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George Lucas
Biography:
 George Walton Lucas, Jr. was born on May 14th, 1944 in Modesto, California. He grew up in the small town reading comic book and watching hours of television. As a teenager he spent his time listening to rock and roll and developing photographs in his spare bathroom. Lucas went to Downey High School where his struggled with his grades.
This is also about the time that he discovered one of the more significant influences in his life; racing cars. His first car was a light weight, two-cylinder Fiat Bianchina. Lucas modified it for increased horsepower began racing at the local track. He dreamed of one day becoming a professional race car driver. When he wasn’t at the track he was cruising up and down the streets of Modesto with his friends. But Lucas’ life was changed forever on June 12th, 1962 when an automobile accident nearly took his life.
After the incident Lucas spent two weeks in the hospital, followed by three or four more months of bed rest at his home. It was during this time that he really started to reflect on his aimless life and search for direction. He knew that his racing career was over and grades in high school were not good enough to get him into a university, so he applied to Modesto Junior College where he studied hard and earned his associate in arts degree. He applied for his junior year at San Fransisco State, but when his friend John Plummer told him about the film program at the University of Southern California, he applied and was accepted.
Lucas produced many award winning short films at USC including “Herbie”, “Freiheit”, and “Look at Life”. Later, Lucas won a spot among three other filmmakers to produce short promotional films about the Columbia Pictures project McKenna’s Gold. After graduation he took a job teaching film to military personnel at his alma mater. With these students he produced his short film “THX 1138:4EB”, which he would later flesh out into his first full length feature film with his friend and mentor, Francis Ford Coppola.
Lucas went on to create some of the most critically celebrated and financially successful films of all time. His film American Graffiti became the most profitable investment in film, his Star Wars saga has earned profits that are measured in the billions, and his collaboration with Steven Spielberg in the Indiana Jones franchise has resulted in some of the finest action and adventure ever seen on film. But George Lucas’ contribution to film and filmmaking extends far beyond his own projects.
His effects companies Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound has proven to be forerunners in filmmaking technology. With THX Ltd. Lucas created a hi-fi sound reproduction system which has virtually changed the way that movie theaters present their films. He has donated millions of dollars to the USC film department and has set up Skywalker Ranch to become a think tank for filmmakers. George Lucas is without question one of the most powerful and influential members in the film community.
Films:
THX 1138 (1971)
American Graffiti (1973)
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
More American Graffiti (1979)
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Latino (1985)
Willow (1988)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Radioland Murders (1994)
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Upcoming Projects:
Indiana Jones 4 (2008)
Other Film Credits:
The Bus (1965) (production assistant)
Grand Prix (1966) (additional camera operator)
Finian's Rainbow (1968) (uncredited production assistant)
The Rain People (1969) (associate producer)
Gimme Shelter (1970) (cinematographer)
Kagemusha (1980) (executive producer)
Body Heat (1981) (uncredited executive producer)
Twice Upon a Time (1983) (executive producer)
Labyrinth (1986) (executive producer)
Howard the Duck (1986) (executive producer)
Labyrinth (1986) (executive producer)
Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) (executive producer)
The Land Before Time (1988) (executive producer)
Short Films:
Look at Life (1965) (writer, director, and editor)
Herbie (1966) (writer, director, and editor)
1:42:08 (1966) (writer, director, and editor)
Freiheit (1966) (writer, director, and editor)
The Emperor (1967) (writer and director)
THX 1138:4EB (1967) (writer and director)
Anyone Lived in a PrettyHowTown (1967) (writer, director, and editor)
6-18-67 (1967) (writer, director, and editor)
Filmmaker (1968) (writer, director, and editor)
Captain Eo (1986) (writer and executive producer)
Star Tours (1987) (executive producer)
Music Video Projects:
“Duel of the Fates” by The London Symphony Orchestra and John Williams
“Rush, Rush” by Paula Abdul
Television Projects:
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) (uncredited writer)
The Ewok Adventure (1984) (writer)
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (writer)
Ewoks (series 1985-1987) (provided characters and executive producer)
Droids (series 1985-1986) (provided characters and executive producer)
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (series 1992-1993) (executive producer)
Star Wars: Clone Wars (series 2003-2004) (executive producer)
Non Film Projects:
Lucas co-authored the novels in The Chronicles of the Shadow War series with Chris Claremont. The series includes Shadow Moon, Shadow Dawn, and Shadow Star.
Production and Other Companies:
Sunrise Productions
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Industrial Light & Magic (Kerner Company Optical Research Lab)
Skywalker Sound (Sprocket Systems Inc.)
LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC
Skywalker Ranch
THX Ltd.
Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC
Lucas Licensing Ltd.
Lucas Learning Ltd.
Star Wars Corporation
Lucas Online
Film Award Ratios (wins/nominations):
Academy Awards – 13/41 (31.7%)
Golden Globes – 3/12 (25.0%)
Sundance Film Festival – 0/0 (0.0%)
Cannes Film Festival – 0/0 (80.0%)
Writers Guild of America – 0/4 (0.0%)
Directors Guild of America – 0/3 (0.0%)
AFI Top One Hundred Films of All Time – 3
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