The Crazy Story of How Star Wars Got Made!
Above: George Lucas (left) and Anthony Daniels (robot suit, right) between takes on one of the film's Tunisian sets
Post Author- Erik Wells
On May 14, 1971, George Lucas flew into London for the first time. His debut feature, the science-fiction film THX 1138, had just premiered in theaters, he’d been nominated for an award at the Cannes Film Festival, and it was his 27th birthday. It was a lot to take in. The young director never expected what had started as a student short film to evolve to this point, but he was determined not to let this new momentum go to waste. He had even made the risky move of turning down multiple for-hire directing gigs in favor of creating his own material. For a while now, Lucas had been workshopping ideas for a space opera, jotting down an increasingly long list of bizarre names for people and places he could build a story around. So when he landed in London, Lucas marched into the office of United Artists head David Picker and convinced the executive to provide the seed money for his next movie. That movie was American Graffiti, a high school coming-of-age dramedy set in California that had nothing to do with the space opera he’d been developing.
After completing production on American Graffiti (which ultimately ended up being produced by a different studio) in 1973, Lucas turned his attention back to the space opera. He distilled his unwieldy notes into a 13-page treatment inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress and aimed to balance a fantastical world with an honest, simple story that contained “the romance, the adventure, and the fun” he felt had disappeared from modern movies. Lucas’ old friend David Picker was impressed but ultimately turned down the project, as did Paramount and Disney. 20th Century Fox president Alan Ladd Jr. ultimately gave Lucas $150,000 to write and direct the film, despite freely admitting to not understanding the concept whatsoever. And when American Graffiti opened a few months later to massive box office success, Lucas officially had the financial security he needed to commence work on Star Wars.
Over the next couple of years, Lucas’s script went through various permutations, featuring funhouse mirror versions of the characters we would come to know, like adolescent hero Annikin Starkiller or the green, gilled monster Han Solo. By February 1975, Lucas had a finalized script and a $8.25 million budget from Fox, and he began to focus on the design of the movie, with an emphasis on practical effects and a deliberately-worn-down aesthetic. On a location scouting trip, Lucas was inspired by the geological variety and unique architecture of Tunisia. He knew that he could create the illusion of several far-off planets with just a few relatively close locations. He even named the desert planet where much of the film’s first act takes place after the desert city Tatouine.
Above: An illustration by Mike Mayhew of the original concept for Han Solo, from a 2013 comic book adapting Lucas's unused first draft of the script
Filming began near the Tunisian salt lake Chott el Djerid on March 22, 1976, and after two and half weeks, the production moved to Elstree Studios in London for interior scenes. Meanwhile, the Lucas-founded company Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) worked concurrently on the visual effects out of a warehouse in Van Nuys, California. Throughout filming, Lucas sometimes had trouble communicating with his cast and crew. He would infuriate cinematographer Gilbert Taylor and the camera crew by moving equipment himself or interfering with their lighting setups. But in spite of his habit of only offering “faster” and “more intense” as directions, the cast enjoyed working with him and would try to cheer him up when he was stressed, which was often.
Above: C-3PO's journey through the deserts outside Tatouine, featuring a perhaps familiar friend
Complications in the post-production process delayed the film’s release from Christmas 1976 to May 1977. Even then, the ILM team struggled to create the unheard effects Lucas was asking for and estimated that they were being asked to do a year’s worth of work in six months. To inspire them and make his vision clearer, Lucas spliced in aerial dogfighting clips from old war films. Those clips remained in the film when Lucas held his first screening for a small, exclusive group including fellow New Hollywood visionaries Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg. After the screening, De Palma savaged the film to Lucas’s face and took particular issue with the rather verbose six-paragraph opening crawl. Although De Palma did not believe in the project, he offered to fix this one particular aspect, and with the help of screenwriter Jay Cocks, he provided Lucas and the film with the shorter opening crawl we know and love today.
Star Wars entered theaters on May 25th, 1977 and surprised everyone (including Lucas) by eventually becoming the highest-grossing film of all-time to that point. In the months and years that followed, it garnered six Oscars, eleven sequels, and eighteen television spinoffs; it remains one of the most beloved and influential films of all time. Would that still be the case if Han Solo had gills? I’d argue even more so. You can collect your own piece of Star Wars film history from one of the original sets in Tunisia here!
Featured Product
Roman Arrowhead - Pocket Specimen
Latest News
-
Apr 18, 2025 Scientists Film a Colossal Squid in its Natural Habitat! Read More -
Apr 16, 2025 Is It Legal To Own a Meteorite: How to Start Your Outer Space Collection! Read More -
Apr 16, 2025 Is It Legal To Own a Dinosaur Fossil? How to start your Dinosaur Collection! Read More -
Apr 16, 2025 Archaeologists Discover Tomb of an Unknown Pharaoh! Read More -
Apr 09, 2025 Did Scientists Resurrect a Dire Wolf or Just Create Colossal Hype? Read More -
Apr 07, 2025 What was dinosaur armor used for? New fossils help scientists find out! Read More
Cool Things!
Scientists Film a Colossal Squid in its Natural Habitat!
One hundred years after its discovery, scientists have captured the elusive colossal squid on film in its natural habitat. The juvenile squid was found around 2,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean near the South Sandwich Islands. Measuring about one foot long, it drifts through the sea with translucent skin, pearly eyes and colorful tentacles.
Archaeologists Discover Tomb of an Unknown Pharaoh!
Did Scientists Resurrect a Dire Wolf or Just Create Colossal Hype?
Specimen Deep Dives
Returning to the Moon: The Apollo 14 Mission
The Secrets of the Space Shuttle: Learn about Mini Museum's Shuttle Tile Material!
Gondwana: When the Earth Was One
Long Form Articles
Is It Legal To Own a Meteorite: How to Start Your Outer Space Collection!
Meteorites are some of the rarest geological specimens to be found on Earth. Of course, since these stones are not of our world, purchasing them can sometimes be a confusing process. Is it legal to own a meteorite? In short, yes! Read on for help starting your cosmic collection!
Is It Legal To Own a Dinosaur Fossil? How to start your Dinosaur Collection!
So you want to start fossil collecting!? Amateur paleontology is a fascinating and fun hobby that can even nab you an award! Dinosaur bones are some of the most sought-after specimens in the world, so you may be wondering, is it even legal to own a dinosaur bone? In short, yes! Read on for more help starting your fossil collection!
Top 10 Most Incredible Dinosaur Fossils Ever Discovered!
Dinosaur fossils have captured the popular imagination for decades. The giant, bizarre creatures that traversed the Earth far before the dawn of human civilization are the subject of countless exhibits, movies, books and television shows. Here is a countdown of 10 of the most significant and incredible fossils ever discovered!