George Lucas: A Life

Written by Brian Jay Jones, who has previously authored a biography of Jim Henson, returns with a new biography on another creative force that seismically challenged the cultural landscape of the late Twentieth Century, in this instance it is the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.

Jones is a wonderful researcher and he uses his biography to cover the entirety of Lucas' life and career and not focusing on the space opera he created in the 1970s; he goes in depth on American Graffiti which was the film he made in 1973 and was the classic case of a small independent film becoming a phenomenon, the Blair Witch Project of its day.

Yet Jones does not merely focus on the impact of the film on so many film-makers but also the process of making such a film had on Lucas and his creativity.  Lucas had a short schedule of a few weeks and had to shoot most of the film at nights with a skeleton crew and novice cast; yet Lucas was able to meld the apparent mess and create a force on the screen, one that got people jumping out of their seats by the end.

If American Graffiti was a shot between the eyes, his next film Star Wars, would blow your head clean off. A film that 20th Century Fox were not comfortable with, Jones makes it clear how fortunate Lucas and his producer, Gary Kurtz were in that they had the support of Alan Ladd Jr. in the process of production - Ladd gained Lucas the extra money for shooting and held studio heads at bay who were worried about the production going into free fall and becoming a disaster.

However, Lucas' sheer bloody mindedness and determination to succeed, drove him through the post-production getting results from his fledgling effects company Industrial Light and Magic to create the thrilling trench run at the end of Star Wars.  Throughout, the book makes clear that whilst Lucas may have drawbacks as a director (his reluctance to actually direct actors) and is a better producer and collaborator as the chapters on the Indiana Jones films with Steven Spielberg can attest to.

Lucas, much like Jim Henson, was a maker of legends and myths not only on the big screen. Without his drive to ambition for a cinema that no-one had ever seen before, you would not have the Star Wars universe, you would not have the phenomenal body of work ILM has created in its catalogue and from ILM sprang another game-changing company, Pixar. His influence and use of computer technology has changed film and movies forever.

The post-Return of the Jedi years were not kind to Lucas and whilst he remained a producer people wanted him to return to Star Wars and so he sat down and wrote The Phantom Menace which was released in 1999, yet the world was starting to change with another fantasy behemoth The Lord of the Rings pushing the envelope further than maybe Lucas thought was possible.

Author - Brian Jay Jones

Jones tells the story of the prequel trilogy and does state reviewers criticism of them, but he does state how badly organised the films were in terms of production. Filming began on Attack of the Clones without a completed script, shooting on the fly with virtually all green screens for his actors to act opposite tennis balls and sticks.

The book concludes with mention of Lucas selling Lucasfilm to the Walt Disney Company for a $4.7billion fee and how he was ignored by the new company in regards to plot development for Episode VII: The Force Awakens. This leaves a sour taste in Lucas' mouth but also an unfortunate glance at current society that once you make it big and become such a part of the cultural zeitgeist, people do not care for how you feel, they merely want to consume your product whichever way possible.

Now Lucas is not tied to the Star Wars universe, he is an onlooker taking in what he created. Yet what he has created has had possibly the biggest ripple effect of cultural significance known to culture and arts.

George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones is available now from Little Brown & Company

Next to You

I might sometimes feel the cold

But when I'm next to you

I feel warm

Cold can get you

when you least expect

It can chill your bones

And your nose is next

But holding you

Makes it all worthwhile

Makes me beam

and makes me smile

It warms my heart

Like it warms my bones

Being with you

Makes me feel wonderful

I sometimes feel the cold

But next to you, I feel warm.

Rogue One

Not the next episode of the franchise but instead listed as a Star Wars story, Rogue One tells the story of how the rebel alliance stole the plans to destroy the first Death Star featured in Star Wars: A New Hope.

Directed by British filmmaker Gareth Edwards whose movies have slowly got bigger in terms of budget and scale from Monsters to Godzilla to now the biggest film franchise in history. Edwards is a solid filmmaker big on visual stimulus combined with the small minutiae of characterisation.

Rogue One is a film full of characters ranging from the young girl who grows up vengeful of her mother's murder and father's disappearance; a lack of loyalty is juxtaposed with the need to belong to a group. Felicity Jones plays Jyn Erso, with the correct blend of feistiness you expect from a rebel but is very on trend at moment with strong independent female roles leading mega-blockbusters.

Jones who is in a hot streak at moment is ably supported by an eclectic and culturally diverse group of rebels from Diego Luna's Cassian Andor the leader of rebellion crew who break Jyn out of jail. On their travel across the galaxy they stop on Juhha, where they encounter Chirrut (Donnie Yen) and Baze (Wen Jiang) as they combine to escape the clutches of the Empire.

The film is a major spectacle and Star Wars fans will not be disappointed by this first story out of the order of the still ongoing franchise.  Edwards has acquited himself well and made a film that is both entertaining and is overtly political, it is not afraid to state the case that all war is futile and costly. This is the cruelest of war films as the people you have fought with and seen fighting for what they believe in all suffer unwelcome ends.

As a film it is not without its flaws, the first twenty minutes are a bit of a grind with the constant jumping from star system to alternative star system is a bit confusing and annoying, coupled with the silly story thread of Forrest Whittaker's role as Saw Gerrera who is a bombastic Caribbean rebel who is old and not that wise, the scenes he appears in are slow and grating especially when his pet space slug attempts to extract information from Riz Ahmed's turncoat pilot.

This is a seriously awful moment that nevertheless does not jump the shark thanks in part to the later scenes with Chirrut and Baze; however, it felt like the filmmakers wanting you to remember this may be a war/spy film but within a science fiction universe.

Ben Mendelsohn a solid performer in Bloodline, gives a good performance as the Director and creator of the Death Star who is feeling shunned by the higher powers and must fight for recognition; in what is essentially limited screen time but sufficient enough for us to boo and hiss him, he conveys enough of a villain with his mere presence alone.

At times it is as if the film wants to be a film that borrows the Star Wars mystique and oeuvre ('I am one with the Force', Darth Vader, Jimmy Smits!) without ever saying we are a Star Wars film.

This reviewer might be nit picking but I was pleased with how the film neatly brought it up to the beginning of A New Hope, especially on the day that Carrie Fisher died. The image of Princess Leia stating hope was both a touching tribute to the legacy her role has been to the cultural landscape and made me want to go home straight away and put on A New Hope.

Personally, I would appreciate more stories such as this rather than the incoming swath of origin movies we will have coming our way in the next five years ranging from Han Solo to Lando to Boba Fett.

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Why Rent is still on the money

Going to the theatre is a great experience, going to see something for the first time is a better one. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its original Broadway production, Rent is doing a limited run at the St. James' Theatre.

Rent is the Pulitzer Prize winning musical by Jonathan Larson, who sadly passed away mere days before the first show in Broadway. Yet his legacy and drive for success has always been apparent in the collaborative unity of the show; a group of rag tag individuals from differing social, cultural and racial backgrounds come together to make life long friendships.

Set upon the text of Puccini's La Boheme, the musical is the calling card of young Americans fighting off the disillusionment and alienating effect of living in America (at the end of the Millennium).

For that reason, Rent still remains a significant and unique piece of theatre that is both timeless and prescient. Watching the piece now in an age when America has elected a celebrity as their President still there is this divide between the expected normality of sexual relations, heightened tensions between communities of differing races. However, there is still the music of the soul and heart of performance.

Rent unabashedly gives high praise to the creative souls who endeavour to make good work in whichever chosen media as a means of expression (Mark) or protest (Maureen).

This production is directed by Bruce Guthrie was one of immense talent and conviction; the performers sang with such ferocity and fierce pride in their work that the emotion was washing over the audience in abundance.  The spirit of collaboration was there when the small cast came to sing 'Seasons of Love' at the start of Act II, when the big verses where sung by the periphery/background actors giving them a platform to raise the roof and showing they are a match for the principles.

Standout performances come from Layton Williams as Angel, full of physical dexterity and electrical vocal range and Ryan O'Gorman as Tom Collins, using his velvety rich baritone to engender real feeling into his solo songs 'Santa Fe' and 'I'll Cover You'; and it is fitting that Williams and O'Gorman have a great chemistry in their ensuing loving relationship on stage.

The musical Rent is on at the St. James' Theatre until 28th January. I suggest you go and treat yourself to see a brilliant production of a timeless piece of musical theatre that will stand the test of time; one that like the greatest of musicals (Oklahoma, West Side Story) that continues to resonate due to its universal themes of love, friendship and community.  These themes still ring true to us all.

525,600 minutes. How do you measure a year? How about love?

The Young Pope

Paolo Sorrentino, noted Italian auteur of such critically acclaimed fare as This Must Be The Place and last year's Youth, like many film directors has turned to the television medium to tell a greater story where he can tell it over 10 hours instead of the pre-requisite two hours you have in film.

Sorrentino, such a stylish and visual director from his earlier films to the more deliberate methodical dramas such as The Great Beauty, certainly lands on his feet in Rome.

It tells the story of a young (by Pope age) American Cardinal, called Lenny Belardo played by intense broodiness by Jude Law who has been recently appointed the new Pope Pious XIII. When we first meet Lenny he is giving his first public homily to St. Peter's Square - in which quickly becomes a satirical swipe at Catholicism and its blindness to the world with its ever changing notions of acceptable decorum and relationships.

Lenny then wakes up from his dream, and we are equally flummoxed; are these the actual beliefs of a young Catholic in modern day society, is Sorrentino speaking on behalf of all Catholics or embracing the laissez-faire mentality of current real Pope Francis, who did not question same-sex marriages for instance.

Lenny is introduced to his new cabinet most notably Cardinal Voiello (Silvio Orlando), an Italian whose true love is Napoli FC, who was overlooked for the top job and is eager to rock the boat. Whilst Voiello wants to control Lenny, our new pope is certainly not forthcoming ignoring his suggestions of cabinet positions and inserting as his special advisor, Sister Mary (Diane Keaton) the woman who took him into the orphanage at a very young age and has mentored him to this moment.

Other questionable characters such as fellow American Cardinal Dussolier (Scott Shepherd), who is alluded to like young flesh by foreign speaking Cardinals and Sofia (Cecile de France), the young head of marketing who embraces Lenny's ideal that his image should not adorn any merchandise and he remain invisible to his public. 'Only Jesus is present, I am nothing' as he states.

The difference between this being a run of the mill, behind the scenes drama of a world usually closed off to the public is that Sorrentino has tweaked the role of Lenny somewhat into that as a archetypal figurehead of that other Italian institution, the Mafiosa.

Law plays Lenny as a newly appointed head honcho of a criminal organisation; his way or the highway, he smokes openly, flaunting the line between confessional confidentiality by asking a priest to be his mole by telling him what people think of him in passing prompting a changing of positions in his cabinet swiftly and without remorse. You can sense Law had immense fun playing Lenny; with the ability to spin words to his will and a presence to match his movie matinee idol looks.

The cleverness of the premise is that this Pope, as played by Law, can run and run if Sorrentino maintains a hold of this vessel. Law is certainly an individual you want to keep watching and the neat twist on him being in question about his faith and the layers he hides despite apparently being without sin demands our attention.

The Young Pope has enjoyed some decent reviews since launching on Sky Atlantic, but in the newly released box-set on DVD and Blu-ray it warrants a rewatch.

The Young Pope is available on DVD and Blu-ray now from Aim Publicity