When an employee at George Lucas’ special effects company, ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), told him he was leaving, Lucas’ response changed that employee’s life forever.
In the fourth episode of the Disney Plus series Light & Magic, Joe Johnston — who would go on to direct a movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — tells the story of George Lucas’ incredible generosity towards him.
For nearly a decade, Johnston worked as a special effects wizard at ILM, including working on all of the three original Star Wars films. However, he realized he didn’t love his job anymore and that he needed to get away from it. So, shortly after work was completed on the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Johnston set up a meeting with George Lucas to tell him that he was moving on.
Johnston explains in the episode, “I said, ‘George, I’m done. I can’t draw another storyboard. I don’t want to see another visual effect.’”
Johnston wanted to take a break and travel the world and figure out what to do moving forward, but he certainly wasn’t going to be working in special effects again. So, Lucas didn’t try to convince him to stay. He could see that Johnston, who was one of his best employees since the early days of the company, needed a change.
Before revealing what Lucas said to him, Johnston pointed out that Lucas was silent for a bit, clearly thinking about what he just heard his employee say, and then finally spoke.
“Wouldn’t you rather go to film school?” Lucas asked him.
Johnston responded by saying, “George, I feel like I’ve been in film school for the last ten years.”
Lucas understood Johnston’s talent and initially responded by offering, “If you want to go to USC, I’ll pay your tuition.”
Of course, Lucas was a graduate of USC and he felt that Johnston could benefit from the same experience he had, but it’s quite the offer, considering Lucas wasn’t doing it to keep his employee. He was effectively creating another option for him that he was happy to help him with.
As if that generosity wasn’t enough. Lucas added, “I’ll keep you on half salary, and I’ll see to it that you can take any classes you want.”
Johnston was stunned. Lucas wasn’t trying to make him an offer to stay, rather he was willing to pay his tuition and pay him at half his salary while he was at USC just so he could focus on film school. There was no catch, either. It wasn’t as if Lucas was making an investment in Johnston and expecting a return. Instead, he was rewarding him for being such a valuable employee and sending him off with an opportunity that could make his life better.
“I mean,” Johnston tried to explain while retelling the story, “how can you turn down that kind of offer?”
So, Johnston took him up on it, but perhaps the most intriguing part of the story is that Lucas obviously saw something in Johnston in regard to filmmaking, and Johnston’s career proves that Lucas was right.
Johnston stated, “The film I made at USC got me the job on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. I have a feeling at some point George called Disney and said, ‘This kid can do it.’”
Indeed, he can. Honey I Shrunk the Kids was released in 1989 and was Johnston’s directorial debut. It was a major box-office success, spawning a sequel and a TV series. For a time, the movie was the highest-grossing live-action Disney film ever made, and Johnston was rightly praised for his work.
His next film, released in 1991, was not as successful at the box office but is considered by many to be an overlooked gem. The Rocketeer received solid reviews and decades later would eventually play a role in Johnston directing the MCU film Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011. The highly-regarded Marvel film, starring Chris Evans, was also a box-office success.
Johnston directed several other hit films, including Jumanji in 1995 and Jurassic Park III in 2001.
When looking back on his career and what George Lucas did for him, Johnston rhetorically asks, “How do you repay somebody for that?”
Lucas has received numerous awards for his creative work, but maybe he should also receive an award for being the best boss anyone can possibly have.
