The mayor may be hoping for a little “Force” to push billionaire filmmaker George Lucas towards Los Angeles.
Mayor Eric Garcetti posted an open letter on his website urging Lucas to consider opening his proposed art and movie memorabilia museum in the City of Angels.
Los Angeles, however, has some stiff competition for the attention of the “Star Wars” filmmaker.
San Francisco has emerged as one of the leading candidates to house what is currently being called the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum. Lucas built his movie empire in Northern California, where he currently resides.
Chicago is also a major player vying for the chance to harbor Lucas’s collection.
"The city of Chicago has enthusiastically welcomed me and I consider Chicago to be my second home," Lucas said in a statement. "I look forward to working with community leaders to see if Chicago can become home to the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum."
News
Top news of the day
Even in the face of the competition Garcetti has soldiered on with his proposal using social media in an attempt to woo Lucas. The mayor has been encouraging the use of the hashtag #WhyLucasInLA so Angelenos can provide their own reasons for the director to come to Southern California.
“We'd like you to consider opening your museum in a place where its impact can be amplified like no other, Los Angeles,” Garcetti wrote in the letter.
Garcetti's provisionary site of the museum is the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena which is located in Exposition Park and close to USC, where Lucas attended film school.
- Download: Download the NBCLA Mobile App
The mayor is relying on the director’s alumni ties and promises to speed up the construction of the multi-million dollar facility to lure Lucas with his lightsabers hopefully in tow.
Molly Fowler, a spokeswoman with Garcetti’s office, said efforts to speed things up include the approval of an environmental impact report to measure the effect of the demolition of the arena to make room for the museum.
“(The report) is a pretty significant hurdle and having that in place would really expedite the process of bringing the museum here,” Fowler said.
So far Lucas hasn’t responded to the proposal, but is expected to make a decision on where the museum is to be built sometime this summer.
