C 5

Without any incidents, Luke walked out of the Warner Building feeling both hopeless and full of determination. Despite hitting a wall time and time again throughout the day, nothing could deter him from seeking out that tiny opportunity.

In Hollywood, connections, qualifications, and successful experience are everything. In this regard, Luke's resume was practically non-existent. If he had even one film with a box office hit of $100,000 or a million-dollar return, his treatment in any production company would be vastly different.

Unfortunately, the hardest part of breaking into this industry is taking that first step. In Hollywood, opportunity is often more important than talent. Opportunities don't just come—they are created and pursued. If you don't fight for them, they will never appear.

For the next ten days, Luke was like a Spartan warrior, never giving up. He moved from one film company to another all over Los Angeles: Paramount, Disney, MGM, Universal Pictures, Sony, and Columbia. He also left his mark at smaller, second-tier companies like New Line, Carlock, and the rising Miramax. In this short yet exhausting time, Luke handed out numerous copies of his script, received countless rejections, and continued to relentlessly pursue his dream in Hollywood.

After approaching all the big film companies, he stopped looking for opportunities from production houses. The smaller studios didn't have the resources to invest in his script, nor the ability to raise the tens of millions of dollars required to make such a film.

In July, while the world was buzzing about James Cameron's "Terminator 2," Luke began targeting well-known producers. He approached the likes of Jerry Bruckheimer, Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Landau, and Anne Spielberg. However, the answer was always the same: no.

It wasn't that everyone rejected his script outright. Paramount and Jerry Bruckheimer both found the script interesting, but they balked at Luke's request to direct the film. Even when Luke offered to sell them the script for just one dollar in exchange for the opportunity to direct, the answer was still no.

After all, they had no personal connection to Luke. He was asking for millions of dollars of investment, and his inexperience as a director was a major deterrent. No one was willing to risk such a huge amount of money on a young man without any proven success.

Apart from producers and production companies, Luke considered seeking investment from banks or film funds. Though Hollywood didn't have as many film investment funds at the time as it would in the future, there were still a few. Eventually, Luke met a film fund manager in Malibu, but his limited experience didn't impress the man.

"I've produced two experimental films and graduated from CalArts with a film and video degree," Luke explained, though he knew it wasn't enough to convince the fund manager.

Without major studio backing, Luke couldn't tap into the large sums of money required to make his film a reality. After nearly ten days of hitting dead ends, Luke knew he had to resort to the last option he had avoided: turning to his mother's close friend, the legendary George Lucas.

Luke had wanted to succeed on his own, but he wasn't naive. It wasn't shameful to use every available resource to create an opportunity for success. Still, this was his last resort.

He knew he wouldn't get much time with Lucas either, so he decided to make a short video to accompany his script. Since much of his film's plot revolved around cars, he grabbed his 16mm camera from storage, bought some film on credit, and enlisted his lawn-mower guy as a driver. They spent half a day shooting along the beach promenade in Santa Monica, with Luke filming from the passenger seat and outside the car.

After editing the footage, adding a heavy metal soundtrack, and converting it into a VHS tape, Luke prepared to visit Lucas's estate in San Francisco. He wasn't heading to Lucasfilm; this meeting was more personal. Lucas's son and daughter were away on a trip, so the manor was quiet when Luke arrived.

"Uncle George..." Luke greeted the filmmaker, placing his bag on the small table in front of him. He sat down, knowing this meeting could change his life.

"Why not just call me George?" Lucas replied with a smile, hinting at the casual relationship they shared in the past.

Luke smiled back but didn't engage further. He needed to keep things professional this time.

"Let's see the script you mentioned on the phone," Lucas said.

Luke handed him the script. "I've been pitching it all over Hollywood for the past month."

"I heard CAA mentioned you," Lucas said as he flipped through the pages. "Leah Rosenberg's son, naive enough to think he can be a director."

Luke frowned but quickly composed himself. He knew Lucas didn't mean it as an insult, but it stung nonetheless.

For the first time in weeks, someone actually sat down and read Luke's script with real interest. George Lucas's silence as he studied the screenplay was a stark contrast to the dismissiveness Luke had encountered in Hollywood.

After nearly an hour, Lucas finally put the script down. He sipped his now-cold tea before addressing Luke again.

"So, what else do you have for me?"

Luke took out the videotape he'd prepared, popped it into the VCR, and pressed play. The screen flickered to life with high-speed shots of spinning car wheels, a racing speedometer, and intense, rapid editing. The tension was palpable, even in the simple footage.

When the video ended, Lucas nodded approvingly. "Sharp editing, dynamic shots... impressive."

"Uncle George..." Luke started, but Lucas cut him off.

"Just George," he corrected again.

Lucas leaned back. "The script itself? It's average—a commercial script at best. But in Hollywood, a great director can turn an average script into a good movie. The role of the director is critical. If you hand this to an experienced filmmaker, you've got a 50-50 chance of success."

Luke smiled helplessly, knowing what was coming.

"I've seen your production estimates," Lucas continued. "Even with Industrial Light & Magic handling the special effects, the cost won't be less than tens of millions."

George Lucas's tone softened as he shifted from businessman to family friend. "With that kind of budget, even Lucasfilm has to be cautious. You're young, Luke. Keep working at it. Your time will come."

He made it clear that he couldn't invest in Luke's film, at least not yet. The conversation then shifted to casual topics, with Lucas reminiscing about old times with Luke's mother. Luke stayed for dinner before driving back to Los Angeles.

Little did Luke know that, at the same time, Warner Bros. executives were having an informal meeting about his script. The chance that could have changed his life slipped away in the course of a brief conversation at their office due to Robert Solomon's interference.

As Luke's car disappeared from Lucas's manor, the phone inside rang. It was Leah Rosenberg, calling to discuss her son.

"George, it's me," she said. "Have you seen Luke?"

"Yes," Lucas replied.

"I want to talk to you about him. Are you coming to Los Angeles, or should I come to San Francisco?"

"I'll come to you."