George Lucas accepts honor at NAACP Image Awards

LOS ANGELES — Samuel L. Jackson described George Lucas as "the man, the myth, the vanguard" as he presented the filmmaker with the Vanguard Award at the NAACP Image Awards.

Lucas was honored for his body of work, including "Red Tails," which tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, several of whom were in the audience Friday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Lucas said he made the film to be inspirational, patriotic and to "show that everybody has contributed to building this country into what it is today."

In presenting the award, Jackson said he has always loved "Star Wars" and would have done anything to appear in an installment of the space story. He offered to be a Storm Trooper "and just run across the screen. Nobody even has to know I'm in it."

A tribute to Whitney Houston was planned for later in the two-hour ceremony.