George Lucas: A Life

by Brian Jay Jones

Overview

The definitive biography of one of the most influential filmmakers ever—George Lucas.On May 25, 1977, a problem-plagued, budget-straining, independent science-fiction film opened in a mere thirty-two American movie theaters. Conceived, written, and directed by a little-known filmmaker named George Lucas, Star Wars reinvented the cinematic landscape, ushering in a new way for movies to be made, marketed, and merchandised. And if that wasn’t game-changing enough, Lucas went on to create another blockbuster series with Indiana Jones, and completely revolutionized the world of special effects, not to mention sound systems. His work and legacy have led to a rash of innovation and democratization in film and television. Simply put, George Lucas is one of the most influential filmmakers of the past fifty years. He is an icon, and his fans will be eager to read a biography as impressive as his achievements—especially in the midst of J. J. Abrams’ continuation of the Star Wars franchise.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781478968450
Publisher:	Hachette Book Group
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Brian Jay Jones is an award-winning writer and biographer and presently serves as vice president of Biographers International Organization, the world’s largest organization of practicing biographers. A former policy analyst and advisor in the US Senate, he abandoned politics for the pen in 2008 with the publication of his award-winning biography Washington Irving. He lives with his wife and daughter in Damascus, Maryland.

Jay Snyder is a voice actor, voice director, and script adapter who studied acting at the Julliard School in New York City. He is best known as the voice of Yugi Muto from the Japanese manga television series, Yu-Gi-Oh! His audiobook narrations have earned three AudioFile Earphones Awards, and he was a finalist for the Audie Award for Best Fiction Narration in 2015.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Out of Control March 1976 3

Part I Hope 1944-1973

1 Scrawny Little Devil 1944-1962 9

2 Geeks and Nerds 1962-1966 38

3 The Right Horse 1967 68

4 Radicals and Hippies 1967-1971 86

5 American Graffiti 1971-1973 127

Part II Empire 1973-1983

6 Bleeding on the Page 1973-1976 167

7 "I Have a Bad Feeling About This" 1976-1977 215

8 Striking Back 1977-1979 246

9 Darkening Skies 1979-1983 278

Part III Return 1983-2016

10 Empty Flash 1983-1994 325

11 A Digital Universe 1994-1999 382

12 Cynical Optimism 1999-2005 408

13 Letting Go 2005-2016 436

Acknowledgments 475

Notes 479

Select Bibliography 527

Index 531

Editorial Reviews

10/10/2016
Biographer Jones (Jim Henson) exhaustively chronicles the life and movies of George Lucas, arguably America’s most successful filmmaker. The creator of two enduring franchises, Star Wars and Indiana Jones, he sold his company, Lucasfilm, to Disney for $4 billion in 2012. The author chronicles Lucas’s story, from his upbringing as the son of a prosperous stationery store owner in Modesto, Calif., to his career as a filmmaker who took on the Hollywood studio system and won. From the beginning, Lucas’s goals were independence and control. Jones cites this obsession in seemingly every major decision Lucas made, to the point of repetitiveness. The greater part of the book tells in granular detail how his films were produced: from initial concept and scriptwriting, to casting and location selections, to the filming and, most importantly for Lucas’s process, the editing. This minutiae may lose the casual reader, but Jones is more successful at explaining Lucas’s many contradictions: an aspiring avant-garde filmmaker who made blockbusters, a pessimist who loved fairy tale endings, an introvert in the most collaborative of arts, a man with a professed uninterest in money who became a billionaire. Jones also proves Lucas’s singular legacy is well deserved. He revolutionized all aspects of filmmaking, particularly visual effects, sound, and merchandising. Photos. Agent: Jonathan Lyons, Curtis Brown. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

"An exhaustive work that is never exhausting, a credit both to Jones's brisk style and to Henson's exceptional life . . . Brian Jay Jones tells the story of how Henson turned a quaint art form into an entertainment empire."—The New York Times

"A meticulously researched tome chock-full of gems about the Muppets and the most thorough portrait of their creator ever crafted."—Associated Press

"An insightful look at the gentle artist."—Parade

"Illuminating . . . As Jones expertly shows, Henson remained throughout his life an artist who was continuously in motion, conceiving, pitching, and managing multiple projects at once."—The Atlantic

"Consistently surprises . . . Highly readable and never long-winded (even at nearly 600 pages), Jim Henson joyously documents its subject's knack for combining old-fashioned puppetry with the world's newest entertainment medium to forge a kind of furry, felt-covered vaudeville."—The Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

11/15/2016
The life and work of the visionary filmmaker and mogul is explored in this unauthorized biography by Jones (Jim Henson), who not only follows George Lucas's successes and missteps as a director, writer, and producer, but also investigates his acumen as a businessman who rebelled against the Hollywood system and forever changed the way films are produced, distributed, and experienced. Jones finds in Lucas's early life themes that would shape his future, including a need for creative independence and a teenage enthusiasm for design and drag racing that would inspire works as diverse as American Graffiti and Star Wars. The tone is admiring but evenhanded: Lucas's innovation, philanthropic interests, and loyalty to friends are emphasized, but so is his need to assert total control over projects, which sometimes affected his personal and professional relationships. Well researched and comprehensive—Lucas's 2012 sale of Lucasfilm to Disney and the release of The Force Awakens are both covered—the biography gives fans a chance to understand the man behind so many magical movie moments. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers of modern biographies, film enthusiasts, and Star Wars aficionados. [See Prepub Alert, 6/6/16.]—Sara Shreve, Newton, KS

Library Journal

★ 2016-09-22
A sweeping, perceptive biography of the influential director. Jones (Jim Henson: The Biography, 2013, etc.) sets the stage for this impressive biography with a short prologue set in 1976. Lucas was in the Tunisian desert starting his 84-day shoot of Star Wars. The weather was terrible, and sand got into everything. The machines, including R2-D2, wouldnt work, and the studio was stingy with funds (at that point, Lucas pledged to always control the money). About a year before the release date, Lucas was certain the movie was going to be terrible. Jones extensively researched, unauthorized biographyhe wasnt able to interview key people, including Lucaslays out in luscious detail the path Lucas took to become one of films most successful directors. Born in Modesto, California, in 1944, he grew up in the 1950s and loved comic books, TV serials, and building things. A mediocre, bored student in high school, he managed to get into the University of Southern California. When he discovered their film school, he fell madly in love with [film], ate it and slept with it 24 hours a day. He also met Francis Ford Coppola, who helped him get his student film, THX 1138, made into a movie. He also helped him make the popular American Graffiti, which provided Lucas with much-needed money. He could now focus on his Flash Gordon thing, Star Wars. Jones wisely eschews unnecessary plot summaries to focus on where the ideas for Lucas films came from and how he wrote them and how he dealt with studios and contract negotiations, funding, casting, filming, and marketing. This in-depth portrait of the modest and audacious Lucas, a brilliant and enigmatic technological wizard, and those who were crucial to his successhis editor wife, Marcia, Stephen Spielberg, Haskell Wexler, Garry Kurtz, John Milius, John Dykstra, Harrison Fordis never less than fascinating. Masterful and engaging: just what Lucas fans and buffs, who love the nitty-gritty of filmmaking, have been waiting for.

Kirkus Reviews