One day left till I see The Force Awakens. The world premiere will happen between now and tomorrow, and the public will see the movie for the first time. So all in all, fun times.
It's been three years since Star Wars and George Lucas parted ways. It kinda feels like a messy divorce, and I've heard the parting was a difficult decision for Lucas. Ever since the Phantom Menace came out around 16 years ago, the relationship between Lucas and the Star Wars fanbase hasn't been completely hunky dory.
That said, the 2010 documentary The People vs. George Lucas is NOT an attack piece on the famous director. Instead, it's more of a love letter to a man who revolutionized modern day blockbuster cinema.
The movie is filled with snippets from Lucas' own life and early filmmaking career (including clips from his experimental films) and accounts from fans of Lucas' Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies. At the same time, it's filled with numerous fan films paying homage to both franchises. There's something about the films that stirred the creative juices of all these people. And with Lucas being an independent director by heart, he managed to inspire a whole generation of new filmmakers, independent or not. Many clips are from the amazing fan-made mashup Star Wars Uncut, which recreates the entire original trilogy scene by scene, running the gamut of techniques to tell the story - stop motion animation, CGI, live action animation and so on.
It also asks a very relevant question considering today's remix culture - with Star Wars the massive and unique cultural phenomenon that it is, who takes ownership? A major point of contention between Lucas and the fans is the reluctance to release the original theatrical cuts of the trilogy (a DVD version was eventually released in 2006, but an official HD version of the original cuts have yet to be released.) The fans have even gone far enough to re-edit the prequel trilogy to suit their expectations.
Arguments are brought up on both sides, considering both the historical value of the original work, and the creator's right to modify the work as he sees fit. Ironically, Lucas campaigned against the colorization of films, citing the historical importance of black and white films. But sometimes, as one of the talking heads says in the docu, sometimes a creator has to say 'the work is finished, it belongs to the ages.'
While geek fandoms are phenomena that are quite prevalent today, Star Wars is one of the biggest and most dedicated. It's an interesting take on the relationship between fan and creator that is unique to Lucas' franchises.
Up next (and finally,) the best way to view the original films in HD.
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