George Lucas net worth is $5.2 Billion. Also know about George Lucas bio, salary, height, age weight, relationship and more …

George Lucas Wiki Biography

George Walton Lucas Jr. was born on 14 May 1944, in Modesto, California USA, of British, Swiss-German (father)  and distant Dutch and French (mother) descent, and is an admired, popular and successful  film producer and director, screenwriter, enterpreneur, cinematographer, as well as a television producer. George Lucas is perhaps best known as the creator of the epic space opera franchise “Star Wars”, and the “Indiana Jones” franchise.

So just how rich is George Lucas? George Lucas has valuable assets, such as his home in California, the value of which amounts to $195 million, as well as his other house that costs $700,000. In short, George Lucas’ net worth is estimated to be a remarkable $5.2 billion, the majority of which comes from his directing career.

George Lucas  attended Modesto Junior College, and while there became interested in making films. Lucas then continued his studies at the University of Southern California, where he was inspired by the works of Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra and others. Lucas’ professional career began in the 1960s, when he started writing and producing short films. He obtained a scholarship from Warner Bros to study a film in the making, which turned out to be “Finian’s Rainbow” directed by Francis Ford Coppola. With the latter, Lucas founded American Zoetrope studio, to be independent from the major Hollywood studios, and made his directorial debut in 1971 with a science fiction film called “THX 1138” and even though it initially received mixed to negative reviews, over the years the film began receiving more positive critical reviews. Following his debut, George Lucas came out with “American Graffiti”, a coming of age film starring Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard. The movie was largely successful and was even nominated for the Academy Award for Directing and Writing. George’s net worth was well on its way!

After that, Lucas followed up with his famous “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, both of which brought him an immense fame, as well as largely contributed to his $5.2 billion net worth. The first “Star Wars” movie came out in 1977 and became the highest grossing movies of all time. The movie starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reached new heights of popularity and influenced the release of seven more films in the franchise, with another to be released in late 2015, as well the creation of eight television series and a number of video games.

With three theme parks inspired by “Star Wars”, this movie franchise is considered to be one of the greatest box office successes with more than $4.38 billion grossed worldwide. However, this was not the only successful film franchise created by George Lucas. In 1981, the first movie of the Indiana Jones franchise “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was released to highly positive critical reviews. The film, starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen, was the highest grossing film of the year and until this day is thought to be one of the greatest action-adventure movies of all time. The franchise inspired the creation of three more films, many comic books, novels, video games, theme parks, as well as a television series, all of which largely contributed to the fame of the main characters and the founder of the “Indiana Jones”.

George Lucas is certainly one of the most acclaimed directors of the modern era, having directed close to 50 films and been involved with nearly 30 TV series’. He has never won an ‘Oscar”, but has Golden Globe, Saturn and Empire Awards, and if success at the box office is anything to go by, then Lucas is right at the top of the list.

However, he is also a noted philanthropist, having created his own Foundation in the early ’90s, encouraging educational innovation, and also signing up the “The Giving Pleadge” organised by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, promising to donate half his wealth to worthy causes.

In his personal life, George Lucas was married to film editor Marcia Griffin(1969-83) – they have an adopted daughter. George has been married to Mellody Hobson since 2013 and they have a daughter. Lucas also adopted a daughter and a son as a single parent. He was known to have a relationship with singer Linda Ronstadt in the 1980s.

IMDB Wikipedia $5.2 Billion Actor Amanda Lucas American film directors American Graffiti California Carrie Fisher Cinema of the United States Cinematographer Claude Jutra Directors Entrepreneur Epic films Everest Hobson Lucas Film Film director Film Editor Film producer Gentle George George George L. George Lucas George Lucas Net Worth George Walton Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. Harrison Ford Indiana Jones Jett Lucas Jr. Karen Allen Katie Lucas Lucas Lucasfilm Luke Marcia Lucas Marcia Lucas (m. 1969–1983) Mark Hamill May 14 Mellody Hobson Mellody Hobson (m. 2013) Modesto Norman McLaren Raiders of the Lost Ark Richard Dreyfus Ron Howard Screenwriter Star Wars Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Television Producer THX 1138 United States United States of America White people

George Lucas Quick Info

George Lucas Trademarks

1. Frequently uses composer John Williams to score his films
2. Often uses soft-edge wipes as transitions between scenes in his films.
3. Frequently tells his actors the line “faster, with more intensity”.
4. Science fiction and fantasy themes in his films
5. His stories often feature older, more experienced characters educating younger ones.
6. Re-releases new versions of his films with enhanced special effects, much to the chagrin of critics and fans (the special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy, the director’s cut of THX 1138 (1971)).
7. Frequently uses the famous “Wilhelm Scream” sound effect in his films. This sound effect has been used in dozens of movies.
8. High-energy action scenes using fast-paced montage (Includes all films in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series).
9. 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.
10. Abstract and innovative sound design (THX 1138 (1971), Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977))
11. Stunning visual effects sequences, provided by Lucas’s own special effects company, ILM (Industrial Light & Magic).
12. Characters he has created often have “a bad feeling about this” (as in all of the Star Wars movies and in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008))
13. His films usually feature a battle scene which takes place around a large shaft or pit.
14. Letters/numbers THX-1138 (name of his first “real” movie) appears in many films: The licence plate number on Milner’s deuce coupe in American Graffiti (1973) was THX 138. A battle droid who captures Jar Jar Binks and the Gungans has the number 1138 written on his back. In Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Luke Skywalker said (with reference to Chewbacca) “Prisoner transfer from cell block 1138.” In Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), General Rieekan says, “Send Rogues ten and eleven (11) to station three-eight (38).”

George Lucas Quotes

• [on his future plans] I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theaters.
• I hate corporations and I’m not happy that they have taken over the film business but on the same hand I find myself being the head of a corporation. There’s a certain irony there.
• [on the death of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) director Irvin Kershner] The world has lost a great director and one of the most genuine people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Irvin Kershner was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. When I think of Kersh, I think of his warmth, his thoughtfulness and his talent. I knew him from USC – I attended his lectures and he was actually on the festival panel that gave the prize to my Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB (1967) short. I considered him a mentor. Following Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), I knew one thing for sure: I didn’t want to direct the second movie myself. I needed someone I could trust, someone I really admired and whose work had maturity and humour. That was Kersh all over. I didn’t want Empire to turn into just another sequel, another episode in a series of space adventures. I was trying to build something, and I knew Kersh was the guy to help me do it. He brought so much to the table. I am truly grateful to him. He was a friend as well as a colleague. He will be missed.
• [on the Imperial walkers in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)] The walkers, if anything, were inspired by the original novel of “War of the Worlds” where the Martians walked on giant spiders that walked on legs. I was trying to come up with a way of making this battle different and unusual without putting tanks and normal military stuff in there… They’re tall because I wanted the speeders to fly under them to make a more dynamic kind of battle out of it. And again I was struggling with the fact that in the first film I had this big space battle at the end of the movie but in this movie there wasn’t anything like that.
• [on Akira Kurosawa] Kurosawa was one of film’s true greats. His ability to transform a vision into a powerful work of art is unparalleled.
• [on James Cameron’s Avatar (2009)] Creating a universe is daunting. I’m glad Jim is doing it – there are only a few people in the world who are nuts enough to. I did it with Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), and now he’s trying to challenge that. It’s a lot of work. I do believe Jim will take this further out than anyone’s ever conceived of.
• [on why he waited so long to do the Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) prequels] Jurassic Park (1993) inspired me. I didn’t have to use rubber masks. I could build digital characters that can act and perform and walk around and interact with actors. I can use digital sets. I can paint reality. In essence, it means that cinema has gone from being a photographic medium to a painterly one.
• People think of me as a sort of pathological, Howard Hughes-type guy sitting in a hotel room, which is definitely not so.
• My greatest regret in my career is that John [Landis] was unable to direct “Howard the Duck”. I feel the movie would have been far more successful and saved me the years of hardship following its release. – on John Landis turning down directing Howard the Duck (1986).
• I am the father of our Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) movie world – the filmed entertainment, the features and now the animated film and television series. And I’m going to do a live-action television series. Those are all things I am very involved in: I set them up and I train the people and I go through them all. I’m the father; that’s my work. Then we have the licensing group, which does the games, toys and books, and all that other stuff. I call that the son – and the son does pretty much what he wants. Then we have the third group, the holy ghost, which is the bloggers and fans. They have created their own world. I worry about the father’s world. The son and holy ghost can go their own way.
• On the influence of Star Wars on Hollywood films: People say my movies are just like Hollywood movies. And I say, “I can’t help it if Hollywood copies.”
• Honestly, everyone feels you have to talk about yourself all the time. They say I’m introverted because I don’t give many interviews. But I don’t give many interviews because I don’t make many films.
• [About the upcoming film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)] When you do a movie like this, a sequel that’s very, very anticipated, people anticipate ultimately that it’s going to be the Second Coming. And it’s not. It’s just a movie. Just like the other movies. You probably have fond memories of the other movies. But if you went back and looked at them, they might not hold up the same way your memory holds up… You’re not going to get a lot of accolades… All you can do is lose.
• [About the origin of “Chewbacca”] There was a dog in American Graffiti (1973), but I didn’t use “Indiana” for the part because it was a night scene and I wanted a white dog. My wife was very upset that I didn’t put my own dog in the movie; so I said I’d put Indiana’s spirit in the next one. And that’s how the “Wookiee” came into being.
• [About THX 1138 (1971)] My first film was a parable about the way we are living our lives today. I realize it was a rather depressing statement. People really weren’t interested in a depressing statement. Being a pessimist doesn’t seem to accomplish anything.
• None of the films I’ve done was designed for a mass audience, except for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (aka Indiana Jones). Nobody in their right mind thought American Graffiti (1973) or Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) would work.
• [on critics] “You have to have a thick enough skin to cope with the criticism. I’m very self-critical and I have a lot of friends that I trust who are film directors and writers and people in my profession. I trust them to be extremely critical but I trust their opinion; their opinion is thoughtful, knowledgeable. I also know them personally so I know the psychological slant they are putting on it. I know what their tastes are and I can say, “Well that’s great for them but that’s not great for me.” Technical criticism is extremely helpful but you are only going to get that from your peers.”
• [on film critics] “There are a few critics overseas, and occasionally a critic will write an astute analysis of the movie. There is value in reading critics that actually have something intelligent to say, but the journalistic community lives in a world of sound bites and literary commerce: selling newspapers, selling books, and they do that simply by trashing things. They don’t criticize or analyze them. They simply trash them for the sake of a headline, or to shock people to get them to buy whatever it is they’re selling.”
• Yeah, I have a few dollars, but when you’re getting up to the point where the average movie costs $80 million, anything under $20 million is pretty cheap. Anything under $10 million is almost impossible. And anything under $5 million is Roger Corman.
• With film, if you get a million people to see your movie on the first weekend, you’ve made about $5 million. That basically will not end up on the top-10 chart. You have to get 10 million people on the first weekend. And if you don’t do it in two days, you’re basically out of the theaters and into the DVD market. There’s just an ecology there. If you’re a mouse, don’t expect to kill a lion, because it ain’t gonna happen. If you want to have that kind of power, it’s better to be a lion, because the mice are fine – you can have a life and everything – but the lions are the ones out there prowling and scaring the hell out of everybody.
• “Thank you. Thank you all. This is a very, very important award for me. Star Wars, oddly enough, doesn’t really get that many awards. I’m not a big favorite with the critics, but who listens to them? I’m not a big industry favorite either, but of course they are a bunch of studio executives. The most important people for any filmmaker, the reason that I make films, is for you! The audience rules! Thank you. Thank you very much!” – while receiving the Best Movie award for Revenge of the Sith at the Peoples Choice Awards.
• I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that the films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them. – expressing concern over the Colorization of black & white films.
• Part of the reason I went back to tell the prequel, of how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, is that it’s an interesting story and a fun one to tell. Because it is the story of how a good person turns bad.
• When asked what it was like to watch Steven Spielberg direct: It’s like watching Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison. It’s like watching Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods, any genius you can name.
• I’ve worked hard enough and earned enough to fail for the rest of my life. And I’m gonna do it!! – About making art films that he admits no one will want to see.
• The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we’re doing in Iraq now are unbelievable.
• On Gangs of New York (2002): We showed a print of it at the Skywalker Ranch. I was amazed by what he (Scorsese) did with it and where he went. It was terrific.
• I am very concerned about our national heritage, and I am very concerned that films that I watched when I was young and the films that I watched throughout my life are preserved, so that my children can see them.
• Regarding Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005): “Right or wrong this is my movie, this is my decision, and this is my creative vision, and if people don’t like it, they don’t have to see it.”
• If you can tune into the fantasy life of an 11-year-old girl, you can make a fortune in this business.
• I’ve had a very volatile relationship with Francis (Francis Ford Coppola). It’s on both sides, like we were married and we got divorced. It’s as close a relationship as I’ve had with anybody.
• From being a struggling, starving filmmaker to being incredibly successful in a period of a couple of years is quite a powerful experience, and not necessarily a good one.
• It’s hard work making movies. It’s like being a doctor:you work long hours, very hard hours, and it’s emotional, tense work. If you don’t really love it, then it ain’t worth it.
• He is one of the best. He’s outwitted the empire on numerous occaisons, and he has made some very fast deals. One of his problems is that he gambles quite heavily and that’s where he loses most of his money. He’s tough and sharp, but never manages to scrape together enough to get any power…He’s slightly self-destructive and he sort of enjoys being on the brink of disaster…You might meet him and he may be worth ten billion dollars and the next time you meet him he’s in debt up to his ears. – Describing Han Solo.
• I wanted to make abstract films that are emotional, and I still do.
• “He is his own man, he is not a son anymore, he is an equal.” – describing Luke Skywalker after his duel with Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
• To be renewed is everything. What more could one ask for than to have one’s youth back again?
• Making a film is like putting out a fire with sieve. There are so many elements, and it gets so complicated.
• The object is to try to get the (movie) system to work for you, instead of against you. And the only way you can do it is through success, I’m afraid.
• I took over control of the merchandising not because I thought it was going to make me rich, but because I wanted to control it. I wanted to make a stand for social, safety, and quality reasons. I didn’t want someone using the name “Star Wars” on a piece of junk.
• On the making of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977): “When you’re directing, you have to get up at four thirty [A.M], have breakfast at five, leave the hotel at six, drive an hour to location, start shooting at eight, and finish shooting around six. Then you wrap, go to your office, and set up the next day’s work. You get back to the hotel about eight or nine, hopefully get a bite to eat, then you go to your room and figure out your homework, how you’re going to shoot the next day’s scenes, then you go to sleep. The next morning it starts all over again.”
• I am simply trying to struggle through life; trying to do God’s bidding.
• The script is what you’ve dreamed up-this is what it should be. The film is what you end up with.
• The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie.
• A special effect is a tool, a means of telling a story. A special effect without a story is a pretty boring thing.

George Lucas Important Facts

• $400,000,000
• $250,000 + 5% of profits
• $2,500,000 + net profits
• $200,000 + 40% of the net profits
• $50,000 + 15% of gross
• $15,000
• $3,000
• $3,000
• After having a great working relationship with Steven Spielberg on Gremlins (1984), Spielberg produced the next two films Chris Columbus scripted, The Goonies (1985), based on an idea Spielberg had, and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985), which was Columbus’ idea, which altogether was two years working on three films. Spielberg then wanted Columbus to script Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), a big step for him as a writer. He accepted and went to meet Spielberg and Lucas, two men he was very intimidated by, even though Columbus had worked with Spielberg three times, and they were two of his cinematic heroes. Columbus acted as Spielberg and Lucas’s secretary on The Last Crusade for five days taking down all of their ideas. Lucas dictated the screenplay to Columbus making him fearful of changing any of it, and it went against what Columbus had learned at film school. To him, the script seemed lifeless and without energy and there was nothing of Columbus in it. He assumed Spielberg hired him for that last reason and when Columbus turned it in he was fired from the picture for all the above flaws in the script. It was a defining moment in Columbus’s career, to never again ignore his base instincts on a movie, or to be intimidated by the people he worked with.
• Has the head of a Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) Stormtrooper and an R2D2 in his office.
• Is best friends with Steven Spielberg and was best friends with Jim Henson when he was still alive.
• Although The Hidden Fortress (1958) was a major influence on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), his favorite film from Akira Kurosawa is Seven Samurai (1954).
• In 2012, sold his production company Lucasfilm to Disney for four billion dollars.
• George Lucas’ company Lucasfilm tried to sue the producer’s of the film Star Ballz (2001) for copyright and trademark infringement, but the federal judge refused saying that the public would likely not get Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) confused.
• According to a 1982 interview, Producer Stanley R. Joffe said that George Lucas should be bottled. He said he thought he was unique – probably the closest thing the world has to Walt Disney.
• Cites the work of Mythologist Joseph Campbell as an influence.
• Appeared in television camera commercials for showing only in Japan.
• Daughter, Everest Hobson Lucas, was born via surrogate, on August 9, 2013.
• Engaged to Mellody Hobson [January 3, 2013].
• He was inspired to create his iconic villain Darth Vader by Marvel Comics villain, and archenemy of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom.
• George Lucas has been in a relationship with Mellody Hobson (president of Ariel Investments, LLC) since 2007.
• Lucas supported Barack Obama for President in 2008. With girlfriend, Mellody Hobson, he attended the “We Are One” Presidential Pre-Inaugural Concert on 18 January 2009.
• Wrote three of the American Film Institute’s 100 Greatest Movies: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) at #13, American Graffiti (1973) at #62 and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) at #66.
• Close friends with Steven Spielberg.
• Has directed 2 actors to Oscar nominations: Candy Clark (Best Supporting Actress, American Graffiti (1973)) and Alec Guinness (Best Supporting Actor, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)).
• Has employed many relatives of his mentor Francis Ford Coppola in his Star Wars films. Coppola’s brother-in-law Bill Neil worked at ILM during the production of the original trilogy. Bill’s son Christopher Neil was a dialogue coach on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Roman Coppola and Sofia Coppola played a Naboo guard and handmaiden in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). In addition, Sofia Coppola had directed The Virgin Suicides (1999), which features Hayden Christensen before he was cast as Anakin Skywalker.
• Lives in San Anselmo, California.
• During pre-production of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), George created a phony working title – not for fan purposes, but to save money. Vendors and service providers, upon getting wind of the next Star Wars picture, were doubling their prices.
• George Lucas’s close friend John Landis was originally slated to direct Howard the Duck (1986) but after reading the script turned down the opportunity due to the police car crashes in the finale. He felt this was too similar to that of his previous film The Blues Brothers (1980).
• As a fan of Family Guy (1999), he occasionally gives the producers the clearance to do “Star Wars” gags on the series.
• Quit the DGA after some disputes over the opening credits in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980). The movie had no opening credits and the DGA fined Lucas with $250.000, which he paid, and eventually quit.
• Rankings on Premiere’s annual Power 100 List – 2002: #14; 2003: #10; 2004: #16; 2005: #11.
• Graduated from Modesto’s Roosevelt Junior High School in 1958.
• Skywalker Ranch, Lucas’ film production facility, covers an area of some 3,000 acres in Northern California’s Marin County hills. The precise address is: 5858 Lucas Valley Road, Nicasio, California, 94946. The facility employs around 200 personnel, is home to a baseball field, a vineyard, 3 restaurants and a fire station, not to mention the array of hi-tech amenities. The fact that Skywalker Ranch is located off Lucas Valley Road is pure coincidence.
• Is a fan of Doctor Who (1963).
• He, his mentor Francis Ford Coppola, and good friend Steven Spielberg presented Martin Scorsese with his first ever Oscar for Best Director for The Departed (2006).
• Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade. [2007]
• Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) is ranked #39 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.
• He received a medal from US president George W. Bush for outstanding achievement in improvements in technology in movies made by his special effects company, ILM.
• Had a dog named ‘Indiana’ which not only inspired the Indiana Jones character, but Chewbacca from Star Wars was also modelled around the way the dog looked.
• Plans to reissue all of the Star Wars movies in 3-D versions using the dimensionalization process by ILM (Industrial Light & Magic). The process was first used in Chicken Little (2005).
• In the 2005 edition of Forbes’ “400 Richest People in America” list, his net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion. He and his good friend Steven Spielberg are the only filmmakers on the list.
• Became rich almost overnight due to him keeping the rights to Star Wars and not selling them outright to 20th Century Fox.
• Used the UFA film Metropolis (1927) as guidelines for some of his Star Wars characters – the “robotic man” for “C-3PO” and the “robot’s creator” as “Anakin Skywalker”. Both the creator and Anakin lost a hand. The “robotic man’s creator” loses his hand while building the robot.
• 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.
• His nickname in high school was Luke. This later became the name of the hero of his original Star Wars trilogy, Luke Skywalker.
• His favorite stage of filmmaking is editing the film together.
• Won the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Disowned Howard the Duck (1986) after the film’s release.
• Said that Alec Guinness was very helpful to him during the filming of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) even to the point of getting the other actors to work more seriously.
• Became so stressed during the filming of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) that he checked himself into a hospital, where he was diagnosed with hypertension.
• 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.
• He based the character of Han Solo on his friend Francis Ford Coppola.
• Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. “World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985”. Pages 605-610. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
• Refuses to put “critics quotes” on his movie posters. Something that infuriates many critic societies.
• With THX 1138 (1971) and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Lucas reinvented 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.
• Was engaged to longtime girlfriend Linda Ronstadt.
• Conceived Indiana Jones while on vacation with his friend Steven Spielberg in Hawaii. Lucas decided to produce while Spielberg would direct.
• 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).
• His name backwards is Egroeg Sacul. This name is also used in the Disney theme park ride Star Tours (1987).
• Sold Lucasfilm’s Computer Graphics Division to Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs, and it later became Pixar Animation Studio.
• His script for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (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.
• 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.
• 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 is a diabetic.
• In the 2001 edition of the Forbes’ “400 Richest People In America”, it is reported that Lucas’ fortune is $3 billion.
• Sits on USC School of Cinema-Television’s Board of Councilors.
• 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 the Time Warner Turner media empire.
• 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).
• Shortly before graduating high school, he was involved in a high speed car accident that left him hospitalized and near death.
• Graduated from USC’s school of cinema (1962)
• Three adopted children: Amanda Lucas (b. 1981) (with ex-wife Marcia Lucas), Katie Lucas (b. 1988) and Jett Lucas (b. 1993).

George Lucas Filmography

George Lucas Awards