George Lucas criticizes universally-enjoyed new Star Wars film as the product of 'white slavers'

Unless you've been living under a rock that's in a cave out behind the Unabomber’s shack, you know that a new movie called "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" exists. You're probably also aware that, despite some reservations about its plot being a retread of the original 1977 film, it's being universally hailed as a return-to-form for the beloved franchise. In fact, it's being so widely enjoyed that it's broken virtually every imaginable box office record in just the first few weeks of its release. If you know all of that, there's a good chance you've seen the last three Star Wars movies. Despite a few bright spots, they were almost universally reviled as cold, clunky, and joyless films created by an egomaniac billionaire who'd surrounded himself with too many yes-men. That man's name was George Lucas and, despite selling the series lock, stock, and blaster-barrel to the Walt Disney Corporation for a staggering $4 Billion, he is not a happy camper.

---

It seems that Disney didn't like the direction in which Lucas wanted the series to proceed. When they dumped his plotline (which they were under no obligation to use) you began to hear rumors that "the maker" was none too thrilled with "the mouse." Those rumors appear to be true, because in a new interview with Charlie Rose, Lucas refers to Disney as "white slavers" to which he sold his "children." ...Yikes. As USA Today reports:

“I sold them to the white slavers that takes these things, and…,” he said in the interview, before deciding not to finish the sentence. He also explained how his and Disney's visions for the future of the franchise differed wildly. “They looked at the stories, and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans,’” Lucas said. “They decided they didn’t want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing. … They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway — but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. And I don’t have the control to do that anymore, and all I would do is muck everything up. And so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.’”

---

---

In other words, Disney wisely understood that Lucas almost killed his baby, and they jettisoned his planned plotline in an effort to resuscitate the patient. Considering the critical disaster of the prequel trilogy, that's probably sound thinking. Heaven forbid a movie company that's churning out an epic popcorn-adventure give "the fans" - a.k.a. their customers - what they want. Another two and a half hours of clumsy aliens yapping about taxation and trade routes would have put the final nail in the franchise. As things stand, The Force Awakens is adored by longtime fans and newcomers alike. When you factor in merchandising and box office receipts, it's beginning to look as though Disney will earn back their $4 billion with just one theatrical outing. Throughout his career, Lucas's best moments have come when someone else edits his work, reins him in, and clamps down on his worst instincts. It's too bad no one did that with this interview. The use of the "white slavers" metpahor is almost as unfortunate as the existence of Jar Jar Binks. In the immortal backwards speech-pattern of Yoda, "Strong with the sour grapes, George Lucas is."

---