There are animals that when threatened will rear up and knock the shit out of you. Look at bears, lions and snakes for examples. Some animals will even vomit in their mouth and then spit said vomit into your face. See Llamas. Then there are the others, the ones that will act cowardly to save themselves. The Red Bark Spider will bend its legs up and roll over to appear dead, waiting until the threat has left the corpse for something better. Only then will it come alive and continue its hunt for beetles. The Potato Bug will curl into a ball to protect itself when frightened. Turtles even! Look at turtles!
What I'm getting at here with the animal talk is that surviving doesn't mean destroying. It's simply securing the continuation of your life. Like this round's study. He showed how vital and important he could be to the film industry, and then took it away. It wasn't until he thought hte state of cinema could sustain his vision that he chose to return. This is the man behind the most successful franchise of all time. He is part of the Three Musketeers of Film (more on this later)! Please welcome to the stage, George Lucas!
He instead decided to go to film school. While succeeding in the science fiction genre he won the opportunity to hang out with Frank Coppola. They became friends and all the kids called them teh Dynamic Duo. They even formed a company together called American Zoetrope, being a company that bred envy in all other filmmakers.
The envy wasn't surprising because Coppola was making some of history's greatest flicks (see: The Godfather, Apocalypse Now). Lucas, on the other hand, didn't want to make boring movies. He had a different style in mind. He made the masterful THX-1138, a jarring look at sci-fi (I haven't actually seen this movie), and then went on to make the silly Ron Howard romp, American Graffiti (nor this one). AG was a huge hit and won Lucas a Golden Globe and was nominated for the Academy Awards and whatever. He didn't care! He had his eyes on the prize! STAR WARS! He used his newly gained clout to make the 1977 classic. After this first installment he passed the director's chair onto Irvin Kershner for The Empire Strikes Back and Richard Marquand for Return of the Jedi. Why? Hold on to your horses! I'm getting there!
So he makes the first movie in '77, then twenty years later comes back and says PREQUEL TIME! in '99. He goes on to make all three, thus completing the perfect duet of trilogies.
Remember a few years ago when Marty Scorsese won an Oscar for best director? The Three Musketeers were the ones to present the trophy to him. Some people said that Lucas didn't deserve to be up there because he hasn't won an Oscar, but maybe he was the most deserving because of that fact.
Think about it this way. George Lucas has made the most successful six movie series in the history of everything, AND HE DIDN'T MAKE TWO OF THEM. This is lapping everyone on the track of life, and still, he is not showing us his full potential. Mr. Lucas not so much survives as he coasts. Thank you, Mr. Lucas for showing us some of your shine.
Now for a word from this round's Natural Selection:
"I am simply trying to struggle through life, trying to do God's bidding."
And thank you for "struggling."
May the Force be with you.