Hollywood Babble On & On #850: Dear George.

AN OPEN LETTER TO GEORGE LUCAS.

Dear George Lucas.

Furious D here, just dropping in because I read some comments you made recently about the whole "Han Shot Greedo First" controversy.  Here's the kicker that got me started...

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn't. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.

Seriously George, you think the audience misunderstood this scene?

It looks like a pretty straightforward scene to me.  Greedo, a professional thug, threatens Han, Han shoots Greedo before Greedo can shoot him.

I remember it clearly because it was the first movie I remember seeing in a movie theater. I didn't "want" Han Solo to be a cold blooded killer, but even then, in my half-formed, still slightly gooey child's mind, I knew that Han had to kill Greedo in cold blood.

And not just because Greedo was threatening Han with a blaster.

The central reason that Han had to shoot first is that it is fundamentally essential to the narrative of the whole Star Wars saga.

"Oh no! George is at it again!"

Remember, Han is the first major character that Luke meets that isn't a relative, or a Tatooine local. He's the "gateway character" who ushers Luke from his isolated life on the farm to the greater Galaxy.

Han also illustrates that this Galaxy is a dark and dangerous place, where it's often kill or be killed, because while the Empire is oppressive, it's essentially decadent.  Not decadent in the meaning of wild orgies and other sexual shenanigans, but decadent in the meaning that the moral and ethical norms of a decent civilization are in a profound state of decay.

It also adds weight to Han's ultimate redemption during the final battle with the Death Star.  He has his reward for rescuing Leia and bringing her back to the Rebel Alliance, he can pay his debts and resume his normal life as a low rent smuggler.

Now the Han that shot first at the beginning of the movie, would have gone home with the money.  But that Han is gone by this scene. He is changed profoundly by his adventures with Luke and Obi Wan. Because of that change, that sign that heroism really is an option now, he turns his ship around and joins Luke in a desperate suicide mission against the planet smashing Death Star.

Do you see my point George?

Now you have every right to fiddle with your creation. You own it, you can make the whole franchise your bitch, which you appear to do on a regular basis.  But the overweening arrogance of refusing to release the original versions, and now denying the memories of millions of fans to justify your questionable choices, can only mean one thing.

You are so full of shit you don't even know up from down anymore.

I can only assume that you're surrounded by legions of sycophants who tell you that you're every cranial fart is some tremendous act of genius, and that you don't have anyone near you brave enough to talk reality.

Because if you did have someone like that near you, they would have told you that such a statement makes you sound like an arrogant, ultra-narcissistic douche who lives in a semi-dream-world.

Of course this is all just yelling in the wilderness. You probably don't take criticism seriously because you're still making mega-millions off your creation, and assume the dollars coming in must mean you're right.

But how will history judge you George? As a visionary?  Or just a neurotic who scored big on one good idea and spent the rest of his life trying to milk as much money as he could by draining said idea of all of its originality and creativity, ultimately becoming synonymous with the Hollywood ethic he once claimed to be rebelling against.  The ethic that story was secondary to flashy visuals, and creativity and emotional impact secondary to the cash that could be made.

Is that how you want to be judged?

-Sincerely

Furious D.