Director George Lucas happy to make 'little films'

May 25, 2012: Director George Lucas arrives on the red carpet ahead of the screening of the film "Cosmopolis" in competition at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. (Reuters)

NEW YORK – 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.

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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 flight 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."