Great mind: George Lucas, father of Star Wars, gives $4bil to education; 22yo student hero stopped campus shooting awarded medal

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George Lucas, father of "Star Wars", is a pioneering filmmaker who redefined how films are made. Lucas wanted to make a movie that would teach children the central ethic of right and wrong, good and evil. “I want[ed] to see if I can bend their lives at a particular point in time when they’re very vulnerable,” he recalls, “and give them the things that we’ve always given kids throughout history. The last time we had done it was with the Western. And once the Western was gone, there was no vehicle to say, ‘You don’t shoot people in the back’ and such.”

He’ll receive a Kennedy Center Honor this weekend for his blockbuster work in movies and film technology, but he’s quick to point out that he’s the only recipient this year who isn’t technically a performer. The Honors are being held a mere 12 days before the intensely anticipated release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the saga’s seventh episode. Harrison Ford said: “George has been amazing to me. He’s been the author of the early chapters of my life and given me the opportunity to have a really extraordinary life.”

Since selling Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney three years ago in a jaw-dropping $4 billion deal (which included handing over “Star Wars,” Indiana Jones, all of it), Lucas has had no connection to the new film: his baby was going its own way, and at light speed. “I call it like a divorce,” Lucas says candidly. “There is no such thing as working over someone’s shoulder,” he says. “You’re either the dictator or you’re not. Lucas says he has assiduously avoided the Internet since 2000 — no Facebook, no Twitter, no e-mail even — but that doesn’t mean he avoids people. As recently as a couple weeks ago, with fans going ape over tidbits and new trailers for “The Force Awakens,” Lucas had still not seen the film. Not a frame. He expected that he would soon see it here at the ranch.

As a kid growing up in Modesto, Calif., George Walton Lucas Jr. was wild about cars and racing, indifferent to high school, except when taking apart European engines in shop class. Coppola and Lucas had in common. “We shared many ideas about how the film industry could be different [and] work differently toward the goal of making ‘more personal’ films,” Coppola recalls. “When I saw his student films, I was totally impressed with what this shy, understated young man could do.”

Lucas wanted to make a movie that would teach children the central ethic of right and wrong, good and evil. “I want[ed] to see if I can bend their lives at a particular point in time when they’re very vulnerable,” he recalls, “and give them the things that we’ve always given kids throughout history. The last time we had done it was with the Western. And once the Western was gone, there was no vehicle to say, ‘You don’t shoot people in the back’ and such.” George Lucas says: “I never got to see the spaceship come over [in 1977]. I never got that experience that everyone else got to have. I never got to see ‘Star Wars.’ So this time I’m going to.”

George Lucas to Donate Most of His $4 Billion from Lucasfilm Sale to Education Charity. He stated: We have an opportunity and an obligation to prepare our children for the real world... It’s about working together and building character – being compassionate, empathetic, and civil as a means to a greater end...I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education.

Disney just bought Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and all the star wars that come with it. George Lucas was the sole owner of Lucasfilm, and so all 4.05 billion dollars go to him (Lucas has spent the last four decades minting money with the Star Wars franchise).

Lucas’ mission statement as a philanthropist laid out in a 2010 letter - "Storytellers are teachers and communicators who speak a universal language. That was Homer’s primary role, and both Plato and Aristotle used narratives and dialogues as a means of educating. Good storytelling is based on truths and insights, and a good storyteller is ultimately a teacher – using the arts as a means of making education emotionally meaningful. These are all tools at our educational system’s disposal, but too often we aren’t making use of them...Ultimately, that is why I created Edutopia and the George Lucas Educational Foundation...We have an opportunity and an obligation to prepare our children for the real world, for dealing with others in practical, project-based environments. It’s about working together and building character – being compassionate, empathetic, and civil as a means to a greater end...I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race. We have to plan for our collective future – and the first step begins with the social, emotional, and intellectual tools we provide to our children. As humans, our greatest tool for survival is our ability to think and to adapt – as educators, storytellers, and communicators our responsibility is to continue to do so."

Seattle university student who stopped campus attack is among 24 Carnegie Heroes:
Heroes do exist. Jon Meis of Renton, 22, just a quiet and private individual, and other students subdued the attacker with a gun and knife until officers arrived and handcuffed him. A student building monitor who stopped a fatal campus shooting in Washington state is one of 24 people being honored with medals and cash from the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Heroes Fund Commission.

Jon Meis pepper-sprayed and tackled a gunman as he paused to reload his shotgun at a building at Seattle Pacific University on June 5, 2014. Meis, 22, and other students subdued the man until officers arrived and handcuffed him. Police have said the shooter, who killed a 19-year-old man outside Otto Miller Hall and wounded two other young people, had 50 additional shotgun shells and a hunting knife. The attacker told authorities after his arrest that he wanted to kill as many people as possible before taking his own life.

After the shooting Meis shied away from interviews but said in a written statement he found the label of hero "hard to accept." "I know that I am being hailed as a hero, and as many people have suggested I find this hard to accept," he wrote in the days after the shooting. "I am indeed a quiet and private individual; while I have imagined what it would be like to save a life I never believed I would be put in such a situation. It touches me truly and deeply to read online that parents are telling their children about me and telling them that real heroes do exist."

The friends of the first man to go after the armed suspect quickly identified the bashful hero to the world via Twitter. 'Jon Meis is a hero. I have no words for his courage.' It didn’t take long after yesterday’s shotgun attack by a non-student at Seattle Pacific University for word to get out that the brave actions of students ended the attack before far more people could be injured or killed.

The friends of the first man to go after the armed suspect quickly identified the bashful hero to the world via Twitter.

'I’m proud of the selfless actions that my roommate, Jon Meis, showed today taking down the shooter. He is a hero. #prayforSPU #SPUshooting '
— Matt Garcia (@MattJamesGarcia) June 6, 2014

'Jon Meis, You are my hero! Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (Jn 15:13) #SPUshooting '
— Shane Bengry (@ShaneBengry) June 6, 2014

'Jon Meis is a hero. I have no words for his courage. I will forever be grateful for him, the SPD and this beautiful community #prayforSPU '
— Molli Elizabeth (@MolliElizabeth1) June 6, 2014

On March 25, 2015, young Jon Meis of Renton, the Seattle student who stopped campus shooting, is presented with a medal among Carnegie Heroes.

June 5, 2014 Thursday pm
Seattle Pacific University -
An attacker with 50 more shotgun shells and a hunting knife
stalked SPU’s Otto Miller Hall fatally shooting 3 people.
Jon Meis, 22, a senior engineering student working the lobby front
desk made a split-second decision, quickly sprang into action,
pepper-sprayed and tackled the gunman as he paused to reload his
shotgun. Meis and other students subdued the attacker until officers
arrived and handcuffed him. Police have said the shooter, who killed
a 19yo man outside Otto Miller Hall and wounded two other young
people, had 50 additional shotgun shells and a hunting knife.
The attacker told authorities after his arrest that he wanted
to kill as many people as possible before taking his own life.
(above: hero Jon Meis is escorted out of the building after stopping
the attacker. Photo credit: Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times)

On March 25, 2015
young Jon Meis of Renton, the Seattle student
who stopped campus shooting, is presented with a medal among
Carnegie Heroes. After he stopped the shooting, Meis shied away
from interviews but said in a written statement he found the label
of hero "hard to accept." "I know that I am being hailed as a hero,
and as many people have suggested I find this hard to accept,"
he wrote in the days after the shooting. "I am indeed a quiet and
private individual; while I have imagined what it would be like to
save a life I never believed I would be put in such a situation.
It touches me truly and deeply to read online that parents are
telling their children about me and telling them that
real heroes do exist."

(unquote)

Photo courtesy Washington Post, collider.com, houseofwolves.fr, AP and Dean Rutz / The Seattle Times