Good news? Bad news? I guess it all depends on your feelings about the man.
According to "Deadline" and "Empire," director, producer, and writer George Lucas has decided to call it a career--at least as far as Lucasfilm is concerned. While he will remain as a co-chairman and CEO, he will no longer be involved in the day to day operations of the company. Instead Kathleen Kennedy will be named co-chair and oversee the STAR WARS empire.
In a public statement Lucas had the following to say about his retirement:
"I'm moving away from the company, I'm moving away from all my businesses, I'm finishing all my obligations and I'm going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I've always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres."
Ok.....
I'm kind of unsure exactly what he means by "hobby movies" and "experimental in nature." Are these movies that nobody will actually see? Will they only be uploaded to YouTube? Will he kill off Jar Jar Binks in said home movies? And how large exactly is his garage do you suppose? I'm thinking it's probably at least twice the size of the loading dock on the Death Star. His saw and hammer are probably also diamond encrusted and baptized in Wookie blood.
But I digress.
Personally, I like the move by Lucas. God knows he has enough money and if he wants to spend his golden years making "experimental" movies, I say via con Dios. I'm just wondering if he will be able to stay away. Is this a real retirement or a Brett Favre-esque retirement? We'll see.
I know Lucas has been lambasted over the last decade or so for what fans consider constant tinkering with his films and an obsession with money. There is some credence to these arguments although I land somewhere in the middle. My thought process is that without George Lucas there would be no Star Wars and no Indiana Jones. I shudder at the thought. Plus the guy did kind of issue in the modern day blockbuster. In that sense he's kind of the Steve Jobs of the movie world...and just as influential.
My only concern is where does the Indiana Jones franchise go from here? Does Lucas's retirement sound the death knell of our favorite adventuring archaeologist? Possibly. At the same time maybe if he steps away it will give some new blood a chance to flesh out a cool new script, one that Indy fans everywhere can enjoy. But if Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the last adventure, well, I guess I'll get over it.*
*I ordered the Indiana Jones blu-ray box set two months ago and there is still no official release date. I'm getting annoyed.
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