History Creator / GeorgeLucas

For most of TheEighties, Lucas worked as a producer and writer of his own and other projects. He has collaborated with Creator/StevenSpielberg, another close friend, on the ''Indiana Jones'' projects, as well as Creator/FrancisFordCoppola. He worked on a number of other films both mainstream (''Labyrinth, Willow'') and avant-garde (such as the ''Koyanniqatsi'' documenaries, Paul Schrader's {{Biopic}} on Mishima which was the first mainstream Hollywood film entirely in Japanese, and Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Kagemusha'') but most of these were commercial failures. With the exception of ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'', none of Lucas' later ideas ever found commercial favour, and many of his solo producer work has often been CultClassic or niche items, with the exception of ''Film/HowardTheDuck'' being the biggest failure and still considered an embarrassing failure. Alongside that his company, Lucasfilm made many important innovations such as investment in CGI animation, chiefly Creator/{{Pixar}} studios, which Lucas sold to Creator/SteveJobs. While not involved in the creative process, his name resonates in the video game scene thanks to a branch of his empire, ''[=LucasFilm=] Games'' -- later renamed Creator/LucasArts -- which experienced a golden age in the 1990s and was responsible for creating many iconic AdventureGames and [[VideoGame/TieFighter Space]] SimulationGames, which are often ranked among the best games ever.

Lucas is also considered inconsistent when it comes to representation, being progressive and regressive at various points. On the one hand, Lucas deserves credit for making a fantasy series with decidedly Buddhist and Taoist inspirations. He also introduced strong female leads in mainstream movies via Princess Leia, and a major African-American character like Lando Calrissian who had a complex dramatic character arc that made him something more than TokenBlackFriend or sidekick (becoming in effect a "fourth musketeer" by the end of the original trilogy)[[note]]The fact that he originally planned to cast Creator/ToshiroMifune in ''Film/ANewHope'' and Creator/AlecGuinness was Plan B shows that his vision of Star Wars was intended to be diverse and multi-cultural[[/note]]. His production of ''Film/{{Willow}}'' was a fantasy epic with a dwarf actor (Warwick Davis) as the Hero, preceding Creator/PeterDinklage's celebrated turn as Tyrion Lannister in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' by thirty years. On the other hand, his ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' series was criticized for playing the MightyWhitey AdventureArchaeologist trope straight and for the hilariously offensive portrayal of India in ''Temple of Doom'', while Jar-Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels was seen as a neo-minstrel portrayal of a black sidekick (though Ahmed Best, the actor who played Jar-Jar Binks points out that this was entirely unintentional), and the fact that the Nemoidians of the prequels were coded as amoral inscrutable Asian businessmen while Watto was seen as a fantasy coded version of [[SpaceJews anti-semitic stereotypes]]. As a producer, Lucas has funded ''Film/RedTails'' which dealt with the Tuskegee Airmen, and was a notable case of a mainstream film with an African-American story and setting, while also producing ''Mishima'' an American film entirely in Japanese, while also playing a major part in mentor Creator/AkiraKurosawa's CareerResurrection in TheEighties. On one hand, Lucas has done a great deal more than most American producers and film-makers in raising diversity in mainstream cinema, on the other hand, his films thanks to its great fame, continued to perpetuate a bunch of negative stereotypes.

* CreatorBreakdown:
** His divorce from Marcia is often considered one. It led him to cancel his initial plans for ''Star Wars'' films, and it led to the mean-spirited nature of ''Temple of Doom''.
** He seemed to let the fandom's negative reception of the ''Star Wars'' prequels get to him over time, which probably showed the most in the "Why would I make any more [''Star Wars'' movies], when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?" quote.

[[quoteright:195:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/georgelucas.jpg]]

** He offered Disney several ideas for their ''Star Wars'' films upon turning over the rights, and was quite upset that none of them were used. This has been muddled by contradictory statements from various sources (including Lucasfilm, Mark Hamill, Lucas himself, and Bob Iger, chairman of Disney at the time), about what exactly can be traced to him.

** He offered Disney several ideas for their ''Star Wars'' films upon turning over the rights, and was quite upset that none of them were used. This has been muddled by contradictory statements from various sources (including Lucasfilm, Mark Hammill, Lucas himself, and Bob Iger, chairman of Disney at the time), about what exactly can be traced to him.

** He offered Disney several ideas for their ''Star Wars'' films upon turning over the rights, and was quite upset that none of them were used. However, looking at the concepts discussed in Lucas's plans for the sequels (which, in his outline, revolved around the grandchildren of Darth Vader[[note]]Represented by Kylo Ren as Darth Vader's grandson and Rey [[spoiler:as Darth Sidious's granddaughter, turned adopted daughter of Leia and bearer of the Skywalker name]] in the films; most notably, the character that would become Rey was specifically his idea.[[/note]], the return of the Empire and the Sith[[note]]Represented by the First/Final Order and Darth Sidious returning with a clone body, as done with ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' (a work which Lucas approved of).[[/note]], Leia becoming a Jedi[[note]]Represented in bits and pieces throughout all three films, but mainly the latter two.[[/note]], and Luke exiling himself following a tragedy[[note]]Originally to find a greater connection to the Force, but represented by that (to a lesser extent) and Luke's guilt in causing Ben Solo's fall to the Dark Side.[[/note]]) indicates that some of Lucas's statement misleading. However, one of his key concepts -- building the trilogy around exploring Midichlorians and the Whills -- was definitely not used as part of the narrative.

** He offered Disney several ideas for their ''Star Wars'' films upon turning over the rights, and was quite upset that ''none'' of them were used.

George Walton Lucas, Jr. (born May 14, 1944, Modesto, California), is the man behind ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ANewHope https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_kye5olL8ak1qzexpio1_500_7932.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Lucas with [[{{Pun}} Luke S.]] (Creator/MarkHamill)]]

Lucas is also considered inconsistent when it comes to representation, being progressive and regressive at various points. On the one hand, Lucas deserves credit for making a fantasy series with decidedly Buddhist and Taoist inspirations. He also introduced strong female leads in mainstream movies via Princess Leia, and a major African-American character like Lando Calrissian who had a complex dramatic character arc that made him something more than BlackBestFriend or sidekick (becoming in effect a "fourth musketeer" by the end of the original trilogy)[[note]]The fact that he originally planned to cast Creator/ToshiroMifune in ''Film/ANewHope'' and Creator/AlecGuinness was Plan B shows that his vision of Star Wars was intended to be diverse and multi-cultural[[/note]]. His production of ''Film/{{Willow}}'' was a fantasy epic with a dwarf actor (Warwick Davis) as the Hero, preceding Creator/PeterDinklage's celebrated turn as Tyrion Lannister in ''Series/GameOfThrones'' by thirty years. On the other hand, his ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' series was criticized for playing the MightyWhitey AdventureArchaeologist trope straight and for the hilariously offensive portrayal of India in ''Temple of Doom'', while Jar-Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels was seen as a neo-minstrel portrayal of a black sidekick (though Ahmed Best, the actor who played Jar-Jar Binks points out that this was entirely unintentional), and the fact that the Nemoidians of the prequels were coded as amoral inscrutable Asian businessmen while Watto was seen as a fantasy coded version of [[SpaceJews anti-semitic stereotypes]]. As a producer, Lucas has funded ''Film/RedTails'' which dealt with the Tuskegee Airmen, and was a notable case of a mainstream film with an African-American story and setting, while also producing ''Mishima'' an American film entirely in Japanese, while also playing a major part in mentor Creator/AkiraKurosawa's CareerResurrection in TheEighties. On one hand, Lucas has done a great deal more than most American producers and film-makers in raising diversity in mainstream cinema, on the other hand, his films thanks to its great fame, continued to perpetuate a bunch of negative stereotypes.

** This has ended up making him somewhat of a pariah in the general Hollywood system. When ''Empire'' came out he dropped out of the Directors' Guild when they started demanding more traditional opening credits for them. Ever since, he strove to make himself completely independent from Hollywood so that he could make his movies his way. With the financial clout ''Star Wars'' gave him, he noted about the time ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' came out that he has ''become'' his own meddling Hollywood system.

His early student films attracted much praise and support from his peers, being considered far in advance in terms of editing and cinematography than others of his class. Experimental film-maker Thom Andersen, who was a classmate, still considers them to be significant avant-garde films. For instance, his first work was in 1965 with ''Look at Life'', which was supposed to be a 1 minute film of consisting of testing various camera angles; Lucas took the opportunity to create an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGyopseEKRE intense and evocative montage of current events]] that went way beyond his class assignment. This was followed by a number of other shorts, including ''Freiheit'', ''Electronic Labyrinth : THX 1138'' which he would later convert to a feature. A program by Hollywood studios offering students internships led to Lucas working on the sets of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''Finian's Rainbow''. The two hit it off, with Coppola being his BigBrotherMentor and remaining very close friends for most of the '70s and '80s before their different careers branched off[[note]]Creator/SofiaCoppola admits that Lucas babysat her and other siblings, and "[[HonoraryUncle Uncle George]]" apparently first told the ideas that became ''Star Wars'' to them[[/note]].

Lucas was married to film editor Marcia Lucas (formerly Griffin) between 1969 and 1983 and he has several adopted children, most of whom have cameos in his films. Marcia worked as an editor for ''A New Hope'' and ''Return of the Jedi'', participating in the production of all the three original trilogy movies. In a notable example of CreatorCouple, her main contribution to the original trilogy was to serve as TheHeart, balancing out Lucas' highly technical, visual-minded vision with an emphasis on character development, plot and emotional response -- Creator/MarkHamill in particular has confirmed this. [[CreatorBreakdown Lucas' divorce from Marcia]], occurring at the same time as Spielberg's divorce from Amy Irving, is cited as a leading cause for the DarkerAndEdgier nature of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', as well as [[DevelopmentHell the fate]] of the Prequel Trilogy. In June 2013, he married his girlfriend of seven years, investment executive Mellody Hobson.

* ProtectionFromEditors: By the time the Prequel Trilogy was produced, Lucas had the clout to produce it as he wanted. However, many fans complained that was to the films' detriment considering Lucas lost anyone who could really say "no" to him who had the equivalent influence like Creator/BrianDePalma, his ex-wife and co-editor Marcia, and Creator/LawrenceKasdan during the original Trilogy years.

His early student films attracted much praise and support from his peers, being considered far in advance in terms of editing and cinematography than others of his class. Experimental film-maker Thom Andersen, who was a classmate, still considers them to be significant avant-garde films. His first work was ''Freiheit'' followed by a number of other shorts, including ''Electronic Labyrinth : THX 1138'' which he would later convert to a feature. A program by Hollywood studios offering students internships led to Lucas working on the sets of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''Finian's Rainbow''. The two hit it off, with Coppola being his BigBrotherMentor and remaining very close friends for most of the '70s and '80s before their different careers branched off[[note]]Creator/SofiaCoppola admits that Lucas babysat her and other siblings, and "[[HonoraryUncle Uncle George]]" apparently first told the ideas that became ''Star Wars'' to them[[/note]].

* ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' (1980): The sequel to ''A New Hope'' directed by Irving Kershner. Lucas wrote the main story and original drafts which were later rewritten by Kasdan, but already featured all the new characters, plot outline, romantic hookups, and plot twist.

After ''Return of the Jedi'' in 1983, Lucas announced the end of the ''Star Wars'' franchise, at least in movie form (the earliest ExpandedUniverse works kept chugging along for a few years after), but he later discussed plans for either sequels or prequels.[[note]]When the films were being made, he said they were part of a projected series of many as twelve films.[[/note]] Eventually in TheNineties, he set out on making the prequel trilogy. The successful revival of the Expanded Universe in various media such as books, comics and video games starting in the early '90s and the commercial successes of the [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion Special Edition]] re-releases of the films for the 20th anniversary of the franchise in 1997 also convinced him that the interest hadn't died down in ''Star Wars''. Unlike the made-as-it-went-along threadbare approach of the original film (by then rechristened ''A New Hope'') that was influenced by casting contingencies and uncertainty on whether any sequels would ever be made, the prequels were conceived from the start as a three-part work, with all scripts written at first. Lucas again tried to interest other film-makers, including Spielberg and Creator/RonHoward, but they all insisted that he should direct it. After a twenty-year gap (1977-1999), Lucas returned to the director's chair on the prequels, which were again technical marvels, innovating on CGI with one of the first entirely CGI motion-captured character Jar-Jar Binks in a mainstream film. For the second and third film, Lucas shot the films in digital, being the first major director to embrace digital film-making, a process that became a norm later in the decades. After finishing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Lucas again retired and went to producing, before announcing his landmark sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012, in a whopping $4 billion deal.

After ''Return of the Jedi'', Lucas announced the end of the ''Star Wars'' franchise, but later discussed plans for either sequels or prequels.[[note]]When the films were being made, he said they were part of a projected series of many as twelve films.[[/note]] Eventually in TheNineties, he set out on making the prequel trilogy. The commercial successes of the Special Edition re-releases also convinced him that the interest hadn't died down in ''Star Wars''. Unlike the made-as-it-went-along threadbare approach of the original film (by then rechristened ''A New Hope'') that was influenced by casting contingencies and uncertainty on whether any sequels would ever be made, the prequels were conceived from the start as a three-part work, with all scripts written at first. Lucas again tried to interest other film-makers, including Spielberg and Creator/RonHoward, but they all insisted that he should direct it. After a twenty-year gap (1977-1999), Lucas returned to the director's chair on the prequels, which were again technical marvels, innovating on CGI with one of the first entirely CGI motion-captured character Jar-Jar Binks in a mainstream film. For the second and third film, Lucas shot the films in digital, being the first major director to embrace digital film-making, a process that became a norm later in the decades. After finishing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Lucas again retired and went to producing, before announcing his landmark sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012, in a whopping $4 billion deal.

In 2016 he was the subject of a biography by Brian Jay Jones, whose previous work was about Lucas' sometime collaborator Creator/JimHenson. This is Jones' third biography, and his first on a still living person. There are other books including J. W. Rinzler's series on the making of ''Star Wars'', a book of interviews edited by Guy Flatley, ''The Cinema of George Lucas'' by Marcur Hearn, and ''Masters of Cinema: George Lucas'' by Karina Longworth.

Lucas has always been a controversial figure, despite being personally quite modest and disarming, even a little shy, and renowned for being a good sport[[note]]Number of Star Wars parodies such as ''Film/HardwareWars, Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' and Music/WeirdAlYankovic's mash up of "American Pie" with Star Wars, "The Saga Begins", were made not only with his approval but tacit support[[/note]] as well as being very generous[[note]]As noted by Creator/MarkHamill, Lucas gave the main cast of ''Star Wars'' a percentage of royalties for their performance which ensured a steady income for them, a practice unheard of then and still rare today. Hamill notes, "[[WhatYouAreInTheDark He didn't have to do that]]." When Lucas sold his company to Disney in 2012, he donated every penny of the $4 billion he was paid to Edutopia, an education charity.[[/note]]. The success of ''Star Wars'' and its revolutionary technique were met with praise but also dismay since it was seen as a shift away from the analog qualities of cinema (chiefly focusing on actors performances, good dialogue, real locations) to the technological, and this criticism has been constant since the beginning. In TheEighties and TheNineties, Lucas was held as symbolic for the turn in Hollywood away from the adult audience to a more family and child-centric approach, which along with the extensive merchandizing of Star Wars, and the drying up of funds for films with more serious matter, has led him to being accused (with Creator/StevenSpielberg occasionally[[note]]This died down when he made ''Film/SchindlersList'' in his case[[/note]]) for "ruining the movies". Lucas' embrace of digital cinema and CGI was also driven by similar mix of resentment and technological skepticism. But for most of that time, Lucas could count on being popular with the audiences, rather than the critics. This changed in the TurnOfTheMillennium, where Lucas experienced a considerable vocal backlash against the prequels, which in turn led to a backlash on himself. Not just from his regular critics who usually disliked the prequels for the same reasons they hated the originals (i.e. [[FeelingOppressedByTheirExistence the fact that it existed]]), but from his own fandom, who had formerly been loyal to him, with many now deprecating and questioning his skills as a director and writer. The fact that this period coincided with the rise of the internet and widespread use of online forums and social media spread this to a wider audience than it would have before[[note]]Lucas himself chided this in the wake of ''The Phantom Menace'' and the Jar-Jar Binks controversy noting that online posters represented a minority but owing to their presence, and coverage in news, they get a wider platform than their opinion actually represents[[/note]]. However, with the equally divisive reception of Disney's ''Star Wars'' films, especially ''Film/TheLastJedi'', fans have been reassessing both the Prequel Trilogy and Lucas himself in a more favorable light.

After ''Return of the Jedi'', Lucas announced the end of the ''Star Wars'' franchise, but later discussed plans for either sequels or prequels.[[note]]When the films were being made, he said they were part of a projected series of many as twelve films.[[/note]] Eventually in TheNineties, he set out on making the prequel trilogy. The commercial successes of the Special Edition re-releases also convinced him that the interest hadn't died down in ''Star Wars''. Unlike the made-as-it-went-along threadbare approach of the original film (now rechristened ''A New Hope'') that was influenced by casting contingencies and uncertainty on whether any sequels would ever be made, the prequels were conceived from the start as a three-part work, with all scripts written at first. Lucas again tried to interest other film-makers, including Spielberg and Creator/RonHoward, but they all insisted that he should direct it. After a twenty-year gap (1977-1999), Lucas returned to the director's chair on the prequels, which were again technical marvels, innovating on CGI with one of the first entirely CGI motion-captured character Jar-Jar Binks in a mainstream film. For the second and third film, Lucas shot the films in digital, being the first major director to embrace digital film-making, a process that became a norm later in the decades. After finishing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Lucas again retired and went to producing, before announcing his landmark sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012, in a whopping $4 billion deal.

After ''Return of the Jedi'', Lucas announced the end of the ''Star Wars'' franchise, but later discussed plans for either sequels or prequels.[[note]]When the films were being made, he said they were part of a projected series of many as twelve films.[[/note]] Eventually in TheNineties, he set out on making the prequel trilogy. The commercial successes of the Special Edition re-releases also convinced him that the interest hadn't died down in ''Star Wars''. Unlike the made-as-it-went-along threadbare approach of the original films, inspired by casting contingencies, and uncertainty on whether a sequel would be made, the prequels were conceived as a three-part work, with all scripts written at first. Lucas again tried to interest other film-makers, including Spielberg and Creator/RonHoward, but they all insisted that he should direct it. After a twenty-year gap (1977-1999), Lucas returned to the director's chair on the prequels, which were again technical marvels, innovating on CGI with one of the first entirely CGI motion-captured character Jar-Jar Binks in a mainstream film. For the second and third film, Lucas shot the films in digital, being the first major director to embrace digital film-making, a process that became a norm later in the decades. After finishing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Lucas again retired and went to producing, before announcing his landmark sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012, in a whopping $4 billion deal.

After ''Return of the Jedi'', Lucas announced the end of the franchise. But later discussed plans for either a sequel or a prequel[[note]]Even jibing to Creator/MarkHamill that one day he would grow old and pass the torch and become Merlin to the next Arthur[[/note]]. Eventually in TheNineties, he set out on making the prequel trilogy. The commercial successes of the Special Edition re-releases also convinced him that the interest hadn't died down in ''Star Wars''. Unlike the made-as-it-went-along threadbare approach of the original films, inspired by casting contingencies, and uncertainty on whether a sequel would be made, the prequels were conceived as a three-part work, with all scripts written at first. Lucas again tried to interest other film-makers, including Spielberg and Creator/RonHoward, but they all insisted that he should direct it. After a twenty-year gap (1977-1999), Lucas returned to the director's chair on the prequels, which were again technical marvels, innovating on CGI with one of the first entirely CGI motion-captured character Jar-Jar Binks in a mainstream film. For the second and third film, Lucas shot the films in digital, being the first major director to embrace digital film-making, a process that became a norm later in the decades. After finishing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Lucas again retired and went to producing, before announcing his landmark sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012, in a whopping $4 billion deal.

After ''Return of the Jedi'', Lucas announced the end of the franchise. But later discussed plans for either a sequel or a prequel[[note]]Even jibing to Creator/MarkHamill that one day he would grow old and pass the torch and become Merlin to the next Arthur, [[Film/TheLastJedi which was accurate]][[/note]]. Eventually in TheNineties, he set out on making the prequel trilogy. The commercial successes of the Special Edition re-releases also convinced him that the interest hadn't died down in ''Star Wars''. Unlike the made-as-it-went-along threadbare approach of the original films, inspired by casting contingencies, and uncertainty on whether a sequel would be made, the prequels were conceived as a three-part work, with all scripts written at first. Lucas again tried to interest other film-makers, including Spielberg and Creator/RonHoward, but they all insisted that he should direct it. After a twenty-year gap (1977-1999), Lucas returned to the director's chair on the prequels, which were again technical marvels, innovating on CGI with one of the first entirely CGI motion-captured character Jar-Jar Binks in a mainstream film. For the second and third film, Lucas shot the films in digital, being the first major director to embrace digital film-making, a process that became a norm later in the decades. After finishing ''Revenge of the Sith'', Lucas again retired and went to producing, before announcing his landmark sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012, in a whopping $4 billion deal.

** In a rare case of him completely missing the boat on an emerging new technology, he turned down the chance to get in on the ground floor at Pixar when some of the Lucasarts employees got involved with computer animation; however, Lucas sold off this department to Creator/SteveJobs to cover his divorce costs, after which it became Pixar and eventually immensely successful in its own right.

Lucas himself admits that he is [[SelfDeprecation "the King of Wooden Dialogue"]]. On the other hand, collaborators and actors do not dispute his incredible eye for casting, conceptualization, visual style, and his dramatic instinct (i.e. making Vader Luke's father, the all-time greatest plot twist which was entirely written by him). As a director, Lucas is known for constantly iterating (for instance, he brought back the cast and crew for reshoots for ''Attack of the Clones'' and ''Revenge of the Sith'', removing entire subplots that had been entirely filmed and finished as seen in deleted scenes) on set, as well as emphasizing wide and detailed backgrounds within which his characters interact, communicating a sense of place and setting. He's also considered a great director of immersive large-scale action scenes with impressive choreography of multiple moving parts as objects move through the screen. As a producer, a careful glance at Lucas' body of work shows that the number of uncommercial, avant-garde, and niche films that he has produced equal the number of mainstream works he has made, and that he is considerably more risk-taking than many give him credit for.