A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

A few days ago, Harry Turtledove, one of the authors I follow on Twitter (and the only one with whom I interact regularly on that social media platform), posted this whimsical Christmas wish list from the 1970s: #70sChristmasList Harvest gold refrigerator Avocado stove Betamax Quadraphonic sound system English Leather, or maybe Brut Cargo pants for the guys Hot pants for the women Platform shoes A leisure suit A case of Miller Lite Or of US-brewed (aka ruined) Löwenbräu I thought this was clever, amusing, and cool, so I replied with a #70sChristmasList of my own: #70s ChristmasList Stereo system with LP/8-track/AM-FM radio Brut, or English Leather Wacky Packages Star Wars figures (by Kenner) Billy Joel albums Star Wars OST 2-LP set Superman OST 2-LP set Classical music LPs A Bridge Too Far book Over the past few days, I've been going through the decades (the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s) and thinking of typical Christmas wish lists based on the trends of the...

When did George Lucas start tampering with the original Star Wars films by changing the special effects? Ah. Here we go, another loaded question with a subliminal anti-Lucas bias. First of all, I will remind you that like it or not, George Lucas had every right to revise (not  tamper with ) films that he conceived, produced, and in the case of  Star Wars,  directed between 1973 (when he first wrote the story treatment for what he originally called  The Star Wars ) and late 1982 (when  Return of the Jedi  was in post-production and scheduled for a May 25, 1983 release. It is a matter of record that Lucas was not happy with some of the compromises he had to make, technologically speaking, when  Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back,  and  Return of the Jedi  were produced. The first film’s budget, which came from the coffers of the 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, were barely sufficient for the effects that Lucasfilm and its spe...

© 1977 20th Century Fox Film Corporation Would audiences be interested if Disney-Lucasfilm remade Star Wars Episodes IV, V and VI with modern film-making techniques? Judging from the reaction of many  Star Wars  fans to the changes that franchise creator and founder/retired CEO of Lucasfilm, George Lucas, made when he decided to improve 1970s-era special effects shots that he felt fell short of his vision with late 1990s-era CGI effects for the 20th Anniversary Special Editions, I’d say…”No.” The  Star Wars Trilogy  is already one of the most “tinkered with” movie series in the history of the industry. Since 1977,  Star Wars  alone has undergone many adjustments, ranging from necessary fixes to its audio track, accidental deletion of scenes and re-insertion of said scenes, a 1981 title change from  Star Wars  to  Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope,  a tweak that was first previewed in 1979 when Ballantine Books published Caro...

With the phenomenal success of Star Wars in 1977, George Lucas realized he could continue the planned trilogy he had been outlining since the early 1970s. His original outline contained the raw material for Episodes IV, V and VI as well as the nebulous backstory that would become the foundation for the current prequels. So in 1978, with Star Wars (which would be rechristened Episode IV: A New Hope) earning hundreds of millions in box office receipts, Lucas, producer Gary Kurtz and the Lucasfilm production team began work on The Empire Strikes Back, the film most Star Wars fans believe is the best in the entire saga. Lucas gave his story to Leigh Brackett, an acclaimed science fiction writer, and hired her to write the screenplay. She passed away soon after finishing the first draft, so Lucas (who would serve as executive producer) handed the project over to up-and-coming writer-director Lawrence Kasdan (Body Heat, Continental Divide, and Raiders of the Lost Ark). Furthermore, h...