Names and faces

— George Lucas is done with Star Wars, but not with filmmaking. The Star Wars creator says he still plans to make his “own little personal films.” Lucas spoke Friday night while attending Ebony magazine’s Power 100 Gala, days after announcing the sale of his storied Lucasfilm to Disney for $4.05 billion. The deal would allow for more Star Wars films. While Lucas will be a creative consultant, longtime collaborator Kathleen Kennedy will be in control.When asked if he’d have a hand in picking a director for the films, he said, “I’ve turned it over to a wonderful producer, Kathy Kennedy, and I’ve known her for years. She’s more than capable of taking it and making it better than I did.” Lucas admitted mixed emotions about letting Lucasfilm go. “It’s very sad. It’s 40 years of work and it’s been my life, but I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things.” Among them are his educational foundation, which will be a major benefactor of the money he got for Lucasfilm. “Mostly it will be philanthropy but I’m also going to make my own little personal films,” he said of his plans. His last film was this year’s Red Tails, which told the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a legendary black fighter unit formed in 1941 that debunked widely held beliefs that black pilots were incapable of fighting in combat. While he described that film as a labor of love, he said, “I’m going to go further out than that. I barely got Red Tails into the theaters. The ones I’m working on now will never get into the theaters.”

However riotous the Eddie Murphy stories from Arsenio Hall, Tracy Morgan, Adam Sandler and Russell Brand, the highlight of Spike TV’s tribute to Murphy was the comedian’s duet with Stevie Wonder. Murphy joined the subject of one of his most classic impressions for a rousing rendition of Wonder’s 1973 hit “Higher Ground” during the taping of the Spike TV special Eddie Murphy: One Night Only, which is set to air Nov. 14.The Roots served as the house band. Jamie Foxx, Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock and Keenan Ivory Wayans were also among those paying tribute to Murphy on Saturday at the Saban Theater in Southern California. Accompanied by a pretty blonde, Murphy beamed throughout the two-hour program, saying he was touched by the tribute. “I am a very, very bitter man,” he said with a beguiling smile. “I don’t get touched easily, and I am really touched.” The program featured clips of Murphy’s standup shows, his film appearances in Shrek and Nutty Professor and his work on Saturday Night Live.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 11/05/2012

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