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CinemaLinks: George Lucas Says He’s Quitting and Some Steven Soderbergh Goodness

Mike Tyrkus

George Lucas. © 1971 - Warner Bros. All rights reserved.

Well, it’s another week gone by and we here at CinemaNerdz thought we’d take a look at some of the big movie stories we came across from last week and share them with you all. First off, an article from the New York Times about George Lucas and then, from CinemaBlend.com, a listing of “The 8 Best Performances In Steven Soderbergh Movies.”

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The New York Times reported on January 17th that George Lucas is retiring and that he will be, in his own words, “moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.” But, he’s not retiring from film making altogether. He plans to follow-through on his long-standing threat to stop making blockbusters (though he does give himself a one-more-blockbuster clause to make a fifth Indiana Jones film if the fancy strikes) and make more personal films. If he can regain his American Graffiti form, then I’m all in. Otherwise, I might have to pass or just wait and see. The bulk of the interview discusses the film Red Tails and the trials and tribulations Lucas went through getting it made and then released. But there’s also a ton of Star Wars and Indiana Jones discussion (the later section focusing on nuking the fridge).

Elsewhere, CinemaBlend.com delivers us a piece on The 8 Best Performances In Steven Soderbergh Movies. Personally, I vote for Benicio del Toro in Traffic. But, then Gina Carano literally knocked my socks off in Haywire (well, not literally but she was really damn impressive). Let’s face it, the guy has packed his films with tons of great performances. As they write over at CinemaBlend, “Picking a favorite Soderbergh performance is like picking a favorite Soderbergh movie– it’s almost impossible, and your decision might change at a moment’s notice.” Until you get a chance to see Soderbergh’s latest film Haywire, take a look at these performances and see if your favorites are listed.

Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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