Chapter 36

"Mr. Lucas, can you give me an autograph?" At that moment, Adam and Scott ran back, immediately waving the posters in their hands.

"Who are you?" Lucas was somewhat surprised.

Li Xu couldn't help but cover his forehead and then gave Adam an elbow, "Let me introduce you. George, this is Adam, Adam Pritzker, and this is Scott, Scott Fujita, my classmates and friends."

"Hello." Lucas immediately extended his hand to shake theirs, "Thank you very much for your support."

"Star Wars is the best science fiction movie I've ever seen, Mr. Lucas." Adam was quite excited.

"Yes, especially the lightsaber design, it's really cool." Scott was also very excited.

"Thank you." Lucas, who had seen this kind of scene many times after the first film was released, was quite reserved and immediately signed their posters.

He was a bit more enthusiastic with Scott, after all, as a country raised by the United States, Japan had fewer restrictions on cultural exports to North America, and it was still two years before Japan's major procurement, so Americans generally had a good impression of Japan.

Moreover, Lucas's Jedi Knights were derived from Japanese samurai, and he had a good relationship with Akira Kurosawa. Plus, in this timeline, Li Xu had helped him a lot.

To put it simply, Li Xu not only provided money to help complete the filming of the first Star Wars, but also invested in Industrial Light & Magic, making this pioneering special effects company far less shabby at its inception than in another timeline, and it moved to Marin County early on, conducting special effects research in a comfortable environment.

And it was well-known that Li Xu's mother was Japanese, so it wasn't strange for Lucas to act this way.

But he quickly reacted, "Eddie said your last name is Pritzker, is that the Pritzker family?"

"Yes, Mr. Lucas, that Pritzker family." Adam answered with a bit of frustration but also a hint of pride.

It was quite normal, a common problem among children from prominent families. On one hand, they didn't want to be seen as just part of the family; they wanted to stand out. On the other hand, they still cherished the pride and... superiority of being born into a prominent family.

"Call me George." Lucas said this first, then added half-jokingly, "Maybe I should say it's an honor to meet you?"

"Um..." Adam was immediately a bit awkward.

"Alright, I was just thinking, maybe this year or next year, if someone from my studio wants to compete for the Pritzker Prize, maybe I can find a lobbyist," Lucas said with a half-serious, half-joking tone.

"Alright, George," Li Xu immediately slapped him, "If you really want your people to win the Pritzker Prize, you should let them design buildings, not stay at Industrial Light & Magic to make models for you."

The Pritzker Prize was established by the Pritzker family last year, an award in the field of architecture. Anyone involved in architecture, whether in design, construction, or criticism, could be nominated for this award, and like the Nobel Prize, it would be evaluated by many authoritative figures and presented by the President of the United States with a speech.

It must be said that the Pritzker family really invested a lot in this award, and the returns were also substantial. Without the support of the President, how could an award established in 1979 be known as the Nobel Prize of architecture a few years later?

After all, this was one of the few ways to ensure a family's legacy for generations. Although the Nobel Prize's humanities awards were problematic, the science awards still had significant value, and as long as the Nobel Prize continued to be awarded, the name Nobel would continue to be remembered.

Moreover, this was a win-win, even a multi-win, approach. The Pritzker family gained more honor and praise, the President received more attention and a small retirement pension, and the United States gained a new cultural label.

It must be said that the Pritzker family went to great lengths to ensure that the Hyatt Group remained under their control. Unfortunately, even with the many layers of halos they created and the 1,000+ unrelated family trusts to hold their assets, the structure that was supposed to last until 2042 began to crumble after entering the 21st century.

Power is not eternal. Among the oldest American financial groups, only DuPont could still maintain control over all family businesses, while the others had lost significant control in certain industries.

This doesn't mean they were in decline. These families still possessed vast wealth that others could never earn in a lifetime and still had considerable influence in high society, with connections spanning Europe and America, and significant influence on the U.S. economy and policy.

But to wield such power, to command the economy and make the White House tremble, as they did at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, was no longer possible. That was the domain of the power figures controlling Wall Street and the military-industrial complex.

So Li Xu had no interest in rebuilding the Morgan Group, and he would say, "Since you've already left the stage, why come back?"

Getting off track, when Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic, he hired few people who knew computers; most were makeup artists, prop makers, and architects, which is why he made a joke about the Pritzker Prize.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this. Anyway, I'm glad to meet you, Adam." Lucas laughed and shook Adam's hand again, easing his embarrassment.

In the subsequent conversation, Lucas was clearly more enthusiastic with Adam, which was quite interesting to observe, but Scott didn't mind at all. He was actually very good at reading the room and knew when to advance and retreat. Otherwise, among so many people at school, why would he be the only one to latch onto Li Xu?

When they talked about their university goals, Scott mentioned many schools, indirectly asking Li Xu if he could go to Harvard with him.

As Lucas lingered at the door, more and more people gathered, including Harrison Ford, who had already started to walk in, but ran back.

Seeing this, Lucas quickly pulled Li Xu and the others into the theater to avoid blocking the passage.

Then they made their way inside, and in a small room before the screening hall, Spielberg and the main cast of Star Wars were chatting and laughing.

"Hey, Eddie, I was just asking them if you had arrived." Spielberg, like Lucas, came up and gave him a warm hug.

At this time, Spielberg wasn't as handsome as he would be later. Even in a suit, his hair was still messy, and he had a large beard, looking even more unkempt than Lucas.

"I've been here for a while, but my friend wanted George to sign an autograph, so we waited at the door for a bit." Li Xu introduced Adam and Scott to him.

The two guys, though not as excited as they were with Lucas, still expressed their admiration. After all, Jaws had scared many people out of the water.

"New movie starting in June?" After this round of autographs, Li Xu asked, "Do you need any help?"

"Thanks, no, the preparations are almost done, just waiting to start filming." Spielberg smiled slightly.

"That's great, I can't wait to see Harrison cracking the whip," Li Xu said with genuine enthusiasm, "Especially those costume photos. I want a few posters as a keepsake after the movie is released."

"No problem, Drew is more than happy to paint a few extra posters for you." Spielberg readily agreed.

The Drew he mentioned wasn't the future goddaughter; E.T. hadn't started filming yet. He was referring to Drew Struzan, a well-known commercial illustrator in Hollywood who had painted posters for countless movies since the 1970s, known for his detailed brushwork and oil painting style, which Li Xu also enjoyed.

"By the way, Eddie, what do you think about that thing?" Spielberg suddenly asked, a bit cautiously, staring at him without blinking.

"That Night Skies script? No problem, as long as you direct and produce it, I definitely support it." Li Xu immediately assured him, but then changed the subject, "But I have a small question, Steven, why is it a story about an evil alien threatening a family? Why can't it be a story about a friendly alien and a lonely child becoming friends?"

Spielberg was taken aback, then showed a thoughtful expression.

"I'm not trying to interfere with your creativity, but since there's already a story about aliens and humans in conflict with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, making a movie about aliens and humans getting along seems like a good idea." Li Xu explained, "I believe many people, when they were young, dreamed of having an alien friend. I certainly did."

Spielberg was taken aback again, this time taking several seconds to recover, then thoughtfully stroked his chin, "I'll consider it, Eddie, thank you."

"Just a suggestion." Li Xu said humbly, but inside, he was laughing wildly. What could be more interesting than suggesting to the original creator what they should do?

E.T. was originally conceived as Night Skies, a story about an evil alien threatening a family, which Spielberg came up with while brainstorming ideas for a sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

However, due to various reasons, such as the box office performance of Close Encounters not meeting expectations, this idea was shelved until he went to Tunisia to shoot Raiders of the Lost Ark. Adding his childhood fantasy of an alien friend, he revised the script, and Night Skies became E.T.

Li Xu had read this trivia in his previous life, so he took the opportunity to suggest it to Spielberg when he was looking for investors.

This wasn't plagiarism; what Spielberg did with the information was his business. Li Xu wouldn't interfere at all and wouldn't leave his name on the script, direction, or production, because... it was too much trouble.