George Lucas Quotes & Sayings

A talent is a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in - something that you can start at 9 o'clock, look up from your work and it's 10 o'clock at night. — George Lucas

I have a strong feeling about interesting people in space exploration ... And the only way it's going to happen is to have some kid fantasize about getting his ray gun, jumping into his spaceship, and flying into outer space. — George Lucas

If I had time and a hammer, I'd track down every bootleg copy and smash it. — George Lucas

I have a supermarket full of ideas and the challenge is how many ideas can I get in my cart before I'm gone. When you're doing it, you're not focused on success. It's not a matter of modesty. You're simply trying to get all the things done that you want to get done in your life. — George Lucas

You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your life — George Lucas

I think that Lethal Weapon-style dialogue is overused, it's a necessary aspect of high action films where you have to have the smart retort. You have to say "I'll be back baby" and stuff. It's not my style. — George Lucas

Anybody that makes films knows the film is never finished. It's abandoned or it's ripped out of your hands, and it's thrown into the marketplace, never finished. It's a very rare experience where you find a filmmaker who says, "That's exactly what I wanted. I got everything I needed. I made it just perfect. I'm going to put it out there." — George Lucas

I've always tried to be aware of what I say in my films, because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers - teachers with very loud voices. — George Lucas

I don't ever see movies by myself. I always see them with other people because I want to know what works. I want to know where they laugh. I want to know where they don't laugh. I want to know what they think about it afterwards because in the end that's what the art that I'm working with is. — George Lucas

The first movies, they just put up a camera and had a train come into a train station, and everybody was amazed. That was sort of all technology. — George Lucas

I'm here, and every day now is an extra day. I've been given an extra day so I've got to make the most of it. — George Lucas

The one way the world hasn't changed: teaching is still the most important job. — George Lucas

I like making movies. I like the process. I like trying out new ideas, and if they don't work, they don't work. That's the reason I generated the money in the first place, to be able to try things. That's where I spend my money. — George Lucas

You try to get yourself into a situation where you only have to answer to yourself, where you can ask advice of people and work with your peers and mentors and things to try to do the best job that you can possibly do. — George Lucas

Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them, do not. Miss them, do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose — George Lucas

In my films, all the great things are put together. It's not like one kind of ice cream but rather a very big Sundae. — George Lucas

You can find people who have discovered the fact that it's really helping people, it's really being compassionate toward other human beings that makes you happy, that gives you a spiritual fulfillment - a kind of fulfillment that goes way beyond anything you can buy. — George Lucas

I'm lucky enough that there is never a blank canvas in front of me ... I have hundreds of projects that I want to do but I am running out of time. — George Lucas

Young people don't have a fantasy life anymore, not the way we did. All they've got is Kojak and Dirty Harry. There's all these kids running around wanting to be killer cops. — George Lucas

Working hard is very important. You're not going to get anywhere without working extremely hard. — George Lucas

Film is not an easy occupation. There's a lot of occupations that are difficult and film is one of them. — George Lucas

I am a giant proponent of giant screens. But I accept the fact that most of my movies are going to be seen on phones. — George Lucas

Any society begins by realizing that together, by helping each other, you can survive better than if you fight each other and compete with each other. — George Lucas

Good luck has its storms. — George Lucas

From kindergarten to college, certain teachers engaged my curiosity and motivated me to learn. While I was not the best student, their efforts left a lasting impact. — George Lucas

They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they became heroes." Leia Organa of Alderaan, Senator — George Lucas

[In ancient Rome,] why did the senate after killing Caesar turn around and give the government to his nephew? Why did France after they got rid of the king and that whole system turn around and give it to Napoleon? It's the same thing with Germany and Hitler. — George Lucas

There wasn't anything in my life that was going to stop me from making movies. — George Lucas

I wanted to race cars. I didn't like school, and all I wanted to do was work on cars. But right before I graduated, I got into a really bad car accident, and I spent that summer in the hospital thinking about where I was heading. I decided to take education more seriously and go to a community college. — George Lucas

I'd be the first person to say I can't write dialogue. My dialogue is very utilitarian and is designed to move things forward. I'm not Shakespeare. It's not designed to be poetic. — George Lucas

Changes are not unusual - I mean, most movies, when they release them, they make changes. But somehow, when I make the slightest change, everybody thinks it's the end of the world. — George Lucas

The technology keeps moving forward, which makes it easier for the artists to tell their stories and paint the pictures they want. — George Lucas

As the workplace becomes more specialized, from offices to medical centers to factories, teams of people must accomplish their work by collaborating with each other. In my work in filmmaking, we need talented individuals with technical skills, but their abilities to communicate and work with others are just as valuable. — George Lucas

I've had much more down in my life than I've had up. And much more struggle. First of all, when I went into the film school everybody said, "What are you doing? This is a complete dead-end for a career." — George Lucas

If this were a fantasy world, there would be ten of me and we would each be doing what we wanted to do. — George Lucas

I wanted Yoda to be the traditional kind of character you find in fairy tales and mythology. And that character is usually a frog or a wizened old man on the side of the road. The hero is going down the road and meets this poor and insignificant person. The goal or lesson is for the hero to learn to respect everybody and to pay attention to the poorest person because that's where the key to his success will be. — George Lucas

The sciences are the 'how,' and the humanities are the 'why' - why are we here, why do we believe in the things we believe in. I don't think you can have the 'how' without the 'why.' — George Lucas

I think one of the reasons that Steven (Spielberg) and I have been as successful as we have is because we like the movies. We like to go to the movies. We enjoy movies and we want to make movies like the ones we enjoy. — George Lucas

The Force is really a way of feeling; it's a way of being with life. It really has nothing to do with weapons. The Force gives you the power to have extrasensory perception and to be able to see things and hear things, read minds and levitate things. It is said that certain creatures are born with a higher awareness of the Force than humans. Their brains are different; they have more midi-chlorians in their cells. — George Lucas

Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will ... — George Lucas

Remember Luke, the suffering of one man is the suffering of all. Distances are irrelevant to injustice. If not stopped soon enough, evil will eventually reaches out to engulf all men, whether they have opposed it or ignored it. — George Lucas

The older you get, the less seriously you take criticism. I've gotten to a point now where I ignore it completely. It's just not relevant to me anymore. — George Lucas

You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Put blinders on and plow right ahead. — George Lucas

In the end the most important thing to me is that I've raised three kids. I know that'll be the most important accomplishment of my life and it is the most easily obtainable, because all you have to do is pay attention. It is hard work and most people don't realize that's the real gift they are getting in terms of goals and success and accomplishments. — George Lucas

I love you
I know — George Lucas

When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not so much about who has access to what technology as about who knows how to create and express themselves in the new language of the screen. If students aren't taught the language of sound and images, shouldn't they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read and write? — George Lucas

Ultimately the Force is the larger mystery of the universe. And to trust your feelings is your way into that. — George Lucas

I was always extremely curious about why people did the things they do. — George Lucas

Heroes come in all sizes, and you don't have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It's just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibi lity for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people-these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives. — George Lucas

Everyone seems to think that digital technology devoids the medium of content, but that is not true at all. If anything, it broadens the content. — George Lucas

The easiest job you'll ever get is to try to make your first film. That's the easy one to get, is the first film because nobody knows whether you can make a film or not. — George Lucas

No," Threepio responded, "I don't think he likes you at all." A second beep failed to alter the stern tone in the taller robot's voice. "No, I don't like you, either. — George Lucas

The ideals and principles for which Dr King fought have never been forgotten and are as relevant today as they were 40 years ago. — George Lucas

I've always been a follower of silent movies. I see film as a visual medium with a musical accompaniment, and dialogue is a raft that goes on with it. — George Lucas

Whenever you do something, people try to re-do it and do a better version, especially if they're in another country. — George Lucas

For 'Star Wars' I had to develop a whole new idea about special effects to give it the kind of kinetic energy I was looking for. I did it with motion-control photography. — George Lucas

You must let go of your past and embrace your future and figure out what path you're going to go down — George Lucas

When my films don't work it's usually because I tried some very experimental idea. I tried new ideas and they just didn't work, as opposed to trying to do something conventional and having it be so conventional nobody wanted to see it. — George Lucas

I like to say that films are never finished, they're only abandoned. — George Lucas

We are all living in cages with the door wide open. — George Lucas

Sometimes people are surprised to learn that most of the films I've made don't work. They've been released but nobody has ever seen them. Maybe 40 percent of them are very successful. That's a very high percentage; most people have maybe 10 or 15 percent of their films work. — George Lucas

I grew up in the era, 'Don't trust anybody over 30.' And, you know, I still feel that. Don't trust me. — George Lucas

I'm very proud of all the movies I made. I am very happy with everything I've done. I like to watch my movies. Some of them work. Some of them don't. Some of them people like, most of them they don't. — George Lucas

Mos Eisley spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious. — George Lucas

The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. — George Lucas

Learning to make films is very easy. Learning what to make films about is very hard. — George Lucas

I wanted to make a kids' film that would strengthen contemporary mythology. — George Lucas

A lot of great thinkers- like Einstein and Newton- come up with their best ideas when they're young because they don't yet think in the way that the establishment teaches them. Sometimes your lack of knowledge frees your mind to be creative and think in a different way. But you still have to be logical and figure out a practical way to get things done, even though you're looking at things differently. — George Lucas

The best way to truly understand narrative art is to experience it. — George Lucas

If you look at 'Blade Runner,' it's been cut sixteen ways from Sunday, and there are all kinds of different versions of it. — George Lucas

The secret to film is that it's an illusion. — George Lucas

I am simply trying to struggle through life; trying to do God's bidding. — George Lucas

He took me from not being able to write a word in terms of writing screenplays to being the king of wooden dialogue. — George Lucas

I started out in anthropology, so to me how society works, how people put themselves together and make things work, has always been a big interest. — George Lucas

Part of the issue of achievement is to be able to set realistic goals, but that's one of the hardest things to do because you don't always know exactly where you're going, and you shouldn't. — George Lucas

There is no why. We are. Life is beyond reason. — George Lucas

Luke: Boy, it's lucky you have these compartments.
Han: I use them for smuggling. I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in them. This is ridiculous. — George Lucas

Train yourself to let go of the things you fear to lose. — George Lucas

They were at the wrong place at the wrong time naturally they became heroes — George Lucas

Force has never kept anything together for very long. The more you tighten your grip, the more systems will slip through your fingers. — George Lucas

Everybody has talent and it's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is. A talent is a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in - something that you can start at 9 o'clock, look up from your work and it's 10 o'clock at night - and also something that you have a talent, not a talent for, but skills that you have a natural ability to do very well. And usually those two things go together. — George Lucas

I'm extremely grateful that I discovered my passion. I love movies. I love to watch them, I love to make them. — George Lucas

I don't like you, either. C-3PO — George Lucas

Named must your fear be, before banish it you can. — George Lucas

I was a terrible student in high school and the thing that the auto accident did - and it happened just as I graduated, so I was at this sort of crossroads - but it made me apply myself more, because I realized more than anything else what a thin thread we hang on in life, and I really wanted to make something out of my life. — George Lucas

All of my films have been very hard to understand at the script stage because they're very different. At the time I did them they were not conventional. The executives could only think in terms of what they'd already seen. It's hard for them to think in terms of what has never been done before. — George Lucas

I wanted to make abstract films that are emotional, and I still do. — George Lucas

I find," Vader ventured mildly, "this lack of faith disturbing. — George Lucas

I live a reasonably simple life, off the beaten track. — George Lucas

The influence of 'Hidden Fortress' comes up a lot because it was printed in a book once. The truth is, the only thing I was inspired by was the fact that it's told from the point of view of two peasants, who get mixed up with a samurai and princess and a lot of very high-level people. — George Lucas

Until the time is right, disappear we will. — George Lucas

Be mindful of the future. But not at the expense of the moment. — George Lucas

You can't put a title card at the head of the movie and say, "Well, we really had a bad problem. You know, the actor got sick and it rained this day and we had a hurricane." — George Lucas

Don't avoid the cliches - they are cliches because they work! — George Lucas

To be renewed is everything. What more could one ask for than to have one's youth back again? — George Lucas

I'd like to see education play a larger role in our daily lives, have people come to a larger understanding - a "bigger picture" understanding - of how we fit into the world, and how we fit into the universe. Not necessarily thinking of ourselves, but thinking of others. — George Lucas

I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master. — George Lucas

In the future it will become even easier for old negatives to become lost and be ?replaced? by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten. — George Lucas

I'm one of those people who says, 'yes, cinema died when they invented sound.' — George Lucas

Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. — George Lucas