George Lucas makes bold statement about AI's impact on Hollywood moving forward

George Lucas says it's a futile endeavor for film industry professionals to push back against making artificial intelligence a key element of cinema moving forward.

The Star Wars creator, 82, speaking with A Rabbit's Foot, said that AI 'means it's much easier for us to make movies.'

The Modesto, California-born filmmaker said that 'there's nothing you can do about it,' adding, 'That's progress, it's the future.'

He added, 'It's very much like sitting here saying, "Well, I believe the horse and the buggy is really where it's at. 

'These cars, they break down, they need gas, there's all kinds of problems with them and pretty soon they'll be making them into tanks, and then they'll be killing people. It's terrible."'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Lucas for further comment on the story. 

Lucas pointed out a number of advantages that filmmakers can gain in implementing AI into their work.

'If you want AI that tells you when something is fake and where it came from, AI can do that,' Lucas said. 'Humans can't, we're not that smart.'

He added, 'The whole idea is you're a human being, you're responsible for what you say and what you do, and if you're doing something that's illegal you should be punished for that.

'Whatever you do, you should be recognized. It's just like real life.'

In the chat, Lucas said that creatively, he was not a fan of using focus groups to help steer the story of a film.

'I don't like focus groups - the audience doesn't know what they want to see,' Lucas said.

He added that while he was interested in the opinions the audience formulated on certain aspects of the motion picture, he did not feel it should interfere with the original work.

'If they don't like a character, that's interesting, and as a filmmaker I want to find out why,' Lucas said. 'But when the studios hear that, they take the wrong message - they let the audience actually make the movie.'

Lucas said that studios have gone 'crazy with' focus groups and trying to cater to 'what the fans think,' which he feels is a faulty approach.

'That isn't how you make the movie,' he said. 'You make a movie by finding someone that knows how to make movies, that has a story to tell and is passionate about it.'

Lucas, who also created the Indiana Jones franchise, said he believes audiences 'go to the movies because the stories move you emotionally.'

He added that 'art is an emotional medium.'

Lucas pointed out feedback he received on characters within the Star Wars universe to illustrate his point.

'The critics and the fans who were 10 years old when they saw the first one and 13 when they saw the second one complained that they didn’t want to see a children’s film,' Lucas said. '"Oh, that’s terrible. Jar Jar Binks is terrible!" Everyone said the same thing about R2-D2 and C-3PO.

'At the beginning there was a huge push for me to get rid of C-3PO, and then in [Return of the Jedi] people said the same thing about Ewoks.'