George Walton Lucas Jr. is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Nominated for four Academy Awards, he is considered to be one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement, and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. Despite this, he has remained an independent filmmaker away from Hollywood for most of his career.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas in his first directorial effort since 1977. The film stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, and Frank Oz. It is the fourth film in the Star Wars film series, the first film of the prequel trilogy and the first chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set 32 years before the original trilogy, during the era of the Galactic Republic, the plot follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi as they try to protect Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo in hopes of securing a peaceful end to an interplanetary trade dispute. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually strong natural powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith. The film was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. The sequel to The Phantom Menace (1999), it is the fifth film in the Star Wars film series and second chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". The film stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Frank Oz.
Spaceballs is a 1987 American space opera parody film co-written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. It is primarily a parody of the original Star Wars trilogy, but also parodies other sci-fi films and popular franchises including Star Trek, Alien, The Wizard of Oz, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, and Transformers. The film stars Bill Pullman, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, with the supporting cast including Daphne Zuniga, Dick Van Patten, George Wyner, Lorene Yarnell, and the voice of Joan Rivers. In addition to Brooks playing a dual role, the film also features Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise and Rudy De Luca in cameo appearances.
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies. Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and how the filmmakers' artistic vision is realized. Sometimes, independent films are made with considerably lower budgets than major studio films.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is a 1991 American documentary film about the production of Apocalypse Now, a 1979 Vietnam War epic directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Richard McCallum is an American film producer. He is mostly known for his work on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles as well as the Star Wars Special Editions and Prequel Trilogy. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with American filmmaker George Lucas, though he was also a long-time producer for British television playwright Dennis Potter, most notably on The Singing Detective and Dreamchild.
The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards was an annual contest put forth by Lucasfilm and AtomFilms to showcase and acknowledge the growing genre of fan films made by, for, and about fans of the Star Wars saga. The inaugural contest in 2002 was the first time Lucasfilm had officially sanctioned the genre. In 2007, the contest was renamed the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge. In 2012, Lucasfilm announced that the contest was being discontinued, and that the company was looking for "new ways for fans to share their creativity".
Tucker: The Man and His Dream is a 1988 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Jeff Bridges as inventor Preston Tucker. The film recounts Tucker's story and his attempt to produce and market the Tucker 48, which was met with scandal between the Big Three automobile manufacturers and accusations of stock fraud from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Elias Koteas, Frederic Forrest and Christian Slater appear in supporting roles. For his performance, Landau was nominated for the Academy Award and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina and on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The series was a Lucasfilm production in association with Amblin Television and Paramount Television.
The original Star Wars trilogy, formerly marketed as the Star Wars Trilogy, is the first set of three films produced in the Star Wars franchise, an American space opera created by George Lucas. It was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by 20th Century Fox, and consists of Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Beginning in medias res, the original trilogy serves as the second act of the nine-episode Skywalker Saga. It was followed by a prequel trilogy between 1999 and 2005, and a sequel trilogy between 2015 and 2019. Collectively, they are referred to as the "Skywalker Saga" to distinguish them from spin-off films set within the same universe.
Kimberly Ane Peirce is an American filmmaker, best known for her debut feature film, Boys Don't Cry (1999), which won Hilary Swank her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Peirce's second feature, Stop-Loss, was released by Paramount Pictures in 2008. Her third film Carrie was released on October 18, 2013. In addition to directing and writing, she is a governor of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and a National Board member of the Directors Guild of America.
Star Wars: Revelations is a fan film released on April 17, 2005, created by fans of George Lucas's Star Warssaga. The film takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and explains why the Jedi Order was extinct in the original trilogy.
Hardware Wars is a 1978 American short science fiction parody film in the form of a teaser trailer for a fictitious science fiction film that parodies Star Wars. The 13-minute film, which was released almost 18 months after Star Wars, mainly consisted of inside jokes and visual puns that heavily depended upon audience familiarity with the original. The theme song is Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries".
Chris LaMont is an American screenwriter, independent filmmaker, and film professor, who co-founded the Phoenix Film Festival in 2000. He has written and co-written several feature films, including Soul Mates,The Inheritance, The Au Pair Nightmare, The Locksmith. and the Bruce Willis-starrer Hard Kill. He has also produced and directed several independent films, My Apocalypse,Netherbeast Incorporated, and The Graves.
Exposure is a short-film oriented science-fiction anthology television series that aired on the Sci-Fi Channel between the years of 2000 and 2002. The series showcased the short sci-fi films of both unknown and known filmmakers, giving rise to the channel's own Exposure Studios. Hosted by actress Lisa Marie, the films presented a wide range of science fiction subject matter. The series received poor ratings and was canceled in the fall of 2002. The series was originally shown on Sundays at 10:00pm EST and was repeated the following Saturday at 2:00am EST, later on the time was changed to 11:00pm EST and still repeated the following Saturday well after Midnight, which probably is a major reason for the poor ratings this show received. The series also had two guest hosts. Terry Farrell would host the "Best of Season One" episode and director Kevin Smith hosted the "Star Wars Short Films Showcase".
Joseph Nussbaum is an American film director and screenwriter. Nussbaum got his break into the film industry by passing around Hollywood offices his short film George Lucas in Love. The success of the film eventually got him a deal with DreamWorks, and he has since directed films such as the 2004 production Sleepover, the 2006 film American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and the 2007 film Sydney White starring Amanda Bynes. He has also co-written such screenplays as 2016's The Late Bloomer.
Tze Chun is an American film and TV producer, director, writer, painter, and comic book publisher. He was born in Chicago and raised outside of Boston, and graduated from Milton Academy in 1998. He received his bachelor's degree in film studies at Columbia University.
Joseph Tripician, also known as Joe Tripician and Joe Trip, is an American producer, writer, screenwriter, film director, songwriter, playwright and performer. He is best known for the documentaries Borders and Metaphoria and his memoir Balkanized at Sunrise, based on Tripician's journey to the Balkans in 1997.
Margaret Betts is an American filmmaker. Her debut feature Novitiate was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and received a Jury Award for her direction.
