George Lucas Says ‘Nuking the Fridge’ Was His Idea

Remember how Steven Spielberg claimed full responsibility for having our favorite adventuring archeologist escape a nuclear explosion by hiding inside a refrigerator in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Well, as it turns out, George Lucas is now willingly shouldering the blame for that much-criticized sequence.

In a recent New York Times profile detailing the Star Wars creator’s retirement from blockbuster filmmaking, Lucas said the questionable scene was his idea from the beginning.

“He’s trying to protect me,” Lucas said of his longtime friend and collaborator’s confession that it was his choice to “nuke the fridge.” Quite the contrary, it was Speilberg who “didn’t believe” that Indy would be able to survive the ordeal. To counter the director’s skepticism, Lucas reportedly provided a lengthy dossier detailing why the scene would make sense. Lucas affirmed that if the refrigerator was lined with lead, if Indy didn’t break his neck and if he were able to get the door open upon landing back down to earth following the explosion, there’s a chance he could survive.

“The odds of surviving that refrigerator—from from a lot of scientists—are about 50-50,” Lucas said.

Well, there you have it. For the full story, click here.

George Lucas Announces Retirement

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Star Wars creator George Lucas revealed he’s done with big-budget filmmaking, and that Red Tails—now in theaters—is his final epic filmmaking endeavor.

“I’m retiring,” Lucas told the Times. “I’m moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.”

Although he’s given himself an “out” clause should a fifth Indiana Jones film go into production, the 67-year-old visual effects pioneer has vowed that his self-funded and distributed World War II Tuskegee Airmen biopic will be his last major blockbuster.

Directed by Anthony Hemingway (The Wire), Red Tails has been a story Lucas has wanted to tell for the last 23 years. Although one might think that someone with the money-making pedigree and industry clout of Lucas would have no difficulty in getting a World War II epic in theaters, but the film’s predominantly black cast reportedly made the studios nervous, with a majority of their profits coming from overseas.

Now that Red Tails is released, Lucas will concentrate on smaller, more personal projects—something he has tried to do for years.

“Once this is finished, he’s done everything he’s ever wanted to do,” said Rick McCallum, who collaborated with Lucas as a producer on the Star Wars prequels as well as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. “He will have completed his task as a man and a filmmaker.”

The Times piece is a great read, going into detail on the production of Red Tails as well as how Lucas deals with fan criticism over the alterations he’s made to the Star Wars films over the years. Check it out by clicking here.

Sex and Violence? In MY Comic Books!?

I caught this news report from a Washington, DC, Fox affiliate about an hour ago on Topless Robot, and I’ve been nerd ragin’ ever since. In it, inept “journalists” wag their fingers at DC Comics for the company’s recent “New 52” relaunch and all of the sex, violence and adult themes publishers have unleashed on the youth of America ever since.

“Batman and Catwoman having sex on the rooftop!” “A drunken Bruce Wayne!” “Blood-spattered battles with heads whacked off!” How dare DC Comics market overt sex and violence to children—clearly the audience that DC is targeting these days! After all, it’s not like Batman hasn’t dealt almost exclusively with adult themes since 1986, right? Wait, what year did The Dark Knight Returns come out?

Oh, by the way, Bruce Wayne isn’t drunk on the page featured in the report…he’s faking it and it says as much on the panel itself. Research, amirite?

According to one critic in the piece, Neil Bernstein, PhD, DC Comics is evidently selling “fictionalized Playboy for kids at its worst.” Keep in mind that the report acknowledges that many of the relaunched titles are responsibly marked as “Teen” or “Teen-Plus,” meaning that they’re NOT for kids and thus making this whole thing a non-story.

Furthermore, if these “fictionalized Playboys” are such an issue, why not go to the source and interview the editors at DC Comics and ask them about the company’s creative direction? Maybe this Fox affiliate could have some actual reporting and found out that kids aren’t even interested in comic books and instead gravitate toward superhero cartoons, films and video games? I know fact-finding is more difficult than manufacturing controversy, but it’s kind of what journalism is.

Anyway, here’s the report in its entirety.

Relaunched Comics Using Sex and Violence To Sell: MyFoxDC.com