Although George Lucas has decided to sell the rights to Star Wars, the famous producer and director film industry retains its ranch called “Skywalker”. 100 million euros to turn it into a gigantic recording studio where it can fully develop its projects. Located in California and Canelo Alvarez’s mansion in a secluded area of Marin County in Nicasio as a space to work on his ideas.
The property maintains an extension of 1,900 hectares of land. It is named after a famous landowner of the early twentieth century in an area called “Lucas Valley Road,” which, believe it or not, has nothing to do with the current owner. The plot has been in the hands of the film director since 1978 and only 6 hectares of the entire tract have been developed due to problems with residents who have resisted the famous owner’s plans.
The California ranch of film director George Lucas
George’s main idea was to create a space that would work wonders as a personal retreat, where he could achieve the peace necessary to generate creative conditions. George Lucas Educational Foundation maintains a permanent headquarters within the grounds of this mansion, and the Skywalker Sound Studio is also located within the ranch property. The giant Lucasfilm cancels these leases, and although offices are maintained within the property, it is relevant to clarify that George Lucas does not reside there.
Currently, the main operations of the ranch are to function as an installation from a recording of sounds for the filmmaker’s films and projects, hence since 1987 the creation of Skywalker Sound was managed within the facilities of this property, locating what is called the technical building of the ranch. As for the other facilities, the farm includes an impressive research library. Beyond that, the facilities function to create the sound effects and music that the film director used in each of his films.
A home beyond the recording studio
But it is not all about film and sound recording technology, as this property has a barn with a variety of animals, a vineyard, and a garden of impressive size with an abundance of vegetables and fruits to meet local demand and achieve local self-sufficiency.
There is also an artificial lake called “Ewok” after Lucas himself, and not forgetting the gym, the swimming pool, and even a restaurant. And for nature lovers, the property has an observatory located on the top of a hill with a 300-seat theater called “The Stag” accompanied by a cinema projection room and a large garage, hidden so as not to modify the natural landscape of the site.
The main house The living area of approximately 4,645 square meters has been maintained in the purest of Victorian style and of course a sublime decoration where the theme related to the blockbusters created by its famous owner abounds and even a statue of “Yoda” within the spaces of the mansion. The vastness of the property is so great and in such a remote area that it has its own fire station in the event of a fire and is, in effect, part of the Marin County mutual aid system.
The opinion of the specialized critics about George Lucas’ films.
The numbers shown by the Rotten Tomatoes section for critics are as follows regarding George Lucas’ best films, ordering them from best to worst:
- A New Hope (1977): average 8.8 out of 10 from 131 reviews.
- American Graffiti (1973): average 8.5 out of 53 reviews score.
- Revenge of the Sith (2005): average 7.3 in 302 reviews.
- THX-1138 (1971): average 6.9 in 63 reviews.
- Attack of the Clones (2002): average 6.6 in 254 reviews.
- The Phantom Menace (1999): average 5.9 in 233 reviews.