I don’t generally engage in hero-worship. But I do sometimes get wound up in interesting people and stories.
And speaking of such, George Lucas is one of the people I’ve only “gotten close to meeting.” So when a group of our Project Happiness students from Mount Madonna School were able to interview him last year (for the Project Happiness movie), I really enjoyed it.
Well, the “next best thing” to time with George was also really interesting. George’s assistant, Jane Bay, has been with him since just after the first Star Wars film was released. Almost every day she deals with guys like those in the picture to the left. She and I both waited in line to see the film at the Coronet Theater on Geary Blvd. in San Francisco – though a couple of weeks apart. She got a job with George shortly thereafter, and I did not – I remained an academic for a couple more years and then started DesignWare (an edutainment software company), which ended up being my eventual reason for a few visits to Skywalker Ranch. (Continue for the audio interview…)
Jane has at least a two-track mind. If working as George Lucas’ assistant is her day job, then her unexpected second job has been writing two books. When I interviewed her in 2007, Jane talked about her two books. While we were capturing those stories I also asked Jane what it’s like to work for and with George Lucas. And with joy in her voice, she obliged:
| Audio player: |
You were an inspiration to me at a special time in my life. I attended two of your readings – LBM and Mountain View. After our communication, I made the decision to leave CA and travel back east to care for my elderly mother. We passed by one another – thank you.
Jean
That was LMB and Mountain View