The Untold Truth Of Skywalker Ranch

Skywalker Ranch is an expansive property located in the hills of Nicasio in Marin County, California. Director George Lucas purchased the land in the 1970s and expanded the property slowly by buying parcels of land throughout the years. The property has grown to 4,700 acres, but only about 15 acres have been developed to create a filmmaker's paradise.

According to Lucas, he has always worked out of his home or a rented home, and for him, it made sense to continue that tradition. With that in mind, he decided to build Skywalker Ranch to have employees at Lucasfilm have a dedicated place for work that also gives the vibe of a comfortable home (via Entertainment Tonight). The property consists of 14 buildings that include a Victorian-style home that serves as the main headquarters. Other facilities include restaurants, a state-of-the-art theater, pastoral gardens, and the manmade Lake Ewok, as reported by Architectural Digest. Throughout the years, many in the film industry have used Skywalker Ranch's post-production facilities including Clint Eastwood, Philip Kaufman, and James Cameron.

Skywalker Ranch's main house has a Victorian style, which may not be something one might expect from George Lucas. However, the director told Architectural Digest that it's more of his style. "I've never been into science fiction. My taste has always been romantic. I think my heart lies at about the year 1910. I love that style." The house was built in 1985, and various elements were inspired by the architecture and design between the 1850s and 1910s. A lot of the structures were built according to Lucas' taste, including the stained-glass windows and the Victorian-style staircase. "I didn't want it to look like an interpretation of a Victorian building. I wanted it to look like a real Victorian," he stated.

Despite its Victorian charm, the house is decorated with some modern pieces including countless props and prototypes from "Star Wars" movies. Still, Lucas said that his inspiration for the films isn't about space and the future. "Even 'Star Wars' was old-fashioned. It didn't have much to do with space. It was based on a 1940s cinematic style and 2,000-to-3,000-year-old mythology," the director said.

Apart from state-of-the-art technical facilities, Skywalker Ranch also has its own library that consists of an extensive collection. According to I Love Libraries, George Lucas is a big fan of research libraries, which is one of the reasons why he decided to have a research library. In the early 20th century, Universal Studios and Paramount Studios established their own research libraries to offer filmmakers resources and research materials that filmmakers could utilize. Both research libraries have since closed, and in 1993, Lucasfilm acquired valuable collections and materials, such as scripts, photos, and visual references.

The Lucasfilm Research Library is located in the main house at Skywalker Ranch and boasts thousands of books dating back to the late 1800s. It also houses video and audio materials, newspapers and periodicals, hundreds of drawers containing photographs, as well as music scores, production reports, and just about anything that has to do with filmmaking. In a 2012 interview, library manager Jo Donaldson shared some of the pieces that can be found in the library. "We have many books that are unusual and valuable, including some that are hand-colored. It's fun to look at the check-out cards from our historical collections as we have found books that were checked out by Cecil B. DeMille, Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood, Steve Martin, Edith Head, Charlton Heston ... the list goes on and on!" However, only Lucasfilm employees are allowed access to the library.