From 1964 to 1966, George Lucas attended USC's film school, where an emphasis on experimentation suited his creative spirit and led him to push filmmaking boundaries with award-winning films such as THX 1138:4EB. He graduated in 1966, having also formed lasting friendships with filmmakers including Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola. In 1969, Lucas and Coppola established American Zoetrope in San Francisco, where Lucas turned THX-1138 into his first feature. In 1971, he founded Lucasfilm Ltd., which became one of the world's leading film and entertainment companies. American Graffiti opened on August 1, 1973 and became one of the most successful films of its time, drawing on the sock hops, drag races, cruising, rock 'n roll, small town values, and way of life Lucas had experienced while coming of age in Modesto, and the City of Modesto honored him with the Key to the City for that work. In 1975, he started Industrial Light & Magic to create special effects for his original Star Wars movie, and it later became a leading visual effects facility. Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope opened on May 25th, 1977, broke box-office records, received ten Academy Award nominations, won six, set new standards for film visuals and sound, and changed how movies were made, watched, and heard. In 1978, Lucas purchased property in Marin County and began building Skywalker Ranch in 1980 as a Northern California filmmaking center where independent filmmakers could work away from Hollywood studio interference; the 4700 acre ranch houses Skywalker Sound and Lucasfilm Ltd.'s corporate headquarters. In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first Indiana Jones film, was conceived and produced with Steven Spielberg and opened on June 12, 1981 to rave reviews; years later, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles began airing on television to educate students about history. In 1992, Spielberg presented Lucas with the Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2005, the Letterman Digital Arts Center opened in the Presidio in San Francisco, and Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts, and Lucasfilm's marketing, online, and licensing offices relocated there. Lucas later received honors including an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Fine Arts, from the University of Southern California in 1994, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society in 2003, the National Medal of Technology in 2004, the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 2005, California Hall of Fame induction in 2009, and the NAACP Vanguard Award in 2012. He also served as Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2007, took leadership roles with the George Lucas Educational Foundation, the Film Foundation, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts Advisory Board, and his companies, including Lucasfilm Singapore (Animation), have collectively received over 100 Academy Award nominations.