Steven Spielberg, George Lucas Exchanged Some Sweet Ads That Became A Tradition

Two of the most legendary movie directors in American history, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have been longtime friends, so when in 1977, Lucas hit it big with Star Wars, Spielberg decided to take a full page ad to congratulate his old pal.

Naturally, once one did it, the other one had to follow suit and a tradition was started with Spielberg and Lucas using their unparalleled talent to create some amazing posters in the process, many of which may have been forgotten by fans or never before seen and, thanks to the folks at Business Insider who were kind enough to remind us, we can take a trip down memory lane.

Since the two movie greats are contemporaries, audiences have been lucky to enjoy their work for decades. Steven Spielberg broke records in 1975 with Jaws — the highest-grossing film in history at the time — which has earned more than $470 million to date.

However, along came George Lucas and his space saga Star Wars in 1977, which had a budget of $11 million and has made $775.4 million in gross revenue thus far.

The Spielberg congratulatory ad was published in Variety and shows the cute R2 D2 reeling in the gigantic Great White, as it lurked in the waters waiting for unsuspecting swimmers.

Check it out:

But the duo was not done with their friendly exchanges and when in 1982, Steven Spielberg reclaimed the box office throne with E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Lucas returned the favor with his own full-page ad in Variety.

Lucas, not to be outdone by his friend’s poster, came up with a mash-up of both films, which shows Han Solo and Luke Skywalker carrying E.T. in a victory parade, while Princess Leia, Darth Vader, C3PO, Chewbacca, RD D2, and Yoda, also celebrate the new #1 film at the box office.

George Lucas writes to his pal Steven Spielberg, in part:

“E.T’s adventures on Earth and his gift of intergalactic friendship continue to touch us all.

But the tradition that Steven Spielberg began has continued and in 1998, when James Cameron took down the re-issue of Star Wars with Titanic to become the highest grossing movie in history, Lucas went back to Variety and published this cool ad:

What do you think of Steven Spielberg’s “tradition”? Have you seen these ads before?

[Image via cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com]