Hot Toys Star Wars Stormtrooper

[Wor-Gar]

After the prequels we can say it must have been luck rather than genius.

Or he just used up his allotment of genius. That seems to happen a lot.

 

[Asta]

Or he just used up his allotment of genius. That seems to happen a lot.

Lucas used Alan Dean Foster's genius when he put his own name on the cover of the Star Wars novel.

It was Lucas' idea, but Foster fleshed it all out and gave us what became Star Wars.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Isn't he the guy who came up with Force Snakes in Splinter's of the Mind's Eye?

 

[Asta]

Isn't he the guy who came up with Force Snakes in Splinter's of the Mind's Eye?

I don't remember force snakes, but there was a big worm!

 

[Captain Britain]

Lucas used Alan Dean Foster's genius when he put his own name on the cover of the Star Wars novel.

It was Lucas' idea, but Foster fleshed it all out and gave us what became Star Wars.

Ah yes, the masterly addition of a duck to Star Wars canon...

 

[abake]

Lucas used Alan Dean Foster's genius when he put his own name on the cover of the Star Wars novel.

It was Lucas' idea, but Foster fleshed it all out and gave us what became Star Wars.

Wait, what?

 

[Darthrazz]

Wait, what?

Hmmm... who knew???


Foster was the ghostwriter of the original novelization of Star Wars which had been credited solely to George Lucas. After two other writers had declined his offer of a flat fee of $5,000 for the work, Lucas brought to Foster the original screenplay, after which Foster fleshed out the backstory of time, place, planets, races, history and technology in such detail that it became canonical for all subsequent Star Wars novels. However, when asked if it was difficult for him to see Lucas get all the credit for Star Wars, Foster said "Not at all. It was George's story idea. I was merely expanding upon it. Not having my name on the cover didn't bother me in the least. It would be akin to a contractor demanding to have his name on a Frank Lloyd Wright house."

 

[Smudger9]

I don't prescribe to the theory that Lucas lost his genius. I think that as he became more successful, he lost the willingness/ability to collaborate. There was a lot of collaboration on the OT, particularly ANH and ESB. The PT?..... Not so much.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I don't prescribe to the theory that Lucas lost his genius. I think that as he became more successful, he lost the willingness/ability to collaborate. There was a lot of collaboration on the OT, particularly ANH and ESB. The PT?..... Not so much.

There's an old saying that everyone has at least one great idea; few are allowed to realize it. Sometimes geniuses simply have one or two great ideas and then the mind and interest moves on, or they get stuck in their time and are unable to advance as they once did. I've noticed this happens to a lot of composers. Their music becomes slower and often repetitive over time. Sometimes it happens from the get-go -- like Alan Silvestri -- and sometime it takes decades -- like Mancini. But genius is, for the most part, fleeting. Look what happened to Orson Wells.

 

[Revvian]

I don't prescribe to the theory that Lucas lost his genius. I think that as he became more successful, he lost the willingness/ability to collaborate. There was a lot of collaboration on the OT, particularly ANH and ESB. The PT?..... Not so much.

There is also a popular saying:
"Fake it till you make it...then fake some more.."

 

[momaw]

I feel Lucas became more enamoured with the technology of making movies, specifically CGI, than the story craft. He put effects before script. It started with the special editions and was in full force (pardon the pun) by the prequels. Someone earlier mentioned the prequels would have been better in the 80's and I agree. Despite the massive achievement of the OT effects wise, they were still limited and had to be secondary to the story. By the time he got to the prequels I think he truly believed the films could be carried by the effects and the story became secondary to that.

 

[abake]

Hmmm... who knew???


Foster was the ghostwriter of the original novelization of Star Wars which had been credited solely to George Lucas. After two other writers had declined his offer of a flat fee of $5,000 for the work, Lucas brought to Foster the original screenplay, after which Foster fleshed out the backstory of time, place, planets, races, history and technology in such detail that it became canonical for all subsequent Star Wars novels. However, when asked if it was difficult for him to see Lucas get all the credit for Star Wars, Foster said "Not at all. It was George's story idea. I was merely expanding upon it. Not having my name on the cover didn't bother me in the least. It would be akin to a contractor demanding to have his name on a Frank Lloyd Wright house."

Ah, I see. Never been a fan of novelisations, so I've never paid any attention to them.
Thanks for the background story.

As for the genius of Lucas, yes well... I think the man had a couple of great stories to tell, and he managed to tell parts of those stories brilliantly (SW AKA ANH and Raiders of the Lost Ark come to mind). His vision of what those stories were about and how they should be told hit at the perfect moment in time. As they became bigger, a lot of people had ideas of their own about how those stories should continue, and maybe that wasn't what George had in mind.
A lot has been written about how ROTJ could have been darker, and maybe that would've made it a better movie, but that wasn't the story George wanted to tell. Did he tell that part of the story as well as he managed SW, or what ESB became thanks to the collaboration with Kershner and Kasdan? Probably not, but he told the story he wanted to tell.
Most of us wanted the prequel trilogy to be more about Vader destroying the Jedi, and maybe those would've been better movies, but that wasn't the story George wanted to tell. Were the prequel films as good as SW and ESB? Probably not, but you can't fault the man for sticking to his vision and his gut instinct. After all, this is the same man everybody told SW would be crap... but he held to his guns and made the movie he wanted to make.
And let's not forget all the technical advancements we have him to thank for.

So yeah, Lucas is a genius in more ways than one.
Scorsese is a genius filmmaker. Akira Kurosawa, too. Spielberg and Coppola both had a couple of masterpieces in them. All of them have made better movies than Lucas.
But, quite frankly, I don't think any of them is a genius in the sense that George Lucas is a genius.

 

[Revvian]

I feel Lucas became more enamoured with the technology of making movies, specifically CGI, than the story craft. He put effects before script. It started with the special editions and was in full force (pardon the pun) by the prequels. Someone earlier mentioned the prequels would have been better in the 80's and I agree. Despite the massive achievement of the OT effects wise, they were still limited and had to be secondary to the story. By the time he got to the prequels I think he truly believed the films could be carried by the effects and the story became secondary to that.

Yup...like a kid playing with toys.

 

[Revvian]

To be fair to Señor George...a great idea can create an intense gravity. And things set in motion in that environment can have quite a bit of momentum.
That momentum gets you keen things like "WONDERFUL!" stamps:



Which gives you the power to make things like this happen:



Which I will be forever thankful for!

And this concludes my circle of life...er...Forum postings about Life, lucas, and Stormtrooper's. Thanks for playing.

 

[Pixelpiper]

That's a great snow trooper concept.

 

[Revvian]

That's a great snow trooper concept.

Ya it really is. Do you have the Gentle Giant McQuarrie Snowtrooper?

 

[TaliBane]

That's a great snow trooper concept.

You can see it in a new cartoon.

 

[momaw]

That's a great snow trooper concept.

Ya it really is. Do you have the Gentle Giant McQuarrie Snowtrooper?

It's a pity SS doesn't seem to be going ahead with a McQuarrie concept 1/6 line. The McSnowy would have been top of my want list. The GG bust is amazing.

 

[Revvian]

It's a pity SS doesn't seem to be going ahead with a McQuarrie concept 1/6 line. The McSnowy would have been top of my want list. The GG bust is amazing.

Indeed it is!

 

[Prime Clone]

Agree that it was the technology that "corrupted" Lucas (ironic, since once of the main themes of SW is technology corrupting humanity).

He spent the first couple of decades unable to fully realise his vision with what was available, so when the technology finally caught up he went crazy with the CGI and made that his main focus.

(But I still don't mind the special editions or prequels)