If you've been counting down the days until you can step foot in George Lucas' future museum in Chicago, don't thank the famed creator of Star Wars for finally opening up his life's work to the public. Thank his wife.
Lucas told the audience at a forum for Chicago Ideas Week on Oct. 17 that his wife Mellody Hobson was responsible for getting the museum off the ground. The filmmaker originally planned for his museum to be located in his home state of California. However, after four years of what he called "doodling around" by the city of San Francisco, where he originally proposed the museum be built in 2013, Hobson, a Chicago native and businesswoman, suggested her hometown.
Lucas said Hobson told him, "Don't worry. I'll talk to the mayor. I'm sure he'll love it," according to The Associated Press.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been very supportive of the museum, saying in a statement after the museum's announcement in June, "Like Marshall Field, John G. Shedd and Max Adler before him, George's philanthropy will inspire and educate for generations.
At the event, Lucas also discussed what the museum will look like, saying it will have "organic architecture" and "will look like a living thing." That seems to go along with the aesthetic Lucas has shown in many of his films, especially the Star Wars franchise since he is able to turn all sorts of fictional creatures and inanimate objects into believable, living things.
The museum will be called The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The term "narrative art" means "art that tells a story," according to Lucas. The museum will feature popular art from Lucas' own collection, including illustrations from Norman Rockwell, as well as comic books, works from his special effects company Industrial Light & Magic and other cinematic art. We can only hope there will be some memorabilia from Lucas' films mixed in with that.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will be located alongside Chicago's famed lakefront, where world-renowned institutions, such as The Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium currently reside. When asked during the forum at Chicago Ideas Week who would be funding the museum, Lucas said the city will be providing the land, but he would be paying for the construction and endowment. Considering that he has been involved in some of the most successful film franchises of all time, that's really not a surprise.
