Lucasfilm Ltd.

Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in Marin County, California. Lucas is its current chairman, and Micheline Chau is its president/chief operating officer.

The company is best known for producing the Star Wars films, but it has produced other box office hits, including the Indiana Jones franchise and American Graffiti. It has also been a leader in developing new film technology in special effects, sound, and computer animation, and because of their expertise its subsidiaries often help produce non-Lucasfilm pictures. Lucasfilm is set to move away from films and more into TV, due to rising budgets.

In July 2005, Lucasfilm's marketing, online, and licensing units moved into the new Letterman Digital Arts Center located in the Presidio in San Francisco. It shares the complex with Industrial Light & Magic, and LucasArts.

In July 2012 Star Wars Insider 135 announced that Kathleen Kennedy, former President of the Producers Guild of America, will become Co-Chair of Lucasfilm Ltd., as George Lucas begins his retirement plans. Lucas will become Co-Chairman of the Board and will remain as Lucasfilm's CEO. On October 30, 2012 it was announced that The Walt Disney Company was purchasing Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion in stock and cash.

On December 21, 2012, The Walt Disney Company officially finalized its acquisition of Lucasfilm.

Organization of the company
Lucasfilm was reorganized to consolidate all the companies to be under Lucasfilm. Now, Lucasfilm is made up of seven divisions:


 * Lucasfilm - film and television production and promotion
 * Lucas Digital - company composed of ILM and Skywalker Sound. This company may not be in existence any longer since the reorganization.
 * Industrial Light & Magic - digital and visual effects for the entertainment industry
 * Skywalker Sound - post-production sound editing for the entertainment industry
 * Lucasfilm Animation and Lucasfilm Animation Singapore - digital animation studio for film, television, and games
 * LucasArts - developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software
 * Lucas Licensing - licensing and merchandising for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other Lucasfilm projects
 * Lucas Learning - producing technology-based educational materials for K-12
 * LucasBooks - the publishing arm of Lucasfilm and a part of Lucas Licensing
 * Lucas Online - online destination for entertainment, reference, education, and e-commerce for Lucasfilm projects

Former divisions
A few other companies started out under the Lucasfilm umbrella:


 * Avid Technology, Inc.
 * Black Falcon Ltd. – handled merchandising for Lucasfilm briefly before fully merging into Lucasfilm in December 1979
 * Pixar Animation Studios – computer animation film production company (sold to Steve Jobs in 1986)
 * THX, Ltd. – theater sound system (spun off in 2002)

Leadership

 * George Lucas: Chairman
 * Micheline Chau: President and Chief Operating Officer
 * Gail Currey: Vice President and General Manager, Lucasfilm Animation
 * Chrissie England: President, Industrial Light & Magic
 * Glenn Kiser: Vice President and General Manager, Skywalker Sound
 * Howard Roffman: President, Lucas Licensing
 * Jim Ward: President, LucasArts and Senior Vice President, Lucasfilm

Feature films

 * THX 1138 (1971)
 * American Graffiti (1973)
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
 * More American Graffiti (1979)
 * Kagemusha (1980)
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
 * Body Heat (1981)
 * Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
 * Twice Upon a Time (1983)
 * Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
 * Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
 * Latino (1986)
 * Labyrinth (1986)
 * Howard the Duck (1986)
 * The Land Before Time (1988)
 * Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
 * Willow (1988)
 * Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
 * Radioland Murders (1994)
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
 * Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
 * Red Tails (2010)
 * Star Wars Episode VII (2015)

Television

 * The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
 * Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984)
 * Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
 * Star Wars: Droids (1985)
 * Star Wars: Ewoks (1985-1987)
 * The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992-1996)
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005)
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2013)
 * Star Wars: Underworld (date unknown)