Lucas financed Tuskegee movie himself
Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 6:58 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 6:58 p.m.
Billionaire moviemaker George Lucas struck out when he tried to sell Hollywood studio bosses on his latest film, “Red Tails,” which tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II.
The two-hour action film, which opens today, was 23 years in the making and cost Lucas $58 million of his own money.
When Lucas showed it to studio bosses in hopes of finding a backer for distribution costs, no one seemed impressed by his resume of six “Star Wars” and four “Indiana Jones” movies.
“I showed it to all of them and they said no. We don’t know how to market a movie like this,” Lucas told host Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” last week.
“It’s because it’s an all-black movie. There’s no major white roles in it at all,” Lucas said. “One of the first all-black action pictures ever made.”
His film has failed to win over many reviewers. It has a 39 percent positive rating on the film review website Rotten Tomatoes. Tom Cruise’s latest “Mission Impossible” adventure got 93 percent.
In a New York Times profile this week, the 67-year-old Modesto native and USC film school graduate said “Red Tails” would be his last blockbuster — with a fifth “Indiana Jones” adventure the possible exception.
Otherwise, he will return to crafting small, artsy flicks, such as those he used to make when nobody knew his name.
On the other hand, Lucas told Stewart there is a prequel and a sequel to “Red Tails” and “they’re better than this movie by a long shot.”
Stay tuned.
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