USC American Zoetrope & THX 1138

Beginning a new journey in Southern California, George Lucas discovered his true passion, filmmaking. He realized that it was the merging of his two hobbies, art and photography. It was at film school that Lucas began to use film as his canvas as shown in his short films:



Freiheit



Look At Life



THX 1138 Electronic Labyrinth 4EB

His student film THX 1138 won him a scholarship to intern at Warner Bros. Originally he wanted to get into Animation, realizing that the WB Animation offices were closed, he came across, by accident, a film set being directed by a young Francis Ford Coppola.

Realizing Lucas was the only young filmmaker on set (Average crew was in their late 50's) the two soon bonded.

The following documentary, A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope , tells the story of how Lucas and Coppola teamed with other young filmmakers to create an independent film studio, American Zoetrope.

The trials and tribulations of getting their projects funded and greenlit, examines Lucas' disdain for the Hollywood Studio system, as his first feature film, THX 1138, a feature length adaptation of his student film, was taken from him after failing at the box office.