Lucas on 'Star Wars' critics, diversity, and sneaking into Cannes

Wokeism and DEI try hard to get into everything these days, just don't be surprised.

Lucas also batted off criticism of "Star Wars" for being too white and too male.

Seriously? It's not enough that the property is driven into the ground but now we have to assault the classics?

Wokeism and DEI try hard to get into everything these days, just don't be surprised.

Everything Disney touches turns to crap. They ruined a perfectly great film legacy and franchise. DEI needs to be thrown in the trash, wokeism as well, these people never seem to learn, the last 8 movies that Disney came out with were major flops, go woke, go broke, they want to be stubborn about catering to the 1%, then they should do so and more people will boycott their crap. These people never learn from their mistakes.

Disney’s profits have increased year by year. ‘Go woke go broke’ just isn’t happening. Frank, Truth Social, Gateway Pundit however have ‘died like a dog’

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/woke-companies-broke-profits-1234710724/amp/

Disney’s profits have increased year by year.

https://www.gamesradar.com/shogun-record-breaking-debut-disney-plus-hulu-streaming/

Finally a movie that wasn’t woke, Disney be thankful.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2024/04/14/disneys-star-wars-box-office-profits-fail-to-cover-cost-of-lucasfilm/?sh=e5289506bb7f

‘Go woke go broke’ just isn’t happening.

It’s been happening.

https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-iger-woke-disney-is-over-not-silence-his-critics-2024-4

Frank, Truth Social, Gateway Pundit however have ‘died like a dog’

They are still alive and cater to a huge conservative audience not to mention, they don’t make movies.

Frank, Truth Social, Gateway Pundit however have ‘died like a dog’

They are still alive and cater to a huge conservative audience not to mention, they don’t make movies.

Frank is still alive? Parler went offline last year. Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy last month. Truth Social recorded a $300 million loss this quarter.

Their ‘huge conservative audience’ isn’t huge enough.

Frank is still alive? Parler went offline last year.

I was never on Parler.

Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy last month.

Still around, good they used the bankruptcy laws as intended.

Truth Social recorded a $300 million loss this quarter. 

They can restructure, next?

Their ‘huge conservative audience’ isn’t huge enough.

Well, not true, but people do have more of a tendency to use more outreaching platforms like X and print, so they’re not going away

Gateway Pundit filed for bankruptcy last month. 

Still around, good they used the bankruptcy laws as intended.

Truth Social recorded a $300 million loss this quarter. 

They can restructure, next?

So ‘go broke’ is actually good? I see.

What’s the deal with all that ‘go woke go broke’ hollerin’ and hootin’ then?

So ‘go broke’ is actually good? I see.

Especially in Disney’s case.

What’s the deal with all that ‘go woke go broke’ hollerin’ and hootin’ then?

There are other areas where the left try and push this crap, the fight continues. Disney is just one casualty.

Disney is just one casualty.

But it isn’t. As already established Disney has continued to return record profits.

Disney has continued to return record profits

Obviously a company led by smart people.

If you put a believer in ‘go woke, go broke’ in charge it would be suicidal.

Was a child when the original series came out and it was a generation maker. A huge part of the call to the force embedded in our X generation minds forever. Shaped us more than we can know being such an impressionable age, with an implanted call to adventure and misadventures alike! The concepts of the Jedi, ( jidai geki or samurai movie ) the attire and concepts of budo that permeated the films were also a big draw to look to cultures like Japan. I’d even go as far as to suggest that it brought a few of us old punters here!

For that I will be forever grateful George Lucas. The later stuff, well just a sign of the sorry times! What a great era it was to be young and dreaming. Yep, old geeza nostalgia talk.

Bob FosseToday  09:11 am JST

Disney is just one casualty.

But it isn’t. As already established Disney has continued to return record profits.

Their Star Wars, Marvel, and related streaming services have posted record losses to a tune of $4.0bil. https://cosmicbook.news/bob-iger-confirms-marvel-stars-wars-disney-plus-failure-4-billion-loss

Star Wars films and shows a record loss of $2.8bil. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2024/04/14/disneys-star-wars-box-office-profits-fail-to-cover-cost-of-lucasfilm/?sh=4e003f806bb7

These numbers are directly related to this article on Star Wars not the corp in general as theme park revenue remains strong and which are not connected to Star Wars and Marvel divisions.

As usual, you tell half the story to suit your rhetoric and ignore the direct facts.

.

Poor George. He sold out and his creation has now been relegated to a joke. Now he has to deal with answering ignorant questions about diversity when the answers are obvious. He had a slew of aliens present and a woman in authority but gets accused of lack of diversity. Watch their recent Acolyte sink like a rock.

Obviously a company led by smart people.

That made horrible movies recently.

If you put a believer in ‘go woke, go broke’ in charge it would be suicidal.

No, it would mean, people are coming back to their senses. No wonder more people are going to other theme parks.

Now these are the smart people.

https://chipandco.com/universal-beating-out-disney-on-theme-park-attendance-399625/

Poor George. He sold out and his creation has now been relegated to a joke. Now he has to deal with answering ignorant questions about diversity when the answers are obvious. He had a slew of aliens present and a woman in authority but gets accused of lack of diversity. Watch their recent Acolyte sink like a rock

Well, exactly. He trusted the snake and got bit. The next disastrous flop that’s coming is the new “Star Wars the Acolyte” the reviews have already been beyond disappointing and this is one of the worst anticipated woke movie to add to George Lucas‘s headaches

Getting a bit irritated with everything being criticized. Not enough this, not enough that. Not enough diversity, not enough LGBTQ ++++. Yes, we get it, but I wanna enjoy somethings without being made to feel, a) guilty the box wasn’t ticked. b) guilty cause I’m white. C) guilty cause I’m male. d) guilty cause there cause there isn’t gay character.(even though it’s nothing to do with the story at all. Imagine if we said black panther was tooo….

or Charlie’s Angels was

please make films for those characters and if it’s good. We’ll watch it. If it rubbish we won’t. It doesn’t have to be about (insert an agenda). I guess they’ll be ruining back to the future, James Bond, and saving Private Ryan next. Some criticism maybe fair in historical movies eg Native Americans, US civil war, etc. I want to enjoy Star Wars as Star Wars. Good v evil. Freedom v oppression.

What a great era it was to be young and dreaming

Previous generations said the same thing about their eras.

When films were good and people made ‘real’ music and all that.

I saw an interview with one of the first high profile female newscasters in the UK who faced abuse from people who if they were around today, would be getting all upset about ‘woke’. Nothing new but they probably would have used ‘going to the dogs’ or ‘hell in a hand basket’.

I saw an interview with one of the first high profile female newscasters in the UK who faced abuse from people who if they were around today, would be getting all upset about ‘woke’. Nothing new but they probably would have used ‘going to the dogs’ or ‘hell in a hand basket’.

Very different, nowadays people cannot decipher between a man and a woman, and they are told it doesn’t matter, you can be what you want, pushing a heavy gender issue as well as racial issue with a lot of sexual undertones to minors, something that wasn’t done on a heavy scale the way it is today, to the point where it’s been creeping in the educational system as well as the entertainment industry.

JimizoToday  12:03 pm JST

Previous generations said the same thing about their eras.

When films were good and people made ‘real’ music and all that.

I saw an interview with one of the first high profile female newscasters in the UK who faced abuse from people who if they were around today, would be getting all upset about ‘woke’. Nothing new but they probably would have used ‘going to the dogs’ or ‘hell in a hand basket’.

You can't stick to the topic and resort to irrelevant anecdotes because.......Lucas isn't guilty of lack of diversity in his films like you and other self proclaimed SJWs falsely claim. If he is, prove it. Judging by the fact that Star Wars and Marvel are losing billions of dollars and fans does prove 'go woke go broke'. The only ones that will be successful are those that stay away from the 'message' and are based on well written stories and characters that the vast majority of fans want.

Diversity criticism

Lucas also batted off criticism of "Star Wars" for being too white and too male.

Those who whine about being too white and too male are seldom, if ever, the ones who are putting in the time, effort and money to produce their own films.

They can only whine and expect someone else to do all the work.

you and other self proclaimed SJWs

SJW! Nostalgic!

I’m not a self-proclaimed SJW and never declared it. I’m not a fan of social injustice or any other injustice for that matter, but I wouldn’t call myself a SJW.

Keep it honest.

Judging by the fact that Star Wars and Marvel are losing billions of dollars and fans does prove 'go woke go broke'.

Does it? I’m not ruling it out but this doesn’t constitute proof. Maybe people think they are crap films regardless of their supposed wokery. Maybe these horses have been flogged to the point of nothing left to flog.

I know many Star Wars fans said the one with Liam Neeson in it was a pile of steaming crap. I saw the one where they called the kids ‘younglings’ - comedy classic. Some told me it jumped the shark with Ewoks making Tarzan calls.

Non-woke films can be crap as well.

I‘m more interested in the application of ‘go woke, go broke’ in all areas of business.

Are you in the camp of ‘go woke, go broke’ as an iron law of business? The holes in this have been repeatedly exposed.

‘Go woke, go broke’ should be a rallying cry for the easily upset and triggered to boycott and whine. That’s fair enough - we all whine and many boycott things.

I know many Star Wars fans said the one with Liam Neeson in it was a pile of steaming crap. 

It truly was. Episodes 1-3 were a steaming pile. So disappointing. I haven’t even bothered with 7-9; and it’s likely to stay that way. Nothing to do with ‘woke.’

And Bass, as for Disney being ‘woke,’ they’ve been like that since at least ‘the Jungle Book,’ ‘101 Dalmatians,’ and ‘Mary-bloomin’-Poppins.’ What do you think a “Happy Ending” is, if not ‘woke?’

JimizoToday  03:24 pm JST

you and other self proclaimed SJWs

SJW! Nostalgic!

I’m not a self-proclaimed SJW and never declared it. I’m not a fan of social injustice or any other injustice for that matter, but I wouldn’t call myself a SJW.

Keep it honest.

Judging by the fact that Star Wars and Marvel are losing billions of dollars and fans does prove 'go woke go broke'.

Does it? I’m not ruling it out but this doesn’t constitute proof. Maybe people think they are crap films regardless of their supposed wokery. Maybe these horses have been flogged to the point of nothing left to flog.

I know many Star Wars fans said the one with Liam Neeson in it was a pile of steaming crap. I saw the one where they called the kids ‘younglings’ - comedy classic. Some told me it jumped the shark with Ewoks making Tarzan calls.

Non-woke films can be crap as well.

I‘m more interested in the application of ‘go woke, go broke’ in all areas of business.

Are you in the camp of ‘go woke, go broke’ as an iron law of business? The holes in this have been repeatedly exposed.

‘Go woke, go broke’ should be a rallying cry for the easily upset and triggered to boycott and whine. That’s fair enough - we all whine and many boycott things.

So you admit that you too whine yet you post on every Taylor Swift thread calling out people who whine about her. It's just their opinion isn't it. What makes you so special and that you're entitled to yet deny others the same. Sounds like the MO of a self proclaimed SJW.

And here you are on a thread about Lucas being accused of a lack of diversity yet have no opinion on the topic itself and just drone on about the supposed nonexistence of 'go woke go broke'. Sounds like the MO of a self proclaimed SJW.

I asked a simple question. Is he guilty of lack of diversity and if so, provide evidence. Why else are you posting on this thread.

I asked a simple question. Is he guilty of lack of diversity and if so, provide evidence. Why else are you posting on this thread.

I’ll answer even if Jimizo will or won’t:

No. How can Lucas be? It’s a sci-fi/fantasy series of movies, set in space. And so-called ‘woke’ people require accuracy/diversity? SMH. It’s ridiculous in the extreme.

aaronagstringToday 03:47 pm JST

I know many Star Wars fans said the one with Liam Neeson in it was a pile of steaming crap. 

It truly was. Episodes 1-3 were a steaming pile. So disappointing. I haven’t even bothered with 7-9; and it’s likely to stay that way. Nothing to do with ‘woke.’

Two and three were as good as the classics, if a little rough around the edges technically. If the world is going to be destroyed, it is going to be destroyed by an angsty teenager. People still quote them and meme them.

Sounds like the MO of a self proclaimed SJW.

Do you know what ‘self-proclaimed’ means?

So you admit that you too whine yet you post on every Taylor Swift thread calling out people who whine about her. It's just their opinion isn't it. What makes you so special and that you're entitled to yet deny others the same

Who’s denying anyone anything? Whine all you like.

I whine about the current Conservative government in the UK. I’ll enjoy a conversation about if my whining is just whining or has some substance or validity. There may be some points I hadn’t considered.

Always good to hear or read an opposing point of view.

The ‘go woke, go broke’ point wasn’t raised by me on this thread but I am interested if anyone still sees it as an iron law of business. A far more important principle than one film series.

And here you are on a thread about Lucas being accused of a lack of diversity yet have no opinion on the topic itself

I’m less interested in this than the ‘go woke, go broke’ idea.

Still, Lucas said:

As for suggestions that the films lack women, Lucas asked: "Who do you think the heroes are of those films?"

"What do you think Princess Leia was? She is the head of the rebellion."

Sounds fair enough to me. She’s clever and brave. The film with the younglings also had a female politician if I remember right.

So, what do you think of ‘go woke, go broke’? Is it an iron law of business?

JimizoToday  05:00 pm JST

Sounds like the MO of a self proclaimed SJW.

Do you know what ‘self-proclaimed’ means?

So you admit that you too whine yet you post on every Taylor Swift thread calling out people who whine about her. It's just their opinion isn't it. What makes you so special and that you're entitled to yet deny others the same

Who’s denying anyone anything? Whine all you like.

I whine about the current Conservative government in the UK. I’ll enjoy a conversation about if my whining is just whining or has some substance or validity. There may be some points I hadn’t considered.

Always good to hear or read an opposing point of view.

The ‘go woke, go broke’ point wasn’t raised by me on this thread but I am interested if anyone still sees it as an iron law of business. A far more important principle than one film series.

And here you are on a thread about Lucas being accused of a lack of diversity yet have no opinion on the topic itself

I’m less interested in this than the ‘go woke, go broke’ idea.

Still, Lucas said:

As for suggestions that the films lack women, Lucas asked: "Who do you think the heroes are of those films?"

"What do you think Princess Leia was? She is the head of the rebellion."

Sounds fair enough to me. She’s clever and brave. The film with the younglings also had a female politician if I remember right.

So, what do you think of ‘go woke, go broke’? Is it an iron law of business?

You're constantly putting down or attacking anyone who has a negative opinion of Taylor Swift. Why aren't they entitled to their opinion and a whine. Why don't you just admit you're a closet fan instead of being all mealy-mouthed. I mean why else would you harbour such negativity toward her critics who according to you are entitled to their opinion. LOL! Hypocrisy at its finest.

Go woke go broke depends on one's definition of woke. If one wants to make a film about gay or lesbian relationships, all the more power to them. Barbie was clear from the get go that it would be a feminist-centered film. If the intention is clear and announced, it isn't woke to me. In this case, go woke go broke is clearly not the case as audiences know exactly what they're getting and those not interested in the subject matter needn't go.

Star Wars and Marvel are examples of go woke go broke for obvious reasons and it's actually happening. These corp divisions are severely losing money cause fans of these IPs are no longer watching or spending money on them. If your fans and revenue source are a certain demographic and you choose to ignore them and make products directed at a different minor demographic, then your business will fail. It's not rocket science.

Truth Social recorded a $300 million loss this quarter.

They can restructure, next?

Or they can go broke

The problem with Truth Social goes beyond just a net loss of $327.6 million in one quarter. After all, many tech companies were a loss leader in their early years

The big problem with Truth Social is that they only earned $770,500 in revenue. Not even a million USD! That's minuscule 0.235% of their net loss. Trump probably has that much loose change just in his couch!

They're burning thru money way faster than even Netflix or Amazon in their early years

Screw what critics have to say. Every person I knew back in 1977 wanted to see Star Wars and then The Empire Strikes Back and then Return of the Jedi. We did not care about the color of the characters because the stories, cinematography and special effects were off the charts. The characters are all iconic and Chewbacca was of my heroes. Darth Vader's theme is the best villain theme of all time. They didn't just hit it out of the park, it was a Grand Slam!

Disney is just one casualty.

But it isn’t. As already established Disney has continued to return record profits.

Yes, but I wish that would be reflected in the stock. Still not back at later 2019 levels.

"avant-garde" - aka crap to most people. With Lucas explaining that Star Wars was for 10-12 year olds, things make more sense. Ewoks and Jar-Jar still, always have and always will suck, but I can understand the choice.

American Graffiti was for an older generation than me.

At the time, Star Wars was good. I preferred Battlestar Galactic (the movie). Less "fantasy" and I never did get "the force" to work.

But it isn’t. As already established Disney has continued to return record profits.

Nah, Disney has been taking a big hit in Florida.

Are you in the camp of ‘go woke, go broke’ as an iron law of business? The holes in this have been repeatedly exposed. 

From the political left point of view, from the average normal and rational thinking point of view it has shown to be a huge and draining detriment to most societies.

‘Go woke, go broke’ should be a rallying cry for the easily upset and triggered to boycott and whine.

No, it should be a warning and should be taken seriously and stomped out like the out of control fire it has become and thankfully that is happening more and more, sanity is slowly prevailing once again.

That’s fair enough - we all whine and many boycott things.

And the results can be very devastating.

Legendary Disney filmmaker John Musker called out The Walt Disney Company for putting political messages ahead of story in its recent films. Musker, who co-directed some of the studio’s most popular films in recent decades, like "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin" and "Moana," commented on the state of Disney in a recent interview, saying the company needs to steer away from pushing a woke message and focus on characters and story above all.

"I think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters," Musker told Spanish outlet El País while at the Animayo International Summit in Gran Canaria last week. The director, who also helmed 2009’s "The Princess and The Frog" alongside co-director Ron Clements, got onto the subject of wokeness at Disney by bringing up criticism that the film about a Black princess was woke. 

"We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism," Musker said, following with commentary that the more recent films seem to be opting for message over story.

"The classic Disney films didn’t start out trying to have a message. They wanted you to get involved in the characters and the story and the world, and I think that’s still the heart of it," Musker said. "You don’t have to exclude agendas, but you have to first create characters who you sympathize with and who are compelling."

Disney has faced significant backlash in recent years from critics arguing that the media giant has promoted a woke agenda. Its corporate leaders have repeatedly clashed with conservative lawmakers, most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The company has experienced box office disappointments — like 2022’s pro-LGBTQ "Lightyear" — massive layoffs and a loss of 2.4 million subscribers from its Disney+ streaming service. Musker noted that the political agenda was never as aggressive at Disney during his heyday in the 1990s and 2000s as it is now, but he did have to alter some content for the sake of political correctness.

He told El País that he had to change the name of the city of Baghdad to "Agrabah" in "Aladdin" because of the Gulf War happening at the time. "Because of the war, we couldn’t even go there to do research. Our big research took place at the Saudi Arabian expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center," Musker said.

Forget woke and diversity, if we are talking about Star Wars. My main bugbear, after I stopped being 10-12 years old, was how the hell didn’t Luke know his father was Vader? Why was it such a surprise? Didn’t he apply to join ‘the Academy’ but couldn’t get in? “Oh, perhaps your father could put-in a good word for you?” knowing full well that Anakin Skywalker=Darth Vader? Didn’t he go to ‘market’ and such? Didn’t the people he trade with mention anything, even in passing, “I see your father is out destroying the Universe again, Mr. Skywalker. Hope they don’t come here, we don’t need any of that Rebel Alliance here, thank you very much.” Didn’t Wedge, upon meeting Luke again, say, “Hey, I heard a strange story in the canteen the other day. Someone was saying that Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader! Can you believe it? Wasn’t he your father?” And Luke didn’t know? Not even an inkling?