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George Lucas Biography
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| Name : | George Lucas |
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Date of birth :
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14 May 1944
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Place of birth :
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Modesto, California, USA
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Birth name :
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George Walton Lucas Jr.
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Height :
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5' 6
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George Lucas Trivia
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- Three adopted children: Amanda Lucas (aka Amanda Lucas, b. 1981), Katie Lucas (b. 1988), and Jett Lucas(b. 1993).
- Graduated from USC's school of cinema (1962)
- Shortly before graduating high school, he was involved in a high speed car accident that left him hospitalized and near death
- Lucas provided all the funding for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
- For 2nd consecutive year, ranked No. 4 on Entertainment Weekly's annual list of "101 Most Powerful People in Entertainment." Ranked just ahead of Steven Spielberg and just behind the power couple that runs Time Warner Turner media empire.
- Sits on USC School of Cinema-Television's Board of Councilors.
- In the 2001 edition of the Forbes' "400 Richest People In America", it is reported that Lucas' fortune is $3 billion.
- Ranked #10 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #14 in 2002.
- He is a diabetic.
- Frequently uses the famous "Wilhelm Scream" sound effect in his films. This sound effect has been used in dozens of movies.
- He has created the image of always being on the cutting edge of technology. However, when he writes, he does it in longhand in a loose leaf binder rather than on a word processor.
- He was so impressed with relatively unknown stage actor James Wheaton that he cast him over studio objections in the voiceover role of "OMM" in THX 1138 (1971). The studio wanted Orson Welles to play the role.
- His script for Star Wars (1977) was turned down by every major Hollywood studio, the reason being that no one would want to see it. In a last ditch attempt, Lucas approached 20th Century Fox who decided to go ahead with the script even though they were convinced it would flop. Star Wars ended up becoming the highest grossing movie ever released at that time. It still ranks as one of the highest grossing movies ever made to this day.
- Sold Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics Division to Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs, and it later became Pixar Animation Studio.
- His name backwards is Egroeg Sacul. This name is also used in the Disney theme park ride Star Tours (1987).
- Rewrote the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) to tighten it up due to the fact that the scene would have been too busy. It originally ended with the mine-car chase that was later added to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
- Conceived Indiana Jones while on vacation with his friend Steven Spielberg in Hawaii. Lucas decided to produce while Spielberg would direct.
- Had a long romantic involvement with Linda Ronstadt.
- With THX 1138 (1971) and Star Wars (1977), Lucas re-invented the way sound was used in films. Using it in both a linear and abstract way, to tell the story, he pushed sound design to the forefront of the filmmaking process.
- Refuses to put "critics quotes" on his movie posters. Something that infuriates many critic societies.
- Ranked #16 in Premiere's 2004 annual Power 100 list. Had ranked #10 in 2003.
- Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 605-610. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
- He based the character of Han Solo on his friend Francis Ford Coppola.
- He originally wanted his friend Steven Spielberg to direct Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), but his dispute with the Director's Guild barred him from doing so. He settled for director Richard Marquand instead.
- Became so stressed during the filming of the original Star Wars (1977) that he checked himself into a hospital, where he was diagnosed with hyper-tension.
- Said that Alec Guinness was very helpful to him during the filming of the original Star Wars (1977) even to the point of getting the other actors to work more seriously.
- Disowned Howard the Duck (1986) after the film's release.
- When he began his apprenticeship at Warner Brothers, what he wanted to see most was the Animation Department. He claims that the day he arrived on the lot was the very day the Animation Department was closed down.
- According to Lucas, one of the themes in all of his films is man's relationship to machines and technology - either controlling them, or being controlled by them.
- Despite a reputation as Hollywood blockbusters, all of the Star Wars films are actually independent films, with the exception of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The only way he could get the required funding to make the film was to apply for studio funding. With the success of the film and its merchandising, Lucas no longer needed to go to the studios. For Episodes V and VI, he took out bank loans, which he paid off on each films' earnings. For the Prequel Trilogy, he no longer needed bank loans, having made enough money to fund each film out of his own personal savings.
- He made what was at the time an unusual deal for the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Paramount financed the film's entire $20 million budget. In exchange, Lucas would own over 40% of the film and collect almost half of the profits after the studio a grossed a certain amount. It turned out to be a very lucrative deal for Lucas. Paramount executive Michael Eisner said that he felt the script for the film was the best he had ever read.
- Won the American Film Institute's Life Time Achievement Award.
- Ranked #11 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #16 in 2004.
- His favorite stage of film making is editing the film together.
- His nickname in high school was Luke. This later became the name of the hero of his original Star Wars trilogy, Luke Skywalker.
- He originally wanted to do a film adaptation of Flash Gordon, but he could not obtain the rights, so he created Star Wars instead, which was in a similar vein to Flash Gordon.
- Used the 1927 U.F.A. film "Metropolis" as guidelines for some of his Star Wars characters. The "robotic man" for "C3PO" and the "robots creator" as "Anakin Skywalker". Both the creator and Anakin lost a hand due to a circumstance. The "robotic man's creator" loses his hand while building the robot.
- Became rich almost overnight due to him keeping the rights to Star Wars and not selling them outright to Twentieth Century Fox.
- In the 2005 edition of Forbes' "400 Richest People in America" list, his net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion. He and good friend Steven Spielberg are the only filmmakers on the list.
- Plans to reissue all of the Star Wars movies in 3-D versions using the Dimensionalization process by ILM. The process was first used in Chicken Little (2005).
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George Lucas Detailed Biography
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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.
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