40 years a 'Star Wars' fan

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(C) 2008 Dark Horse Comics and Lucas Books, a division of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Today is May 25, 2017, and Star Wars turns 40 today.

 Wow. A lot of water has flowed under the metaphorical bridge since 20th Century Fox - skeptically, somewhat grudgingly - released George Lucas's space-fantasy film about "a boy, a girl, and a universe" on Wednesday, May 25, 1977. The studio - and even Lucas himself - didn't think that "that space movie" (as some of the suits at Fox referred to Star Wars) would do well at the box office; it would probably attract young children and teens for a couple of summertime weekends, then vanish before the release of Fox's projected sure-fire hit, The Other Side of Midnight, which premiered two weeks later.   

 It is ironic that Star Wars (or, as we know it now, Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope) succeeded beyond anyone's - including Mr. Lucas's - wildest dreams. I say "ironic" because Fox - believing that science fiction films were flash-in-the-pans things with limited audience appeal - strong-armed theater owners into booking Star Wars if they wanted to run The Other Side of Midnight, which was supposed to be a blockbuster hit due to its mix of sex, glitzy European locations, romance, jealousy, betrayal, and romance. 

 And lo! Fox's bean counters were shocked - pleasantly, to be sure, but still shocked - when Star Wars ended its 18-month first theatrical run with a box-office gross of $307,263,857. The Other Side of Midnight grossed only $24,651,021. Oops. Good thing for the studio that its competitors, including Universal, had passed on Lucas's now-legendary space saga...and that Alan Ladd, Jr. (who was Fox's head of creative affairs when Lucas first pitched Star Wars in 1973 and was running the company three years later when the movie began production) saw that it had potential (even if he didn't quite understand it).

 I don't intend to turn this post into a long history of the Star Wars saga. It's a story that has been told time and time again by people wiser and more talented than I, and in different formats, at that. I just find it amusing that Star Wars ended up trouncing its own studio's  "favorite kid" at the box office.

 As I have said a few times here, I also find no small amount of irony that I'm a die-hard Star Wars fan 40 years after its release. After all, I ignored the movie - and the hoopla around it - for almost five months in 1977. I didn't read comic books and didn't watch Star Trek then, so I wasn't as willing to spend my movie-going money on the onscreen adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca the Wookiee, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Darth Vader as many of my friends did. 

 Curiosity finally got the best of me in October of 1977 after I watched The Making of Star Wars on ABC, and I ended up seeing Star Wars three or four times (I honestly can't remember now, but I think I saw it at least three times in theaters) by year's end. I also bought the novelization by Alan Dean Foster (but credited to George Lucas) and borrowed the comics adaptations by Marvel from a neighbor, Carlos Vega, who was also a Star Wars fan. 
I have a framed copy of this poster in my writing room/library. (C) 20th Century Fox Film Corporation
 40 years on, I am still a Star Wars fan. I've seen all of the movies - even the animated pilot for Star Wars: The Clone Wars - in theaters. I've watched the canonical television series (the aforementioned Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels). I own many books - reference works, novels, graphic novels, comic book adaptations, and so on. I have all of the movies (including Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) on Blu-ray and DVD. I have all the original soundtracks, too, as well as the Radio Dramas based on the Original Trilogy. 

 And yes, I have a lot of collectibles, too. Not only do I own a plethora of Star Wars action figures and their various accessories, but I also possess some whimsical items. These include a Jelly Belly Death Star jelly bean dispenser, a Jedi Temple robe that I got as a birthday present earlier this year, and a Lego Darth Vader key chain. 

 Hard to believe that I didn't want to see Star Wars, isn't it? 

 Happy 40th Anniversary, Star Wars!  And, as C-3PO would say, "Thank the Maker!"

 So, here's to you, Mr. Lucas. Thanks for creating this wonderful saga set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." 

 Source:

 http://www.starwars.com/news/the-star-wars-saga-us-release-and-re-release-history

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