Julian Crowley
George Lucas isn’t only capable of shooting big budget action movies like the Star Wars and Indiana Jones trilogies. This 1973 offering was based on his own childhood and was shot on a budget of $777,000. Considered one of the pioneering “teen films,” American Graffiti opened to critical acclaim and took in a worldwide gross of $140 million. An almost 9,000% return on investment must have made Universal Pictures extremely pleased, especially since they only took on the project after it was turned down by 20th Century Fox, United Artists, MGM, Columbia Pictures, and Paramount Pictures.
