George Lucas, full name George Walton Lucas Jr., was born on May 14, 1944 in Modesto, Ca. to George Lucas Sr. and Dorothy Lucas. He was raised in Modesto along with his two sisters. He attended Downey High School and Modesto Jr. College. However, as well known as he is for the movies he has created, George Lucas was originally interested in comic books and car racing, not film making. It was in fact his passion for fast cars that led to his brush with death. Lucas was seriously injured three days before his high school graduation while driving his Fiat Bianchina. The car was struck broadside by another oncoming car and "sent rolling toward a walnut tree at 60 miles per hour. His seat belt snapped and he was flung from the car which, a split second later, collided with such force that it moved the tree two feet, roots and all." {1.} Amazingly enough had the seat belt not snapped, he would have died instantly. After such an amazing experience, Lucas decided that it was time to choose a career. Even though his grades had been less than satisfactory in high school, he successfully raised them in junior college in order to be excepted into the University of Southern California's film school.

Through a scholarship from Warner Brothers Studio Lucas met and partnered with Francis Ford Coppola as Coppola's apprentice. Together they formed Amercian Zoetrope, an independent studio in San Fransico. Lucas directed his first film at the age of 26, a strange, futuristic movie called THX 1138. THX 1138 was a box office failure which resulted the demise of Zoetrope due to lack of funds from Warner. The failure of the movie did not however squelch his drive. Consequently THX 1138 became a huge cult classic after the success of Star Wars. {1.}

Lucas was much more careful about his next choice, he wanted quality but also entertainment. Lucas worked with Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck to create the script for American Graffiti. American Grafitti was a huge success, making Lucas a millionaire before the age of thirty. Lucas used his success to create Lucasfilm Ltd. and the next four years to work on his brilliant masterpiece, Star Wars. {1.& 3.}

Star Wars was not only a huge success but also helped to transform how movies were made. Lucas wrote the script entirely by himself and worked on draft after draft. To create the story and characters, he studied fairy tales, ancient mythology, and the theoretical works of Joseph Campbell. Campbell was a teacher who had catalogued the religious and social myths of the world. Besides the daunting task of writing an entire script himself, the shooting of Star Wars was at times pure agony. Wanting it to be pure perfection, Lucas at one point was hospitalized for hypertension due to the stress of directing. {1.}

Star Wars broke all the box office records for 1977 and won 7 Academy Awards. It was perhaps the ground breaking visual effects that made Star Wars such a phenominal success. The technology to create what was in Lucas's mind was not available at the time, however not being one to quit easily, he put his own money into the formation of Industrial Light and Magic. The special effects created here reinvented the way science-fiction movies were made. In fact, Star Wars has been chosen as the 15th greatest American film by the American Film Institute. {2.& 3.}

The sequel, The Empire Strikes Back was also written by Lucas, however the stress from directing its predecessor provoked Lucas to hire Irvin Kershner to direct. Being writer and executive producer, The Empire Strikes Back was still Lucas's brain child. The sequel was successful as well and thought by some critics to be the best of the three. Return of the Jedi soon followed, also written and produced by Lucas. The success of the trilogy enabled George Lucas to create Lucas Arts, THX sound, Skywalker Sound, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation, among others. {1.& 2.}

Aside from the Star Wars trilogy, he was executive producer of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark directed by Steven Spielberg. After the success of the Indiana Jones story, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was made. Lucas was co-executive producer and creator of Temple of Doom. Both movies were nominated and won Academy Awards. Lucas has been involved in the creation of several film projects. In 1992 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scinences gave Lucas the Irving G. Thalberg Award for "maintaining an exceptionally high standard of filmmaking." "I've always tried to be aware of what I say in my films," he said in his acceptance speech, "because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers; teachers with very loud voices." {1.}

The most amazing feat by Lucas to date has to be the creation of the prequel to Star Wars. Episode I: The Phantom Menace which was written, directed and produced by Lucas and released in May 1999. Although critics argue that Phantom Menace is not as well written as the other Star Wars movies, it was still phenominally successful. People stood in line for hours to see the prequel. Some even spent the night outside awaiting the debut. Episode II is currently being wrapped up in England with its release to be in 2002. Many fans are anticipating the next movie in the majesty that is Star Wars. {2.& 3.}

Remember George Lucas' famous words "May the Force be with you." Star Wars 1977.

Works Cited and Consulted

Jones International Multimedia Encyclopedia

George Lucas Bio

filmmakers.com Lucas bio

Filmography:

Lucas, George - Filmography

Biography