George Lucas

Stoo

Well-known member
Quote transplant from another thread:
Montana Smith said:
While Bill Gates is giving his fortune away to the needy, Lucas is still raking it in every way he can. And what does he do with it? He gives us Jar Jar Binks. Now that's just not very charitable.
Wait a minute. Wasn't it announced a few months ago that Lucas is henceforth donating a large amount of his profit (MILLION$) to the field of education?

@Moderators: While searching for this thread, I noticed another one with the same name: George Lucas

Plus 2 of these:
The People Vs. George Lucas
The People v.s. George Lucas
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Stoo said:
Quote transplant from another thread:
Wait a minute. Wasn't it announced a few months ago that Lucas is henceforth donating a large amount of his profit (MILLION$) to the field of education?

He's going to teach the world to love Jar Jar & Mutt.

He's going to teach the world that shooting first is wrong.

He's going to teach the world extreme patience.

He's going to teach the world a stern lesson if Indy 5 ever sees the light of day!

;)

Bill Gates has pledged to give everything away before he dies.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
http://blastr.com/2010/08/george-lucas-pledges-half.php

George Lucas said:
As long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages.

I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future - and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt - as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so.

Very honourable, George, but what exactly went wrong with the Prequels and KOTCS? Communication breakdown? ;)

blastr.com said:
Thanks, George! It almost makes having watched The Phantom Menace worthwhile!
 
Chaa Creek Invites George Lucas and Seth Rogen to 2012 Celebrations

The EF Hutton of the New Generation
The Lodge at Chaa Creek, Belize's eco resort in the Heartland of the Maya, has invited filmmaker George Lucas to take part in their 2012 - Maya Perspectives lecture series and grand celebrations planned for the 2012 Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012.

They are also inviting actor Seth Rogan to join in.

"When we recently read Seth Rogen's comments that Mr Lucas was worried about the world ending in 2012, we wanted to help allay his fears by giving him real information from the Maya themselves right here in the Heartland of the Maya," Chaa Creek spokesman Larry Waight said.


I've always wondered what George thought of Plaid...
 
Last edited:

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
I've always wondered what George thought of Plaid...

Funny you should ask...

Google Spider was just reading this oldie about the Scottish author Campbell Black:

Lawsuit Filed Against Movie Mogul George Lucas Alleging Unpaid Royalties For the Novelization of 'Raiders of The Lost Ark'

campbell-clan-wr1.gif
 
Lawsuit Over Stormtrooper Costumes Goes to U.K. Supreme Court

CourtThe 'Star Wars' creator argues prop designer Andrew Ainsworth doesn?t have the rights to sell the replica suits.
LONDON -- A battle between George Lucas and British prop designer Andrew Ainsworth over replica Stormtrooper outfits has hit the U.K. Supreme Court, the highest civil action court in Britain.

Ainsworth, who built the original Stormtrooper costumes from sketches while working out of Shepperton studios on 1977?s Star Wars, has been selling the outfits online for years based on his original moulds.

Lucas has long said the designer does not own the copyright and has taken his case before judges here in a three-day-hearing to stop Ainsworth from making the costumes.

It?s good business for Ainsworth who has hit the headlines over the years for both his fight with Lucas and his ability to sell replica costumes for high sums. Back in 2004 he sold two original Stormtrooper helmets at auction for £60,000 ($97,000).

According to a report in The Guardian, the supreme court heard Monday (March 7) it was an "implied term" of the working agreement between Ainsworth and Lucas that Ainsworth "would not be entitled to retain copyright for the artifacts."

Lucas successfully sued Ainsworth for $20 million in the U.S. when he began selling replicas of the models in 2004. Ainsworth subsequently stopped selling the replicas stateside and the moviemaker?s case was thrown out on appeal in the U.K. in 2008 by judges in the Royal Court of Justice.

Justice Mann, according to archived reports, concluded the costumes had a "utilitarian purpose", and were industrial props rather than "works of art" so were not covered by British copyright laws.

In 2009 the ruling was upheld by Lord Justices Rix, Jacobs and Paten at the court of appeal.

The case continues with Lucas expected to use the full force of filmmaker friends including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Peter Jackson during the case.
 
Surprise, surprise, surprise!

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-T95f9ctsVw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
No ordinary things?

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bHwhg8xpnyA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
The British Empire Strikes Back: Return of the Lucasfilm Lawyers

Submitted by Mark Tratos

The days of “George Lucas can do no wrong” are in the past (See Star Wars nuking the fridge). Despite that though, Lucas still passionately revolves his life around the Star Wars franchise and his other projects. This includes suing everyone who could be infringing on his rights to those projects. Last week, Lucas took that passion overseas.

On March 8th, George Lucas (actually his attorneys) was in front of the U.K. Supreme Court, the highest civil action court in the country, arguing against British prop designer Andrew Ainsworth. Ainsworth built the original Stormtrooper costumes from Lucas’s 2D drawings for the Star Wars films. Since then, Ainsworth has been selling complete Stormtrooper costumes, created from the original molds, online. In fact, last year Ainsworth sold two of the original Stormtrooper helmets at auction for £60,000 (almost $96,000). Business was booming and that didn’t sit well with Lucas.

Lucas maintains that Mr. Ainsworth does not own the copyrights for the designs. In 2004, Lucas brought a successful suit against Ainsworth for $20 million in the U.S. when Mr. Ainsworth began selling replicas stateside. Mr. Lucas also brought suit in the UK, but that case that was thrown out on appeal by judges in the Royal Court of Justice in 2008 when Ainsworth stopped selling the replicas in the U.S. Justice Mann, in that case, said that as long as the replicas were never sold in the U.S., Mr. Ainsworth was free to sell the replicas anywhere else. In addition, the replicas, according to the Justice, could not receive copyright protection because they were “utilitarian objects” under the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act of 1988. This very closely resembles the Useful Articles Doctrine here in the U.S. Since the replica costumes were not determined to be artistic items or sculptures by the courts, they were utilitarian objects, which are not eligible for copyright protection. The Force is strong with Lucas though and he has kept fighting.

In the appeal heard this week, the U.K. Supreme Court was going to focus on two issues. The first was a determination if the utilitarian objects doctrine applies to the costumes. The second, and arguably much more important issue, is the determination if a claim for infringement of a US copyright is justiciable and enforceable by an English court. Legal scholars do not think that Lucas has much of a chance here, as they believe that jurisdiction must be created by treaty and not by the courts. Such a treaty would mean that any U.K. copyright should be enforceable in the U.S. Cue the IP freakout! So while Lucas likely threw the weight of the Galactic Empire on the U.K. court last week, it seems incredibly unlikely that Lucas’s U.S. copyright will be given jurisdiction without a treaty in place.

There is obviously no guarantee as to how this case will turn out though. This could be a massive victory for the enforcement of U.S. copyrights internationally. And as others have pointed out, directors like Spielberg, Cameron and Jackson are no doubt incredibly interested in the outcome of this case. The way things are looking though, Lucas may be in line to lose his hand in the overseas replica costume market.

Mark Tratos is a third year evening division student at WCL. He currently works for the United States Senate. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006 with majors in Economics and Ancient Studies. While in St. Louis, Mark worked for KWUR Clayton 90.3 FM as a disc jockey and as the Director of the Recording Studio. While there, Mark not only played and recorded music, but he also helped local musicians protect it.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Star Wars helmet maker wins right to sell replicas

Wed Jul 27 01:35PM by Kimberley Smith

Looks like the little guy might actually have won... with Hollywood big shot George Lucas in the losing corner.

Prop designer Andrew Ainsworth won a multi-million pound law suit against Lucas - the creator of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise - in the Supreme Court this week.

Ainsworth was in fact the original creator of the props, employed by Lucas to create armour for the 1976 ‘Star Wars’ film, but fell out of favour years later after realising he could make serious bucks. He began selling exact replicas using the original helmet moulds to ‘Star Wars’ fans as part of an entire costume, for up to £1500.

The ‘David and Goliath’ battle started back in 2004, when Lucasfilm sued Ainsworth’s design company Shepperton Design Studios for £12m after they began selling replica Stormtrooper items to US clients.

Lucasfilm argued that the items were ‘art’ and should be protected under appropriate copyright laws, but Ainsworth said they were just ‘props’.

The copyright protection for a prop is 15 years from the original marketing, while the protection for a work of art is 70 years. Since it has been more than 15 years since the release of the film, Ainsworth argued that he had every right to continue selling the replica helmets in the UK.

The judge ruled in favour of Ainsworth, but also said he had infringed upon US copyright laws and must not export his work overseas.

In a statement today Ainsworth said: "I am delighted to have won the right to continue to make these replicas from the original tools and moulds."

Lucasfilm said: “The U.K. should not allow itself to become a safe haven for piracy."

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blog/art...helmet-maker-wins-right-to-sell-replicas.html


The Jolly Roger is hoisted. Welcome to Britain, Mr. Lucas! :whip:
 
Dinner with five filmmakers

Bid on eBay

...just make sure you're pre-approved.

In conjunction with the release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray last week, Lucasfilm is auctioning some rare and exciting Star Wars items, as well as some once-in-a-lifetime experiences. If you are a film buff, or if you just want to meet and dine with some incredible people, consider bidding on this Dinner with Bay Area Filmmakers, including George Lucas, John Lasseter, Francis Ford Coppola, Chris Columbus, and Philip Kaufman.

Proceeds from this charity auction benefit Stand Up To Cancer, which develops breakthroughs to end cancer once and for all. eBay and Lucasfilm invite you to participate and help Use the Force for Good!

Probably the most famous of this quintet of filmmakers (although honestly it is hard to call one more famous than the others since they are each a household name) is George Lucas. Although we now take his success for granted, and see Star Wars as a cultural franchise, early in his career he struggled for recognition and success. He brought the concept of Star Wars to almost every major studio in Hollywood, until finally 20th Century Fox agreed to give the project a chance. He even gave up his usual director?s fee, but negotiated a contract to receive 40% of the film?s take, and merchandising rights (yes, that covers all Star Wars toys and so forth). Given Star Wars redefined the term blockbuster movie, we have to marvel at his foresight. Aside from the original Star Wars, though, Mr. Lucas only directed five other movies. Without going to Wikipedia, can anyone guess the other five?

Interestingly, George Lucas reportedly based the character of Han Solo on another of the filmmakers at the dinner party, Francis Ford Coppola. Mr. Coppola, the influential filmmaker, director, and producer, is best-known for the Godfather trilogy which he wrote and directed. All three films were nominated for Best Picture, and the films won twice (the third installment did not take home the prize). Given he is the owner of the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, we can assume he will choose the wine at dinner.

John Lasseter started his career at Disney working at Disneyland as a Jungle Cruise skipper, but quickly moved into the animation department. Upon realizing the potential of computers in creating animation, he decided to pursue this new technology with single-minded determination. He joined Lucasfilm with the title of interface designer, since Lucasfilm did not hire animators. As George Lucas?s interest in animation faded, Steve Jobs acquired Lucasfilm Computer Graphics and renamed it Pixar. Along the way, a short film Lasseter was working on morphed and grew into what we today know as Toy Story. Lasseter went on to direct other famous animated films, including Cars, and more.

Chris Columbus might not be as famous as his namesake who discovered America, but he has some interesting films under his directorial belt. These include Home Alone and Home Alone 2, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer?s Stone , Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and many others. Philip Kaufman worked with George Lucas on the Indiana Jones series, and is credited with the story for Raiders of the Lost Ark including the idea of the pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant.

We hope this gives you a glimpse into the depth and breadth of the filmmaking might sitting around this dinner table, and why it would be fun to attend. If you are thinking of using this event to pitch a new idea to any of these guys, think again. The listing specifically says that ?(t)he Filmmakers and any other guests of the Filmmakers attending the dinner will not read scripts or listen to pitches or receive any other submissions during the dinner or at any time before or thereafter from the winning bidder or their guest.?

I guess, just like George Lucas, you need to just take it straight to 20th Century Fox.
 
Denial is a sad sad state...

Its no longer in question...

Lucas: The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.

...George officially has his head up his own ass.

Hate to think what he and Rick McCallum do there in the dark.(n)
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Its no longer in question...



...George officially has his head up his own ass.

Hate to think what he and Rick McCallum do there in the dark.(n)

I bet the Cairo Swordsman actually shot himself with the Derringer he kept in his stocking top.
 
Top