George Lucas on Hollywood's Blockbuster Mentality (Oct. 17, 2014) | Charlie Rose
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Filmmaker George Lucas talks to Charlie Rose about what he thinks went wrong with Hollywood filmmaking -- how the auteurs, who once couldn't get a foot in the door, are now being replaced by studio executives -- and why he worries about the industry. The conversation was filmed before a live audience at Chicago Ideas Week on Oct. 17, 2014 and airs on CHARLIE ROSE on Oct. 23.
SUBSCRIBE to get the latest from Charlie Rose: bit.ly/CharlieR...
Connect with Charlie Rose Online:
Visit the Charlie Rose WEBSITE: bit.ly/CharlieR...
Like Charlie Rose on FACEBOOK: bit.ly/CharlieR...
Follow Charlie Rose on TWITTER: bit.ly/CharlieR...
Follow Charlie Rose on INSTAGRAM: bit.ly/CharlieR...
About Charlie Rose:
Emmy award winning journalist Charlie Rose has been praised as "one of America's premier interviewers." He is the host of Charlie Rose, the nightly PBS program that engages America's best thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, scientists and other newsmakers. USA Today calls Charlie Rose, "TV's most addictive talk show." New York Newsday says, "Charlie's show is the place to get engaging, literate conversation... Bluntly, he is the best interviewer around today."
George Lucas on Hollywood's Blockbuster Mentality (Oct. 17, 2014) | Charlie Rose
/ charlierose
his hair just keeps getting better and better
hahaha
Sith Alchemy
i think he has robert redfords wig on
@killwill83 Nah his hairline hasn't really changed much, it's just the way he quaffs the front where it hangs down onto his forehead. But he's always had that style
@killwill83 The dark side is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
He talking about why Disney's Star Wars failed before those films even came out. Lucas is a genius.
He had the high ground all along.
he fucking ruined it already with the prequels, dumbass
Nah that’s the narrative you want to have
@@Voltar the prequels were a joke
@@4477superman You’re a joke.
He's completely right: the talent lies on the filmmakers, not on studio ceo's and executives both of whom only went to business school to know how to sell a rotten tomato to a bum. It's funny that most of the criticisms towards Lucas come from people who will never make their own work of art, who are exactly like the ceo's and executives that sit on their ass, talk, and sign papers.
That is all fine and dandy but many of todays film directors are more interested in producing political activism.
@@bighands69 Hollywood is about as subtle as a train horn with that shit
Lucas is a maverick. Always was.
The original Star Wars movies were made at a time when sci-fi was dead. Hollywood was pedalling disaster movies and gritty dramas. Along comes Lucas and makes a movie no-one apart from Alan Ladd Jr had any faith in.
Just like he said he hated how the studios tried to control the content of the movies so he broke away and funded Empire and Jedi himself.
He’s never made movies to please studio execs. He’s always made the movies he wanted to make. Even if fans weren’t happy with them he made the movies he envisioned.
Film making at this level is no longer art. It’s business. You don’t make art to profit from it. You make art as an outlet for your creativity and ultimately for like minded people to enjoy.
Art is subjective. Even some of the most famous works of art are praised and revoked in equal measure. No matter the medium used: Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Film or Music.
Hollywood just doesn’t get it. They have become so scared of taking chances that almost all big Hollywood productions now are bland vanilla flavoured efforts that whilst palatable to the masses don’t break any new ground or do something different.
Despite their many faults George Lucas’s back catalogue is truly diverse. Ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous at times. However it can never be said that Lucas never tried something new.
Well said
Why I love George, he's not like the money hungry populists in Hollywood he's genuine and deep, plus he made Star Wars! He inspired me to do my own Film making! Love you George screw the haters. -Pat
populists...........What the fuck
Hollywood is not run by populist because if it was everybody would be going to the cinema.
I absolutely love how blunt George Lucas is.
He says f you to people in the most elegant way and it is amazing
articulate and direct
Fucking love it when someone with REAL LIFE experience can't be gagged by corporations and can call them the fuckwits that they are
And Now you have the The Force Awakens made by a Corporation, Disney with no Imagination what so ever! Such a recycled plot alot of Nostalgic Scenes and old Characters and No Detail what so ever. George Lucus's words were prophetic, I knew deep down the moment he sold his Franchise to Disney that the Imagination and Creativity we all Love in Star Wars was sacrificed to make a Bland movie with Weak Characters just to sell the old glory of an old Visionary and make millions off a young new generation of Chumps! How I long for the Days Before The Dark Times, Before the Disney Empire!
I couldn't like your comment a million times... But finally, someone who agrees.
I disagree this film wasn't made by a corporation. This was JJ's vision
+David Hudson was* This was JJ and Lawrence's vision and while it stuck to the formula on some thematic plot points, I think TFA set things up to go in some different directions in 8 and 9.
+David Hudson A vision approved by Disney and Disney wanted something safe and nothing safer than a remake of ANH.
Well I'd still wait and see what the next two bring before deciding this trilogy will be crap. Honestly the fact that this stuck close to formula is a big plus for me. We saw what happens when vision clouds execution with the prequels so I was okay with how JJ did this, and expect the next movie will be delving into a lot newer territory. Agree to disagree tho:)
Lol. Hollywood studios have no imagination. Epic comment, because it's true.
It is remarkable how many truly awful movies Hollywood has cranked out over the past few decades...
+JAB5625 Good films are really rare now. And the bad ones are just really bad.
+Sam B you mean how theyve become safe Hollywood cash cows? u have no idea what ur talking about
thegr8rambino
exactly
+Sam B yes I read ur little comment, and no I wasn't talking about indie and foreign films. if they're so good, they shouldn't be indie anymore, they should be more popular than that. I shouldn't have to look so hard. as for Hollywood cash cows, yes they exist and have grown in number over the years and there's no denying this, but then again just because they're popular doesn't mean they're good. please name some of these good movies ur talking about for the benefit of us all..
+Sam B It's truly remarkable how far one must reach to find a movie that doesn't suck in the past few decades.
"Unfortunately, they don't have any imagination... And they don't have any talent."
Yeah.
George Lucas is on it, man. Say what you will about the prequels, but he understands the industry. He can say whatever he wants, and no one can touch him.
Hollywood for the last 10 years has been destroying its own industry by focusing on politics.
@@bighands69 The problem hes talking about is not 10 years old. It's decades old. And "politics" has nothing do with it unless you are a snowflake.
@@2033 Look at the Oscars ratings
@@bighands69 this has got nothing to do with politics, hell star wars and other great movies have always been political but It's the industry that is not working well like it use to because they use to be so ambitious with there work
@@Femmeaesthetic
You are just making excuses for modern terrible political movies like The Last Jedi. Star Wars was always an action adventure entertainment movie it was never there to whine about how women are better than men.
i love prequels
Shitty taste.
@@CelestialWoodway yes you do have it! You wouldnt have Star Wars without this genius!
Somehow I love it too. People complain about Hayden's acting bt forget how shitty Hamill's acting was. But I'm no expert. I only care about being entertained and having a fun time. I had a fun time watching the prequels so they're good enough for me.
Christian Stoleski same!!
Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones aren’t at all bad movies, just flawed. Revenge of the Sith, on the other hand, is a masterpiece, my second favorite Star Wars film.
Can we please get more people like him in the world?
What the majority of you don't understand about the prequels (or every movie for that matter) is that they were never designed for EVERYONE. Never in the history of movie making has the entire world seen one movie - never. Those movies are for the real Star Wars fans in the world. They aren't perfect but neither were the originals.
Fuck outta here. The prequels were shit and every hardcore Star Wars fan knows they are shit.
@@CelestialWoodway everyone knows your full of shit
@@CelestialWoodway revenge of the sith had some amazing scenes.
@@SuperCashed Rvenge of the sith is the best blockbuster movie of the 2000s.
In fact you could argue that the "imperfections" of Star Wars are why they're still so beloved. Because they're all human movies. Contrast that with the modern movies, so sterile and vapid and "good". They're not human movies, they're corporate products, shined and sanded down to "perfection", and ultimately unappealing or even interesting.
Not just movie studios entertainment industry as a whole, perfect example the TV show "Firefly"
Probably would have been Whedon's best show, had a HUGE following of devoted Whedon fans but executives decided they know better and canned it after a single season.
Star Wars fans are fanatical about something that George Lucas Created, But They HATE George Lucas, and try to discredit him in every way, as if he never created Star Wars, The Prequels weren't that bad at the time they were released, it was just when the originals came out it was ground breaking. But It's almost like star wars fans don't realize that it's fictional and Societies become so Over Critical and now we over think and analyse Every little thing... The CGI only looks bad now because Technology has advanced so much in the last 14 Years, Jar Jar Binks was SUPPOSED to be ANNOYING, The Star wars fans that hate on Lucas like that are just non Imaginative people in general.... Oh and Anakin was supposed to be whiny, it was the character development that he was childish and never listened to Obi, But Anakin was never as whiny as Star Wars Fans are... Lol
All the SW fans who hate him aren't real SW fans. He's a freaking genius.
+Toxic Twist YESSS exactly!!! MAjority of the whiney George Lucas haters, are a bunch of cry baby consumers...who dont care about following a story, they care about simply being entertained and chasing the nostalgia of their lame ass childhoods
+Toxic Twist Ironically, the OT purists are similar to Jar Jar in their incessantly annoying attributes.
+Loc O'Mac All what you have said, i'm with you. I'm beginning to think that i should not enter Hollywood, cause then i don't own my movies and fans are going to hate on me if my first film was a certain way and i try to experiment with the other cause i don't want to use a certain formula...i feel like a slave.
All i want is respect from the fans and appreciate whatever i do, and to make a living out of doing films, it's my way not their way...it's to much to ask for? It's because of Star Wars bullies that i kind of don't want to be very successful...they scare me.
CGI are supposed to make the production cheaper, for us to get more money and make a living, and people get annoyed of CGI and makes me wonder what's more important...the story or the FX? And cheaper doesn't always mean bad, but actually receive more money than what you actually spend money on doing the film.
CGI makes filmaking faster and is a big money saver. Indie Filmaking must use CGI, and audiences must respect that. The movie is my baby and i'll tweak it all i want. But, if fans want the original, then you can have it then, stop crying, along side my special editions and everyone is happy.
In animation, people seem to be very much respectful of their creator and appreciate experimentation...i think that's where the creativity is at, nobody cares if it's realistic or not and almost never complain about acting. If they actually care is the story and that makes me happy.
If you look at Vader, then look at Anakin....Anakin is kind of underwhelming.. People had a point who couldn't stand Ani's whiny/bratty behavior. It's hard to believe someone whiny like that would later become the galaxy's most feared ruthless guy.
The more I see of George Lucas I realize he's a lot more amazing than just his hair. And that hair is iconic.
What killed creativity was ultimately a film called "Heaven's Gate" back in 1981. I don't hate the film. But that was an example of creativity going out of control (A film that was originally around 11 million dollars which went over-budget up to 40 million by the end and it only made 1 million back) . After Heaven's Gate Hollywood took creativity away from the talent.
+xander k Jaws came out in 1975 since then there have been plenty of original. Just because the summer blockbuster was created doesn't mean original movies stopped.
***** What are you talking about since the mid 70s when both the Summer blockbuster and Star Wars came to be there have been some of the most successful and original movies of all time.
cripplehawk Nice info. Right here. :)
+xander k one major difference Heaven's Gate flop destroyed a studio (United Artist)
+Jim Nguyen Same thing happened in the auto industry int 70' and 80's when the bean counters took control we ended up with lack luster car designs until things went the other way back to customer's wants. Now the movie industry must learn that oo
that was the most simple explanation ive ever heard of what happened in the last 50 years and explains a lot. i love those films of the 70s, when film makers could do what they wanted.
I wish I was friends with Mr. Lucas
the implosion needs to happen so things can go back to the early 70s
Corporate Businesses in Hollywood:
Disney
he is so right, its probably why most movies these days suck so much
+Sam B if these films u speak of are so good, why aren't I hearing about them? or maybe just you think they're good? lol
***** i find most movies today are very dark, gritty, or have unnecessary amounts of violence in them, so if i happen to come across a movie on tv or see a preview for it and feel its going to be good, then ill see it. and i also go by reviews because why waste my time watching bad movies?
+Sam B first of all, don't call me a liar because I wasn't lying about anything. second off, no im not elderly, I'm in my late 20s. who says you have to be elderly to not like violent films? and those movies you mentioned actually had some soul and story to them, despite their violence and darkness, unlike today's movies which are just pretty much "here's as much darkness and violence we can think of for no apparent reason, so enjoy it". so many movies today are so forgettable and fail to make us feel anything for the characters. anyways, I don't have to justify my views on the movie industry to someone on the internet. these are my opinions and i could care less what you think of them. having said that, I will try to look a little harder into lesser known films to see if I find anything to my liking. take it easy :)
Charlie Rose really knows to ask the right questions
He did. They canned him, though. He got caught up in that MeToo movement and his career was basically destroyed over night. I'm sure there was nothing to it, but being in the public eye, press like that is all it takes.
Fix the volume before you upload.
George's hair is on fleek
Highly intelligent person.
This is basically what has happened on youtube lol
George is a genius.
Thank you for doing this
Lucas is the master of movies, very wise too. and very well he said.
" Those executives don't have imagination or talent "
Of three volume CD-VCR movie rental houses in our town, only "Family Video" remains. Blockbuster Video and Hollywood Video have folded. The internet no doubt has affected this, and too, Netflix has gone online.I don't have television service. The news isn't "wide-spectrum" enough for me to trust.
As movies go, especially those of the science fiction genre, my recent favorite is "Frank Herbert's Dune," so much better than the original with Sting as Fayd.
Disney: We know how to make Star Wars. We saw it a few times.
I was watching logan clips and somebody mentioned we deserved logan type ending for luke skywalker . Couldnt agree less .
Even people who don't watch movies and sci fi knows what star wars are and who is George Lucas.
I mean that doesn’t say a lot, a lot of people know who Kim kardashian is but that doesn’t mean she’s actually good at anything
@@4477superman she is good businessman.
Even so I really want Spielberg to return to the bigger blockbuster film again. He still has this distinct style and voice and choosing less known material and not current biggest seller that I think we need now more than ever to desaturate the superhero/sequel/reboot intoxication going on every summer. Where's Robopocalypse???!
War of the Worlds for all it's failings in characters, story, and logic is still a technical marvel with it's sets, visuals, and sounds creating such beautiful yet frightful image of an alien invasion.
Even in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you saw glimpses of a great Indiana Jones hidden in there.
And of course his collaborations with John Williams. I would kill to hear him do a A.I./War of the Worlds hybrid orchestral score for Robopocalypse than settle for Hans Zimmer and his ilk abusing synthesizers for the next gimmicky 'sound'.
The reason why Spielberg is not making his big films anymore is down to the fact that Hollywood will not allow him to do such films.
Everybody is blaming the comic book movies but they are only two or three films a years. What happened to the other hundreds releases.
Most of those 100 releases are now political films that are hell bent on pushing politics and guess what Spielberg is only making those films because that is what the industry wants him to make.
@@bighands69 Spielberg is the person most responsible for leftist agenda movies like The Post. He's also the reason for garbage like Transformers. He's the worst of the worst.
Was ready player one not a blockbuster 😂
@@WaterCloset you know you're responding to a 7 year old comment
I THINK WE ALL KNOW HE'S TALKING ABOUT DISNEY!
Why are all these left channel only?
I just wonna throw up lookin at these comments.. People with no respect...and let's face it ppl with no real contributions to the world are critizing this great man. I cant relate to this mindset, I almost feel sorry for them.....but not really, please keep going with ur unhappy pathetic life:) btw, great job lucas I admire you
I like this piece...he brings up some great points. Still a story telling genius:)
Hollywood in a nutshell
To resume, movie studios only want to make as much profit as possible with zero risk, which is why we got so much crap in theaters today.
I have always defended the prequels, way above the originals. I have watched them many, many times and I still enjoyed the whole package. The coarse sand part has absolutely nothing wrong and Ja Jar Bins is key to the plot. I find Jaba the Hut, Chuwacca and the wookies even more annoying and nobody complains about that. Hard core fans got what they always wanted with Disney, good script, no Ja Jar, same plot as the original, Milenium Falcon but no plot, no creativity, nothing new. But I'm Glad for Lucas, he decided to spend time with his family than to please hard core fans, who are never satisfied.
Amen.
Amen to that.
I thought my right earplug was broken
mono audio really -_-
brilliant
George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg were the rebels that changed the movie industry with Jaws and Star Wars
And now movies that try to replicate that are lazy, predictable, cash grabs.
its so dense...
Lucas' self-financing on the Star Wars sequels went well but then he took a bath on Howard the Duck.
2:00 - 2:18What led to that?
Hello prequels! Glass, House, Stones...
When George Lucas came on the scene, the studios didn't have faith in him. Before Star Wars he had made one dud and and one hit. You find studio execs tend to leave experienced directors, with a decent track record alone. So their lack of faith in George was justifiable in their eyes, and why they meddled. After all money doesn't grow on trees, and they are spending huge sums of money. Even if you look at Lucasfilm, it could've gone under, it made some duds and for a period, its finances weren't all peachy.The prequels certainly beefed up its coffers. I guess what I'm saying is there's 2 sides to a coin.
No , he had gone to Film school and made quite a few movies and scripts before that "actually" and the money he was asking for was very little compared to other movies at the time and they wouldn't even give him that.
Still true today as back when he said it. Even more so.
No creativity coming out of Hollywood.
And then we get the big budget Marvel movies that have a weekend in the cinema and quietly off to streaming. They don't even get pressed in to Blu Rays!
wisdom
2:45 "And the (Insert name here) change stuff all the time. Unfortunately (insert name here) doesn't have any imagination or any talent."
if you see today's studios mentality..they are forcing diretors to cast black,gay and sjw characters...even its nothing integral to the plot and also forcing writers to do that...creativity is lowing day by day
Dúchate otaku
"What are you selling?".... Action figures!
The movie business is very unhealthy now. Every movie has to make a billion to be a success. Everything has to be an existing IP and not an original idea. Creatives run nothing, bankers do. Its what Lucas was arguing against for years from the time he was at Zoetrope and then running his own studio. But then he sold to Disney who was the very embodiment of everything he said was wrong with the corrupt studio system he wanted to tear down in his youth. Its like the Revenge of the Sith line, You were the chosen one, you were supposed to destroy the Sith not join them.
Before Charlie got "Me Tooed"
And people want to think that Lucas is going by to come back and "save" Star Wars. Does any who listened to this honestly think Lucas wants to get involved in that corporate mess?
Everything George says is right.
Yes TFA was bad
Movie business. Key word is money.
so true. you think movies like breakdance will ever get made in todays data driven studios. not a chance. art is not science.
They don’t have any imagination because they don’t have clear consciences.
Hollywood just recycles. Example. Look at the last terminator movie.
George is a businessman who challenged the movie studios in the 70s by making Star Wars despite them. It was successful. Good on him. Yet in the end, instead of retiring the franchise, he sold it to Disney because like EVERY OTHER MEDIA MOGUL, he wants money. If he cared about the integrity of the franchise he would have put it to bed and not sold out. So George loses a LOT of credibility every time he opens his mouth and criticizes the studios. George, you walked away from Star Wars. Let it move on. If you cared so much, you should have stayed. Take your money and shut the frak up.
Ihr durft euch bei Lucas bedanken ohne den wäre Ich auf Star Wars Galaxy das umzusetzen nicht gekommen! Star Trek ist viel zu langweilig! Nichts los! Nach meinem Tod werde Ich ins Jenseits zuruckkehren! Dann mache Ich nur noch Urlaub wo Ich will solange Ich will und nicht in beschissener Armut!
Ruined hollywood
I haven't been to the cinema for the last 20 years because of this reason. They are making so much trash movies now.
2:47 maybe they're selling discipline?
"Don't have any Imagination; don't have any talents."
ーThen George, why did you make Kathleen Kennedy president?
Kathleen Kennedy is actually a very talented producer who was recognized by Spielberg early on in his career and became one of his most valued collaborators over time.
@@farid1406 Some people are better number 2s. Kathleen Kennedy is terrible as a number 1. Then you add the dildos at Disney to the box of shit, here we are.
@@farid1406 Talented at fetching coffee and that's all. Look how she destroyed Lucasfilm. Total incompetence.
@@bigtechisbigbrother8690 I sort of think Steven Spielberg could settle for a less expensive, noteworthy coffee-girl, don't you?
@@farid1406 Maybe she smokes a mean pole. If she is good at something besides getting coffee, it must be something we don't know about, because it sure isn't making movies.
It's ironic to see this guy talk about this. Everyone knows sequels don't have to be as good as the original movie. People went to see his Prequels too and they kind off sucked (didn't they), whether it is out of curiosity or nostalgia.
Actually many sequels have topped the original in quality (Godfather II, Superman II, The Dark Knight).
One studio that i respect for their creativity in the modern age is Marvel.....they are willing to take risk to tell great stories.....
ant man and guardians of the galaxy another that comes to mind is Avartar 1 since 2 i think might comeout in 2017 i was blown away because i have never seen anything like that before now it all copy and paste in hollywood especially in the horror genre or should i say jump scare genre fuck all the rest of the studios for not bringing something new......
Okay here's what to do go and come up with a better way to troll people maybe you could have got some people with Marvel but putting in avatar is too obvious man you have to be more creative with your trolling.
lol bro i ain't trolling i am just stating what i do see and understand as creativity,when i mean creativity i see it as something that takes alot of risk to bring something new....i mean james cameron avartar and not the other avartar besides what do you mean when you said trolling i ain't making fun of no one just sharing my opinion moreso i see torentino and nolan as creative dudes......and i respect george lucas
+gideon agu Marvel already has an audience before they made movies
Marvel? For real? Did you not see what they did to Edgar Wright's Ant Man script?
+gideon agu Why does Marvel get creative permission and Star Wars doesn't? It's so unfair. I feel Disney's Guardians of The Galaxy had more creativity than Awakens...Did you see Star Lord dance to 80's music in the beginning? It was the directors way of saying "Get ready, cause you're going to see history." In Awakens, we got the middle finger ship at opening scene.
Once he became a billionaire and could facilitate that kind of thinking. With endless revenue from Star Wars action figure, why didn’t he cultivate an atmosphere that nurturers that environment?
he did. his prequels completely pioneered digital film making. now, an artist has a much larger set of tools at their disposal. he has also given his billions in wealth to causes outside of the arts.
I, uh... don't know. Because the thing that he's attacking here, his main point, is something that he did with the prequels and, boy, did he do it. He lost his way, got this great chance to tell the new story on his own terms and the result is something that we wouldn't see if the "Star Wars" brand wasn't attached to it. It's a lot like a Michael Bay film: Looks pretty, but it isn't telling me anything.
Utter hogwash. The prequels are absolute Star Wars films. They are the real deal. The visual effects only help tell the story, make the outlandish characters come alive, and show us the alien worlds. It's a grand family saga, and morality tale.
Alienadin trolling like a pro 8)
Alienadin I could buy all that,if it was not for that one character,that we dont talk about.
Creatrix Trodler YOU SHALL NOT MENTION HIM!!!
Joshua Davis ;)
You did all that with the prequels.
George is so full of himself
God these comments on here aged SO fucking poorly. The prequel hate has always been cringe, but I'm glad the silent majority finally speak up against this utter tom-foolery.
Amen. Sounds like he's talking about Disney.