Director George Lucas poses next to Francis Ford Coppola after being awarded with the Honorary Palme d’Or award during the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: STEPHANE MAHE
After much fanfare, the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival culminated on Saturday with the awarding of an Honorary Palme d’Or to George Lucas, legendary filmmaker and the creator of the Star Wars franchise.
Presented by Lucas’ longtime friend, collaborator and famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the award followed a thunderous five-minute standing ovation from the audience. “Congratulations George, not only are your many friends and I proud of you, but the whole world of cinema is too,” Deadline quoted Coppola as he handed over the award to his friend.
Francis Ford Coppola, right, embraces George Lucas prior to awarding him the honorary Palme d’Or during the awards ceremony of the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2024
| Photo Credit:
ANDREEA ALEXANDRU
Lucas expressed his appreciation for the recognition, acknowledging his extensive history with the festival. His debut film, THX-1138, screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section in 1971.
Notably, Coppola, whose film Megalopolis also premiered at Cannes this year, served as a producer on THX-1138, a film that played quite a popular role in why Lucas persuaded Coppola to take up an offer to make The Godfather. Their collaboration continued with Lucas directing and writing the critically acclaimed American Graffiti (1973).
The history between these lifelong friends goes way back to 1968 when the two met on the sets of Coppola’s Finian’s Rainbow. “Pleased to have someone in my own generation, I suggested he come every day, but only on one condition: That he come up with a brilliant suggestion every day, which he consistently did. And with that began an association that has lasted a lifetime,” Coppola said on Saturday, reminiscing about the meeting. “And he went on and on, making film history, story history, business history and now history in France.”
George Lucas (L) receives the Honorary Palme D’Or Award presented by Francis Ford Coppola (R) during the Closing Ceremony at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2024 in Cannes, France.
| Photo Credit:
VICTOR BOYKO
Coppola also recollected how Lucas went on to do Star Wars after his proposal for a Flash Gordon film adaptation was rejected. “He looked at me and he said, ‘Well, I’ll make my own movie, I’ll call it “Star Battles” or “Star Wars” or something.’ And so he did, and in the process, risked everything he had to make it. Congratulations George, not only am I and your many friends proud of you, but the world is here, proud to honor you.”
While accepting the award, Lucas said, “I can’t thank all of you enough because I’m just a kid that grew up in a vineyard in Modesto, California, who makes movies in San Francisco with Francis. I’ve actually never made a film in Hollywood as a director, so it’s a real honour to be here,” he concluded.
George Lucas (R) receives the Honorary Palme D’Or Award presented by Francis Ford Coppola (L) during the Closing Ceremony at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 25, 2024, in Cannes, France.
| Photo Credit:
VICTOR BOYKO
Apart from his directed features like THX-1138 and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), there have been other Lucas-credited films that have garnered a significant presence at Cannes throughout his career — Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and most recently, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023).
While paying tribute to Lucas, the Cannes Film Festival cited how Lucas’ magnum opus, 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, created a franchise like none other in history and led to a creative avalanche that influenced filmmakers around the world. The festival commended his utilization of science fiction as a platform to critique social structures, alongside his exploration of love and rebellion within his narratives.
“From his very first feature, George Lucas staged the themes that are dear to him: science fiction to denounce a society of surveillance, using love to fight fate and conformity, and reversing moral values to challenge the role of good and evil. A visionary intergalactic odyssey that reinvented the codes of cinematic genres as part of the New Hollywood movement… Star Wars is nothing short of mythology, a study that has fascinated George Lucas since his university days, in the construction of characters and plots and the breadth of its cultural reach,” the festival said.
“Like Tolkien in literature, he imagined a universe, with its geography, populations, languages, moral values and even its vehicles. This exceptional ambition, which initially frightened 20th Century Fox’s producers and led to a gruelling post-production period, was nonetheless the recipe for unprecedented success: the film captivated the American crowds and became a worldwide socio-cultural phenomenon, which continues to this day,” the festival added.
