While George Lucas wasn’t involved in The Force Awakens, he’s still talking to the press about it, and the good people at Disney are probably wishing they’d paid him an extra billion dollars just to shut the fuck up entirely.
In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Lucas complained about the Force Awakens filmmakers’ approach, saying that it was too “retro” and its plot hewed too close to his 1977 original A New Hope.
The 71-year-old filmmaker also explained that he considers the Star Wars films to be like his kids, and said that, in handing them over to Disney – for which netted a tidy $4 billion back in 2012 – he had “sold them to the white slavers.”
Disney presumably sent some of their best people (pictured) to have a quiet word with Lucas, and he has since had his lawyers draft a lengthy apology, invoking the old “I misspoke” defence to say sorry for his “inappropriate analogy”:
“I want to clarify my interview on the Charlie Rose Show. It was for the Kennedy Center Honors and conducted prior to the premiere of the film. I misspoke and used a very inappropriate analogy and for that I apologize. I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger’s leadership. Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise. I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks. Most of all I’m blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ and Kathy.”
The Force Awakens, meanwhile, is currently on track to become the top-grossing film of all time. BRB guys, going to see The Force Awakens again.
Story: Hollywood Reporter
Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty
Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty
