hollywood melon man

Chapter 568 Request to Take Over Again
"Little Gilbert, as long as you offer the right price, Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic will be yours."

George Lucas, as always, came straight to the point and stated his purpose directly.

Gilbert Jr. had expected this: "George, Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic are both in great demand right now. I've heard a lot of news in the past few days since I came back.

I'm afraid your request is not as simple as asking me to pay a suitable price, right?"

"Of course," George Lucas said, "I have one more condition, which I told you before: you must take over the Star Wars series.

As long as you agree, even if the price is slightly lower than others, I can accept it. "

"Why must it be given to me, George?" Gilbert Jr. said, "There are many excellent directors in Hollywood who are all suitable."

"But no one is more capable than you," George Lucas sighed, "The Star Wars series has been with me throughout my film career. It is my child.

I don't want this series to just languish after I retire.

Looking at Hollywood, there are many capable directors, but only you can keep the Star Wars series going."

George Lucas said this sincerely, which shows that he really hopes that Gilbert Jr. will take over. In many previous interviews, he said that the most suitable "Star Wars" director after him is Gilbert Jr.

But the problem is that as a top IP with huge influence, it is not surprising that the movie succeeded after Gilbert Jr. took over. But if it fails, it will be fun.

But to be honest, it is quite difficult to make the "Star Wars" IP fail.

Little Gilbert neither agreed nor refused, but said: "You have to let me think about it, George, this is not an easy decision."

"Of course," George Lucas said without urging, "There's still time. It won't be too late to tell me when you've made up your mind."

After this topic was over, the two talked about George Lucas' retirement plans.

George Lucas said: "My focus has been on movies for so many years, and next I may travel around the world or go fishing.

By the way, I heard you have a yacht, please lend it to me when the time comes."

"No problem," Little Gilbert said with a smile, "If you want to travel, I recommend going to China. I also have a courtyard house there, which has appreciated a lot in recent years.

But I don’t plan to sell it. I will keep it for living when I go to China.

If you go there, you can stay there. I have a few Chinese friends to introduce you to.”

"Okay, it's a deal."

George Lucas asked about the old man again: "How is your father? Is he okay?"

"Not bad, I can eat and sleep well. Now I play guitar at home and pick up the kids from school. Or I go play cards with old friends. My life is pretty leisurely."

Little Gilbert smiled: "He is a very energetic person and can't stay still."

George Lucas also sighed: "Oh, I still remember the days when we were the big names in Hollywood. In the blink of an eye, we are all old, and you young people have grown up."

"No way! To use a Chinese idiom, you are still strong and healthy!"

"No," George Lucas pointed to his head and said, "I can't keep up here. Even though the Star Wars Episode 3 project has achieved commercial success, the brand has been almost destroyed.

I have lost the imagination of my youth, and I have to rely on you, little Gilbert."

After many twists and turns, George Lucas still hopes to persuade Gilbert Jr. to take over the "Star Wars" series, which feels like he is entrusting someone to another person.

George Lucas has no children of his own, and he does not have a close relationship with his adopted children.

Only the "Star Wars" IP carries all of George Lucas' emotions, so he hopes to find a good family for this child.

And little Gilbert is that good family.

They chatted until about 10pm, when Gilbert Jr. and Naomi Watts said goodbye. George Lucas and Katherine saw them off to the door, and George Lucas said again, "Gilbert Jr., please consider my proposal carefully."

"Thank you, George, I will think about it carefully." Little Gilbert nodded.

On the way back, Naomi Watts asked Gilbert Jr., "What did George talk to you about so much?"

"He tried to convince me to take over the Star Wars series," Gilbert Jr. replied.

Naomi Watts raised her eyebrows: "Hasn't he tried to convince you a long time ago? He brought it up again this time. It seems that George is really going to retire."

After a pause, Naomi Watts asked again: "So what do you think?"

"I think the Star Wars series will not end here," Gilbert said, "but if I were to take over, I would definitely do a major surgery on the Star Wars series.

So I’m not sure whether the audience will like the new version of Star Wars that I spent a huge amount of money to make.”

Naomi Watts is not worried about this at all. She said: "I think as long as the film bears the name of Star Wars and retains those classic styling designs and frameworks, there is no need to worry about failure."

"So you're recommending that I take over Star Wars?"

"It's up to you. No matter what decision you make, we support you." Naomi Watts said with a smile.

"Thank you, Naomi."

Little Gilbert held Naomi Watts in his arms, but he was thinking about more.

In fact, if the "Star Wars" movie series is to be restarted, Gilbert Jr. has a suitable direction in mind.

First of all, we need to analyze why, except for fans, most passers-by are unwilling to pay for the current "Star Wars" series.

Without a doubt, George Lucas bore the brunt of the blame.

In the 1970s and 1980s, "Star Wars" relied on excellent computer special effects. Even though the plot structure was simple and direct, even a bit brainless, it still shocked the uninformed audience at that time.

But today, with the rapid development of computer special effects, audiences who have been baptized by countless special effects blockbusters have become immune to them, and exquisite and good special effects can no longer excite them.

So narrative becomes particularly important at this time. The foundation of a movie is storytelling, but unfortunately "Star Wars" failed to do this.

It’s not George Lucas’ fault, many Hollywood movies don’t know how to tell stories.

In addition, the abrupt character growth arcs, confusing emotional lines, and poor editing are all inherent problems of George Lucas' films.

It's no surprise that when small things add up, it affects the movie itself.

If Gilbert Jr. were to take over "Star Wars", the first thing he would have to do is to create a complete narrative. The story is the core of everything.

He had also thought about the general direction of his creation, which was actually based on the routines of online writing in his previous life.

Many literary creators have always looked down on online novels, and online novels have always been at the bottom of the contempt chain in the field of novels. But online novels have one very good point, which is that they are very enjoyable and full of immersion.

Apart from anything else, replacing the "Star Wars" template with those popular science fiction novels on Qidian will definitely attract a lot of audiences.

Although those science fiction novels are essentially fantasy, Star Wars also has settings like the Force, which are essentially no different.

It can also integrate future cities, doomsday wastelands, and the very popular mecha battles, etc., which is absolutely awesome.

There have always been critics who criticize the Star Wars movies for not having any deep thinking and being purely for fun. But Gilbert Jr. thinks that Star Wars is still not fun enough.

His adaptation is cool enough.

(End of this chapter)