2. DonaldLeroy LaFontaine
• Donald Leroy LaFontaine (AKA Don LaFontaine) was a voice over artist who was born
on August 26, 1940 in Duluth, Minnesota, U.S to Alfred and Ruby LaFontaine and
died of pneumothorax that caused his lung to collapse on the 1st of September2008
in Los Angeles, California, U.S, making him 68 when he died
• He married Joan Studva in 1967 and had 1 child but then divorced in 1988;
afterwards, he married Nita Whitaker (date of marriage unknown) and with 2
children and stayed married until his death
• Don did a lot of voice over work for movie trailers, being part of more than 5,000
trailers including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Shrek, Friday the 13th, Law & Order
and Batman Returns
• LaFontaine said his voice cracked at age 13 in mid-sentence, giving him the bass
tones that later brought him much fame and success.
• After graduating from Duluth Central High School in 1958, he enlisted in the United
States Army, and worked as a recording engineer for the Army Band and Chorus.
3. Don LaFontaine's Career
• LaFontainecontinued to work as a recording engineer after discharge and began working at the National Recording Studios in New
York City, where, in 1962,he had the opportunity to work with producer Floyd Petersonon radio spots for Dr. Strangelove.
• Petersonincorporatedmany of LaFontaine'sideas for the spots and, in 1963,they went into business together producing advertising
exclusively for the movie industry.
• LaFontaineclaimed that this company first came up with many of the famous movie trailer catchphrases,including his own future
signature phrase, "in a world..."
• While working on the 1964western Gunfightersof Casa Grande,LaFontainehad to fill in for an unavailable voice actor in order to
have something to present to MGM.After MGMbought the spots, LaFontainebegana career as a voiceover artist.
• He became the head of Kaleidoscope Films Ltd.,a movie trailer productioncompany, before startinghis own company, Don LaFontaine
Associates, in 1976.
• Shortly thereafter, he was hired by Paramountto do their trailers,and was eventually promoted to vice president. He decided to get
back into trailer work and left Paramount,moving to Los Angeles in 1981.
• LaFontainewas contactedby an agent who wanted to promote him for voiceover work, and from then on worked in voiceovers. At his
peak, he voiced about 60 promotions a week, and sometimes as many as 35 in a single day. Once he established himself, most studios
were willing to pay a high fee for his service. His income was reportedly in the millions.
• LaFontaineoften had jobs at a number of different studios each day. With the advent of ISDN technology, LaFontaineeventually built a
recording studio in his Hollywood Hills home and began doing his work from home.
• LaFontainelent his voice to thousandsof movie trailers during his career, spanning every genre from every major film studio, including
The Cannon Group,for which he voiced one of their logos. For a time, LaFontainehad a near-monopoly on movie trailer voiceovers.
LaFontainestatedin 2007that his favorite work in a movie trailer was for the biographical film The Elephant Man.
4. • Lafontaine also did announcing for a few WWE Pay Per View events, as well as the "Don't Try This at Home"
bumper.
• In a 2007 interview, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind his signature catch phrase, "in a world where...":
• We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to. That's very easily done by saying, "In a
world where..." You very rapidly set the scene.
• LaFontaine also did other voice work, including as the announcer for the newscasts on WCBS-TV New York, from
2000 to 2001. LaFontaine was a recurring guest narrator for clues on the game show Jeopardy! and appeared on
NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on May 14, 2005, where he played "Not My Job" (a game in which famous
people have to accurately answer questions totally unrelated to their chosen professions). The prize (for a listener,
not the contestant) is "Carl Kasell's voice on your home answering machine". LaFontaine did not win the game
and offered to record the listener's answering machine messagehimself. LaFontaine once claimed that he enjoyed
recording messages like these because it allowed him to be creative in writing unique messages and said that he
would do so for anyone who contacted him if he had the time. By 2007, he found the requests to be too
numerous for him to take on and stopped providing the service.
• In 2006, GEICO began an advertising campaign in which actual customers told their own stories of GEICO
experiences, accompanied by a celebrity who helped them make the story interesting. LaFontaine was featured as
the celebrity in one of these ads which began airing in August2006. In the commercial, he was introduced by the
voice-over as "that announcer guy from the movies", with his name printed on-screen to identify him. He began
his telling of the customer's story with his trademark "In a world...". LaFontaine credited the spot as life-changing
for having exposed his name and face to a significant audience, noting, "There goes any anonymity I might have
had..."
5. DonaldLeroy LaFontaineHealth, Death and Legacy
• On Friday, August22, 2008, LaFontaine was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, with a pulmonary
embolism and was reported to be in critical condition the following Tuesday. His family made a public appeal for
prayers on Mediabistro. Ten days later, LaFontaine died on September 1, 2008, six days after his 68th birthday,
following complications from a pneumothorax. He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His final television
voice over role was for the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Chronicles of Meap" in which he said in his final line:
"In a world... There, I said it. Happy?" The episode also ended with a short tribute to him, although the iTunes, UK,
and Spanish versions of the episode omitted the dedication. His final movie trailer voice-over was for Call +
Response, a documentary about the global slave trade, for which he donated his talent.
• On September 6, 2008, America's Most Wanted showed a visual with a picture of him with words below that said,
"In Memoriam: Don LaFontaine August26, 1940 – September 1, 2008." John Walsh had announced, prior to the
dedication sign, that LaFontaine—who had been the show's announcer since 1988—haddied at the age of 68. On
the evening of September 7, 2008, Adult Swim had a bumper that said: Don LaFontaine [1940-2008].
• "The Apprentice Scout", an episode of Chowder, is dedicated to LaFontaine. The episode dedicated his memory
and said, "To Don LaFontaine 1940-2008". The show Phineas and Ferb from Disney also dedicated the episode
"The Chronicles of Meap" which he provided the narration for. Fellow voice-over artist and friend John Leader
retired from the voice-over business on September 1, 2008 upon learning of LaFontaine's death.
• LaFontaine was referenced, with opening clips of his work and several subsequent verbal homages, in the film In a
World..., written and directed by Lake Bell.
6. Example FilmTrailers
• Gunfightersof Casa Grande
• The Terminator 1 and 2
• Mastersof the Universe
• RoboCop
• Die Hard 1, 2 and 3
• Halloween 4 and 5
• The Hunt for Red October
• Home Alone 1, 2 and 3
• Death Warrant
• Darkman
• Backdraft
• Double Impact
• Child's Play 3 and 4
• Batman Returns
• Hard Target
• Teenage MutantNinja Turtles III
• White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf
• The Mask
• The Pagemaster
• Speed
• Sudden Death
• Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The
Movie
• Toy Story
• Scream 1 and 3
• Space Jam
• Con Air
• Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
• George of the Jungle
• StarshipTroopers
• Flubber
• Rush Hour 1, 2 and 3
• A Bug's Life
• Austin Powers 2 and 3
• Inspector Gadget
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
• StuartLittle 1 and 2
• Pokémon: The FirstMovie
• Digimon: The Movie
• The Emperor's New Groove
• Shrek
• Cheaper by the Dozen
• Garfield: The Movie
• The SpongeBobSquarePantsMovie
• Fat Albert
• Robots
• Cheaper by the Dozen 2
• Ice Age 2
• Night at the Museum
• Black Christmas
• Meet the Robinsons
• Ratatouille
• The Simpsons Movie
• Meet Dave
Here are some examples of movie trailers that Don LaFontaine has been part of. These are only a few because Don has done more than 5,000
different movie trailers because of his voice.
7. References
• Wikipedia. (2020). Don LaFontaine. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_LaFontaine. Last
accessed 28th Jan 2020.
• IMDB. (2009). Don LaFontaine. Available:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0480963/. Last
accessed 29th Jan 2020.
• Wilkime, T. (2007). Don LaFontaine: The Voice. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPMvj_xejg. Last
accessed 29th Jan 2020.
• Ouse, D. (2012). Don LaFontaine, Duluth’s ‘Voice of
God’. Available:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125747/http:/zen
ithcity.com/don-lafontaine-duluths-voice-of-god/. Last
accessed 28th Jan 2020.
• Gow, M. (2006). Who is the guy who does all of the voice-
overs for
movie trailers?. Available: https://web.archive.org/web/2
0061010180227/http:/www.eonline.com/Gossip/Answer/
index.jsp?id=45&num=2. Last accessed 29th Jan 2020.
• Wikipedia. (2020). Houston
Chronicle. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho
uston_Chronicle. Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
• Maria Dillon, R. (2008). Don LaFontaine, voice of
movie trailers, dies. Available:
https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/2008-09-02-
lafontaine_N.htm. Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
• CNN. (2008). 'In a world' voiceover masterdies at
68. Available:
https://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/0
2/obit.lafontaine/. Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
• CallAndResponseMovie. (2008). DON LAFONTAINES
LAST MOVIE TRAILER. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6vTbtKjTU0&fe
ature=channel. Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
8. Madhouse Studio
• MadhouseInc is a Japanese animationstudio founded on October 17, 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators, includingMasao
Maruyama,Osamu Dezaki, Rintaroand YoshiakiKawajiri.
• Madhousehas created and helped to produce many well-knownshows, OVAs and films, starting with TV anime series Ace o
Nerae! (produced by Tokyo Movie) in 1973, and including Wicked City, NinjaScroll, Perfect Blue, VampireHunter D: Bloodlust,
Trigun, Di Gi Charat, Black Lagoon, Death Note, Paprika, Wolf Children and the first season of One-Punch Man.
• Unlike other studiosfounded at this time such as AIC and J.C.Staff,their strength was and is primarily in TV shows and
theatricalfeatures.
• Expandingfrom the initialMushi Pro staff, Madhouse recruited important directorssuch as Morio Asaka, MasayukiKojima, and
Satoshi Kon during the 1990s.
• Their staff roster expanded in the 2000s to include Mamoru Hosoda, Takeshi Koike, and Mitsuo Iso, as well as many younger
televisiondirectors.
• The studio was also responsiblefor the first Beyblade anime series as well as the Dragon Drive anime and the 2011 anime
adaptationof Hunter x Hunter.
• The studio often collaborateswith known manga artists, including NaokiUrasawa and Clamp. Madhouse produced
adaptationsof Urasawa's YAWARA!, Master Keaton and Monster, with MasayukiKojima helming the later two.
• The companyhas animateda number of CLAMP's titles, including TokyoBabylon, CardcaptorSakura and its sequel Clear Card,
Chobits and CLAMP in Wonderland.
Reference: Wikipedia
9. Madhouse Studio History
• In February 2004, Madhouse became a subsidiary of Index Corporation.
• On February 8, 2011, Nippon TV became Madhouse's primary stockholder (replacing
Index Corporation), via a third-party allocation of new shares. NTV bought 128,667new
shares (each ¥7,772)issued by Madhouse for ¥999,999,924total (about $12.4million),
raising its stake in the company from 10.4% to 84.5%. Index Corporation's stake in
Madhouse fell from 60.91% to 10.54%.
• In January 2012, Madhouse announced their acquisition of the animation rights to the
Peanuts comic strip.
• In March 2014, NTV bought all the shares belonging to Index Corporation, increasing its
stake in Madhouse to 95%.
• The studio employs approximately 70 employees, with employment levels varying
depending on the number of productions currently underway. Additionally, the
company has invested in the Korean animation studio DR Movie.
• Madhouse has a subsidiary, Madbox Co., Ltd., that mainly focuses on computer
graphics.
10. Madhouse Films
• Madhouse's early theatrical work included assistance on the Barefoot Gen films, and Lensman,
an anime movie based on the space opera series by pulp science fiction author E.E. "Doc"
Smith.
• In the late 1980s and early 1990s, director Yoshiaki Kawajiri produced a string of action films
including Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, and Ninja Scroll.
• In the late 1990s, the studio aimed at a younger female audience with Morio Asaka's
two Cardcaptor Sakura films, based on the popular television series.
• In the early 2000s, an ambitious collaboration with Tezuka Productions resulted in Metropolis,
directed by Rintaro and adapted from the manga by Osamu Tezuka. Earlier collaborations with
Tezuka productions included two feature-length films made for Sanrio starring Tezuka's unicorn
character Unico.
• Director SatoshiKon produced all four of his films with the studio: Perfect Blue, Millennium
Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika, as well as his TV series Paranoia Agent. Kon was also
making his fifth film the Dreaming Machine with Madhouse, although it was left incomplete at
his death in 2010.
11. • In 2003, Madhouse produced Nasu: Summer in Andalusia, which was adapted from
the seinen manga Nasu by Iou Kuroda and directed by Studio Ghibli veteran Kitarō
Kōsaka. Nasu was the first Japanese animated film ever selected for screening at the
renowned Cannes Film Festival.[8] Kōsaka followed up his film with an OVA sequel in 2007.
• In 2006, director Mamoru Hosoda began his career with the studio by directing The Girl Who
Leapt Through Time.
• Recent productions included Masayuki Kojima's theatrical debut Forest of Piano (2007),
Hosoda's acclaimed Summer Wars (2009), Sunao Katabuchi's Mai Mai Miracle (2009), the
company's first CG animated film, Yona Yona Penguin (2009), TakeshiKoike's feature film
debut Redline (2009), a theatrical version of the Trigun series, Trigun: Badlands Rumble (2010),
and The Tibetan Dog, a co-production with China (2011).
• The first film in the Hunter × Hunter franchise, Hunter × Hunter: Phantom Rouge premiered on
January 12, 2013.
• Madhouse co-produced Wolf Children (2012) with Mamoru Hosoda's Studio Chizu.
• Collectively, Madhouse films have won a total of two Japan Academy Prizes, four Grand Prizes
in the Animation Division at Japan Media Arts Festival, two Gertie Awards, six Mainichi Film
Awards (three Ōfuji Noburō Awards, and three Animation Grand Awards), two Tokyo Anime
Awards for Animation of the Year, and five Animation Kobe Feature Film Awards.
12. Collaborations
• Madhouse designed the characters for Hudson Soft's game Virus (the first instalment of the Virus Buster
Serge franchise). Madhouse worked with Square Enix on the OVA Last Order: Final FantasyVII as well
as Capcom for the miniseries of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series.
• They collaborated with Studio Ghibli by contributing animation to HayaoMiyazaki's My Neighbor
Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl's Moving Castle (2004), as well as TomomiMochizuki's I Can Hear
the Sea (1993)and Goro Miyazaki's Tales from Earthsea (2006).
• Madhouse collaborated with professional rapper Snoop Dogg in the 2006 horror-comedy movie Hood of Horror, in
which they assistedin the animated sections of the movie.
• Along with Sunrise, the studio animated episodes for the American Street Fighter cartoon between 1995-1997.
• Madhouse also collaborated with Disney for the anime Stitch! for its first and second arcs (equal to 56 episodes
total), between 2008 and 2010. They also animated the intro cutscene to PlayStation video game Wild Arms and
the opening movie to PlayStation Vita video game Persona 4 Golden (Persona 4: The Golden in Japan), along with
opening to the PSP remake of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.
• They worked with Marvel Entertainment to create adaptations of Blade, Iron Man, Wolverine and X-Men.
• 2010 also saw the publication of Devil, a mangaintended specifically for the American market; the property is a
collaboration with Dark Horse Comics, and is written and drawn by Torajiro Kishi.
• Madhouse also participated in animating the Wakfu TV special Ogrest, la légende in collaboration with Ankama
Japan.
13. References
• Loo, E. (2011). NTV to Make Madhouse Anime
Studio Its Subsidiary. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2011-
02-08/ntv-to-make-madhouse-anime-studio-its-
subsidiary. Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
• Schilling, M. (2011). Japan's NTV to take over
Madhouse. Available:
https://archive.ph/20120918222049/http:/www.vari
ety.com/article/VR1118031786#selection-1215.5-
1215.14. Last accessed 28th Jan 2020.
• Mes, T.
(2003). Kitaro Kosaka. Available: http://www.midnig
hteye.com/interviews/kitaro-kosaka/.Last accessed
30th Jan 2020.
• Anderson, J. (2006). Snoop Dogg’s Hood
of Horror. Available: https://variety.com/2006/film/r
eviews/snoop-dogg-s-hood-of-horror-1200515013/.
Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
•Darkhorse. (2010). Devil #1. Available:
https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/16-473/Devil-1.
Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
•Ankama. (2014). Ogrest says: Ogrest wants his new
friends to come play!. Available:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1836563008/w
akfu-the-animated-series/posts/728579. Last accessed
30th Jan 2020.
•Wikipedia. (2020). Madhouse (company). Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhouse_(company).
Last accessed 30th Jan 2020.
14. Takeshi Obata
• Takeshi Obata (小畑 健, Obata Takeshi, born February 11, 1969) is a
Japanese manga artist that usually works as the illustrator in collaboration with a
writer. He first gained international attention for Hikaru no Go (1998–2003)
with Yumi Hotta, but is better known for Death Note (2003–2006)
and Bakuman (2008–2012) with Tsugumi Ohba. Obata has mentored several well-
known manga artists, including Nobuhiro Watsuki of Rurouni Kenshin fame, Black
Cat creator Kentaro Yabuki, and Eyeshield 21 artist Yusuke Murata.
• On September 6, 2006, Obata was arrested for illegal possession of an 8.6 cm
knife when he was pulled over in Musashino, Tokyo for driving with his car's
headlights off at 12:30am. The artist claimed he kept the knife in his car for when
he goes camping.
15. Takeshi Obata Career
• Takeshi Obata chose to be a manga artist because he always loved drawing.As a child he re-read Shotaro Ishinomori's Cyborg 009 over and over. He
originallybecame noticed in 1985 when he tooka prize in the Tezuka Award forhis one shot 500 Kōnen no Shinwa. Joiningthe Weekly Shōnen
Jump staff,he mentored under Makoto Niwano before startinghis first majorseries, writing and drawing Cyborg Jii-chan G in 1989. After this series,
Obata began collaboratingwith other writers.
• Karakurizōshi Ayatsuri Sakon, with author Sharakumaro,became his first work to be adapted intoan anime.He then created Hikaru no Go with Yumi
Hotta,which received the Shogakukan Manga Award in 1999 and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2003. With 25 million collected volumes in
circulation, it was adapted into an anime and became his first work to be released in North America.
• In 2003 he teamed up with Tsugumi Ohba to create Death Note.It became his biggest hit to date, with 30 million copies in circulation, an anime
adaptation,fivelive-action films,two live-action TV drama and a musical.Obata served as the artist of Blue Dragon Ral Grad, a manga adaptation ofthe
fantasyvideo game Blue Dragon, from December 2006 to July 2007.
• In the fall of 2007, he drew the short story"Hello Baby"with writer Masanori Morita,which appeared in Jump Square. This was followed a year later by
"UrōboeUroboros!"with Nisio Isin,who authoredthe Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases novel.
• He then reunited with Tsugumi Ohba for Bakuman., which ran from August 2008 to April 2012. It was Shueisha's first manga to be released online in
multiple languages before becomingavailable in print outside Japanand had over15 million copies in publication as ofMay 2014. In 2014, he drew a
manga adaptation of All You Need Is Kill with Ryōsuke Takeuchi, basingthe character designs on Yoshitoshi ABe's original coverto the novel. He reunited
with Nisio Isin for the one-shot "RKD-EK9", that ran in the December 2014 issue of Jump SQ..
• Obata followed this byworkingwith Nobuaki Enoki to relaunch Enoki's School Judgement: Gakkyu Hotei digital one-shot as a serial in the first issue
of Weekly Shōnen Jump for 2015. However, the magazine stopped publishingit after the year's 24th issue and the series finished in the digital Shōnen
Jump+ on May 27. It was serialized in English in the digital Weekly Shonen Jump.
• He began another series with Ohba called Platinum End in the December 2015 issue of Jump SQ on November 4, 2015.
• In additionto his manga work, Obata has also done character design work forthe video game Castlevania Judgment, as well as illustratingseveral light
novels.He provided character designs forMadhouse's anime adaptations of Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human and Natsume Sōseki's Kokoro, which are
parts of the Aoi Bungaku series. He also designed a new CGI character for the 2016 Death Note: Light Up the New World live-action film. On May3,
2016, Viz Media publishedObata's 2006 art book Blanc et Noir in North America.
16. Takeshi Obata Works
• 500 Kōnen no Shinwa (500光年の神話)(1985)
• Cyborg Jii-chan G (CYBORGじいちゃんG（サイ
ボーグじいちゃんジー）)(1989)
• Arabian Lamp Lamp (魔神冒険譚(アラビアン)ラ
ンプ・ランプ)with Susumu Sendo (1991–1992)
• Chikarabito Densetsu -Oni o Tsugu Mono- (力人伝
説 -鬼を継ぐもの-)with Masaru Miyazaki (1992–
1993)
• Karakurizōshi Ayatsuri Sakon (人形(からくり)草
紙あやつり左近)with Sharakumaro (1995–1996)
• Hikaru no Go (ヒカルの碁)with Yumi Hotta and
supervised by Yukari Yoshihara (1998–2003)
• Hajime (はじめ)with Otsuichi (2003)
• Death Note (デスノート, Desu Nōto) with Tsugumi
Ohba (2003–2006)
• Ral Grad (BLUE DRAGON ラルΩグラド) with
Tsuneo Takano (2006–2007)
• Hello Baby with Masanori Morita (2007)
• Uro-oboe Uroboros! (うろおぼえウロボロス
!) with Nisio Isin (2008)
• Bakuman (バクマン。)with
Tsugumi Ohba (2008–2012)
• All You Need Is Kill with Ryōsuke Takeuchi (2014)
• RKD-EK9 with Nisio Isin (2014)
• School Judgement: Gakkyu Hotei (学糾法廷
, Gakkyū Hōtei) with Nobuaki Enoki (2014–2015)
• Platinum End (プラチナエンド)with Tsugumi
Ohba (2015–present)
17. Takeshi Obata Awards and Nominations
• 1985 Tezuka Award for "500 Kōnen no Shinwa"
• 2000 Shogakukan Manga Award for Hikaru no Go
• 2003 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Creative Award for Hikaru no Go
• 2007 Nominated - Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Grand Prize for Death Note
• 2008 Nominated - Angoulême International Comics Festival Official Selection
for Death Note
• 2008 Nominated - Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for Death Note
• 2008 Eagle Award for Favourite Manga for Death Note
• 2010 Nominated - Manga Taishō for Bakuman.
18. References
• Loo,E. (2008). Eyeshield 21's Murata to Do 1-ShotWindow WasherManga.Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-29/eyeshield-21s-murata-to-do-1-shot-
window-washer-manga.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2007). DeathNoteArtist,NovelistTeam Up on UrōboeUroboros. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-27/death-note-artist-novelist-team-up-on-
uroboe-uroboros.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2008). DeathNoteTeam's Bakuman Manga Posted in 4 Languages.Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-08-19/death-note-team-bakuman-manga-
posted-in-4-languages.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2014). Kenshin's Takeru Satoh &RyunosukeKamikiStarin Live-Action Bakuman
Film. Available:https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-05-06/kenshin-takeru-satoh-and-
ryunosuke-kamiki-stars-in-live-action-bakuman-film.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• Nelkin, S.(2013). Death Note'sObataAdaptsAllYouNeedIs Kill NovelIntoManga. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-11-30/death-note-obata-adapts-all-you-need-is-
kill-novel-into-manga.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2014). DeathNote'sObata, Monogatari's NisiOisin,Rosario +Vampire'sIkeda Make2 One-
ShotManga Together. Available:https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-09-30/death-
note-obata-monogatari-nisioisin-rosario-vampire-ikeda-make-2-one-shot-manga-together/.79373.
Last accessed1st Feb2020.
• Hodgkins, C. (2015). Gakkyu Hotei, Cyborg Roggy Manga End in Shonen Jump on Monday. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-05-07/gakkyu-hotei-cyborg-roggy-manga-end-in-
shonen-jump-on-monday/.87908.Last accessed1st Feb2020.
• AntonioPineda,R.(2015). ShonenJump+PublishesFinalChapterof Gakkyu HoteiManga. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-05-28/shonen-jump-publishes-final-chapter-of-
gakkyu-hotei-manga/.88624.Last accessed1st Feb2020.
• Hodgkins,C.(2015). Bakuman,DeathNoteCreatorsLaunch PlatinumEnd
Manga.Available:https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-09-24/bakuman-death-note-
creators-launch-platinum-end-manga/.93322.Last accessed1st Feb2020.
• Loo,E. (2008). Death Note'sObata to Workon
NextCastlevania Game. Available:https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-02/death-
note-obata-to-work-on-next-castlevania-game.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2009). Madhouse'sAoiBungaku Posts
Staff, CastLineup.Available:https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-09-22/madhouse-
aoi-bungaku-posts-staff-cast-lineup.Lastaccessed1stFeb2020.
• AntonioPineda,R.(2016). 2016 Death NoteCastsMiyukiSawashiro asNewShinigami. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-09-12/2016-death-note-casts-miyuki-
sawashiro-as-new-shinigami/.106348. Last accessed1st Feb2020.
• Mays, J.(2006). Death NoteCreatorArrested forPossessing a Knife. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2006-09-07/death-note-creator-arrested-for-
possessing-a-knife.Lastaccessed2ndFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2007). 11th AnnualTezukaCulturalPrizeWinners Announced.Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-05-10/11th-annual-tezuka-cultural-prize-
winners-announced.Lastaccessed2ndFeb2020.
• Koulikov,M.(2008). Manga Nominated forAwardsatAngoulemeFestival.Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-22/manga-nominated-for-awards-at-
angouleme-festival.Lastaccessed2ndFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2008). MangaListedAmongEisnerAwardNomineesfor2008. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-04-14/manga-listed-among-eisner-award-
nominees-for-2008.Last accessed2ndFeb2020.
• Loo,E. (2008). UKFansGive Eagle Award to DeathNoteManga. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-05-14/uk-fans-give-eagle-award-to-death-note-
manga.Last accessed2nd Feb2020.
• Loo,E. (2010). 10 Titles Nominatedfor3rdMangaTaisho Awards. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-01-18/10-titles-nominated-for-3rd-manga-
taisho-awards.Lastaccessed2ndFeb2020.
• Loveridge,L.(2014). GakkyuHotei Joins Viz's Shonen Jump asWeekly Series. Available:
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-12-15/gakkyu-hotei-joins-viz-shonen-jump-as-
weekly-series/.82197. Last accessed2ndFeb2020.
• Wikipedia.(2019). TakeshiObata. Available:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi_Obata.Last
accessed28th Jan 2020.
19. James Cameron
• James Francis Cameron is a Canadian filmmaker, artist, and environmentalist, who is best known for making
science fiction and epic films for the Hollywood mainstream.
• Cameron first gained recognition for directing The Terminator (1984). He found further critical and commercial
success with Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Terminator 2: JudgmentDay (1991)and True Lies (1994).
• His greatest big-budget productions have been Titanic (1997) and Avatar(2009), the former earning him Academy
Awards in Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing.
• He also co-founded Lightstorm Entertainment, Digital Domainand Earthship Productions. In addition to his
filmmaking, he is a National Geographic explorer of the sea and has produced a number of documentaries on the
subject. Cameron contributed to underwater filming and remote vehicle technologies and helped create the
digital 3D Fusion Camera System.
• In 2012, Cameron became the first person to perform a solo descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the
deepest part of the Earth's ocean, in the Deepsea Challenger submersible.
• In total, Cameron's films have grossed approximately US$2 billion in North America and US$6 billion worldwide.
Cameron's Avatarand Titanic are the second and third highest-grossing films of all time, earning $2.78 billion and
$2.19 billion, respectively. Cameron holds the achievement of having directed the first two of the five films in
history to gross over $2 billion worldwide. In 2010, Time magazinenamed Cameron one of the 100 most
influential people in the world.
20. James Cameron's Early Life
• Cameron was born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada on August 16, 1954 to Philip Cameron, an
electrical engineer, and Shirley (née Lowe), an artist and nurse. His paternal great-great-great-
grandfather emigrated from Balquhidder, Scotland, in 1825. Cameron is the eldest of five
siblings and as a child he described the Lord's Prayer as a "tribal chant".
• He attended Stamford Collegiate School in Niagara Falls. At age 17, Cameron and his family
moved from Chippawa, Ontario to Brea, California. He attended Sonora High School and then
moved to Brea Olinda High School. Classmates recalled that he was not a sportsman but
instead enjoyed building things that "either went up into the air or into the deep".
• After high school, Cameron enrolled at Fullerton College, a communitycollege in 1973 to study
physics. He switched subjectsto English but left the college at the end of 1974. He worked odd
jobs, including as a truck driver and janitor, but writing in his free time.
• During this period, he learnt about special effects by reading other students'work on "optical
printing, or front screen projection, or dye transfers, anything that related to film technology"
at the library. After excitementof seeing Star Wars in 1977, Cameron quit his job as a truck
driver to enter the film industry.
21. James Cameron's Career-1978 to 1983
• Cameron's directing career began in 1978. After borrowing money from a consortium of dentists, he learnt to
direct, write and produce his first short film, Xenogenesis (1978)with a friend. Learning as they went, he has said
that he felt like a doctor doing his first surgical procedure. He then served as a production assistantfor Rock and
Roll High School (1979). While educating himself about film-making techniques, Cameron started a job as a
miniature model maker at Roger Corman Studios.
• He was soon employed as an art director in the science-fiction film Battle Beyond the Stars (1980). He carried out
the special effects for John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981), served as production designer for Galaxy of
Terror (1981), and consulted on the design for Android (1982).
• Cameron was hired as the special effect's director for the sequel to Piranha (1978), titled Piranha II: The Spawning
in 1982. The original director, Miller Drake, left the project due to creative differences with producer Ovidio
Assonitis. Shot in Rome, Italy and on Grand Cayman Island, the film gave Cameron the opportunity to become
director for a major film for the first time. However, Cameron later said that it did not feel like his first movie due
to power-struggles with Assonitis. Disillusioned from being in Rome and suffering from a fever, Cameron had a
nightmare about an invincible robot hit-man sent from the future to assassinatehim, which later led to the
inspiration of The Terminator (1984).
• Upon release of Piranha II: The Spawning, critics were not impressed. Tim Healey, in his book, called it "a
marvellously bad movie which splices cliches from every conceivable source."
22. James Cameron's Career-1984 to 1992
• Inspiredby JohnCarpenter'sHalloween(1978) and otherscience fictionwork,Cameronwrote the scriptforThe Terminator(1984) in 1982, whichisa thrilleraboutcyborgsentfromthe future tocarry outa
lethal mission. Cameronwantedtosell the scriptsothathe coulddirectthe movie.Whilstsome filmstudiosexpressedinterestedinthe project, manyexecutiveswere unwillingtoletanew andunfamiliar
directormake the movie.
• Gale Anne Hurd,a colleague andfounderof PacificWesternProductions,towhomCameronwasmarriedfrom1984 to 1989, agreedtobuyCameron'sscreenplayforone dollar,onthe conditionthat
Camerondirectthe film.Eventually,he convincedthe presidentof Hemdale Pictures tomake the film,withCameronasdirectorandHurdas a producer. Lance Henriksen,whohadstarredinPiranhaII:The
Spawning,wasconsideredforthe leadrole,butCamerondecidedthat ArnoldSchwarzeneggerwasmore suitable asthe cyborgvillaindue tohisbodybuilderappearance.
• Henriksenwasgivenasmallerrole instead. Michael Biehn andCameron'sfuture wife, LindaHamilton,alsojoinedthe cast.The Terminatorwasa box office success,exceedingexpectationssetby Orion
Pictures,whothoughtthatthe filmwouldbe short-livedintheaters.The movie provedpopularwithaudiencesandearnedover$78 millionworldwide,fromabudgetof $6.5 million.
• In 1984, Cameronco-wrote the screenplayto Rambo:FirstBloodPartII withSylvesterStallone.Soon,Cameronmovedontohisnextdirectorialfeature,whichwasthe sequel to Alien(1979),a science fiction
horror by RidleyScott.Aftertitlingthe sequel Aliens(1986),CameronrecastSigourneyWeaverasEllenRipley,whofirstappearedinAlien.Aliensfollowsthe protagonist,Ripley,asshe helpsagroupof
marinesfightoff extraterrestrials.
• Despite conflictswithcastandcrewduringproductionandhavingtoreplace one of the leadactors—JamesRemarwithMichaelBiehn—Alienswasabox office success,generatingover$130 million
worldwide.The filmwasnominatedforseven AcademyAwards in1987; BestActress,BestArtDirection,BestFilmEditing,BestOriginal Score andBestSound.Itwonawardsfor BestSoundEditingandBest
Visual Effects.Inaddition,the filmincludingWeavermade the coverof TIME magazine inJuly1986.
• AfterAliens,CameronandGale Anne Hurddecidedtomake The Abyss,astoryof oil-rigworkerswhodiscoverstrange intelligentlife inthe ocean.BasedonanideawhichCameronhadconceivedof during
highschool,the filmwasinitiallybudgetedat$41 million,althoughitranconsiderablyoverthisamount.Itstarred Ed Harris,Mary ElizabethMastrantonio andMichael Biehn.
• The productionprocessbeganinthe CaymanIslandsandthenatSouthCarolina,insidethe buildingof anunfinishednuclearpowerplantwithtwohuge tanks.The castand crewrecall Cameron'stough
demandsandfilmingthe underwatersceneswhichwere physicallyexhaustingforeveryone.Uponthe film'srelease,The Abysswaspraisedforitsspecialeffects,andearned$90 millionatthe worldwidebox
office.The AbyssreceivedfourAcademyAwardnominationsandwon BestVisual Effects.
• In 1990, Cameronco-foundedthe firm LightstormEntertainmentwithpartnerLawrence Kasanoff.In1991, CameronservedasexecutiveproducerforPointBreak (1991), directedbyformerwife Kathryn
Bigelow.Afterthe successof The Terminator,there were discussionsforasequel.Inthe late 1980s, Mario Kassarof CarolcoPictures securedthe rightstothe sequel,allowingCamerontobeginproductionof
the film,titled Terminator2: JudgmentDay (1991). Writtenby Cameronand WilliamWisherJr.,leadactorsSchwarzeneggerandLindaHamiltonreprisedtheirearlierroles.The storyfollowsonfromthe first
Terminatorfilm,depictinganewvillain(T-1000),possessingshape-shiftingabilityandhuntsforSarahConnor'sson.Cameroncast RobertPatrick as T-1000 because of hisleanandthinappearance—asharp
contrastto Schwarzenegger.
• Cameronexplained,"Iwantedsomeone whowasextremelyfastandagile.If the T-800 isa humanPanzertank,thenthe T-1000 is a Porsche."Like itspredecessor,Terminator2was one of the most expensive
filmstobe produced,costingatleast$94 million.Despite the challenginguse of computer-generatedimagery,the filmwascompletedontime andreleasedonJuly3,1991. Terminator2: JudgmentDaybroke
box office records(includingthe openingweekendrecordforanR-ratedfilm),earningover$200 millioninthe NorthAmericaandbeingthe firsttoearnover$300 millionworldwide. ItwonfourAcademy
Awards:BestMakeup,BestSoundMixing,BestSoundEffectsEditing,andBestVisualEffects.ItalsoreceivednominationsforBestCinematography andBestFilmEditingbutlostbothtopoliticalthrillerJFK.
References:Wikipedia
23. James Cameron's Career-1993 to 2001
• In subsequent years, Cameron planned to do a third Terminator film but plans never materialized. The rights to the Terminator franchise were eventually purchased by Kassar
from a bankruptcy sale of Carolco's assets. He moved onto other projects and in 1993, Cameron co-founded Digital Domain, a visual effects production company. In 1994,
Cameron and Schwarzenegger reunited for their third collaboration, titled True Lies (1994), a remake of the 1991 French comedy La Totale! The story depicts an American
secret agent who leads a double life as a married man, whose wife believes he is a computer salesman. The film co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Eliza Dushku and Tom Arnold.
Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment signed a deal with 20th Century Fox for the production of True Lies. Budgeted at a minimum of $100 million, the film earned $146 million
in North America, and $232 million worldwide. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Curtis won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a
Comedy or Musical. In 1995, Cameron co-produced Strange Days (1995), a science fiction thriller. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and co-written by Jay Cocks.
Strange Days was critically and financially unsuccessful. In 1996, Cameron reunited with the cast of Terminator 2 to film T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, an attraction at Universal
Studios Florida and at other parks around the world.
• His next major project was Titanic (1997), an epic film about RMS Titanic which sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg. With a production budget of $200 million, Titanic is one
of the most expensive films ever made. The production was troubled for being over-budget and exceeding its filming schedule, which made headlines before the film's release.
Starting in 1995, Cameron took several dives to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to capture footage of the wreck, which would later be used in the film. A replica of the ship
was built in Rosarito Beach and principal photography began in September 1996. His completed screenplay depicts two star-crossed lovers, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio
and Kate Winslet, from different social classes who fall in love amid the backdrop of the tragedy—a sharp turn from Cameron's previous films. The supporting cast included
Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Victor Garber, Danny Nucci, David Warner and Bill Paxton.
• After months of delay, Titanic premiered on December 19, 1997. Titanic received strong critical acclaim and became the highest-grossing film of all time worldwide in 1998 and
held this position for twelve years until Cameron's Avatar (2009) beat the record in 2010. The costumes and sets were very realistic, and The Washington Post considered the
CGI graphics to be spectacular. Titanic received a record-tie of fourteen nominations (tied with All About Eve (1950)) at the 1998 Academy Awards. It won eleven of the awards
(tying the record for most wins with Ben-Hur (1959) and later, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), including: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction,
Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Original Song.
Upon receiving the Best Picture Award, Cameron along with Jon Landau, asked for a moment of silence to remember the 1,500 people who died when the ship sank. Film critic
Roger Ebert praised the film for being able to combine drama and history, stating "It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted, and spellbinding". Reflecting
on Titanic in 1999, Sandler and Studlar writes that the mix of romance, historical nostalgia and James Horner's music, contributed to the film's cultural phenomenon. Titanic is
Cameron's second film to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
• Following the huge publicity of Titanic, Cameron maintained a lower profile. In 1998, he and his brother, John, formed Earthship Productions, a company for streaming
documentaries on the deep sea, one of Cameron's passions. He had planned to do a film about Spider-Man, a project developed by Menahem Golan of Cannon Films.
Columbia hired David Koepp to adapt Cameron's ideas into a screenplay, but due to various disagreements, Cameron abandoned the project. In 2002, Spider-Man was
released with the screenplay credited solely to Koepp. In 2000, Cameron ventured into television and co-created Dark Angel with Charles H. Eglee, a television series
influenced by cyberpunk, biopunk, contemporary superheroes and third-wave feminism. Dark Angel starred Jessica Alba as Max Guevara, a genetically enhanced super-soldier
created by a secretive organization. While the first season was moderately successful, the second season did less well, which led to its cancellation.
24. James Cameron's Career-2002 to 2010
• In 2002, Cameron served as producer on the 2002 film Solaris, a science fiction drama directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film received mixed
reviews and did poorly at the box office. Keen to make documentaries, Cameron directed Expedition: Bismarck, a documentary about the
German Battleship Bismarck. In 2003, he directed Ghosts of the Abyss, a documentary about RMS Titanic which was released by Walt Disney
Pictures and Walden Media and designed for 3D theaters. Cameron also told The Guardian his intention for filming everything in 3D. In 2005,
Cameron co-directed Aliens of the Deep, a documentary about the various forms of life in the ocean. He also starred in Titanic Adventure with
Tony Robinson, another documentary about the Titanic shipwreck. Then in 2006, Cameron co-created and narrated The Exodus Decoded, a
documentary exploring the Biblical account of the Exodus. In 2007, Cameron and fellow director Simcha Jacobovici, produced The Lost Tomb of
Jesus. Broadcast on Discovery Channel on March 4, 2007, the documentary was controversial for arguing that the Talpiot Tomb was the burial
place of Jesus of Nazareth.
• By the mid-2000s, Cameron returned to directing and producing another big-budget, mainstream film since 1997's Titanic. Cameron had
mentioned two projects as early as June 2005. Titled Avatar (2009) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019) (the latter which he produced), both films
were to be shot in 3D technology. He also wanted to make Alita: Battle Angel first, followed by Avatar but switched the order in February 2006.
Although Cameron had written an 80-page treatment for Avatar in 1995, Cameron stated that he wanted the necessary technology to improve
before starting production. Avatar, with the story line set in the mid-22nd century, had an estimated budget in excess of $300 million. The cast
includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez and Sigourney Weaver. It was composed entirely with computer-
generated animation, using an advanced version of the performance capture technique, previously used by director Robert Zemeckis in The
Polar Express. Cameron intended Avatar to be 3D-only but decided to adapt it for conventional viewing as well.
• Intended for release in May 2009, Avatar eventually premiered on December 18, 2009. This delay allowed more time for post-production and
the opportunity for theatres to install 3D projectors. On release, Avatar broke several box office records during its initial theatrical run. It
grossed $749.7 million in the United States and Canada and more than $2.74 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time
in the United States and Canada, surpassing Titanic (1997). It was the first film to ever earn more than $2 billion worldwide. Avatar was
nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won three for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and
Best Visual Effects. In July 2010, an extended theatrical re-release generated a worldwide total of $33.2 million at the box office. Vanity Fair
reported that Cameron earned $257 million in 2010, making him the highest earner in Hollywood for that year.
25. James Cameron's Career2011 to Present
• In 2011, Cameron served as an executive producer for Sanctum (2011), a disaster-survival film about a cave diving expedition
which turns deadly. Although receiving mixed reviews, the film earned a fair $108 millionat the boxoffice. Cameron re-
investigatedthe sinking of RMS Titanicwith eight experts in a 2012 TV documentary special, Titanic:The FinalWord with
James Cameron, which premiered on April 8 on the NationalGeographic Channel.In the documentary, the experts revised the
CGI animationof the sinking conceivedin 1995. In March 2010, Cameron revealed that Titanic (1997) will be convertedand re-
released in 3D to commemorate the centennialanniversaryof the tragedy. On March 27, 2012, Cameron attendedthe
premiere at RoyalAlbert Hall, London with his wife and several cast members. He also served as executive producer ofCirque
du Soleil:Worlds Away and Deepsea Challenge 3D in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
• Cameron starred in the documentary AtlantisRising, with previouscollaborator Simcha Jacobovci.The pairgo on an adventure
to explore the existence of the city of Atlantis. The programme aired on January 29, 2017 on the National Geographicchannel.
Next, Cameron produced and appearedin a documentary about the history of science fiction, stating, "Without Jules Verne
and H. G. Wells, there wouldn't have been Ray Bradbury or Robert A. Heinlein,and without them, there wouldn't be George
Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott or me." Titled James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction, the six-episodic series was
broadcaston AMC in 2018. The series featured interviewswith guests including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Christopher
Nolanand Ridley Scott.
• Alita:Battle Angel (2019) was finallyreleased after being in paralleldevelopmentwith Avatar.Written by Cameron and close
friend, Jon Landau, the film was directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film, based on a 1990s Japanesemanga series Battle Angel
Alita, depictsa cyborg who cannot remember anything of her past life and tries to uncover the truth. Produced with similar
techniques and technology as used in Avatar,the film starred Rosa Salazar, ChristophWaltz, Jennifer Connelly,MahershalaAli,
Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson.The film premiered on January31, 2019 in London and received generally
positive reviews from critics, and was financiallysuccessful, earning $404 millionworldwide. In her review, Monica Castillo of
RogerEbert.com calledit, "an awe-inspiringjump for [Rodriguez]" and "a visual bonanza"despite the bulky script. Cameron
returned to the Terminatorfranchise as producer and writer for Terminator: Dark Fate (2019), with Tim Miller as director. The
film opened on November 1, 2019.
26. James Cameron's Awards
• Cameron received the inauguralRayBradburyAward fromthe Science Fiction and FantasyWriters of America in 1992 for Terminator 2: Judgment Day.In
recognition of"a distinguishedcareer as a Canadian filmmaker", CarletonUniversity,Ottawa,awarded Cameronthe honorarydegree of Doctor of Fine
Arts on June 13, 1998. He also received an honorarydoctorate in 1998 from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, for his accomplishments in the
international filmindustry.
• That year, Cameron attended a convocationto receive an honorarydegree from Ryerson University, Toronto. The universityawards its highest honor to
those who havemade extraordinarycontributions in Canadaorinternationally.A year later, Cameron received the honoraryDoctor of Fine Arts degree
from CaliforniaState University,Fullerton.He accepted the degree at the university's summer annual commencement exercise.
• For his work in film, Cameron's films havebeen recognized by the Academyof Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For Titanic,he won Best Director, Best
Picture (shared with Jon Landau)and Best Film Editing(shared with Conrad Buff and Richard A.Harris). Cameron is one of the few directors to havewon
three AcademyAwards in a single year. In 2009, Cameron was nominated forawards in Best Film Editing(shared with John Refoua and Stephen E.Rivkin,
Best Directorand Best Picture for Avatar.Cameron has won two Golden Globes:Best Director for Titanicand Avatar. He was nominatedfor a number of
BAFTA Awards,such as in Best Film for the same titles.
• In recognition ofhis contributions to underwater filmingand remote vehicle technology, UniversityofSouthampton awarded Cameronthe honorary
degree of Doctor of the Universityin July 2004. Cameron accepted the award at the National OceanographyCentre.In 2008, Cameron received a star on
Canada's Walkof Fame and a yearlater, received the 2,396th staron the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On February28, 2010, Cameron was honored with a
Visual Effects Society (VES) Lifetime Achievement Award.In June 2012, Cameron was inducted to The Science Fiction Hall of Fame at the Museumof Pop
Culture for his contributionto the science fiction and fantasyfield.InspiredbyAvatar,Disney constructedPandora– The World of Avatar,a themed area
at Disney's Animal Kingdomin Florida.It opened to the publicon May 27, 2017. A species of frog, Pristimantis jamescameroni,was named after
Cameron forhis work in promotingenvironmental awareness and advocacyofveganism.
• In 2010, Cameron was ranked at the top of the list in The Guardian Film Power 100. In the same year, British magazineNewStatesman ranked Cameron
30th place in their list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".
• In 2013, Cameron received the NierenbergPrize forScience in the Public, which is annuallyawardedbytheScripps Institution ofOceanography.
• In 2019 Cameron was appointedas a Companionofthe Order of Canada byGovernor General Julie Payette.This will give himthe Post Nominal Letters
"CC" for Life.
28. References
• Space Foundation. (n.d.). America's vision: The case for space
exploration, p. 42.
• Greenfield, Rebecca (January 28, 2011). "Celebrity Invention: James
Cameron's Underwater Dolly". The Atlantic.
• Thompson A (2009). "The innovative new 3D tech behind James
Cameron's Avatar". Fox News.
• The films of James Cameron : critical essays. Kapell, Matthew.,
McVeigh, Stephen. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., Publishers.
2011. ISBN 9780786487547.OCLC 756484492.
• Than, Ker (March 25, 2012). "James Cameron Completes Record-
Breaking Mariana Trench Dive". National Geographic Society.
• Broad, William J. (March 25, 2012). "Filmmaker in Submarine
Voyages to Bottom of Sea". New York Times.
• "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". Boxofficemojo.com.
• "The 2010 TIME 100". Time. ISSN 0040-781X.
• Keegan, Rebecca (January 15, 2010). "The Futurist: The Life and Films
of James Cameron". New York Times.
• Hedegaard, Erik; Hedegaard, Erik (December 24, 2009). "The
Impossible Reality of James Cameron". Rolling Stone.
•Keegan, Rebecca Winters (2009). The Futurist: The Life and
Films of James Cameron. Crown Publishers. pp. 8, 53. ISBN 978-
0-307-46031-8.
•Goodyear, Dana (October 26, 2009). "Man of Extremes: The
Return of James Cameron". The New Yorker.
•Marc Shapiro,James Cameron: An Unauthorized Biographyof
the Filmmaker, Renaissance Books: Los Angeles (2000), pp.44–
47
•Media Pro Tech Inc. "James Cameron Biography by FilmMakers
Magazine". Filmmakers.com.
•Field, Syd. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Part I)".
•The Force Is With Them: The Legacy of Star Wars, 2004.
•"James Cameron and his unmade films". Den of Geek.
•"James Cameron Biography and
Interview". www.achievement.org. American Academy of
Achievement.
•"US: James Cameron Interview". www.terminatorfiles.com.
•Phillips,Ian. "James Cameron came up with the idea for
'Terminator' during a fever dream". Business Insider.
29. • Healey, Tim. (1986). The world's worst movies. London: Octopus.
p. 7. ISBN 0706425057. OCLC 59676875.
• "The Terminator (1984)". Box Office Mojo.
• "Terminator joins movie archive". December 30, 2008.
• Canby, Vincent (May 22, 1985). "Screen: Sylvester Stallone Returns as
Rambo". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
• "Aliens". Box Office Mojo.
• "Aliens". Turner Classic Movies. December 16, 2018.
• "Flashback Five – James Cameron's Best Movies". Amctv.com.
October 5, 2010.
• Harmetz, Aljean (August 6, 1989). "A Foray into Deep Waters". The
New York Times.
• "The Abyss". Box Office Mojo.
• "The Story About Making T2". www.terminatorfiles.com.
• EDT, David Ansen On 7/7/91 at 8:00 PM (July 7, 1991). "Conan The
Humanitarian". Newsweek.
•Mendelson, Scott. "'Terminator 2' Is One Of The Biggest And Bleakest
Summer Movies Ever". Forbes.
•Michael Fleming (May 9, 2007). "More 'Terminator' on the
way". Variety.
•"Powerhouses Fuel Sales at Box Office : Movies: 'True Lies,' 'Forrest
Gump' and 'The Lion King' are on target to break a record for non-
holiday weekend ticket sales". Los Angeles Times. July 18, 1994.
•"True Lies". Box Office Mojo.
•"Opinion | 'Strange Days' is a 20-year-old flop perfectly in tune with
our time". Washington Post.
•Critic, Jay Boyar, Sentinel Movie. "'3-D' IS A TRUE CONTINUATION, NOT
A REHASH". OrlandoSentinel.com.
•"The Rollercoaster Drama Behind 'Titanic': An Out-of-Control Budget,
Two Warring Studios and a Near-Fistfight". The Hollywood Reporter.
•"James Cameron's 'Titanic' Secrets: "It's Time I Gave My Version of
What Happened"". The Hollywood Reporter.
•"James Cameron: Diving Deep, Dredging Up Titanic". NPR.org.
30. Robert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodriguez is an American filmmaker and visual effects supervisor
who was born June 20, 1968 and has 5 children with Elizabeth Avellán. He shoots,
edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of
Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 action film El Mariachi, which was a commercial
success after grossing $2 million against a budget of $7,000. The film spawned two
sequels known collectively as the Mexico Trilogy: Desperado and Once Upon a
Time in Mexico. He directed From Dusk Till Dawn in 1996 and developed its
television adaptation series (2014–2016). Rodriguez co-directed the 2005 neo-noir
crime thriller anthology Sin City (adapted from the graphic novel of the same
name) and the 2014 sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Rodriguez also directed the
Spy Kids films, The Faculty, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Planet Terror,
Machete, and Alita: Battle Angel. He is the best friend and frequent collaborator of
filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, who founded the production company A Band Apart,
of which Rodriguez was a member. In December 2013, Rodriguez launched his own
cable television channel, El Rey.
31. Robert Rodriguez Early Life
• Rodríguez was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Mexican parents Rebecca (née Villegas), a nurse, and Cecilio
G. Rodríguez, a salesman. He began his interest in film at age eleven, when his father bought one of the first VCRs,
which came with a camera.
• While attending St. Anthony High School Seminary in San Antonio, Rodríguez was commissionedto videotape the
school's football games. According to his sister, he was fired soon afterward as he had shot footage in a cinematic
style, getting shots of parents' reactions and the ball traveling through the air instead of shooting the whole play.
In high school, he met Carlos Gallardo; they both shot films on video throughout high school and college.
• Rodriguez went to the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also developed a
love of cartooning. Not having grades high enough to be accepted into the school's film program, he created a
daily comic strip entitled Los Hooligans. Many of the characters were based on his siblings – in particular, one of
his sisters, Maricarmen. The comic ran for three years in the student newspaper The Daily Texan, while Rodríguez
continued to make short films.
• Rodríguez shot action and horror short films on video and edited on two VCRs. In late 1990, his entry in a local
film contest earned him a spot in the university's film program. There he made the award-winning 16 mm short
Bedhead (1991). The film chronicles the amusing misadventures of a young girl whose older brother sports an
incredibly tangled mess of hair which she detests. Even at this early stage, Rodríguez's trademark style began to
emerge quick cuts, intense zooms, and fast camera movements deployed with a sense of humor.
• Bedhead (1991)was recognized for excellence in the Black Maria Film Festival. It was selected by Film/Video
Curator Sally Berger for the Black Maria 20th-anniversary retrospective at MoMA in 2006.
32. Robert Rodriguez Career
• The short film Bedhead attracted enough attentionto encourage him to seriously attempt a career as a filmmaker. He went on
to shoot the action flick El Mariachi (1992) in Spanish;he shot it for around $7,000 with money raised by his friend Adrian
Kano and from paymentsfor his own participationin medical testing studies. Rodriguezwon the Audience Award for this film
at the Sundance Film Festival in 1993. Intended for the Spanish-languagelow-budget home-video market, the film was
"cleaned up" by ColumbiaPictures with post-productionwork costing several hundred thousand dollarsbefore it was
distributedin the United States. Its promotionstill advertised it as "the movie made for $7,000". Rodríguez described his
experiences making the film in his book Rebel Without a Crew (1995).
• Desperado was a sequel to El Mariachithat starred AntonioBanderasand introduced Salma Hayek to American audiences.
Rodríguezwent on to collaboratewith Quentin Tarantinoon the vampire thriller From Dusk till Dawn (also both co-producing
its two sequels), and he wrote, directed, and produced the TV series for his own cable network, El Rey. Rodriguezhas also
worked with Kevin Williamson, on the sci-fi thriller film The Faculty.
• In 2001, Rodríguez enjoyedhis first Hollywoodhit with Spy Kids, which went on to become a movie franchise. A third
"mariachi"film also appearedin late 2003, Once Upon a Time in Mexico,which completed the Mexico Trilogy (also calledthe
MariachiTrilogy). He operatesa productioncompany called TroublemakerStudios, formerly Los Hooligans Productions.
• Rodríguezco-directed Sin City (2005), an adaptationof the Frank Miller Sin City comic books; Quentin Tarantinoguest-directed
a scene. During production in 2004, Rodríguez insisted Miller be credited as co-director, because he considered the visual style
of Miller's comic art to be just as importantas his own in the film. However, the Directors Guild of America would not allow it,
citing that only "legitimateteams", e.g., the Wachowskis, could share the director's credit. Rodríguezchose to resign from the
DGA, stating, "It was easier for me to quietly resign before shooting because otherwise I'd be forced to make compromises I
was unwillingto make or set a precedent that might hurt the guild lateron." By resigning from the DGA, Rodríguezwas forced
to relinquishhis director's seat on the film John Carter of Mars for Paramount Pictures. Rodríguezhad alreadysigned on and
had been announcedas directorof that film, planningto begin filming soon after completing Sin City.
33. • Sin City was a critical hit in 2005 as well as a box office success, particularly for a hyperviolent comic book adaptation
that did not have name recognition comparable to the X-Men or Spider-Man. He has an interest in adapting all of
Miller's Sin City comic books.
• Rodríguez released The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 2005, a superhero-kid movie intended for the same
younger audiences as his Spy Kids series. Sharkboy and Lavagirl was based on a story conceived by Rodríguez's 7-year-
old son, Racer, who was given credit for the screenplay. The film grossed $39 million at the box office.
• Rodríguez wrote and directed the film Planet Terror as part of the double-bill release Grindhouse (2007). Quentin
Tarantino directed Grindhouse's other film.
• He has a series of "Ten Minute Film School" segments on several of his DVD releases, showing aspiring filmmakers how
to make good, profitable movies using inexpensive tactics. Starting with the Once Upon a Time in Mexico DVD,
Rodríguez began creating a series called "Ten Minute Cooking School" in which he revealed his recipe for "Puerco Pibil"
(based on Cochinita pibil, an old dish from Yucatán), the same food Johnny Depp's character, "Agent Sands" ate in the
film. The popularity of this series led to the inclusion of another "Cooking School" on the two-disc version of the Sin City
DVD where Rodríguez teaches the viewer how to make "Sin City Breakfast Tacos", a dish (made for his cast and crew
during late-night shoots and editing sessions) utilizing his grandmother's tortilla recipe and different egg mixes for the
filling. He had initially planned to release a third "Cooking School" with the DVD release of Planet Terror but then
announced on the "Film School" segment of the DVD that he would put it on the Grindhouse DVD set instead. The
Cooking School, titled "Texas Barbecue...from the GRAVE!", is a dish based on the "secret barbecue recipe" of JT Hague,
Jeff Fahey's character in the film.
• Rodríguez is a strong supporter of digital filmmaking, having been introduced to the practice by director George Lucas,
who personally invited Rodríguez to use the digital cameras at Lucas's headquarters. He was presented with the
Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 2010 Austin Film Festival.
34. Robert Rodriguez "one-man crewstyle"
• Rodríguez not only has the credits of producing, directing and writing his films, he also frequently serves
as editor, director of photography, camera operator, steadicam operator, composer, production
designer, visual effects supervisor, and sound editor on his films. This has earned him the nickname of
"the one-man film crew". He abbreviates his numerous roles in his film credits; Once Upon a Time in
Mexico, for instance, is "shot, chopped, and scored by Robert Rodriguez", and Sin City is "shot and cut
by Robert Rodriguez".
• He calls his style of making movies "Mariachi-style" (in reference to his first feature film El Mariachi) in
which (according to the back cover of his book Rebel Without a Crew) "Creativity, not money, is used to
solve problems." He prefers to work at night, spending his day-time hours with his kids, when they're
home, and says that he believes many creative people are "night people".
• In his book The DV Rebel's Guide, Stu Maschwitz coined the term "Robert Rodriguez list", i.e. the
filmmaker compiling a list of things they have access to like cool cars, apartments, horses, samurai
swords and so on, and then writing the screenplay based on that list.
• Rodriguez wrote a blurb for the book that stated:
I'd been wanting to write a book for the new breed of digital filmmakers, but now I don't have to. My pal
and fellow movie maker Stu Maschwitz has compressed years of experience into this thorough guide.
Don't make a movie without reading this book!
35. Robert Rodriguez Awards
Year Award Category Film Result
1993 DeauvilleAmerican
Film FestivalAward
Audience Award El Mariachi Won
Critics Award Nominated
WonSundance Film Festival
Award
Audience Award for Best Dramatic Film
NominatedGrand Jury Prize
1994 IndependentSpirit
Award
Best Director Nominated
Best First Feature Won
1996 Saturn Award Best Director From Dusk
Till Dawn
Nominated
Silver Scream Award Best Film Won
1999 ALMA Award OutstandingLatino Director of a Feature Film The Faculty Nominated
2002 OutstandingDirector in a MotionPicture Spy Kids Won
OutstandingScreenplay (Original or Adapted) Nominated
2003 ASCAP Award Top Box Office Films Spy Kids 2:
The Island of
Lost Dreams
Won
Imagen Award Best Director(Foreign or Domestic-Film Won
36. • "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly(1264). June 21, 2013. p. 26.
• The Deadline Team. "El Rey's 'From Dusk Till Dawn' Rounds Out Cast, by
THE DEADLINE TEAM".Deadline.
• "Robert Rodriguez Biography (1968?-)". Filmreference.com.
• Marvis, Barbara J. (1998). Robert Rodriguez. Mitchell Lane.
p. 5. ISBN 1883845483.
• "Robert Rodriguez Biography" Friday Moviez EntertainmentGuaranteed
• "Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi - Filmmaker Magazine - Winter
1993". www.filmmakermagazine.com.
• 1993 Sundance Film Festival sundance.org
• Shone, Tom (November 25, 2009). "Paranormal Activity and the myth of
the shoestring shocker". The Guardian. London.
• Robert Rodriguez (1995). Rebel Without a Crew. New York: Dutton
Books, Plume. pp. 6–11. OCLC 155845528.
• McCarthy, Todd (May 25, 1995). "Review:'Desperado'". Variety.
• The Deadline Team. "El Rey's 'From Dusk Till Dawn' Rounds Out
Cast". Deadline.
• Goldstein,Patrick. "The Faculty". LA Times.
• Hughes, David (2008). The Greatest Science Fiction Movies Never
Made. Titan Books. pp. 311–22. ISBN 978-1-84576-755-6.
• McWeeny, Drew (March 2, 2004). "Holy Crap!! Rodriguez Just Can't
Stop!! First SIN CITY, And Now ... PRINCESS OF MARS!!!". Ain't It Cool
News.
• "Robert Rodriguez Is Walking Alexa Vega Down the Aisle". LATINA.
• "The Numbers: Where Data and the Movies Meet".
• "Grindhouse DVD Details Revealed". /Film.
• Once Upon a Time in Mexico DVD feature "Film is Dead".
• Morris, Clint (May 14, 2007). "Machete movie greenlit!". Moviehole.
• Moro, Eric (March 11, 2007). "SXSW 07: Machete Movie Coming".
IGN Film Force.
• Edwards, Gavin (April 2007). "Horror Film Directors Dish
About Grindhouse Trailers". Rolling Stone.
• "COMIC CON 2008: Robert Rodriguez talks Machete". YouTube. July
24, 2008.
• "Machete Movie Trailer Takes a Smart Slash at Arizona Immigration
Law". dailyfinance.com.
• Knowles, Harry (May 19, 2010). "A family friendly Machete? What
do you mean no race war? & A secret Frazetta project?? Exclusive
Robert Rodriguez interview!!". Ain't It Cool News.
• "Rodriguez to direct 'Barbarella'". Hollywoodreporter.com. May 22,
2007.
References
37. • "Rodriguez and McGowan Team for Red Sonja – Superhero Hype!". Superhero Hype!.
• Film School Rejects (July 21, 2011). "SDCC: Robert Rodriguez Takes Heavy Metal". comingsoon.net.
• Bryant, Jacob (November 19, 2015). "John Malkovich and Robert Rodriguez Made a Movie That Won't Release Until 2115". Variety.
• Jr, Mike Fleming (March 24, 2017). "Robert Rodriguez To Direct 'Escape From New York'".
• Wells, Jeffrey. "Hollywood Elsewhere". Hollywood Everywhere.
• "Elle Tell All: September 30, 2007". Fashion.elle.com. September 30, 2007.
• "Rose McGowan Dumps Robert Rodriguez". New York Post.
• Jordan, Julie (July 2, 2008). "Rep: Rose McGowan & Robert Rodriguez Projects Still on Track – Couples, Robert Rodriguez, Rose
McGowan". People.
• "Rose McGowan is single again". Straits Times.
• "Alexa Vega of Spy Kids Marries Producer". People. October 11, 2010.
• "Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez". NPR.org.
38. George Lucas
• George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker, philanthropistand entrepreneur. Lucas is best known
for creating the Star Wars and IndianaJones franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts and IndustrialLight & Magic. He
served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Companyin 2012.
• After graduatingfrom the University of Southern California in 1967, Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with filmmaker
Francis Ford Coppola.Lucas wrote and directed THX 1138 (1971), based on his earlier student short Electronic Labyrinth:THX
1138 4EB, which was a critical success but a financialfailure. His next work as a writer-director was the film American Graffiti
(1973), inspired by his youth in early 1960s Modesto, California,and producedthrough the newly founded Lucasfilm. The film
was critically and commerciallysuccessful and received five Academy Award nominationsincludingBest Picture.
• Lucas's next film, the epic space opera Star Wars (1977), had a troubled productionbut was a surprise hit, becoming the
highest-grossing film at the time, winning six Academy Awards and sparking a culturalphenomenon.Lucas producedand co-
wrote the sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). With director Steven Spielberg, he created,
produced and co-wrote the IndianaJones films Raidersof the Lost Ark (1981), IndianaJones and the Temple of Doom (1984),
The Last Crusade (1989) and IndianaJones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). He also producedand wrote a variety
of films and televisionseries through Lucasfilm between the 1970s and the 2010s.
• In 1997, Lucas rereleased the Star Wars Trilogy as part of a special editionfeaturing several alterations;home media versions
with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011. He returned to directing with a Star Wars prequel trilogy comprising
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), and Star Wars: Episode
III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). He last collaboratedon the CGI-animatedtelevisionseries Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–
2014, 2020), the war film Red Tails (2012), and the CGI film Strange Magic (2015).
• Lucas is one of history's most financiallysuccessful filmmakers and has been nominatedfor four Academy Awards. His films are
among the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office, adjusted for ticket-price inflation.Lucas is
considered a significant figure of the 20th-century New Hollywoodmovement.
39. George Lucas Early Life
• Lucas was born and raised in Modesto, California, the son of Dorothy Ellinore Lucas (née Bomberger) and George Walton Lucas Sr., and is of
German, Swiss-German, English, Scottish, and distant Dutch and French descent. His family attended Disneyland during its opening week in
July 1955, and Lucas would remain enthusiastic about the park. He was interested in comics and science fiction, including television programs
such as the Flash Gordon serials. Long before Lucas began making films, he yearned to be a racecar driver, and he spent most of his high school
years racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out at garages. On June 12, 1962, a few days before his high school
graduation, Lucas was driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina when another driver broadsided him, flipping his car several times before it
crashed into a tree; Lucas's seatbelt had snapped, ejecting him and thereby saving his life. However, his lungs were bruised from severe
hemorrhaging and he required emergency medical treatment. This incident caused him to lose interest in racing as a career, but also inspired
him to pursue his other interests.
• Lucas's father owned a stationery store and had wanted George to work for him when he turned 18. Lucas had been planning to go to art
school and declared upon leaving home that he would be a millionaire by the age of 30. He attended Modesto Junior College, where he
studied anthropology, sociology, and literature, amongst other subjects. He also began shooting with an 8 mm camera, including filming car
races. At this time, Lucas and his friend John Plummer became interested in Canyon Cinema: screenings of underground, avant-garde 16 mm
filmmakers like Jordan Belson, Stan Brakhage, and Bruce Conner. Lucas and Plummer also saw classic European films of the time, including
Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless, François Truffaut's Jules et Jim, and Federico Fellini's 8½. "That's when George really started exploring," Plummer
said. Through his interest in autocross racing, Lucas met renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler, another race enthusiast. Wexler, later to
work with Lucas on several occasions, was impressed by Lucas' talent. "George had a very good eye, and he thought visually," he recalled.
• At Plummer's recommendation, Lucas then transferred to the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. USC was one of
the earliest universities to have a school devoted to motion picture film. During the years at USC, Lucas shared a dorm room with Randal
Kleiser. Along with classmates such as Walter Murch, Hal Barwood, and John Milius, they became a clique of film students known as The Dirty
Dozen. He also became good friends with fellow acclaimed student filmmaker and future Indiana Jones collaborator, Steven Spielberg. Lucas
was deeply influenced by the Filmic Expression course taught at the school by filmmaker Lester Novros which concentrated on the non-
narrative elements of Film Form like color, light, movement, space, and time. Another inspiration was the Serbian montagist (and dean of the
USC Film Department) Slavko Vorkapić, a film theoretician who made stunning montage sequences for Hollywood studio features at MGM,
RKO, and Paramount. Vorkapich taught the autonomous nature of the cinematic art form, emphasizing kinetic energy inherent in motion
pictures.
40. George Lucas Early Career-1965 to 1969
• Lucas saw manyinspiring films in class, particularly the visual films coming out of the National Film Board of
Canada like Arthur Lipsett's 21-87, the French-Canadian cameraman Jean-Claude Labrecque's cinéma vérité 60
Cycles, the work of Norman McLaren, and the documentaries of Claude Jutra. Lucas fell madly in love with pure
cinema and quickly became prolific at making 16 mm nonstory noncharacter visual tone poems and cinéma vérité
with such titles as Look at Life, Herbie, 1:42.08, The Emperor, Anyone Lived in a Pretty (how) Town, Filmmaker,
and 6-18-67. He was passionate and interested in camerawork and editing, defining himself as a filmmaker as
opposed to being a director, and he loved making abstract visual films that created emotions purely through
cinema.
• After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts in film in 1967, he tried joining the United States Air Force as an
officer, but he was immediately turned down because of his numerous speeding tickets. He was later drafted by
the Army for military service in Vietnam, but he was exempted from service after medical tests showed he had
diabetes, the disease that killed his paternal grandfather.
• In 1967, Lucas re-enrolled as a USC graduate student in film production. He began working under Verna Fields for
the United States Information Agency, where he met his future wife Marcia Griffin. Working as a teaching
instructor for a class of U.S. Navy students who were being taughtdocumentary cinematography, Lucas directed
the short film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which won first prize at the 1967–68 National Student film
festival. Lucas was awarded a student scholarship by Warner Bros. to observe and work on the making of a film of
his choosing. The film he chose was Finian's Rainbow (1968)which was being directed by Francis Ford Coppola,
who was revered among film school students of the time as a cinema graduate who had "made it" in Hollywood.
In 1969, Lucas was one of the camera operators on the classic Rolling Stones concert film Gimme Shelter.
41. George Lucas' Career-1969 to 1977
• In 1969, Lucas co-founded the studio American Zoetrope with Coppola, hoping to create a liberating environment for
filmmakers to direct outside the perceived oppressive control of the Hollywood studio system. Coppola thought Lucas's
Electronic Labyrinth could be adapted into his first full-length feature film, which was produced by American Zoetrope as
THX 1138, but was not a success. Lucas then created his own company, Lucasfilm,Ltd., and directed the successful
American Graffiti (1973).
• Lucas then set his sights on adapting Flash Gordon, an adventure serial from his childhood that he fondly remembered.
When he was unable to obtain the rights, he set out to write an original space adventure that would eventually become
Star Wars. Despite his success with his previous film, all but one studio turned Star Wars down. It was only because Alan
Ladd, Jr., at 20th Century Fox liked American Graffiti that he forced through a production and distribution deal for the
film, which ended up restoring Fox to financial stability after a number of flops. Star Wars was significantly influenced by
samurai films of Akira Kurosawa, Spaghetti Westerns, as well as classic sword and sorcery fantasy stories.
• Star Wars quickly became the highest-grossing film of all-time, displaced five years later by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-
Terrestrial. After the success of American Graffiti and prior to the beginning of filming on Star Wars, Lucas was
encouraged to renegotiate for a higher fee for writing and directing Star Wars than the $150,000 agreed. He declined to
do so, instead negotiating for advantage in some of the as-yet-unspecified parts of his contract with Fox, in particular
ownership of licensing and merchandising rights (for novelizations, clothing, toys, etc.) and contractual arrangements for
sequels. Lucasfilm has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from licensed games, toys, and collectibles created for the
franchise.
• The original Star Wars film went through a tumultuous production, and during editing Lucas suffered chest pains initially
feared to be a heart attack, but actually a fit of hypertension and exhaustion.
42. George Lucas' Career-1977 to 1993
• Following the release of the first Star Wars film, Lucasworked extensively as a writer and producer,including on the many StarWars
spinoffs made for film, television, and other media. Lucas acted as executive producer for the next two Star Wars films, commissioning
Irvin Kershner to direct The Empire Strikes Back, and Richard Marquandto direct Return of the Jedi, while receiving a story credit on
the former and sharing a screenwriting credit with Lawrence Kasdan on the latter.He also acted as story writer and executive producer
on all four of the Indiana Jones films, which his colleague and good friend Steven Spielberg directed.
• Other successful projectswhere Lucasacted as an executive producerand occasional story writer in this period include Kurosawa's
Kagemusha (1980),LawrenceKasdan's Body Heat (1981),Ewoks: Caravanof Courage (1984),Ewoks: Battle for Endor (1985),Jim
Henson's Labyrinth (1986),Godfrey Reggio's Powaqqatsi(1986),Don Bluth's The Land Before Time (1988),and the Indiana Jones
television spinoff The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–96).There were unsuccessfulprojects,however, including More American
Graffiti(1979),Willard Huyck's Howard the Duck (1986),which was the biggest flop of Lucas'scareer, Ron Howard's Willow (1988),
Coppola's Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988),and Mel Smith's Radioland Murders(1994).
• The animation studio Pixar was founded in 1979 as the GraphicsGroup, one third of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm.Pixar's early
computer graphicsresearch resulted in groundbreakingeffects in films such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Young Sherlock
Holmes, and the group was purchased in 1986by Steve Jobs shortly after he left Apple Computer. Jobs paid LucasUS$5 million and
put US$5 million as capital into the company. The sale reflected Lucas' desire to stop the cash flow losses from his 7-year research
projectsassociated with new entertainmenttechnology tools, as well as his company's new focus on creating entertainmentproducts
rather than tools. As of June 1983,Lucas was worth US$60 million, but he met cash-flow difficulties following his divorce that year,
concurrentwith the sudden dropoff in revenues from StarWars licenses following the theatrical run of Return of the Jedi. At this
point, Lucas had no desire to return to StarWars, and had unofficially canceled the sequel trilogy.
• Also in 1983,Lucas and Tomlinson Holman founded the audio company THX Ltd.The company was formerly owned by Lucasfilm, and
containsequipment for stereo,digital, and theatrical sound for films, and music. Skywalker Sound and IndustrialLight & Magic,are the
sound and visual effects subdivisions of Lucasfilm, while Lucasfilm Games, later renamed LucasArts,produces products for the gaming
industry.
43. George Lucas' Career-1993 to 2012
• Having lost much of his fortune in a divorce settlement in 1987, Lucas was reluctant to return to Star Wars.
However, the prequels, which were still only a series of basic ideas partially pulled from his original drafts of
"The Star Wars", continued to tantalize him with technical possibilities that would make it worthwhile to
revisit his older material. When Star Wars became popular once again, in the wake of Dark Horse's comic
book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of spin-off novels, Lucas realized that there was still a large audience.
His children were older, and with the explosion of CGI technology he began to consider directing once again.
• By 1993, it was announced, in Variety among other sources, that Lucas would be making the prequels. He
began penning more to the story, indicating that the series would be a tragic one, examining Anakin
Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Lucas also began to change the prequels status relative to the originals; at
first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they
could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's childhood and ended with his death.
This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga". In 1994, Lucas began work on the
screenplay of the first prequel, tentatively titled Episode I: The Beginning.
• In 1997, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Wars, Lucas returned to the original trilogy and made
numerous modifications using newly available digital technology, releasing them in theaters as the Star Wars
Special Edition. For DVD releases in 2004 and Blu-ray releases in 2011, the trilogy received further revisions
to make them congruentwith the prequel trilogy. Besides the additions to the Star Wars franchise, Lucas
released a Director's Cut of THX 1138 in 2004, with the film re-cut and containing a number of CGI revisions.
44. • The first Star Wars prequel was finished and released in 1999 as Episode I – The Phantom Menace, which
would be the first film Lucas had directed in over two decades. Following the release of the first prequel,
Lucas announced that he would also be directing the next two and began working on Episode II. The first
draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography, and Lucas hired Jonathan Hales, a
writer from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, to polish it. It was completed and released in 2002 as Star
Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. The final prequel, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, began
production in 2002 and was released in 2005. Numerous fans and critics considered the prequels inferior to
the original trilogy, though they were box office successes. From 2003 to 2005, Lucas also served as an
executive producer on Star Wars: Clone Wars, an animated microseries on Cartoon Network created by
Genndy Tartakovsky,that bridged the events between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
• Lucas collaborated with Jeff Nathanson as a writer of the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull, directed by Steven Spielberg. Like the Star Wars prequels, reception was mixed, with numerous
fans and critics once again considering it inferior to its predecessors. From 2008 to 2014, Lucas also served
as the executive producer for a second Star Wars animated series on Cartoon Network, Star Wars: The Clone
Wars which premiered with a feature film of the same name before airing its first episode. The supervising
director for this series was Dave Filoni, who was chosen by Lucas and closely collaborated with him on its
development. Like the previous series it bridged the events between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of
the Sith. The animated series also featured the last Star Wars stories on which Lucas was majorly involved.
• In 2012, Lucas served as executive producer for Red Tails, a war film based on the exploits of the Tuskegee
Airmen during World War II. He also took over direction of reshoots while director Anthony Hemingway
worked on other projects.
45. George Lucas' Career-2012 to Present
• In January 2012, Lucas announced his retirement from producing large blockbuster films and instead re-
focusing his career on smaller, independently budgeted features.
• In June 2012, it was announced that producer Kathleen Kennedy, a long-term collaborator with Steven
Spielberg and a producer of the Indiana Jones films, had been appointed as co-chair of Lucasfilm Ltd.It was
reported that Kennedy would work alongside Lucas, who would remain chief executive and serve as co-
chairman for at least one year, after which she would succeed him as the company's sole leader. With the
sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, Lucas is currently Disney's second largest single shareholder after the estate of
Steve Jobs.
• Lucas worked as a creative consultant on the Star Wars sequel trilogy, including the first film, The Force
Awakens. As creative consultant on the film, Lucas' involvement included attending early story meetings;
according to Lucas, "I mostly say, 'You can't do this. You can do that.' You know, 'The cars don't have wheels.
They fly with antigravity.' There's a million little pieces ... I know all that stuff." Lucas' son Jett told The
Guardian that his father was "very torn" about having sold the rights to the franchise, despite having hand-
picked Abrams to direct, and that his father was "there to guide" but that "he wants to let it go and become
its new generation." Among the materials turned over to the production team were rough story treatments
Lucas developed when he considered creating episodes VII–IX himself years earlier; in January 2015, Lucas
stated that Disney had discarded his story ideas.
46. • The Force Awakens, directed by J. J. Abrams, was released on December 18, 2015. Kathleen Kennedy
executive produced and will do so for all futureStar Wars films. The new sequel trilogy is being jointly
produced by Lucasfilm and The Walt Disney Company, which had acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. During an
interview with talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his
decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a divorceand outlined the creative differences between him and the
producersof The Force Awakens. Lucas described the previous six Star Wars films as his "children" and
defended his vision for them, while criticizing The Force Awakens for having a "retro feel", saying, "I worked
very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with differentspaceships – you know, to
make it new." Lucas also drew some criticism and subsequently apologized for his remark likening Disney to
"white slavers".
• In 2015, Lucas wrote the CGI film Strange Magic, his first musical. The film was produced at Skywalker Ranch.
Gary Rydstrom directed the movie. At the same time the sequel trilogy was announced a fifth installment of
the Indiana Jones series also entered pre-developmentphase with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg set to
return. Lucas originally did not specify whether the selling of Lucasfilm would effect his involvement with the
film. In October 2016, Lucas announced his decision to not be involved in the story of the film but would
remain an executive producer.In 2016, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first film of a Star Wars anthology
series was released. It told the story of the rebels who stole the plans for the Death Star featured in the
original Star Wars film, and it was reported that Lucas liked it more than The Force Awakens. In 2017,
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi was released, which Lucas described as "beautifully made".
• Lucas has had cursory involvement with Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), the Star Wars streaming series The
Mandalorian, and the premiere of the eighth season of Game of Thrones.
47. George Lucas' Awards and Nominations
• The American Film Institute awarded Lucas its Life Achievement Award on June 9, 2005. This was shortly after the
release of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, about which he joked stating that, since he views the entire
Star Wars series as one film, he could actually receive the award now that he had finally "gone back and finished
the movie."
• Lucas was nominated for four AcademyAwards: Best Directing and Writing for American Graffiti and Star Wars. He
received the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1991. He appeared at the 79th AcademyAwards ceremony in
2007 with Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola to present the Best Director award to their friend Martin
Scorsese. During the speech, Spielberg and Coppola talked about the joy of winning an Oscar, making fun of Lucas,
who has not won a competitive Oscar.
• The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted Lucas in 2006, its second "Film, Television, and Media" contributor, after
Spielberg. The Discovery Channel named him one of the 100 "Greatest Americans" in September 2008. Lucas
served as Grand Marshal for the Tournament of Roses Parade and made the ceremonial coin toss at the Rose
Bowl, New Year's Day2007. In 2009, he was one of 13 California Hall of Fame inductees in The California
Museum's yearlong exhibit.
• In July 2013, Lucas was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama for his contributions to
American cinema.
• In October 2014, Lucas received Honorary Membership of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.
• In August2015, Lucas was inducted as a Disney Legend, and on December 6, 2015, he was an honoree at the
Kennedy Center Honors.
48. AwardExamples
Year Award Catagory Film Result
1973 Academy Award Best Director American Graffiti Nominated
Best Writing American Graffiti Nominated
Golden Globe Award Best Director American Graffiti Nominated
1978 Academy Award Best Director Star Wars Nominated
Best Writing Star Wars Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Award Best Film Star Wars Won
Golden Globe Award Best Director Star Wars Nominated
Saturn Award Best Director Star Wars Won
Best Writing Star Wars Won
1980 Hugo Award Best DramaticPresentation Raidersof the Lost Ark Won
1983 Hugo Award Best DramaticPresentation Raidersof the Lost Ark Won
Saturn Award Best Writing Return of the Jedi Nominated
1988 Golden Raspberry Award Worst Screenplay Willow Nominated
1990 Hugo Award Best DramaticPresentation IndianaJones and the Last Crusade Won
49. References• "George Lucas". Forbes.
• White, Dana (2000). George Lucas. Lerner Publishing Group.
p. 12. ISBN 0822549751.
• "Disney Acquires Lucasfilm for $4.05 Billion – STAR WARS:
Episode 7 in 2015!". broadwayworld.com.
• "Top Lifetime Adjusted Grosses". BoxOfficeMojo.com.
• Roberts, Gary Boyd (April 18, 2008). "No. 83 Royal Descents,
Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: A Third Set of Ten
Hollywood Figures (or Groups Thereof), with a Coda on Two
Directors". New England Historic Genealogical Society.
• Pollock, Dale (June 1983). "A Man and His Empire: The
Private Life of 'Star Wars' Creator George Lucas". Life: 85–86.
• Pollock, Dale, Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas,
Harmony Books, New York, 1983, ISBN 0-517-54677-9
• "Filmmaker George Lucas' Near-Death
Experience", oprah.com, January22, 2012.
• "George Lucas Biography (1944–)". FilmReference.com.
• Silberman, Steve (May 2005). "Life After Darth". Wired.
• "George Lucas". Forbes. September 2012.
• "American Zoetrope: In a galaxy not from Hollywood ..." The
Guardian. November 17, 2011.
• Cooray Smith, James (May 25, 2019). "Starting Star
Wars: How George Lucas came to create a
galaxy". New Statesman.
• Tom Shone: Blockbuster: How Hollywood Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the Summer (2004). London, Simon &
Schuster UK. ISBN 0-7432-6838-5. Chapter2.
• Harris, Mark (2008). Pictures at a Revolution: Five Films and
the Birth of the New Hollywood. Penguin Press. pp. 378–9.
• Hormby, Thomas (January 22, 2007). "The Pixar Story:
Dick Shoup, Alex Schure, George Lucas, Steve Jobs, and
Disney". Low End Mac.
• Pollock, Dale (June 1983). "A Man and His Empire: The
Private Life of 'Star Wars' Creator George Lucas". Life: 88.
• Truta, Filip Truta(May 5, 2011). "Apple Hires Sound Systems
Inventor TomlinsonHolman".Softpedia.
• "Star Wars Insider". Star Wars Insider (45): 19.
• "Star Wars – Episode II: Attack Of The Clones". Chicago Sun-
Times. May 10, 2002.
50. • "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace". Rotten Tomatoes.
May 9, 1999.
• "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 3D". Rotten Tomatoes.
May 16, 2002.
• "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)". Box Office
Mojo.
• "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)". Box Office Mojo.
• "Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)". Box Office
Mojo.
• "Dave Filoni interview: Star Wars: The Clone Wars".
• minshewnetworks (August 14, 2008). "George Lucas and Dave Filoni
talk Star Wars:The Clone Wars".
• Star Wars (August 12, 2016). "Dave Filoni Extended Interview – The
Star Wars Show" – via YouTube.
• "Dave Filoni Now Overseeing Creative Development of New
Lucasfilm Animation Projects".
• "How Dave Filoni Redefined 'Star Wars'".
• Curtis, Bryan (January 17, 2012). "George Lucas Is Ready to Roll the
Credits". The New York Times.
• Fischer, Russ (January 17, 2012). "George Lucas Ready to Retire
From Blockbuster Filmmaking". /Film.
• Yamato, Jen (January 17, 2012). "George Lucas Promises Retirement
(From Blockbusters ... Not Counting Indiana Jones 5)". Movie Line.
• Richard Verrier and Ben Fritz, "Kathleen Kennedy to helm Lucasfilm
as George Lucas phases out", Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2012.
• White, Joseph B. (October 30, 2012). "The Mouse and the Wookie:
Lucas Becomes a Big Disney Shareholder". The Wall Street Journal.
• Maçek III, J.C. (August 27, 2018). "Can Star Wars
Be Saved?". PopMatters.
• Leonard, Devin (March 7, 2013). "How Disney Bought Lucasfilm—
and Its Plans for 'Star Wars'". Bloomberg Businessweek.
• Child, Ben (October 9, 2013). "Star Wars sequels: George Lucas
'constantly talking' to JJ Abrams". The Guardian.
• Chitwood, Adam (January 21, 2015). "George Lucas Says His
Treatments for the New STAR WARS Films Were Discarded". Collider.
• Nick Romano (2015). "How George Lucas' Star Wars 7 Ideas Were
Used By Disney" (Written coverage /Video interview).
Cinema Blend.
• "Here's What George Lucas' Role As Creative Consultant in the New
Star Wars Films Mean". Business Insider Australia.
• "A New Star Wars Is Coming". Business Insider Australia.
• "Disney buys Star Wars maker Lucasfilm from George Lucas". BBC
News Website. British Broadcasting Corporation. October 31, 2012.
51. • Child, Ben (December 31, 2015). "Attack of the moans: George Lucas hits out at 'retro' Star Wars: The Force Awakens". The Guardian.
• Peterson, Jeff (January 7, 2016). "George Lucas elaborates on his reaction to 'The Force Awakens'". Deseret News.
• "George Lucas producing a CGI musical! Featuring ... fairies?". The Hollywood Reporter. January 27, 2010.
• Placido, Dani Di. "George Lucas Is No Longer Involved In 'Indiana Jones 5'".
• "Exclusive: George Lucas Not Involved in 'Indiana Jones 5' Story; Writer David Koepp Talks 'Crystal Skull'". October 24, 2016.
• Eddy, Cheryl. "George Lucas Likes Rogue One More Than Force Awakens, and Other Fun Facts We Learned This Weekend".
• Parker, Ryan (December 12, 2017). "George Lucas Thinks 'The Last Jedi' Was "Beautifully Made"". The Hollywood Reporter.
• McCreesh, Louise (February 13, 2018). "George Lucas was already developing a Han Solo movie before Disney bought Lucasfilm". Digital Spy.
• Breznican, Anthony (February 9, 2018). "Ron Howard: A Star Wars Story—Why the Oscar-winner joined Solo
in its time of upheaval". Entertainment Weekly.
• Chitwood, Adam (April 18, 2019). "'The Mandalorian' Actor Giancarlo Esposito Describes the New Technology Used on the
'Star Wars' Show". Collider.
• Alexander, Julia (April 17, 2019). "George Lucas helped direct Game of Thrones' season 8 premiere". The Verge.
