In a surprise to some, but not bizofshowbiz, George Lucas says that Lucasfilm is getting out of the movie business.
"We don't want to make movies. We're about to get into television. As far as Lucasfilm is concerned, we've moved away from the feature film thing, because it's too expensive and it's too risky.
"I think the secret to the future is quantity, because that's where it's going to end up."
We've talked here a lot about film budgets will have to be cut back drastically to make economic sense anymore. Lucas agrees, mentioning that spending $100 million for production and another $100 million on P&A is no longer going to work.
While we know that there will always be occasional blockbusters that make it, overall, the American public is abandoning going to movies for good, according to Lucas (I think he's reading my blog). Like he also says, for around $200 million he could produce 50 to 60 two-hour movies for the same price as one high-end one. The future is "pay-per-view and downloadable."
With the declaration that he is getting out of feature films, it will have to be a process, as Lucasfilms still has "Indiana Jones 4" on the burner, and another one called "Red Tails," a story about the Tuskegee airmen of World War II.
The one area that will still be involved in the feature film business is Lucas Animation, which is close to start working on projects. Lucas says it will probably take about a year to get all the pieces in place.
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