George Lucas Donates 175 Million USC's Largest Single Gift

[ParamountCell]

thats nice of him.... I wish he would give half that amount to me :D

[Cronholio]

What a waste. Most of that money will undoubtedly go to buy and maintain equipment that will be obsolete in a matter of a couple years. Probably would have been a better idea to give a smaller donation to USC, like 10% of that and use the rest of the money to set up a scholarship fund for promising film students. If the fund was properly invested, he could be sending dozens of kids through film school each year, decades after his death.

[neurobasics]

What a waste. Most of that money will undoubtedly go to buy and maintain equipment that will be obsolete in a matter of a couple years. Probably would have been a better idea to give a smaller donation to USC, like 10% of that and use the rest of the money to set up a scholarship fund for promising film students. If the fund was properly invested, he could be sending dozens of kids through film school each year, decades after his death.
i agree 100%.

[RobertoOrtiz]

Ahem,

I know it is trendy to bash, GL, but guys this is one hell of a generous contribution
to UC. Lets give some credit to the love this man feels for his alma matter.


-R

[puckducker]

What a waste. Most of that money will undoubtedly go to buy and maintain equipment that will be obsolete in a matter of a couple years. Probably would have been a better idea to give a smaller donation to USC, like 10% of that and use the rest of the money to set up a scholarship fund for promising film students. If the fund was properly invested, he could be sending dozens of kids through film school each year, decades after his death.

The donation won't just be going towards equipment, but also facilities, faculty and a whole host of other area's.

And I don't doubt for a second that USC plans to use the money not just to buy a batch of new equipment and call it a day, but to make sure they can always stay up to date with the latest in technology.

Regardless anyway you look at it, they'd be working with "obsolete" equipment without Lucas's donation, so I don't see how you can look upon this as a bad thing in any way. Instead of using the money to help a handful of film students, he's using to help everyone in the program, and who will be in the program 50 years from now.

[Dirtystimpy]

What a waste. Most of that money will undoubtedly go to buy and maintain equipment that will be obsolete in a matter of a couple years. Probably would have been a better idea to give a smaller donation to USC, like 10% of that and use the rest of the money to set up a scholarship fund for promising film students. If the fund was properly invested, he could be sending dozens of kids through film school each year, decades after his death.


are you kidding me?

[aesir]

the film school over here at LMU would like some of that money...

[Cronholio]

are you kidding me?

No I'm not. Read the article. The school has gotten over 9 billion dollars in donations over the last 10 years, that's the type of money you'd budget to run a decent sized town in the US for a decade. That's in addition to the 20-30 grand per year each and every student pays per year to go to that school. The problem with higher education in this country isn't that the facilities and equipment aren't up to snuff, it's that a lot of kids who should be going to these prestigeous schools give up and don't go because they can't afford it.

And Roberto, get a grip. I wasn't bashing George Lucas. I don'y hate rich people or corporations or anyone who does well for themselves. I couldn't possibly care less about George Lucas. I saw his movies, loved them when I was a kid, but believe it or not whole years of my life go by where he doesn't cross my mind. I'm not a fan, I don't hate him, I just think giving a school that charges so much for tuition, and averages somewhere around 900,000,000 dollars EACH YEAR in donations on top of tuition, fees, and intellectual property revenue (yeah USC makes a shitload of money off of their athletes and their logos) another 175 million that will only benefit those who can afford to pay the outrageous tuition these schools charge is completely ridiculous.

[Breinmeester]

This must be the most ludacris destination for such a generous gift.

[earlyworm]

The school has gotten over 9 billion dollars in donations over the last 10 years,

Where did you get this number? I see the school raised $2.85 billion during 93-03 and during the time that S.B. Sample has been there they have raised a total of $4.2 billion from 91-06.

I don't know enough about the issues regarding Higher Education in the US to comment properly, although I'm assuming it's the same problems as most places. And even though it doesn't say where the money is going, I'd like to think some of it will go towards cutting some of the tuition costs for film students.

However I do agree that setting up a bunch of scholarships would properly be better in the long run.

I wonder if part of this deal was to buy back the rights to his early short films?

[TorbjornO]

So hey, when you make $120mil you can decide who to give it to.

Seriously, complaining about someone giving away their money just because you would of done it differently, that's pretty low.



No I'm not. Read the article. The school has gotten over 9 billion dollars in donations over the last 10 years, that's the type of money you'd budget to run a decent sized town in the US for a decade. That's in addition to the 20-30 grand per year each and every student pays per year to go to that school. The problem with higher education in this country isn't that the facilities and equipment aren't up to snuff, it's that a lot of kids who should be going to these prestigeous schools give up and don't go because they can't afford it.

And Roberto, get a grip. I wasn't bashing George Lucas. I don'y hate rich people or corporations or anyone who does well for themselves. I couldn't possibly care less about George Lucas. I saw his movies, loved them when I was a kid, but believe it or not whole years of my life go by where he doesn't cross my mind. I'm not a fan, I don't hate him, I just think giving a school that charges so much for tuition, and averages somewhere around 900,000,000 dollars EACH YEAR in donations on top of tuition, fees, and intellectual property revenue (yeah USC makes a shitload of money off of their athletes and their logos) another 175 million that will only benefit those who can afford to pay the outrageous tuition these schools charge is completely ridiculous.

[JTD]

Seriously, complaining about someone giving away their money just because you would of done it differently, that's pretty low.

Actually, that's not low at all...that's human nature. In fact, you're doing the exact same thing to cronholio: You are complaining about someone expressing their opinion (or giving away their money, etc.) just because it differs from yours.

As for George, he's a generous man. I myself have other ideas for the money but I can't fault his generosity.

[de_tomato]

So hey, when you make $120mil you can decide who to give it to.

Seriously, complaining about someone giving away their money just because you would of done it differently, that's pretty low.
I didnt see him as complaining, its merely a good 'suggestion'. And whats are u whining about?

[Neil]

What Cronholio is saying is not that unreasonable. Yes it's a donation, and you're not supposed to complain about free money, but it's hard to not imagine that a good portion of that money will go toward padding some board/staff member who's already rich or paying a contractor for a new building with little concern at getting the best price. You just hear about too many odd stories about university bankrolls.

[talos72]

Cronholio, I agree. Many super-star director/visionaries seem to loose that hunger that drove them to create in the first place. My friend and I were talking the other day (before this donation news) about why Lucas with all the cash he is sitting on hasn't funded many more independent young directors or has not set up a special fund for assisting young talented students or first-time film-makers with bold visions: kinda like a scholarship of sorts. After all, it was Copolla, as a mentor of sorts, that really helped out the young Lucas break into the business when no-one knew who he was.

[PROVIDE3D]

That's exactly the cinergy whe need here in third world countries. People thinking on people with a concrete action. Money put into education will never EVER be a waste.

Go on Lucas !


Martin

[Kentaro]

Ha Ha a person gives away there money to a cause they fit fit to donate too and people come back and critcize. Go Figure?


Make's no sense.

Somethngs are just personal and this is one of them. Let George and others give to whom ever they want too. It's his money key word is "his". And who are we to judge and negate where it should go.


Wow some people never fail to amaze me. I wish they would cease to amaze, this issue being one of them.

[JTD]

That is now my new year's resolution for 2007: To cease to amaze people.

[Tan]

Waste of money. My brain hurts thinking about all the possibilities that money could have been used for (concerning indie filmmaking that is).

[Dennik]

Considering that at some countries in the world, higher education is free, i find that donation a bit ridiculous, when the university is already making tons of money from tuitions and fees. (http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/costs/)
Donations in my opinion make most sense for non profit organisations.

[jasonsco]

It's amusing hearing all of you talk about something you all know almost nothing about. If you read the whole press release, $100 million of it is going to an endowment fund--that helps with scholarship, ongoing technology support, student services, etc.

While we're at it, USC is one of the top schools with financial support for students. Also, the athletics department is self-sustaining, so very little of the ticket sales and other profits go back to the university. If you want to complain about how the school conducts its finances, first read the annual finance report and the annual budget.

[angel]

I'm with Roberto on this one, love him or hate him that was a great contribution. But what you gonna do, ppl always like to tell others what to do with their money.:shrug:

[TheLostVertex]

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2006-09/25470698.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/7122/171a5c04bf69f66530335924e8808be98f25b7f6si4.gif

Something smells fishy here....

-S

[vfxdude2]

People babbling about things they know little about seems to be a tradition on this board...

Corholio -- do you have any concept of how univeristy endowments work??? Do you think the professors just have a big party and roll around in the cash??

Jeez... of course not. They invest it and use it to fund the school. It may be the largest single donation to USC, but lots and lots of people give to their alma maters. It's pretty common, especially for sucessfull people like George who credit their university with some of their sucess.

So why are you complaining? Because you didn't go to USC? Well, I didn't either.

Are you trying to infer that somehow "underpriviledged" filmmakers are going to turn out better films than USC students? I don't see you establishing any facts to support that conclusion.

Just be happy for USC! I'm sure there are lots of well-deserving, smart, and talented would-be filmmakers who will benefit from that money.

I think higher education is a very good thing, and it's really bad form to put down anyone who donates his own, personal money to support it.


-vfxdude

[Breinmeester]

It's silly how people here are telling others what to think or, especially in this case, what not to think, trying to out wit eachother throwing arguments around. Who cares that it is his money and he can decide what to do with it? Who cares about the financial policy of USC? Who cares that it's a generous act on its own? Fact remains that a donation for education is a good thing, yes, but a film school? In America?? In a common sense fashion it comes down to what I said earlier: a ludacris destination for a generous gift.

[phobos78]

My Brother went to USC film school, I applaud George on his gift. You know how many arts programs are underfunded? I think this is great.

More scholorships is a good thing. Its a very expensive school. I think alot of people need to get off there high horses, and look at the bigger picture of money going towards an arts program, and not some stupid athletic program...

about damn time if you ask me.

Thanks George!! :bounce:

[Dennik]

People babbling about things they know little about seems to be a tradition on this board...

.....I think higher education is a very good thing, and it's really bad form to put down anyone who donates his own, personal money to support it.
-vfxdude

I would applaude state funding to universities instead of private funding.

There are countries where the state cares about all the kids having access to higher education, not just the few who achieved the highest score. Countries where education is almost free. USA is unfortunately in the opposite side of that chart.

Living in debt, and building more debt uppon that while looking for a job that can actually pay the bills plus the student loan, can be very depressing for the young kids that just graduated.

I'm not saying Lucas has done bad, but he is doing someone else's job in this case.

[phobos78]

USC is a private school though, not a state school. I understand your point, and I agree, the price of education is pretty crazy...But at the same time, Lucas can help ease the burden of student loans, and i think the students can really benefit from this donation...Assuming the corruption is kept to a minimum..

[megatronskeletor]

Unfortunately north american society is built on living in debt.
Everything is more expensive than the average person can afford (without some crazy loans, aid, etc.)
Houses, cars, school, etc.

George Lucas' $175 Million can in no way change that.
He could spend it directly on tuition for a select number of students (albeit a rather large number), but I think the idea here is to improve and adapt the way people are educated in 'cinema arts', not to just push more people through film school as it is now so the majority can work as PAs for $8/hr.

Like anything in life, if you want to do it bad enough, you will find a way.
That's sort of the point isnt it?
If it were easy, everyone would do it, and not make nearly the effort once they got there.

Giving DV cams to every kid in the world and a basic film school education wouldnt neccessarily reveal the next great film maker of our generation. What you would get is a bunch of youtube videos of people lipsyncing Christina Aguilera, pictures of the cat doing something funny, or a close up shot of someone's navel or something, with perhaps a small number of interesting films by people who probably had enough passion in the first place to get there own their own without the free stuff.

[jdips01]

Holy hell! More than $1400 a credit hour is outrageous. I thought mine was bad at $670. Well I guess you cannot blame their athletes for accepting money and gifts. If you're not on a scholorship you have to pay your tuition some how...

[clear]

Unfortunately north american society is built on living in debt.
Everything is more expensive than the average person can afford (without some crazy loans, aid, etc.)
Houses, cars, school, etc.

George Lucas' $175 Million can in no way change that.
He could spend it directly on tuition for a select number of students (albeit a rather large number), but I think the idea here is to improve and adapt the way people are educated in 'cinema arts', not to just push more people through film school as it is now so the majority can work as PAs for $8/hr.

Like anything in life, if you want to do it bad enough, you will find a way.
That's sort of the point isnt it?
If it were easy, everyone would do it, and not make nearly the effort once they got there.

Giving DV cams to every kid in the world and a basic film school education wouldnt neccessarily reveal the next great film maker of our generation. What you would get is a bunch of youtube videos of people lipsyncing Christina Aguilera, pictures of the cat doing something funny, or a close up shot of someone's navel or something, with perhaps a small number of interesting films by people who probably had enough passion in the first place to get there own their own without the free stuff.

Wow…

Megatronskeletor, I could not articulate it any better. I think by far your perspective on the matter is most accurate and enlightening. To a greater extent, your few words surmised the fundamental crutch which is further binding our society, and ultimately the world, to a most uncertain future. For no manner of unmerited favor, gift, donation or opportunity placed upon a person or group of people can ever replace that individual’s responsibility to work hard and preserver for their dream.

It is simply a matter a fact that life is not fair and it is up to us all to make good of what we have been given to define our place in this world (especially when you were given little to nothing in the first place). The gift Lucas gave is exactly that; a gift. To be treated and used in what ever way the individuals he entrusted it to see fit. Yes there are always going to be a thousand different and better ways in which this money could be better appropriated. However what remains in the end is the fact that he did actually give it. And that is what makes all the difference.

Whether we like the man or not, none of us can argue or deny that he is by far one of the most influential and important individuals in our CG community. His legacy is one that helped spawn and shape the creation of an entire industry in which literally thousands of people now work and thrive in on a day-to-day basis. Our jobs and future CG careers would not otherwise exist if individuals like Lucas did not come along and do what it took to get where they are today. So instead of bashing the obvious and those things we can’t change, I would hope that we would instead focus on the greater good and example he is impressing upon us. And that is one of fostering and nurturing the source of all our individual successes; no matter how big or small. Because if we don’t do it, nobody else will.

Respectfully,
My Opinion…

T.D.

Ciao-

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