home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
TIME: Almanac of the 20th Century
/
TIME, Almanac of the 20th Century.ISO
/
1970
/
70lucas.000
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-02-27
|
5KB
|
104 lines
<text>
<title>
(1970s) George Lucas's Galactic Empire
</title>
<history>
TIME-The Weekly Magazine-1970s Highlights</history>
<article>
<source>Time Magazine</source>
<hdr>
TIME Magazine
March 6, 1978
George Lucas's Galactic Empire
</hdr>
<body>
<p>Get Ready for Star Wars II, III, IV, V...
</p>
<p> Last time we saw him, you may remember, Darth Vader was
tumbling away to a safe star, and the evil Galactic Empire,
momentarily stunned by the mysterious Force, was licking its
wounds in preparation for...Star Wars II, of course, and the
further adventures of Luke Skywalker. Already scouts are
scouring the globe for exotic, unworldly-looking locations from
the jungles of central Africa to the arctic wastes of Lapland,
and shooting is expected to begin next February. If all goes
well, the Star Wars sequel will be out by Christmas of 1979.
</p>
<p> Along with Luke, Darth Vader will be back, as menacing as
ever, as will Princess Leia, Han Solo, the Wookie Chewbacca and
computerdom's cutest robots, Artoo Detoo and Threepio. There
will also be several new characters "of various genres," as
Creator George Lucas phrases it, together with "aliens, robots
and others, including humans." What about Obi-Wan-Kenobi, the
role that last week bought Alec Guinness an Academy Award
nomination for best supporting actor? Lucas is suddenly
circumspect. "Obi-wan's aura will be there," he says cautiously,
"his essence, if you like."
</p>
<p> Whatever it does to the Galactic Empire, the Force has
all but taken over little earth, and Lucas has formed something
like a galactic empire of his own. Star Wars I seems likely to
ring up anywhere between $300 million and $400 million around
the world, making it the biggest grosser in film history. An
additional $200 million or so will come from toys, records and
the myriad of other Star Wars gadgets and gimmicks.
</p>
<p> Anticipating his share, an estimated $80 million, Lucas has
set up four corporations: Star Wars Corp. will make Star Wars
II and the ten, count 'em, ten other planned sequels; Medway
Productions will make other kinds of films, including a sequel
to Lucas's 1973 hit, American Graffiti; Sprocket Systems Inc.
will provide special effects for the Star Wars progeny and any
other films that need its services; and Black Falcon Ltd. will
market books, records, toys and other spinoffs from Lucas'
films.
</p>
<p> The whole purpose of his cosmic conglomerate, Lucas says,
is to make money so that he and his friends can escape the
tyranny of the studios and make good movies--or at least the
kind of movies they like. He was traumatized by his experience
in American Graffiti, where Universal arbitrarily cut five
minutes from his finished version of the film. He vows that it
will never happen again. "It wasn't a film by Lucas," he says
bitterly. "It was a film made by me with changes by the studio.
That isn't fair." One of the first jobs of Medway Productions
will be to put American Graffiti back into distribution. It will
be shown, with the five minutes restored, this May.
</p>
<p> "I'm simply trying to become a free man. I'm trying to set
up an alternative film making that allows me more freedom to do
what I want, within certain parameters. We're trying to make a
company that will respect the personality and individuality of
film makers. Part of my good fortune is to be making progress
in that direction. I feel it's a destiny of sorts." He is
already helping, free of charge, his friend Francis Coppola cut
his epic Apocalypse Now and trim it to something like four
hours.
</p>
<p> Most of Lucas' new riches have indeed gone into his various
projects rather than into his pocket, and his life has hardly
changed since May 25, when Star Wars rocketed onto the screens.
He still drives a 1967 Camaro, still wears the same Levi's and
cords, and still walks around in the same battered shoes and
sneakers. When he leave his home in San Francisco for the Los
Angeles movie labs, he stays with friends in the unfashionable
San Fernando Valley, avoiding the Beverly Hills-Malibu axis as
if it were enemy territory, which for him it is. The only real
change is that he has finally finished furnishing his house in
San Francisco, and he and his wife Marcia, one of the best-known
film editors in the business, have allowed themselves to relax
on weekends.
</p>
<p> Lucas said when he was making Star Wars that he was giving
up directing, and, true to his word, SW II will be directed by
Irvin Kershner (The Flim Flam Man, and Raid On Entebbe). "But
I've always thought," he says, "that sooner or later, somewhere
down the road, I will go back and do another one. But it will
be toward the end of the cycle, about 20 years from now." Would
you believe 2001?
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>