- The force is definitely with <strong>George Lucas</strong>. In the almost 50 years since he studied film at the University of Southern California and trekked to the coffeehouse-lined streets of San Francisco as a young film novice to watch short art house movies, Lucas has managed to amass a <strong><a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/george-lucas/" target="_blank">$3.2 billion empire</a></strong>. With a plethora of major motion picture directing credits to his name, and a diverse resume—which includes everything from writing and producing some of the most successful sci-fi films of all time to serving as the chairman and CEO of his own production company—the jack-of-all-trades has more than cemented his place in Hollywood history. On the heels of his latest labor of love, <em><strong>Red Tails</strong></em> and the recent 3D theatrical re-release of <em><strong>Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace</strong></em>, <strong>BlackEnterprise.com</strong> Decodes the box office titan’s illustrious film career, philanthropic efforts and examines why the mastermind behind the first big budget all-Black action movie is no accidental billionaire. <em>—Shydel James</em>
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- <strong>On the Early Track to Success</strong> <br><br> Believe it or not, Lucas’s first love was not film. As a teenager, the California native dreamt of becoming a racecar driver, but a life-threatening car accident put a halt to his <em>Speed Racer</em> ambitions. He wound up attending the University of Southern California to study film. There, he honed his skills as a filmmaker, and achieved mainstream success seven years later with his second feature, <strong><em><a href="http://www.lucasfilm.com/inside/history/" target="_blank">American Graffiti</a></em></strong>. Not only was the 1973 coming-of-age flick a critical hit, earning Lucas <strong><a title="The Oscars Decoded: 12 Black Actors Who Won & Their Career Impact" href="http://www.blackenterprise.com/2012/02/24/12-black-actors-who-won-oscar-academy-award/" target="_blank">Academy Award</a></strong> nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay, but it also raked in some serious dough. Costing an estimated $777,000 to produce, the film grossed <strong><a href="http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americangraffiti.htm" target="_blank">$115 million</a></strong> domestically. That’s more than $50 for every dollar spent on production and distribution, making Lucas an instant millionaire before the age of 30.
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- <strong>Special Effects Wizard </strong> <br><br> In 1975, Lucas founded <strong><a href="http://www.ilm.com/index2.html" target="_blank">Industrial Light & Magic</a></strong>, a special effects shop to help create never-before-seen visuals for the original <em>Star Wars</em> film. Today, ILM is Hollywood’s go-to source for groundbreaking visual effects and computer generated imagery. The high-end special effects company has set the standard for visual effects, singlehandedly revolutionizing the way we watch movies, and is responsible for some of the most iconic eye-popping action sequences in cinematic history. The visual effects facility’s roster includes major box office hits like <em>Jurassic Park</em>, <em>Transformers</em> and <em>Avatar</em>. ILM, which has won over a dozen Oscars for visual effects, is also credited with creating the first completely computer-generated main character in the movie <strong><em><a href="http://movies.yahoo.com/person/george-lucas/biography.html" target="_blank">Dragonheart</a></em></strong>. Other lucrative subsidiaries of the entertainment mogul’s production company include Skywalker Sound, LucasArts, Lucas Books, Lucas Licensing, Lucas Online and Lucasfilm Animation.
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- <strong>The Stakes is High Profit</strong> <br><br> It’s no secret that Lucas’s much-adored sci-fi soap opera series, <em>Star Wars</em>, smashed records at the box office, catapulting his fortune and Hollywood star power to astronomical heights. Since its debut in 1977, the franchise has earned a total <strong><a href="http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/StarWars.php" target="_blank">$4.4 billion worldwide</a></strong>. But it was the auteur’s ingenious decision to waive his director’s fee to the cult classic in exchange for 40% of the “stake profits,” and the licensing rights to the film’s merchandising that really paid off. According to the <strong><a href="http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/george-lucas.html" target="_blank">Biography Channel online</a></strong>, since 1977, the production studio thought the rights to be “worthless,” but have since been proven wrong as the <em>Star Wars</em> franchise acquired an approximate $20 million since the film’s initial release.
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- <strong>A Career in “Ruins”</strong> <br><br> During the 22-year gap between the original <em>Star Wars</em> trilogy and the three prequels that followed, Lucas could have easily rested on his laurels…and money. Instead, he continued to work tirelessly as a producer and writer, and struck gold again when he commissioned longtime pal <strong>Steven Spielberg</strong> to direct his archeological action-adventure, <em>Indiana Jones</em>. The franchise, which stars Harrison Ford as the main character, includes four films, spans 27 years and grossed nearly <strong><a href="http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/IndianaJones.php" target="_blank">$2 billion</a></strong>. There are <strong><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2067513/Old-bones-Jones-Harrison-Ford-play-Indy-fifth-film–hes-70.html" target="_blank">reports</a></strong> that a fifth installment is in the works with Lucas attached as the writer and executive producer.
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- <strong>Flying High</strong> <br><br> The 2012 trailblazing drama, <em>Red Tails</em>, is the latest addition to the über-producer’s resume. The film tells the story of the <strong>Tuskegee Airmen</strong>, the first Black pilots to fight for the segregated U.S. Army during World War II. It took Lucas a staggering 23 years and <strong><a href="http://www.hauteliving.com/haute100/uncategorized/haute-100-san-francisco-update-george-lucas-talks-about-red-tails" target="_blank">$90 million</a></strong> of his own money to get the film made. While making the rounds to promote the project, Lucas <strong><a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-january-9-2012/george-lucas " target="_blank">revealed</a></strong> why studio heads were reluctant to green light his project. “It's an all-Black movie,” Lucas told Jon Stewart. “I showed it to all of them and they said, ‘No, we don't know how to market a movie like this.’” Some found Lucas’ candid publicity tour to be a divisive marketing ploy, while others used it as an opportunity to explore a supposed <strong><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/byron-williams/red-tails-post-racial_b_1216933.html?ref=entertainment" target="_blank">post racial Hollywood's</a></strong> reluctance to produce films that showcase Black people as heroes. Either way, his diatribe spawned an Occupy Red movement on <strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/214607608630520/" target="_blank">Facebook</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/OccupyRedTails" target="_blank">Twitter</a></strong>, and galvanized people to support the film. <em>Red Tails</em> debuted at No. 2 its opening weekend, bringing in more than <strong><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0485985/" target="_blank">$18 million</a></strong>.
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- <strong>Galactic Giver</strong> <br><br> Lucas has been quite giving of his $3 billion-plus fortune over the years. In 2005, he contributed $1 million to the <strong><a href="http://www.mlkmemorial.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=hkIUL9MVJxE&b=1601407&ct=2331431" target="_blank">Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project</a></strong> in Washington D.C. In 2006, he made history—this time off the film set—by making the largest donation in USC history when he wrote his alma mater a check for <strong><a href="http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/12754.html " target="_blank">$175 million</a></strong> “for the construction of new educational buildings and renovations of existing structures at the USC School of Cinematic Arts.” Then, the staunch supporter of <strong>President Obama</strong> donated over $30,000 to the <strong><a href="http://www.newsmeat.com/billionaire_political_donations/George_Lucas.php" target="_blank">Obama Victory Fund</a></strong> after the President’s historic win in 2008. The following year, the film mogul was awarded a <strong><a href="http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/explore-lincoln/honoring-lincoln/ford-s-theatre-lincoln-medal" target="_blank">Lincoln Medal</a></strong> along with <strong>Aretha Franklin</strong> and <strong>Sidney Poitier</strong> for his unwavering effort to integrate more technology-based learning into school curriculums through his foundation, <strong><a href="http://www.edutopia.org/" target="_blank">The George Lucas Educational Foundation</a></strong>.
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