The Toronto Sun has new information on Lucas reaction to the media and Episode I, especially compared with the reaction today with the sequel. Here's a clip:

Now that Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack Of The Clones is out, George Lucas is making no apologies for Episode I -- The Phantom Menace.

He says that it is the media that is creating a negative backlash against Phantom "without any basis in fact."

Phantom, he says in an interview, tells the story he needed to tell, the same saga he first wrote 30 years ago as a back story for his first movie, Star Wars (1977), which is actually Episode IV: A New Hope.

"I gave them as much as I could," Lucas says of the controversial Phantom Menace. "I gave them 110%."

Lucas is referring to fans as "them," not critics. "We've always had fans and people have always been excited by the movie. When you're in any kind of entertainment medium, you obviously want the fans to be happy, whether you're a baseball player or a musician or whatever. You obviously do the best you can and hope they appreciate it."

Fans did appreciate Phantom, says Lucas.

"For four weeks they did exit polls and 80% of the people coming out thought it was fantastic. Only 20% thought it was good or less than good or fair. So it had overwhelmingly good exit polls." Even the reviews were 60% good and 40% negative, Lucas says, although he complains now that only the negative ones are remembered by carping critics.

"I don't think the media realizes how much punishment they give people. They just sort of absolve themselves of it and say: It's not our problem."