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George Lucas

Directing

George Lucas

Born May 14, 1944Modesto, California, USA

Biography

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and entrepreneur. Lucas is known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Lucas wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his earlier student short Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financial failure. His next work as a writer-director was the film American Graffiti (1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California, and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film was critically and commercially successful, and received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture. Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), had a troubled production but was a surprise hit, becoming the highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a cultural phenomenon. Lucas produced and co-wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created, produced and co-wrote the Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989) and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). He also produced and wrote a variety of films and television series through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s. In 1997, Lucas rereleased the Star Wars trilogy as part of a special edition featuring several alterations; home media versions with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaborated on the CGI-animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012), and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015). Lucas is one of history's most financially successful filmmakers and has been nominated for four Academy Awards. His films are among the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation. Lucas is considered a significant figure of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement. Description above from the Wikipedia article George Lucas, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Highlights

Known For

Movie Credits

Filmography

203 movies

Hook poster

Hook

1991

Man Kissing on Bridge (uncredited)

Willow poster

Willow

1988

Executive Producer • Story

Return of the Jedi poster

Return of the Jedi

1983

Screenplay • Story • Executive Producer • Second Unit Director

Star Wars poster

Star Wars

1977

Executive Producer • Writer • Director

American Graffiti poster

American Graffiti

1973

Pinkie’s Pizza Employee (voice) (uncredited) • Director • Music Supervisor • Writer

THX 1138 poster

THX 1138

1971

Editor • Screenplay • Director • Story

Filmmaker poster

Filmmaker

1968

Self (voice) (uncredited) • Director • Writer • Director of Photography • Editor • Sound Recordist

6-18-67 poster

6-18-67

1967

Director • Writer • Cinematography • Editor

The Emperor poster

The Emperor

1967

Self - Army Captain (uncredited) • Director • Writer

Look at Life poster

Look at Life

1965

Director • Editor • Writer • Cinematography