George Lucas : “Two Kinds Of Star Wars Fan”

George Lucas (DVDs) seems to know, deep down, that this is going to be the last chance he gets to blab about Star Wars to a big audience. That’s why he’s been throwing out soundbites like a man deflecting a million grenades with a tennis racquet.

His latest one is a doozy - that there are two types of Star Wars fans. Obviously there are - the enthusiasts and those who don’t wet themselves in crowds. But Lucas is more interested in another division - the over-25s and the under-25s.

The mental quote in full "The older ones are loyal to the first three films I made, and they are
the ones in control of the media. The films that these people don’t
like, which are the first two prequels, are fanatically adored by the
under 25’s. They are always at each others throats about it."

So, in short - old people don’t like the new ones, and because they
control the media, everyone else has been brainwashed into not liking
them. But when the youngsters take control, everything will change.

To some extent he has a point: gormless nostalgia about crap things
is a huge market. It’s why you can buy Button Moon junk (DVDs) -
even though it was about a spoon talking to a bottle on a big button.
That’s rubbish!

At least the Fingermouse comeback hasn’t occurred. A rolled up bit
of paper stuck onto the end of some bloke’s hand isn’t entertainment.
It never was.

So it’s inevitable that a critical re-evaluation will happen at some
point, but the reason youngsters like the new films is because children
have tinier brains and are more easily amused. In fact, that’s the
reason why older people like the first trilogy. In 1977 they had
baby-sized brains and ate mashed-up food.

The new film has also had a good reaction in Cannes, partly due to all the cryptic anti-Bush statements Lucas has made comparing him to Darth Vader.
But in Cannes, they hate the president so much that a two hour film of
a fat man pointing to a photo of George Bush and shaking his head would
get a standing ovation.

The good news is that by Friday, all Star Wars hype will be finished
forever. Or at least until the year 2025 when everyone realises the
special effects are crap and George Lucas has to redo them all over
again.

[story by Stuart Heritage]