Claim: George Lucas was the founder of a motion picture visual effects company.

George Walton Lucas Jr. -LRB- born May 14 , 1944 -RRB- is an American filmmaker and entrepreneur . He is best known as the creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises , as well as the founder of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic . He was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer -LRB- CEO -RRB- of Lucasfilm , before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012 .   Upon graduating from the University of Southern California in 1967 , Lucas co-founded American Zoetrope with fellow filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola . Lucas wrote and directed THX 1138 -LRB- 1971 -RRB- , based on his earlier student short Electronic Labyrinth : THX 1138 4EB , which was a critical success but a financial failure . His next work as a writer-director was the film , American Graffiti -LRB- 1973 -RRB- , inspired by his teen years in early 1960s Modesto , California , and produced through the newly founded Lucasfilm . The film was critically and commercially successful , and received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture .   Lucas 's next film , an epic space opera titled Star Wars -LRB- 1977 -RRB- , went through a troubled production process ; however , it was a surprise hit , becoming the highest-grossing film at the time , as well as a winner of six Academy Awards and a cultural phenomenon . Following the first Star Wars film , Lucas produced and co-wrote the following installments in the trilogy , The Empire Strikes Back -LRB- 1980 -RRB- and Return of the Jedi -LRB- 1983 -RRB- . Along with Steven Spielberg , Lucas co-created and wrote the Indiana Jones films Raiders of the Lost Ark -LRB- 1981 -RRB- , Temple of Doom -LRB- 1984 -RRB- , and The Last Crusade -LRB- 1989 -RRB- . Lucas also produced and wrote a variety of films through Lucasfilm in the 1980s and 1990s .   In 1997 , Lucas re-released the original Star Wars trilogy as part of a Special Edition , where he made several alterations to the films ; home media releases with further changes were released in 2004 and 2011 . Lucas also returned to directing with the Star Wars prequel trilogy , consisting of The Phantom Menace -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , Attack of the Clones -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , and Revenge of the Sith -LRB- 2005 -RRB- . He later collaborated on the story for the Indiana Jones sequel Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -LRB- 2008 -RRB- , and served as the story writer and executive producer for the war film , Red Tails -LRB- 2012 -RRB- .   Five of Lucas 's seven features are among the 100 highest-grossing movies at the North American box office , adjusted for ticket-price inflation . Lucas is one of the American film industry 's most financially successful filmmakers , and has been personally nominated for four Academy Awards . Lucas is considered a significant figure in the New Hollywood era .