Achk Med-Beq's Chat Table: casual discussions

Did you hear? Cartoon Network is having a SW Marathon next month and the kicker? no ST It's the 6 films and Rogue One here's the commercial

Cartoon Network - A Week of Star Wars Movies Promo (September 5, 2021) - YouTube

 is this the right place to post this?

I've been thinking; Star Trek is more for left-brained people, and Star Wars is more for right-brained folks.

Star Trek: The Next Generation was just Night Court in space. And Q was The Great Gazoo.

Sure enough.

And I think most Sci-fi/fantasy fans like both to varying degrees.

It's just after seeing some people disparage every little minutiae of the PT it got me thinking about the approach of the creators, and of the fans to their work.

And remember the discussion about the Myers-Briggs personality types, and how they tend to perceive the Prequels?

Roddenberry was a hardcore philanderer, womaniser, and adulterer. He had numerous affairs and flings, including with Majel Barrett (whom he later married and repeatedly cheated on), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and his secretary, Susan Sackett. The only film he has a writing credit for is "Pretty Maids All In A Row", which its Wikipedia entry describes as an "American sexploitation film that is part black comedy, part sex comedy, and part murder mystery":

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Maids_All_in_a_Row

Also, the only Star Trek film he was creatively involved with was the first, "The Motion Picture". You'll notice that the entire film is basically an elaborate fuck fantasy, and in the novelisation, which GR wrote himself, he elaborated on ideas that never made it to the screen, like the hyper-sensuousness of the Deltan race (Ilia in the film is a Deltan), and how common nudity and sex were in the 23rd Century -- essentially 1960s "free love" without pregnancy or disease (and Starfleet HQ is located in San Francisco, no less). Suffice it to say, Roddenberry couldn't bring all these concepts to the screen in a G-rated film, but he felt strongly that puritanical attitudes to sexual expression would disappear in time -- in a way, he was projecting his own fantasies onto a far-flung future, where it was relatively safe to do so. Of course, he may also be right. Either way, you gotta imagine it before you can build it.

Note that Star Trek did something of a hard-right turn with "The Wrath Of Khan", becoming much less sensual and exploration-based, and much more militaristic and pompous. Roddenberry was blamed for major cost overruns and other production difficulties on TMP. Not only did the budget spiral and the film almost miss its release date (which would have cost Paramount Pictures a ton of money since they had struck deals that hinged on TMP meeting that date), but Roddenberry was known to be difficult to work with, and fiercely protective of his own ideas. In a way, he was punished for being obstinate and for being determined to bring only a high-quality science-fiction endeavour to the screen. Ergo, with him kicked to the sidelines and given the relatively meaningless title of "Executive Consultant", he could no longer interfere in the creative process or complain when corners were being cut -- a bit like the way Disney treated George Lucas decades later (history frequently repeats).

I don't think the Star Trek fanbase really understands its creator or cares to -- something that should also sound depressingly familiar. Unfortunately, Roddenberry didn't help his case by making enemies of certain people in his lifetime, like Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy was aggrieved during the making of "The Original Series" that his co-star, William Shatner, had a better contract than himself (better pay, nicer dressing room, a personal telephone, and other mod-cons). He argued that he deserved more because Spock was just as important to the show as Kirk and his mountains of fan mail proved it. Roddenberry, however, defended NBC and Desilu Studios over Nimoy and wrote that the actor was trying to "blackjack" the studio. Nimoy never forgave him. Further reading:

startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2016/07/leonard-nimoy-vs-desilu-studios.html

In the days of "The Next Generation", Roddenberry further alienated many people -- cast members, production staff, writers, et al. -- by jealously defending his own interests in the series and using a very aggressive lawyer to represent him in all things called Leonard Maizlish. By then, Roddenberry was in ailing health, after poor eating habits and abusing drugs for many years, suffering a series of strokes, which would eventually claim his life at the relatively youthful age of 70. Despite his weakened condition, he was able to attend an early screening of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", and in typical Roddenberry fashion, he allegedly complained that the film was far too violent and militaristic, and full of racism, to boot (overcoming racist baggage and moving beyond the past is sort of the theme of the movie), and demanded that a big chunk of the film be cut. He died only days later.

Ol' Gene was a very complicated and interesting man. I must admit, despite this defence (I hope it's mostly a defence), I'm in no mood to read some crappy cancellation piece about the man. What he did for entertainment and humanity itself is probably not yet appreciated or framed in its proper context. Only a century or two now, if we make it that far as a species, will his contribution become clear. 

Nice find, Joe! Don't think I'd seen that before.

Apparently, it's from a CNN special called "Countdown to the Clones", which aired on May 7th 2002, and the interviewer is Connie Chung. Here's a transcript:


LOL! I love Lucas' little burn at the end. 

It's interesting that he rhetorically positioned the prequels and his six-movie saga against other popular franchise movies like the Star Trek features, and in an earlier interview with Empire Magazine in September 1999, he juxtaposed the prequels with "The Terminator" and "The Matrix" (which itself is worth quoting from, since it yields more classic Lucas burns):

www.empireonline.com/movies/features/star-wars-archive-george-lucas-1999-interview/


Anyway...

I guess the CNN interview proves (when put against more recent developments) that Lucas changes his mind -- or at least softens his stances a little. In the interview itself, he sounds a little like TLJ Luke. He looks forward to the core story of Star Wars (i.e., "the Jedi") ending, but he thinks Star Wars itself (i.e., "the Force") can go on without it.

It's still technically true that the "George Lucas Saga" is a six-film enterprise; just with numerous optional add-ons.   You know, it's like one of those 1990s consoles that had all manner of extras you could buy (a steering wheel, a scope gun, a mouse, a keyboard, etc.), but few, if any, of those extras proved to be anywhere near as popular as the classic out-of-the-box console-controller combo. 

BTW, Joe, there are some negative comments under the video of interest, though they are probably better-suited to the General grievances thread we have:



To balance that out with some anti-Disney sentiments:

The first is so hilarious, I don't know what to make of it. All of Star Wars outside of the original has been "an extravagant dumpster fire"? At least that's not an opinion you hear everyday. The second person sounds bitter and jealous. So what if Lucas has his name against a few turkeys? When he gets fully in the mix, you're guaranteed a film of extraordinary interest and uncanny quality, and he is one of the most innovative filmmakers of all time.

it's not about star wars but interesting nonetheless
www.cartoonbrew.com/executives/amid-feature-animation-push-rob-coleman-and-randal-shore-rejoin-ilm-209421.html

Spotted on a bus in Prague