Lucas was contractually obliged to offer Star Wars first to United Artists, who passed, and then to Universal. This was just as American Graffiti was gearing for release and a nervous Universal was demanding cuts and rowing with the director. He was relieved to see them pass too.
Alan Ladd Jr., the head of creative affairs at Twentieth Century Fox, had seen a smuggled print of American Graffiti and believed in Lucas. “When he said, ‘This sequence is going to be like The Sea Hawk or this like Captain Blood or this like Flash Gordon,’ I knew exactly what he was saying,” the producer said.
Lucas signed a $150,000 deal to write and direct, plus – the crucial bit – retained full rights over Star Wars merchandising and sequels. Three weeks later American Graffiti became a huge hit and Lucas became a millionaire thanks to his share of revenues. He started to build his film empire - meanwhile, Star Wars was ready to roll.
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Comments
Hadouken76
Sep 1st 2011, 16:39
Thanks to Lucas' misguided insistance on p"issin on his own legacy, its easy to forget how streamline the original Star Wars was. The narrative was classic fairytale: Farmboy meets a wizard and a pirate, rescues the princess from the evil fortress and battles the evil hordes at the end, Medals all round. (Not for wookies apparently). Simple. Then Lucas ruined tthe prequels with boring stuff about taxes and trade embargo's (for the kids yeah? YEAH? Because Kids go crazy for economic reform! Grind those accounting books!), Comparing women to sand and making the iconic and feared Darth Vader sound like he wet himself ..nooooo indeed. Oh and Lucas insults everyones intelligence by assuming no-one will tell the difference in the Special Editions. Sorry but in 100 yrs time, everyone will STILL know Han shot first and Jabba's meeting with him looks less convincing than Pete's Dragon. I'm not a geek, I just hate when things are messed with, even by thier own creators to the point that it cheapens the experience.
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ChrisWootton
Sep 1st 2011, 16:45
Perfectly put.
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Hadouken76
Sep 1st 2011, 18:27
Thanks ChrisWooton, some things just cook my noodle. I'll probably feel the same about Total Rehash and The Thing 'prequel'. Lucas and these new directors don't realise that people loved the old effects, models and sets because they were tangible. Watching American Werewolf in London You're thinking, 'He's turning into a werewolf' not 'Thats some bad CGI."
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MrScary
Sep 1st 2011, 18:47
“I’m not a good writer,” he admits. “This is the story of Mace Windy, a revered Jedi-Bendu of Opuchi, as related to us by C.J. Thorpe, padawaan learner to the famed Jedi.” Obviously. But hey, they guy is a bazillionaire, so he's doing something right.
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