[chinese blood, irish heart] - DEFUNCT

If I wasn't a fan of the original trilogy, I would've definitely hated Episode's 1-3. It has bad acting, ridiculous plot lines, annoying characters and enough CGI to make you nauseous. The only kick I get out of them is seeing all the connections that leads to Episode IV the original Star Wars film, in particular the story of Darth Vader.

George Lucas isn't just a film maker, he's a bloody good entrepreneur aswell. 20th Century Fox, the film's distributor in 1977, assumed that Star Wars was going to be a flop and so agreed with Lucas to grant him merchandising rights. What a deal eh? Since 1977, Star Wars merchandise has generated nearly $10 billion. The final instalment, 'Revenge of the Sith' is expected to earn a further $1.5 billion for George Lucas in merchandising alone.

In the past week we have been bombarded by film promotions and advertisments that is bordering on insanity and sheer annoyance. Pepsi, Lego, O2, Burger King, M&m's are just to name a few who are on the Star Wars advertising bandwagon. Why promote the film so heavily when Star Wars fans and kids will go see it anyway? Ah yes, the profit!

Seems to me that Lucas is more concerned with stuffing his wallet rather than the Star Wars ideology. Or maybe the ideology was in fact originally a big money making scheme? Back in '77, no one could've imagined the success of Star Wars but Lucas himself, even the actors were pessimistic. The late Sir Alec Guinness even hated it all! I think he knew all along, why else would the original film be Episode IV? He planned to make Episodes 1-3 in the near future to build upon the enormous success of the original trilogy and make his money with merchandise. We should teach that strategy in business classes.

In 2004, Forbes magazine estimated his personal wealth at $4 billion. With this grand empire he has created over 25 years, will he too one day be challenged by a rebel alliance? Well maybe lawsuits...