Mogul Slams George Lucas: ‘Sanctimonious Hypocrite’

Barry Diller is making his thoughts on Star Wars creator George Lucas known.

In a portion of Diller’s tell-all, Who Knew, he details working with Lucas on the Indiana Jones franchise back when the mogul was CEO of Paramount Pictures. Diller had doubts about approving Raiders of the Lost Ark, despite studio president Michael Eisner’s support. The film, led by George Lucas as co-writer and executive producer and Steven Spielberg as director, seemed risky. Though Diller liked the script and had faith in Spielberg, he was wary of the creators’ steep demands. Both Spielbertg and Lucas had reputations for escalating budgets.

"After the first twenty or so pages, where Indiana Jones gets chased down the mountain by a giant rock, I thought the opening segment alone would cost more than any movie we’d ever made,” Diller writes.

Learning from 20th Century Fox’s costly Star Wars deal, Diller insisted on airtight sequel terms. “I wanted to retch once, and then not have to regurgitate in a new negotiation if the film was a success.”

Raiders was made, becoming a massive success in 1981. But when work began on the sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Lucas demanded more money, to Diller's chagrin.

“This deal, the most generous in history, isn’t worth it?” Lucas responded, “No, not really.” When Diller reminded him of the agreed-upon terms, Lucas replied, “Yeah, well, it’s just not worth it for me unless I get more money.”

Diller ultimately renegotiated the terms for the Indiana Jones sequel, but concluded: “The Hollywood-bashing, take-the-high-ground George Lucas was actually a sanctimonious, though supremely talented … hypocrite"