The People VS. George Lucas Hitting SXSW

There's nothing like building a film with a target audience of everyone. As the trailer rolls, questions float by and we slide on up to you... So, have any thoughts on George Lucas?

Religion? Sex? The meaning of life? How can the drawer close with those things inside, but now it won't open... the same things are inside? These are all mere child's play when it comes to inconceivable mass of debate and pure word count behind the controversy and conundrum that is George Lucas.

Some ideas are just crazy enough to work.

The People vs. George Lucas tackles said issue, obviously, and will be having its world premiere at SXSW in March.

Revered by some, feared and demonized by others, George Lucas is undoubtedly one of the most passionately debated and vilified filmmakers in movie history. Why have so many of his original fans turned against him to decry the release of the Special Editions and the Prequel Trilogy? Why is he still the recurring target of bloggers, critics and self-­‐proclaimed devotees? And why are millions of others staunchly prepared to defend him in the face of innumerable allegations?

THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS explores the titanic struggle between a Godlike filmmaker and his legions of fans over the most popular franchise in movie history. The film combines key testimonies from the likes of Gary Kurtz (Producer of AMERICAN GRAFITTI, STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK), Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN, AMERICAN GODS), Dave Prowse (aka Darth Vader), Anthony Waye (Executive Producer of the BOND franchise), and Dale Pollock (George Lucas’s Biographer, Author of SKYWALKING) with fan footage from around the globe, and impassioned testimonies from George’s staunchest fans and foes.

A tribute to the YouTube generation, this unique participatory documentary examines and articulates the many contentious issues that have become an integral part of the Star Wars mystique, and deconstructs George Lucas’s cultural legacy through the prism of his fans. Fundamentally, THE PEOPLE vs. GEORGE LUCAS is about how new media interacts with old media, as well as ownership and copyright in the digital age.

Key Contributors

• Gary Kurtz (Producer of AMERICAN GRAFITTI, STAR WARS and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK)
• Neil Gaiman (THE SANDMAN, AMERICAN GODS)
• David Brin (Author, THE POSTMAN, STAR WARS ON TRIAL)
• David Prowse (aka Darth Vader)
• Anthony Waye (Executive Producer of the BOND franchise)
• Dale Pollock (George Lucas’s Biographer, Author of SKYWALKING)
• Wendy Ide (Film Critic, THE TIMES)
• Sandy Lieberson (Former Head of Production at 20th Century Fox)
• Ian Freer (EMPIRE MAGAZINE)
• Todd Hansen (THE ONION)
• Glenn Kenny (Film critic and author, A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY)
• Joe Leydon (Film critic, VARIETY contributor)
• Jeff Bond (Editor-­‐In-­‐Chief, GEEK MONTHLY)
• Jonathon London (Geekscape.net)
• Eric Stough (Director of Animator, SOUTH PARK)
• Chris Gore (FILMTHREAT)
• Daryl G. Frazetti (Cultural Anthropologist)
• Tony Millionaire (Cartoonist, SOCKY MONKEY, MAAKIES)
• Chris Stompolos (Producer, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION)
• Joe Nussbaum (Director, GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE)
• Kevin Rubio (Director, TROOPS)
• Casey Pugh (Creator, STAR WARS UNCUT)
• Paul Yates (Director, THE TRIAL OF HAN SOLO)

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About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

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