George Lucas Named One of the Best Screenwriters of All Time

Vulture recently asked 40 of the top screenwriters currently working in the industry to name their selections for the ‘100 Best Screenwriters of All Time.’ Star Wars creator George Lucas placed sixteenth on a list that also includes the Coen Brothers, Billy Wilder, Francis Ford Coppola, and Lawrence Kasdan, to name a few.

Here’s what they had to say about The Maker himself:

16. George Lucas
Notable Scripts: American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
Oscars: Best Original Screenplay, American Graffiti; Best Original Screenplay, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
Dialogue isn’t everything. For proof, look no further than the career of George Lucas, for whom human speech has served as an occasional stumbling block. Alec Guinness spent the bulk of his time on Star Wars complaining that his lines were “rubbish,” while Harrison Ford famously told Lucas, “You can type this shit, but you can’t say it.” No matter. A few clunky lines didn’t stop Lucas from dreaming up one of the most alluring and enduring universes in the history of cinema. In marrying the aesthetics of the pulp serials of his youth to formal lessons gleaned from Joseph Campbell, he quite literally created the template for 40-plus years of blockbusters. But his legacy isn’t limited to space operas. “Yes, the man created Star Wars, but want to see another side of his skills? Check out American Graffiti and weep because you’ll never be as talented as he is,” says Andrea Berloff.