George Lucas has a problem with Hollywood when it comes to focus groups and test screenings. The “Star Wars” creator, who left the franchise in 2012 after selling Lucasfilm to Disney in a $4 billion deal, recently told A Rabbit’s Foot (via IGN) that Hollywood’s overreliance on focus groups has created studio films dictated entirely by fans on filmmakers.

“I don’t like focus groups,” Lucas said. “The audience doesn’t know what they want to see. If they don’t like a character, that’s interesting, and as a filmmaker I want to know why. But when studios hear that, they get the wrong message. They let the audience make the movie. Of course, now they go crazy with it. Now, it’s all about what the fans think. That’s not how you make the movie. You make a movie by finding someone who knows how to make movies, who has a story to tell, and who is passionate about it.”

“You go to the movies because the stories move you emotionally,” Lucas added about what should be the guiding light for films in development. “Art is an emotional medium.”

Focus groups and test screenings have become a routine step in the studio filmmaking process. Maggie Gyllenhaal revealed earlier this year that test screenings of “The Bride!” He chastised her for the film’s depiction of violence and sexual violence. James Gunn’s test screened “Superman” and found that audiences took exception to the moment when David Corenswet’s Man of Steel decides to save a squirrel while Metropolis is under attack by a rampaging Kaiju monster. Gunn refused to listen.

“We showed it to test the public and some people didn’t like the squirrel,” Gunn told Rolling Stone. “They say, ‘Why the hell are you saving a squirrel? Why are you taking time to save a squirrel?’ There was a cut where I cut it and I was like, ‘I really miss the squirrel.’ He has to save the squirrel. Additionally, there were also some geographical issues regarding where he would end up if he didn’t fly with the squirrel. So I put the squirrel back in despite protests from some of my crew.”

Lucas’ interview with A Rabbit’s Foot also included his thoughts on AI. Like other blockbuster directors like Peter Jackson, the “Star Wars” visionary looks at AI in a more positive light when it comes to movie-making.

“Artificial intelligence means it’s much easier for us to make movies,” Lucas said. “It’s a lot like sitting here saying, ‘Well, I think the horse and buggy is really where it is. These cars break down, they need gas, there are all kinds of problems with them, and pretty soon they’re going to turn them into tanks, and then they’re going to kill people. It’s terrible.’ There’s nothing you can do about it. That’s progress, that’s the future.”

While Lucas acknowledged that AI comes with risks, there are also solutions. He added: “If you want an AI to tell you when something is fake and where it comes from, AI can do it,” he says. “Humans can’t, we’re not that smart. The idea is that you’re a human being, you’re responsible for what you say and what you do, and if you’re doing something illegal you should be punished for it. Whatever you do, you should be recognized. It’s like real life.”

Head over to A Rabbit’s Foot’s website to read Lucas’s interview in its entirety.