May 24 2011

source: G4


LIVE-ACTION SERIES


G4TV: Switching gears just slightly, it was about a year ago that you said the live action Star Wars show was going to be on hold. Where is the show now? Where does it stand?

GEORGE LUCAS: It sits on the shelf. We have 50 hours and we’re just waiting to figure out a different way of making movies, a different technology that we can use that will make it so it is economically feasible to shoot the show.

Right now it looks like the Star Wars features, but we have to figure out a way of making it for about a tenth the cost of the features, because it’s television. And we’re working toward that and we’re continuing to work toward that and we will get there at some point.

But it’s just a very, very difficult process and obviously when we do sort of figure this problem out, it will dramatically affect a lot of movies, because a lot of features now that are costing $150-$200 million, we’ll suddenly be able to make them for $50-$60 million.


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[flash width=640 height=395]http://www.g4tv.com/lv3/53047[/flash]

I know nothing about film making, what parts of the process do you think he is developing less expensive ways of doing it? It sounds as if he would revolutionize the process. Is it the equipment and material used to film on to, or is it incredibly labor intensive now to add the cgi? It just seems as though if 100 million could be trimmed from film making someone else would already be working on it. I don't get what he is going to do different.

He wants to make his Star Wars TV show look as good as his feature films, but he wants to do it for a tenth of the cost.
I think if he figures out how to do Star Wars for TV, he'll drum up more business for himself & ILM.

If Lucas is successful (and I guess he will be) what will happen to actual movies of the future, if television shows can deliver the same production value, as a huge motion picture?

I bet he just wants to milk out/cash in the 3d movies first, so this is his excuse , that's my guess.

[flash width=640 height=385]http://www.youtube.com/v/FPQHiVecHZs?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1[/flash]

To me , a life action series wouldn't even be necessary after seeing the latest Old Republic trailer footage, if they somehow could manage a series with this kind of animation, to me it would add a whole new dimention to Star Wars than just a life-action series.

Takes too long to do.

I agree. A lot of people do not realize how long it takes to make a high quality trailer like the ones we've seen from Star Wars: The Old Republic. Do you not see how much detail was put into those trailers? If they were to make a TV series of this calibur, then it would take a long time. A movie is understandable since they can work on it and put out a release date when they feel it's near completion.

If they're willing to put out 50 hours of "live action" tv series before it sees the light of production why not take the risk with this? People have seen the end result they'd watch.

You have to have scripts either way - whether you're animating it or filming it in live action. All they have is 50 hours of scripts, not 50 hours of footage.

To drive the point home a little more firmly, there is a huge difference between "50 hours of scripts" and "scripts, time, and $$$ to make a super-high-quality animated series."

No throwing logic in here!

Still, if he perfects the cost of the FX this should be in the ball park.

Either way it's time-consuming - I understand this. The CGI Animators for the Live-Action Series to me are the real stars because of the time and effort spent.

The big problem is, won't all those special effects kind of effect the storyline negatively? Less story - too much happening onscreen - like in ROTS? Lets hope Rick and George wise up a bit his time.

Or like in ROTJ?

I still think they should just continue with the current CGI animation they're doing in The Clone Wars. It doesn't have to look like that recent video game trailer. The Clone Wars series looks spectacular, and they obviously can afford to do that without breaking the bank.

It's also possible given the dates writer Matthew Graham was involved in something other than the Live-Action Series - such as Clone Wars.


In a CNN interview today, Lucas mentioned working on another show entitled Star Wars Detours.

TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT: ...there's a lot of different aspects of it that have been quite amusing and fun to be a part of. Like amusement park rides, and it's -- I really enjoy it. Now, I'm working on television shows, "Clone Wars" and another show called "Star Wars Detours."



Star Wars Detours Video Game Trademark

Detours is possibly the title of the Seth Green-Matthew Seinreich "Squishies" show?

The Half-Hour Seth Green Star Wars Comedy Hour is assumed since that is the only other series we know Lucas is working on. There is also the Lucasfilm announcement at the Licensing International Expo 2011 where Lucas conducted the Star Wars Detours interview:

• George Lucas is hard at work on a second animated series that will complement 'The Clone Wars', taking 'Star Wars' in a completely new and fun direction.

"in a completely new and fun direction" is in keeping with the term Detours.



Another possibility is that Detours is Star Tours and/or video game related. The title was revealed in a Star Tours interview and at computerandvideogames.com. Star Wars Detours and Star Tours have similar titles, there are over 50 environments on the new attraction, and there is already merchandise.

The show could be a one time documentary or limited series.