George Lucas (b.1944,) fully George James Walton Lucas, is an American film producer, screenwriter, director, and entrepreneur. Creator of several of the most popular—and the most profitable—movies in history, he is most famous for the enormously successful ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ film franchises.
Born in Modesto, California, Lucas studied cinematography at the University of Southern California. His science-fiction short film Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) won first prize at the National Student Film Festival. He caught the eye of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who helped Lucas enter the film business. He received his first Best Director Academy Award nomination for his breakthrough film American Graffiti (1973.)
Lucas is recognized for writing and directing the science fiction film Star Wars (1977,) and the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983.) He also wrote and produced Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981; starring Harrison Ford) and the Indiana Jones series’ sequels. In 1999 he returned to direction with the first of a trilogy of Star Wars prequels, The Phantom Menace (1999,) followed by Attack of the Clones (2002) and Revenge of the Sith (2005.)
Lucas is responsible for many technical innovations in filmmaking, extraordinary effects. He founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and Industrial Light & Magic. He served as chair of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by George Lucas
If I’d have gone to art school, or stayed in anthropology, I probably would have ended up back in film … Mostly I just followed my inner feelings and passions … and kept going to where it got warmer and warmer, until it finally got hot … Everybody has talent. It’s just a matter of moving around until you’ve discovered what it is.
—George Lucas
Part of the issue of achievement is to be able to set realistic goals, but that’s one of the hardest things to do because you don’t always know exactly where you’re going, and you shouldn’t.
—George Lucas
Topics: Goals
Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you imagine it.
—George Lucas
Topics: Dreams
If the boy and girl walk off into the sunset hand-in-hand in the last scene, it adds $10 million to the box office.
—George Lucas
Do or do not; there is no try.
—George Lucas
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