George Lucas leads into a 24-hour salute to fantasy films in the latest edition of TCM’s A Night at the Movies – TCM Presents A Night at the Movies: George Lucas & The World of Fantasy Cinema – on Tuesday, November 25th (8/7C). During the one-hour special, Lucas will take viewers on a tour of some of the movies that sparked his imagination and inspired his work.
Following the Lucas appearance on A Night at the Movies, TCM will roll out a lineup of classic genre fare that includes the original 1947 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, starring Danny Kaye, The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), The Thief of Baghdad (1940) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). For more, follow the jump.
George Lucas Talks Fantasy Cinema in TCM’s Latest A Night at the Movies Documentary
One-Hour Special to Explore Fantasy Films that Inspired Lucas’ Career
As excitement continues to build over the new trilogy in the Star Wars franchise, the man who created it – George Lucas – is going to take Turner Classic Movies (TCM) viewers on a ride through some of the movies that have sparked his imagination and inspired his career. This November, Lucas will talk extensively about his fantasy favorites in the one-hour special TCM Presents A Night at the Movies: George Lucas & The World of Fantasy Cinema, the latest in the network’s ongoing series of genre documentaries. Produced by Amblin Television and award-winning filmmaker and author Laurent Bouzereau, the one-hour special will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 8 p.m. (ET).
George Lucas & The World of Fantasy Cinema will kick off a 24-hour salute to fantasy movies, with such memorable films as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), The Thief of Bagdad (1940), The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958). A complete schedule is included below. Each of these films represents the power of cinema to transport us into a world of dreams.
TCM launched the A Night at the Movies franchise in October 2009 with A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers. Subsequent specials have focused on movie epics, horror films and holiday classics. TCM’s A Night at the Movies documentary specials are executive-produced by Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey (TNT’s Falling Skies).
TCM recently released its first volume of original specials from A Night at the Movies on home video. Sold exclusively through TCM’s online store – shop.tcm.com – TCM Originals: A Night at the Movies, Vol. 1 includes four memorable specials: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers (2009), The Gigantic World of Epics (2009), Merry Christmas! (2011) and The Horrors of Steven King (2011).
Laurent Bouzereau, who writes, produces and directs TCM’s A Night at the Movies specials, is an award-winning filmmaker and author. Bouzereau has created many documentaries on the making of films and on some of the world’s most acclaimed filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Bogdanovich, Brian De Palma, William Friedkin, Alfred Hitchcock, David Lean, and many others. Bouzereau directed Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir and the TCM original documentary Don’t Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck. He has also written or co-written 11 books on cinema, including The Art of Bond and, most recently, Alfred Hitchcock: Piece by Piece.
TCM’s A Night at the Movies: Fantasy
Tuesday, November 25
8 p.m. – TCM Presents A Night at the Movies: George Lucas & The World of Fantasy Cinema (2014)
9:15 p.m. – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
11:15 p.m. – TCM Presents A Night at the Movies: George Lucas & The World of Fantasy Cinema (2014)
12:30 a.m. – The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
2:30 a.m. – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935)
5:00 a.m. – Wings of Desire (1987)
Wednesday, November 26
7:30 a.m. – The Seven Face of Dr. Lao (1964)
9:15 a.m. – Tom Thumb (1958)
11 a.m. – The Glass Slipper (1955)
12:45 p.m. – The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
2:30 p.m. – Angels in the Outfield (1951)
4:30 p.m. – The Secret Garden (1949)
6:30 p.m. – Portrait of Jennie (1948)
George Lucas Bio
George Lucas’ devotion to timeless storytelling and cutting-edge innovation has resulted in some of the most successful and beloved films of all time. In 1971, Lucas transformed an award-winning student film into his first feature, THX-1138. Lucas’ second feature film, the low-budget American Graffiti (1973), became the most successful film of its time. Pushing the boundaries of storytelling, American Graffiti was the first film of its kind to tell multiple stories through interweaving narratives backed by a soundtrack of contemporary music.
But it was Lucas’ third film, 1977’s Star Wars that changed everything, breaking all box-office records and setting new standards for sophistication in film visuals and sound. The film garnered eight Academy Awards®, and inspired a generation of young people to follow their imagination and dreams. The success of Star Wars allowed Lucas to remain independent and continue operating in Marin County, Calif.
Lucas has been the storywriter and executive producer of a series of box-office hits beginning with the continuation of the Star Wars Saga: The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. In 1981, he created the classic adventurer Indiana Jones, and co-wrote and executive-produced the successful series consisting of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), a franchise that has won eight Academy Awards. Later, a television series, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, was honored with 12 Emmys®.
Lucas has also served as executive producer on such widely varied films as Willow, which was based on his original story and directed by Ron Howard; and Tucker: The Man And His Dream, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. As executive producer, Lucas’s films also include Akira Kurosawa’s Kagemusha (1980) and Labyrinth (1986) among others. Lucas released and served as executive producer on Red Tails (2012), a fictional story inspired by the historic and heroic exploits of America’s first all black aerial combat unit. In addition, he executive produced Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the inaugural project from Lucasfilm Animation.
Lucas pioneered the development of digital cinema in multiple areas: editing, sound, scanning, projection and camera technology. He returned to directing in 1999 with Star Wars Saga: Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the year’s biggest box-office hit, which was also the first major live-action film to be projected digitally. Three years later, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones broke new ground as the first major movie shot using entirely digital media. In 2005, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith was the top-grossing film that year worldwide.
As Lucas continued making movies, he also furthered the development of Lucasfilm Ltd. into one of the world’s leading entertainment companies for motion picture and television production, which included Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound; LucasArts; Lucas Licensing, Lucas Online and Lucasfilm Animation. In 2012, Lucas retired from corporate life. Lucasfilm Ltd. was acquired by the Walt Disney Company, with longtime-Lucas collaborator Kathleen Kennedy named as his successor.
Over the years, Lucas has received some of the entertainment industry’s highest honors, including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society. He also received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and the prestigious NAACP Vanguard Award, given to the person whose groundbreaking work increases understanding and awareness of racial and social issues.
Lucas was honored in 2004 with the nation’s highest award for technological achievement, the National Medal of Technology, presented by the President of the United States for 30 years of innovation at Industrial Light & Magic. In 2013, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the highest award presented to artists and patrons of the arts by the United States Government, bestowed upon him by the President in recognition of lifetime achievement in the creation and production of the arts in the United States.
Lucas has also taken a philanthropic leadership role in applying his technical and storytelling expertise to the classroom, engaging students through interactive multimedia environments. In 1991, he founded the George Lucas Educational Foundation (Edutopia.org) to pursue and promote best practices in education – highlighting proven strategies, tools and resources for creating lifelong learners. He also serves on the board of the Film Foundation and is a member of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Advisory Board.
Most recently, Lucas announced plans to build the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (LucasMuseum.org), which will emphasize illustrative, digital, cinematic and animation art as an avenue for the exploration of the great storytelling history, populist works and artistic innovation of the past 150 years.
About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. TCM, which is available in more than 85 million homes, features the insights of hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. Currently in its 20th year as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials; film series like The Essentials, hosted by Robert Osborne and Drew Barrymore, and Friday Night Spotlight; and annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® in February, Summer Under the Stars in August and TCM Essentials Jr. during the summer. TCM also connects with movie fans through such events as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise, as well as through the TCM Classic Film Tour in New York City. In addition, TCM produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs, and hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app.
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