George Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg

by

George Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg

Quick Links

  • Spielberg and Lucas’ Rivalry Turned to Respect and Collaboration
  • Consulting on Each Other’s Films Led to a Big Bet
  • Lucas Won the Box Office Battle, But Spielberg Won the Bet

As a filmmaker who has been in the industry for decades, I have to say that the story of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas is one that never ceases to amaze me. These two visionaries, each with their unique perspectives and styles, came together to create some of the most iconic films in history.

Since 1967, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have maintained a deep friendship that could rival any bromance. Their bond started when Spielberg was deeply impressed by Lucas’ first film, THX 1138, which he saw during a film festival competition. Both were ambitious film students from Southern California at the time. While Lucas was accepted into the prestigious film program at the University of Southern California, Spielberg had to settle for California State University, Long Beach due to being rejected by USC. This only fueled Spielberg’s jealousy towards Lucas upon seeing THX 1138, as he admitted, “THX-1138 made me feel envious to the very core of my bones.

In the bustling world of Hollywood during the ’70s, I found myself witnessing an intriguing shift in the tides. Where once Steven Spielberg was a promising newcomer, his groundbreaking film, “Jaws,” catapulted him into the limelight as the hottest young director. Though George Lucas had already made waves with “American Graffiti” by that point, it seemed to me that Spielberg’s directorial prowess had outshone his friend’s.

Spielberg and Lucas’ Rivalry Turned to Respect and Collaboration

In the late ’60s, it’s clear that Steven Spielberg’s aspirations were deeply connected to his admiration for George Lucas. Spielberg believed that the original version of George Lucas’s movie THX 1138 was superior to all fifteen of his short films combined. Spielberg had the chance to watch THX at a film school competition between USC and UCLA, where Lucas won first place. Interestingly, at around the same time, George Lucas watched Steven Spielberg’s Amblin, but unlike Spielberg, who felt envious, Lucas thought that Spielberg’s short film was too sweet or overly sentimental.

Four years later, Lucas’ perception of Spielberg’s talent significantly shifted when his esteemed friend, Francis Ford Coppola, showed Spielberg’s latest movie at his home in Napa, California. This film, titled “Duel“, was far from sweet – it was an action-packed thriller where a salesman on a cross-country trip found himself hunted by a menacing semi-truck. Similar to “Jaws“, the antagonist in “Duel” remained largely concealed within the truck, a technique that contributed to its success as ABC’s “Movie of the Week” in November 1971. By the time “Jaws” was released in 1975, the initially subtle competition between Lucas and Spielberg had transformed into mutual respect, although Spielberg was garnering more acclaim at this point.

Consulting on Each Other’s Films Led to a Big Bet

George Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven SpielbergGeorge Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven SpielbergGeorge Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven SpielbergGeorge Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg

The year following the release of “Jaws,” both Spielberg and Lucas embarked on two groundbreaking science fiction projects. Looking back, it appears more than just a coincidence. However, Spielberg was riding high after the unprecedented success of “Jaws,” which gave birth to the term “blockbuster.” Consequently, Spielberg had greater creative leeway from his production studio, Columbia Pictures, and an additional $8 million in funding compared to what Lucas had for “Star Wars.” At this time, they were not just colleagues but close confidants. Following the challenging production of “Star Wars,” Lucas paid a visit to the filming sets of “Close Encounters” in Alabama.

In simpler terms, when Lucas visited the massive airplane hangars where Spielberg was shooting his movies in Alabama, he was astonished. Recounting their conversation for Turner Classic Movies, Spielberg remembered Lucas exclaiming, “Wow, your film will be way more successful than Star Wars! This is going to be the biggest hit of all time.” However, Spielberg had already seen a preview of Star Wars and felt equally confident about Lucas’ movie. To put it another way, Spielberg was so impressed by Lucas’ work that he wagered against his own film.

Spielberg proposed a bet tied directly to their mutual respect, offering Lucas 2.5% of Close Encounters’ box-office gross in return for 2.5% of Star Wars, essentially betting that his friend’s film would be much more successful. Lucas had yet to finish the battle scenes in Star Wars, subbing in completely unrelated WWII footage for his screening, and his uncertainty over his own movie led to him accepting Spielberg’s wager.

Lucas Won the Box Office Battle, But Spielberg Won the Bet

George Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven SpielbergGeorge Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven SpielbergGeorge Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven SpielbergGeorge Lucas Once Lost a $40 Million Bet to Steven Spielberg

It wasn’t surprising for Lucas to doubt the potential of his own movie, as he had shown it to 40 of his closest friends (including Spielberg), many of whom, including De Palma and other renowned figures, were underwhelmed. In a podcast interview on Smartless, Spielberg described the aftermath of that famous screening, stating, “We went to a Chinese restaurant, and everyone started criticizing the film. It didn’t add up. Who are these characters dressed like Nazis but wearing white – the Stormtroopers? I understood Lucas’s vision, stemming from the same influences such as old-time serials and Godzilla. I knew that his new visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, could easily provide the battle sequences missing in Star Wars during that screening. I backed my friend’s film over my own – probably knowing that George Lucas was on the verge of becoming a multi-millionaire, regardless.

The two movies, one by Lucas and the other by Spielberg, were launched a year later. Many believed that Spielberg’s film would be a hit, and it indeed made $300 million at the box office. However, Star Wars outperformed this figure, earning a massive $600 million. This means Spielberg won their friendly wager by a considerable margin of $40 million. Such an outcome might have strained a regular friendship, but Lucas, having amassed a huge fortune from Star Wars and shrewdly securing merchandising rights for himself, found it less challenging to honor the bet. He wrote Spielberg a check in the nine-figure range, which would make even the financially astute Warren Buffett feel a bit embarrassed. Currently, you can stream Star Wars on Disney+. As for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it’s available for rental on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.

Read More

2024-09-15 01:01