H'wood will soon shift away from blockbusters: George Lucas

Hollywood will soon start shifting away from mega-budget blockbusters to making independent films for less money, says the movie mogul.

Movie mogul George Lucas predicts Hollywood will soon start shifting away from mega-budget blockbusters in favour of making more independent films for less money, as big pictures fail to make their money back anymore.

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Talking at Harvey Weinstein's party at the Pacific Design Centre in West Hollywood on March 4, the director, whose Star Wars sequel was nominated for the Oscar in makeup, soothsaid the demise of Hollywood blockbusters.

"The market forces that exist today make it unrealistic to spend $200 million on a movie," said Lucas, a near-billionaire from his feverishly franchised outer-space epics. Those movies can't make their money back anymore. Look at what happened with King Kong, the New York Daily News quoted the filmmaker, as saying.

Lucas was also cheered by the major Academy Award nominations going to independent films. He apparently added that it's no accident that the "small movies" outclassed the spectaculars in this year's Academy Awards.

"I think it's great that the major Oscar nominations have gone to independent films. Is that good for the business? No - it's bad for the business.

But moviemaking isn't about business. It's about art!," said Lucas.the future, almost everything that gets shown in theaters will be Indie movies," Lucas declared. "I predict that by 2025 the average movie will cost only $15 million," he added.