Greetings, fellow galactic geeks! As we gear up to celebrate Star Wars Day on May the Fourth, let's take a look at five little-known facts about the man who brought us the epic space saga, George Lucas.
1. He was once a race car driver!
That's right, folks. Before he was a filmmaker, George Lucas had a need for speed. In his early twenties, he competed in various amateur races and even had dreams of becoming a professional driver. But lucky for us, he ended up swapping his steering wheel for a camera and gave us Star Wars instead.
2. He was inspired by Flash Gordon and Akira Kurosawa
Lucas drew inspiration from many sources for his space saga, but two of the biggest were Flash Gordon and Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. The colorful, swashbuckling adventures of Flash Gordon heavily influenced the tone of the original trilogy, while Kurosawa's films, particularly The Hidden Fortress, inspired the story and characters.
3. He originally wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie
Speaking of Flash Gordon, did you know that George Lucas originally wanted to make a movie based on the classic comic strip? However, he was unable to obtain the rights, so he decided to create his own space epic instead. And the rest, as they say, is history.
4. He was a pioneer in special effects technology
It's hard to imagine Star Wars without its groundbreaking special effects, and we have George Lucas to thank for that. He founded Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) in 1975, which revolutionized the industry with its innovative techniques and technologies. Without ILM, we might never have had the Death Star trench run or the Battle of Hoth.
5. He donated the majority of his $4.05 billion Disney sale to education
In 2012, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for a whopping $4.05 billion. But rather than keep all that money for himself, he announced that he would be donating the majority of it to charity, specifically to education initiatives. Talk about using the Force for good!
So there you have it, folks – five little-known facts about the man behind the Star Wars universe. May the Fourth be with you!
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