The bizarre moment George Lucas showed up in an episode of ‘The O.C.’
While we will likely always associate George Lucas with science fiction, given the fact that he created Star Wars, one of the most significant sci-fi movie genres in history, it’s fair to say that the iconic director also has his kinship with the day-to-day living of planet Earth, especially when we consider his 1973 film American Graffiti.
The movie is a coming-of-age classic that was nominated for five Academy Awards. It tells of the cruising and rock and roll subcultures of Lucas’ youth and a group of teenagers who set out for a night of adventure. The themes of American Graffiti once came up in one way or another when Lucas made a rather strange cameo appearance on the teen drama series The O.C.
The scene in question has the nerdy character Seth Cohen seek guidance from George Lucas, arguably just the person one should seek out for advice if they love all things sci-fi. Seth’s problem is that he doesn’t know whether he should go to his prom or not, caught up in the middle of a tricky love triangle.
Oddly enough, the character Zach (who is also part of the triangle) has co-written a comic book with Seth that Lucas is taken by and wants to make into his next movie. But the meeting with the director is set for the same night as the pair’s prom, so they flip a coin to decide who will go out with the triangle’s third point, Summer, and who will go to the meeting with Lucas, with Zach winning the date.
The subsequent conversation between Seth and Lucas initially concerns the comic book and the lightsabers from Star Wars, but eventually, Seth asks Lucas whether he should be at his prom instead of sitting across a table from one of the most prominent science fiction directors of all time. Lucas’ advice is interesting, to say the least.
“Prom is a great American tradition,” Lucas says, “And it’s important to experience being a teenager when you’re actually a teenager!” The director then admits that he missed out on his teenage experience because he was busy “being creative”, which is why he wanted to recreate it in American Graffiti. Lucas’ words then give Seth the courage to go to his prom instead of finishing the meeting and later regretting not going.
It’s admittedly a strange moment in television and film history, but it’s a fascinating one too. The O.C. is arguably the last place we’d expect to find George Lucas, but there he is, dishing out wisdom and advice as though he were Yoda himself. There’s certainly a grandfatherly edge to Lucas’ The O.C. appearance, and it’s not one we’ll forget in a hurry.
