The People vs. George Lucas

Quite ironically, on Valentines day I heard about what Wired magazine called a “Really twisted love letter” to George Lucas.  The People vs. George Lucas is a documentary film about the love/hate relationship between George Lucas and his fans.  It was created by an open internet call to fans to submit their opinions, videos, or images.  Over 600 hours of footage has been narrowed down to 96 minutes for the premiere tomorrow at 6:30PM at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin Texas.

So here’s the root of the controversy.  In 1977 we were ALL introduced to Star Wars.  It had a huge impact on me and help to foster my imagination.  In one scene in particular a rogue smuggler is hired to transport the aged general Obi-Wan Kenobi and his knight-in-training as they seek to return the stolen plans to the princess Organa.  Before they could take off the smuggler was cornered by a bounty hunter.  With a gun pointed in his face, he decided to shoot first and ask questions later.  Well, that’s the way I remember it, but in the 1997 Special Edition re-release we see a version where the bounty hunter Greedo shoots first.  Then in the 2004 the scene is changed again so that the two fire at almost the same time.  These changes to the film really upset a lot of people.  This documentary film seems to be a way for people to express their love for Star Wars and their frustration for the changes made to it.

I first heard about this documentary film from it’s director Alexandre O. Philippe.  He contacted me asking for my permission to use my print depicting the showdown between Han Solo and Greedo.  The print was made for the Star Wars Celebration Japan and as such, Lucasfilm holds the rights to it and I couldn’t authorize him to use it in the film.  I was flattered to have been asked to have my artwork used in association with high-profile industry professionals and George Lucas collaborators, including the legendary Gary Kurtz, Sandy Lieberson (former Head of Production at 20th Century Fox), Dale Pollock (author of SKYWALKING), Producer Anthony Waye (JAMES BOND 007), David Prowse, and the great Neil Gaiman.XXXSo I came up with a solution and I made a new illustration.

Here’s the trailer for the documentary film.

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