Happy Birthday George Lucas!

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He may not be actively involved with the day to day operations of Lucasfilm or be an active participant in the ongoing business of creating Star Wars anymore, but today is a day to thank and celebrate the man who made it all.  Today is the 72nd birthday of George Lucas. The visionary, quirky, genius who built an empire on the back of a universe of his own making.

 

In an era of cinematic universes and the spread of geek properties to near pandemic proportions, it is easy to forget that in the case of Star Wars, this was all started by a man who just wanted to make a movie unique to its era. A fantasy that modernized a specific type of cinematic experience he had loved as a child.  He was just a man with a taste for unique cinema, that decided to build a galaxy far far away on a budget.  A galaxy that somehow still holds up to our eyes decades later.

 

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George collected and aggregated the fantasies of a generation and put them to celluloid in an easy to consume form that altered the ways movies would be made forever. And that was just his first salvo in his ongoing campaign to become great overlord of geekdom. He built an independent studio on a foundation of toys and merchandise before that had become customary to the industry, advanced the technology of film making, and created a culture of excellence in production through companies like Skywalker Sound, ILM, and THX that is still thriving and directing the industry today.

 

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Star Wars has moved into a new era since George changed the world. There are books, video games, theme park rides, and corporate synergy in countless forms. The direction of the Star Wars universe is now decided by committees and boards rather than a single voice. But although Star Wars has now taken a new generation by storm in its new iteration, let us remember today to “thank the maker”. The man who made it all possible and the man who without whom none of us would be reading this site today.

 

Happy Birthday George Lucas! May it be a happy one. And may the force be with you!

 

+ posts

25 thoughts on “Happy Birthday George Lucas!

  • May 14, 2016 at 4:25 pm
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    Happy Birthday, Maker!

  • May 14, 2016 at 4:36 pm
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    Happy Birthday, George, and thank you!

  • May 14, 2016 at 4:53 pm
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    Happy birthday George!

    By the way, anyone that feels the urge in attempting to be sarcastic, snarky and funny by deciding to take digs and throw shade at GL in the comments sections will be reported. It’s been 11+ years now (and 3+ years since GL sold Lucasfilm to Disney); give it a rest, let it go and move on as nothing that you say or do will change the past. Plus, now it just looks sadly and desperately obsessive and depressing and don’t you dare give the “it’s still valid to criticize him” argument because no, it’s not anymore for reasons I stated (also, it’s useless at this point to continue the same talking points).

    And no, this is not up for discussion with anyone on here as I have no interest in arguing with someone about this.

    • May 14, 2016 at 5:40 pm
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      “I have no interest in arguing with someone about this.”
      Of course you don’t. You would rather just tell people what they are allowed to write and not write as if you have some authority here, which you don’t. People have a right to say whatever they feel. There is no statute of limitations on criticizing movies and you are not the determining authority on the proper time frame for which something can be discussed. If you are going to be a regular on this board, you need to accept the fact that people will have different opinions than you do, as it is their right to have them. Shutting people down simply because you don’t like what they say only makes you out to be pathetic and childish.

      • May 16, 2016 at 8:59 pm
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        All true, but also pretty baffling to STILL hear the same people whining about the SAME things about the SAME movies going on 20 years later. It goes beyond ‘opinions’ and enters the territory of ‘just plain sad’ after decade one.

        • May 16, 2016 at 10:13 pm
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          You don’t see the ongoing relevance of discussing the quality of the movies as new episodes are being released? Particularly when the new episodes are being criticized or praised comparative to the previous ones? Why is it only criticism that passes an expiration date an not praise? Can we not criticize Birth of A Nation anymore for being KKK propaganda because it was made 101 years ago?

    • May 14, 2016 at 7:49 pm
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      Please stop posting the same message over and over again. Respect other people’s opinions. We all love Lucas.

    • May 15, 2016 at 5:04 am
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      If you attempt to censor others, I will report you, MARSHA.

    • May 15, 2016 at 2:17 pm
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      I bet you sound like Chris Crocker when you talk.

      • May 15, 2016 at 11:09 pm
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        LEAVE GEORGE ALOOONE!!

  • May 14, 2016 at 5:08 pm
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    Happy Birthday to the man. I still wish he was a part of the saga in some form, but that’s simply me.

    • May 14, 2016 at 5:15 pm
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      He is, very much in a way. Him leading the work on the previous films very much informs every aspect of TFA, even if the story wasn’t the one George wanted. Happy birthday George.

  • May 14, 2016 at 6:06 pm
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    Happy Birthday to the man which revolutionized the movie going experience!

  • May 14, 2016 at 8:38 pm
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    happy birthday! all hail the creator

  • May 15, 2016 at 4:16 am
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    It’s not just his birthday today, it’s also mine. Makes you wonder if I was born to be a Star Wars fan.

  • May 15, 2016 at 5:06 am
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    The man created a universe in 1977 that I still care about today even in my 40’s. I moved on from blockbuster films a long time ago EXCEPT Star Wars, as its in all of our DNA.

  • May 15, 2016 at 12:39 pm
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    Still don’t get why he says he no longer has the energy to continue to make all those indie films that “no one wanted to see” yet recently had another child and will likely be six feet under before he sees them graduate from college. It’s not like Lucas is the model example of Hollywood health.

    • May 15, 2016 at 12:41 pm
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      Having said all that, Disney is seriously lacking a Lucas-esque figure to direct the direction of everything but I guess that’s too much to ask for in our era of endless reboots, remakes, and sequels.

      • May 16, 2016 at 2:58 pm
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        Kathleen Kennedy? She’s the person Lucas chose to take over.

        • May 16, 2016 at 8:56 pm
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          She doesn’t seem to really have much in the way of storytelling vision apart from “Fast, More Inclusive!”

        • May 17, 2016 at 12:09 pm
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          Who pretty much rode Speilburg’s coattails since the 70’s, No one would know her name today had she not. Lucas is not exactly a people person which is why his circle of friends is so tiny and was not left ith many options considering most are older than him.

    • May 16, 2016 at 2:36 am
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      I forgot he had another kid… August 2013. He’ll have to make it to 87 years old in order to see her graduate. He’d be lucky indeed to see those grandchildren, let along see the kid graduate or get married. His wife is also a quarter century younger than he is, so that’s also rather… extraordinary.

      • May 16, 2016 at 1:18 pm
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        I think they had help but yeah, He’ll be old enough to be the Grandfather of all her friend’s Parents.

  • May 16, 2016 at 8:01 am
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    I’d love to be able to say “Happy Birthday Mr Lucas” in person.

    I’m in Australia, and he was actually over here earlier this year, supporting his wife at a function. Some clown took a photo of George sitting alone in a food court, eating noodles, and went for a cheap laugh by posting the photo with an “anti-prequel” tag on it.

    If it was me, I would have walked up and asked to shake his hand, to say thank you for all those amazing movie moments that still make me smile now, almost 30 years later. Not one of his critics have ever delivered a single moment that made me smile like that – but George (and his teams) gave me plenty of them.

    Happy Birthday, Mr Lucas.

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