Category George Lucas on Star Wars

George Lucas on Star Wars: Lando Calrissian

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Lando Calrissian, Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

The Scene: Lando Calrissian, Han Solo’s old friend and administrator of Cloud City on Bespin, enters the film.

George Lucas Says (via the Empire Strikes Back commentary track): “Lando Calrissian was created as a character who was a foil to Han, who represents what Han was before he met Luke and Leia in Episode IV. … [Lando] is sort of making the same mistakes that Han would make if Han hadn’t joined the Rebellion and become a little bit more compassionate. He’s the more out for himself kind of character, who has to do what’s practical to keep his life in order. And now Han is trapped in a world between those two. He’s not quite as compassionate and caring as Luke and Leia are. But he’s moved away from where he was, which is where Lando Calrissian is now.”

I Say: I like the idea of someone who’s on an emotional journey meeting someone who’s back at the beginning of a similar journey. It can make for interesting storytelling. That is indeed what we get with Han and Lando in Empire. But I also love that Lando isn’t simply a Han Solo clone. They were able to create character with its own unique vibe and texture. And in the process, Lando became almost as ionic, if not every bit as much, as Han.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Who Shot First?

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Han Solo, Greedo, Star Wars A New Hope

The Scene: The bounty hunter Greedo confronts Han Solo over money he owes Jabba the Hutt. The two sit at a table.

In the original version of the film, Han shoots Greedo dead under the table.

In all versions following the 1997 Special Edition release, Greedo shoots at Han first and misses, prompting Han to fire back and kill him.

George Lucas Says: “It was always meant that Greedo fired first, and in the [original release] you don’t get that too well. And then there was a discussion about, “Well it’s good that it’s left amorphous and everything.” … In terms of Han’s character and everything, I didn’t like the fact that when he was introduced the first thing he did is just gun somebody down in cold blood. That wasn’t what was meant to be there.”

I Say: Like a lot of (Dare I say most?) Star Wars fans, I’m a “Han shot first” guy, and call BS on the idea that Greedo shot and missed at point blank range. If Greedo was supposed to fire his gun first, then why have the two of them sitting at a table? The notion that Greedo, or anybody, could miss a shot like that is laughable.

What’s more, I’d argue Han gunning someone down in cold blood fits perfectly with what George describes as his character arc. He’s talked at length over the years about how Han Solo starts out very selfish, cold, and out for himself. But through his relationship with Luke and Leia, he gradually starts to become compassionate and care about others. As this is Han at the beginning of that arc, it’s more than fitting for him to kill Greedo to save his own skin.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Not Always a Brave Wookiee

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The Scene: As our heroes are trapped inside the trash compactor aboard the Death Star, Chewbacca desperately bangs on a nearby door attempting to get out.

George Lucas Says (via the A New Hope commentary track): “[One of the things I like] about this scene is that Chewie panics. He doesn’t like it here. We didn’t get a chance really for Chewie to express himself very much in the movie in terms of his emotional feelings. He usually goes along with the program. But this is the one place where he doesn’t go along with the program. He just doesn’t like it. He wants to get out. He’s not always a brave wookiee, and I like that in him.”

I Say: Chewie’s emotional side, which is a bit child-like at times, is one of his more endearing qualities. His frustration at losing the chess game to Artoo, his outbursts as Han is about to be frozen in Empire, his joy at seeing Han again in Jedi, etc. These are little moments, but they really shade him in from a character perspective and make him more three-dimensional.

So you know what, George? I like it too.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Running Out of Environments

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

***New around here? Check out Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Endor forest, Star Wars Return of the Jedi

The Scene: Luke, Leia, Han, and the Rebel Alliance arrive on the forest moon of Endor to disable the shield generator protecting the Death Star.

George Lucas Says: “The thing about Endor is I wanted an environment that was different from the other environments [in the previous movies]. But it needed to be a jungly kind of place with a lot of growth and green, which is the color of life. I wanted to give it a different look than Dagobah, which in essence had the same qualities of a swamp. Again, a cradle of life environment. Lots of life there. But I was beginning to run out of environments. Something that was unique. The only thing I could come up with was really giant sequoias, where the trees would be so big that it would give it a different look than what we’d seen before. The reason I was able to move on and do the [prequels] was because I was able to create digital environments. By the time we got down here to Return of the Jedi I had pretty much shot everything on Earth. *laughs*”

I Say: The whole “running out of environments” problem is something that’s very much evident in modern Star Wars stories. After awhile, all the different desert plants and jungle planets and snow planets start to blend together. Creators are having to work, or at least they should be working, hard to make settings that are as distinct and memorable as Tatooine, Hoth, and Endor are in the original trilogy.

This is one of the reasons I was so enamored with the planet Crait in The Last Jedi. The idea of the planet being one giant salt flat with red soil underneath is very creative, distinct, and memorable. It’s very Star Wars.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Primary Ignition‘s “George Lucas on Star Wars” Archive

Rob Siebert 15 Comments

***The following represents Primary Ignition‘s entire “George Lucas on Star Wars” archive, organized by film.***

Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Jar Jar Binks and the Fans
Good and Bad Technology
Anakin and C-3PO
Staying Together
Gungans and the Vietnam War

Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn
Burials and Echoes
The Rule of Two
Senator Jar Jar

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
“Hello There.”
A “Good” Villain?
Palpatine and Donald Trump

Episode IV: A New Hope
Reading Emotion Into a Robot
Princess Leia’s PhD
The Kurosawa Influence
Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Wise Mentor
Han Solo, the Cynical Foil
Who Shot First?
Not Always a Brave Wookiee
The Old Man and the Machine

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back
The Risk of Yoda
Yoda and the Path to Digital Characters
Threepio’s Humanity vs. Vader’s Humanity
The Cave Scene
Lando Calrissian

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Boba Fett’s “Death”
Running Out of Environments
Chewbacca and the Ewoks

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Palpatine and Donald Trump

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Palpatine, First Galactic Empire, Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

The Scene: Palpatine announces that the Republic will be “reorganized into the first Galactic Empire!”

George Lucas Says (via the Revenge of the Sith commentary track): “When I [first began writing Star Wars], it was during the Vietnam War. It was during the period when Nixon was going for a third term, or trying to get the constitution changed to go for a third term. And it got me to thinking about how democracies turn into dictatorships. Not how they’re taken over, or how there’s a coup or anything like that. But how the democracy turns itself over to a tyrant.

So I went back and looked at how, after the senate in ancient Rome kills Caeser, they turn around and give the empire over to his nephew and make him emperor. … [In the case of the French Revolution], after they’ve gone to all this trouble to have a revolution and get rid of the king and people in power, eventually they turn the democracy over to Napoleon and make him the emperor. So it has to do more with a historical precedence, and it does happen a lot more than what we think. …

It’s more interesting when it’s actually given over to compensate for the fact that the electorate representatives can’t agree on anything and are corrupt. And therefore, in order to clean up the mess, somebody is allowed to come in and “fix” things.”

I Say: I usually don’t like to get political here. But Star Wars is inherently political. So what the hell?

What Lucas describes here, with societies turning themselves over to dictators, is largely what happened with America and Donald Trump in 2016. This notion is briefly alluded to in an interview Lucas did with James Cameron not long ago.

Donald Trump was viewed as an outsider. Someone outside the political system. He spoke to a section of the populace that felt alienated and forgotten by that system. He was democratically (from an Electoral College standpoint at least…) elected to the presidency. What followed were four years of scandal and outrage resulting from a would-be authoritarian leader being elected to a society used to being run by democratic rule. It all culminated in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, as Trump attempted to overthrow the 2020 election and stay in office longer. The similarities between Trump and Palpatine speak for themselves.

The scary thing? The Trump authoritarian threat hasn’t passed yet. Like Palpatine in the sequel trilogy, Trump may survive defeat and return to menace our society yet again…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Jar Jar Binks and the Fans

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The Scene: Jar Jar Binks, the Star Wars saga’s most comedic character, is introduced in The Phantom Menace. A large portion of the audience rejects him.

George Lucas Says: “There is a group of fans from the films that don’t like comic sidekicks. They want the films to be tough, and like Terminator … They get very, very upset and very opinionated about anything that has anything to do with being childlike. Which, the movies are for children. But they don’t want to admit that. … They don’t want comedy in these movies. And in the first film they absolutely hated Artoo and Threepio. Now Jar Jar is getting accused of the same thing.”

I Say: George does have a valid point here. A portion of the fanbase, which I think mostly consists of adult males, loves the aspects of Star Wars that are dark, tough, gritty, action-oriented, etc. I think Rogue One was largely made for that side of the fanbase. (Which might be why I dislike it so much…) But the truth is, comedy has been part of Star Wars from the get-go. Look at Artoo and Threepio in the opening minutes of A New Hope. That’s all the evidence you need, right there.

All that being said, George is making an excuse here. He clearly overplayed his hand with Jar Jar. Not only did he lean too far into comedy, he largely leaned into bad comedy. And that’s coming from someone who doesn’t despite Jar Jar the way some people do…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: Han Solo, the Cynical Foil

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Han Solo, Mos Eisley Cantina, Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope

The Scene: Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi meet Han Solo, a smuggler they hope will take them to Alderaan.

George Lucas Says (via the A New Hope commentary track): “Han Solo is the foil to the idealistic Luke. He’s the cynical mercenary and Luke is the idealist, the dreamer, the one who is trying to do things to make it a better world. Han Solo is somebody who’s been beaten down by the world and really only cares about himself. Luke symbolizes the compassionate hero. … And obviously in the course of the movie, Han Solo’s character arc is that he goes from being a self-centered, selfish, cynical character to a caring, compassionate, try-to-make-this-a-better-place type character. It’s a fun part. It’s a fun character. Good stories usually involve two people who are the opposite of each other, and that’s a principle aspect of the story is how those characters beat up against each other.”

I Say: Is Han Solo the best cynical foil in movie history? If not, he’s got to be in the top two or three. He’s definitely the most iconic. And it is a fun part. So much fun, in fact, that the series almost feels like it’s missing a key ingredient without the character.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: “Hello There.”

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hello there, Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith

The Scene: After jumping down into a fray of droids to confront General Grievous, Obi-Wan Kenobi announces himself with a simple, “Hello there.”

George Lucas Says (via the Revenge of the Sith commentary track): “This, when he jumps down into the room and says ‘Hello there,’ is a direct appropriation of the line where Alec Guinness first comes into [A New Hope], and sees Artoo and says ‘Hello there.’ We wanted to do that one little tip to where we were going with the character and Alec Guinness.”

I Say: At face value, this is just a cute little moment. But almost two decades later, it’s clear they got more mileage out of this line than they ever intended to. It’s been so meme-worthy that they had Ewan say it in the final episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I just hope that from here on out, we don’t have to hear Obi-Wan say that line all the damn time…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

George Lucas on Star Wars: A “Good” Villain?

Rob Siebert 2 Comments

***Think what you will about George Lucas, but in terms of Star Wars, it can all be traced back to him. That’s why I always find it so interesting to listen to him talk about it. His creative process, the reason certain decisions were made, and how these movies became the pop cultural staples they are. This space is dedicated to just that. This is “George Lucas on Star Wars.”***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

Palpatine, Darth Sidious, Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

The Scene: Palpatine is revealed as Darth Sidious. Moments after Mace Windu’s death, he instructs his new apprentice Darth Vader to kill all the Jedi in the Jedi Temple.

George Lucas Says (via the Revenge of the Sith commentary track): “One of the issues in all of this is the bad guys think they’re good, and Lord Sidious thinks he’s bringing peace to the galaxy because there’s so much corruption, confusion, and chaos going on. And that now he’s going to be able to straighten everything out. Which may be true. But the price that the galaxy is going to have to pay for it is way too much.”

I Say: I understand the notion that most evil people don’t believe they’re evil. But I don’t necessarily agree with George here. Especially given the way Ian McDiarmid plays Palpatine. The man is clearly reveling in his own wickedness. This isn’t some misguided soul who thinks he’s making hard choices for the good of the galaxy. Palpatine knows who and what he is. He wants all the power in the universe for himself, and there’s no length to which he won’t go to obtain it. He’ll even defy death itself…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.