The filmmakers themselves, Robert Muratore at left and Alexandre O. Philippe at right:
Photo Courtesy dannychoo.com
One of my favorite films from The 2010 Los Angeles Film Festival was also one of the films that was the most entertaining, and more importantly, the film that is going to have the most legs, getting theater play so you can see it. Great news was dropped at the screening that went down at the righteous Ford Amphitheatre as The People vs. George Lucas announced they have gotten a sales agent and checking their Facebook page, they recently commented in response to someone's disappointment that they were not able to see the film. PvG wrote "Patience, Rick, patience! :) We now have a sales agent, and are working on distribution plans. Believe us, this film WILL be released in the near future." There it is, from the horse's mouth, you will get to see this film, and you are going to love it. I was able to sit down with Director/Producer Alexandre O. Philippe and Producer/Director of Photography Robert Muratore at LAFF and talk about the unique creation that The People Vs. George Lucas. Here is what we talked about and if you have not checked it out yet, please see the review I did of the film.
The first thing I wanted to talk about was how much, if any contact with George Lucas did they have, did he support the making of the film, kind of trying to get a sense of the situation. Philippe began by explaining they launched the website for the film in 2007 and one of the first people they contacted was Lucas Films. "We wanted to be very open about what we were doing and to let them know not to worry, that this was going to be a cultural examination of this unique dynamic in pop culture, it's not going to be a George Lucas bashing movie, and we'd like you to participate. Their response since then has been we welcome the debate, but we do not feel like we should participate." They felt this was fair, they respected the choice, but they had a story to tell. He added that "we really hope that people get to see it and recognize it for the balanced debate that it is." It was amazing how they navigated the vitriol on both sides of this debate to do just that.
Being that myself and most of those who have seen or reviewed the film feel that it was balanced and fair, I wanted to find out more about a few death threats that they received. How in the world did people get so bent out of shape, I mean, it really is an entertaining film that should not bring up this type of response. Philippe started by saying, "Yeah, I think with the death threats it was just people who never got beyond our title. The title is what it is, you know, but we're not the people, we're documentary filmmakers looking at this phenomenon that is the people vs. George Lucas. And it's unfortunate, but there's always going to be people out there who think you went too far, there are people who will watch the film and think we didn't go far enough. At the end of the day, we had to make the film that we believed we needed to make." He added, "We really wanted to give the fans a voice in the film, and those voices are obviously very eclectic, coming from all possible perspectives, but also make the film hugely entertaining, and one of the most gratifying things for me right now, watching the film in front of audiences, is the amount of laughter, the reactions, people even breaking into applause in the middle of the film. It's really, really a fun thing. Maybe the best way that I can describe this film is it's a popcorn documentary. It raises some bigger issues and larger themes, but at the end of the day, if you want to have a good time, whether you're a Star Wars fan or not, you come see this film, and chances are, I think you're going to have a fun 90 minutes."
I wanted to talk more about the concept they talked about in their press releases, that this film is a participatory documentary. I was curious what this means to them, and why they made this choice with the film. Muratore jumped in first, saying, "early on, we decided to open it up to the fan base, the people who really watch Lucas carefully, have followed his career, because we knew we were going to get some amazing and vastly different perspectives on the subject. So the original website, when we launched, it was set up to allow people to participate. It had a set of guidelines and it gave the fans a platform to send us their materials, whether it be interviewing themselves, their own fan films, rants, animation, puppet rants, all sorts of different things." He continued talking more about their process, saying, "we had our own method as far as the specific people we pursued for interviews, so that was one side of it, and then the fans themselves."
The director of The People vs. George Lucas, Alexandre O. Philippe: Photo Courtesy Robert Muratore
Philippe was next, talking a bit about the volume of footage they received, some 630 hours worth, which led into something I thought was really cool that they did, which was they watched all of the footage, everything they got. Philippe said "Absolutely, absolutely, even some amateurish web camera rants made it into the film. It was a pleasure, and the way in which the fans participated in this film, they can sort of take ownership. In fact, three days ago in Edinburgh (EIFF), there was a point in the film, maybe like three seconds of a fan film, where people just broke into applause, and it turns out, the people who actually made that film went from London to Edinburgh just to see if they made the cut, and they did, and they were so happy. So we talked afterwards, took our picture with them, they were just really thrilled, they felt like they were part of something bigger. I think the fans really have fueled this project, and their energy has, and it's a pretty magical thing." I told them that they made film fans for life of those people if they were not already, which made them smile, and it should. Making films can be a positive, entertaining, and rewarding experience unlike any other.
I wanted to get to know where they were coming from a little more, so I jumped into talking about one of the most divisive issues among fans, the prequel films. Everyone starts laughing, a great moment, as Philippe says to Muratore, "Why don't you start?" Muratore obliged by saying, "Speaking for myself, I come from the old generation who saw the films, the original trilogy, in the theaters when I was a kid, so I think I follow a lot of people in that I had certain preconceived notions, and of course, unusually high expectations of what the prequels would be like, so for me, I was vastly disappointed. They just didn't seem to me that they did justice to the original films, and they didn't connect with me in the same way. Part of that, I guess, is it because I'm from a different generation, is it because the films themselves weren't the same quality of writing or craftsmanship, I am not sure. But I definitely did not respond to them like I did the original trilogy." Being from this generation as well, I feel the same way. Next up was Philippe.
He did not mince words. "Well, I think to put it bluntly, I'm not a fan. But that said, I think I'm grateful for the prequels because I am absolutely fascinated by this cultural backlash, and without the prequels, without those controversies, we would not have made this particular film. So when people ask me, for example, about Jar Jar Binks, well I'm grateful for Jar Jar Binks, because after all, don't we all kind of really enjoy hating the heck out of that character. I mean, we can ask ourselves that question until we are in retirement homes, 'Why Jar Jar Binks?', how did George Lucas come up with that? But again, at the end of the day, the guy gave us Star Wars, he gave us some amazing movies, and so if we could even prove that they are bad films, so what, right?" I couldn't disagree. He continued, "The fact of the matter is we have those great films that we hopefully will have forever, although that's in question because of his refusal to restore the original theatrical films, which is actually the largest issues we explore in our documentary." Well put, great perspective, and trust me when I tell you that the film does not feel like it pushes these discussions one way or another, focusing instead on providing a breadth of views on the subjects and allowing the viewer to make their own choices, just as all great documentaries do.
I wanted to take advantage of having two clearly motivated and skilled filmmakers at my disposal for a few more minutes, so I asked them if they had any advice for beginning filmmakers, like myself, on how to wade through a mountain of material for a documentary as they had to. Philippe jumped right in, saying, "Well, I think it's two things. First of all you have to commit to it, and secondly, I think you better have a story in mind, and a structure, have an overall arc, to be able to sort through that footage and figure out what's going to fit and what's not, because if you don't, you're in trouble. My background is screenwriting, I went to the dramatic writing program at NYU, so for me, story is always the foundation. If you don't have a good story, you're not going to have a good film. So for us, before we even shot anything, before we even received our first submission, there was a story and a structure that was already in place. That doesn't mean that things are not going to change, slightly over time, but you have something that can tell you this is going to belong, and this is not going to belong." Take heed of this filmmakers out there.
Producer and Director of Photography on The People vs, George Lucas, Robert Muratore:
Photo Courtesy Paul Trantow
I continued on, talking about how Star Wars, the fans, George Lucas, how they are all intertwined, and moreover, how they are dependent on each other for their own existence. I wanted to know if they found out a reason above all else that there is the animosity between the two sides. I wondered if it is just the prequels or is it something deeper than that. Philippe felt it was probably more about the special editions of the original films. He said as well that, "George is entitled to release different versions of his films. The problem arises when you refuse to restore and release a film that won seven Academy Awards, in its original form. That becomes problematic, because now, you're dealing with someone who is tampering with film history, and it raises the larger question, which is, does Star Wars belong to George Lucas or does it also belong to the fans?" I said that my assumption is ultimately, they want the audience to answer these questions themselves. He agreed, saying that you just can't do that with a film, and that "Legally, the films belong to him, that's clear cut. Morally, ethically, that's a lot more complex."
I moved over to Muratore to get his take on this. He said, "I think, in a way, it's as George said before, he's making these films, these products for kids. You could say that about the original trilogy, but it had a lot of adult themes and it plays really well to adults. But if you look at that, it seems there are certain contradictions along the way, including in the prequels, where there is a lot of heady talk about trade federations, and embargos, and all sorts of things that are a little above the heads of most children."
I jumped in and talked about what the future may bring for Lucas and Star Wars, saying, "It's like, I hold out hope that at some point, maybe he tries to return to a film more like the original ones." Philippe quickly noted, "You almost just quoted our film. He almost says it exactly the way you just said it." Philippe and I agreed that this could happen, but as Philippe points out, "I'd like to see him try something new, something a little different, but we also have to realize that, you know, George Lucas doesn't really owe us anything anymore. I think he's given us plenty, and if he's just content now doing some television shows, then that's his prerogative. But sure, of course I would personally like to see him hand over the reins to some filmmakers who are in their prime now." I posed that it seems he has relationships with a lot of the great filmmakers today, as so many films go to Skywalker Ranch for post-production work, he must have people for this. Philippe said, "All he needs to do is pick up the phone. I mean, is there a single filmmaker, I guess there probably are, but is there a filmmaker out there who would not want to do a Star Wars movie if given creative control? They would totally go for it. That's it though, he has this really special thing, why not hand over the reins and then go do some other types of movies that he has said he always wanted to do. Go back to his experimental roots and do something new, and fresh, and challenging." He tempered this thought with reality. "This is all nice to think that, but he is I believe, 66 years old now. I'm not a 66 year old filmmaker, I don't know what it's like. He can certainly enjoy the fruits of his success if that's his choice."
That was where we left things for now as the future of The People vs. George Lucas looks to be bright, with several more festivals lining up, and then almost certain distribution that will be coming for the film, as they have picked up a sales agent and are wading through the process. The next festival up for the film is the 14th Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) in South Korea, with the film screening on July 22nd. Check the festival website linked below for more details on time and location. Also be aware that the best way to follow the progress and news about this film is to check their website, The People vs. George Lucas, and check back here, as I will keep following along with this great story, and really, you couldn't find two more appreciative, engaging, and nicer guys than Philippe and Muratore, so be sure to get out there and support this film, but most of all, get out there and enjoy this film, as that is what it ultimately is about. If you are interested in following along with the coverage of The People vs. George Lucas, the Los Angeles Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and other film festivals in the future, you can receive these articles directly as they are published by clicking on the “Subscribe” button at the top of this piece. You can also follow me on Twitter by searching for ericshlapack or by clicking the link below.
For more info:
The People Vs. George Lucas website
My review of The People vs. George Lucas
The Los Angeles Film Festival
Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan)
The Edinburgh International Film Festival
AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs
dannychoo.com
My coverage of EIFF
My coverage of LAFF
Follow me on Twitter
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