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New George Lucas Interview Proves He Shouldn’t Touch ‘Star Wars’ And Can’t Make Good Movies Anymore

By Colin Fredericson
Published on: 10:10 PST, Dec 31, 2015

This George Lucas interview says a lot about how how times have changed. The George Lucas interview conducted by Charlie Rose quite honestly makes George Lucas look out of touch with filmmaking, or at least out of touch with films made for an audience of more than one. Charlie Rose, on the other hand, is sharp. He appears much more levelheaded than Lucas, and presses Lucas at many points to go beyond his superficial responses to questions.

It’s no wonder George Lucas’s involvement with Star Wars: The Force Awakens didn’t work out. He had no intention of helping to make a film to please Star Wars fans with nostalgia from the original. With any of his movies these days, as he explains, he isn’t looking to please anyone but himself. He gives you the sense that he’s not looking to make timeless films anymore, and as USA Today reports, he’s unhappy with the new Star Wars.

At many points, George Lucas rambles on and strays from the questions he’s being asked. He explains his disdain for Hollywood, despite Charlie Rose explaining to him that the only reason he has the freedom to make films for no particular audience today is because of his financial success in Hollywood. Charlie Rose manages to make George Lucas contradict himself multiple times.

As seen on Charlie Rose, when Charlie Rose presses George Lucas on why he’s not trying to make popular movies today, he says he has no interest.

“Why would I? I don’t need the money. My interests have shifted to more mature things. I did the kids things. I did it. To me it’s six films.”

And so he’s done with Star Wars, but Rose further asks him what he really wants to do, via the Charlie Rose show interview.

“The kinds of movies I’m going to make now are much more demanding of an audience. And most of the audience won’t have anything to do with it. And it’s on a subject matter that most people don’t want to see movies about. But I do.”

Charlie Rose does manage to squeeze George Lucas for the original brilliance that brought out the original Star Wars trilogy. He explains the mythological underpinnings, and a bit of the historical underpinnings, behind the films. But Lucas constantly refers to them as kids films, as if he’s not taking them seriously. Maybe that is why he has continually altered the original trilogy to the ire of people who loved them as they were originally presented.

Though his logic is off and he doesn’t seem clearheaded, he did make Star Wars, after all. Charlie Rose doesn’t neglect the impact that Lucas’ earlier films had on the world of filmmaking and all of the innovation and genius they brought forth. But he also tries hard at many points to get through to Lucas, and get beyond Lucas’ somewhat strange reasoning for the explanations he gives on the directions he has taken.

Charlie Rose pays homage to George Lucas’ other masterpieces, including the Indiana Jones movies, THX 1138, and American Graffiti. He doesn’t mention fan disappointment with the Star Wars prequels or the changes to the original trilogy, though. But he does hint at an overall dissatisfaction when he directly asks Lucas if he is able to create a box office success like he used to. Though Lucas explains that he doesn’t want to, if that was truly the case why did he get involved with the new Star Wars movies in the first place?

George Lucas is not necessarily interested in making movies to please fans. That is why he could no longer be involved in Star Wars. But this George Lucas interview also brings into questions his capabilities in doing so.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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