George Lucas is the richest celebrity in the wolrd, and it’s all thanks to a crucial decision he made while shooting Star Wars.
From arthouse director to richest celebrity in the world, George Lucas may have directed only six films, but his impact on the industry is unprecedented. He is the creator of Star Wars, one of the most profitable franchises in cinema history. His artistic talent, combined with his incredible business skills allowed him to make a fortune.
As a matter of fact, George Lucas never wanted to make mainstream movies. His directorial debut was THX 1138, a dystopian social critique that barely broke even at the box office.
It would be one of Lucas’ greatest friends, and one of the most influential American directors of all time, that changed his life forever. This man had just released one of the best movies in cinema history: The Godfather. I am of course talking about Francis Ford Coppola.
Coppola suggested to Lucas to stop making difficult arthouse movies, otherwise he would never start a career as a filmmaker. He told Lucas to make more accessible movies for the moment, going back to arthouse films once his name was already established in the industry.
Ironically, George Lucas would never go back to his original style. On the other hand, Francis Ford Coppola would sadly be forgotten after he started making arthouse box-office failures. Movies like One from the Heart, utterly beautiful but tragically with no wide audience appeal.
Star Wars and the road to fame
Following Coppola’s suggestion, George Lucas started working on an epic science-fiction movie: Star Wars. Unfortunately for him, nobody involved believed in the project. Actors considered it a career-killer while the production company wanted to just get over with it soon to focus elsewhere.
The enormous toll got to Lucas as well, who believed he made another box office failure by the time the movie was finished. Crucially, though, Lucas made one of the best decisions of his life precisely in this phase.
Instead of accepting a pay rise for Star Wars, Lucas demanded the rights for licensing and merchandising. This was unusual at the time, as movie merch was not a widespread market yet.
Eventually, the movie came out and it was the incredible success we know today. The first movie quickly became the highest grossing movie of all time, while the entire franchise grossed over $12 billion by today.
With the money he made from Star Wars, George Lucas founded his own production company: Lucasfilm. And, it turned out, people not only loved the movie, they wanted its merchandising too.
Retaining the rights for Star Wars’ merchandising even when he sold the franchise to Disney, George Lucas managed to become the richest celebrity in the world.
George Lucas’ net worth today is $10 billion, also coming from his numerous production endeavors with other franchises like Indiana Jones.
Overall, George Lucas is considered a giant in the industry, and a true testament to the motto “If you know it’s good, don’t give up”.
