forbes 400 lucas #56

george lucas is worth 3 billion dollers according to forbes.

just wanted to post it.


speilberg comes in at 71

 

That is most amazing I would have thought Spielberg would be higher than Lucas as he is the co-owner of a complete movie studio and production house plus all the ventures he is involved with. It's funny how they listed Star Wars as source of revenue.

 

spielberg has never had to invest in his projects the way lucas does. and lucas almost has a monoply on special effects now. their are alternitives but if you want the best ilm is where you go. that is where most of lucas money comes from.

 

Actually Lucas has no monopoly in VFX. That might have been the case in the mid 80s whnthere were only a handful of VFX houses. They are the biggest and most famous but certainly nowhere near the monopoly they used to have. You have Imageworks, Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues, Weta Digital, ESC and Cinesite UK to name a few. But I guess I know what you mean.

And most of Lucas money comes from the actual movies (Lucasfilm) and merchandising (Lucas Licensing) not ILM. ILM might have margins 5% at the mmost usually around 2-3%. The VFX business is too cutthorat, and while they might be one of the top houses, there is also quite a bit of overhead.

Just the same way Spielberg get a lot from his producing fees, movie studio revenues and all the stuff tht comes from merchandising, TV syndication, etc.

 

Luca$ is a money grubber who can't direct now if his life depended on it.He is only doing the prequel's for more money.

That being said,congrat George on being #56 and you earned it.

 

You know, I really don't think Lucas is a "money grubber". I think he's both comfortable and happy in his family life. He has everything he needs and I think he knows it. I also honestly believe that he's making the prequels to please the fans. That being said, I also think that he is a bit out of touch with the fan base and perhaps his heart hasn't really been in the prequels.

 

Malducin all ready said it, but ILM certainly isn't the top of the VFX industry. It is the number one place to go to for digital creatures, but for practical effects like miniatures, robotics, explosions, etc, many producers go to smaller houses that are more focused in that area.

Cometgreen

 

For a moment I thought I was in a Lord of the Rings site, you know with that troll running around ;-).

Anyway...

George Lucas is more of a director than most of the people out there.

I also honestly believe that he's making the prequels to please the fans. That being said, I also think that he is a bit out of touch with the fan base and perhaps his heart hasn't really been in the prequels.

Actually my perception is opposite to me he seems to want to please too much the hardcore fanboys. Some of the cameos and characters seem too forced in. I never understood some of the visceral feelings people felt about Boba Fett and seems he was conveniently put there but it's not the worse. Many fans and critics complained about the slow parts in Ep. 1 (like the Coruscant scenes) but also about the lack of story (which is what those scenes were for). Seems some of the stuff in Ep. 2 was done to please a few more fans. Anyway just my perception.

ILM certainly isn't the top of the VFX industry. It is the number one place to go to for digital creatures, but for practical effects like miniatures, robotics, explosions, etc, many producers go to smaller houses that are more focused in that area.

Actually I didn't say that. I think they are the top top VFX house in terms of quality and animation. But what I was saying is that there is really good competition right now which produces work just as good and innovative. I can appreciate other work from places like Imageworks, ESC, DD, Tippett, etc.

Actually for certain practical things ILM is still a good pace to go because most miniature places have closed or downsized and ILM still has the largest miniature facility. They still blow quite a few things in the backlot or in the desert. The Model Shop may even construct a few robotics from time to time. On the other hand more and more boutiques appear which are only CG houses. There is a big problem when certain films use a ton of boutiques to handle the VFX and the quality and style of the shots is very inconsistent. Of course large scale practicals, huge pyro, physical effects and makeup FX are best handled by the experts and dedicated facilities out there like Stan Winston Studio, Clay pinney, Neil courbold and Michael Lantieri.

 

I also honestly believe that he's making the prequels to please the fans. That being said, I also think that he is a bit out of touch with the fan base and perhaps his heart hasn't really been in the prequels.

I disagree; I think he's making them for himself. His success and wealth allow him to do this. I think fan expectations have been radically different to what we've gotten. I think his heart is in these new movies. After all, he's spending 10 years and his own money on them.

 

Actually my perception is opposite to me he seems to want to please too much the hardcore fanboys. Some of the cameos and characters seem too forced in.

That's actually exactly what I was trying to get at. It seems to me at times like he's trying to hard to please all the fans and it spreads the story too thin. Even having 3P0 and R2 in Ep I seemed a bit forced, though it did make their appearance in II seem a lot more natural and I'm glad they are in the prequels. But yeah, my point was that he seems to be trying to please the fans but at the same time not realizing that the vast majority of fans really just want a great story on par with the OT, and not necessarily cameo appearances and scenes that echo or harken back to the original saga.

I disagree; I think he's making them for himself. His success and wealth allow him to do this. I think fan expectations have been radically different to what we've gotten. I think his heart is in these new movies. After all, he's spending 10 years and his own money on them.

Yeah, I think that saying his heart really isn't in it was probably the wrong choice of words. I think that what he did was set himself up with a backstory that's been hard to tell with the same emotion, the same "heart" as the OT. I think, or at least hope, that that will change with episode III and we'll finally be able to see his whole vision and what he's been getting at with these first two films. I do think that Lucas is passionate about what he does, but I also think that the themes of the PT have somewhat forced that passion to be subdued in the final product of the first two films.

 

Was Lucas the highest ranking filmaker on the list?

 

I belive so check it out at forbes.

 

Queenie: How is Lucas a money grubber? Care to list some examples? No, I didn't think so.

If you're going to post such outlandish accusations, at least have the evidence to back them up.

 

Yes, Lucas was the highest filmmaker. As a sidenote there are other people with ties to the entertainment industry that are higher, owners of media companies (Viacom, News Corp. and Geffen) but as far as creative people Lucas is the highest.

Also Lucas and Spielberg are the only filmmakers on the list. Most of the other media people are executives, probably the closes to creative people are Oprah at position 224 (1.1 billion) and Katzenberg at 318 (800 million).

 

I was surprised to see him ahead of Donald Trump.

 

I just found this to be very interisting. it's not that he is a money gruber. he is a very clever buissiness man and creative thinker. he has done more for both independent film and mainstream holywood then any other filmaker.

my faveriote part of tpm dvd is in one of the preproduction meetings lucas has he actuall says don't let the budget hold you back onthe designes. the pt is really the first time a filmmaker can really say it and mean it. of course they always look for the least expensive way to do it but they are not going to leave something out because it is too expensive.

it really is a unique moment in film history. regardless of how people regard the story 50 yeas from now it will be rememberd because of the total creative and financial freedom he has.

and he earned it. he took financial risks the first time around when few were willing to do it. and he was lucky enought it paid off.

even if you don't like what he has done recently you still have to respect him for what he has accplished. this is a man who loves movies more then anybody else, save perhaps martin scorsase.

lucas does more without reciving much if any credit for film restoration. a branch of skywalker ranch is devoted to preserving older films. cleaning up the prints and cleaning the sound. check out your dvd collection. how many have thx on the bottom. then check how old the film is. and thats just the tip of the iceberg.

lucasfilm does wonders for film.

 

Congrats to George Lucas. He revolutionazed the industry: Lucas Film, THX , Skywalker Sound, ILM, Lucas Arts...

The man is amazing with what he has been able to create.

Way to go!!!

 

Although it seems a bit ironic that Lucas and Spielberg who are all for restoration and members of the film preservation society and against colorization and tampering with classics, would feel the need to actually alter their own films.

I don't think the Ranch does that much restoration anyway, Cinesite/Kodak and other facilities are better able to handle that. Most of the stuff is actually sound remastering though which is a goo thing.

Well at least VES will recognize Lucas next February.

 

First off let me give Luca$ thanks for his hard earned award *clap,clap*

George Luca$ is rich and the only reason he can live like a potentate and sit back in his fat duff without making a new movie idea in 25 years is because people like me put money in his pocket! George Luca$ works for US!! He provides a service to which pay conpensation for. If that service is unacceptable or unsatisfactory we, as his employees, have every reason to complain.


George Luca$ has embraced the life of a sell-out because, I suspect, he is afraid we'll know that he really is not that great of a filmaker. Let's look at his career: his first movie "American Graffiti" (1973) was all right...it then took him 4 years to create Star Wars (1977). After the Star Wars trilogy ended in 83 with Jedi he made Howard the Duck (1984) (insert own joke here). His next movie? A remake of Star Wars!! in 1997!! What exactly was he doing between 1984 and 1997? Did it take him that long to write the prequels? It sure doesn't show it...Basically in 30 years, George Luca$ has only done one good thing and has milked it for all its worth. Action figures, comic books, soundtrack CDs with different covers, condoms, pregnancy tests...you name it George Luca$ has stuck the name Star Wars in it. The man is a money-making machine. The sad thing is, he should be a movie-making machine.

 

QUEEN_LEIA, Charmed to the last.

George Luca$ works for US!! He provides a service to which pay conpensation for. If that service is unacceptable or unsatisfactory we, as his employees, have every reason to complain.

Get your head out of the oven of where ever else you have been keeping it. George Lucas does not work for us. We work for him, we pay our money to see his movies. We do not write it, directed it, distribute it or market it.

Yes, you have the right to complain, but if you are so unhappy with George Lucas, deal with it or better yet, go visit the man during his busy schedule and tell him how he should be doing it right. He would have you escorted off of Skywalker Ranch so fast that you would think that you had be put in a hyperdrive.

I can guarantee you that he would not give your demands / considderations the time of day.

What do you know about writing?
Directing?
Budgets?
or Filmmaking?

All that you can offer is your advice to a man that could easily afford to make sequels and prequels to Howard the Duck and still turn a profit.

QUEEN_LEIA, you need to learn that George Lucas and his Empire do not revolve around you. They revolve around George Lucas and his vision, not your lack of vision.

 

I'm sorry I hurt you feeling my friend but suffice it to say George Luca$ does work for the fans.If we didn't buy his product and make him a billionaire,we wouldn't even be discussing him right now.

Everyone gushes over his creations and how he's changed cinema and blah, blah, blah but if you really analyze him what do you really see? I see a director whose lack of imagination caused to only have TWO original ideas (Star Wars and Indiana Jones) in more than 20 years. I mean, he has milked the Star Wars Trilogy for so many years. What has he done in the last 30 years that hasn't been connected in some way to Star Wars? And don't give me the crap about him creating the Indiana Jones series because he did nothing on it. He merely created the character. Steven Spielberg was the one who fleshed him out and made three excellent films.

George Luca$ has basically done nothing of value beside Star Wars. And not only that he has sold his ideas piece by piece just for money. Look at all the Star Wars stuff out there. Every week there's a new Star Wars game. And what about the books? The books more than anything else display George Luca$'s arrogance and disrespect for his fans. He allowed writers to write all these different books based on his universe and then proceeded to destroy all of their painstakingly constructed timelines and continuities with his vomit-inducing prequels. The fact was, George Luca$ never intended to respect those writers' ideas and additions to his Universe. He merely wanted the money. Now, there are literally dozens of Star Wars books out there, some of them very well written, that are absolutely useless because George Luca$ chose to follow his own ideas about his universe.

If George Luca$ had any respect for his fans and less blind greed for profits he would've filmed all three Star Wars films back to back a la Lord of the Rings, this way his fans wouldn't have to wait three years in between very ridiculous films. He would also write some kind of book explaining in detail the history of the Star Wars Universe to stop all the confusion. But of course he would never do that...the man is too much in awe of his money to get off his fat duff and actually do some work.

 

Wow. Your post just shows how ignorant you are in this subject, aka Lucas' career. Wow.

...Wow.

Cometgreen

 

I think Queen Leia's comments about George Lucas tell us far, far more about her than about Lucas.

Does she sound like a happy person or an angry,jealous,resentful person?

If Mr. Lucas is so upsetting to you,
forget about him, move on and let it go.
Work on yourself and focus on your own
accomplishments rather than being so
intensely upset with someone you've
never even met. Be positive.

 

Um... let's see, Queen Leia, you do realize the Indy films are as much his babies as Spielberg's, right? And he wrote the stories for them as well as produced them?

He also wrote and produced Willow, which while not as huge as SW or Indy, was a hit.

But Howard the Duck, he didn't direct or write the story for it nor had anything to do with it on a creative level. He produced it for two of his closest friends. Again, nice try. He just fronted the money for it.

And he's been producing many, many films when not involved in SW or Indy. Do your research. In fact, he produced an Akira Kurosawa film back in the 80's. Did you know that?

As for American Graffiti, you do realize that that film is considered a classic? And that film, along with ANH, are in the AFI top 100 films of all times and both can be found in almost any top 100 list.

So It's just alright? You don't have to like that movie. But you know what, it IS a classic.

BTW, American Graffiti wasn't his first film.

Also, I believe you were warned about your behavior on more than one instance and were told about your baiting by spelling out his name with a "$".

So cool down or I'll report you again.

 

Son of a tear,I was not warned about using the "$" as a matter of fact,other posters use it as well,needed names I'll provide them.I'm sure you'll see thing our way after a while.

Youre not a MOD so STOP telling me how to post,okay.

I am not baiting anyone if you don't like what I said don't respond,it's that simple.