UncleGeorge

I was raised on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. My father was a stationery store owner and I had three siblings. During my late teens I went to Downey High School and was very much interested in drag car racing. I planned to become a professional racecar driver. However a terrible car accident just after my high school graduation ended that dream permanently. The accident changed my views on life. I decided to attend Modesto Junior College before enrolling in the University of Southern California film school. As a film student I made several short films including THX-1138: 4EB which won first prize at the 1967-68 National Student Film Festival. In 1967 I was awarded a scholarship by Warner Brothers to observe the making of Finian's Rainbow which was being directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola and I became good friends and formed a company called American Zoetrope in 1969. The company's first project was my full-length version of THX 1138. In 1971, Coppola went into production for The Godfather, and I formed my own company, Lucasfilm Ltd. In 1973 I wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical American Graffiti which won the Golden Globe and garnered five Academy Award nominations. This gave me the clout I needed for my next daring venture. From 1973 to 1974 I began writing the screenplay for Star Wars. I was inspired to make this movie from Flash Gordon and the Planet of the Apes films. In 1975 I established ILM to produce the visual effects needed for the movie. Another company called Sprocket Systems was established to edit and mix Star Wars and later becomes known as Skywalker Sound. my movie was turned down by several studios until Twentieth Century Fox gave me a chance. I agreed to forgo my directing salary in exchange for 40% of the film's box-office take and all merchandising rights. The movie went on to break all box office records and earned seven Academy Awards. It redefined the term "blockbuster". The rest is history. I went on and made the other Star Wars films and along with Steven Spielberg created the Indiana Jones series which made box office records of their own. From 1980 to 1985 I was busy with the construction of Skywalker Ranch, built to accommodate the creative, technical, and administrative needs of Lucasfilm. I also revloutionized movie theaters with the THX System which was created to maintain the highest quality standards in motion picture viewing. I went on to make several more movies that have created major breakthroughs in film making. I am chairman of the board of The George Lucas Educational Foundation. In 1992 I was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Award by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for my lifetime achievement.