George Lucas born and grew up on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. When Lucas was in his late teens he developed an interest in drag racing. However, a severe car accident changed what he had wanted to be when he grew up. Originally he had wanted to be a race car driver. Lucas had gone to Modesto Junior college before attending the University of Southern California film school. While he was attending film school he made several short films such as THX-1138:4EB, which had one first prize at the national student film festival. In 1967 he was granted a scholarship to watch the making of the movie Finian's Rainbow, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who had also directed the movie The Godfather. In 1969 Coppola and Lucas created a company called American Zoetrope. The first undertaking of the company was a full length version of Lucas's THX-1138. In 1971, when Coppola started directing The Godfather Lucas had set out and created his own company called Lucasfilm Ltd. In 1973 he had written and directed the film American Graffiti. American Graffiti had won the Golden Globe and had been nominated for five Academy Awards. In 1973 he had started writing the screen play for the movie Star Wars, which he was inspired to write by Flash Gordon and Planet of the Apes. He established ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) for the special effects for the movie. Sprocket Systems was established to edit and mix it and it later became know as Skywalker Sounds. His movie was turned down by a few different companies until Twentieth Century Fox had liked the idea. The film had broken all box office records and had received seven Academy Awards. Lucas along with Steven Spielberg had created the Indiana Jones which the PG-13 rating had been created for. From 1980 to 1985 George Lucas had been creating Skywalker Ranch, which was built to accommodate the different needs of LucasFilm. He had later created THX movie systems, which revolutionized the way people watch movies. The film American Graffiti was influenced by George Lucas's own life. The film was about four teenagers having fun the last summer night before they go off to college. One of Lucas's particular interests when he was in his teens was drag racing. This movie has to do with drag racing, too. I think that the television show Happy Days was influenced by this movie. This movie reminded me a lot about the show, and I don't think that the reason it reminded me of the show was Ron Howard, but the way everything was shot and the setting was basically the same. The soundtrack was also very similar to what kind of music is in the show, fifty's rock and roll. Two artists who wrote two songs in that movie were Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, which were two famous songwriters/artists. Some movies that I think were influenced by American Graffiti are Grease and Detroit Rock City. I think that Grease was influenced by this movie because of the drag racing and also the similar setting. I think that Grease is also a coming of age film for the T-Birds. Detroit Rock City was about four teenagers growing up in the 1970's and hating disco, but loving the rock band KISS. They do anything and everything so that they could get into the concert. The movie Star Wars was a monumental movie for the movie industry. Breaking all of the box office records and receiving seven Academy Awards. So far there have been five different movies in the series and Lucas is coming out with a sixth and he claims to be the last Star Wars movie he will make. For the original movie George Lucas had wanted the exact cameras from the film North by Northwest which is directed by Alfred Hitchcock. George Lucas had liked the look of those cameras and had wanted it for Star Wars. One movie that was very obviously influenced by Star Wars was Spaceballs, which parodied the film. There are many books that have been written that were influenced by this film and authors have sort of continued the story through these books. There are now a countless number of characters in this story and also a number of plots, too. There are Star Wars fan clubs and tons of different memorabilia from this movie. I personally think that the newer films haven't been as well made as the older ones because of various reasons. I personally think that the special effects in the newer movies sort of overpower the plot. I think that special effects should compliment a scene or plot but not overpower it. Another film that George Lucas had written is Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. This film is about an archaeologist being hired by the United States to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. According to the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.org) Lucas is currently working on an Indiana Jones 4. One film that directly influenced this film is Casablanca. There is a scene where the main character travels and there is also a map showing the route, this scene is almost the same in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Also the setting is in Africa and the feel of the setting is very similar to Casablanca. George Lucas is a very accomplished film writer and director. He has done things that most people haven't or can't do in their entire lifetimes. He is influenced by many movies and also influenced many movies. He also is influenced by his own life and hobbies/interests. . Awards. Lucas along with Steven Spielberg had created the Indiana Jones which the PG-13 rating had been created for. From 1980 to 1985 George Lucas had. George Lucas born and grew up on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. When Lucas was in his late teens he developed