George Lucas was initially hesitant with praise for The Force Awakens (he compared Disney to “white slavers” and grumbled the Star Wars brain trust wasn’t “keen to have me involved anyway”), but he later relented, saying, “Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise.” Lucas has been far more gung-ho (gungan-ho?) about The Last Jedi. He thought it was “beautifully made,” according to his rep, and “in speaking with director Rian Johnson after viewing was complimentary.”
Lucas does have one minor complaint, though.
“We went into [The Last Jedi] saying we’re going to do matte paintings and we’re going to be hanging miniatures,” said The Last Jedi production designer (and Academy Award winner) Rick Heinrichs. “That’s the way we’re going to do this cause that’s what George would want. And of course George visited and he’s like, ‘Why are you building all these sets?’ ‘Well, because that’s what you like, isn’t it?’ He’s a cranky guy, but his point is that for the big stuff, obviously planets, spaceships flying, when you’re not close enough to see actors in it, there isn’t much point anymore in actually building something.”
Spoken like the guy who directed this CGI explosion.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)