George Lucas retiring over non-funding of black action flick
George Lucas has revealed that he is retiring from making blockbuster movies as Hollywood refused to fund his latest movie because it has a black cast.
|Last Updated: Jan 19, 2012, 03:56 PM IST|Source: Bureau
London: George Lucas has revealed that he is retiring from making blockbuster movies as Hollywood refused to fund his latest movie because it has a black cast.
The ‘Star Wars’ creator has been working on his latest venture ‘Red Tails’ for 23 years, but had to finance it himself after rejections from major studios.
The film is being released in US cinemas on Friday and tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a pioneering group of black pilots who fought in the Second World War.
It stars Cuba Gooding Jr and Terrence Howard, and is overseen by black director Anthony Hemingway.
“I figured if I could get the prints and ads paid for by the studios that they would release it,” the Telegraph quoted the 67-year-old filmmaker as telling the New York Times.
“I showed it to all of them and they said ‘No. We don’t know how to market a movie like this’.
“It’s because it’s an all black movie.
“There’s no major white roles in it at all.
“It’s one of the first all black action pictures ever made,” he said.
Lucas said the 58 million-dollar budget was “reasonably expensive” and studios were used to movies with black casts being made for less.
He was also told the studios did not believe there was a foreign market for the film.
The director, whose movies have made billions of dollars, said one studio’s executives didn’t even bother to turn up for the screening of ‘Red Tails’.
“Isn’t this their job? Isn’t their job at least to see movies?
“I’m retiring. I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff,” he added.
He intends to return to making experimental, low budget art house films of the kind he created as a student.
ANI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.