Ready … and … action figure!

In 1988’s Big, Tom Hanks’ suddenly adult Josh Baskin finds his dream job at a toy company testing products for durability and overall enjoyment. As manager of Global Product Development at Lucas Licensing for Lucasfilm, Amite native and LSU graduate Chris Spitale has become Hanks’ character in real life.

He works with licensees worldwide to approve Star Wars and Indiana Jones lines of collectibles, novelty items and toys.

“My job involves overseeing product development from initial concept design to final development,” he says. “We provide input on modifications, from aesthetics and quality to safety, sculpting and packaging.”

His goal, Spitale says, is to provide the highest quality products to the public that he can, a dream come true for his inner child.

Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Indiana Jones were larger-than-life heroes for Spitale as a small-town boy in Louisiana. Little did he know he would grow up to play a large role in a galaxy far, far away.

“As a kid, Star Wars and Indiana Jones were favorites. I’ve always gravitated towards Lucasfilm,” he says. “Even then I had a great respect for the company and how they managed their brands.”

Before his last semester at LSU, Spitale applied for a public relations internship with Lucasfilm, and the California-based company hired him for the summer.

“I worked at [George Lucas’ headquarters] Skywalker Ranch interviewing special effects technicians and studio executives to write their biographies for the Star Wars website,” Spitale says.

After returning to Baton Rouge and graduating, Spitale entered LSU’s graduate program in media management. In 1998 he earned his Master of Mass Communication degree. Throughout graduate school, Spitale says, he kept in touch with Lucasfilm’s human resources department, and in 1999 Lucas Licensing offered him a full-time job as an international product development assistant.

Ten years later Spitale is a manager in that department, and he can’t get enough of his job. “It’s playing with toys all day long,” he says. “Work is always fun for me.”

Designers even made Spitale his own action figure, which ended up starring in a Star Wars spoof on Cartoon Network’s popular Robot Chicken series.

While Spitale loves Lucasfilm, he does miss Louisiana’s culture, humor and generosity. He hopes LSU students take advantage of departmental offerings and the university’s career services. College students, he says, should not wait until they graduate to get advice on career placement.

“Figure out what your dreams are, work hard, be passionate, and you will achieve your goals,” he says. “Some people say that your birthplace is not where you are born but is where you come to be. At LSU, I found my birthplace.”

For more information on Spitale and Lucas Licensing, visit lucasfilm.com.