[Hannibal]

"It'll be nice to get things finished," Lucas said while standing on the red carpet (see "The Oscars Party: An Inside Look"). As "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" prepares to hyperdrive into theaters on May 19, the mind behind the franchise that boasts four of the 25 highest-grossing domestic movies of all time is putting the finishing touches on the installment he claims will be the last in the series (see "George Lucas Declares 'Star Wars' Over After 'Revenge Of The Sith' ").

"The film is finished, basically," reported Lucas. "We just finished the music last week, and I'm going to mix it next week. In a month, it will be pretty much finished."


"I'm just chugging along like I normally am," he said. "We're getting very close now, but we're still working away like crazy. It's hard to stand up, breathe and realize it's all coming to an end."

Working in the present to put the past behind him, Lucas is keeping his energy level up by looking toward the future. "I'm going to produce a film called 'Red Tails,' about black fighter pilots during World War II," he said. "I'm going to produce a couple TV shows, then I'll think about when I'll direct again."

Oh, yes, there is one other project on the man's calendar: something involving an archeologist adventurer with a predilection for whips and fedora hats. "We're working on scripts," Lucas says of a fourth "Indiana Jones" adventure, "but we're not going to do it until we get a script we're happy with."

Interviewed earlier this month on the set of his upcoming "War of the Worlds" (see "Set Visit: 'War Of The Worlds' "), Steven Spielberg claimed he had been prepared to pursue the long-awaited "Indy" sequel before "Worlds," but was forced to change his plans when Lucas put the project on hold. "We go through the whole development process all the time," Spielberg said, "and sometimes you're really intent to make a picture, like I was with 'Indy 4,' in which case my producer didn't like the script as much as I did. My intention was to make 'Indy 4' a year-and-a-half ago — it didn't work out, and now I'm hoping to make it a year-and-a-half from now, maybe less."

Lucas, while eager to reunite with Spielberg and star Harrison Ford, said that the group will continue to wait as long as it takes to shoot a film worthy of the name "Indiana Jones." But he's vague when asked for the plot points that the script he's got in mind will contain: "A movie that moves forward, is entertaining, and has an interesting story to tell."


— Larry Carroll, with additional reporting by Corey Moss