George Lucas Bets Big ($93 Million) on 'Red Tails'

(Wall Street Journal) - George Lucas is betting $93 million of his own money that his new movie "Red Tails" will be a hit.

The creator of "Star Wars" reached into his own deep pockets to bankroll the new action movie about African-American pilots in World War II, spending $58 million to make it and $35 million more to distribute the film. Lucas serves as its executive producer.

Even for someone as rich as Lucas, $93 million is a huge wager to place on a single film. "Red Tails" is set for release on Jan. 20, 2012, so unless it schedules some advance official screenings, it will miss much of the lucrative holiday film-going season and will not be eligible for Oscar consideration.

Lucas has a long track record of blockbuster success that includes the "Star Wars" franchise, the Indiana Jones movies, and "American Graffiti."

People who worked on "Red Tails" say the action sequences evoke "Star Wars" -- an association that can only help the movie's box office prospects.

A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty, the cast features...

	Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Major Emanuelle Stance
	Terrence Howard	...	Col. A.J. Bullard

	Ne-Yo	...	Andrew 'Smoky' Salem
	Method Man	...	Sticks
	Aml Ameen	...	Bag O Bones

Through a spokesperson, Lucas said he was drawn to the subject because he wanted to make an action film about young men who were thrust into an incredible situation and, against the odds, proved to be great pilots as well as heroes.

Anthony Hemingway, Lucas' handpicked director for "Red Tails," said the film's Jan. 20 release date could help bring in viewers looking to do something cultural around the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Read more: George Lucas Bets Big on 'Red Tails'