Anticipation ran high that night, not unlike the distinctive eagerness of Star Wars fans as they camp outside, awaiting the next installment of George Lucas’ blockbuster science fantasy franchise. Comments and chatter echoed from the crowd, betraying the geeky glee that had gripped the attendants; it was not every day that ordinary webmasters, self-made Force aficionados, or even casual fans had the opportunity to see—much less speak to—the man behind the Star Wars trilogies. I would like to say that I was immune to the almost electric buzz preceding this momentous event—but I wasn’t. Though I stood with my arms folded and acted as though I were waiting impassively in line to see some random and asinine movie flick, the truth was I was excited.
            When we got into the theater, I sat in the third row (having been warned that the first two lines of seats were unofficially reserved for pretentious cinema students). Two chairs and a coffee table decorated the deck in front of the theater curtains, while crew members meandered about, performing microphone checks and focusing the camera.
            The professor of the class—whose name I will respectfully omit—seemed quite concerned about getting everything in order. Stress was written on his face as well as an all-too-noticeable layer of perspiration, which—fortunately for him—didn't stain his olive-colored Hugo Boss. This was no doubt a major event; even the president of the university was there.

            The evening began with a screening of The Phantom Menace; two hours of Obi-wan, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, and—of course—Jar Jar. The audience accented the movie with gratuitous applause and even a few silly shouts here and there, and afterwards there was some mention of this being the last time that this movie would be shown on film format. Historic though the moment may have been, the significance of the comment was lost in the sea of anticipation proceeding George’s entrance.
            Lucas was late, of course, as is warranted and expected of any celebrity, forcing the professor to have to “vamp” (as he called it) for awhile. He stalled by giving his opinion on some recent movies, offering a lukewarm review of Master and Commander, heaping disgust on Love, Actually, poking fun at Kill Bill and proudly announcing he didn’t even bother to see Matrix Revolutions.

            And then he arrived. Dressed in blue jeans, a pair of snakeskin boots, a navy plaid shirt and a black vest, the creator of Star Wars stepped in, accompanied by great amounts of applause. He sat opposite the professor, who—despite his obvious stress—wasted no time offering a few lengthy compliments and thanks before opening the floor to the main audience.
            The first question was, as expected, a little awkward. After thanking Lucas for about everything good and righteous in all of human history, a young man nodded forward and could at first only think to ask “can I please shake your hand?” Fortunately for him, George was gracious enough to reply in the affirmative; the only one fortunate enough to be treated as such that night.
            A myriad of inquiries followed, so many that I did not feel compelled to take notes on all of them, but a good deal of interesting information did come forward, some of which I will summarize below:

·        Indiana Jones 4 is currently under construction.

·        The rumors of Lucas’ plans to change the original trilogy again after the release of Episode III are false.

·        George Lucas’ favorite fan-film is “Troopers (sic)” [Troops].

·        Lucas believes films are going to move more into “niche markets” in the future, and allow directors to work more easily without appeal to mass audiences.

·        Lucas’ advice for students that want to direct is that they “be persistent” and “have a story to tell.”

·        George Lucas is a fan (“of course”) of Lord of the Rings.

·        Lucas doesn’t like writing and compared the task of doing so to doing term papers. He was actually very much “anti-writing” at the beginning of his film education.

·        The bad acting in Episode II was “done on purpose” and is "part of the style.”

·        “Education is the key to human survival.”

·        The rumors about Lucas’ plans to make Episodes 7 – 9 were a “manifestation of the media.” He then joked that it “would be fun” to come up with a new Star Wars trilogy when Harrison (Han Solo) is 70 and have everyone as old people.

·        Luke’s entry into the Death Star in ANH was not intended as erotic symbolism. (don't ask)

·        Greedo was always supposed to have shot first. The original version was an editing error. (uh huh...)

            The question selected from The Furry Conflict poll was: How much does the Expanded Universe influence the movies?

As I asked him, Lucas leaned back a moment and said to me “Very little.” When he first had agreed to let people write Expanded Universe books, he had said “I’m not gonna read ‘em” and it was a “different universe” that he wanted to keep away from the time period of his saga. He jokingly complained, however, that now when he writes a script he has to look through an encyclopedia to make sure that a name he comes up with doesn’t come too close to something in the EU.

He later commented that the future of Star Wars may lie in other venues outside of feature film. With the conclusion of Episode III, Lucas’ saga of Star Wars will be over, however he did not rule out the continuation of the book series, or even television spin-offs similar to the Clone Wars shorts currently airing on Cartoon Network.           

So it seems that with the fall of Anakin Skywalker, the saga of Star Wars on film will come to an end. But from Lucas’ commentary, it’s not likely that the myth of Star Wars will fade into oblivion. On the contrary, though the adventures of Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, Anakin, Padmé, Obi-wan, and Jar Jar may be at an end on the silver screen, it’s possible that the future (or the past) of Star Wars still may hold yet other adventures to entertain and captivate audiences on television for years to come.