New Disney+ series 'Light & Magic' takes us into George Lucas' world

LOS ANGELES -- When it comes to special effects in movies, the folks at ILM, Industrial Light & Magic, are considered superstars.

The story of how this company came to life is being played out in a new six-episode series.

In a promo for the show, you hear George Lucas say, "Visual effects create the magic that makes people want to go to the movies. Movies are special effects."

He certainly knows that.

ILM is a division of Lucasfilm.

Director Lawrence Kasdan takes us behind the curtain to capture its history for the Disney+ series, "Light & Magic."

"I knew that the technology would take care of itself. It's wonderful and amazing and all that. But how did it happen?" Kasdan said. "Who was behind it? Who stirred them on? What directors made what demands? And then, how are they able to fulfill those demands in ways that no one had ever imagined before?"

When Lucas was writing "Star Wars," he said there were no special effects houses in the world so he wondered how they were going to do the effects.

"In the case of George," Kasdan said, "even though he was very tough, he created an atmosphere in which people could take a chance, where people would come up with things that George hadn't thought of, that no one had thought of before. And it would be reinforced by this gang of outsiders that he had assembled."

Today, ILM is a gold standard for special visual effects and animation.

In its 47 years, the company has won 16 Oscars and has been involved in more than 350 movies.

The promo for this series says the only thing more special than the effects are the people who make them. Kasdan would agree.

"When you say, 'Tell me how this happened,' it's a pretty rich starting point," he said.

All six episodes of "Light & Magic" are available now on "Disney+."

Disney is the parent company of this ABC station.