It is not a path I would wish upon anyone.
Sure, Stephen Spielberg's had his missteps: Hook (FUCK YOU) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park come to mind. But after Raiders of the Lost Ark, or after Jurassic Park, he could have stayed content to direct schlock. While it must be said that he's no different than Lucas in terms of making shitstacks of money off the movies he's directed, he's never totally "sold out".
Now let me clarify what I mean by that. One of the biggest problems I have with George Lucas is that (in my opinion) he treats his movies as products and money-makers first, and as films and pieces of art and history second, if at all. You can see it in how almost everything in the movies seems designed to sell figures and toys, and the action sequences seem DESIGNED to sell playsets with special action features ("Anakin's limbs really come off!"). The making of products drives the movies, rather than the movies driving production of toys.
I can't blame Lucas for just up and quitting. He made what is arguably the most influential movie in history, a movie that fundamentally reshaped our pop culture landscape. I wouldn't blame anyone for resting on their laurels after doing something like that.
But what makes me angry (and some people feel the same, I suppose) is his persistent need to change his past movies, to change history. Some people think it's because he's a perfectionist, some people think it's because he's just misguided, some people think it's because he's a troll.
I think he's just a sad, insecure man.
I don't know WHY he's insecure. Maybe he realized that he could never top Star Wars, and so is trapped obsessive-compulsively improving it because he's too afraid to move on and try something new.
"But, John! Spielberg altered his old movies! He edited ET! THOSE edits were jarring! AND retarded." Well, you're right. And that's what leads me to this very interesting article.
Spielberg apparently went back and edited ET because parents groups bitched about several things, including the guns in it, and the fact that Elliot calls his brother "penis breath". Barring the fact that penis breath is a very real and serious medical condition that is not at all a laughing matter, I can't really sympathize with their qualms.
And apparently, Spielberg regrets the fact that he altered his movie. This quote, this one sentence, basically sums up I think everything wrong with Lucas' approach and all the feelings of the fandom:
"It was okay for a while, but I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved 'E.T.' of their memories of 'E.T."
Christ. That's it. Right there. STEPHEN: TALK TO LUCAS. TALK TO HIM FOR US.
I dunno. Maybe they don't talk much anymore. Or maybe Spielberg respects Lucas' autonomy. Or maybe he just doesn't care. He didn't stop Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull either. Or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
That's the one that always troubled me. Crystal Skull, for all its ludicrosity and many, many thematic faults, was not a terrible movie, and had redeeming parts (all of which contributed by Spielberg, I'd imagine). But Spielberg, one of the executive producers of Revenge of the Fallen, was apparently content to let two of the most racist CG caricatures in HISTORY go onscreen. He signed off without protest.
Now let me clarify what I mean by that. One of the biggest problems I have with George Lucas is that (in my opinion) he treats his movies as products and money-makers first, and as films and pieces of art and history second, if at all. You can see it in how almost everything in the movies seems designed to sell figures and toys, and the action sequences seem DESIGNED to sell playsets with special action features ("Anakin's limbs really come off!"). The making of products drives the movies, rather than the movies driving production of toys.
I can't blame Lucas for just up and quitting. He made what is arguably the most influential movie in history, a movie that fundamentally reshaped our pop culture landscape. I wouldn't blame anyone for resting on their laurels after doing something like that.
But what makes me angry (and some people feel the same, I suppose) is his persistent need to change his past movies, to change history. Some people think it's because he's a perfectionist, some people think it's because he's just misguided, some people think it's because he's a troll.
I think he's just a sad, insecure man.
I don't know WHY he's insecure. Maybe he realized that he could never top Star Wars, and so is trapped obsessive-compulsively improving it because he's too afraid to move on and try something new.
"But, John! Spielberg altered his old movies! He edited ET! THOSE edits were jarring! AND retarded." Well, you're right. And that's what leads me to this very interesting article.
Spielberg apparently went back and edited ET because parents groups bitched about several things, including the guns in it, and the fact that Elliot calls his brother "penis breath". Barring the fact that penis breath is a very real and serious medical condition that is not at all a laughing matter, I can't really sympathize with their qualms.
And apparently, Spielberg regrets the fact that he altered his movie. This quote, this one sentence, basically sums up I think everything wrong with Lucas' approach and all the feelings of the fandom:
"It was okay for a while, but I realized what I had done was I had robbed people who loved 'E.T.' of their memories of 'E.T."
Christ. That's it. Right there. STEPHEN: TALK TO LUCAS. TALK TO HIM FOR US.
I dunno. Maybe they don't talk much anymore. Or maybe Spielberg respects Lucas' autonomy. Or maybe he just doesn't care. He didn't stop Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull either. Or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.
That's the one that always troubled me. Crystal Skull, for all its ludicrosity and many, many thematic faults, was not a terrible movie, and had redeeming parts (all of which contributed by Spielberg, I'd imagine). But Spielberg, one of the executive producers of Revenge of the Fallen, was apparently content to let two of the most racist CG caricatures in HISTORY go onscreen. He signed off without protest.
COINCIDENCE!? I think not.
I don't know either personally. And I can't fault Stephen Spielberg for what I perceive are a couple lapses in judgment. Especially not when he's taken artistic and thematic risks for pretty much his whole career. That ranges from Jaws to 1941, all the way from Empire of the Sun to Jurassic Park, continuing into today with AI, Minority Report, and Munich. But there's always that wish that he'd talk to Lucas...and maybe schedule an intervention.
If only for our sakes, you know?
If only for our sakes, you know?
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