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So the big news is that Lucas is now devoting himself full-time to writing and producing "Indiana Jones 4." Steven Spielberg, of course, will direct.

Lucas told me that he's got a script now from Jeff Nathanson, and he's tweaking it. That won't go on forever, he assured me, and filming will occur before Harrison Ford goes into a nursing home.

Does he miss "Star Wars" now that it's all wrapped up?

"I don't," he said, "not really. I've got so many things to do."

And how aware is he of it permeating pop culture forevermore?

"It should last about 50 more years and then go the way of all things," he said.

I think it will last much longer, but this is Lucas: very modest. He said that the next films he'll direct will be small ones without special effects.

He also told Army Archerd, Variety's famed columnist — who's writing a must-read blog now at the newspaper's Web site — that he thinks "King Kong" will do $150 million in its opening weekend.

Lucas told me though that he doubts "King Kong" will get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, even though it should.

"These kinds of movies rarely do," said the director of six blockbuster movies that were never nominated either.