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George Lucas has built a lot of things. He's got the 153,000-foot Skywalker Ranch up in Marin. He's also built a 137,000-square-foot complex to house USC's film school. But it looks like he's hit a rut (or several) with his latest architectural venture—The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
First, in 2010, Lucas wanted to put the museum near Crissy Field, which is part of Presidio Park in San Francisco. But negotiations with the Presidio Trust, which oversees the park, were fractured and contentious, leading Lucas to ditch his plans. Lucas then turned his attention to Chicago. But there he ran into an advocacy group called Friends of the Park (FOTP), which opposes all large-scale, commercial construction by Lake Michigan (Lucas' idea was to have his museum on the shore of the lake). FOTP took their case to court, Lucas's wife got super mad at them (she said they're "no friend of Chicago" in a statement), and now it looks like Lucas is back to square one.
Who'll take in this stray museum, then? If Mayor Eric Garcetti had his way, L.A. would be the museum's new home. In a statement released on the mayor's website, Garcetti said that L.A. "would welcome the opportunity to be a permanent home for this incredible collection." He added that the City of Angels has "unquestioned stature as a world arts capital" and "a museum culture that is unrivaled in the United States."
In fact, back in 2014, when Lucas dropped his initial Bay Area bid, Garcetti pleaded with him to pick L.A. over Chicago. The mayor sparked off the #WhyLucasInLA tag, which got responses from the likes of Nerd Representative Will Wheaton and Mark Ridley-Thomas of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
Bring the thunder #LosAngeles. Tell the world why the @lucasmuseum belongs in the City of Angels. #whylucasinla
— Eric Garcetti (@ericgarcetti) June 17, 2014
Because you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. #WhyLucasinLA #NotHelping #WilWProject #BUTTS
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) June 18, 2014
Mr. Lucas, build your museum in @ExpositionPark w 160 acres neighboring @NHMLA @CAAMinLA @LAColiseum @USC & @casciencecenter. #WhyLucasInLA
— Mark Ridley-Thomas (@mridleythomas) June 19, 2014
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, as
, is devoted to visual art that "that tells—or narrates—a story through imagery." The collection looks like a collision of the high and low brow, the old and the cutting-edge. On one hand you have pastoral scenes from Thomas Hart Benton and wispy paintings from Pierre-Auguste Renoir. On the other, you have digital stills from
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
. As long as it's not
Genisys
, amirite? Garcetti is facing competition (again) as the Bay Area may be back in the mix of suitors. In May, sf.citi, an agency that represents the Bay Area's tech sector,
purchased a full-age ad pleading with Lucas
to bring the museum to San Francisco. The ad was endorsed by high-profile names like Senator Dianne Feinstein and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. Oakland (might) also
want to nab the museum for themselves
.
Maybe it's time to start up #WhyLucasInLA again? Anyway, here's the trailer for Lucas'
THX 1138
, just cause.