A quote by Steven Spielberg - "I gotta be careful because if I tell you that he might take over directing Indy IV himself. And I won't have a job." - from two days ago got some people at The Raven forums arguing about the relationship between Spielberg and his best friend, George Lucas.
Yesterday Slate.com published an article by Tom shone on this unique friendship between Spielberg and Lucas. Here follows an except:

It's not the first time that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have released movies in the same year, but it is the first time they've launched summer blockbusters into each other's airspace, and so similarly bellicose of theme—Lucas' Revenge of the Sith opened on May 18, while Spielberg's War of the Worlds arrives in time for July 4.

It is a battle that, in terms of the box office, Spielberg is expected to lose—Revenge of the Sith has already taken in $400 million in just over three weeks, while War of the Worlds' top projections stop short of $300 million. But the two box-office titans have nonetheless been busy perfecting their impression of two pals helping each other out in the backyard.

This article entitled Lucas vs. Spielberg - The worst best friends in Hollywood is a must read for every fan! The article also mentions their strong co-operation on Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Source: DreamWorks SKG Fansite

Our partner site, DreamWorks SKG Fansite, is doing an online sweepstake of the renowned film Courage and Stupidity. Be one of five lucky people to win the Autographed Copy signed by the director Darin Beckstead.

Courage & Stupidity is a comedy inspired by The Making of Jaws. The film tells the story of Steven struggling to finish his feature "Shark Movie" (Jaws) through the help of his friend George.

The contest closes on July 1st. Winners will be announced on July 5th at DreamWorks SKG Fansite.

Visit the official Courage and Stupidity website where you can view the trailer of the film and more great stuff!

Empire Magazine has named Steven Spielberg the greatest movie director of all time.

British director Alfred Hitchcock came second on the list of all-time greats, for thrillers like Psycho and Rear Window. Martin Scorsese, the director behind The Aviator and Goodfellas, is third, followed by Stanley Kubrick.
Talents such as Star Wars director George Lucas, Charlie Chaplin, and Tim Burton, did not make the top 20, topped by the E.T., Schindler's List and Jaws director.
Gladiator director Sir Ridley Scott, the second Briton in the list, is in fifth place in the poll. Big names like Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and Kill Bill's Quentin Tarantino, are further down in seventh and eighth place.

But they beat Citizen Kane director Orson Welles, who comes ninth, and New Yorker Woody Allen, who is tenth.

Pick up the most recent issue of Empire Magazine for details.

Ben Burtt, the man responsible for the sound effects editing on all 6 Star Wars films and the Indiana Jones trilogy, has decided to leave Lucasfilm after almost 30 years and move to Pixar Animation.

Burtt admits, "The last few years have been frustrating, so I was at a point of change. But I had no official plan."

Yet, the time had come for a new challenge and Pixar came calling. He terms it "the most attractive" of his offers. One reason, Burtt chose Pixar was its Bay Area location. The filmmaker has long been a resident of Northern California not far from Lucas' headquarters at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County and its allied operations. Burtt had no desire to pack up for Hollywood.

More significantly, the sound designer and film editor knew many of the Pixar folks. He recalls that many of the Pixar honchos had been Lucas employees when it was a small division of Lucasfilm.

Ben Burtt has won four Oscars for sound design to date. One for his work on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and a Special Achievement Award during the 1982 Academy Awards for Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Besides designing the sounds on all the Indiana Jones films, Ben Burtt has also edited four chapters of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and directed Young Indiana Jones and the Attack of the Hawkmen.

Head over to Syracuse.com to read the extended news article.