Gary Kurtz disses toys.

[Aspiring Mogul]

Gary Kurtz was the producer of Episodes 4 and 5, but he left the franchise because he felt that George Lucas was beginning to focus too much on toys and not on the story - he said Empire (Ep 5) was character driven, but the following one was not. He also did not like the writers having to look over their shoulders, in the sense of deciding what toys could be advertised on the movies.

He's right to a great extent, but I don't think the writers should be given a completely free hand. Marketing and toys are important, so there has to be some give and take.

That said, Lucasfilm, according to the article, disagrees with his version of events, saying that the history as set out in Jonathan W. Rinzler's book, "The Making of the Empire Strikes Back", was a more accurate version of what happened.

 

[Doghouse Reilly]

Yeah I can see where he's coming from, but like he says;

They make three times as much on toys as they do on films.

Can you blame them then for looking over the writers shoulders? It is a business after all.

Personally I never felt 'Return of the Jedi' was all that different to 'Empire Strikes Back' anyway in terms of "story and character". In fact, I don't even think the prequels were all that different from the original three in that regard either.

The comments by Kurtz ... speak to a churning pop-culture debate about the enduring legacy of Lucas and the trajectory of his still-unfolding "Star Wars" mythology.

Lucas really is a fascinating character, I think, from a 'cinema study' perspective. It will be really interesting to see how he is remembered when his filmmaking days are over. Don't they say while you're alive you're only as good as your worst film, but when you're gone you're revered for your best work...

That doco "The People VS George Lucas" sounds interesting too.

Anyone here ever get into the 'Star Wars' toys? I had a heap of 'Batman' figurines as a kid, guess I missed the boat on S.W.

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

Well, I've been thinking about this.

Empire is different from Return, because Empire had feelings and tension - Yoda and Obi-Wan were concerned about Luke recklessly taking off to rescue his friends; Leia and Chewbecca looking fearfully as Han was put in the freezing chamber, and so on. Return was just a story of good guys going to beat the bad guys, a love story, and then a happy ending.

As for the toys, Empire is one of the greatest SF movies ever made, and it had lots of toys - the snow monster, the snow camels that Han was riding on, the Imperial assault walkers, the tiny ships used to combat them, and, of course, Luke's X-wing fighter. Go for the story with the adventure, and the toys will be there.

Thanks for giving me an opportunity to post, Doghouse Reilly.