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George LucasAmerican film director, producer and screenwriter
Date of Birth: 14.05.1944
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of George Lucas
George Lucas is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter, and one of the wealthiest directors of our time. He owes his immense success to just one story, but what a story it is... 'Star Wars' remains the most epic, grandiose story in cinema history. Neither 'The Lord of the Rings,' 'Avatar,' nor 'The Matrix' can compete with the saga of the Jedi, which has been recognized as the best science fiction film of all time.
Early Life
George Lucas was born on May 14, 1944, in Modesto, California. His father, George Lucas Sr., owned a stationery store, and his mother, Dorothy, was a homemaker. The director recalls growing up among farmers and rarely going to the cinema. He was interested in construction, cars, and photography. George dreamed of becoming a racecar driver and spent all his free time in trade shows and garages. When he narrowly escaped death in a car accident in his modified Autobianchi Bianchina in 1962, he lost interest in a racing career.
At college, Lucas studied sociology, anthropology, and literature. He struggled to choose a profession, so he enrolled in the film school at the University of Southern California. George decided that film was most closely related to photography, his only passion. His first feature film was 'THX 1138' (1970), produced with the involvement and sponsorship of Francis Ford Coppola. The dystopian sci-fi drama about the life of citizen THX 1138 in the 25th century failed at the box office, earning only $2 million. The film, starring Robert Duvall, was based on Lucas' short film 'Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB.' Despite its commercial failure, the work was warmly received by critics and eventually became a cult classic. Even in his first film, Lucas' rich imagination and his interest in unexplored worlds and the future of humanity were evident.
Star Wars
The story of 'Star Wars' began in 1976, when George Lucas and Alan Dean Foster released a novel of the same name. The film company '20th Century Fox,' which was responsible for making the film, feared it would fail at the box office, so they decided to release the book first. While it didn't achieve tremendous success, the film company still took a risk. In the late 1970s, there were no computer technologies, so Lucas had to create his fantastic world manually. Dozens of artists worked on the film, creating hundreds of costumes for the main characters. The lightsabers in the first three episodes were made of wood covered with reflective material, and ordinary potatoes were used as asteroids. The puppet of the character Yoda was created by British artist Stuart Freeborn, who said he drew the appearance of the character from his own facial features and the expression of Einstein's face. When the film was not yet finished, Lucas showed a small clip to Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma. Spielberg was enthusiastic, while De Palma called it nonsense. He asked where the blood was and what nonsense it was about the Force. However, according to Lucas, it was De Palma who helped him work on the most controversial and unconvincing moments.
The first film was released in 1977 and was a huge box office success, allowing '20th Century Fox' to breathe a sigh of relief as bankruptcy was looming at that time. In honor of this, the first part was titled 'A New Hope.' In 1980, the sequel 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' was released, followed by 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi' in 1983, which later became episodes V and VI of the saga. Twenty years later, in 1997, Lucas decided to return to the story of the Jedi. The trilogy was reworked using computer special effects and released in theaters. 'Star Wars' received a second wave of popularity, and the total box office earnings amounted to about $480 million. The incredible success of the film inspired Lucas to create prequels. Three more episodes were released, which chronologically preceded the events recounted in episodes V, VI, and VII. In 1999, 'Episode I: The Phantom Menace' was released, followed by 'Episode II: Attack of the Clones' in 2002, and 'Episode III: Revenge of the Sith' in 2005. 'Star Wars' became a cult film and brought Lucas and the film company enormous wealth. The income from the sale of related products (clothing, toys, etc.) exceeded $20 billion! The film saga had a tremendous influence on popular culture. It brought together passionate fans in role-playing clubs and movements and sparked an entire subgenre of science fiction in cinema. Moreover, based on the epic, a whole religious movement called Jediism emerged.
Indiana Jones
George Lucas became famous not only because of 'Star Wars' but also because of another film series, which, according to many, could compete with the James Bond films. We are talking about the adventures of Indiana Jones, whose prototype was the German archaeologist Otto Rahn, who was engaged in the search for the Holy Grail. In 1973, Phillip Kaufman and George Lucas developed the characters and the concept of the film, but they were busy with other projects at the time. Lucas showed the script to his friend Steven Spielberg, who liked it. He promised that he would definitely make this story. In 1981, the first part of the adventures of Indiana Jones was released, titled 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' The film, in which Harrison Ford played the lead role, gained incredible popularity and earned $380 million at the box office. The film received eight Oscar nominations and won four of them. Subsequently, George Lucas served as a screenwriter and producer for three more films about Indiana Jones, all of which were directed by Steven Spielberg.
Later Life
In 2012, George Lucas sold his brainchild, 'Lucasfilm,' which held the rights to 'Star Wars,' to 'The Walt Disney Company.' According to the director, it was time to pass on the story of the Jedi to the younger generation of filmmakers. The new owners intend to continue the great film epic and promise to release Episode VII as early as 2015. George Lucas currently lives in Marin County, California, with his wife Mellody Hobson, whom he married in 2013. The couple has a daughter named Everest. In addition to his young daughter, Lucas has three adult children from his first marriage to Marcia Lou Griffin. The director continues to produce films and always gives guidance to young filmmakers: if one day you want to create something great, know that one great day is today.
