When William Shatner sang on stage to George Lucas
George Lucas might only have directed six movies, but he is inarguably one of the most significant individuals in Hollywood history. Regardless of what some might think about the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Lucas changed blockbuster pictures forever with his innovative filmmaking and special effects development while showing the world what cinema is capable of.
Once he completed what would ultimately be his final Star Wars project, Star Wars Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, in 2005, Lucas was presented with the American Film Institute’s (AFI) highest honour. It was the Life Achievement Award, an accolade which Lucas had more than earned.
When it came to this ceremony, AFI pulled out all the stops. They decorated the stage with Star Wars iconography and gathered almost everyone involved with the franchise. Most memorably, they got none other than Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, to perform a musical intro. It was an absolutely hysterical performance and had the entire hall, including Lucas himself, in stitches.
When Shatner first arrived on stage, he started talking about Star Trek, to which Star Wars is often compared. Two performers dressed as Stormtroopers then begin to pull him off, but Shatner then protests that he can talk about Star Wars, which he then does. Or rather, he sings about it.
Shatner, who is also a musician and singer as well as an actor, performs a funny song called ‘Your Way’, in which he celebrates Lucas doing things his way while also affectionately poking fun at some of Lucas’ missteps. One of the lyrics was, “Oh, regrets… you had a few / Anyone see Howard the Duck?” at which point the Stormtroopers try to remove him again. He placates them by saying that he loved the Sith picture, presumably referring to Revenge of the Sith.
As the performance progresses, he is joined by a chorus of dancing Stormtroopers, and the performance ends with him calling out to Lucas: “Live long and prosper, George! Or live long; you’ve already prospered enough!” Lucas responds to this with an enthusiastic thumbs up to Shatner.
It’s a genuinely wonderful clip, and the song’s focus on doing things his way is interesting now. One of the most commonly celebrated things about the Star Wars prequels is that Lucas made them exactly how he wanted to, which is satisfying in this era of made-by-committee blockbusters plagued with studio interference.
This feels even more relevant in the wake of Disney’s Sequel Trilogy. Even though those movies are considerably better than Lucas’ prequels in most departments, The Rise of Skywalker was a disappointment. It played like a desperate attempt on Lucasfilm’s part to appease the fans whom The Last Jedi angered. In the process, much of what was set up in the previous projects was retconned or abandoned. Lucas, in contrast, despite the overwhelming fan backlash to the prequels, had the courage of his own conviction and never strayed from his overarching plan for the films, so he deserves a lot of praise for that.
