• Producer and director George Lucas created the Star Wars series and, along with director Steven Spielberg, created the character of Indiana Jones. Through his Lucasfilm company, he operates the filmmaking and post-production facility Skywalker Ranch in Northern California and the special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic.

• 1. Born: May 14, 1944
  2. Birthplace: Modesto, California
  3. Estimated net worth: $3.6 billion
  4. 1967: Graduated from USC with a BFA in Film
  5. Oscar nominations: 4
  6. Originally planned to direct Apocalypse Now, but gave it to Francis Ford Coppola while working on Star Wars

• Early Influences and Films

  After taking an early interest in the abstract, experimental films of '60s artists like Stan Brakhage and Bruce Conner, a young George Lucas decided to enter one of the nation's first university programs specifically geared towards the study of cinema at USC. His short film, Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, won the 1967-1968 National Student Film Festival, and earned Lucas the opportunity to observe Francis Ford Coppola directing on the set of the musical Finian's Rainbow. (Lucas would later re-imagine the short as the feature-length film THX 1138.) Together, Lucas and Coppola would found the independent film studio American Zoetrope.

• Star Wars

  Following the success of the Zoetrope-produced American Graffiti, Lucas began work on the blockbuster film that would revolutionize Hollywood filmmaking - Star Wars. His original script was far too long for one movie, but rather than condense it, Lucas essentially agreed to simply film the first third, saving the remaining sections for the eventual trilogy.

  The tremendous financial success of the first Star Wars film, 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, gave Lucas the resources to start his LucasFilm companies, as well as developing what would eventually become the animation and CGI studio Pixar.

  Lucas directed no films between the 1977 original Star Wars feature and the 1999 "prequel," Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. During those years, he produced and contributed creatively to a number of films, most notably the Indiana Jones series, Ron Howard's fantasy Willow, and Howard the Duck.

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