The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film : Based on the Lost Interviews from the Official Lucasfilm Archives

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Ebury Press, 2008 - Performing Arts - 458 pages

George Lucas spent nearly ten years bringing his dream project to life: a ground-breaking space fantasy movie. Its original title: The Star Wars. The rest is history. Yet its production is a story as entertaining and exciting as the movie itself. Now, recounted in the words of those who were there, it is finally being told, for the first time.

Between 1975 and 1978, over fifty interviews were conducted with key members of cast and crew - George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, composer John Williams, legendary production designer John Barry amongst many others. Remarkably, these candid and revelatory interviews have sat, undisturbed, in the Lucasfilm Archives for three decades. Until now.

Using his unprecedented access to the archives and this treasure trove of never-before-published 'lost' interviews, photographs, production notes, factoids and anecdotes, J.W. Rinzler hurtles back in time for a definitive look at the genesis of a cinematic legend. A true story of human endeavour and creativity, The Making of Star Wars reveals exactly what it took to produce one of the most outstanding and innovative films of all time.

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About the author (2008)

Jonathan W. Rinzler was born on August 17, 1962, in Lakewood, New Jersey. He was raised in Manhattan and Berkeley. He studied at Parsons School of Design and graduated from New York University. From 2001-2016, he worked for Lucasfilm in the Lucasbooks division as executive editor. Rinzler was the author of more than 20 books. His work included, The Making of Star Wars (2007), The Complete Making of Indiana Jones (2008), and similar books about the other films, Alien, The Shining, and Planet of the Apes. He also wrote a novel, All Up (2020), about the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. J. W. Rinzler died at his home in Albion, California on July 28, 2021. He was 58.

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