George Lucas - George Lucas Couldn't Get Studios To Support His Red Tails Movie

Movie studio executives turned down the chance to distribute Star Wars creator George Lucas' new war movie Red Tails - because they didn't think the big-budget epic about the heroic African-American Tuskegee Airmen would be a hit overseas.

Lucas spent 23 years making the patriotic period movie, which he financed himself, and when it came time to put the film out he couldn't get a major studio to support him because film bosses were convinced the movie would fail to get off the ground financially.

He explains, "I figured I could get the prints and ads paid for by the studios and that they would release it and I showed it to all of them and they said, 'No, we don't have to market a movie like this. It's not green enough.' They only release green movies.

"It's an all-black movie. There's no major white roles in it at all. It's one of the first all-black action pictures ever made... It's a reasonably expensive movie... and they don't believe there's any foreign market for it and that's 60 per cent of their product."

Disappointed Lucas refused to let Hollywood's disinterest wreck his plans and he hopes the film is a big hit when it opens in America next week (20Jan12) - so he can make a prequel and a sequel with major backing.

Appearing on The Daily Show on Monday night (09Jan12), Lucas said, "I wanted to make it inspirational for teenage boys. I wanted to show that they have heroes; they're real American heroes, they're patriots, they helped make the country what it is today and it's not (1989 film) Glory, where you have a lot of white officers running these guys into canon fodder.

"If we get a good first weekend, there is a prequel and a sequel and they're better than this movie by a long shot. I took the soft centre and I'll give you the really good ones..."