Lucas
Wired has an interview with George Lucas.
I didn't really find it all that interesting, given that he makes silly statements like "None of the films I've done was designed for a mass audience."
Riiiight.
But there was an interesting tidbit at the very end, where Lucas talks about the timelessness of certain stories:
I've always thought that wa a crock, not because I -- like some other critics of a different school -- think that nothing is truly original anymore. But just because I often take a lot of pleasure in a skillful reinterpretation or retelling of a classic story or theme.
Lucas framed his argument in terms of generations -- retelling stories in new ways to reach younger people for whom the previous telling may not mean much. I think it works for adults, too. For one thing, such retellings reinforce messages we may have already absorbed but don't think about consciously. They may also help up look at something in a new way.
Me, I love watching favorite movies over and over. I can watch "The Matrix" or "The Incredibles" a jillion times. But I also love blues music, which isn't so much about crazy-ass innovation as it is putting fresh interpretations on traditional themes, melodies and rythms.
I also love to reread favorite books, savoring each line of dialogue and each page of blood-pumping action. Some people don't do that. They see something once or read something once and that's it, they are on to other things. So I wonder if there's some link to personality as well.
UPDATE: Interviewer Steve Silberman was kind enough to leave a note in the comments saying that the more interesting stuff is in an expanded piece he did for Wired called "Life After Darth". I'm reading it right now and it's quite good.
I didn't really find it all that interesting, given that he makes silly statements like "None of the films I've done was designed for a mass audience."
Riiiight.
But there was an interesting tidbit at the very end, where Lucas talks about the timelessness of certain stories:
If you've raised children, you know you have to explain things to them, and if you don't, they end up learning the hard way. In the end, somebody's got to say, "Don't touch that hot skillet." So the old stories have to be reiterated again in a form that's acceptable to each new generation. I don't think I'm ever going to go much beyond the old stories, because I think they still need to be told.That made me think of certain critics -- movies, books, music, games, whatever -- who sniff at anything that is not totally, 100 percent original.
I've always thought that wa a crock, not because I -- like some other critics of a different school -- think that nothing is truly original anymore. But just because I often take a lot of pleasure in a skillful reinterpretation or retelling of a classic story or theme.
Lucas framed his argument in terms of generations -- retelling stories in new ways to reach younger people for whom the previous telling may not mean much. I think it works for adults, too. For one thing, such retellings reinforce messages we may have already absorbed but don't think about consciously. They may also help up look at something in a new way.
Me, I love watching favorite movies over and over. I can watch "The Matrix" or "The Incredibles" a jillion times. But I also love blues music, which isn't so much about crazy-ass innovation as it is putting fresh interpretations on traditional themes, melodies and rythms.
I also love to reread favorite books, savoring each line of dialogue and each page of blood-pumping action. Some people don't do that. They see something once or read something once and that's it, they are on to other things. So I wonder if there's some link to personality as well.
UPDATE: Interviewer Steve Silberman was kind enough to leave a note in the comments saying that the more interesting stuff is in an expanded piece he did for Wired called "Life After Darth". I'm reading it right now and it's quite good.
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