Tech Firms Owe Debt to 'Star Wars' Creator

[Renew Deal]

By GREG SANDOVAL, AP Technology Writer
Thu May 12, 3:15 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - After filming the first "Star Wars" movie with special effects far from special, George Lucas spent millions to develop a complete digital editing system to populate his sequels with armies of X-wing fighters and Gungan warriors. Then, he virtually gave it away.

"We were 10 years ahead of the commercial reality," said Bob Doris, co-general manager of Lucas' computer division during the mid-1980s. "He inspired some very worthwhile ventures ... but the innovations weren't close to paying for themselves."

So Lucas sold many of his technologies for cheap — technologies that would later appear in home stereos, cell phones, medical imaging devices and virtually every Hollywood studio, driving billion-dollar companies and employing thousands of people.

Apple Computer Inc. chief executive Steve Jobs paid $10 million for the team that became Pixar Inc., and the movie company went on to make $3 billion at the box office.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050512/ap_on_hi_te/star_wars_tech_legacy

[CBGLuthier]

1. And that is why I respect him

as a director he is so so, as a writer of dialog he needs help but as an innovator he truly made his mark.

[tridim]

3. The only problem I have with ILM is that it's virtually impossible

to get a job there without working for years as an unpaid intern. Poor saps like myself can't do that.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

2. Just don't tell him that.

The man's ego is big enough as it is.

[zbdent]

4. Too bad he didn't sue Reagan for copyright infringement