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The Making of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi by JW Rinzler

Discussion in 'Star Wars: Books & Comics + Legends' started by Kyle, Oct 1, 2014.

  1. Kyle

    Kyle Guest

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    Over the last couple of months I have read through each of these books. They are fantastic! Incredibly detailed accounts of each film, from conception to production to finish. Its great insight into how these films were made, and perhaps what is to come.
     
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  2. Messi

    Messi G.O.A.T.

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    Can you share some pictures and passages from these books? They we are not released in Brazil, but maybe in my next trip to USA I can buy them.
     
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  3. Kyle

    Kyle Guest

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    I think direct pics from the book violates some copyright laws. I'm happy to share some of my favorite moments though.

    The Empire Strikes Back is the most interesting of the three. They are all great, but the middle book shows George Lucas at a real turning point in his career. It's prolific! He financed TESB almost entirely on his own. Every cent he made from Star Wars went into Empire, and if the film had failed, that would have been the absolute end of Star Wars. George managed to retain ownership and creative control by accepting the financial risk.

    Filming the Hoth scenes in Norway are some of my favorite chapters. Harrison Ford was not supposed to be shooting on location for the Hoth scenes. They fell behind due to severe weather and decided to bring him in last minute to make up for studio delays they could face. Harrison Ford flew from London to Oslo, took a train to remote northern Norway, the train broke down due to weather, he took another cab to near town, then a snowplow driver picked him up and drove him to the lodge the rest of the cast were staying in the middle of nowhere. Harrison and the snow plow driver drank almost an entire fifth of vodka on the long, blizzard covered road there.

    The temperatures filming the Hoth sequences were so cold the celluloid film often froze and was as sharp as a razor blade.

    I will try to paraphrase some more sections of that book. Irvin Kirshner sounds like a badass as well. The Empire Strikes Back should have been a disaster due to every setback it faced, but the solid script and story persevered. The cast and crew really trudged through every nightmare that could have fallen on them.
     
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  4. Admiral Petty

    Admiral Petty Force Sensitive

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    I have the making of ESB(and I still plan to get the other two), and it is truly excellent. Seeing such a detailed account of all the thought and hard work put into the film only makes me appreciate ESB more when I watch it(plus its fun trying to spot the potato asteroids ;)).
     
    #4 Admiral Petty, Aug 25, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2015
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  5. Kyle

    Kyle Guest

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    Another favorite. Irvin Kershner became a vegetarian and jogged 2 miles everyday so he was physically and mentally prepared for the stressful shoot. He mentions how he can function on less sleep without eating meat. As a vegan myself (not trying to preach or judge anyone), I was fascinated he was as self-aware that his body functioned better on a plant-based diet with a regular regimen of exercise.

    Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were still drunk from an all night party with the Rolling Stones and Monty Python's Eric Idle when they filmed the Cloud City scene where Chewbacca brings in pieces of 3PO. Carrie Fisher was a guest at Eric Idle s home while filming. If you watch the scene you can kind of tell they are a bit off.

    Mark Hamill was almost killed while filming the bacta tank scene. Right before he went in the tank a giant mirror shattered and several large shards went straight down into the tank.

    Mark Hamill could not hear Frank Oz while filming the Yoda scenes. Hamill performed the scenes with nothing more than seeing the Yoda puppets mouth move. I think that is a pretty incredible task for an actor and Hamill really nailed those scenes when you think how difficult that must have been.

    David Prowse did not know Darth Vader was Luke's father until he saw the film at the premiere. The writers and crew tried to keep crucial plot pieces from him because he had inadvertently mentioned plot points in early interviews.

    Alec Guiness filmed all his Kenobi scenes in one day. He performed on an empty set and Mark Hamill read Luke's lines. Typically, on a small shoot like that, the director or a script supervisor would read for Guiness. Hamill had tremendous respect for the actor, so he did it as a courtesy. Guiness later mentioned later in correspondence with friends how much he appreciated Hamill doing that.

    Lucas changed the ending shots of the Rebel frigates after the film opened in 60mm (the IMAX of 1980) before the wide release. He added the shot of the X-Wings flying into the shot, followed by the medical frigate.

    Harrison Ford came up with the response "I know" after getting in a fight with Fisher and Kershner over how the scene should be delivered. Most of the crew burst out laughing, but it worked in a strange way.
     
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  6. JeffG.

    JeffG. Ewok Hunter
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    I also read ( I don't remember where ) that Harrison Ford didn't know either. During the scene at the premiere he turned to Mark and said, ' why the Blast didn't you tell me' ? I thought that was pretty funny.

    Edit: I see we have replacement words for naughty language. I'll leave it as is. :)
     
    #6 JeffG., Sep 14, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2016
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  7. Lord of the Rens

    Lord of the Rens Gatekeeper & Avatar Maker

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  8. Darth Vaper

    Darth Vaper Clone

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    Thread revival!

    I have been looking to buy myself a copy of this book but i have so far been unable to find a copy that is not double the price over RRP or second hand.

    I have The making of Star wars and The making of return of the jedi which i love tbh. Such well put together books and great insights into how the movies were made.
     
  9. TheWhiplash

    TheWhiplash Rebel Commander

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    "Hey kid, you didn't f*cking tell me that!" - Hamill brought it a few times for the last few weeks at Jimmy Kimmel`s and Graham Norton`s show being sorry to throw F-bomb just because of historical accuracy. I like the way he brings Ford`s manner of voice, especially for Bad Lip Reading" "Volcan my a... " XD :D
     
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  10. Kyle

    Kyle Guest

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    If you have a tablet (not an eReader), I highly recommend the eBook version of it. Here's the iPad version I got for $17.99, which is a pretty good price.

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/th...rikes-back-enhanced-edition/id669040771?mt=11

    Best of luck and I'll keep my eyes open. It's my favorite of the "Making of..." books so far. Rinzler did a great job of putting together the story of how TESB came to be.
     
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