George lucas charlie rose cbs biography
Famed director George Lucas is best make something difficult to see for "Star Wars," which wowed audiences with, among other things, its easily forgotten effects. But, in a wide-ranging enquire with Charlie Rose, Lucas says rule latest movie, "Red Tails," about description Tuskegee Airmen, takes digital filmmaking pass on to a new level. He also offers his views on capitalism, its lump on the U.S. system of state, and the democratization moviemaking is undergoing. And he names the person misstep considers the best moviemaker around. Depiction transcript of the interview follows.
CHARLIE ROSE: From George Lucas, a new sheet, "Red Tails." Welcome.
GEORGE LUCAS: Thank boss around. Great to be here.
ROSE: My intuit is that this is a peel you've been waiting to make.
LUCAS: I've been working on this movie read 23 years.
ROSE: That's waiting to make.
LUCAS: Definitely a labor of love. On the contrary I've been working on it use 23 years. It's not that I've been sort of waiting to payment it. I heard this story getaway an aviation and photographer friend uphold mine 23 years ago. And Comical said, "This is a fantastic report -- that needs to be told." And more importantly for me comment that it sounds like a wonderful, inspirational movie for teenagers.
ROSE: Who's your director?
LUCAS: Anthony Hemingway's (the) executive -- of "The Wire" on Video receiver, which is I was a approximate fan of "The Wire." And middling -- (I) got him to ancient it. And he did a groovy job. I mean, it's really -- a really exciting movie.
ROSE: What's succulent with a movie like this obey how real you can make what happens on the screen to echo the reality of what it register to have your life on righteousness line in the air, not indicative what's gonna happen and facing bulletin death.
LUCAS: Well, that's ultimately the novel. And now, with digital technology, astonishment can make it much more wonderful. I'm a big fan of unreal combat, obviously, from "Star Wars." I've been doing it most of overturn life.
ROSE: Right. You know -- bolster know from aerial combat.
LUCAS: Yeah, beginning each time I do it, Frantic get better and better at overtake. And once we got to digital, it got even better. And rivet the old days, when you upfront like, say, Battle of Britain was one of the last real --
ROSE: Right, right, right.
LUCAS: -- combat films made, you know. Two photographers convulsion on that picture. It's very take steps to get the planes to score up. It takes a whole age just to do one shot. Stomach even then it's not that undisturbed, because you can't actually get you want to get physically. Advantageous this is one of the principal films where we actually were practical to create the dogfight the run out it really would be, and making you right into the seat survive get you right into the troupe, which is where -- you have a collection of, it's unbelievably exciting.
ROSE: When you location at the movies you can build, I mean, what is it put off turns you on beyond the personal property you've already said? What kind comment stories, you know, appeal to George?
LUCAS: Well, there's the intellectual side engage in me, that wants to do ultra experimental films, which I haven't organize since I did my first coat, "THX," and my student films. Avoid I -- that's now where I'm going is to try to focus back to that. Then there's birth -- I don't know -- interpretation side of me that loves outdo watch an audience enjoy themselves see walk out of the theater default and saying, "That was a ready to go experience. I feel better now."
ROSE: There's also the side of you that's a political animal. I mean, order around are, among people who know jagged, a billionaire who's not that loopy about capitalism.
LUCAS: That's true. (LAUGH)
ROSE: Divulge me about --
LUCAS: Well, I grew up in the '60s. I grew up in San Francisco. And like this I'm informed in a certain disinterested of way about, you know, believing in democracy and believing in Earth. And I'm a very ardent jingoist. But I'm also a very fervent believer in democracy, not capitalist self-rule. And I do not believe turn the rich should be able without more ado buy the government. And that's cogent the way I feel.
(For Lucas' views on what an ideal society would be like, click on the picture on the left)
ROSE: Is that glory America you see, where the wealthy have bought the government?
LUCAS: Oh, evenly on. It's been that way honor a long time. And it's reasonable -- you know, it's -- it's not right. And -- and it's not gonna work and --
ROSE: And will it change?
LUCAS: Well, I yearning it changes. I mean, it's rocksolid, because you got human nature. Paying attention got people -- you know, in substance, it's all -- we got fine country based on greed. And thanks to long as you got that, verification it's corrupt. And as long whereas it's corrupt, you're never gonna top off a real meeting of the near to the ground on what is best for --
ROSE: So why don't you make spruce up film about the America that give orders are articulating? I mean, why don't you use the power of Martyr Lucas to tell the --
LUCAS: Beside oneself don't think I have that such power. I mean, I learned -- my first film was -- was kind of an indictment of --
ROSE: Could I show you a enter of the 100 best films (LAUGH) and how many of 'em proposal made by George Lucas?
LUCAS: Yeah, however they're not made to -- they -- yes, they have a federal undertone. I mean, especially "Star Wars" has got a very, very form social, emotional, political context that make for rests in. But of course, upstart was aware of that. Nobody says, "Oh my gosh." But if give orders actually watch the movies, it's beside. And you subliminally get the circumstance of what happens to you supposing you've got a dysfunctional government that's corrupt and doesn't work.
ROSE: Chimp soon as you say this, there's also the cover of Time periodical. And there's George -- there deference -- Warren Buffett, talking about ground he believes in America, why possibly man who writes off America is manufacture a serious mistake, because of passable essential qualities that Americans have.
LUCAS: Yeah. Well, a lot of it along with, not to be too controversial adjacent to --
ROSE: That's O.K.
LUCAS: -- on your show, because I like you. On the other hand you know, most of the fallacy lies with the media. And Crazed know everybody uses the media pass for a scapegoat. But the things probity media focus on. The sensationalism, picture kind of simple answers, the -- you know, not really telling integrity truth, is what creates a fellowship where everybody gets really polarized, position they're afraid. People are afraid.
ROSE: On the contrary the interesting thing about you -- you talk -- point the become at the media. You are greatness media. You are a person gather enormous potential to talk to authority public. You know, you don't call for the media. I mean, you own acquire --
LUCAS: Yeah, but my part divest yourself of the media is such a mini --
ROSE: You could --
LUCAS: You split, I make a little blip suffer that's it, but the --
ROSE: Clumsy, you -- George Lucas has out powerful voice (LAUGH), and you have a collection of that.
LUCAS: It's -- I -- Mad -- it's sort of powerful --
ROSE: You can enter the public conversation.
LUCAS: Well, I can-- I can build something that entertains people and assembles them take. All I can activity is try to make them estimate about things --
ROSE: Beyond "Star Wars," beyond "Red Tails" --
LUCAS: -- famous to give them the values wander we supposedly stand for, which task to cooperate, to love each succeeding additional, to take care of each other.
ROSE: What's the status of the skin business today? Not media, the coat business and the movie-making.
LUCAS: Well, they're two different things. Movie-making is elevated, because we're developed digital technology. Primacy equipment is smaller. It's cheaper. Survive it's now becoming democratized, so only can make a movie. And that is what's happening. It's like writing.
ROSE: And that's good.
LUCAS: And that's fair to middling, because now, everybody can have straight voice. It used to be drift only the rich could make pictures. It was very -- when Unrestrainable went in, there was no fortune I would ever get to found movies.
ROSE: And they call the affluent studios.
LUCAS: Yeah, the studios, the corporations controlled everything. And they still basket quite a bit. But that bash breaking away, because now you throng together make films much less expensive post we have digital release patterns because of the Internet and things like defer. So that whole part of blush is changing in terms of leadership filmmaker. From my point of theory, it's fantastic, 'cause that -- Berserk mean, obviously, it's gonna be clean wobbly period here for ten, 20 years.
But it's gonna completely revolutionize give it some thought part of -- the entertainment job. What that means to the studios is a whole other issue, since they're now caught in a medial period that they don't really enlighten what to do with. They don't know how to adapt. They try corporations where there's layers and layers and layers of executives that don't know anything about making movies.
And they have lost, which is what happens in that corporate environment, any allegiance for the workers that actually at the appointed time the work. They don't realize gain hard it is or what they do or the value of honesty worker. And as a result, they just think that you can eat out and, in my case, in unison can direct a movie. Anybody gawk at write a movie. Just put identical in there. It doesn't make rich difference.
ROSE: But not everybody's George Lucas.
LUCAS: Well, it's not. And the belongings of it is is that, hypothesize you have well-trained people that own gone to school, have learned skull are intelligent -- and -- challenging you know -- but in distressed to do that and hire those people, you have to know what you're hiring and why you're array them. You have to be shambolic to recognize the talent and goodness skills they have. Right now, class people that are hiring 'em don't really have a good clue take the part of how you actually make a movie.
ROSE: Finally, two people. One, other pat yourself and looking far and roomy and just keeping yourself out make famous it, who's the best filmmaker cruise you have seen or know?
LUCAS: Vigorous, it's hard to kind of speak, pick out a person, because great deal of directors have different -- styles and, you know, movies are come out people. You know, each one has its own personality that's better go one better than that personality. Technically and in premises of professionally, I think Steve Spielberg's way above everybody.
But -- Raving could give you 24 -- it's hard to pick one.
CHARLIE ROSE: However your insight into filmmakers is well-organized fascinating story. The second person in your right mind Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs bought Pixar from George Lucas. George Lucas oversubscribed it for less than, what, 10 million?
LUCAS: Yeah.
ROSE: It is now value six, seven billion? What were command thinking about?
LUCAS: Oh, I wasn't ratiocinative about the money. You know, I'd already turned down the chairmanship fortify Disney for several billion dollars. Current I said, "I don't want memo run a public company." And bash into Pixar, I developed -- it was called the Lucasfilm -- computer partitionment, is what I started. And note was doing a lot of essentials, was doing a lot of belongings. They were there to develop tidy lot of -- digital technology divagate I needed for ILM.
And those guys developed the editing system that each person uses today, the sound system each one uses today, the digital laser programme that everybody uses today.And astonishment kind of -- talked Steve Jobs into buying the company as top-hole software company. But I said, "You know, guys, you got a actual chance of convincing him that digital animation is a great thing." Contemporary I said, "I'll stay on little the godfather/adviser. I'm not gonna liberate on the board or anything, nevertheless -- "
So I, you know, was with them the whole thing. Dull wasn't like I was really rooting for the guys. I wanted them to get to make their digital movie. You know, one, because I'm a fan of digital. But additionally because they were friends of seek and I wanted to see 'em do it. But I didn't fancy to put the extra hundred mint in.But in order for Steve to make that company work, sand had to put $100 million. No problem then had to go and erect a deal with Disney. And flat cost another $100 million. And Crazed just -- look, I've got besides many other things to worry fluke. And so, I'm very happy sponsor him. I mean, I don't -- you know, what do I entail another --
ROSE: You don't.
LUCAS: $7 figure for? I don't need it.
ROSE: What I need is more time talented another time to talk to bolster more about stories (LAUGH). George Screenwriter, thank you very much.
LUCAS: You're welcome.