George Lucas: I Made Strange Magic “Because You’re Not Supposed to Make [Adventure] Movies for Girls”
Only the Sith deal in absolutes. Anybody can like adventure movies.
There’s no doubt that even though George Lucas intended Star Wars for young boys, the films appealed hugely to the rest of the human race as well. But this morning, in an appearance on CBS This Morning, the filmmaker discussed some of his motivations behind writing the story of Strange Magic, an animated musical starring fantasy creatures (directed by Gary Rydstrom, with writing credits from Lucas, Rydstrom, David Berenbaum, and Irene Mecchi) that hits theaters this Friday.
“I did Star Wars for 12-year-old boys,” he told anchors. “I have three girls, and I used to read Wizard of Oz to my daughter all the time, and I just figured I’ll make one of these [adventure films] for girls, because you’re not supposed to make movies for girls.”
When asked if he thought about the idea that being “for girls” would hurt the film at the box office, he replied, “I think girls go to the movies just like anybody else. That’s a marketing reality, but it’s very powerful. It’s very hard to counter it. They have their ideas about what movies will sell, [and] that’s what they do, the industry is kind of run by the marketing department. [Strange Magic]’s got monsters and swordfighting and all that kind of stuff, which they’re playing up. They’re [playing] down the music and the fairies.”
If he had to peg a an overall theme for the film, it would be “the difference between real love and infatuation,” a lesson that he thinks is a valuable on for young folk. Certainly it’s not one that many movies aimed at kids embrace as central, though I can think of one film that touched on it that just happens to be one of the biggest animated hits with boys and girls in a good long time.
(via Women and Hollywood)
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