There aren't any surprises in the new STARWARS III teaser available for viewing on-line. More battles, more light-saber fights. My only disappoinment is the appearence of Darth Vader in this episode. Unrealistically, obviously, I was hoping George Lucas would hold off on Vader's actual appearence, for the sake of future audiences, until A NEW HOPE. Just nostalgia, I guess, having seen "A NEW HOPE" when it originally came out and remembering everyone's somewhat stunned "Whoa, who's this? " reaction. when Vader steps into the corridor and surveys the scene. If there's one thing you can say about Lucas, it's that he's no longer concerned with surprises; only creating one straight-forward and ultimately tiresome, repetitive narrative. True, I haven't seen the movie yet, but at this point, I'll base my bet on everything he's done with this series up to now that we'll be getting more CGI spectacle and not much story beyond what's already anticipated.

In other words...."same as it ever was" in Lucas' land of no-imagination.

:: In other words...."same as it ever was" in Lucas' land of no-imagination.

"...land of no imagination"??? Look, I've hardly been a fan of Lucas' recent STAR WARS prequels or his "enhancements" to the original trilogy, but is it really fair to dismiss the entire career of the man behind THX-1138, AMERICAN GRAFITTI, the original STAR WARS trilogy, the INDIANA JONES trilogy, and such companies as Skywalker Sound, ILM, Pixar, and the original technologies that eventually gave birth to the AVID digital editing system as coming from a "land of no imagination"? Come on! Say what you will about Lucas' recent movie output, but to dismiss him as having "no imagination" is just asinine in the extreme.

Vincent

What I think needs to be mentioned...is what about all of the men who created & produced & directed all of the source material that LUCAS has swiped from over the years?...These men were the TRUE GENIUS', creating images & characters that have been forgotten by todays generation, only to have Big Hollywood Fat Cats re-use it & get the credit...Give a loyal salute to men like
PHILIP NOWLAN & LT. DICK CALKINS(Creators of BUCK ROGERS)
ALEX RAYMOND(Creator of FLASH GORDON & JUNGLE JIM)..(This is the Man whom Lucas & his art directors took about every visual from to create his STAR WARS & INDIANA JONES)
MOVIE SERIAL DIRECTORS WILLIAM WITNEY, JOHN ENGLISH, FORD BEEBE, FREDERICK STEFANI, etc. (Directors of the Best Serials for UNIVERSAL & REPUBLIC(Serials like FLASH GORDON(1936), FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS (1938-Villian THE LIGHTNING is DARTH VADERS Father!!), THE GREEN HORNET(1940-John Williams copied the STAR WARS THEME from the Opening Chapter Sequences), etc., etc, etc..
GEORGE TRENDLE & FRAN STRIKER(Creators of the LONE RANGER, THE GREEN HORNET, & SGT. PRESTON)..
THE FILMS OF AKIRA KURASAWA
The list goes on & on...The point is that LUCAS, his ideas, his art department, SPIELBERG & all the other contemporaries have taken their ideas & visuals from what they grew up with as children...The term of GENIUS is thrown around so lightly these days, & I do give credit to these contemporaries for keeping the Lamps Burning/Keeping the Tradition, but it is still important to know the source material & to then attach to whom are the true GENIUS' & TALENTS...

I don't buy the idea that the first person to mine an idea is a true genius while all the others that follow and build on that idea, or a similar one, aren't. Not in all cases, anyway. Filmmaking isn't a race to the South Pole where the first one to sink the flag is the genius. Let's face it: basic narrative themes and storytelling structures have been around since the dawn of cinema -- hell, since the dawn of literature -- and we rarely experience truly original cinematic lightning bolts where filmmakers have created something that hasn't even been hinted at (technological advancements notwithstanding). (You could argue the same for music composition.) Creation and creativity runs so much deeper than that. While source material and inspiration should certainly be acknowledged and is interesting to discuss from an analytical perspective, I don't worship at the feet of "the first." To take an example, there is true genius and talent in a film like METROPOLIS (1927), but there is equal genius in many of the films that followed that riff on its ideas -- films like FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BLADE RUNNER. Even if George Lucas where to make sub par films for the rest of his days, I would not hesitate calling him a genius or a creative talent. Some of his films were truly revolutionary, films that shattered the mold of traditional American science fiction and commercial filmmaking and changed the world of film forever. The list of men who have accomplished such feats in their career is preciously short. The fact that Lucas was inspired by films and filmmakers from previous generations doesn't compromise his genius or accomplishments in any away as far as I'm concerned.

To follow Kant, genius consists of two qualities: technical skill which may be learned, and innate ineffable talent which cannot.

Can the practice of imitation therefore be a component part of the development of genius, or not?

I'd also suggest this debate is inflected by auteurism.

To me, the definition of Genius represents a Talent who is able to touch me, by bringing out the Highest Emotional Response that can be achieved, for that particular artform...An example on my part...is how I feel when I listen to all the different elements taking place during the song "ALL TOMMORROW'S PARTIES", by The Velvet Underground & Nico...The repetitive Barrelhouse Piano/Nico's Vocals/& the way it is recorded touches me more than most other Musicians I listen to...actually Otis Redding does it too...
Truthfully I love LUCAS' work...I saw STAR WARS when it opened, as well as EMPIRE & JEDI..Cutting School on opening day, first 1pm showing, standing on line for hours at the LOEW'S ASTOR PLAZA on 44th st. & B'way in Manhattan. For EMPIRE, I was on Acid & was center isle/14th row, enveloped in the screen for what was probably the most exhilirating Cinema experience I've ever had...The rollercoaster ride of those Snowspeeders & the rest I will never forget...I did not, though it may sound like, mean that my feelings represent the "say all" for who is a Genius or not. We all have our opinions, & thankfully so. We here at MOBIUS still have our humanity & true love for the Creative Arts...I just wanted to acknowledge the source material for those who don't know, & for those long gone & can't speak up about their accomplishments..., as it's their work that touches me more than any contemporary.
Every Time a Person Dies,...Is like a Library Burning Down...