Rant: Star Wars, George Lucas and 3-D

Browsing the internet a few weeks back I stumbled upon some very interesting Star Wars news. The first bit of reading involved George Lucas’s comments following his screening of Avatar. Lucas was impressed with the magnitude of what James Cameron was able to accomplish with the project and the integration of the third dimension (via Access Hollywood):

I’m happy it’s so successful, and worked very well in 3-D, haven’t been a big fan of 3-D, but that movie definitely improves in (the field of) 3-D. We’ve been looking for years and years and years of trying to take ‘Star Wars’ and put it in 3-D. But, [the] technology hasn’t been there. We’ve been struggling with it, but I think this will be a new impetus to make that happen.

So what does this mean for Star Wars fans? From what I read above it translates to Lucas & Company 3-D-ifying the old Star Wars instead of making new movies featuring the newest Hollywood fad. I do not want to sound like a fan who does not appreciate Lucas products, but another re-release of Star Wars? Loyal fans have seen all six Star Wars movies so many times, replicating scenes from any movie is no tough task. Let me be the first in saying, “We DON’T want new-old Star Wars!”

Seriously Lucas, how much longer are you going to sit on your aging fat ass and pretend like you are only capable of making six Star Wars movies in your entire lifetime? If he really is this great filmmaker and creator of all things holy in the galaxy far far away, why isn’t there anything new in the works, besides the computer animated show/movie? The first three films in the trilogy (I,II,III) could not have entered the cinema landscape with anymore criticism, especially The Phantom Menace. Critics hated Episode I for so much more than just a bumbling moronic Gungan. I personally didn’t hate Episode I, but didn’t love it (I did cherish Darth Maul).

With so many considering the newest Star Wars installments below par, can the legacy really be tarnished aside from a new project being a complete epic failure? And if Lucas is such a great filmmaker, that shouldn’t even be possible considering Star Wars is his element.

Lucas could make the life story of Jar-Jar Binks and I bet the movie would rake in hundreds of millions. Profit obviously is not the problem, because anything in theaters with Star Wars in the title will bank. Is Lucas being a wimp because he can’t live up to the pressure of making movies as good as he did three decades ago?

I have not personally read any of the countless Star Wars novels in existence, but I have heard of plenty of good story lines from fans who have. There are a plethora of other great characters in the Star Wars universe that would work well for more cinema. Why not a narrative about Leia and Han’s children restoring the balance to the galaxy? The Emipre can’t possibly of vanished instantly. Just because the second Death Star was destroyed, is that the end of the Sith? Seriously George, let’s invent some new content instead of cramming old stuff down our throat again, but this time… “in 3-D.”

After the atrocity known as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that Lucas helped write, who would have thought he would ever write for movies again. But currently Lucas is working on a film with promise called Red Tails, a story about black fighter pilots in WWII known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Lucas is taking on an executive producing role as well as the writer of the story, but not the actual screenplay.  The film is slated to drop in 2010 and stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrance Howard.

Ok, back to Star Wars. I am happy to announce that new Star Wars content will be coming out in the form of a documentary called The People vs. George Lucas. The official site describes the film as “a no-holds-barred cultural examination of the conflicted dynamic between George Lucas and his fans over the past three decades.” The two trailers for the documentary can be seen here, and here.

This is definitely going to be a movie I want to see. Any person who examines culture in the past 30 years would be hard pressed to not see the impact Star Wars has had on the global landscape. This film dives into all things Star Wars, but from a cultural standpoint. The two trilogies have been woven into the fabric of society, and this film analyzes the enormous effect it has had. Unfortunately, this movie is not likely to get a wide release in theaters. Surely we will have to wait for a DVD release or a torrent download (just kidding, pirating is illegal!).

Lastly, I just wanted to quickly highlight some of the great Star Wars content there is to be found on the wonder that is the internet. Any true fan will be dazzled at some of the light-saber battles there are to behold. Some fan created videos bring the duels into our force-less galaxy while others tell stories intensifying Star Wars characters like this amazing production surrounding the negated but ruthless Darth Maul. In this particular video, you can see how hard these die hard fans worked to pull this short story together.

My favorite light-saber duel found is one no Star Wars fan should miss. This epic battle takes place in a parking garage, but there are literally hundreds of other fan creations online. Type light saber into YouTube and see what you get.

Before I go I wanted to make Star Wars followers aware of a die hard fan’s amazing video critique of The Phantom Menace. After seeing this critique from RedLetterMedia, I will never look at the film in the same way. Granted I do not hate it as much as this guy, he brings up great point after great point pulling the audience to the conclusion of: “What was Lucas thinking?” Even though the video is 70+ minutes long, it has 1.5 million hits and I guarantee it will forever change your perspective on The Phantom Menace. No Star Wars fans should miss this legendary breakdown of Episode I.

So MASHERS, what should Lucas do now? Do want to see the original six Star Wars made into 3-D spectacles? Or are you like me, and want some new original content?

What Do You Think? Discuss.