George Lucas

George Lucas is the creator of the phenomenally successful Star Wars saga and Indiana Jones series and the Chairman of the Board of Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC, Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC., Lucas Licensing Ltd. and Lucas Learning Ltd.

Lucas directed his first feature film, THX 1138, in 1970. The film was produced by American Zoetrope and executive-produced by Francis Coppola. In 1971, Lucas formed his own film company, Lucasfilm Ltd., in San Rafael, California.

In 1973, Lucas co-wrote and directed American Graffiti. The film won a Golden Globe, the New York Film Critics’ and National Society of Film Critics’ awards, and garnered five Academy Award nominations.

Four years later, Lucas wrote and directed Star Wars – a film which broke all box office records and earned seven Academy Awards. Lucas went on to co-write the screenplays for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which he also executive produced. In 1980, he co-wrote the story and was the executive producer of Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, which won five Academy Awards. He was also the co-executive producer and creator of the story for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The film, released in 1984, earned two Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar for its visual effects.

In 1986, Lucas served as executive producer for Disneyland’s 3-D musical space adventure Captain Eo, which was directed by Francis Coppola and starred Michael Jackson. Lucas was also involved in the creation of Star Tours, a popular attraction at each of the Disney Theme Parks.

Lucas’ next project was the adventure-fantasy film Willow. Based on an original story by Lucas, the film was directed by Ron Howard and executive-produced by Lucas. Willow was released in 1988 and received three Academy Award nominations.

Also in 1988, Lucas executive-produced Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The film, directed by Francis Coppola, garnered three Academy Award nominations. In the following year, Lucas wrote the story and served as executive producer for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, earned an Oscar for Best Sound Design, and became the number one worldwide box office hit for 1989.

Lucas served as story author and executive producer of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which premiered in 1992. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles won a Banff Award for Best Continuing Series, a Golden Globe nomination for best Dramatic Series, an Angel Award for Quality Programming, 12 Emmy Awards and 26 Emmy nominations.

In 1992, George Lucas was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Award. The Award was given by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in producing.

Lucas was the story author and executive producer of Radioland Murders in 1994. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Star Wars in 1997, Lucas updated each film of the Trilogy to bring it closer to his original vision. The Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition was released theatrically worldwide with digitally remastered soundtracks, restored prints, enhanced visual effects and newly added footage.

Lucasfilm, established by George Lucas in 1971, has today evolved into five Lucas companies. The Lucas group of companies includes Lucasfilm Ltd., Lucas Online, LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC, Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC, Lucas Licensing Ltd. and Lucas Learning Ltd. Lucasfilm includes all of Lucas’ feature film and television productions as well as the business activities of the THX Group, which is dedicated to ensuring excellent film presentation Quality in theaters and homes through a series of specialized services.

LucasArts is a leading international developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, which have won critical acclaim with more than 100 industry awards for excellence. Lucas Digital, which consists of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound, provides visual effects and audio post-production services to the Entertainment and commercial production industries. ILM employees have won 40 Oscars working on films which have been awarded 14 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and received 14 Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards. Skywalker Sound employees have been honored with 28 Oscars working on films which have been awarded 15 Academy Awards for best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. Lucas Licensing is responsible for the merchandising of all of Lucasfilm’s film and television properties. Lucas Learning strives to create an uncommon learning experience by offering engaging interactive software products that provide learning opportunities through exploration and discovery.

George Lucas is the Chairman of the Board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. He currently serves on the boards of the Artists Rights Foundation, the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and the Film Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the USC School of Cinema-Television Board of Councilors.

George_Lucas & Star Wars

Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Star Wars, but later had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels.

Star Wars was released on May 25, 1977 by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels released in three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy’s final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again released in three-year intervals, with the final film released in 2005.

As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six Star Wars films has totaled approximately $4.3 billion, making it the third-highest grossing film series, behind only Harry Potter and James Bond.

Star Wars has spawned other media including books, television series, video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies comprise the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and have resulted in significant development of the series’ fictional universe. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released to theaters as the first ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchise’s first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the Expanded Universe series of the same name, a 3D CGI animated series based on a 2003 animated 2D series, also of the same name.