George Walton Lucas Jr. was born May 14, 1944, in Modesto, California. His parents, George Lucas Sr. and Dorothy Lucas (they sold stationery and office supplies), raised the future film director along with his 3 siblings in the tranquility of suburban life.
The graduate of Downey High School and Modesto Junior College was not initially interested in filmmaking, but rather comic books and most notably, car racing. As a teenager, he found more excitement in car racing than his high school education, and only decided to steer towards film after experiencing a near-death accident while driving on a back road.
So Lucas attended the University of Southern California film program after having developed a love for cinematography, where he produced a film short entitled, THX — 1138:4EB. The futuristic film garnered Lucas several awards and led him to an internship at Warner Bros. Studios, where he worked as an assistant for Francis Ford Coppola.
Coppola took an interest in Lucas’ potential and in discovering new talent, and he convinced Warner Bros. to make a feature length film of Lucas’ experimental effort. With critical praise, although the renamed THX — 1138 became a cult favorite (but a box office bust), it was more than a valiant effort from a burgeoning filmmaker.
The 1971 film paved Lucas’ way towards Universal Studios, which financed his next project. On a tight budget, Lucas’ American Graffiti, which featured pre-stardom Harrison Ford and Ron Howard, went on to earn more than $145 million, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay Oscar nominations, as well as launched the importance of soundtracks in film.
After the film that was in part inspired by Lucas’ quiet suburban childhood and love for racing cars, Lucas became an important Hollywood figure, but it was nothing compared to the history-making film that takes place in a galaxy far, far away. In 1977, Lucas’ Star Wars (a.k.a Episode IV: A New Hope) was released, a film which really upped the ante for future filmmakers. Although the futuristic genre wasn’t new, it went on to gross $400+ million, and spun off with toys, action figures, and every other item under the roof, based on the film’s heroes and villains.
In 1980, the Star Wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (considered the best in the series), was released, but was not directed by Lucas as the film’s screenwriter was so busy thanks to the phenomenal success of Star Wars. A year later, Lucas teamed up with pal Steven Spielberg to release another huge hit, Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring American Graffiti’s Harrison Ford.
Raiders of the Lost Ark went on to become the first in another film franchise, the Indiana Jones series, with the 1984 sequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 1989′s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It even triggered a television series, Young Indiana Jones, which flopped.
In 1983, audiences caught the last of the Star Wars trilogy (at least for the next 16 years), with the release of Return of the Jedi. But with success comes failure, and Lucas was no stranger to that. 1986′s Howard the Duck, 1988′s Willow (both with Lucas as Executive Producer) and 1994′s Radioland Murders (writer) were all critical and commercial disappointments, but did not tarnish Lucas’ well-deserved reputation.
Finally, cult followers and avid fans stood anxiously in line for the theater release of the much anticipated Star Wars prequel: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman, the film was met with a lot of hype, but a lukewarm response.
American Graffiti not only launched the career of the writer, director and producer, but it also launched three new companies: THX, Lucas Film and ILM. THX is named after Lucas’ debut film outing, and is a technology that provides theaters with perfect sound quality, while Industrial Light and Magic is a special effects company that is responsible for the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and The Lost World.
Lucas is also founder of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, which brings technology to schools to add an element of fun in education. In order to have a hands-on approach to moviemaking and execution in his films, Lucas built a moviemaking empire outside of Hollywood.
Lucas lives in the Skywalker ranch compound in Marin County, a single parent with his adopted children Amanda, Katie and Jett. He was formerly married to film editor Marcia Griffin.
The world anxiously awaits Star Wars: Episode II, which is set for release in 2002.
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