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There are few names that are as huge in the film industry today as George Lucas. The entrepreneur has had a massive impact on film since the 1970s and has undoubtedly influenced this generation of potential film directors and producers. In some ways, George Lucas actually revolutionized the industry in the 1980s because he was part of the blockbuster innovation along with Steven Spielberg. The entrepreneur’s story is certainly a fascinating one.

The Young George Lucas

George Walton Lucas Jr was born on May 14, 1944 in Modesto, California as one of four children. His father was a traveling salesman so the family got by, but Lucas often found himself frustrated. He did not like school and really did not care whether he got good grades or not, which may go some way to explaining why he often barely passed. He was undoubtedly more creative than academic, which ensured that he did not always see eye to eye with his father. However, he had no intention of pursuing the course of an artist until he almost died in a serious car accident in his senior year of high school. The entrepreneur’s perception and attitude towards life undoubtedly changed and he decided to attend Modesto Junior College to study social sciences.

George Lucas discovered film and photography while at college and started making his own films as a direct result. He began with an 8mm camera and soon found it to be his calling. As such, he moved from Modesto to study film at the University of Southern California. Animation, cinematography and editing all captured his imagination and the entrepreneur resolved to become a film director after graduation. His cause was helped by the fact that he won several awards for a short film he produced called THX-1138: 4EB.

Into The Film Business

The entrepreneur got a few jobs following his graduation in 1967. The majority of them were as a cameraman but they gave Lucas an amazing insight into the film industry. He categorically knew that film was the business for him and set about winning a Warner Bros scholarship in 1969. It was during that scholarship that he met Francis Ford Coppola who quickly became his mentor. Coppola gave the entrepreneur his break by enabling him to make a feature length film out of THX-1138. Although it did not do well initially, it is now a classic.

From then on, the entrepreneur enjoyed success as a filmmaker, first making American Graffiti in 1973 and then moving on to Star Wars. The latter film made Lucas a legend in his own right because it soon became a cult classic. Lucas had planned to involve as many genres as possible in the sci-fi film and he achieved his goal. When the movie was released in 1977 it was greeted with universal acclaim and undoubtedly redefined what the blockbuster movie was. In fact, Lucas subconsciously gave birth to a whole new genre of Hollywood film. The entrepreneur worked as a writer, director and producer in the original trilogy. He also served as a writer and producer on the Indiana Jones films, thus collaborating with Steven Spielberg.

Lucas Film and the entrepreneur himself was earning a fortune and making more of an impact on the film industry than he ever imagined he would. His success is simply amazing and proves to all budding entrepreneurs out there that it is possible with perseverance and hard work. The film industry is notoriously difficult to break into but George Lucas’s creativity and vision should be viewed as simply inspirational. He is today worth in excess of $3.6 billion, so dreams really can come true.

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