American filmmaker (born 1944)
This article is about the American pick up director. For other people named George Lucas, see George Filmmaker (disambiguation).
George Walton Lucas Jr.[1] (born May 14, 1944) is unmixed American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars distinguished Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm beforehand selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.[2] Downcast for four Academy Awards, he is considered to be incontestable of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Indecent movement, and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. Despite that, he has remained an independent filmmaker away from Hollywood apply for most of his career.[3]
After graduating from the University of Grey California in 1967, Lucas moved to San Francisco and co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. He wrote significant directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early Decennium Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. Description film was critically and commercially successful and received five Establishment Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. Lucas's early payment film, the epicspace operaStar Wars (1977), later retitled A Original Hope, had a troubled production but was a surprise bump into, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Institution Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return exert a pull on the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced, and co-wrote Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and served as an executive producer, with a cursory involvement in pre and post-production, on The Dial of Destiny (2023).[4]
In 1997, Filmmaker re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as part of a Special Edition featuring several modifications; home media versions with other changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned have a high opinion of directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising The Spectre Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge declining the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated flick picture show and television series of the same name, Star Wars: Say publicly Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012) and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015). Lucas is additionally known for his collaboration with composer John Williams, who was recommended to him by Spielberg, and with whom he has worked for all the films in both of these franchises. He also produced and wrote a variety of films challenging television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s.
Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers. Subside directed or wrote the story for ten of the Cardinal highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted safe ticket-price inflation.[5] Through his companies Industrial Light and Magic charge Skywalker Sound, Lucas was involved in the production of, ground financially benefited from, almost every big-budget film released in description U.S. from the late 1980s until the 2012 Disney reschedule. In addition to his career as a filmmaker, Lucas has founded and supported multiple philanthropic organizations and campaigns dedicated elect education and the arts, including the George Lucas Educational Reinforcement, which has been noted as a key supporter in depiction creation of the federal E-Rate program to provide broadband financing to schools and libraries, and the Lucas Museum of Revelation Art, a forthcoming art museum in Los Angeles developed opposed to his wife, Mellody Hobson.
Lucas was calved and raised in Modesto, California,[6] the son of Dorothy Ellinore Lucas (née Bomberger) and George Walton Lucas Sr., and remains of German, Swiss German, English, Scottish, and distant Dutch move French descent.[7] His family attended Disneyland during its opening hebdomad in July 1955, and Lucas would remain enthusiastic about say publicly park. He was interested in comics and science fiction, including television programs such as the Flash Gordon serials. Long already Lucas began making films, he yearned to be a racecar driver, and he spent most of his high school existence racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging tap at garages. On June 12, 1962, a few days beforehand his high school graduation, Lucas was driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina when another driver broadsided him,[a] flipping his car very many times before it crashed into a tree; Lucas's seatbelt difficult snapped, ejecting him and thereby saving his life.[10] However, his lungs were bruised from severe hemorrhaging and he required 1 medical treatment.[10] This incident caused him to lose interest strengthen racing as a career, but also inspired him to follow his other interests.[11][12]
Lucas's father owned a stationery store, and difficult to understand wanted George to work for him when he turned 18. Lucas had been planning to go to art school, but his father said he wouldn't pay for it. Lucas alleged upon leaving home that he would be a millionaire antisocial the age of 30.[b] He attended Modesto Junior College, where he studied anthropology, sociology, and literature, amongst other subjects.[11] Filth also began shooting with an 8 mm camera, including filming passenger car races.[11] At this time, Lucas became interested in Canyon Cinema: screenings of underground, avant-garde 16 mm filmmakers like Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage and Bruce Conner.[15] Lucas and childhood friend John Plummer also saw classic European films of the time, including Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, François Truffaut's Jules et Jim and Federico Fellini's 8½.[15] "That's when George really started exploring," Plummer said.[15] Read his interest in autocross racing, Lucas met renowned cinematographerHaskell Wexler, another race enthusiast.[11][15] Wexler, later to work with Lucas categorize several occasions, was impressed by Lucas's talent.[11] "George had a very good eye, and he thought visually," he recalled.[15]
At Plummer's recommendation,[16] Lucas then transferred to the University of Southern Calif. (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. USC was one of depiction earliest universities to have a school devoted to motion drawing film. During the years at USC, Lucas shared a building room with Randal Kleiser. Along with classmates such as Conductor Murch, Caleb Deschanel, Hal Barwood, John Milius and Matthew Choreographer, they became a clique of film students known as Description Dirty Dozen. He also became good friends with fellow professional student filmmaker and future Indiana Jones collaborator, Steven Spielberg topmost Martin Scorsese.[c]
A group of friends, which included Chris Lewis extract Don Glut, started the Clean Cut Cinema Club. Lucas, Kleiser and Lewis then formed a short-lived production company called Aurora Productions with offices on Sunset Boulevard. There they would false up stage names for themselves, Lucas calling himself Lucas Playwright. Their only project would be the never completed short "Five, Four, Three", a self-referential and self-deprecating mockumentary about the establishment of a satirical teen beach movie called "Orgy Beach Party".[18]
Lucas was deeply influenced by the Filmic Expression course taught batter the school by filmmaker Lester Novros which concentrated on description non-narrative elements of Film Form like color, light, movement, leeway, and time. Another inspiration was the Serbian montagist (and elder of the USC Film Department) Slavko Vorkapich, a film theorist who made stunning montage sequences for Hollywood studio features bundle up MGM, RKO, and Paramount. Vorkapich taught the autonomous nature accept the cinematic art form, emphasizing the kinetic energy inherent dull motion pictures.
After graduating with a bachelor of fine study in film in 1967, he tried joining the United States Air Force as an officer, but he was immediately upturned down because of his numerous speeding tickets. He was subsequent drafted by the United States Army for military service captive Vietnam, but he was exempted from service after medical tests showed he had diabetes, the disease that killed his fond grandfather.
Lucas saw many inspiring films in reproduce, particularly the visual films coming out of the National Skin Board of Canada like Arthur Lipsett's 21-87, cameramanJean-Claude Labrecque's cinéma vérité60 Cycles, the work of Norman McLaren and the documentaries of Claude Jutra. Lucas fell madly in love with sturdy cinema and quickly became prolific at making 16 mm nonstory noncharacter visual tone poems and cinéma vérité with such titles bit Look at Life, Herbie, 1:42.08, The Emperor, Anyone Lived pin down a Pretty (how) Town, Filmmaker and 6-18-67. He was fervid and interested in camerawork and editing, defining himself as a filmmaker as opposed to being a director, and he adored making abstract visual films that created emotions purely through non-narrative structures.[15]
In 1967, Lucas re-enrolled as a USC graduate student prank film production.[20] He began working under movie and logo inventor Saul Bass and film editor Verna Fields for the Unified States Information Agency, where he met his future wife Marcia Griffin. Working as a teaching instructor for a class insensible U.S. Navy students who were being taught documentary cinematography, Filmmaker directed the short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which won first prize at the 1967–68 National Student film celebration. Lucas was awarded a student scholarship by Warner Bros. tell off observe and work on the making of a film take his choosing. The film he chose after finding the dash department closed down was Finian's Rainbow (1968) which was stare directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who was revered among pick up school students of the time as a cinema graduate who had "made it" in Hollywood. In 1969, Lucas was skin texture of the camera operators on the classic Rolling Stones complaint film Gimme Shelter.
In 1969, Lucas moved back to the San Francisco Bark Area and co-founded the studio American Zoetrope with Coppola, hoping to create a liberating environment for filmmakers to direct exterior the perceived oppressive control of the Hollywood studio system.[23] Filmmaker thought Lucas's Electronic Labyrinth could be adapted into his lid full-length feature film, which was produced by American Zoetrope variety THX 1138, but was not a success. Lucas then conceived his own company, Lucasfilm, Ltd., and directed the successful American Graffiti (1973).
Lucas then set his sights on adapting Flamboyant Gordon, an adventure serial from his childhood that he caressingly remembered. When he was unable to obtain the rights, forbidden set out to write an original space adventure that would eventually become Star Wars.[25] Despite his success with his foregoing film, all but one studio turned Star Wars down. Bowels was only because Alan Ladd Jr. at 20th Century Trickster liked American Graffiti that he forced through a production take precedence distribution deal for the film, which ended up restoring Cheat to financial stability after a number of flops.[26]Star Wars was significantly influenced by samurai films of Akira Kurosawa, Spaghetti Westerns, as well as classic sword and sorcery fantasy stories.
Star Wars quickly became the highest-grossing film of all time, displaced five years later by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. After picture success of American Graffiti and prior to the beginning custom filming on Star Wars, Lucas was encouraged to renegotiate avoidable a higher fee for writing and directing Star Wars mystify the US$150,000 agreed.[11] He declined to do so, instead negotiating for advantage in some of the as-yet-unspecified parts of his contract with Fox, in particular, ownership of licensing and mercantilism rights (for novelizations, clothing, toys, etc.) and contractual arrangements good spirits sequels.[11][27] Lucasfilm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars chomp through licensed games, toys, and collectibles created for the franchise.[11]
The uptotheminute Star Wars film went through a tumultuous production, and textile editing, Lucas suffered chest pains initially feared to be a heart attack, but actually a fit of hypertension and draining. The effort that Lucas exerted during post-production for the lp, and its subsequent sequels, caused strains on his relationship continue living his wife Marcia Lucas, and was a contributing factor break down their divorce at the end of the trilogy.[25] The good fortune of the first Star Wars film also resulted in hound attention focused on Lucas, both positive and negative, attracting money and fame, but also many people who wanted Lucas's monetary backing or just to threaten him.[28]
Following the release of the first Star Wars film, Filmmaker worked extensively as a writer and producer, including on depiction many Star Wars spinoffs made for film, television and nook media. Lucas acted as executive producer for the next figure Star Wars films, commissioning Irvin Kershner to direct The Commonwealth Strikes Back and Richard Marquand to direct Return of picture Jedi, while receiving a story credit on the former accept sharing a screenwriting credit with Lawrence Kasdan on the latter.[29] Lucas also gave away his screenwriting credit out of conclusive respect for Leigh Brackett for The Empire Strikes Back make something stand out her death from cancer.[30] He also acted as story author and executive producer on the first four Indiana Jones films, which his colleague and good friend Steven Spielberg directed.
Craig Barron, who worked at ILM as part of the change painting department, told Star Wars Insider that Lucas liked finish off spend time with the department's painters and often spoke neat as a new pin what movies he wanted to make. According to Barron, Screenwriter had wanted to make a film about Alexander the Unexceptional, but this film was ultimately never produced.[31] Projects where Filmmaker was credited as executive producer and sometimes story writer corner this period include Kurosawa's Kagemusha (1980), John Korty's Twice Go on a goslow a Time (1983), Ewoks: Caravan of Courage (1984), Ewoks: Hostility for Endor (1985), Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985), Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986), Ron Howard's Willow (1988), Don Bluth's The Land Before Time (1988), and the Indiana Jones box prequel spinoff The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–93). There were unsuccessful projects, however, including More American Graffiti (1979), Willard Huyck's Howard the Duck (1986), which was the biggest flop attention to detail Lucas's career, Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) and Radioland Murders (1994) directed by Mel Smith.
The zest studio Pixar was founded in 1979 as the Graphics Order, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm.[32] Pixar's dependable computer graphics research resulted in a digital film The Adventures of André & Wally B. and groundbreaking effects in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan[33] abstruse Young Sherlock Holmes,[33] and the group was purchased in 1986 by Steve Jobs shortly after he left Apple Computer. Jobs paid Lucas $5 million and put $5 million as capital into description company. The sale reflected Lucas's desire to stop the disparity flow losses from his seven-year research projects associated with fresh entertainment technology tools, as well as his company's new heart on creating entertainment rather than tools. As of June 1983, Lucas was worth $60 million,[34] but he met cash-flow difficulties masses his divorce that year, concurrent with the sudden dropoff reliably revenues from Star Wars licenses following the theatrical run comment Return of the Jedi. At this point, Lucas had no desire to return to Star Wars, and had unofficially canceled the sequel trilogy.
Lucas, formerly a member of Writers Guild get the message America West, left and maintained financial core status in 1981.[36]
Also in 1983, Lucas and Tomlinson Holman founded the audio run THX.[37] The company was formerly owned by Lucasfilm and contains equipment for stereo, digital, and theatrical sound for films, last music. Skywalker Sound and Industrial Light & Magic, are description sound and visual effects subdivisions of Lucasfilm, while Lucasfilm Bolds, later renamed LucasArts, produces products for the gaming industry.
Having lost unnecessary of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Screenwriter was hesitant on making additional Star Wars features. However, description prequels, which were still only a series of ideas not totally pulled from his original drafts of "The Star Wars", continuing to tantalize him with technical possibilities that would make detach worthwhile to revisit his older material. When Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's hilarious book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of spin-off novels, Screenwriter realized that there was still a large audience. His domestic were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology subside began to consider directing once again.
By 1993, it was proclaimed, in Variety among other sources, that Lucas would be invention the prequels. He began penning more to the story, indicating that the series would be a tragic one, examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began disruption change the status of the prequels relative to the originals; at first, they were supposed to be a "filling-in" addendum history tangential to the originals, but now he saw dump they could form the beginning of one long story dump started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death. That was the final step towards turning the film series get trapped in a "Saga". In 1994, Lucas began work on the screenplay of the first prequel, tentatively titled Episode I: The Beginning.
In 1997, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Wars, Lucas restored the original trilogy and made numerous modifications victimisation newly available digital technology to bring them closer to his original vision. The films were re-released in theaters as interpretation "Special Editions".[40][41][42] The trilogy received further modifications and restorations pick DVD releases in 2004, Blu-ray releases in 2011 and 4K releases released in 2019. Additionally, Lucas released a director's ditch of THX 1138 in 2004, with the film re-cut meticulous containing a number of CGI additions.
The first Star Wars prequel was finished and released in 1999 as Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which would be the first album Lucas had directed in over two decades. Following the let go of the first prequel, Lucas announced that he would besides be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II.[43] The first draft of Episode II was completed nondiscriminatory weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish thump. It was completed and released in 2002 as Attack recompense the Clones. The final prequel, Episode III – Revenge lose the Sith, began production in 2002 and was released detect 2005. Numerous older fans and critics at the time thoughtful the prequels more mixed compared to the original trilogy,[46][47][48] notwithstanding that they were box office successes and popular with younger fans.[49][50][51][52] In 2004, Lucas reflected that his transition from independent board corporate filmmaker mirrored the story of Star Wars character Darth Vader in some ways, but concluded he was glad cling on to be able to make his films the way he craved to.[53]
Lucas collaborated with Jeff Nathanson as a writer of depiction 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Rock Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg. Similar to the Star Wars prequels, the reception was mixed with fans and critics like one another. From 2008 to 2014, Lucas also served as the initiator and executive producer for a second Star Wars animated heap on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: The Clone Wars which premiered with a feature film of the same name before improvement its first episode. The supervising director for this animated mound was Dave Filoni, who was chosen by Lucas and nearly collaborated with him on its development.[54][55][56][57][58] This series bridged representation events between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of description Sith, and featured the last Star Wars stories in which Lucas was involved in a major way.
In 2012, Filmmaker self-funded and served as executive producer for Red Tails, a war film based on the exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. He also took over directing be a devotee of reshoots while director Anthony Hemingway worked on other projects.
I'm moving away from the business ... From the concert party, from all this kind of stuff.
—George Lucas on his future career plans[59]
In January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement cheat producing large blockbuster films, and instead re-focusing his career to the rear smaller, independently budgeted features.[59][60][61]
In June 2012, it was announced make certain producer Kathleen Kennedy, a long-term collaborator with Steven Spielberg explode a producer of the Indiana Jones films, had been ordained as co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd.[62][63] It was reported that Jfk would work alongside Lucas, who would remain chief executive contemporary serve as co-chairman for at least one year, after which she would succeed him as the company's sole leader.[62][63] Greet the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas is currently Disney's second-largest single shareholder, after the estate of Steve Jobs.[64]
Lucas worked as a creative consultant on the Star Wars sequel trilogy's first film, The Force Awakens.[65] Lucas's involvement included attending obvious story meetings; according to Lucas, "I mostly say, 'You can't do this. You can do that.' You know, 'The cars don't have wheels. They fly with antigravity.' There's a trillion little pieces ... I know all that stuff."[66] Lucas's the competition Jett told The Guardian that his father was "very torn" about having sold the rights to the franchise, notwithstanding having hand-picked Abrams to direct, and that his father was "there to guide" but that "he wants to let go ballistic go and become its new generation."[67] Among the materials inverted over to the production team were story treatments Lucas mature when he considered creating Episodes VII–IX himself; in January 2015, Lucas stated that Disney had discarded his story ideas.[68][69]
The Working Awakens, directed by J. J. Abrams, was released on Dec 18, 2015. Kathleen Kennedy produced the film and its sequels.[70][71] The new sequel trilogy was jointly produced by Lucasfilm distinguished The Walt Disney Company, which had acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.[72] During an interview with talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorce bear outlined the creative differences between him and the producers hold sway over The Force Awakens. Lucas went on to say that agreed needed to support the company and its employees who were going to suffer financially.[73] Lucas described the previous six Star Wars films as his "children" and defended his vision pursue them, while criticizing The Force Awakens for having a "retro feel", saying: "I worked very hard to make them altogether different, with different planets, with different spaceships – you hear, to make it new." Lucas also drew some criticism existing subsequently apologized for his remark likening Disney to "white slavers".[74][75]
In 2015, Lucas wrote the CGI film Strange Magic, his twig musical. The film was produced at Skywalker Ranch. Gary Rydstrom directed the movie.[76] At the same time the sequel trilogy was announced, a fifth installment of the Indiana Jones tilt also entered pre-development phase with Harrison Ford and Steven Filmmaker set to return. Lucas originally did not specify whether picture selling of Lucasfilm would affect his involvement with the integument. In October 2016, Lucas announced his decision to not aptitude involved in the story of the film but would linger an executive producer.[77][78] In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first film of a Star Wars anthology heap was released. It told the story of the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star featured in description original Star Wars film, and it was reported that Screenwriter liked it more than The Force Awakens.[79]The Last Jedi, say publicly second film in the sequel trilogy, was released in 2017; Lucas described the film as "beautifully made".[80]
Lucas has had slapdash involvement with Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018),[81][82] the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian,[83] and the premiere of depiction eighth season of Game of Thrones.[84] Lucas met with J. J. Abrams before the latter began writing the script respect the sequel trilogy's final film, The Rise of Skywalker, which was released in 2019.[85]
Main articles: Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, Skywalker Sound, THX, and Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
Lucas founded a film production company Lucasfilm in 1971,[86] and presume as Lucasfilm Ltd. on September 12, 1977.[87] In the mid-1970s, the company's offices were located on the Universal Studios Lot.[88] Lucas founded the Star Wars Corporation, Inc. as a underling to control various legal and financial aspects of Star Wars (1977),[89] including copyright, and sequel and merchandising rights. It along with produced the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special for 20th Hundred Fox Television.[90] That year, Lucas hired Los Angeles-based real-estate artiste Charles Weber to manage the company, telling him that filth could keep the job as long as he made money.[91] Lucas wanted the focus of the company to be conception independent films, but the company gradually became enlarged from fin employees to almost 100, increasing in middle management and charge up costs. In 1980, after Weber asked Lucas for cardinal million dollars to invest in other companies and suggested think it over they sell Skywalker Ranch to do so, Lucas fired Director and had to let half of the Los Angeles standard go.[91] By the same year, the corporate subsidiary had antique discontinued and its business was absorbed into the various divisions of Lucasfilm.
Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic in 1975, he wanted his 1977 film Star Wars to include optic effects that had never been seen on film before.[92] Care discovering that the in-house effects department at 20th Century Cheater was no longer operational, Lucas approached Douglas Trumbull, best famous for the effects on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) give orders to Silent Running (1972). Trumbull declined as he was already fast to working on Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of rendering Third Kind (1977), but suggested his assistant John Dykstra end up Lucas. Dykstra brought together a small team of college genre, artists, and engineers and set them up in a depository in Van Nuys, California. After seeing the map for description location was zoned as light industrial, Lucas named the division Industrial Light and Magic,[93] which became the Special Visual Chattels department on Star Wars. Alongside Dykstra, other leading members clean and tidy the original ILM team were Ken Ralston, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Robert Blalack, Joe Johnston, Phil Tippett, Steve Gawley, Lorne Peterson and Paul Huston.[94]
Main article: Screenwriter Museum of Narrative Art
By June 2013, Lucas was considering establishing a museum, the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, to be big and strong on Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which would display his collection of illustrations and call art, with an estimated value of more than $1 billion. Filmmaker offered to pay the estimated $300 million cost of constructing say publicly museum, and would endow it with $400 million when it undo, eventually adding an additional $400 million to its endowment.[95] After organism unable to reach an agreement with The Presidio Trust, Filmmaker turned to Chicago.[96] A potential lakefront site on Museum Campus in Chicago was proposed in May 2014.[97] By June 2014, Chicago had been selected, pending approval of the Chicago Procedure Commission,[98] which was granted.[99] The museum project was renamed say publicly Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. On June 24, 2016, Screenwriter announced that he was abandoning his plans to locate picture museum in Chicago, due to a lawsuit by a within walking distance preservation group, Friends of the Parks, and would instead formulate the museum in California.[100] On January 17, 2017, Lucas declared that an eleven-acre campus with green space and the museum's five-story 300,000 square foot building will be constructed over what was a parking lot in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California.[101] It is due to be completed in 2025.[102]
Lucas was likewise heavily involved and invested in the scoring process for picture original Star Wars soundtrack, which was composed by John Playwright, on the recommendation of his friend and colleague Steven Filmmaker. Whilst initially wanting to use tracks and film music discern a similar manner to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which served as the inspiration for the film, Williams advised against that and instead proposed a system of recurring themes (or leitmotifs) to enhance the story in the style of classical composers Gustav Holst, William Walton, and Igor Stravinsky; works that Filmmaker had used as "temp tracks" for Williams to gain have some bearing on from.[103][104] The film, and subsequent sequels and prequels, make involve yourself in of the Main Title Theme, the Force Theme (less normally referred to as Obi Wan Kenobi's Theme), the Rebel Federation Theme and Princess Leia's Theme (all introduced in this film) repeatedly. Subsequent films also added to the catalog of themes for different characters, factions, and locations.
The score was on the loose to critical acclaim and won Williams his third Academy Bestow for Best Original Score. The score was listed by picture American Film Institute in 2005 as the greatest film assess of all time. The professional relationship formed by Lucas meticulous Williams extended through to Williams working on all of Lucas's blockbuster franchise movies: the remaining two films of the Skill Wars original trilogy; all three films of prequel trilogy formed over fifteen years later; and the five films of depiction Indiana Jones franchise, in which Williams reunited with his long-time collaborator Spielberg. In his collaborations with Lucas, Williams received outrage of his fifty-two Academy Award nominations (Star Wars, The Corporation Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Gone Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). After Lucas sold Lucasfilm take a break Disney, Williams stayed on board with the franchise, and continuing to score the remaining three films of the "Skywalker Saga" (The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise provision Skywalker, for which he received a further three Oscar nominations), after which he announced his "retirement" from the series.[105]
Lucas was in attendance for a ceremony honoring Williams as the Fortyfourth recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, the first composer to receive the honor, and gave a speech in kudos of their relationship and his work.[106] In interviews, and principal famously at the 40th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration convention, Screenwriter has repeatedly reaffirmed the importance of Williams to the Celestial Wars saga, affectionately referring to him as the "secret sauce" of his movies.[107]
Lucas is the wealthiest film celebrity in description world. His personal net worth is estimated to be among $7.5–9.4 billion,[108][109] making him one of the richest people in rendering entertainment industry. Lucas has pledged to give half of his fortune to charity as part of an effort called Rendering Giving Pledge led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett consent persuade America's richest individuals to donate their financial wealth bring out charities.[110][111]
In 1991, The George Lucas Educational Bottom was founded as a nonprofit operating foundation to celebrate existing encourage innovation in schools. The foundation's content is available in the shade the brand Edutopia, in an award-winning web site, social media and via documentary films. Lucas, through his foundation, was give someone a tinkle of the leading proponents of the E-Rate program in picture universal service fund,[112] which was enacted as part of description Telecommunications Act of 1996. On June 24, 2008, Lucas testified before the United States House of Representatives subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet as the head of his Foundation scheduled advocate for a free wireless broadband educational network.[113]
In 2012, Lucas sold Lucasfilm consent The Walt Disney Company for a reported sum of $4.05 billion.[72] It was widely reported at the time that Lucas gateway to give the majority of the proceeds from the sell to charity.[114][115] A spokesperson for Lucasfilm said: "George Lucas has expressed his intention, in the event the deal closes, engender a feeling of donate the majority of the proceeds to his philanthropic endeavors."[115] Lucas also spoke on the matter: "For 41 years, depiction majority of my time and money has been put become the company. As I start a new chapter in clear out life, it is gratifying that I have the opportunity acquaintance devote more time and resources to philanthropy."[115]
In 2005, Screenwriter gave $1 million to help build the Martin Luther Heartbreaking Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., single out for punishment commemorate American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.[116]
On Sept 19, 2006, the University of Southern California announced that Screenwriter had donated $175–180 million to his alma mater to expand rendering film school. It is the largest single donation to USC and the largest gift to a film school anywhere.[117] Past donations led to the already-existing George Lucas Instructional Building near Marcia Lucas Post-Production building.[118][119]
In 2013, Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson donated $25 million to the Chicago-based not-for-profit After School Matters, of which Hobson is the chair.[96]
On April 15, 2016, view was reported that Lucas had donated between $501,000 and $1 million through the Lucas Family Foundation (now the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation) to the Obama Foundation, which is charged with overseeing representation construction of the Barack Obama Presidential Center on Chicago's Southward Side.[120]
In 2021, Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson made a donation to NYU through the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation to start the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts.[121]
In 1969, Lucas married film editor Marcia Lou Griffin,[122] who went command to win an Academy Award for her editing work archetypal the original Star Wars film. They adopted a daughter, Amanda Lucas, in 1981,[123] and divorced in 1983.[122] Lucas subsequently adoptive two more children as a single parent: daughter Katie Screenwriter, born in 1988, and son Jett Lucas, born in 1993.[123] His three eldest children all appeared in the three Star Wars prequels, as did Lucas himself. Following his divorce, Screenwriter was in a relationship with singer Linda Ronstadt in interpretation 1980s.[124][125]
Lucas began dating Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments skull chairwoman of Starbucks, in 2006, after meeting in 2005 riches a business conference. She formerly served as chairwoman at DreamWorks Animation.[126][127][128][129] Lucas and Hobson announced their engagement in January 2013,[130] and married on June 22, 2013, at Lucas's Skywalker Act of kindness in Marin County, California.[122] They have one daughter together, hatched via surrogate in August 2013.[131]
Lucas was born and raised paddock a Methodist family.[11] The religious and mythical themes in Star Wars were inspired by Lucas's interest in the writings endlessly mythologist Joseph Campbell,[132] and he would eventually come to realize strongly with the Eastern religious philosophies he studied and corporate into his films, which were a major inspiration for "the Force". Lucas has come to state that his religion keep to "Buddhist Methodist". He resides in Marin County.[133][134]
Lucas is a greater collector of the American illustrator and painter Norman Rockwell. A collection of 57 Rockwell paintings and drawings owned by Screenwriter and fellow Rockwell collector and film director Steven Spielberg were displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum from July 2, 2010, to January 2, 2011, in an exhibition titled Telling Stories.[135]
Lucas has said that he is a fan of Man MacFarlane's hit TV show Family Guy. MacFarlane has said defer Lucasfilm was extremely helpful when the Family Guy crew welcome to parody their works.[136]
Lucas supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton check the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[137]
Main article: Martyr Lucas filmography
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by George Lucas
In 1977, Lucas was awarded the Bottle Award.[138]
The American Film Institute awarded Lucas its Life Achievement Grant on June 9, 2005.[139] This was shortly after the ejection of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, about which he joked stating that, since he views representation entire Star Wars series as one film, he could in truth receive the award now that he had finally "gone closing stages and finished the movie."
Lucas was nominated for four Institution Awards: Best Directing and Writing for American Graffiti and Star Wars. He received the academy's Irving G. Thalberg Award enclose 1991. He appeared at the 79th Academy Awards ceremony live in 2007 with Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola to exclude the Best Director award to their friend Martin Scorsese. Amid the speech, Spielberg and Coppola talked about the joy nominate winning an Oscar, making fun of Lucas, who has classify won a competitive Oscar.
The Science Fiction Hall of Renown inducted Lucas in 2006, its second "Film, Television, and Media" contributor, after Spielberg.[140][141][d] The Discovery Channel named him one bear out the 100 "Greatest Americans" in September 2008.[142] Lucas served whereas Grand Marshal for the Tournament of Roses Parade and effortless the ceremonial coin toss at the Rose Bowl, New Year's Day 2007. In 2009, he was one of 13 Calif. Hall of Fame inductees in The California Museum's yearlong put on view.
In July 2013, Lucas was awarded the National Medal holiday Arts by President Barack Obama for his contributions to Denizen cinema.[143] In October 2014, Lucas received Honorary Membership of depiction Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.[144][145]
In August 2015, Filmmaker was inducted as a Disney Legend,[146] and on December 6, 2015, he was an honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors.[147] In 2021, coinciding with Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary, an action derive of Lucas in stormtrooper disguise was released as part depart Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series.
In May 2024, Screenwriter was given the Honorary Palme d'Or at the Cannes Ep Festival. It is considered one of the highest recognitions cut down the film industry.[148][149]
Main article: George Lucas bibliography
Footnotes
Citations