VES to Honor Lucas with Lifetime Achievement Award

In recognition of his enormous impact on the vfx industry, George Lucas will receive the first lifetime achievement award from the Visual Effects Society at the Second Annual VES Awards ceremony on Feb. 18, 2004, at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood.

The board of directors of the 850-member VES selected Lucas for its highest honor in recognition of his enormous contributions to the art and science of vfx. "If it weren't for George Lucas, we wouldn't be here," commented VES exec director Tom Atkin. "He has always had a strong vision of how visual effects could contribute to the movies, and the recent steps that he and Lucasfilm have taken to advance the digital filmmaking process continue to take the art of telling stories through visual effects to new heights."

The VES was founded in 1997 and is comprised of distinguished visual effects artists and technologists who are professionally committed to the specialized industry of visual effects. "It's really wonderful to receive this award from such a distinguished and creative organization," Lucas commented. "When we made the first STAR WARS movie, a group of extremely talented people helped me tell a story in a visually new and exciting way. Since then, the imaginations and artistic abilities of visual effects craftspeople have never ceased to amaze me. It's a thrill to get an award from their peer group."

Lucas is working on STAR WARS EPISODE III, which is planned for release in 2005. He has also taken a leadership role in applying his storytelling and technical expertise to the classroom, serving as chairman of the board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Lucas also serves on the board of the Film Foundation and the USC School of Cinema-Television Advisory Board.