George Lucas Saluted at Kennedy Center Honors Gala

“Congrats to all the honorees and my darling Cicely Tyson!!”.

Kennedy Center Honoree Rita Moreno, second from right, talks with Secretary of State John Kerry following the State Department Dinner for the Kennedy Center Honors on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, in Washington.

The White House had originally announced Obama would not be accompanying his wife, Michelle, at the night’s festivities due to a timing conflict with his Sunday night address before a national primetime audience.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The technology that George Lucas brought to moviemaking came back to haunt him at the Kennedy Center Honors.

President Obama welcomed the 2015 Kennedy Center honorees to the White House Sunday.

Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher sent in a video message to the moviemaker, which was projected as a hologram from a model of the film’s robot character R2-D2 in a nod to a scene in the original 1977 sci-fi blockbuster.

The David M. Rubenstein, the Kennedy Center Chairman, said that the people being honored are those that stand for the voices, stories, the soundtracks, and our memories.

Lucas created the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” movie franchises, ushering in the age of the Hollywood blockbuster, and he broke barriers with his use of special effects and sound.

“He’s a pathfinder and a pioneer like Edison and Bell and Tesla and Jobs”, Spielberg said. “George Lucas’ Star Wars absolutely changed films forever”.

Lucas receives the award just ahead of the release in movie theaters of the latest installment in the saga – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Lucas was honored alongside Carole King, Seji Ozawa, Cicely Tyson, and Rita Moreno at the ceremony. This is only the third time that Obama has spoken to the nation live from the Oval Office.

The 83-year-old first dazzled fans on the screen adaptation of “West Side Story” before going on to win all four of the biggest prizes in show business over her career – the Oscar, the Tony, two Emmys and a Grammy.

“She’s still a leading lady of her era, a trailblazer with courage to break through barriers and forge new paths”, Obama said.

Also during the tribute segment, according to The Washington Post, actress Rosie Perez re-created Moreno’s award-winning duet with The Muppets’ Animal and HAMILTON star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda gushed of his friend Moreno, “She commands our attention, she speaks up for us, she tells the truth”.