No, Mr Lucas! Magic IS For Amateurs!

 Normally, I talk about collecting on this blog because I enjoy it, and it does relax me. But today, isn't one of those days. Although  shameless plug I wrap up my final bracket in my Star Wars Sunday VC March Madness Tournament and wrap up of Hasbro's livestream last Wednesday in a little while. But now I'm talking George Lucas, and his decision to back Bob Iger at Disney.

As many of you may be aware, Disney is in the process of battling a takeover led by Nelson Peltz. Recently Disney has had several box office bombs, and Disney Plus hasn't exactly been doing well with new content either. To say that Bob Iger has done a good job since coming back would be a blatant lie. The current state of Disney isn't good. They really can't afford another Marvel, or heck, even the next Star WarsFilm or Disney Plus show to fail. Now, personally I think the Rey movie will be a bomb, but that's a topic for another time. Because in this take over bid, George Lucas has officially backed Bob Iger.

 

Now let me take you back to 1971. A young filmmaker made a film that technically made money, yet was such a far out film both story and directing wise that some speculated he would never make a movie. This movie is about a man in a dystopian future where drugs are used to control the masses and obedience to the state and its desires for you are mandatory among other things. That film was THX 1138, and the writer & director was George Lucas. Ironically, Lucas chose to side with Disney and crawl back to the civilization that THX 1138 would have fought to escape. Escaping is a theme in Mr Lucas's movies. Steve and Carl in American Graffiti dealt with leaving town, and of course Luke Skywalker wanted to leave his home for the great unknown. So why did he make this choice? I have a couple ideas as to why.

1. Faithful to a friend. I get supporting a friend, I do. Maybe in the years since he sold to Disney he's maintained a relationship with Mr Iger that has become a genuine friendship.

2. It's a business decision. Dancing with the devil you know is often a safe bet, especially when it comes to finances. I don't know if Mr Lucas still gets royalties from Star Wars, or Indiana Jones, but let's assume he does for the sake of this argument.  Bob Iger did take Disney into profitable times in the past. Lately, it hasn't been good. A better analogy would be a head coach. Bill Belichek had massive success with the New England Patriots in the NFL. Nobody has been to more Super Bowls as a head coach than Belichek, or has more Super Bowl wins than he did. But, he got fired because the last couple years the Patriots stunk. The Patriots have a new head coach, Disney needs new leadership because Iger has approved bad projects, and aren't what they once were. Mr Lucas has made bad business decisions in the past: does Howard The Duck ring a bell?!

3. Quid pro quo: This is a chance to get back into storytelling. Admittedly this is the least likely thing to occur (as it pertains to Star Wars). Mr Lucas has had some health problems, and probably isn't up to writing scripts or directing movies. But when it comes to Star Wars, he's still alive. With Dave Filoni being in charge of the Lucasfilm story group, he is someone who's worked closely with George on the Clone Wars series. It is possible that George Lucas wants some input on stories, and possibly not Star Wars related. Remember  his last pre-Disney movie was Red Tails. Writers never really fully retire, and older people want to feel useful, and being cooped up at home may make him stir crazy, especially when he can't see his kids and grandchildren all the time like he probably wants to since they have their jobs, and the young ones have school. So what to do in between visits? Hang out at Lucasfilm and talk stories. It wouldn't surprise me if Mr Iger proposed this to George Lucas as a reward for supporting him, and for screwing him on the Sequel scripts.

Now those are just my thoughts. But for those expecting Mr Lucas to come back and "save" Star Wars, that won't happen. The only thing that can "save" Star Wars is new leadership at Disney. That best chance is Nelson Peltz, and admittedly I don't know a lot about him. He is an amateur.

But so was George Lucas. THX 1138 was technically profitable, but when given a chance by Francis Ford Coppola, American Graffiti became a hit in 1973, and helped get Star Wars made in 1977. James Cameron, who has directed 2 of the top 3 box office films of all time started off making Piranha 2, and a couple years later had a hit with The Terminator. He would go on to direct Titanic and Avatar. He was an amateur who created magic. So were the Russo brothers. They made a couple small films, then hit it big with You, Me And Dupree. They got to direct the 2nd Captain America movie, and later the 2 biggest movies in the Marvel franchise: Avengers Infinity War and the top box office films of all time Avengers Endgame. Those amateurs created magic. I don't know if Mr Lucas wrote that line, or had someone write it for him. But no, Mr Lucas. Amateurs can create magic. You were one yourself at one time. 

And in conclusion: WTF are you thinking?!