George Lucas

George Lucas

THX 1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back…the list goes on and on. Although many have not heard of each of these films, everyone certainly has to know the man behind them. George Lucas has, in many cases, written, produced, and directed, not to mention edit, his own films. His vision was the driving force that imagined and created these movies. All have made back the cost of the film and most have received millions of dollars in profit.

Although it sounds as if he had an easy life, in reality, Lucas had to struggle in order to get ahead. Not being interested or involved in school, Lucas turned his attention to cars. When he reached driving age, his father gave him a nice, small, “safe” car. However, passionate about cars and racing, Lucas revved up his engine and turned it into a hot rod. Each day following, he went cruising around town, drag racing often. However, this passion led him to a drastic change in his life. It ultimately led him to success.

Lucas was in a car crash in 1962, which ended his racing career before it even started. He missed his graduation ceremony at his high school, but joked that the only reason he got a diploma was because his teachers felt sorry for him. As a result, Lucas looked for other options to fill his void in life. Since his grades were not good enough for a four-year college, he decided to go to junior college. For the first time in his life, he hit the books. He fell asleep trying to earn the highest grades he could in order to have a future for himself.

During junior college, Lucas formed other interests. Instead of racing, he filmed them on an 8-millimeter camera his father gave him. An old friend, John Plummer, told George that he should apply to the University of Southern California. His friend remarked that it was not that hard to get into as reputation indicated. Lucas applied, and was accepted, for his junior year.

Although the idea was unpopular with his father, Lucas was not stopped in pursing his career. At school, he realized that he had to work his but off to stay on top. He did not mind the hard work. Lucas actually felt relaxed staying up all night editing film. Even when a lot of college students got high on drugs, “Lucas got high on films (1, 45).