''George Lucas in Love'' is a 1999 American parodical

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Joe Nussbaum Joseph Nussbaum (born January 10, 1973) is an American film director and screenwriter. Nussbaum got his break into the film industry by passing around Hollywood offices his short film ''George Lucas in Love''. The success of the film eventually ...

. A parody of ''

Shakespeare in Love ''Shakespeare in Love'' is a 1998 romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard, and produced by Harvey Weinstein. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Col ...

'', it depicts a young

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

and his real-life inspirations behind the characters and plot of ''Star Wars''. Upon its release, the film was widely passed around Hollywood offices and served as Nussbaum’s break into the film industry. Lucas himself reacted to the film positively.

Plot

In the film,

( Martin Hynes) is a 1967

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

college student, suffering from

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

as he attempts to write a movie about a young space farmer with a bad crop of "space wheat". Taking a break from his work, George goes on to encounter classmates and teachers who resemble and will influence the eventual creation of,

Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...

Darth Vader Darth Vader is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. The character is the central antagonist of the original trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is one of the main protagonists in the prequel trilogy. ''Star Wars'' creator George ...

Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...

Chewbacca Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee, a tall, hirsute, bipedal, intelligent species originating from the fictional planet of Kashyyyk. Chewbacca is the loyal friend and firs ...

Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a Character (arts), fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a ...

R2-D2 R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date. At various points throughout the course of the films, R2, ...

, and

C-3PO C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise who appears in the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, was designed as a protocol droid intended to as ...

. Lucas is surrounded by inspiration, but he sees nothing. Even his wise advisor, who suspiciously looks and speaks like

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, first appearing in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back''. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force and is a leading member of the Jedi Order until ...

, is unable to help him. Eventually, young Lucas meets his muse, a young woman (with a very unusual hairdo) named

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

(

Lisa Jakub Lisa Jakub () (born December 27, 1978) is a Canadian writer, yoga teacher, and former actress. She is best known for her roles as Lydia Hillard in the comedy-drama film ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) and as Alicia Casse in '' Independence Day'' (1996). ...

) who is "kind of leading a student rebellion". After they meet, everything falls into place for Lucas, as she urges him to "write what you know". His writer's block dissipates and he quickly finishes his masterpiece. However, his shot at romance with the girl is blown when he discovers she's his sister. In a

post-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...

, Lucas gets a new idea when his neighbor introduces Lucas to his new pet, a duck named Howard.

Reception

The film received great attention as it circulated around Hollywood in the summer of 1999 and eventually premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

on September 19 that year. It debuted online at MediaTrip.com on October 12, 1999. The film won several awards, including the

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

Short Film Award at the 2000

Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...

, the Audience Award at both the

Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational forum ...

and the San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival and Best Short Film at the 2000

U.S. Comedy Arts Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...

. When the film was released on VHS in 2000, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that the film made it to #1 on

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

's Top 10 sales chart, beating out sales of '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' for at least a day. A DVD with audio commentary by the director and producer, a behind-the-scenes featurette and several other MediaTrip short films, including ''Evil Hill'', ''Film Club'' and ''Swing Blade'', was released in 2001; ''George Lucas in Love'' itself is also included in

Cinema16 Cinema16 is a small British DVD company who release "classic & award winning short films on DVD". The compilations they release feature short films from famous directors such as Christopher Nolan, Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, Guillermo del Toro, ...

's DVD of American Short Films, released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 2006. Nussbaum would later direct films such as: ''

Sleepover A sleepover is a social occasion where a young person stays at the home of a friend. Multiple people and/or friends may sleepover at the friend's home, typically a younger person will partake in a sleepover, however an adult or older person may s ...

'', '' American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile'' and ''

Sydney White ''Sydney White'' is a 2007 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Joe Nussbaum and written by Chad Gomez Creasey based on the story of "Snow White". The film, starring Amanda Bynes, Sara Paxton and Matt Long, was released theatrically on ...

'' starring

Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ...

. In 2004, the film won the Pioneer Award in the

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

-sponsored 2004 Official ''Star Wars'' Fan Film Awards.

is a fan of this movie, having sent a congratulatory letter to the filmmakers, which they show in a hidden

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

on the DVD.

References

External links

*
''George Lucas in Love'' review at Film Threat
{{Non-canon Star Wars 1999 short films 1999 films 1999 independent films American independent films American science fiction short films Films directed by Joe Nussbaum Films scored by Deborah Lurie Films set in 1967 Films set in Los Angeles Cultural depictions of George Lucas Fan films based on Star Wars Parody films based on Star Wars American student films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films

Plot

Reception

See also

References

External links