george lucas
Ben Burtt on Revolutionizing Sci-Fi Sound With ‘Star Wars’ and Creating Darth Vader’s Breathing
Ben Burtt created the sound of my childhood. He gets that a lot. “Yeah, I hear that often,” says the legendary sound designer, creator of the lightsabre swish and Darth Vader’s electronic wheezing, the voice of R2-D2, Chewbacca and, for a younger generation, that of Pixar’s WALL-E. “I guess I altered the DNA of a […]
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Cannes: Sean Baker’s ‘Anora’ Wins Palme d’Or as ‘Emilia Pérez’ Takes Two Awards
After two weeks of nonstop cinema, the moment of truth finally arrived. The winners of the 77th Cannes Film Festival were announced at a gala ceremony on Saturday night. The Palme d’Or, the fest’s top honor, went to Sean Baker’s sex worker screwball comedy Anora. A nervous and shaking Baker took the stage and thanked […]
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A ‘Star Wars’ Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Initially known for theatrically released blockbusters for the first two decades of its existence (despite dipping its toe in TV, occasionally), the George Lucas space-opera finally succumbed to television properly in the Noughties with animated series The Clone Wars. Since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, Star Wars has gone back and forth on both […]
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George Lucas Says Ideas in the Original “Sort of Got Lost” in Post-Disney ‘Star Wars’ Films
“I’m a stubborn guy and I didn’t want people to tell me how to make my movies,” is how Star Wars creator George Lucas summed up the secret to his success, speaking to a crowd of fans at a packed Debussy theater in Cannes on Friday afternoon. The 80-year-old filmmaker was being honored at the […]
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Fred Roos, Casting Director Turned Oscar-Winning Producer on ‘The Godfather Part II,’ Dies at 89
Fred Roos, the casting director turned producer who jump-started the career of Jack Nicholson and collaborated often with Francis Ford Coppola, sharing a best picture Oscar with the filmmaker for 'The Godfather: Part II,' has died.
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Edgar Burcksen, Emmy-Winning ‘Young Indiana Jones’ Film Editor, Dies at 76
Edgar Burcksen, who handled visual effects for The Hunt for Red October and Die Hard 2 and won an Emmy for editing the pilot for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, has died. He was 76. Burcksen died Sunday in Los Angeles of complications from a heart attack, Innovative Artists announced. Born in Holland in 1947, […]
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Cannes: George Lucas to Receive Honorary Palme d’Or
George Lucas is set to receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival at its closing ceremony on May 25, organizers said on Tuesday. “The Festival de Cannes has always held a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated when my first film, THX-1138, was selected to be shown in a […]
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‘It Happened in Hollywood’ Podcast: How George Lucas Saved ‘Return to Oz’
Return to Oz, Disney’s 1985 dark take on Dorothy Gale (played by a then-9-year-old Fairuza Balk), shares its creative DNA with Star Wars. Not only that, George Lucas saved writer-director Walter Murch’s job after Disney fired Murch from the Oz shoot. Lucas and Murch were old friends and collaborators, having met in the film department […]
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George Lucas Backs Disney and Bob Iger in Proxy Fight: “Creating Magic Is Not for Amateurs”
There’s a disturbance in the force, and George Lucas wants to help correct the problem. The Star Wars and Indiana Jones filmmaker is weighing in on The Walt Disney Company’s ongoing proxy fight with activist investors, and he is throwing his support firmly behind CEO Bob Iger and Disney’s board. “Creating magic is not for […]
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Hayden Christensen Thought ‘Star Wars’ “Wasn’t a Possibility” After Leonardo DiCaprio Casting Rumors
Hayden Christensen knew he was shooting for the stars (in more ways than one) during his auditions for Star Wars. The actor revealed this week he nearly lost hope for the project when he heard his name in contention with Leonardo DiCaprio. Christensen played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) and […]
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Kenzo Channels ‘Stars Wars’ and Kurosawa Imagery at Paris Men’s Show
Kenzo’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection, presented at Paris Men’s Fashion Week, documents the intercultural exchanges that have intervened between East and West, America and Japan, and most notably in the show, between George Lucas’ science fiction and Akira Kurosawa’s historic imagery. The two distinct ways of filmmaking combined to inspire a perfect synthesis in Kenzo’s show. […]
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‘Indiana Jones’ Box Office Openings: How ‘Dial of Destiny’ Compares to the 4 Previous Movies
Rewind to summer 1981, and a box office slump. A variety of factors were to blame for the downturn, including rising movie ticket prices and production costs (sound familiar?). But the summer season ended on a high note after Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark rode to the rescue. Raiders of the […]
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