'Star Wars' Fans, Art Lovers Line Up For New Lucas Museum In Los Angeles

US director George Lucas greets the first visitors of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art as the venue opens to the public in Los Angeles, drawing 'Star Wars' fans and art lovers. The Los Angeles museum built by the 82-year-old 'Star Wars' franchise creator alongside his wife and business partner Mellody Hobson is intended to be a 'people's temple of art,' according to its creators.The duo stood at the museum's entrance as its first 100 visitors were invited in, shaking hands with each of them as they entered the biomorphic building.Eric Cheung, a dentist and realtor who arrived in a Star Wars X-wing pilot costume -- a get-up featuring a bright orange jumpsuit and distinct combat helmet, like that worn by Luke Skywalker himself -- said he was quick to become a museum member and even trained as a volunteer.The museum was built on what used to be a parking lot next to the University of Southern California, the filmmaker's alma mater.  At the entrance, visitors are greeted by the yellow Naboo N-1 starfighter from "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" (1999), but with more than 9,300 square meters of exhibition space, the offerings go far beyond the beloved saga.Its more than 30 galleries feature works by artists including Banksy, Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Robert Colescott; comics by Winsor McCay, Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta; and illustrations by Norman Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith and N.C. Wyeth.