41 Successful People Who Failed Miserably Before Making It Big

George Lucas is known for Star Wars.

23. George Lucas Was Turned Down by United Artists and Universal

When George Lucas pitched his idea for Star Wars, both United Artists and Universal turned him down. He had previously failed in his first movie attempt, which led to a financial loss for the producing studio. But American Graffiti was successful enough that Fox 21 decided to give Lucas a chance.

Star Wars became the highest-grossing film to date, even beating out Stephen Spielberg’s ET. Lucas went on to produce other hits, like the Indiana Jones series. In the past few years, the Star Wars series has been revived with plenty of new titles added to the repertoire.