So, here’s another Star Wars post just because it’s the 41st anniversary of the original Star Wars film BEFORE it was called A New Hope. When it was JUST called Star Wars. When 20th Century Fox reluctantly released the film, they had figured it was going to tank and only released it in 37 theaters across the country. Boy, are their faces STILL red. Whodda thunk it would become a cultural phenomenon having created a film and television franchise and a religion (to some). Crazy to think about since I watched this film franchise explode into a new modern mythology which everyone on the planet (and maybe beyond) is at LEAST familiar with.
Hot off his hit, American Graffiti, George attempted to get the rights to Flash Gordon but, he couldn’t so, he decided to create his OWN Flash Gordon type film.
Back in 1975, when George Lucas began filming his opus, everyone thought, including the studio backing it, the film would fail miserably. Even Lucas, the father of all things Star Wars didn’t have that much faith in his own creation. The actors felt the same way, thinking this ham-fisted script was silly and would be a box office bomb. George Lucas even had the writer of the film novelization, Alan Dean Foster, write a sequel book entitled “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” that would serve as the sequel story in case the movie flopped.
The production was trouble from the start with major hotel issues due to the “Jesus of Nazareth” mini series shooting near the production at the same time the crew for Star Wars arrived. Think about it, Jesus was trying to thwart the original Star Wars. Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) didn’t get along, a grumpy Sir Alec Guiness also was difficult to deal with, props broke down, a freak rain storm in Tunisia destroyed the Tattooine sets… it was plagued with problems, so much so that Ol’ George fell ill 2/3rds of the way through with exhaustion and at one point three units were needed to just complete shooting of the film. And THAT’S just to name a few issues they dealt with.
During post-production, the first initial cut was hated by many of George’s director friends, including Francis Ford Coppola and Brian DePalma. Only Steven Spielberg seemed to enjoy the rough cut, understanding what George was trying to do. Luckily, the studio did like the first cut but, Lucas fired the original editor and hired Paul Hirsch and his wife, Marcia to cut the film from that point on. Half way through post, Lucas fell ill again with hypertension and exhaustion and was warned by medical professionals to take it easy… George’s own film almost killed him.
When it was only released in 37 theaters, it was obvious Fox didn’t know what they had. Word of mouth spread quickly and now we have the modern mythos George has created. The film garnered many accolades after its release. Star Wars won six Academy Awards at the 50th Academy Awards: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. A Special Achievement for Sound Effects Editing was awarded to sound designer Ben Burtt and a Scientific and Engineering Award was given to John Dykstra (who helped George creat ILM- Industrial Light & Magic) for the development of the Dykstraflex Camera who also helped creat motion control camera systems. Other nominations went to Alec Guinness for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, which went to Jason Robards for “Julia” and George Lucas for Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture, which were instead awarded to Woody Allen's “Annie Hall.”
I don’t have to tell you… it was a hit, to say the least.
To think, a film that no one wanted to touch has become one of the biggest film franchises EVER, if not THEE biggest film franchise ever and it continues to grow.
