jimbow8 Wrote:I thought he had said worse things, but I could be misremembering.
I thought that was fairly mild, but I can see what you mean. He comes across as having been a bit bitter about film-making at that time, though. Maybe he was just going through a bad period. That's the only explanation I can see for the quote where he says he was "inconsequential" to the film (The Phantom Menace). I mean, come on: It was basically his movie!
The part I absolutely didn't like on that page wasn't a quote from Neeson, though; it was the bit about The Phantom Menace being voted "worst sequel ever," beating out the likes of Jaws: The Revenge, Speed 2: Cruise Control, and --
ugh -- Batman & Robin. You have
got to be kidding me. Of course, that was probably right after the movie came out and people were in backlash mode, but still...
ugh.
jimbow8 Wrote:Have you heard the similar stories of Alec Guinness having said not-so-good things?
I think he came across as more harsh than Neeson. Still, much has been made of Guinness hating Star Wars, but from I've read, I don't think that quite describes it. He just thought it got far too much attention, and I think he resented being primarily remembered for that role rather than his roles in, say, Lawrence of Arabia or Bridge on the River Kwai. I can't say I blame him, really. He's absolutely amazing in those films, not to mention many others. And let's face it: He's probably the only one who
really made Lucas's Star Wars dialogue sound good. Actually, he made it sound downright Shakespearean. He's one of the few actors I've ever seen who seems almost chameleon-like. The only contemporary actor I can think of who seems that way, IMHO, is Gary Oldman. But I digress....
There are some interesting Alec Guinness quotes
here, which I assume are accurate. Some I know are from his autobiographies.
Interesting that he apparently claimed Obi-Wan's death was his idea. Lucas always said it was because he realized the character had nothing to do in the last act. Perhaps both stories are true....
Blake