Making Of Star Wars - Hardcover

J.W. Rinzler

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1781311900 ISBN 13: 9781781311905

Publisher: Aurum Press, 2013

Synopsis

After the 1973 success of American Graffiti, filmmaker George Lucas made the fateful decision to pursue a longtime dream project: a space fantasy movie unlike any ever produced. Lucas envisioned a swashbuckling SF saga inspired by the Flash Gordon serials classic American westerns, the epic cinema of Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa, and mythological heroes. Its original title: The Star Wars. The rest is history, and how it was made is a story as entertaining and exciting as the movie that has enthralled millions for thirty years–a story that has never been told as it was meant to be. Until now.

Using his unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm Archives and its trove of never-before-published “lost” interviews, photos, production notes, factoids, and anecdotes, Star Wars scholar J. W. Rinzler hurtles readers back in time for a one-of-a-kind behind-the-scenes look at the nearly decade-long quest of George Lucas and his key collaborators to make the “little” movie that became a phenomenon. For the first time, it’s all here:

the evolution of the now-classic story and characters–including “Annikin Starkiller” and “a huge green-skinned monster with no nose and large gills” named Han Solo
excerpts from George Lucas’s numerous, ever-morphing script drafts
the birth of Industrial Light & Magic, the special-effects company that revolutionized Hollywood filmmaking
the studio-hopping and budget battles that nearly scuttled the entire project
the director’s early casting saga, which might have led to a film spoken mostly in Japanese–including the intensive auditions that won the cast members their roles and made them legends
the grueling, nearly catastrophic location shoot in Tunisia and the subsequent breakneck dash at Elstree Studios in London
the who’s who of young film rebels who pitched in to help–including Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and Brian DePalma

But perhaps most exciting, and rarest of all, are the interviews conducted before and during production and immediately after the release of Star Wars–in which George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Sir Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, composer John Williams, effects masters Dennis Muren, Richard Edlund, and John Dykstra, Phil Tippett, Rick Baker, legendary production designer John Barry, and a host of others share their fascinating tales from the trenches and candid opinions of the film that would ultimately change their lives.

No matter how you view the spectrum of this thirty-year phenomenon, The Making of Star Wars stands as a crucial document–rich in fascination and revelation–of a genuine cinematic and cultural touchstone.

About this title

About the Author

J.W. Rinzler, executive editor at Lucasfilm Ltd., is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, as well as The Art of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, The Art and Making of Monster House, and Creating the Worlds of Star Wars, which he co-authored with visual effects supervisor John Knoll. He lives in Petaluma, California.

Review

"A book like this simply blows everything else out of the water...For Star Wars fans, this truly will be the Holy Grail, and even obsessives who think they know everything about the movie should prepare to be astounded. As a 30th anniversary tribute, this could not be bettered" Film Review "Majestic...truly indispensable" Total Film "terrific behind-the-scenes study...a detailed, sensible but compelling account of the film's creation, minus the hype...Combining the access of an authorised account with the edge of great stroytelling, the making of a 30 year-old movie has never felt more alive" Empire

Edition details

• Publisher: Aurum Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1781311900
• ISBN 13: 9781781311905
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 361