- Title: USA: GEORGE LUCAS ATTENDS RE-RELEASE OF "AMERICAN GRAFFITI"
- Date: 17th July 1998
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 17, 1998) (REUTERS TELEVISION) KATHLEEN QUINLAN SPEAKING WITH THE MEDIA KATHLEEN QUINLAN SAYING, "WHAT'S FASCINATING TO ME IS THAT, WHEN I WAS THAT YOUNG, THAT I HAD NO CONCEPTION THAT I WAS WORKING WITH A GENIUS. I WAS JUST WORKING WITH THIS REALLY NICE MAN NAMED GEORGE AND HE SAT IN THE CORNER AND SAID, YES, YES, GO AHEAD, AND NOW TO COME THIS FAR AND LOOK BACK, WHAT AN ODESSEY AND HOW GTREAT TO BE PRESENT AT A TIME LIKE THAT." (ENGLISH) GEORGE LUCAS SPEAKING WITH THE MEDIA GEORGE LUCAS SAYING WELL, "AMERICAN GRAFFITI" WAS MY FIRST HIT MOVIE SO, IT ESTABLISHED ME AS A DIRECTOR, WHICH IS PRETTY IMPORTANT WHEN YOU'RE STARTING OUT CAUSE, AFTER I DID MY FIRST FILM, IT WAS VERY HARD TO GET MY SECOND FILM OFF THE GROUND, WHICH WAS "AMERICAN GRAFFITI." ONCE IT WAS A BIG HIT, THEN MY CAREER AS A DIRECTOR WAS PRETTY MUCH SET." (ENGLISH) CAMERA CUT-AWAY GEORGE LUCAS SAYING THE MUSIC WAS ALWAYS A CENTRAL PART OF THE FILM AND I WROTE THE SCRIPT TO THE MUSIC SO, IT WAS ALWAYS THERE, AS A MATTER OF FACT, PUTTING THAT MUCH MUSIC IN A FILM IS A VERY EXPENSIVE IDEA. IT WAS OVER TEN PERCENT OF THE BUDGET. IN A LOW-BUDGET MOVIE, MOST PEOPLE CAN'T AFFORD TO SPEND THAT MUCH ON A SOUNDTRACK, BUT IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME, SO I DID IT." (ENGLISH). PHOTOGRAHERS SHOOTING CAST MEMBERS CINDY WILLIAMS, CHARLES MARTIN SMITH, AND MACKENZIE PHILLIPS,KATHLEEN QUINLAN MINGLING WITH GUESTS." GEORGE LUCAS MINGLING WITH GUESTS FOOD BANQUET OVERVIEW OF CROWD AT RECEPTION
- Embargoed: 1st August 1998 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA4ODNL1LD0N4BIU3YOPRJC4L8P
- Story Text: Writer/director George Lucas made a rare public appearance in Hollywood on Friday, (July 17) to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of his early films "American Graffiti," which is being re-released on home video for the occasion.
The event was sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that hands out the Oscars each year and was held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Both critically-acclaimed and a popular box office hit when it opened theatrically in June of 1973, "American Graffiti" is regarded as one of George Lucas' most personal films and was recently selected as one of the Best 100 Films by the American Film Institute.
Tracing the lives of a group of graduating 1962 high school seniors and their friends on a typical night in the small town of Modesto, California, the film is largely based on Lucas' own autobiographical experiences as an adolescent growing up in the late 1950's.
The film broke new ground for its soundtrack use of Top 40 oldies in which the music personified both the era and the characters.Ironically, Lucas was forced to adopt this measure as a cost-cutting device because he couldn't afford to commission a score.
More than a nostalgic teen comedy, the film evoked the sights, sounds and attitudes of a previous generation, capturing a more innocent time and place.The film was considered innovative and influential for its use of montage storytelling and its epitaphic conclusion.
"American Graffiti" earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress for Candy Clark and Best Screenplay.
The young cast was filled with names that would become well known in the years to come, including Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Charles Martin Smith, Kathleen Quinlan and Suzanne Somers.
Besides Lucas, Phillips, Smith and Quinlan were among the "American Graffiti" alumni who attended the anniversary celebration, which included a screening of the film followed by a panel discussion. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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