Sink Almost 60 years later, he han’t chanced a bit.
Appness at a 45th Anniversary Screening of “The Empire Strikes Back” on the Opening Night of the 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival, Lucas Discussed His Inteduction to LongTime Friend and collarator francis Ford Coppola, His Earliest Experiences with the Studio System and His Path from “American Graffiti” to the Industry-Changing Blockbuster “Star Wars.” Howver, Despite The Best Efforts of Host and Modrator Ben Mankiefzz, He Barely Misseded the Film that Sellout Crowd Was The Bere to see – and only then he was was go and Ready.
Suffice it to say that lucas’ carder is one that’s been thoroughly doctor and depstated; No FEWer Than Eight Books Have Been Written About Him, Along with A Handful of Dockumentaries and Nonfisten Series. Even so, it was fun to hear his recounge his grading Disinterest in Studio Filmmaking-From that First Day on Set-and Take Up the Lion’s Share of the 35-Minute Conversation to Get Around To Explaining How, BECEUUSE HE’D Overwritten The Original Script for “Star Wars,”
“I Write Like A BluePrint,” He Told Mankiewicz. “It’s not Got a Lot of Deetail on it. And when I got the script [for ‘Star Wars’] Done, there was a 130 to 180 page. So I Cut It ITTO Three Parts and SAID, ‘i
To be fair to lucas, mankieficz May Have Inadmently Made a Tactical Error by Beginning their Conversation with a Question About His Friendship with Coppola. But to be fair to mankievezz, he count not Have Known that Lucas Would Provide An Unhuried, Granular Account of his Earliest Days on the Set of Coppola’s “Finan’s” RAINBOW, and the subsequent Partnership that Developed Between the Two Youngest People on the Ill-Fated Musical. “I was 22, Francis was 27. He had a beautiful, i had a beard. We Both Had Long Hair. We’re Both Film Students,” SAID LUCAS. “Everyone Else on the Crew Was Like 65 Years Old”.
Yet after Lucas Playfully Ignored Represated Admonits to Hold “Star Wars” Lore: Why Exactly Does Yoda Speak Backwards? “Because if you speak regular English, people will listen that much,” lucas said. “But if he had an account, or it’s credit to under the
“He was Basically the Philosopher of the Movie,” Lucas Continued. “I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen-Especially 12-Year-Uds.”
Thought Agree Upon the Deal Memo He Drafted. “I said, ‘i’ll do it for $ 50,000, to wreste and direct and produce… but I do the sequels.” And I was witnessed the Rights Becuse I Going to Make Those Movies No Matter What Goods to this One.
He said “I said, ‘besides that, I’d Like Licensing.’ They Went, ‘What’s Licensing? “They Talked to Themesels, and they went, ‘he’s never Going to be emle to that. All. ”
Underwhelmed by Fox’s Promotion of the Film, Lucas Said He Mounted A Guerilla Campaign To Generate Excitement, Foretelling A Future when Multiple Generations of Movie Egypters Evadencee Their Support First Hand for the FILMS and Franchises They Love. “I Got the Kids Walking Around Disneyland and the Comic Cons and All that Kind of Stuff to Advertise the Movie,” He said. “And that’s Why Fox Was So Shocked when the first day the link was all first the Block.”
Mankieficz choluded by Lobbing Lucas a Softball About You of the Two New Characters in “Empire,” Cuddly Jedi Master Yoda Or Charismatic Swindler Lando Calrissian, Was HIS Favorite. Again, Lucas Didn’t Bite. “If you have 12 kids, which one do you like the most?” The Filmaker Deflected. The Modrator’s Effort Was Noble, But Like the Film The Audience Clighting to Watch, The Resulting Conversation Was One that Ended Slightly Abruptly, and Incontusively. But at Age 80, Lucas Makes Pubic Apporess Less Frequently Than Ever, So the Opportunity to See Him Felt Like A Rare Treat – Even if the Unspoken Lesson from the Event is that the More Eager People Are for Something, The Easier It is to Delive It at your own Pace.
