadly, he was a victim of too many "yes-men" around him. No one could make him see those flaws, specially in the Phantom Menace.
Nothing is flawless and hers hardly a terrible director he just dosent like doing it that’s why he got Spielberg to direct Indiana Jones his screenplays are fine the ot dialogue was pretty crappy aswell Star Wars has its own humour dialogue I just think the development of story and chcractwrs in the prequels wasn’t as good but ot was easy empire vs rebellion like vs Vader the prequels actyally added
This is a man who puts the effort into his work,And dosen't make sawed off cookie cutter film.
What a genius
One of the biggest mistakes he made was making Anakin a 9 year old. It would of been better if he was 18-19 and already in training to becoming a Jedi.
+Dean Sullivan sure, let's have another A new hope. Let's keep rehashing. I loved it when they showed him as a prodigious kid. It was a cruel shock to see such an innocent looking kid turn out to be Anakin, who'll become Darth Vader. I had the same effect on me as I am your father, when I found out the kid was Anakin (I saw it as a child, so sometimes you miss certain elements.. took me a while into the film). You feel the element of tragedy this way.
Why does it have to be another new hope exactly? Anakin could have just been a great jedi, friendly, honorable, and so on who was seduced by the dark side. Instead we got "I'm a person and my name is anakin."
The Coffee Nut "I'm a person and my name is Anakin" is bad why? And yes, it is another new hope! Not EXACTLY, but still, why must we have another element of similarity? I can't help it if you have a problem with kids in a movie because you are ashamed of your childhood or you think children are dumb (pardon me if I'm wrong, it could just instead be that you're out of touch with your childhood which was probably too long ago). I explained why I thought showing a character like Darth Vader as a kid was a very cool and wry idea, how the irony of it was artistically pleasing. You have given no clear reason why you have a problem with him being a nine year old. You just can't stand to appreciate the irony, it's too out of what you "expect", and that displeases you. Obviously Vader was a child once, a child with great promise. You would just prefer to see a more relatable character. That's not the film's problem, it's your personal choice.
Milaan Vigraham you got me! my childhood was awful that's why bad child actors are so unpleasing to me!
The Coffee Nut yeah I was wrong. You're just another idiot who has no brains of his own. Keep thinking that Jake Lloyd was a bad actor. There was no problem in his portrayal, or his character.
It's really cool to see his notes from way back in 75 or so about the back story. It really is incredible everything George came up w/ for a new hope. ImGine creating 100's of people places & things in another galaxy that is totally original & part of our vocabulary.
The contrast is incredible, after all these years, this makes me feel much more empathetic towards him, I kinda love this guy, man, I think I’ve finally forgiven Lucas!
It would have been funny if they showed Lucas watching Stepin Fetchit.
Kids now: he had it all planned from the start in 1976! This documentary: 1994: 'All I need is an idea'
He had 7-8 pages according to the Secret History of Star Wars.
@@sandal_thong8631
That book is filled with inconsistencies and non-factual information.
The more correct information comes from George himself.
"Back when I was writing Star Wars in 1974. I didn't really flesh out the storyline of the first three episodes. I had a rough of idea of what happened and who the major characters were, but I didn't include a scene-by-scene scenario of what happened in my treatment. That is what made writing the script in 1995 and 1996 more difficult because I had to go back to my sparse treatment of the prequel and greatly flesh it out. Some old ideas that really didn't work anymore were thrown out. And I added a great deal of ideas that have developed in my mind over the years to the script. Over the past 15 years since the release of Jedi, I have been jotting down neat ideas I've come up with in one of my spiral notebooks. I took all the new ideas and the old ones from my original treatment and came up with a character-driven adventure."
2:16 George gaining inspiration for Phantom Menace
This was where the High Ground was born.
Shame on people who criticized George Lucas for Star Wars episode 1. George Lucas is a very creative person capable of finding the right storytelling, using the leftovers of some bad ideas to make something much watchful to see ! 🙏
Partially why he sold to Disney
That idea...the key to all this...Jar Jar Binks
Just think if he'd made him a sympathetic character instead of an asshole that shits on everything? He could have been Anakin's friend like E.T. to Eliot. Maybe we'd find out on Coruscant that he had a neurological problem or inner-ear infection that made him clumsy? The Jedi could have given him some exercises to do like in _The Karate Kid_ if they didn't think he was pathetic.
Holy crap. 11/01/94. And I'm watching this exactly 24 years later. To the day.
Watch it next year on the same date, it will be exactly 25 years.
anyone else notice how family-centered his office is? He had tons of parenting books, talked at length about putting his family first after Jedi, the guy had his priorities in the right order.
He's a brilliant idea guy. If you want a gold ticket concept then go to him. He's given us some of the greatest stories told from our childhoods. However it was his collaboration with other talented filmmakers who executed his ideas that made them magic. Sure you've got to hand it to him with American Graffiti and A New Hope. However, his best films were always when he served as a story man who handed off scriptwriting duties to someone else and as a producer who allowed someone else to direct. He does deserve more credit than some give him though because we wouldn't have these great films with out him.
His office looks really cozy!