Before attending the Crystal + Lucy Awards, the 'Star Wars' creator showed up on a panel at the University of Southern California to talk about the future of cinema with Steven Spielberg on June 12.
- Jun 14, 2013
AceShowbiz - George Lucas, legendary creator of "Star Wars" franchise, was honored with the Nora Zarky Humanitarian Award at the 2013 Crystal + Lucy Awards, which also served as Women in Film's 40th anniversary celebration. The Audi-sponsored event saw the recognition of the 69-year-old filmmaker and producer's educational advocacy as well as overall support of women.
"It's an important award to me ... I've worked with lots of women in my company. I kind of like it," said the creator of archaeologist-adventurer "Indiana Jones" to the audience on Wednesday night, June 12. "I've now got a daughter embarking on this crazy [film making] world, now she's doing the struggle everyone does. It's hard in the film business. It's hard in any business."
Prior to the prize-giving event, Lucas paid a visit to the University of Southern California, where he and fellow helmer Steven Spielberg were invited to discuss the current state of cinema with film students on a panel.
"There's going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen mega-budgeted movies go crashing into the ground, and that's going to change the paradigm again," Spielberg said.
Lucas agreed with what the "Lincoln" director said. "You're going to end up with fewer theaters, bigger theaters with a lot of nice things," he told the USC students, lamenting at how movie-going experience had turned into more of a luxury. "Going to the movies will cost 50 bucks or 100 or 150 bucks - like what Broadway costs today, or a football game."
"We're talking 'Lincoln' and 'Red Tails' - we barely got them into theaters. You're talking about Steven Spielberg and George Lucas can't get their movie into a theater ... The pathway to get into theaters is really getting smaller and smaller."
