Steven Spielberg praised George Lucas’s insidious Star Wars film

Steven Spielberg is not only one of the best directors of all time, but he’s also a cinephile. What’s even more curious is that he has a rather strange opinion about the “Star Wars” franchise.

In 2002, Spielberg said Cinescape Of all the “Star Wars” films made up to that point, “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” was “my second favorite after The Empire Strikes Back,” the director said. He – she. “It was great. The action scenes looked like George (Lucas) was inspired by James Cameron because they were as good as any action scenes in (‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’), and I think George did his best directing with that as well.”

Now, who am I to argue with Spielberg about his personal opinion? However, it’s funny that he praised “Attack of the Clones”, which itself was probably the most maligned film of the Prequel Trilogy. However, he has a point. Despite its many shortcomings, Attack of the Clones was ahead of its time when it opened in theaters in 2002. If nothing else, you have to admire how George Lucas managed to make a blockbuster children’s film about the collapse of democracy and a war that is staged as a mere distraction so a cunning politician can amass power. .

In an interview with Roger EbertSpielberg continued to promote his old friend Lucas, citing Attack of the Clones as his “most accomplished” film as a director. “I thought[the film]was operatic, and it’s George’s most accomplished film,” Spielberg explained at the time. “But I don’t think I’ll ever go to CGI sets the way he does.” “I think when you build a set in a 3D world and actors walk on that set, they get stimulated. They get ideas (…) I’m sad for the day when sets will exist in cyberspace and not in reality.” life.”

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’ friendship goes back several decades and is well documented. There is, of course, a slight rivalry between them at the box office, with Lucas and Spielberg betting on a percentage of the box office success of the first “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Then there are the nods to Yoda and ET in “ET” and “The Phantom Menace,” and how while Spielberg was working on “Schindler’s List,” it was Lucas who helped finish “Jurassic Park” in post-production. Of course, there’s also the fact that they collaborated on creating the “Indiana Jones” franchise.

When it comes to “Star Wars” specifically, Surprisingly, Lucas turned down Steven Spielberg’s offer To direct a film in the original trilogy, but later changed his mind and asked both Spielberg and… Ron Howard If only someone would take the helm of The Phantom Menace. At the time, it was Lucas’s friends who agreed that he should continue directing his own films because it was difficult for them to continue the original trilogy. However, given how skilled Spielberg is at getting good performances from children, he would have been an interesting choice for a film featuring a nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker.

However, just because he didn’t do any directing on the film doesn’t mean Spielberg wasn’t creatively involved with Star Wars. After all, it was Spielberg who introduced Lucas to John Williams so that the latter could score A New Hope. Then, during pre-production on Revenge of the Sith, Spielberg helped design the animation for some scenes, offering his take on Order 66, the duel on Mustfar, and Yoda’s battle with Darth Sidious. Apparently, it was Spielberg’s idea to partially derail the deaths of several Jedi members during Order 66, such as when Aayla Secura’s death was covered up by a large factory. And most recently, stunt coordinator Nick Gillard Credit Spielberg for his input on Mustafar’s lightsaber duel, even saying he created the “high ground” moment.

As for Spielberg’s comments about Lucas’s use of computer sets, and his reluctance and disdain for them, the director appears to have changed his mind over the years, culminating in Spielberg’s use of CGI-heavy setups for “Ready Player One” and “The BFG.” “