After Howard the Duck and Radioland Murders, you'd have thought George Lucas would have thrown in the towel by now. But no, he trudged forward to make three of the most derided films in history with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Even with all the negativity and hatred aimed at his head, he continued to move forward, producing and co-directing Red Tails. Which has not yet been screened for critics.

It is Red Tails that has done the man in. As the film prepares for its release this weekend to little fanfare, the director has decided to call it quits. Yes, George Lucas has announced that he is retiring. And that's one way to get some focus on this historically important film.

This is what he had to say.

"I'm retiring. I'm moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff."

It took George Lucas twenty years or more to get Red Tails off the ground. And he is disappointed in the lack of interest in it, now that its set to open on Friday. According to him, he couldn't even get certain studio executives to screen the film.

"Isn't this their job? Isn't their job at least to see movies? It's not like some Sundance kid coming in there and saying, 'I've got this little movie - would you see it?' If Steven Spielberg or I or James Cameron or Robert Zemeckis comes in there, and they say, 'We don't even want to bother to see it. . . "

His longtime producer of more than twenty years Rick McCallum then went on to give this rather sad eulogy.

"Once this is finished, he's done everything he's ever wanted to do. He will have completed his task as a man and a filmmaker."

Completed his task as a filmmaker? And a man? Jesus. How bad is Red Tails? Maybe stop with the bad CGI, but don't give up being a man, George Lucas! I'm sure there is a delicious calzone that needs to be eaten out there somewhere.

Quite honestly, I don't think anyone every finishes their task as a "man". This is just sad. George? My dad is going to fucking love Red Tails just for the solid hour of aerial dogfights alone. If at least one man loves it, it can't be all bad...

Right?