‘Red Tails’ Filmmaker George Lucas Plans Low-Income Housing in Marin County

By Nick Chiles | Published on May 13, 2012

This is probably not what his Marin County, CA, neighbors had in mind when they repeatedly denied Hollywood mogul George Lucas the right to build a movie studio on his ranch over the last 25 years. So Lucas finally gave up on the studio—and instead announced that he was going to build low-income housing in the wealthy, predominantly white county.

The Star Wars director had grand visions for a studio that would include indoor and outdoor sound stages, a daycare center, a restaurant, gym, screening rooms, nearly two dozen overnight guest suites and parking for over 200 cars—not to mention more than $300 million to the local economy and hundreds of jobs. When he was repeatedly struck down by the Lucas Valley Estates Homeowners Association (the valley got its name long before he moved in), which complained about the traffic and attention the studio would bring to their bucolic surroundings, the producer of Red Tails even promised to devote 95 percent of the land to conservation. Still, his neighbors said No.

So Lucas is now reportedly working with the Marin Community Foundation, an affordable housing advocate, to build residences for Marin’s low-income population.

Lucas, who has been dating African-American financier Mellody Hobson for the past five years, said through a spokesperson that the neighbors reacted to his studio plans with “bitterness and anger.”

We’re guessing they’re probably not exactly thrilled by the low-income housing either.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way