George Lucas will receive the Palme d'Or of Honor at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from May 14 to 25, in recognition of his "immense figure" as a director, producer and screenwriter, as announced by the organization in a release.
The tribute to Lucas, 79, will take place on May 25 during the closing ceremony of the French competition, which this year will have Greta Gerwig, creator of the blockbuster Barbie, as president of the jury of an official section whose titles will be announced this Thursday.
"Responsible for sagas such as 'Star Wars' or 'Indiana Jones', George Lucas has forever given the box office success its letters of nobility and viewers around the world an unparalleled pleasure," the note states.
Since he became world famous back in 1977 with the incredible success of Episode IV: A New Hope, the name of George Lucas has been inextricably associated with the most famous galactic film saga of all time. The blockbuster that revolutionized science fiction on the big screen ended up becoming a global phenomenon that is far from closing.
Lucas, who dreamed of being a racing driver as a teenager until a serious car accident suddenly took away the idea, turned to cinema with the promise of becoming a millionaire. And although no one believed in his goal, he more than achieved it thanks to Star Wars, a franchise that has conquered the hearts of children, young people and adults for more than four decades.
The filmmaker, who began in the industry by shooting the short films Look at Life and Herbie, made his feature film debut with the science fiction film THX 1138 (1971), with Robert Duvall, and two years later he stood out in American Graffiti (1973), with Richard Duvall. Dreyfuss and the appearance of a young Harrison Ford who in the subsequent galactic saga would play the mythical Han Solo.
