george lucas

Billionaire Picks Up Frederica Development

The troubled Frederica Club has a new owner, billionaire businessman and former Miami Dolphins majority owner Wayne Huizenga. Wells Fargo & Co., foreclosed on the 2,500-acre golf resort last November. The price he paid was not disclosed. Earlier this year, Huizenga was said to be among the bidders for the entire assets of the Sea Island Co. before the developer of the iconic Georgia coastal resort went into bankruptcy. According to the article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Huizenga formerly owned the Boca Raton Resort and Club, the Arizona Biltmore, and the Floridian Golf Club and Marina. He currently owns the Diamond Creek Golf Club in Banner Elk, N.C.

The Frederica Club on St. Simons Island has an equestrian center, a freshwater lake of more than 300 acres and one of the top golf courses in the world. Homesites available in the development start at just under $1 million.

Tags: Frederica, frederica club, frederica development, george lucas, sea island, Wayne Huizenga

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Steven Spielberg and George Lucas Partner For Rockwell Exhibition

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have more than great movies in common, they are also both collectors of Norman Rockwell art. The latest collaboration from the talented pair won't be a movie but the pooling of their collections of Rockwell art as part of an exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C. next year. "Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell From the Collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg" will be on exhibit from July 2, 2010 through Jan. 2, 2011 and will include more than 50 paintings and drawings from the movie moguls' collections.

The Washington Post reports that the exhibit will explore the connections linking the art and movies. It makes a certain sense that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are collectors of Norman Rockwell art. After all, both directors share a certain love of Americana, of heroism and storytelling things that are key features in Rockwell's work. The pair have taped interviews on their thoughts on Rockwell which will be shown as part of the exhibit.

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Tags: art, exhibit, george lucas, GeorgeLucas, museum, norman rockwell, NormanRockwell, smithsonian, steven spielberg, StevenSpielberg

Biggest Celebrity Paydays of 2007

by Sandy Maple (RSS feed) —

Being a celebrity has its perks, not the least of which is pulling in a ton of cash on a regular basis. You do your job, you get paid, and your bank account grows steadily larger. But sometimes celebrities have extra-special paydays where their net worth increases dramatically from one day to the next. Not taking into account taxes and any future payouts, Forbes has crunched the numbers and figured out which celebrities had the biggest paydays in 2007 and what they did to earn all that money.

Topping the list is George Lucas. What did he do in 2007 to earn the top payday? His windfall actually was set in motion in 1997, when Hasbro awarded him $170 million in stock as part of a licensing deal for his Star Wars toys. This year, he sold it back to them for $200 million.

The list includes some other surprising names as well. Who knew aging rocker Sammy Hagar was raking it in? And the fact that Oprah Winfrey had an exceptional payday isn't all that surprising, but the fact that is was the result of one her less successful ventures is. Quite a few made a killing in real estate and others made big bucks just doing their jobs.

These celebrities might not have made the most money this year, but they beat everyone else when it came to earning the most cash in one fell swoop.

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Tags: celebrity earnings, CelebrityEarnings, earnings, forbes list, ForbesList, george lucas, GeorgeLucas, star wars, StarWars, top celebrity paydays, TopCelebrityPaydays

Demo Theater Based On Lucas Design

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Gadgets

Electronic House has shown off some pretty spectacular theaters before but this one is appealing not just because of the design but because of the inspiration. The theater, created by Johann Peters of Charisma Productions, is a demo theater that is based on "The Stag" the theater at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch. The 16-seat demo theater features THX home components and speakers, a pro-grade JVC digital projector, JBL subs and Crown amps and a Mackie mixing console. It's not exactly like the original, which seats 300 and it is also a different color, but it has the same clean Art Deco lines. Peters got the idea after he attended a THX-certification session at Skywalker Ranch in 2000. The theater cost $100,000 to put together.

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Tags: charisma productions, demo theater, design, george lucas, GeorgeLucas, home theater, skywalker ranch, sound, theater