Editing George Lucas (section)

== Collaboration ==

Lucas was also heavily involved and invested in the scoring process for the [[Star Wars (soundtrack)|original ''Star Wars'' soundtrack]], which was composed by [[John Williams]], on the recommendation of his friend and colleague Steven Spielberg. Whilst initially wanting to use tracks and film music in a similar manner to ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', which served as the inspiration for the film, Williams advised against this and instead proposed a system of recurring themes (or [[leitmotif]]s) to enhance the story in the style of classical composers [[Gustav Holst]], [[William Walton]], and [[Igor Stravinsky]]; works that Lucas had used as "[[temp track]]s" for Williams to gain inspiration from.<ref>{{Cite web|last=July 2020|first=Bradley Russell 22|title=George Lucas' original plans for the Star Wars soundtrack involved classical music, not John Williams|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-soundtrack-john-williams-george-lucas-classical-music/|access-date=December 17, 2020|website=Total Film|date=July 22, 2020|language=en|archive-date=December 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227194250/https://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-soundtrack-john-williams-george-lucas-classical-music/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Zumwalt|first=Jason|date=May 4, 2020|title=Star Wars: How John Williams Helped Created An Epic {{!}} uDiscover|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/john-williams-and-star-wars/|access-date=December 17, 2020|website=uDiscover Music|language=en-US|archive-date=December 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227194249/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/john-williams-and-star-wars/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film, and subsequent sequels and prequels, make use of the Main Title Theme, the Force Theme (less commonly referred to as Obi Wan Kenobi's Theme), the Rebel Alliance Theme and Princess Leia's Theme (all introduced in this film) repeatedly. Subsequent films also added to the catalog of themes for different characters, factions, and locations.

The score was released to critical acclaim and won Williams his third [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]]. The score was listed by the [[American Film Institute]] in 2005 as the [[AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores|greatest film score of all time]]. The professional relationship formed by Lucas and Williams extended through to Williams working on all of Lucas's blockbuster franchise movies: the remaining two films of the [[Original Trilogy|Star Wars original trilogy]]; all three films of [[Star Wars prequel trilogy|prequel trilogy]] developed over fifteen years later; and the five films of the Indiana Jones franchise, in which Williams reunited with his long-time collaborator Spielberg. In his collaborations with Lucas, Williams received six of his fifty-two Academy Award nominations (''Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, [[Raiders of the Lost Ark]], [[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom]],'' and ''[[Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]]''). After Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, Williams stayed on board with the franchise, and continued to score the remaining three films of the "[[Skywalker Saga]]" (''[[Star Wars: The Force Awakens|The Force Awakens]], [[Star Wars: The Last Jedi|The Last Jedi]]'', and ''[[Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker|The Rise of Skywalker]],'' for which he received a further three Oscar nominations), after which he announced his "retirement" from the series.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Williams is retiring from Star Wars|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/scifi/2018-03-08/john-williams-is-retiring-from-star-wars/|access-date=December 19, 2020|website=Radio Times|language=en|archive-date=December 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201227194338/https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/scifi/2018-03-08/john-williams-is-retiring-from-star-wars/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Lucas was in attendance for a ceremony honoring Williams as the 44th recipient of the [[AFI Life Achievement Award]], the first composer to receive the honor, and gave a speech in praise of their relationship and his work.<ref>{{Cite web|title=George Lucas toasts John Williams|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMWzkYgfiUA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/wMWzkYgfiUA|archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=December 19, 2020|website=YouTube| date=August 5, 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In interviews, and most famously at the [[Star Wars Celebration|40th Anniversary Star Wars Celebration]] convention, Lucas has repeatedly reaffirmed the importance of Williams to the Star Wars saga, affectionately referring to him as the "secret sauce" of his movies.<ref>{{Citation|title=John Williams conducts surprise concert at Star Wars Celebration 2017| date=April 13, 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntRYS1OJj1Y|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ntRYS1OJj1Y|archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=May 15, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>