ESCAPING MODESTO - George Lucas, Film Auteur, and the Alteration of Movie History

[@Mr.Ganzalor]

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Nice to see another upload from a legend.

[@cosmicwaveblair4915]

Amen

[@StarGeek]

Thank you all for the support on this video. This project has been in the works in some shape or form since the summer of 2019, and being able to share it with a community that has been with me for the past eight years is extremely rewarding and comforting. I want to make a factual correction: at 8:25 in Chapter II, the date is named as "July 12th," when the event actually happened on June 12th. Thanks to the attentive viewers who brought this error to my attention! I hope this film inspires you to seek out George Lucas' student films and other feature films if you have mostly been exposed to his work in that galaxy far, far away. You can follow and hear my thoughts on what I'm watching here via Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/StarGeek/ May the Force be with you, Star Geek

[@BlackShadow01-05]

OMG I JUST CAME BACK TO THE MAN’S CHANNEL MY FIRST STAR WARS CHANNEL FROM WHEN I WAS FIVE BACK IN 2014 AND I FIND THIS ITS A FRIGGIN CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

[@pikafan2464]

I know I'm late, but I had to comment. This was amazing! As someone who lives in a small town and wants to be a writer and/or film producer, who looks up to George Lucas, and did a year-long school project on the history of Lucasfilm, this was a fantastic watch! Thank you StarGeek!

[@Sarah_2244]

Such an inspiring story. It’s so crazy what a global phenomenon Star Wars has become. A friendly reminder to never give up on your dreams no matter what! Nice to see ya back in action again StarGeek! Love the work and videos as always ❤️

[@DaleESkywalker]

Happy birthday, George!

[@lilychandler6627]

What a wonderfully produced, creative and informative video! Hope you are well. :)

[@donttakemeseriously3564]

StarGeek…that’s not a name I’ve heard in a long, long time… Thanks for the great video!

[@epicswag6771]

This is a late comment but I was thinking about the channel today and I wondered what you were up to and I found this video. I have to say it is fantastic, the editing, the music and the storytelling above all made it a blast to watch. I hope you make another video like this one day all the best from an old fan

[@JBscripts]

Bravo, a really well made profile. Enjoyed every second. Close to 10 years ago now I wrote my dissertation on Lucas and his work as both conscious and unconscious autobiography, and it was nice to see a few of those themes explored from a different angle. Very good work.

[@JW-xd8up]

Also, SW is not SW without Lucas; I say this as someone who likes TLJ.

[@KentKaliber]

TLJ was absolutely AWFUL LOL

[@Jared_Wignall]

One of the best filmmakers ever. I love his films and he’s an inspiration that one can achieve greatness as long as you are determined and not give up. Great video!

[@AFCWimbledonandActivist]

You’re back 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@pablosonic892]

I lived outside of Modesto in Sonora, Ca for about a decade between 2008 to 2018. But, I was frequently in Modesto during that time. But, I quickly understood George Lucas's mindset and obsessive need to get the hell outta Dodge. The era George grew up in, Modesto was Shangri La compared to now when it turned into The Sunken Place, but for whitey. It's a pergatory on Earth that slowly takes you down and keeps you there if you don't get out and stay out. George came of age right at Tuolumne County's turing point into darkness and what's turned out to be it's pivot moment in time past the point of no return where you live out your remaining low grade tragic squandered years in the soul crushing slow motion casual day to day drudgery that was once your childhood home little city that could slice of Americana that overnight turned into a ghost town, where the dead walked the Earth, but these waking zombies were the so-called living. They were technically still alive as debatable quote unquote 'functional' members of society, but whatever bleak new culture took over, when it happened , it happened fast and to an entire generation which never recovered nor every subsequent one after. So, alive they all may well be in the literal sense, but you'd be hard pressed to actually believe anybody then or since has done any true real getting down to having any kind of worthwhile let alone fulfilling and meaningful life whatsoever, and nobody that stays for the duration going the distance as lifers, ironically, never went a day in said life ever actually doing any living. George calls it in the documentary looking back saying one year they were all young, cruising in the streets, looking for adventure and connected to their surroundings and the moment. Then withen a year, the nation and its youth became disillusioned and checked out, the crusing stopped and sense of community died along with it. Drug culture became the new world order and alienation its leading side effect. The party was over. George's generation was the hangover. It's been a sixty year lost weekend where everybody's still dope sick. When I was around the Modesto area, it was jokingly called ModestNO! Because bobody in their right mind wanted to live there. It was self referentially calling itself the drug capital of the US keepin' it on the DL. What was Modesto's drug of choice? Well, if you were person of faith who went to church and quoted scripture from the good book, well, religiously; you could be any religious group anywhere else in the world, but in Tuolumne County, you were only only one kind of religious and that religion in and around Modesto were one hundred percent Chrystal Methodists. Oh, and devout. Highly devout. Emphasis on high. There churches had many local chapters in the region. They called them meth labs. When people you meet from school ask if you want to ditch class to go to to their place so they can show you their rock collection, run. Everybody when they young have delusions of grandeur and live in a fantasy world, but in Modesto, they have a different meaning when they say they got pipe dreams. When you rewatch George's first three films THX-1138, American Graffiti and A New Hope with his upbringing in Modesto now in the new context of it being a state of eternal damnation and its own Hell on Earth, suddenly, it becomes abundantly obvious and hiding in plain sight what his trio of movies all share as it's main central theme and entire narrative driving force, the one connective thread that binds all his early pictures and eventual life's work along with that of all his characters aka cinematic alter ego self inserts: they all are about escape. To the degree of it being a life or death situation how high the stakes are to get out of this place. The kids are all right, but only if they get steppin' pronto and stat Straight Outta Modesto. Last shot of THX is Robert Duvall rising out the sewer manhole and stiffeling suffocating authoritarian grip of his crippling society into the unknown, but at least free of their oppressive stranglehold over the individual and, by extension, the human spirit. Graffiti saw Richard Dryfasis board that last early dawn plane out of Dead-end Wastelands USA, before the town swallowed him up as it had along with all his childhood friends. Star Wars saw orphan farmboy Luke Skywalker marooned on a desert hellscape somewhere between Going Nowhere Fast Ville and the hot sick ass end of the galaxy where you couldn't want to get more far, far away from or fast enough. His home world Tantoone seemed like a heightened version of Modesto, but it actually all tracks and feels like a documentary of the town shot like a reality show. Modesto has Tuscan Raiders and a shitload of Jabbas. They all live in section 8 housing and on government cheese, all moderately obese despite rampid meth use. Yeah, Luke wants out of his Uncle's crack house, I mean uncle Owen's literal man cave. His shithole of solitude. This is how George Lucas saw life in Modesto and what it would do to you if you stayed. It wasn't all porn stars and power converters.

[@RetroUniverse]

Welcome back, Star Geek! :-D

[@jakeolthof]

I also attended Thomas Downey high School and Modesto Junior college, but then I went to UCSC film School.

[@grahpayy]

babe wake up star geek uploaded out of nowhere again

[@JW-xd8up]

Teen Rebellion will always be the heart of SW.

[@treystephens6166]

like Marilyn Manson ?

[@JW-xd8up]

@@treystephens6166 Like American Graffiti.

[@RetroCarsForever]

Awesome video!!

[@yes_head]

Nicely done.

[@crazyjedi5994]

Amazing!

[@TPaine1776]

Great Vid. For someone who didn't want to relinquish control why did he sell to Disney?

[@MagicianMovies1992]

I like George Lucas. I want to meet him someday.

[@treystephens6166]

Only if you’re rich.

[@captlazer5509]

He promised never to relinquish control over to a studio again... until Disney threw gobs of money on the table.

[@treystephens6166]

I wouldn’t trust Disney if they offered one trillion dollars!

[@jfkassnation5980]

First time viewer - I like

[@treystephens6166]

I don’t understand why George Lucas sold LucasFilm, Ltd to Disney ???

[@darthsomething]

Omg it’s StarGeek

[@gregoryfujita8265]

The car accident was June 12..not July 12....

[@TrayChester01]

Ah yes, before the dark times, before George went pants-crapping insane.

[@treystephens6166]

Yes, what happened to him ?

[@TrayChester01]

@@treystephens6166 It started with Marcia Lucas and her award-winning editing skills on the first film. The real beginning of the end was the divorce proceedings during production of RotJ.

[@treystephens6166]

@@TrayChester01 why did they get divorced ?

[@TrayChester01]

@@treystephens6166 George and Marcia? Who knows. They didn't broadcast it.

[@flashgamer1275]

@@TrayChester01 this is categorically false. It’s a real shame too because the Star Wars films and the people behind making them are some of the most documented things ever. His wife’s involvement was always small

[@sonnyandreotte5721]

then disney ruined it.

[@treystephens6166]

On purpose it seems …

[@KentKaliber]

Its the year 2022 and The Last Jedi is STILL the WORST movie i've ever seen.

[@aggie603]

🙄

[@adrianwelch1435]

lucas wasn't revived after his accident. he was never in intensive care. complete nonsense

[@rickysujanani3523]

First 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@5xmasterx548]

you were the channel that made me find out that people disliked the prequels haha

[@VegimorphtheMovieBoy]

Awesome video!