Not So Long Ago in a Beltway Not So Far Away

By Chris Taylor

George Lucas hasn't exactly been known to feel the force of politics. Unlike his friend Steven Spielberg, Star Wars supremo Lucas doesn't make campaign contributions to the Democrats or, as far as we know, anyone. But could there be a heavy hint of party affiliation in his latest epic? Consider: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, written in the mid-'90s and shot in scandal-filled 1998, opens with a hot-headed character named Nute (pronounced Newt), whose attack on the defenseless planet of Naboo has all the speed and surprise of the Republican revolution. Nute's ally in the Galactic Senate is known as Lott, and Lott's main aim is to tie up Naboo's call to arms in committee, allowing it to die a quiet death, a la campaign-finance reform.

The Senate, we are told, is "full of greedy, squabbling delegates who are only looking out for themselves and their own systems," while the elected leader of the Republic is powerless to stop them, having been "mired down by baseless accusations of corruption." Lest anyone doubt the meaning of this last line, Lucas made it crystal clear in conversations with Terence Stamp, who plays the hapless Galactic leader. After asking for some clues to his character, Stamp was told, "He's a bit like Clinton." Primary Colors was never this much fun.

--By Chris Taylor