George Lucas has said he is retiring from making blockbusters after claiming that Hollywood refused to fund his latest movie because it has a black cast.

The creator of the Star Wars films has been working on Red Tails for 23 years, but had to finance it himself after rejections from major studios.

The film, which is released in US cinemas this week, tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black pilots in the Second World War.

It stars Cuba Gooding Jr and Terrence Howard, and was shot by the black director Anthony Hemingway.