George Lucas Talks to Carrie Fisher

By James Wray Sep 10, 2004, 0:24 GMT

As Star Wars fever escalates with the upcoming DVD release of the Star Wars Trilogy, Sound & Vision's October issue provides an exclusive interview with legendary Star Wars Director George Lucas conducted by his favorite princess Carrie Fisher.

Lucas, the first person to show a major motion picture digitally and the inventor of the THX program, has always been at the forefront of digital technology and he reveals his thoughts about digital projection, movie theaters, home theater systems and piracy.

The interview is a personal exchange between the normally private Lucas and Fisher, who have been close friends since working together on the first Star Wars feature, and this marks the first time she has interviewed him for a magazine. The article is filled with her irreverent personality, drawing out a side of Lucas that fans rarely see. The issue hits nationwide newsstands Tuesday, September 14.

Quote Highlights from Fisher's Interview with Lucas:

On the Star Wars films,

Lucas says "I still enjoy the films quite a bit. They still hold up for me."

Does Lucas watch films over and over again on his home theater system?

"The most I've ever seen a film was about ten times, and that was Hard Day's Night in film school. Now, if I see a film more than once, it's by accident."

Of today's movie theater experience he comments,

 "In some cases, it's getting better, but in a lot of cases it's the same as it has been. It's very hard to get people to understand that if they would use digital projectors, the quality of the prints the quality of the film itself would stay high rather than degenerating over the few weeks it runs in the theater."

With the advances in technology and sophisticated home theater systems, will people ever stop going to the movies?

Lucas believes, "... people will always go to communal events because humans are social animals. They'll always go to the opera and the ballet, and they'll always go to the movies."

On the timing of the Star Wars Trilogy DVD release he explains,

"It was supposed to come out later, but piracy being the way it is, it's getting harder and harder to release DVD's. Soon, it's going to be impossible because they'll all be pirated."

Is he surprised by the advancements in home theater systems?

"No. It's an inevitable evolutionary process. I expect them to get bigger and better, with more storage. We've already reached the acceptable side of things in terms of image quality."

Have Lucas' tastes changed over the years?

"Um, I seem to like younger and younger girls as time goes by. It's not that I'm getting older;it's just that they seem to get younger." Sound & Vision is published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.

Source: Sound & Vision Magazine