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At the 50th AFI Life Achievement Awards ceremony on Saturday, Hollywood icons Steven Spielberg and George Lucas united to honor Francis Ford Coppola, presenting him with the accolade. Spielberg and Coppola met in 1967, and in 1971 Coppola screened Spielberg's Duel at his home. Lucas was present, and that marked the beginning of Spielberg's relationships with both filmmakers. That same year, Coppola produced Lucas' first directorial project, Thx 1138. Spielberg lauded Coppola as "a warrior for independent artists" and someone "fearless in how open you are to ideas, opinions and inspiration."

Reflecting on Coppola's impressive filmography, Spielberg fondly recalled watching an early cut of Apocalypse Now, along with other filmmakers (via Variety):

"When the film ended, you asked us to tell you what we saw, how we felt. You invited all of us in, so one by one, we told you where we were lost and where we were found, and I sat there in awe,...

Francis Ford Coppola, one of Hollywood's most important living directors, is set to receive the Life Achievement Award from the AFI in their upcoming ceremony. Taking place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on April 26, the event, titled "The 50th AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Francis Ford Coppola," will be televised on TNT, although no official air date has yet been announced. However, what has been confirmed is that the prestigious award will be handed to Coppola by two Hollywood legends who happen to be very close to the director: Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

As reported by IndieWire, the American Film Institute selected Coppola to be the next recipient of the prestigious award. Lucas and Spielberg will join other incredibly important guests such as Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Adam Driver, Spike Lee, Al Pacino, Ralph Macchio, C. Thomas Howell and Diane Lane,...

Brandyn Barbara Artis, an actress who appeared in films including George Lucas’ Thx 1138 and Randa Haines’ The Doctor, has died. She was 81.

Artis battled breast cancer and died March 31 at her home in Los Angeles, her friend Karen T. Bolt announced.

Artis’ résumé also included work on such TV shows as Man From Atlantis, The White Shadow, Knots Landing, Dynasty and General Hospital.

She played a hologram dancer in Thx 1138 (1971), which starred Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence in Lucas’ first feature as a director, and was a nurse in The Doctor, starring William Hurt.

An U.S. Air Force veteran, Artis wrote the autobiographical one-woman play Sister, Girl, which was drawn from a journal she kept during her treatment for breast cancer. It was performed in the U.S. and internationally.

She also authored the 2011 romance novel Running Barefoot in Paris and won a Harper’s Bazaar/Estée Lauder “Fabulous at Every Age” contest,...

As fans wonder who the future of Star Wars will be handled by, it may be time to give respect to the original creator, George Lucas. The filmmaker wrote and directed the first film in 1977, triggering one of the most profitable and largest cinematic universes. The space opera began as a tribute to some of the serials he watched as a kid.

Originally intended for children, Lucas reportedly was a fan of fantastical sci-fi stories and did not want to get into the hard science aspect of it like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. One of his biggest inspirations and his initial idea was reportedly to adapt the campy comic book series Flash Gordon.

George Lucas was initially inspired by the Flash Gordon comics to make Star Wars George Lucas | Credits: YouTube/Star Wars

While Star Wars is one of the most popular sci-fi franchises in the world,...

Hollywood is where imaginative stories are put on the silver screen and people with minimal backgrounds can make historical careers of glamour. But aside from inviting in people of various backgrounds and creative mindsets, Hollywood has encouraged, mostly indirectly, daring filmmakers to go against its system and attempt to make successful pictures outside of the often creatively restraining industry. Legendary directors Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas formed in the early 1970s the best example of such rebellion with American Zoetrope, an independent film company which in the days prior to each of their legendary success, was their conjoined mission to challenge the Hollywood status quo in moviemaking, inviting a diverse array of storytelling and directors to form a new kind of cinema alternative. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to...

As great as the 1960s were for cinema, the argument can be made that the '60s belonged more to countries other than the United States. American cinema needed a significant shift where Hollywood could capitalize on the changes taking shape in the industry. For decades, Hollywood movies were restricted by the motion picture production code, and it kept them from depicting heavy realism on screen. Then came the end of the motion picture production code in 1968 and the rise of the New Hollywood era. The 1970s is the greatest decade in American cinema history and a big reason for that is a more director-driven market where filmmakers had a lot of control over the stories they could tell.

With art being prioritized, the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers gave audiences many of the greatest classics of all time. This generation included directors such as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton,...

Known for creating the iconic Star Wars franchise, George Lucas revolutionized the film industry with groundbreaking storytelling and cutting-edge technology. Since the release of A New Hope in 1977, the sci-fi saga has grown into one of the biggest and most influential franchises in the world, expanding into numerous films, TV series, games, novels, comics, and more.

George Lucas | Credit: Joi Ito/Cc-by-2.0/Wikimedia Commons

Despite Star Wars’ massive success and cultural impact, its creator has had a complicated relationship with Hollywood’s most prestigious honor, the Academy Awards. While the franchise has won multiple Oscars, Lucas himself has often been overlooked in major categories such as Best Director.

From his early success with American Graffiti to the sci-fi juggernaut that is Star Wars, here’s a look at every time the legendary filmmaker lost at the Oscars.

George Lucas lost the Best Director Oscar for American Graffiti

George Lucas is...

Science Fiction has been around almost since motion pictures were first created, with Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902) being one of the first. Since then, this has become one of the most popular genres in film, with innumerable additions since its inception.

Like other movie genres, some titles were created but have yet to catch on with audience members. This doesn't mean that these films were bad or not worth watching. On the contrary, there are some fantastic sci-fi films that should have garnered more attention. However, they faded into the background due to factors beyond their control. As a result, movie-goers may not have heard of some of these titles, but should definitely check them out.

Thx 1138 Presents a Drug-Free Life Where Love is Illegal

When drugs control people in a dystopian future, sex and love are outlawed. This is part of what happens in Thx 1138.

Star Wars became a cultural phenomenon under the leadership of George Lucas. From the Original Trilogy to all the narrative pieces that are now considered part of the Legends timeline. While now the property is in the hands of Disney, Lucas could go back to the drawing board, realizing one of his greatest dreams with his fortune, should he ever want to move on from Star Wars.

Luke Skywalker || Credit: Lucasfilm

While Star Wars is one of the most recognizable space operas of our times, George Lucas was obsessed with a different one which he wanted to adapt. Back when Star Wars was a figment of Lucas’ imagination, the legendary director wanted to do a Flash Gordon film, but the rights for the film seemed to be a little too out of his ballpark then.

King Features really did not want to part with the rights for Flash Gordon Flash...

Spoilers ahead for the first episode of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew."

"Star Wars" is known for a lot of things. Lightsabers. Swashbuckling action. Tyrannical villains. Daring escapes. True love. Soul-searing music. Special effects extravaganzas. Incredible filmmaking. Within certain parameters, you know exactly what you're getting into with a live action "Star Wars" project.

Sure, that pendulum can swing pretty hard. On one side, you can get pretty gritty and realistic stories — "Andor," for instance — and on the other side you can get much more innocent, swashbuckling, kid-oriented adventures like "Skeleton Crew." But one thing that unites all of the "Star Wars" projects is the inspiration from other films that filmmakers pour into their work. Sometimes, those films can be from their own interests, like Rian Johnson bringing his love of "Brazil" into his masterpiece "The Last Jedi," and other times it can be filmmakers bringing George Lucas's foundational reliance...

Wicked transports audiences to the world of The Wizard of Oz, with Universal’s adaptation of the Broadway smash starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo hitting theaters Nov. 22. It’s certainly had a smoother road than 1985’s Return to Oz.

After winning a sound Oscar for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, editor and sound designer Walter Murch was approached by Disney to discuss projects to direct. Murch expressed interest in an Oz story, and the studio was intrigued, as it owned the rights to author L. Frank Baum’s later novels The Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, on which Return to Oz would be based.

A darker and non-musical follow-up to MGM’s 1939 classic, Return to Oz stars young Fairuza Balk as Dorothy, who is called back to the titular land that has been destroyed by the diabolical Nome King (Nicol Williamson) and Mombi (Jean Marsh). Here,...

Poolman finally learned how to keep its head above water. Yes, the critically panned film flop surprisingly rose to No. 1 on Hulu after debuting Friday, Nov. 8 on the streaming service. The ranking was one of the few bright spots first-time director Chris Pine could hang his hat on after his directorial debut disappointed the vast majority of critics and audiences alike.

The reviews have been scathing to say the least, which led to the comedic mystery movie receiving a paltry 21% on the Tomatometer against 57 reviews posted to Rotten Tomatoes. And Steve Rose of The Guardian was particularly harsh on Pines first go-round behind the camera, scoring the flick only 1/5. Rose wrote in his review:

Chris Pine is usually a likable screen presence but hes let down here by a flimsy script and over-indulgent direction -- which could have something to do with the co-screenwriter (Chris Pine) and the first-time director.

George Lucas isn’t just a name in Hollywood, he’s a visionary storyteller who has not only introduced audiences to the two iconic franchises, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones but also redefined what it means to monetize creativity. While it is believed that only celebrities can be rich given their high salaries, Lucas has proven it wrong despite remaining behind the scenes. His genius lies in how he structured his deals and kept merchandising and licensing rights to Star Wars, building the film series into an empire worth billions. The mastermind behind the renowned franchise has cemented his place as one of Hollywood’s wealthiest figures.

When it comes to looking at celebrities’ financial triumphs, their net worth displays a financial snapshot that shows what they truly own after subtracting the debts. In simple terms, net worth is calculated by taking all the assets a person has and subtracting their liabilities.

Harrison Ford has been well-known for his performances in his action-driven films such as playing Indiana Jones in the ‘Indiana Jones saga’ and Han Solo in the ‘Star Wars’ films. They have been two successful franchises that had given Harrison some other opportunities for other action roles. However, he also proved to be a wonderful actor by even starring in experimental sci-fi movies such as Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi cult favorite ‘Blade Runner’ (1982). 1970s Harrison Ford was born on July 13th, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Ripon College in the state of Wisconsin. He also took some minor acting roles in film and TV. Despite the fact that he was trying to break into the entertainment industry, he was also a carpenter. Around the early 1970s, he landed a small part in George Lucas’ film ‘American Graffiti’ (1973). This was after the famous sci-fi director made his powerful debut film ‘Thx-1138,...

Quick Links Spielberg and Lucas' Rivalry Turned to Respect and Collaboration Consulting on Each Other's Films Led to a Big Bet Lucas Won the Box Office Battle, But Spielberg Won the Bet

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have shared a bromance of the highest order since 1967, thanks to a mutual admiration that began after Spielberg saw Lucas' first film, Thx 1138. The two were both Southern California film students with big aspirations at the time. Lucas showed way more promise back then, having been admitted to the University of Southern California's prestigious film program, while Spielberg had been rejected by USC and had to settle for California State University, Long Beach. Spielberg's envy of Lucas only grew after seeing Thx 1138 at a film festival competition. I realized that there was an entire generation coming out of NYU, USC and UCLA," Spielberg recalled of the time, adding, "Thx-1138 made...

R2-D2 is one of the most famous droids in Star Wars, but his name has a much less famous origin story. R2-D2, or as he's affectionately known, Artoo Detoo, was a droid who proved himself extremely helpful throughout the entire Skywalker saga of Star Wars movies. He served some of the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars, and he witnessed some of the most important events in the entire Star Wars timeline. Artoo is an extremely high-profile droid, but there are still some parts of his character that remain much less known.

Though Artoo has appeared in most of the Star Wars movies, there are still quite a few pieces of trivia and facts about R2-D2 that aren't immediately apparent. One of those facts is the origin of his name, which is a seemingly random combination of letters and numbers. While it would be easy to assume that George Lucas,...

“Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters,” which IndieWire ranked as the second-best film of the 1980s, is considered by many as writer/director Paul Schrader’s masterpiece. When Schrader was a guest on the Toolkit podcast to look back at the 1985 film, as part of a Metrograph Members Only Screening series, he made clear it was the film he himself was most proud of, in part because it was a miracle he ever got it made.

There were several seemingly impossible hurdles to Schrader realizing his vision for “Mishima.” The idea of an American film director making a Japanese language film in Japan, with a largely local crew and cast, was undoubtedly a hard sell. Making things considerably harder was the fact that Schrader’s subject, writer Yukio Mishima, was a hero to the Japanese right-wing due to his steadfast belief Japan had shamefully sacrificed its national identity and government...

Oscar-nominated director Lee Isaac Chung is stepping into the realm of summer blockbusters with "Twisters." Hitting theaters this weekend, the film serves as a standalone sequel to Jan de Bont's 1996 smash box office hit "Twister." It's a big step up for Chung, who previously directed the low-budget "Minari," which was one of the most acclaimed movies of 2020. And while this is his feature follow-up, Chung has had some experience working in the blockbuster realm on the small screen in the "Star Wars" universe. As it turns out, that experience directly paved the way for him to land the gig directing this massive summer tentpole.

Chung recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter in honor of "Twisters" touching down in theaters. During the conversation, the filmmaker was asked if his work on "The Mandalorian" season 3 and the upcoming "Star Wars" series "Skeleton Crew" from Jon Watts were warm-up jobs for something bigger.

George Lucas changed the world when he created the space opera Star Wars. The filmmaker told a story of a rebellion against a galactic empire that was set in a galaxy far away and it was the highest-grossing film of all time back when it was released in 1977.

Lucas’ sci-fi franchise has been extremely influential since then and has inspired generations of filmmakers. While his directorial debut Thx 1138 was a box-office bomb, the film was reportedly screened for students at his alma mater USC School of Cinematic Arts, which was attended by a young Robert Zemeckis, who would go on to make Back to the Future.

George Lucas’ Directorial Debut Was Screened At USC For A Young Robert Zemeckis A still from George Lucas’ Thx 1138 | Credits: American Zoetrope

Robert Zemeckis is known for directing films such as Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and Who Frame Roger Rabbit.

On the red carpet for the premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in 2015, filmmaker George Lucas -- who sold "Star Wars" to Disney in 2012 -- was relaxed and composed. He talked to reporters, and spoke dismissively of "Star Wars," seemingly over it all, and having washed his hands of the massive media empire he created.

Lucas mentioned that he was making new movies in his spare time, but that they were personal, weird, abstract shorts that no one would ever be allowed to see. After helping to pioneer a new wave of over-moneyed Hollywood glut, Lucas wanted to remind people that he was, after all, a filmmaker. It seems that after decades of having to shepherd the "Star Wars" media empire, he could get back to the low-budget college-level shorts he always wanted to make. 

Indeed, Lucas has always been clear about the sort of movie he always wanted to make.

Star Wars creator George Lucas was fêted with an Honorary Palme d’Or at this evening’s Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony.

In a poignant moment, Lucas was joined on stage by by his longtime friend, mentor and collaborator, Francis Ford Coppola who presented the award. On Lucas’ arrival, the crowd rose to their feet and gave the filmmaker a rousing five-minute standing ovation.

Coppola said on stage: “Congratulations George, not only are your many friends and I proud of you, but the whole world of cinema is too.” Lucas described the award as a “great honor” and thanked Coppola and the festival.

Standing ovation for George Lucas as he receives honorary Palme d'Or #Cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/OliQCfnblO

— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 25, 2024

George Lucas accepts honorary Palme d'Or #Cannes2024 pic.twitter.com/wNfjIR7Kjp

— Deadline Hollywood (@Deadline) May 25, 2024

Lucas has been in town this week,...

“We weren’t really that interested in making money, we were interested in making movies,” said Star Wars franchise architect George Lucas about the early days of his career with mentor Francis Ford Coppola in a Cannes sit down discussion today.

In a wide-ranging chat before a packed Salle Debussy Theatre crowd, Lucas, who is here to receive an honorary Palme d’or at the 77th edition shared how his Thx-1138 was accepted into a new section at Cannes, the Director’s Fortnight, back in 1971, but Warner Bros didn’t want to send the filmmaker or his co-scribe Walter Murch to France for the premiere. The duo scraped their money together, went to their own premiere in a side street venue, but snuck in because they didn’t have tickets. Years later he was asked by the French media why he didn’t go to the press conference of Thx 1138,...

The upcoming Garfield Movie features an ensemble cast led by Chris Pratt, with Samuel L. Jackson and other talented actors. Despite past lackluster Garfield films, this new installment has already shown promise with strong international box office numbers. Chris Pratt's track record in blockbuster films suggests he could potentially elevate Garfield into a lucrative franchise.

There have been several notable voice actors who voiced the iconic animated cat Garfield before Chris Pratt took the role in The Garfield Movie. The Garfield Movie will be the first feature film about the lasagna-loving and Monday-hating feline protagonist since 2006's Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (directed by Tim Hill), which was a sequel to 2004's Garfield: The Movie (directed by Peter Hewitt). Despite the decade-spanning popularity of the Garfield character, both films received poor reviews from critics, with the 2004 movie earning an abysmal 14% on Rotten Tomatoes and the sequel getting a score...

The Megalopolis parties and debates last week generously fed Cannes’ appetite for media buzz. Fest-goers were reminded that Francis Coppola’s journey had been a thrill ride for those who witnessed it, invested in it or were impacted by its turmoil.

The auteur was trailed all week by fans and family, many having survived the melodramatic ordeals of One from the Heart, the operatic intrigues of Apocalypse Now and finally the utopian fever dream titled Megalopolis, which he financed by putting $120 million of his own money on the line.

All represented a defiant challenge to the pre-algorithmic definitions of risk and reward. But one long-term participant in the Coppola drama was a non-presence in Cannes last week — though he is receiving an honorary Palme d’Or on Saturday.

He’s George Lucas, the billionaire nerd from Modesto who in former years contributed a discipline and order to their company’s (Zoetrope) unruly landscape.

Before "Star Wars," there was "Thx 1138." A strange, dystopic science fiction movie packed with big ideas up to its eyeballs, "Thx 1138" is now mostly known as the feature directorial debut of one George Walton Lucas Jr. (though it also came back in conversation when the best episode of "Andor" paid homage to it). The future Lucasfilm founder originally created this story of repressed emotions and stymied sexuality as a student film, but by the time it was reimagined as a feature, it had gained backing from Warner Bros.

Lucas' American Zoetrope co-founder Francis Ford Coppola also had faith in the movie, and served as one of its producers. "Thx 1138" starred Robert Duvall, then already known for his work on stage and television, not to mention in films like "To Kill A Mockingbird," "M*A*S*H," and "True Grit." Future "Halloween" actor Donald Pleasence co-starred, along with a then-unknown actress named Maggie McOmie.

Filmmaker George Lucas, the creator of the “Star Wars” franchise, will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at the closing ceremony of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The ceremony takes place on May 25, 11 days after Lucas’ 80th birthday.

“The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, ‘Thx-1138,’ was selected to be shown in a new program for first-time directors called the Directors’ Fortnight. Since then, I have returned to the festival on many occasions in a variety of capacities as a writer, director and producer. I am truly honored by this special recognition which means a great deal to me,” Lucas said in a statement.

“In the space of 40 years, George Lucas built a Hollywood empire through the nine episodes of the [‘Star Wars’] saga — four of which he directed himself,” the...

The life and achievements of filmmaker George Lucas will be celebrated at Cannes in May, as he’s to receive an Honorary Palme d’Or.

George Lucas, the legendary filmmaker behind such classics as Thx-1138 and American Graffiti, is to receive an Honorary Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The award will be handed over during the glitzy event’s closing ceremony in May.

In a statement shared with Variety, the writer, director and Red Tails producer said, “The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, Thx-1138, was selected to be shown in a new program for first time directors called the Directors’ Fortnight. Since then, I have returned to the festival on many occasions in a variety of capacities as a writer, director and producer. I am truly honored by this...

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas is the latest star to receive a coveted honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Lucas will be feted with the honor during the festival’s closing ceremony May 25, as announced by the festival. While the closing night feature has yet to be announced, the 2024 festival opens with Quentin Dupieux’s comedy “Le Deuxième Acte” (“The Second Act”) on May 14. Greta Gerwig oversees the jury board.

Lucas’ first feature “Thx-1138” debuted at Cannes in the Directors’ Fortnight program in 1971. The sci-fi film was co-written and directed by Lucas, with Francis Ford Coppola producing. Robert Duvall starred in the film about a dystopian future where people are monitored by android police officers and are force-fed drugs to negate emotions.

“The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, ‘Thx-1138,’ was selected...

George Lucas will receive an honorary Palme d’Or at the 77th edition of Cannes Film Festival.

The Star Wars and Indiana Jones director will be presented with the award at the festival’s closing ceremony on Saturday, May 25.

Lucas’ debut feature Thx 1138 premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight in 1971.

The US director has been nominated for four Oscars, including two for his 1974 feature American Graffiti.

”The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart,” said Lucas. ”I was surprised and elated when my first film, Thx-1138, was selected to be shown in a new program...

George Lucas will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 25.

“The Festival de Cannes is delighted to pay tribute to one of the greatest figures of contemporary cinema, a man with an extraordinary career, who brings together great entertainment and innovation, mythology and modernity and cinephilia and technology,” said the festival.

Lucas said that Cannes had always held a special place in his heart as a filmmaker for giving him one of his first festival breaks.

“The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, Thx-1138, was selected to be shown in a new program for first time directors called the Directors’ Fortnight.

“Since then, I have returned to the festival on many occasions in a variety of capacities as a writer, director and producer. I...

George Lucas, the iconic filmmaker behind the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or on May 25 during the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

“The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart,” Lucas said in a statement. “I was surprised and elated when my first film, ‘Thx-1138,’ was selected to be shown in a new program for first time directors called the Directors’ Fortnight. Since then, I have returned to the festival on many occasions in a variety of capacities as a writer, director and producer. I am truly honored by this special recognition which means a great deal to me.”

In announcing the Honorary Palme d’Or award, Cannes praised Lucas for building “a Hollywood empire through the nine episodes of the saga — four of which he directed himself,” and for his “unflagging passion for technology...

Until recently, if one were asked to name some of the best films of preeminent 1970s filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, it would be easy to pick the big hits. “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather II” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979) are definitely his most iconic and respected films. You’d also be hard-pressed to find a person aged 25-50 who isn’t keenly aware of his adaption of S.E. Hinton’s mandatory high school assigned “The Outsiders” (1983) or his classics “Peggy Sue Got Married” (1986) and maybe even “Tucker: The Man and His Dream” (1988). Yet lately, Coppola’s “The Conversation” (1974) has entered the chat as a somewhat under the radar, low-key masterpiece from the filmmaker, and this year the film celebrates its 50th birthday.

After honing his directorial chops on films like the Roger Corman-produced horror film “Dementia 13” (1963) and fledgling films like “You’re a Big Boy Now” (1966), “Finian’s Rainbow” (1968) and “The Rain People...

The Buck Rogers comic strip set the stage for Star Wars, inspiring George Lucas to create his own galactic saga. Lucas honed his filmmaking skills with American Graffiti before pursuing his dream of making big-budget sci-fi. Collaboration with colleagues and advice from industry veterans shaped Star Wars into the iconic franchise we know today.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same," French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849. During the following century, a real-life epoch that proved the quote true was set in motion when writer Philip Francis Nowlan created a character known as Anthony Rogers for his 1928 novella Armageddon 2419 Ad. The following year, the character would be reconstituted for the Buck Rogers comic strip, moving from literary side note to a hugely successful comic with a nearly 4-decade run that inspired countless radio and television serials. The comic would heavily influence a generation of sci-fi filmmakers,...

Return to Oz, Disney’s 1985 dark take on Dorothy Gale (played by a then-9-year-old Fairuza Balk), shares its creative DNA with Star Wars. Not only that, George Lucas saved writer-director Walter Murch’s job after Disney fired Murch from the Oz shoot.

Lucas and Murch were old friends and collaborators, having met in the film department of the University of Southern California in the mid-1960s.

“My first memory of him was a shadowy figure behind me in the photograph developing room,” says Murch about Lucas on The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast It Happened in Hollywood. “I was trying unsuccessfully to develop one of the photographs that I had taken for an exercise, and there was this voice behind me that said, ‘You’re doing it wrong.’ And I turned around and I said, ‘Who is this guy?’ Of course, it turns out he was right. I was doing it wrong.

The best movie George Lucas ever directed is not Star Wars. Star Wars has, without a doubt, created the biggest cultural impact and was a technical breakthrough that changed movies forever — but that still doesn't make it Lucas' best film. Partly due to his shepherding of the franchise, Lucas has a much smaller filmography compared to his cohorts such as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. After his debut feature, the hard science fiction film Thx 1138, he only made five other films, four of those being Star Wars movies (the three prequels in addition to the original.) In some ways it's sad — without the pressure of Star Wars, Lucas may have gone on to make more films that had broadened what was expected of him. There was one outlier in his career in particular that proved his skill as a filmmaker could be applied to other genres and still make something special.

Photo: Francis Ford Coppola

As we prepare for Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis', written, produced and directed by the genius Coppola, let us pay tribute to the auteur. 'Megalopolis' is a mega-starrer with Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Shia Labeouf, Jason Schwartzman, Grace VanderWaal, Kathryn Hunter, Talia Shire, Dustin Hoffman, D. B. Sweeney, and Giancarlo Esposito. Humble Beginnings Francis Ford Coppola has been well-known for directing the ground-breaking ‘Godfather Trilogy.’ Before he decided to sit on the director’s chair and make some of the most influential movies of his career, Coppola was a boy who grew up confined to bed with polio when he was nine years old. During his time indoors, he would create puppet shows in order to entertain himself. Eventually, he developed a keen interest in making 8-mm films. Despite the fact that he was born in Detroit Michigan,...

"Star Wars" was only the third feature film that George Lucas ever directed and it was easily more ambitious and expensive than "Thx 1138" and "American Graffiti" — the $11 million budget for "Star Wars" is equal to about $65 million today. Handling that kind of money, and spending it on a film whose absurdity invited dozens of ways to fail, strained Lucas' mental wellbeing.

It didn't help that the film suffered from a production that was anything but smooth, with constant effects problems and trailing behind schedule. Not all the actors (Harrison Ford included) had faith in Lucas' vision while they were shooting it. It's a matter of filmmaking legend now how "Star Wars" didn't come together until Marcia Lucas (one of the film's three credited editors and George's then-wife) cut it into shape in her editing bay; before that, Lucas was concerned he'd bitten off more than he could chew.

In...

George Lucas' "Star Wars" is easily the most underestimated movie ever made.

When Lucas closed a deal with 20th Century Fox chief Alan Ladd Jr. in June 1973 to write and direct the space opera, he was two months away from hitting the box-office jackpot with his nostalgia-fueled classic "American Graffiti." And while Lucas was a part of the New Hollywood revolution on the strength of "Thx 1138" alone, he wasn't interested in making thematically/stylistically provocative films like William Friedkin, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. He just wanted to tell stories, one of which happened to be an intergalactic saga inspired by the escapist adventures of his youth.

No one got it. So when "Star Wars" turned into the biggest cinematic phenomenon since "Gone with the Wind," just about everyone who made money off the motion picture industry was caught flat-footed. In many cases, the demand for anything related...

Renowned three-time Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch — known for films including Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Part II and The English Patient — and respected documentary editor Kate Amend — who cut Academy Award-winning docs Into the Arms of Strangers and The Long Way Home — will receive career achievement awards at the 74th American Cinema Editors Eddie Awards.

During the ceremony, which will be held March 3 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, Ace will also honor Stephen Lovejoy with its Heritage Award for his commitment to advancing the image of the film editor and dedication to the organization.

Murch’s legendary 55-year career as a film editor, sound designer, writer and director began in 1969 when he worked on the sound for Francis Ford Coppola’s The Rain People. His credits include American Graffiti and The Godfather Part II, and he won his first Oscar for the sound in Apocalypse Now, for which he was also nominated as an editor.

One of the things that gets lost when you look back on the incredible history of "Star Wars" as a franchise was just how precarious the whole Lucasfilm empire (no pun intended) was between the release of the original 1977 classic and its first sequel "The Empire Strikes Back." George Lucas is a genius for about a billion different reasons, but how he navigated Lucasfilm through this time period and somehow ended up not only controlling the rights to his creation but also producing the (arguably) best installment of the entire franchise is about the height of his business acumen.

Remember, Fox owned "Star Wars." They bought the pitch from Lucas and funded it, which meant Fox owned "Star Wars," not George Lucas. What Lucas was able to do in those original contracts with the studio was to claim a few key points that most folks ignored in their deal memos,...

There was a time when a great many people would proclaim Francis Ford Coppola's mob masterpiece "The Godfather" as the greatest American film of the last 50 years. Those people can't do that anymore. It isn't because the movie has lost any of its artistic power or breathtaking cinematic invention. It's simply because "The Godfather" is now 51 years old, having been released back in 1972. The film is now closer to 1922, five years prior to the popularization of synchronized sound in film, than it is to today, and that gap will only continue to grow thanks to the inevitable march of time.

Because of that time, we have lost so many people involved in the making of the picture, including Mario Puzo, the film's co-writer and author of the original novel, and Gordon Willis, the cinematographer who crafted the signature dark look of the picture. Also gone are many of the film's cast members,...

During the making of "Star Wars" back in 1976, writer/director George Lucas hadn't really yet defined what the Force was. In dialogue, Obi-Wan Kenobi eventually described it as "an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together." In J.W. Rinzler's invaluable book "The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film," it was indicated that early drafts of "Star Wars" originally called it the Force of Others, and possessed two parts called Ashla (what would become the light side) and Bogan (what would become the dark side). Lucas mixed in a bunch of Platonic notions as well, saying that "the pure soul is connected to a larger energy field that you would begin to understand if you went all the way back and saw yourself in your purest sense."

Additionally, in early drafts of Lucas' script,...

Earlier this year, Max announced it would be housing over 200 episodes of AMC Networks’ television at no additional cost to subscribers beginning in September.

That two-month window is coming to an end, so you’ll want to catch up on “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” Season 1; “Dark Winds” Season 1; “Gangs of London” Seasons 1 and 2; “Fear the Walking Dead” Seasons 1-7; “Killing Eve” Seasons 1-4; “A Discovery of Witches” Seasons 1-3; and “Ride with Norman Reedus” Seasons 1-5 while you still can.

A number of great horror titles are leaving at the end of October as well, including: “A Cabin in the Woods,” “Beetlejuice,” “Eight Legged Freaks,” “From Hell,” “It” and “It: Chapter 2,” and several more. They’ll be great to put on while you host your Halloween bash.

Here’s everything leaving Max in October 2023.

October 3

Rx Early Detection: A Cancer Journey with Sandra Lee (2018) (HBO)

October...

For almost 50 years, John Williams' music has been virtually synonymous with the films of Steven Spielberg (and vice versa), and for nearly as long, Williams' compositions have formed the emotional backbone of the Skywalker Saga from "Star Wars." However, 20 years before the cinematic musical maestro become known for either of those things, Williams was merely a whipper-snapper fresh out of Julliard and eager to leave his mark on the worlds of concert and film music.

Williams' pre-Spielberg run would have made for an incredible career all by itself. It was an era that saw the composer collaborating with numerous giants among the old guard of Hollywood directors, including Robert Altman, Don Siegel, William Wyler, Irwin Allen, Frank Sinatra, and Norman Jewison. In 1974, Williams worked with Spielberg for the first time on the filmmaker's theatrical feature debut, "The Sugarland Express." Appearing with Williams at the American Cinematheque event "50 Years of...

The Godfather Part 2 was a rare sequel that surpassed the original, earning 11 Academy Award nominations and becoming the first sequel to win Best Picture. Francis Ford Coppola initially didn't want to direct The Godfather, but eventually agreed due to financial reasons and his desire to tell the story of a family's rise and fall. Despite differing opinions behind the scenes, Paramount Pictures convinced Coppola to produce The Godfather Part 2, allowing him to have more creative control.

The rare sequel that surpasses the original, The Godfather Part 2 sees director Francis Ford Coppola also taking on producing duties — something he didn't do for the first movie. Based on Mario Puzo's novel, the 1974 crime epic tells two stories: in the present, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) navigates being the new Don, while in the past, Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) travels from Sicily to New York and builds his empire. Despite the first film's success,...

The making of Apocalypse Now is the story of madness and disaster. As captured in the documentary Hearts of Darkness, the year plus filming saw every manner of bad luck, from conflicts with the Philippine government to massive storms to a constantly changing crew, to star Martin Sheen’s heart attack on set.

But the strangest behind the scenes tale of Apocalypse Now may actually be about the man who initially planned to direct it. The version of Apocalypse Now that hit theaters in 1979 matched the ambitions (and ego) of its director Francis Ford Coppola. But before Coppola took over, Apocalypse Now was actually the baby of the reserved and mild-mannered George Lucas.

Nirvana Now

Screenwriter John Milius wanted to go to war. One of the few conservatives within a group of lefty young filmmakers that included Martin Scorsese, Margot Kidder, and Paul Schrader, Milius had no interest in protesting the Vietnam War.

Spooky season is upon us and Max is getting in on the action.

New to the streamer in September are “Annabelle” (2014), “Annabelle: Creation” (2017) and “Annabelle Comes Home” (2019), as well as “The Curse of La Llorona” (2019) — all spin-offs from “The Conjuring” universe.

Other horror entries include “It” (2017), “It: Chapter Two” (2019), eight “Friday the 13th” films (from the 1980 cult classic to 1989’s “Jason Takes Manhattan”) and six “Children of the Corn” sequels.

As previously reported, over 200 episodes of AMC Networks’ television series are coming to Max in September at no additional cost to subscribers, spreading their availability beyond AMC+. Shows that are part of the partnership include “Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire” Season 1; ”Dark Winds” Season 1; “Gangs of London” Seasons 1 and 2; “Fear the Walking Dead” Seasons 1-7; “Killing Eve” Seasons 1-4; “A Discovery of Witches” Seasons 1-3; and “Ride with Norman Reedus” Seasons 1-5.

If fright flicks aren’t your thing,...

There’s an interesting experiment going on over at Max in September, as from the first of the month you’ll be able to find seven AMC+ series streaming for 60 days on the service. If you’ve been dying to check out some of their best shows but just haven’t had access to them, now’s your chance! Max will be streaming Fear the Walking Dead seasons 1-7, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire season one, Dark Winds season one, Gangs of London seasons 1-2, Ride with Norman Reedus seasons 1-5, A Discovery of Witches seasons 1-3, and Killing Eve seasons 1-4.

Also on Max this September is the original animated series Young Love, a Matthew A. Cherry project which seeks to expand on the critically acclaimed short film, Hair Love. Sam Jay has a new stand-up special on HBO, too. Sam Jay: Salute or Shoot Me will...

American Graffiti is George Lucas's most personal film, drawing inspiration from his own experiences growing up in Modesto, California in the 1960s. The film captures the end of an era, showcasing the last night of youth before the characters transition into adulthood, symbolizing the loss of innocence for a generation. American Graffiti's success played a significant role in shaping the film industry, as studios recognized the power of youth-driven films and helped usher in the blockbuster era.

While he's unquestionably best known today for taking mass audiences to a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas first enjoyed success on a much more immediate, personal scale. His breakout film, American Graffiti, which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this month, remains arguably his finest achievement as a writer and director.

Released at the perfect time, in which the film industry was struggling to rediscover its identity in the midst of the studio system's collapse,...

It's not unusual for artists to have a complicated relationship with their work. Whether it's a piece that fails to land with viewers or a successful passion project that ultimately gets sucked into the commercial machine, it's an especially tight line for filmmakers to walk. For George Lucas, 1977's "Star Wars" (by 1981 it would be retitled "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope") was the latter: an offbeat, mystical science fiction film that he had spent years developing and for which he had the lowest expectations. After all, the story of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) leaving the comfort of his home planet to learn the ways of the mystical Force and befriend a ragtag rebel group facing off against an evil Empire was no sure thing.

"Star Wars" would go on to cast an awfully long shadow, creating a massive franchise and media phenomenon that would tie Lucas up...