History Creator / GeorgeLucas

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 one-minute film 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. Incidentally, the class was really impressed by this, with the teacher saying of Lucas, "We have a live one here!"

This was followed by a number of other shorts, including ''The Emperor'', ''Freiheit'', and ''Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB'', the latter of which he would eventually convert into a feature. A program by Hollywood studios offering students internships led to Lucas working on the sets of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''Film/FiniansRainbow''. The two men hit it off, with Coppola becoming his BigBrotherMentor and the pair remaining close friends and colleagues for most of the '70s and '80s until their careers branched off in different directions.[[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]]

This was followed by a number of other shorts, including ''The Emperor'', ''Freiheit'', and ''Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4 EB'', the latter of which he would eventually convert into a feature. A program by Hollywood studios offering students internships led to Lucas working on the sets of Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's ''Film/FiniansRainbow''. The two men hit it off, with Coppola becoming his BigBrotherMentor and the pair remaining close friends and colleagues for most of the '70s and '80s until their careers branched off in different directions.[[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]]

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944 in Modesto, California) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter, and the man behind ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.

With Coppola, Lucas founded American Zoetrope to get away from the oppressive Hollywood studio system, and Coppola produced his feature directorial debut, ''THX 1138''. That film's commercial failure sunk Zoetrope's initial plans for independence, though it remains a talismanic project for Lucas, the source of [[ContinuityNod references]], with "THX" and "1138" appearing in various forms, providing the name for the THX soundsystem. Lucas' main point in making that film was to show that (then) present-day America was close to the dystopias of science fiction, and he proved his point by using extensive location shooting at what were, at the time, highly futuristic-looking urban developments in San Francisco and Northern California. The failure led Lucas to go in what he saw as a commercial direction, i.e. making films about the problems of young people, and proving he can direct a serious drama. Produced by Gary Kurtz, ''American Graffiti'' was a major success sold on the NostalgiaFilter (It's tagline was "Where were you in '62?") of the America just-before Vietnam and the counter-culture. It led Lucas to go one step further.

Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with Coppola, to get away from the oppressive Hollywood studio system, and with the success of ''Graffiti'' and ''Star Wars'', founded Creator/{{Lucasfilm}}. Coppola produced Lucas's feature debut, ''THX 1138''. That film's commercial failure sunk Zoetrope's initial plans for independence, though it remains a talismanic film for Lucas, the source of [[ContinuityNod references]], with "THX" and "1138" appearing in various forms, providing the name for the THX soundsystem. Lucas' main point in making that film was to show that (then) present-day America was close to the dystopias of science fiction, and he proved his point by using extensive location shooting at what were, at the time, highly futuristic-looking urban developments in San Francisco and Northern California. The failure led Lucas to go in what he saw as a commercial direction, i.e. making films about the problems of young people, and proving he can direct a serious drama. Produced by Gary Kurtz, ''American Graffiti'' was a major success sold on the NostalgiaFilter (It's tagline was "Where were you in '62?") of the America just-before Vietnam and the counter-culture. It led Lucas to go one step further.

This was followed by a number of other shorts, including ''The Emperor'', ''Freiheit'', and ''Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4 EB'', the latter of which he would eventually convert into 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 men hit it off, with Coppola becoming his BigBrotherMentor and the pair remaining close friends and colleagues for most of the '70s and '80s until their careers branched off in different directions.[[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]]

He co-founded American Zoetrope with Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, to get away from the oppressive Hollywood studio system, and with the success of ''Graffiti'' and ''Star Wars'', founded Creator/{{Lucasfilm}}. Coppola produced Lucas's feature debut, ''THX 1138''. That film's commercial failure sunk their initial plans for independence, though it remains a talismanic film for Lucas, the source of [[ContinuityNod references]], with "THX" and "1138" appearing in various forms, providing the name for the THX soundsystem. Lucas' main point in making that film was to show that (then) present-day America was close to the dystopias of science fiction, and he proved his point by using extensive location shooting at what were, at the time, highly futuristic-looking urban developments in San Francisco and Northern California. The failure led Lucas to go in what he saw as a commercial direction, i.e. making films about the problems of young people, and proving he can direct a serious drama. Produced by Gary Kurtz, ''American Graffiti'' was a major success sold on the NostalgiaFilter (It's tagline was "Where were you in '62?") of the America just-before Vietnam and the counter-culture. It led Lucas to go one step further.

This was followed by a number of other shorts, including ''The Emperor'', ''Freiheit'', and ''Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4 EB'', the latter of 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]].

!!! Director

!!! Writer and Producer:

!!! Other Work

!!Filmography

!Filmography

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. Incidentally, the class was really impressed by this with the teacher going about George, "We have a live one here!"

This was followed by a number of other shorts, including ''The Emperor'', ''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]].

He co-founded American Zoetrope with Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, to get away from the oppressive Hollywood studio system, and with the success of ''Graffiti'' and ''Star Wars'', founded Creator/{{Lucasfilm}}. Coppola produced his film debut ''THX 1138''. That film's commercial failure sunk their initial plans for independence. Albeit it remains a talismanic film for Lucas, the source of [[ContinuityNod references]], with "THX" and "1138" appearing in various forms, providing the name for the THX soundsystem. Lucas' main point in making that film was to show that present day America was close to the dystopias of science-fiction, and he proved his point by using extensive location shooting of what, at the time were, futuristic looking urban development in San Francisco and Northern California. The failure led Lucas to go in what he saw as a commercial direction, i.e. making films about the problems of young people, and proving he can direct a serious drama. Produced by Gary Kurtz, ''American Graffiti'' was a major success sold on the NostalgiaFilter (It's tagline was "Where were you in '62?") of the America just-before Vietnam and the counter-culture. It led Lucas to go one step further.

In high school, Lucas was a car buff, and wanted to be a professional racer, until he sufferered a near-fatal crash days before graduation; [=EMTs=] actually [[NotQuiteDead declared him dead at the scene]]. After recovering, he attended community college, where his initial interest was in anthropology before attending screenings of films from the likes of [[Creator/JeanLucGodard Godard]], [[Creator/FrancoisTruffaut Truffaut]], [[Creator/FedericoFellini Fellini]], and (especially) [[Creator/AkiraKurosawa Kurosawa]] made him switch his focus to cinema (although anthropology would, by his own admission, continue to inform many of his films).

%% Per Administrivia/CreatorPageGuidelines, only tropes associated to a creator's works are allowed on this wiki's pages, and tropes that only apply to the creator's personal life as if the creator is a fictional character are not allowed. Please do not apply tropes about the creator's personal life as if they are a fictional character.

%%

In high school, George was a car buff, and wanted to be a professional racer, until a near-fatal crash days before graduation; [=EMTs=] actually [[NotQuiteDead declared him dead at the scene]]. After recovering, he attended a community college and turned his passion to filmmaking. As a student, his initial interest was anthropology but a visit to college film societies, and screenings of international films, especially Creator/AkiraKurosawa's films made him switch interest to cinema, albeit anthropology (by his own admission) still informed many of his films.

George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944), is an American director, producer and screenwriter, and the man behind ''Franchise/StarWars'' and ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.

* ''Film/GimmeShelter'': 1970 {{Rockumentary}} about Music/TheRollingStones in which he worked as a cameraman.

* 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 an HonestAdvisor to him like his ex-wife and co-editor Marcia, colleague Creator/BrianDePalma, producer Gary Kurtz, and co-writer Creator/LawrenceKasdan during the original Trilogy years.

* TributeToFido: In the 1970s, he had a dog called Indiana, who helped inspire two characters of his: ''Franchise/StarWars''' Chewbacca (being a big, furry dog that always sat up front with in his car) and the titular Franchise/IndianaJones (referenced in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', where we find out [[WeNamedTheMonkeyJack Indy took the nickname from his childhood dog]]).

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

* FanNickname: TheMaker, especially by the fan organization the 501st. Also known to some elements of the fandom as "The Flannelled One", after his love of flannel shirts.

* GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion: TropeNamer. He altered ''Star Wars'' and ''THX 1138'' significantly after their initial releases (though the latter was done in response to the ExecutiveMeddling that occurred during production rather than for personal taste).

** 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. Lucas, however, needed money to cover his divorce costs, so he sold off the department to Creator/SteveJobs, under whom it became Pixar and eventually immensely successful in its own right.

* AuthorUsurpation: ''Star Wars'' was so successful that most people don't know or care about any of the other movies George Lucas made, except for the ''Indiana Jones'' movies.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: George's first wife, Marcia, was one of his best editors and a positive influence on him as a storyteller. After their bitter divorce, her absence took TheHeart out of his work and it was never the same.
* AuteurLicense: Wrote, issued, and certified his license after the huge success of ''Star Wars''. He actually said "screw you" to the Directors' Guild in 1981 and left the union after they demanded he put credits at the beginning of ''The Empire Strikes Back''. In his last movies he didn't even need it, as he owned his own studio. In addition, George dislikes [[ExecutiveMeddling production companies messing]] with other people's movies, violating their "moral rights", and has spoken before Congress to advocate legal recognition of directors as creators entitled to copyright (it didn't take unfortunately). He argues that only a work's creator should be allowed to make changes to their work as they see fit.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The creator, writer and chief visionary of the overall franchise. He directed four of the films (the most by any)

* ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' (1980): The sequel to ''A New Hope'' directed by Irvin Kershner. Lucas and Kasdan worked from a draft story and script by Leigh Brackett.

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' (1983): Third film of the original Star Wars trilogy, directed by Richard Marquand, albeit owing to TroubledProduction, featured Lucas in a more hands-on role, and doing uncredited directing for a few scenes.

* ''Film/AmericanGraffiti''