Hermie Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/02/media.lucas.reut/index.html LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- Think George Lucas is going to take it easy now that he's completed his final "Star Wars" trilogy? Think again. Lucas revealed Monday that he wants to bring the wonders of 3-D animation to Asia, produce television shows much more cheaply than the rest of the industry, and make sure that his Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) effects house doesn't lose its famed camaraderie and creative spunk. "I put all of my resources into pushing the evolution in an industry that is notoriously backwards and I enjoy pushing that envelope," Lucas told an audience of thousands during an hourlong Q&A at the Siggraph computer graphics confab at the Los Angeles Convention Center. "I'm lucky enough that there is never a blank canvas in front of me," Lucas mused. "I have hundreds of projects that I want to do but I am running out of time." Lucas is producing his upcoming series "Clone Wars" in 3D animation and building a facility in Singapore to "use the amazing artistic talents in the Asian community," he said. "A lot of (Asia) is still trying to move into the 3D age. I set up a plan to speed up the process and to build up the community there. I also look at this as a way to get my foot into anime," he said. Television is also new frontier for the use of digital tools, he said. "What would normally cost $20 million-$30 million we can do for $1 million," Lucas promised. He is shooting a live-action series on a small Sony digital consumer camera. Asked if, like Walt Disney, he wanted to create a media empire, Lucas said: "My life is too short to become a film studio." "A big company has its downsides," he added. "It's kind of like a shark. If it doesn't swim then it dies. If you grow and get bigger and bigger then you collapse. ILM has reached a level where we don't want to get any bigger. We're the oldest and most advanced visual effects studio today." Clearly alluding to the growth and competitive strength of rival effects house Sony Pictures Imageworks, Lucas said: "If some studio wants to come along and throw money around they can do that. But we don't want to lose the camraderie and creative environment we have at ILM." Lucas also said thinks that with advances in voice recognition technology and artifical intelligence, the fast-growing realm of video and online gaming will move well beyond basic first-person shooter narratives. "I want to get to a point where you can talk to the game and it will talk back, Lucas said. Found this at an anime forum, they were all like "zOmg Lucas don't u kill anime 2!!11" Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 It doesn't specifically say that he is producing stuff in anime style. Though most US animation has moved towards anime in style over the last few years. Probably because most of it is produced there as labour is cheaper. Can he produce stuff cheaper because of computers, or because of cheap labour? I'm interested to know what this 3d clone wars will be. Most of the charm of Clone Wars was in the stylised 2d character representations... and most of the space battle scenes were already done in 3d. So is he gonna make it like THe Incredibles (which i think will loose the charm), or is he gonna cell shade it, which probably won't be much different to the original clone wars? With cartoon network, the internet and the upcoming James Cameron film - anime is getting more mainstream than it was in the past. he's not going to ruin it, i just don't see what he is actually doing that is "new" or newsworthy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 he's not going to ruin it, Indeed. There is tons of crap anime out there. It's not like it is this pure artform and he is all of a sudden going to sully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeskywalker1 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 How is this anime though? He said computer animation not computer anime. However, I think CG Anime looks cool if done right I don't think anime will go to well with star wars, however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 whats the big deal...Lucas is just saying that he sees computer animation as the way of the future for that genre. Alot of what seems traditional animation/anime now has computer generated elements. Compare the simpsons and futurama for example... And both of these shows are of course actually made in Asia... I still dont know why theyre sticking with clone wars for the 3D CGI series...the clone wars ended with Order 66 and the killing of the separatists mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermie Posted August 4, 2005 Author Share Posted August 4, 2005 How is this anime though? He said computer animation not computer anime. He keeps talking about inspiration from asian artists. anime = japanese word for animation/moving pictures, if I'm not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alegis Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 "What would normally cost $20 million-$30 million we can do for $1 million," Lucas promised. He is shooting a live-action series on a small Sony digital consumer camera. Impressive. Well I'm very curious at the final result, hope it's a great success Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Most of the charm of Clone Wars was in the stylised 2d character representations... The charm was in that they were well written storylines that were fun to experience, the animation was nothing special. he's not going to ruin it, i just don't see what he is actually doing that is "new" or newsworthy... Perhaps he's changing his approach? I'm curious about the live-action. I'm hoping he does it in a gritty war-documentary fashion filming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lassev Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Although my first thoughts were hostile, I realise it can't really have any significant negative impact. Computers are of course already used in anime industry, so that's nothing new. 3D is another matter entirely, another style, to be precise. There are some anime shows using that style already. It seems to me like Lucas just wants to develop and offer new tools for the industry. It's up to the customers to choose them or not. Of course his own products would use them, no doubt, but only time will tell how succesful they are. However, it might not be easy for a such an old figure of live action movies to enter such a totally different field. But since he appreciates the local talents, he just might make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I guess you always got the impression from the OT and EU that a fair number of jedi survived the order 66 bit, and vader spent a few years hunting them down. That would make a fairly good, if dark twist on the clone wars concept... (plus i've always thought that would be a cool game.) I'm still having a hard time visualising either Anime or the Clone wars style characters in full 3d. A lot of PS games have anime type characters, but for the full 3d cutscenes they end up looking much more realistic and less stylised. Still, i'm sure it CAN be done well... though I'm still not sure that is what Lucas is intending. A "gritty war style" Star Wars series would be cool, but not exactly original... (battlestar galactica, plus every other shakey-camera type tv series out there). Heck, Stephen Bochco started tat back in the 70s with Hill St Blues and then NYPD Blue (jimmy smits link!!!!) and its used in most things since Private Ryan. Everything Lucas mentions seems interesting, but none of it seems new or original. Just jumping on whatever trend is popular at the moment. (nothing wrong with that tho). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I think what's original will be in the way he approaches things and execution. Probably new standards for the industry rather than final product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katarn07 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I was under the impression this 3D Clone Wars series was a remake of the ugly, icky anime rip off Samurai Jack styled thing I couldn't bare to watch because A) it was 2 seconds long and B) the animation and artwork was terrible. I thought he was changing it to something a bit more traditional people like me could enjoy. I'm not bashing anime. I used to, but seeing some made me start to appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiE23 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 I think what Lucas is trying to say is that unlike the movies where its a great, awesome CGI world that has real life characters talking to eachother on a green screen, he is going to computer generate the characters. Heh-heh... I just hope he doesn't embaress himself or really mess up. TiE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IG-64 Posted August 4, 2005 Share Posted August 4, 2005 Personally, I think clone wars + CGI = Pure awesomeness. >_> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeskywalker1 Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 He keeps talking about inspiration from asian artists. anime = japanese word for animation/moving pictures, if I'm not mistaken. Hmm, but anime has a specific style, just look at my sig. The long pointy clusters of hair, huge eyes, and just exagerated/slightly warped facial features in general. Anime can mean animation, or japanimation. The word originiated in Japan. The word Manga means "Comic" in Japanese. I think it shares the same style. Osamu Tezuka is known as the father of Anime. After world war II americans were getting the japenese to animate (or they were starting to animate) I read about this somewhere... but I can't remember all the details. Osamu Tezuka was the most popular japanese artist. He was fascinated by Disney characters, and his style of drawing the most popular anime style. Notice the large eyes on characters such as Bambi, and Mickey Mouse. Thats why anime characters have huge eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Uh... not all anime is done like that, infact most early anime wasn't. The style(s) typically associated with anime came about due to using cost effective ways to do animation. And probably the best anime out there is Dead Leaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 ...The word Manga means "Comic" in Japanese.... *Bzzzt* A man with an anime av should know better... Manga ACTUALLY means 'irresponsible pictures'.. though it is the standard term to describes comics/cartoons now mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermie Posted August 5, 2005 Author Share Posted August 5, 2005 Hmm, but anime has a specific style, just look at my sig. The long pointy clusters of hair, huge eyes, and just exagerated/slightly warped facial features in general. Anime can mean animation, or japanimation. The word originiated in Japan. The word Manga means "Comic" in Japanese. I think it shares the same style. Osamu Tezuka is known as the father of Anime. After world war II americans were getting the japenese to animate (or they were starting to animate) I read about this somewhere... but I can't remember all the details. Osamu Tezuka was the most popular japanese artist. He was fascinated by Disney characters, and his style of drawing the most popular anime style. Notice the large eyes on characters such as Bambi, and Mickey Mouse. Thats why anime characters have huge eyes. I am one of the people you definetly don't have to lecture about anime, I knew all this stuff. What I was saying is that (at least to us westerons), most animation from asia are made in the style that we know as anime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toms Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 I've always thought the charm with animation was the style it was done in, rather than the technical proficiency. Some of the best, most original and most memorable animation had a very simple style, where some of the most technicall impressive stuff can be very soul-less and bland. A lot of that is down to personal preference. I much prefer and to something like or and i'm pretty sure that the ship in this pic is 3d cgi anyway but until we see some more details of how they are going to do it its probably pointless to speculate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeskywalker1 Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Well, Lucas won't make it look like the ep 3 game, or any other. It would at least be equal to next gen console graphics, or better. I would assume it would be Pixar quality, or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Windu Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Hey, I don't mind if Lucas goes 3d for the Clone Wars series, as long as he does it right. Samurai Champloo for the win >_> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevanA4 Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 I just hope it doesn't turn out to be the gaming equivalent of ep1 and 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjølen Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Well, it's sort of like cell-shaded 3D animation, right? It's 3D, sort of, with anime style covering it up so you don't have to spend time and money drawing the people all the time. So long as the backgrounds are beautifully drawn, and I don't notice any difference, I'll be fine. This is, of course, assuming they'll use CGI for anime. Does anyone else think that Lucas "pushing the evolution in an industry that is notoriously backwards" is a bit of an insult? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevanA4 Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 just a little Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Sitherino Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Does anyone else think that Lucas "pushing the evolution in an industry that is notoriously backwards" is a bit of an insult? Bastards deserve it so whatever. And don't you think unleashing "You Got Served" was insulting as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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