Director George Lucas stands next to Francis Ford Coppola after being presented with the Honorary Palme d’Or award during the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France on May 25, 2024. | Photo credit: Stéphane Mahé
After much fanfare, the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival concluded on Saturday with the honorary Palme d’Or award being presented to legendary filmmaker and ‘The Man’ creator George Lucas. Star Wars Voting rights.
The audience gave a five-minute standing ovation after the award was presented by Lucas’s longtime friend, collaborator and legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. “Congratulations George, not only are your many friends and I proud of you, but the entire world of cinema is proud of you as well,” deadline Coppola said this while handing over the award to his friend.
Francis Ford Coppola (right) embraces George Lucas before being awarded the Honorary Palme d’Or during the awards ceremony of the 77th International Film Festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 25, 2024 | Photo credit: Andrea Alexandra
Lucas expressed his appreciation for the honor, and acknowledged his long history with the festival. His first film, THX-1138Screened in the Directors’ Fortnight section in 1971.
In particular, Coppola, whose film Metropolitan Also premiered at Cannes this year, served as a producer THX-1138A film that was popular enough to convince Lucas to accept Coppola’s offer to make the film. Saint. Their collaboration continued with Lucas directing and writing the critically acclaimed American Graffiti (1973).
The history between these lifelong friends dates back to 1968 when the two met on the set of Coppola’s film. Finian’s Rainbow“Happy to have found someone of his generation, I suggested he come every day, but on one condition: that he come every day with a brilliant suggestion, which he did consistently. And with that began an association that lasted a lifetime,” Coppola said Saturday, reminiscing about the meeting. “And he went on and on, making film history, storytelling history, business history and now history in France.”
George Lucas (left) receives the Honorary Palme d’Or award presented by Francis Ford Coppola (right) during the closing ceremony of the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France on May 25, 2024. | Photo credit: Victor Boyko
Coppola also recalled what Lucas did next Star Wars After his proposal Flash Gordon The film adaptation was rejected. “He looked at me and said, ‘Well, I’ll make my own movie, I’ll call it “Star Battles” or “Star Wars” or something.’ And that’s what he did, and in the process, he risked everything he had to get it made. Congratulations George, not only are I and your many friends proud of you, but the world is proud to honor you as well.”
While accepting the award, Lucas said, “I can’t thank you all enough, because I go from being a kid who grew up on a vineyard in Modesto, California, to making movies in San Francisco with Francis. I’ve never actually made a movie as a director in Hollywood, so it’s an honor to be here,” he concluded.
George Lucas (right) receives the Honorary Palme d’Or award presented by Francis Ford Coppola (left) during the closing ceremony of the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France on May 25, 2024. | Photo credit: Victor Boyko
Apart from the films he directed THX-1138 And Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), there are other films to Lucas’ credit that have made significant appearances 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).
In a tribute to Lucas, the Cannes Film Festival highlights how Lucas’ magnum opus, 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hopecreated a franchise like no other in history and led a creative avalanche that influenced filmmakers around the world. The festival praised his use of science fiction as a platform to critique social structures, as well as his exploration of love and rebellion in his narratives.
“From his first feature film, George Lucas has brought to the stage themes that are dear to him: using science fiction to denounce a surveillance society, love to fight fate and conformity, and overturning moral values ​​to challenge the role of good and evil. A visionary space journey that reinvented the codes of cinematic genres as part of the New Hollywood movement… Star Wars is nothing less than mythology, a study that has fascinated George Lucas since his university days, in the creation of characters and plot and in the breadth of its cultural reach,” the festival said.
“Like Tolkien in literature, he imagined a universe, including its geography, population, languages, moral values ​​and even its vehicles. This extraordinary ambition, which initially frightened the producers at 20th Century Fox and led to a difficult post-production period, was nevertheless a recipe for unprecedented success: the film captivated American crowds and became a worldwide socio-cultural phenomenon that continues to this day,” the festival said.
