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Lucas donates $175 million to CA University

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So that's where the OUT dvd sales are going...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It helps to have a rich graduate. "Star Wars" creator George Lucas announced on Tuesday that his private foundation will give his alma mater, the University of Southern California, $175 million (93 million pounds) to endow and rebuild its School of Cinematic Arts in what amounts to the largest donation in USC history.

The School of Cinematic Arts is the oldest film school in the United States.

"I discovered my passion for film and making movies when I was a student at USC in the 1960s, and my experiences there shaped the rest of my career," Lucas said in a statement.


http://uk.news.yahoo.com/20092006/325/george-lucas-donates-california-university.html

Do they run an "Anamorphic Transfer 101" class there? i kiiiiiid, i kiiiiiiid!!!
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Well I think donations of any size from anyone on any income should be admired.

Creator of Star Wars Begins, Building Empire and Returning to Jedi
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Originally posted by: Jambe Davdar
Well I think donations of any size from anyone on any income should be admired.


Unless those donations go toward kiddy-porn websites.

(Sorry, that was just in the news today and I couldn't resist.)

"Now all Lucas has to do is make a cgi version of himself.  It will be better than the original and fit his original vision." - skyjedi2005

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Now that's good to hear. Coincidentally he is also the Grand Marshalll of the Rose Parade, hmmm. But then again it is still a good donation.
There's good in the Original Trilogy, and it's worth fighting for.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
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George Luca$h is teh evillll suxxxessssxxxx!!!111!!!
"Among many things I have to be thankful for are you, the fans. I know that some of you haven't liked every single thing that I've done with the saga, and that you have a strong sense of ownership over all things Star Wars. But take that passion and devotion and channel it into a creative project of your own."
-George Lucas
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Originally posted by: JediRandy
George Luca$h is teh evillll suxxxessssxxxx!!!111!!!



That's great to hear, and it is nice to see Lucas donate to a good cause. Just think if Lucas would have made the OOT DVD's anamorphic, he could have donated 300 million to USC cause more fans could have bought it.


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I wonder.....will some of that money go towards beefing up their film history department? Or the ALTERED film history department?
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Damn it! That's $175 million he could have spent restoring the original versions!

I'm kidding. Nice to see the guy donate cash to a college. But at least we know he didn't spring for new transfers because he either didn't have the cash or didn't want to spend the cash. He just didn't want to. Period.
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Yeah this was really great to hear about. I mean damn, thats a lot. Think maybe he could set aside $1 million of that for the OOT restoration? Well, USC's film department just got even more spoiled than ever now.
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Originally posted by: ShiftyEyes
Damn it! That's $175 million he could have spent restoring the original versions!

I'm kidding. Nice to see the guy donate cash to a college. But at least we know he didn't spring for new transfers because he either didn't have the cash or didn't want to spend the cash. He just didn't want to. Period.


Absolutely....further proof that what we got on 9/12 is all we're ever gonna get.

Sad.
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Actually...hold on a second....that money came from his private foundation, it said. So that's fundraising money....that's what that means.

If he wanted to restore the OOT, that money would have to come out of his company's revenue or out of his own pocket.....so there actually is no reason to slam him for not using this money to restore the OOT. This is fundraising money so he can't really use that, ethically speaking, I believe.
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Originally posted by: Cable-X1
Originally posted by: ShiftyEyes
Damn it! That's $175 million he could have spent restoring the original versions!

I'm kidding. Nice to see the guy donate cash to a college. But at least we know he didn't spring for new transfers because he either didn't have the cash or didn't want to spend the cash. He just didn't want to. Period.

Absolutely....further proof that what we got on 9/12 is all we're ever gonna get.

Sad.

Don't say that. Lucas goes back on his word all of the time. Money talks.

Originally posted by: Jambe Davdar
Well I think donations of any size from anyone on any income should be admired.


Indeed. Kudos to Lucas.

George Luca$h is teh evillll suxxxessssxxxx!!!111!!!


Um, why? I think we all agree that donating money to a college is a good thing.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Keep in mind though that this charity foundation is almost assuredly created as a form of tax write off and with LFL being such a big company they obviously can amass quite a bit of charity funding...and they have to give it to someone. Not trying to dampen this generous act but its more of a corperate necessity than a personal act. Its not his actual personal money or anything.

Still, great that this happens, even if it is kind of dubious in motivation.
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Anyone else here have dreams of going into the film industry?

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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I agree. There is something phony about it....but I'd rather a charity get it than the politicians, who would just waste in on stupid crap anyway....
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Originally posted by: Mike O
Anyone else here have dreams of going into the film industry?
I'd like to study film restoration. There's a great school in Rochester, NY that I got a brochure from a while back.

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Who on this site actually works in the film industry? I thought some of the X0 guys were in the FX biz or something. Myself, i work as a 1st or 2nd AC and occassionally as a DP and camera operator. But now I'm in the International Cinematographers Guild so I will only be working as a 2nd AC before i upgrade my status.
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Wow. I believe that Mverta works in it. Where the heck is he, by the way? You'd think with the whole Raul thing, he'd be around. I find him incredibly intimidating and scary, but he's certainly interesting and intelligent and almost always worth reading. He just scares me.

“What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.”

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Weak. Shoulda gone to UCLA instead.

Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabris, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.

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That's cool of Lucas to do that. I'm surprised he would recognize anyone giving him any help on anything though, he's always saying that Star Wars was (and is) his in every way, and to an extent, he even basically says that he did everything on them. Watch Empire of Dreams. People like Lawrence Kasdan are never even mentioned. It's just "when I was writing the script to Empire Strikes Back..." or something like that. They say he had a lot more jobs on the films than he actually had.

But anyway, that's a nice thing to do.
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He's always recognized USC as the prime influence in his passion for movies. He's been a great supporter of it, and this is not his first donation either. He already has a wing of the school named after him.