May The Force Be With You
Source: Courtesy of SpaceX from Instagram
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May fourth is the day Star Wars nerds rejoice! “May the fourth be with you” in pop culture is the holiday that we all celebrate the impact the galaxy far, far away has on so many of us. At the core of the hero's journey reimagined is a phrase first spoken by Obi-Wan, “May the Force Be With You.” Hearing this phrase for the first time is a bit cheesy. But once you have a deeper understanding of the broader context, it connects you to an in-group. Think about it this way: A phrase has now morphed into a play on words to be celebrated on the day.
Now let's rewind time and go back to the 1970s before George Lucas or anyone had any idea what Star Wars would become.
George was a budding film-making student at USC: his father didn't have high hopes for his son's future as a filmmaker. Early in his career, George was a director for Universal Studios, working on American Graffiti. During that time, he was already dreaming up Star Wars. With a finished draft, he was having a hard time getting studios interested but finally found Alan Ladd Jr., and with a $7 million budget, they were able to get the film off the ground.
Lucas was a visionary ahead of his time but also looked back to what stories resonated within him. He based Star Wars on the hero's journey, which Joseph Campbell popularized. (For more, read The Hero with a Thousand Faces) The visionary aspect of Lucas was in special effects. He wanted to make a robotic camera to film model spaceships without wires to make them look realistic.
Star Wars is also called a space opera, and that was another aspect of the film that brought the magic of experience to life. Enter John Williams, now legendary composer but at that time had just finished the music on Jaws! But at this point of the story is where any creator is tested. George had a tough time finding a cast, notably, one of the series’ most beloved characters - the quintessential space cowboy - Han Solo. They had many now-famous actors, from Sylvester Stallone to Christopher Walken, audition for the role.
But George knew who fit the part, Harrison Ford, who he had worked with on American Graffiti. But since then, Ford had stepped away from acting to be a carpenter. George convinced Harrison to visit the set to fix some doors but was then ambushed into a casting audition. With the cast in place, now the real work began, and the speed bumps continue to plague production, from robot malfunctions to weather delays. But the worst for George was yet to come.
Throughout this time, George was still refining the script and wrestling with plot decisions. Luke Starkiller becomes Luke Skywalker. The twist in the storyline is Darth Vader killing Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was played by Alec Guinness, who was the most well-known actor from the cast and was promised two percent of the film's profits. Somehow George was able to avert a crisis by explaining why this change helped the story.
At this point, it's a race against the clock to get Star Wars finished. In the last-ditch effort, George called a vote for the union crew to rally. But the vote didn't pull through. The stress of the job was starting to take its toll on his health. Marcia Lucas would be a saving grace for the film. The original edit had no soul, and George called in his wife to help bring the film around. With revisions completed, next was the score with John Williams, and as each song was reviewed, they saw the film come to life, even with placeholders to be filled be with CGI later.
Stress for finishing the film continues to build, with only one percent of the CGI shots completed by ILM. George rushes to the hospital with a stress-induced anxiety attack. The doctor recommends some time off, but knowing that the entire film will fall apart if he leaves even for a day, George has to keep going. With crunch time upon him, George became stern and overbearing, needing results to complete the film. The film now has crept two million dollars over budget.
In the spring of 1977, the Lucas' invite all their friends over for a private screening of the film but without special effects or music. The film was terrible. Even George's good friend Steven Spielberg didn't know what to say. The Fox executives agreed it would be a very entertaining kids movie, but at that point, that's a nice way of saying it wasn't what they hoped it would be.
Afterward, George heads to dinner with his friends and finally works up the courage to ask for honest feedback. The only person who believed in the essence of the story was Steven Spielberg, who vouched for the music and missing shots to bring it all together.
One of the cherries on top that brought the whole film together was the London Symphony Orchestra playing the score live. George is so excited he calls Spielberg, who recommended John Williams. The long-distance call would cost the studio nearly $600 dollars. After countless setbacks and no good news, there was a shining star that brought George's spirit back.
Once he gets back to California, he receives a call from Alan Ladd Jr. at Fox but again, it's not good news. Local theaters are hesitant to pick up the film - only about 30. The film was expected to be released on Memorial Day weekend, but given the long weekend, they thought releasing it a few days early would boost interest. At this point, nobody has any hope for a blockbuster with Star Wars.
George calls Spielberg to take a vacation to Hawaii to avoid the bad news. George needed an escape from the galaxy far, far away that he had brought to the world. But the Force had a different plan.
Wednesday, May 25, 1977, is the release-day of Star Wars. It's just before Memorial Day weekend, and everyone is hoping word of mouth will help the film spread over the long weekend. George is second-guessing himself at every step of the way. Eleven million dollars later, and what has it amounted to? A really expensive child’s movie?
Before escaping to Hawaii, George and his wife grab a greasy burger. They notice traffic is backing up down the street since they are near the historic Chinese Theatre. What they realized was that people were lining up to see Star Wars. Still feeling down, George is unaware of what is to come.
George and Steven are on a beach in Hawaii, blissfully unaware of Star Wars’ impact. Both of them need a break from the worlds they've built. But they can't keep their creativity from coming up with new stories, the seeds of what would become Indiana Jones are planted. But while there, George sees a news report on the Star Wars phenomenon, and he was called every night as more theaters pick up the film.
Star Wars becomes a blockbuster from 32 screens and expands to 1700. The film would play continuously for more than a year.
Acknowledgments
This summary of the creation story of Star Wars is based on the podcast Blockbuster Season 1. The scripted podcast covered the stories of both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. For this article, I focused on George’s story. I couldn't have written this without the incredible work they put in to bring that story to life.
As someone whose life has deep roots in the phenomenon that is Star Wars, I wanted to dig a bit deeper into how Star Wars was brought into this world. A special thanks to George Lucas and the entire creative team behind the galaxy far, far away.
I've always been drawn to the understanding of how creators managed to create the very thing that changes the world. But as with anything, the great figure George Lucas was not alone. In his supporting cast, he had titans in their own right. From friend and fellow visionary Steven Spielberg to composer John Williams and even Marcia Lucas, all stepped in and played important roles in breathing life into Star Wars.
Star Wars became something much bigger than anyone had ever anticipated. Now here we are with 44 years of Star Wars and no end in sight. Star Wars may just be a story, but how many people has it inspired in countless fields? From filmmakers, engineers, astronauts, and everything in between. Whatever the galaxy far, far away inspires, take it, and run with it!
As a closing note, I want to thank my Dad for introducing his sons to Star Wars. My dad showed us the magic of Star Wars, and still to this day, I share a special bond with him through Star Wars. If you wanted a small glimpse of Star Wars’ impact on my dad at the creative level, check out The Star Wars Room on Instagram (Website work in progress so I can share my dad’s passion with the world).
With that, May the Force (or May The Fourth) Be With You!
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