Theres no way it would.

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Its tough!

Anyway, he gave me an envelope, which contained the script forPennies From Heaven.

At the time I was doing a film with Neil Simon who was then the highest paid writer.

But if you dont, it reverts back to me.

And three days before that six-month period was over I got a green light on that film.

And it was the single biggest disaster in MGMs history (laughs).

This is the Steve Martin version?

Its actually a really good film and there are about 12 non-consecutive minutes that are almost perfect!

And that night the film opened…and it was a complete and utter disaster.

What happened after that?

Well, Dennis said: I want you to come to England where failure is a way of life!

(laughs) And so I came over to doDreamchildand we made it for a million dollars.

So we just kept on going, which was fantastic.

But then 1990 happened and the world became a very different place.

Money suddenly seemed to be of much more importance and it was all over.

It was unbelievable and there was just no other place in the world where you could do that.

But those days are long gone!

So what keeps you working after all these years in the business?

That must have been humbling?

It just breaks your heart, but thats kind of what being in this business is about.

I mean, I love working with writer/directors and I love making it happen for them.

But nobody goes to see the movies.

Speaking of which…whats the status on the live-actionStar WarsTV series?

The TV series we have spent three and a half years on and there are 50 hours totally scripted.

Is the show ready to go then?

If the development is this far along, why the impasse?

The episodes are too expensive and…well, weve got two things going on.

Firstly, weve got television as we know it about to implode.

We could get around that.

Our biggest problem is that these stories are adult.

I mean…these are likeDeadwoodin space.

It so unlike anything youve ever associated with George before in relation toStar Wars.

These arent for kids.

I mean, we hope theyll watch, but its not being targeted at 8-to-9 year old boys.

Its on theAvatarlevel and well only have about $5-6 million we can spend on each episode.

What about Georges planned smaller and more personal projects?

Well, George has officially retired now.

Its a curse and a blessing and I know that sounds weird, but it really is.

Its just likeAvataris for Jim (Cameron).

Its not really a burden, but it is a bit of a curse.

Because this is all about do you have a voice?

Can you tap into the zeitgeist or say no, I dont.

Its like Francis (Ford Coppola) now.

Theyre making little road movies and one might work, but hes not gearing it towards that.

Will Georges films be in a similar vein?

Its that kind of film.

Thats when I think he was at his happiest.

Anyway, a mutual friend of ours was taking him round the studio and he came to see us.

I had 18 people on our crew and we didnt have a single piece of gear.

FromAmerican Graffitiforwards theres real connecting tissue between the films, but in the overall Lucas canonTHX-1138really stands apart.

No, I think he would do what he did on Young Indy.

Again, if George wanted to be known as one thing it would always be as an editor.

Thats his dream and thats the part he loves the most.

But theyre his stories and thats the way he does it, but its hard for him.

And directing isnt the main focus of his life.

The best thing about Young Indy was that it was like mail-order film making for him.

But we were in France now (laughs).

Wed finish in a location and then move straight on.

Didnt you use that production model for theStar Warsprequels?

Yes, because it was the only way we could do it for the money.

Again, we had to make it for 60-70% cheaper than a studio would have.

Rick McCallum, thank you very much!

Red Tails is released in the UK on 6th June.