(Credits: Far Out / TCM)
As the creator of both Star Wars and Indiana Jones, George Lucas is undoubtedly one of the most important Hollywood voices of the last five decades. However, he didn’t begin his career with the space opera that changed blockbuster moviemaking forever. Instead, he started out like most other filmmakers by going to film school before making low-budget movies. How many non-Star Wars movies has Lucas directed in total, though – and does he see himself ever returning to those kinds of pictures?
In 1967, Lucas graduated from the University of Southern California, moved to San Francisco, and co-founded a movie production company with one of his friends: a young man named Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola would, of course, make The Godfather in 1972, cementing his status as one of the hottest young directors in Hollywood. By that point, though, he had already made four previous films. It was on the set of 1968’s Finian’s Rainbow that he met Lucas, who became his production assistant on 1969’s The Rain People.
Coppola was instrumental in helping Lucas get his first feature film off the ground: 1971’s THX 1138, a science fiction film based on a short he’d made at university. American Zoetrope co-produced the film with Warner Brothers, and though it underperformed at the box office, it has gained a cult following in the years since. Lucas’ next film was 1973’s American Graffiti, which truly announced him on the Hollywood scene. This coming-of-age comedy-drama was based heavily on Lucas’ real-life experiences growing up in Modesto, California, and it was a massive hit. In fact, it’s still one of the most profitable movies ever made, and it earned five Oscar nominations to boot.
THX 1138 and American Graffiti are the sum total of Lucas’ non-Star Wars directorial efforts, though. Once he made that blockbuster in 1977, he became totally synonymous with the franchise. He continued to produce many movies and pioneered modern special effects with his company Industrial Light and Magic. However, aside from the three Star Wars prequels released in 1999, 2002, and 2005, he hasn’t stepped behind the camera again.
In 2015, Lucas sat down with Vanity Fair to discuss his illustrious career. At that point, he hadn’t directed a motion picture since Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, and he admitted that he wasn’t exactly keen to get back on the horse. “You go to make a movie, and all you do is get criticised,” Lucas complained. “You know, it’s not much fun”.
He noted that experimentation became difficult in the big-budget arena and added, “You have to do it a certain way. I don’t like that. I never did.”
The creator of the galaxy far, far away reminisced about his early career making experimental films and revealed that part of him would like to return to that arena. However, he claimed, “Of course, no one wants to see experimental films.”
He then indicated that, even if he did direct one of these movies, it wouldn’t be one “that will be shown anywhere.”
Why did George Lucas sell Lucasfilm to Disney?
In 1971, Lucas formed his own production company Lucasfilm, and its offices were initially located on the Universal Studios Lot. Over the years, Lucasfilm became the home of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, as well as other movies Lucas produced such as Labyrinth, Willow, The Land Before Time, and Red Tails.
In 2011, Lucas began to hold talks with the Walt Disney Company about selling Lucasfilm. Lucas told Disney CEO Bob Iger that he was considering retirement. By 2012, a deal had been struck for Disney to purchase the company for a cool $4.05 billion.
In The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III 1999-2005, Lucas revealed why he finally decided to cash in on the company and IPs he created. “At that time, I was starting the next trilogy. I talked to the actors and I was starting to gear up,” he explained. “I was also about to have a daughter with my wife. It takes 10 years to make a trilogy — Episodes I to III took from 1995 to 2005.”
“In 2012, I was 69,” Lucas continued. “So, the question was: am I going to keep doing this for the rest of my life? Do I want to go through this again? Finally, I decided I’d rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while.”
Related Topics
