[Founder Notes] George Lucas

Maintain ownership and control. Stay small or own less money.

When showing Star Wars, only one person liked it: Spielberg. To maintain control, Lucas created his own production company to control costs. He built a special-effects company for Star Wars. He worked through what he hated about the system.

If you control the funding, then you control the profits. Some of the bravest acts were financial — for the sequel he borrowed off profits from Star Wars and ended up with 77% ownership of the movie. Lucas bet the ranch and won.

Invest in technological change. Lucas controlled the way his movies sounded in theaters by creating THX.

— Jay