The Movie Blog.com has an article up about how George Lucas was persuaded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to join The Giving Pledge program wherein Lucas will give half of his fortune to charity. I think that’s swell and when you have a gazillion dollars, well, that’s probably a little easier to do than when you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck. Personally, I think all the pomp and circumstance is lame, but hey, billionaires want some limelight and want to pat themselves on the back. Yay for them.

But I digress. The question Francisco of The Movie Blog.com asks is this: [Do I] still hate George Lucas?

Yes, Francisco, I do.

Five years removed from the last prequel, Revenge of The Sith, and I still bristle at the piss-poor job Lucas did in directing and writing said films. Some now see a philanthropist wearing flannel and a salt and pepper pompadour and some even claim to see an artist. I see an egomaniac who got lucky. That self-centered vision, bullseyed on the almighty dollar, prevented The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of The Sith from being mentioned in the same breath as the original trilogy, and for that, I will always harbor animosity towards Baron Papanoida.

Still, he could redeem himself. If he chooses to make another trilogy, which now, with half his fortune bidding him adieu, seems like a foregone conclusion, he could hand over writing duties and directing duties to fresh blood and I’d be 100 percent happy and confident in that trilogy. As George’s generous giving shows, he’s better at writing checks than anything else.