I am not, by nature, an envious person. But sometimes I envy those people who have a talent for design - interior design, web design, clothing design or set design. These are the type of skills which can largely be honed by an online degree, and which can help you on the path to working on the next Star Wars movie. Oh - I forgot - there isn't going to be another Star Wars movie.
Star Wars has been part of my life since I was six, and the same is now true of my children. My daughter, who is two, twiddles with the Xbox controls and ties to play Star Wars Lego. My daughter (6) woke up this morning and asked if she would be having the day off because this is the day Star Wars Episode 3 comes out. My son, who seems to be a very talented young artist (I'm not biased - honestly), spends hours drawing star wars figures, and writing comic strips. He develops new characters and designs ships for him - see what I mean? Budding designer. My skill - if I can call it that, is for writing. And - let's face it, script writing was never very high up George Lucas' list of requirements for Star Wars (sorry George).
We will never see the like of Star Wars again. There will be different, and in many people's opinions, even better offerings, such as Lord of the Rings, but these later films have taken their lead from Star Wars, in getting together a big, closely knit group of designers, artists and technical experts whose dedication and attention to detail in all aspects of design have created enduring, if flawed (who could forget Episode 1?) masterpieces.
Alongside these blockbusters such as Star Wars stand screenplay films - films driven by a good script and good actors, a deep often quirky message and with design, technical wizardry and expense as a sideline. Many of my favorite films fall into this category, and it is encouraging to see many new films combing both - Eternal Sunshine, I Heart Huckabees and Being John Malkovich.
However the films that inspire generations of children to become clothes and costume designers, set designers, computer aided designers and - these days, games designers, are films like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings - visual feasts whose beauty and technical wizardry bely days, months and years of work by a group of talented individuals with creative, and probably obsessive minds. Online degrees of the future will change and adapt to suit this new generation of techies and designers, and it will be my lot to write about them, but never be part of them.
I cried at the end of the last Lord of the Rings film, and it wasn't just because Frodo sailed away. I cried for the end of something amazing, which, not being a designer, I would never understand. Likewise, I have a feeling that my eyes will be moist when the credits roll for me at the end of Star Wars on Saturday night. And I won't just be crying for Anakin and Padme. Star Wars, George, I salute you!
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