You wouldn’t think George Lucas would have a whole lot in common with Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail. The creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises virtually invented the mega budget, summer blockbuster.

But Lucas has a message for studios that are cutting their slates and shifting toward big-budget tentpoles and franchises: Forget about it. The future is going to lie with small budget films and Web distribution. Spending $100 million in production and another $100 million on P&A makes no sense, according to Lucas.

“For that same $200 million, I can make 50-60 two-hour movies. That’s 120 hours as opposed to two hours. In the future market, that’s where it’s going to land, because it’s going to be all pay-per-view and downloadable.”

We agree with Lucas that Hollywood needs to start reinventing itself for the new Long Tail future that surely lies ahead. But don’t give the multiplex up for dead just yet. No question, theater owners have some serious reinventing of their own to do. But computers and TV’s, even the most monster of plasmas, are no match for the the big screen.