A huge figure in Hollywood cinema, the director, screenwriter and producer is present on the Croisette to receive the Honorary Palme d’Or on Saturday May 25 during the Closing Ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival. He took the opportunity to meet his early fans.
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He is a regular at the Cannes Film Festival. George Lucas, now 80 years old, walked his first red carpet in 1971 to present his first film, THX-1138. From, THE master of the science fiction has returned to the Croisette numerous times as screenwriter, director and producer.
Inseparable from the sagas Star Wars And Indiana Jones, George Lucas has forever given the blockbuster its letters of nobility and spectators around the world an unparalleled pleasure. It was therefore quite natural that he offered a conversation to his fans.
An hour before the screening, the queue is long. “George Lucas is a monument! My favorite film is STar Wars IV because he’s the first and he has an energy that the others don’t have”, assures us Yvon, 16 years old, high school student majoring in cinema, met while waiting.
Antoine logged in early to get his ticket. “For me he is someone who is very influential on the history of cinema and someone of human interest who made great choices. He revealed himself as a great producer and a great creator of ideas , scenarios and collective imagination for the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century”, he tells us.
Once past the control gate, a young man blows “I was too stressed that the ticket didn’t work.” In the room, our neighbor is whistling the music of Star Wars played through the speakers. He discovered Return of the Jedi at the age of seven. “I even had the disc, some Lego, and then I saw all the Star Wars. I had the chance to rediscover episode II in 2002 in its digital version in his presence, he was very focused”, he specifies. “We are super happy to be here because George Lucas is someone rare,” rejoice at the young girls who have come in groups. “I hope he will tell us some anecdotes from filming and how he went about creating this universe,” a young boy told us.
When he slowly enters the stage of the Salle Debussy, the entire assembly rises to give him a long and loud ovation. Lumberjack shirt, black jeans and white sneakers, George Lucas arrives in complete relaxation. Faced with the 1,500 admirers who cheered him, he even seemed a little embarrassed. “I’m very happy to be here, it’s a nostalgic feeling, it’s always nice to be recognized,” he confides about the Palm of Honor which will be awarded to him on Saturday May 25.
For an hour and a half, George Lucas spoke about his long history with cinema. If the memories are a little tangled, he remembers perfectly his first real encounter with cinema. “I was not a good student and I accompanied a friend to enroll at the University of Sacramento. There was a cinema section and I said to myself: this is what I want to do, this thing , It’s for me !”.
Studies which allowed him to make his first film, already titled THX and to meet Francis Ford Coppola. “I didn’t want to make a Hollywood-style film, I wanted to do animation, and Coppola invited me to come,” he says.
With the New Hollywood group which took off in Los Angeles in the 60s with Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Michael Cimino And Steven Spielberg, the cinéma, is part of the counter-culture. “We wanted to prove that we could make independent films outside of studios and that we could make money,” he remembers before adding, “The secret was that we loved cinema and we just wanted to make films for people.”
This is how George Lucas will write his own cinema history. Far from the obligations dictated by studios or producers, but first and foremost for the public. This is the case with American Graffiti which hit the screens in 1973. A dramatic comedy set in the 1950s which follows the journey of two young students on the east coast of the United States. Car races, jazz music, drive-in parties, the film finds no financier.
“The producers told me: you should be ashamed to present this to the public.” But at each screening the film receives a standing ovation. “We released it at the worst time of the year, in August, and in a few days it grossed $25 million, which was a lot at the time, it stayed on screens for a year. I didn’t expect such success at all. he said humbly. “The secret is passion and perseverance, a screenwriter or director must have the right to make the film he wants, it’s a concept that dates from Michelangelo. he assures.
A perfectionist, lover of sound, music, special effects and editing, George Lucas launched his major work four years later: Star Wars. The studios didn’t want to take on the responsibility of producing the film because they thought it wouldn’t work. En 1977, the first episode of the saga hit the screens with the famous soundtrack by John Williams. “I loved it! I wanted music like Pierre and the Wolf with an orchestra and music from the 1930s”, says the filmmaker. “The film is so good because we took care of the soundtrack, that’s what makes a good film.”
As for American Graffiti, Star Wars immediately meets its audience. From 5 to 85 years old, spectators come to see and rewatch the film. The period is dark in the United States, struggle for civil rights, Vietnam War, Star Wars offers a new horizon. “Star Wars goes much further than a galactic saga. The film is aimed at children aged 12, it’s a film for children and it will stay”, concludes George Lucas, once again receiving a standing ovation from the audience.