OTHER TECH

Because they don't show it digitally.Yeah, they're showing dirty old prints.

Do you think they'll ever go digital?Oh yeah, oh yeah. They don't have a choice. They've delayed it for six years, and they may delay it for another six years, but it will definitely happen.

"What do you see as the future of watching movies at home?"Everything will be pay-per-view. It will all be stored at home on a digital system, and you'll pull up whatever you want whenever you want. And you'll have high-definition digital projectors and large screens, and it will be a very satisfying experience.

Who is responsible for high-definition? I've never looked so old on TV in my life. [ George laughs ] I mean, really.Use lots of makeup, lots of filters.

It wouldn't matter!Oh, it does.

This is like the ultimate geek magazine. Listen to this one - you're like their pin-up: "From Industrial Light and Magic to the recent Star Wars films, you've been a pioneer in digital cinema. How do you feel about recent advances like HDTV, digital projectors at home, and high-def DVD?"It's fantastic because the films were designed under optimum conditions, and I've spent a lo t of time trying to make sure that those conditions exist wherever the films are shown.

But, that high-definition thing - doesn't that make actors look awful?Well, not really.

If they're young, they don't look awful.Yeah, if they're young and cute, they look fine .

Well, that's true under any circumstances. "Are you surprised at how sophisticated home systems have become?"No. It's an inevitable evolutionary process. I expect them to get bigger and better, with more storage. We've already reached the acceptable side of things in terms of image quality.

But you don't think it will ever stop people from going to the movies? They thought TV would stop people from going.No, people will always go to communal events because humans are social animals. They'll always go to the opera and the ballet, and they'll always go to the movies.

"John Lowry, who restored the Star Wars Trilogy and THX 1138, can transfer films at four times the HDTV standard" - they're like, making me say all this. "Do you think this allows digital technology to finally match the capability of film?"

Well, I think it does anyway. With the films I've shot digitally, it's very hard to tell which is which. In Phantom Menace, I intercut stuff shot on film with stuff shot digitally, and nobody could tell. So, the Lowry process cleans up old, dirty, destroyed prints and gets you the best-quality images - the highest resolution, the least amount of grain, and the best color reproduction. And you can only do that digitally, because it's almost impossible to do on film - especially when a movie is 20 or 30 years old.

You can't fix those things?You can, but it costs so much money and it's so hard.

Here's this one: "Is film dead, and it's just a matter of quickly phasing it out?"Well, people will always be shooting on film for one reason or another, but we are definitely in the digital world now, and it would be foolish to do it any other way.

Why did they stop doing four-strip Technicolor?Because it's just too big and clumsy and expensive.

It was so beautiful, though.Well, now you can duplicate that digitally.

You can?Yeah, the look. The great thing about digital is you can make it look like anything.

So you could make something look like The Red Shoes digitally?Uh huh.

That would be cool.Yep.

All right, "Do you see releasing the Star Wars Trilogy " - don't I read this with great inflection? - "and THX 1138 as part of establishing your legacy, since people can now watch high-quality versions over and over at home?"At least now they can access the films without the gatekeepers of the TV networks and studios and everything. It's great that people can make collections of films from people they admire. Does that answer the question?

Well, there's an "or" - "or will it take high-def DVD to make home viewing as compelling as watching in a theater?"The thing about the theater is the size of the screen. It's not the resolution.

"With videogames now using orchestras, sophisticated plots, and star-quality vocal talent, can you see yourself creating a game the way you do a movie?"Yep. I've had a successful videogame company for almost 20 years, and they make games the same way we make movies, pretty much.

But it's interactive.They're both cinematic experiences, and they both use the same techniques, but one tells a story and the other is a game. One is being directed and the other is open-ended. You don't know what's going to happen.

I've never played those games. Do you?A little bit.

Just to try them out?Well, yeah. My son is a big -

Game guy?Yeah, he loves games.

On what? Like Xbox?Yeah, all those things.

[ My daughter] Billie wanted one - Billie got one. You didn't grow up with anything like this , did you?No.

What did you play when you were growing up?I just played games. I went outside because there was just one movie theater.

This stuff is beyond me. I can't do the clickers; I can't do any of it. Okay, let's see: "Most people know you as the guy who did Star Wars . Do you wish more people associated you with American Graffiti?"Oh, I don't know. You don't have a choice about things like that. There's nothing I can do. You don't regret Star Wars, so -

That's Mark's job. "How do you rank Graffiti with your Star Wars work?"I don't know. I like all my work. I like to watch it. It's all different.

It certainly is, Ollie. When do the Star Wars DVDs come out now?They come out in September, I think.

Who did the commentaries for them?I don't know.

How can you not know, you big cheese head?[ laughs ] I don't get involved in all that.

Yes you do, because you called me to have me do it.Someone else must have called, not me.

No, you called me because I said no, because I did the on-camera interviews .Oh.

But then I did it, because I do whatever you ask me - that's become our relationship.Yeah. I like it. More: The Empire Strikes Back director: Irvin Kershner S&V Exclusive! Restorer of the Star Wars Trilogy and THX 1138: John Lowry S&V Exclusive!