His father did, however, refuse to pay for art school, saying "there will be no artists in this family," Lucas revealed during wide-ranging interview conducted by Michael Milken at the 2012 Global Conference. Lucas stumbled into filmmaking largely by accident. "I wasn't that into movies," he said.

Originally, he wanted to be a race car driver, but a serious car accident in high school "turned around my view of life." He wound up following a friend to USC, where he took some cinema classes and quickly realized his passion.

Lucas decided to make "Star Wars" because he felt that modern society was lacking a modern mythology, something to make community cohesive and share common values. He worked hard to create an "immaculate reality" on a small budget of $4 million. Little did he know that it would lead to a whole universe encompassing 5,000 characters that now fill 2 dozen encyclopedias of "Star Wars" facts.

Lucas also discussed a lesser-known film he produced, "Tucker: The Man and His Dream," the true story of a visionary carmaker who operated outside the establishment and was ultimately crushed by it. He said the movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was "about what we were: the little guy trying to buck the system."

In the digital age today, "the whole world is kind of like that," he said.

Lucas told the audience that his decision to join Bill Gates and Warren Buffet in The Giving Pledge - a promise to donate half his wealth to charity - was an easy one because "I was already giving 95 percent to charity." He thinks that "money is a burden to people," and while he wants his kids to have enough to never be destitute, "they're never going to be able to afford a Lear jet unless they do it themselves."

Milken asked Lucas if he had a favorite "Star Wars" character. "It's like having kids," Lucas said. "You love them all." However, there is "a fondness in my heart for Chewbacca," who was based on his dog, and for Yoda who is "obviously based on me," he said.

Lucas also joked that, "I'm much more of a Luke than a Han Solo."

Full video is available here.