George Lucas in Love is an independent short film that started attracting notice in June 1999 when it was passed around Hollywood offices as a filmmaker’s “calling card”. Many wrongly think it was a student film, but its makers had been out of film school for a few years when it was shot. It is an homage and spoof of both Star Wars and Shakespeare in Love. The film was directed by Joe Nussbaum, who financed the film with money his grandparents left him. Nussbaum recruited several fellow University of Southern California graduates to help him with his movie. The producer, casting director, musical composer, executive producer, and many actors are all alumni.
The film received great attention as it circulated around Hollywood in the summer of 1999, and eventually premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 19 that year. It debuted online at MediaTrip.com on October 12, 1999, and has proven very popular with both regular audiences and Star Wars fans ever since. The film has won several awards, including the Canal+ Short Film Award at the 2000 Deauville Film Festival, the Audience Award at both the Florida Film Festival and the San Sebastián Horror and Fantasy Film Festival, and was awarded Best Short Film at the 2000 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.
When the film was released on VHS in 2000, The New York Times reported that the film made it to #1 on Amazon.com’s Top 10 sales chart, beating out sales of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace for at least a day. A DVD with audio commentary by the director and producer, and a behind-the-scenes featurette was released in 2001. The DVD also included several other MediaTrip short films, including Evil Hill, Film Club, and Swing Blade.
Nussbaum eventually signed a directing deal with Dreamworks Pictures, and later directed the 2004 film Sleepover, the 2006 film American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and the 2007 film Sydney White starring Amanda Bynes.
In 2004, the film won the Pioneer Award in the Lucasfilm-sponsored 2004 Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards.
George Lucas is a fan of this movie, having sent a congratulatory letter to the filmmakers, which they show in a hidden easter egg on the DVD.
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