Lucas directed his first feature film,
In 1973, Lucas co-wrote and directed American Graffiti. The film won a Golden Globe, the New York Film Critics' and National Society of Film Critics' awards, and garnered five Academy Award nominations.
Four years later, Lucas wrote and directed Star Wars -- a film which broke all box office records and earned seven Academy Awards. Lucas went on to co-write the screenplays for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, which he also executive produced. In 1980, he co-wrote the story and was the executive producer of Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg, which won five Academy Awards. He was also the co-executive producer and creator of the story for
In 1986, Lucas served as executive producer for Disneyland's 3-D musical space adventure Captain Eo, which was directed by Francis Coppola and starred Michael Jackson. Lucas was also involved in the creation of Star Tours, a popular attraction at each of the Disney Theme Parks.
Lucas' next project was the adventure-fantasy film Willow. Based on an original story by Lucas, the film was directed by Ron Howard and executive-produced by Lucas. Willow was released in 1988 and received three Academy Award nominations.
Also in 1988, Lucas executive-produced Tucker: The Man and His Dream. The film, directed by Francis Coppola, garnered three Academy Award nominations. In the following year, Lucas wrote the story and served as executive producer for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, earned an Oscar for Best Sound Design, and became the number one worldwide box office hit for 1989.
Lucas served as story author and executive producer of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, which premiered in 1992. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles won a Banff Award for Best Continuing Series, a Golden Globe nomination for best Dramatic Series, an Angel Award for Quality Programming, 12 Emmy Awards and 26 Emmy nominations.
In 1992, George Lucas was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Award. The Award was given by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in producing.
Lucas was the story author and executive producer of Radioland Murders in 1994. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Star Wars in 1997, Lucas updated each film of the Trilogy to bring it closer to his original vision. The Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition was released theatrically worldwide with digitally remastered soundtracks, restored prints, enhanced visual effects and newly added footage.
Lucasfilm, established by George Lucas in 1971, has today evolved into five Lucas companies. The Lucas group of companies includes Lucasfilm Ltd., Lucas Online, LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC, Lucas Digital Ltd. LLC, Lucas Licensing Ltd. and Lucas Learning Ltd. Lucasfilm includes all of Lucas' feature film and television productions as well as the business activities of the THX Group, which is dedicated to ensuring excellent film presentation quality in theaters and homes through a series of specialized services.
LucasArts is a leading international developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, which have won critical acclaim with more than 100 industry awards for excellence. Lucas Digital, which consists of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) and Skywalker Sound, provides visual effects and audio post-production services to the entertainment and commercial production industries. ILM employees have won 40 Oscars working on films which have been awarded 14 Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and received 14 Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards. Skywalker Sound employees have been honored with 28 Oscars working on films which have been awarded 15 Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. Lucas Licensing is responsible for the merchandising of all of Lucasfilm's film and television properties. Lucas Learning strives to create an "uncommon learning" experience by offering engaging interactive software products that provide learning opportunities through exploration and discovery.
George Lucas is the Chairman of the Board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. He currently serves on the boards of the Artists Rights Foundation, the Joseph Campbell Foundation, and the Film Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the USC School of Cinema-Television Board of Councilors.
RICK McCALLUM (Producer) began his career as a producer working with one of Britain's most esteemed screenwriters, the late Dennis Potter, on the screen adaptation of Pennies From Heaven, starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. McCallum and Potter then reunited on the acclaimed six-part BBC series The Singing Detective.
McCallum has also established a close working relationship with director Nicholas Roeg and produced two of Roeg's films, Track 29 and Castaway. Other film credits include Dennis Potter's Blackeyes, Neil Simon's I Ought To Be In Pictures, Heading Home starring Gary Oldman with a screenplay by playwright David Hare, who also directed the film, and Strapless, also written and directed by Hare, with Blair Brown and Bridget Fonda. Another of McCallum's pictures, Dreamchild, written by Dennis Potter, won three BAFTA awards and an Evening Standard Award for Best Actress (Coral Browne).
For television, McCallum produced the HBO film On Tidy Endings, written by Harvey Fierstein and starring Fierstein and Stockard Channing. The production received four CableAce Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. He also produced the Rolling Stones' music video "Undercover," which won the MTV Award for Best Video of the decade.
Since 1990, McCallum has worked exclusively with writer/director George Lucas. The two collaborated on the feature film Radioland Murders and the critically acclaimed television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. This series, filmed over a period of four years in 27 countries, received 26 Emmy nominations and won 11 Emmy Awards. It also won the 1993 Banff Award for Best Continuing Series and received a 1993 Golden Globe nomination for Best Dramatic Series. Directors included Bille August, Mike Newell, Nic Roeg, Carl Schultz, Simon Wincer, David Hare, Deepa Mehta, Rene Manzor, Gavin Millar and Terry Jones.
McCallum produced the restoration and enhancement work done on the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition, and, on the heels of producing Episode I, is now preparing for the next installment of the Star Wars saga, Episode II.
