Most of us are familiar with such a fantastic blockbuster as Star Wars. Who shot it is also known. This outstanding director was George Lucas. Where this cult epic saga takes place is also no secret. It talks about the fantasy universe and its inhabitants. But for years now, disputes regarding the principle of series output have not ceased. It is completely incomprehensible why films 4, 5, 6 first appeared and only after a time of 1, 2, 3? What is the reason for this?
A short biographical note about the creator of Star Wars
George Walton Lucas Jr. was born on one of the small farms in California on May 14 in 1944. He studied at a local school, and graduated from high school in Downey. At that time he was very passionate about drag racing and dreamed of an incredible racing career.
However, an unexpected car accident completely changed everything. Immediately after a long recovery, the young man entered the University of Southern California, where he was to receive an education in directing.
It was there that Lucas studied, who later created the fantastic Star Wars saga. Who shot, wrote the script for the star sequel, in this case it is not difficult to understand. All this was done by one person - George Lucas. We will talk about how he did it later.
Brief Background
The idea to make an unusual science fiction film about life and adventures in space arose with the young film director George Lucas back in his student days. And although initially it was just a mythical undertaking, a few years later it began to take shape and shape. According to Lucas himself, the creation of the "star brainchild" he was prompted by the picture of a friend of Akira Kurosawa's "Hidden Fortress."
From that moment, George began to work actively on writing the script. The result was a small work on twelve pages, with the complex title “The Story of Mace Windu, Rev. Jedi-Bendu, Relative of Ishibi CJ Teip, Apprentice of the Great Jedi.”
The format of the name later changed. But the script, according to the director himself, was not yet ready. But even with these sketches, Lucas still managed to find a film studio that agreed to the film adaptation of his creation. Shooting began, one after another, new series of the Star Wars saga began to appear. Why filmed with 4 episodes, it is difficult to say. According to eyewitnesses, the fault was the imperfection of the script, which was amended as they were filmed.
Premiere of the first film
According to George, the pre-screening of Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope ”occurred in a narrow circle of acquaintances, colleagues and friends. But they did not take her seriously.
“Everyone except Spielberg kept repeating in unison that they hadn’t watched anything more ridiculous before,” the director and creator of the Star Wars movie epic shares his impressions. Why was filmed from 4 episodes? Who came up with weird and unlike characters? Similar questions fell on the author from all sides. However, in his opinion, this was only the beginning.
Heroes of the movie saga woke up famous
The public premiere of the painting, which took place on May 25, 1977 at the Chinese Theater, attracted much more attention. Immediately after it, a real “star fever” broke out in the country: people shouted phrases from the film and put on costumes that resembled the appearance of the main characters.
According to rough estimates, the box office of the first film amounted to about 775 million US dollars. Then came the paraphernalia depicting heroes: cups, pens, t-shirts, comics.
This time, almost no one was interested in why Star Wars began to be shot not in the first, but in the fourth part. Fans tried to get any little thing with a photo of their favorite character. And some of them even staged a real hunt for the actors.
They were waiting for them after filming, chased in stores, and set up makeshift tent towns near their homes. In a word, contrary to rumors and words of ill-wishers, the case of Lucas went.
What is the sequence of episodes of the film?
Fans of the saga demanded the continuation of the film masterpiece "Star Wars" (who removed, you already know - George Lucas). And they did not have to wait long. Adventure creator Luke Skywalker first released the fifth episode, “The Empire Strikes Back,” in 1980, and then the sixth, “The Return of the Jedi,” in 1983.
Between 1999 and 2005 Lucas has released a new trilogy. This was the first episode called “The Phantom Menace” (1999), the second “Attack of the Clones” (released in 2002), and the third episode, entitled “Revenge of the Sith” (filmed in 2005).
I wonder why Star Wars are filmed out of order? And in what sequence is it better to watch them for those people who have not previously seen a single episode?
Starting in 2015, a new Star Wars sequel trilogy starts. So, in 2015, the film "Awakening of Power" is released. In 2017, the premiere of the eighth is planned, and in 2019 - the ninth episode.
At the end of 2016, it is also planned to release a new episode from the spin-off trilogy called Outcast. In 2018, a film will be released that tells about the life of Han Solo, and in 2020 - about Bob Fet.
Why did you first shoot the 4 episode of Star Wars, and then 1, 2, 3?
One of the reasons is the director’s desire to remove the last parts of the epic as soon as possible.
According to George Lucas himself, he just really wanted to release a film about the flying Death Star, and, as you know, it appeared only in the fourth part. That's why Star Wars is filmed out of order.
According to another version, there was no whole scenario as such. He literally "finished writing on his knee." Different people did this. Once Lucas had to urgently seize the initiative, as the screenwriter of the episode "The Empire Strikes Back" suddenly died.
How was Star Wars episode 4 filmed?
Special attention deserves the filming process itself. According to eyewitnesses, work on the picture was associated with tremendous financial difficulties. In particular, the film company XX Century Fox, which agreed to the adaptation of the picture of Lucas, at that time was on the verge of bankruptcy.
To pay the bills, I even had to lay down a film. And George himself had to give up his fee and agree only on a percentage of the sale of related products with the symbols of Star Wars.
Unexpectedly for the entire crew, the actor who played Luke Skywalker had a major car accident. His whole face was broken, and his nose literally had to be collected in pieces. Because of this, a professional understudy was involved in some frames of the episode.
In general, all the episodes turned out to be interesting and spectacular, although they were filmed inconsistently. Therefore, you can watch them as you exit or from the first episode. Now you know everything about the Star Wars saga: who shot it, wrote the script, how the first film of the epic was shot.