ShoWest To Honor Star Wars Creator George Lucas With Special 'Galactic Achievement Award'

CEA Market Research, Business Strategy and New Technologies Highlight Conference Agenda

11-Mar-05

Writer-director George Lucas, whose six-film Star Wars Saga has entertained hundreds of millions of people around the world since A New Hope was released in 1977, will receive the ""ShoWest Galactic Achievement Award"" on March 17 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas, it was announced today by Mitch Neuhauser, Co-Managing Director of the event.""This unique award celebrates the enduring popularity of the Star Wars movies and the enormous impact and influence they have had on audiences and popular culture,"" Neuhauser said. ""Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith may be the final movie of the Saga, but the appeal and adventure of Star Wars will live on for decades to come.""Since the release on May 25, 1977, of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, nearly 1 billion people around the world have seen the six movies in cinemas, leading to a box-office gross of more than $3 billion. The movies instantly seized the public consciousness and are now among the 45 highest-grossing films of all time.""No other movie series has been so successful for so long, and no movie is more eagerly anticipated this year than Revenge of the Sith, which is being released almost 28 years to the day from the premiere of the very first Star Wars movie,"" Neuhauser said. ""This award is a celebration of the lasting appeal and the remarkable impact that George's creations have had on our industry and on our lives.""The May 19 global release of Lucasfilm Ltd.'s Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith marks the completion of Lucas's epic saga. In this final installment of the Star Wars Saga, the Clone Wars rage, widening the rift between Chancellor Palpatine and the Jedi Council. Young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker is caught in the middle, his allegiances torn. Seduced by promises of power and temptations of the Dark Side, he pledges himself to evil Darth Sidious and becomes Darth Vader. Together, the Sith Lords set in motion a plot of revenge against the Jedi. Obi-Wan tries to turn Anakin back to the light side, leading to a climactic lightsaber battle that will decide the fate of the galaxy.In addition to the Star Wars Saga, Lucas is the creator of such popular and classic movies as the Indiana Jones series, American Grafitti and THX 1138.The 2005 edition of ShoWest will be held March 14-17 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas and is expected to attract more than 5,000 members of the entertainment industry. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 45 countries around the globe, including South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For the fourth consecutive year, DLP Cinema, a Texas Instruments Technology, is the Official Corporate Sponsor of ShoWest. Founded by the National Association of Theatre Owners of California and Nevada, ShoWest is managed by the VNU Expositions Film Group, a division of VNU Business Media.For more information, visit http://www.showest.com/

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