Lucas: "The Blockbuster Is Dead"

Movie mogul George Lucas predicts Hollywood will soon start shifting away from mega-budget blockbusters in favor of making more independent films for less money. Alongside Steven Spielberg, Star Wars creator Lucas is cited as being chiefly responsible for the blockbuster phenomenon that has gripped the movie industry for the last three decades. But he now believes big-budget films can no longer be profitable and are going out of fashion, as evidenced by this year's Academy Award nominees, including independent movies Crash and Good Night, And Good Luck. Lucas tells the New York Daily News, "The market forces that exist today make it unrealistic to spend $200 million on a movie. Those movies can't make their money back anymore. Look at what happened with King Kong. I think it's great that the major Oscar nominations have gone to independent films. Is that good for the business? No - it's bad for the business. But movie-making isn't about business. It's about art. In the future, almost everything that gets shown in theaters will be indie movies. I predict that by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15 million."

Sorry Georgie, but as long as most people aim to see action-shit fests, you're far off.

Lucas is an idiot. Always has been.

If all blockbusters are as awful as Revenge of the Sith I hope they go away forever

As far as his complaints about the Oscars doing bad business...losing to Annie Hall didnt seem to hurt Star Wars legacy much.

His blockbusters are done.

Since when have Oscar winners ever been huge blockbusters? (Please dont throw out a bunch of names, I'm talking on average here)They're still studio pictures that are winning, its not like a second "new wave" is on the horizon, or student films are going to start sweeping the nation. Lucas is a bit dim yeah, but it is a nice image.

The real problem is Hollywood stopped making good films. Blockbuster-style movies just don't exist because most movies these days suck. Independent films are better by default because at least there's some originality.

Who wants to pay $6-9 to see crap?