Made for $750,000 with a small crew and a 28-day shooting schedule, it has become the 11th-largest grosser. Then came ‘American Graffiti,’ George’s paean to the Class of 62, cruising and rock & roll. Still, it has attained cultish status and has consistently done well through campus rentals over the past few years. His first feature film, ‘THX 1138,’ was technically brilliant but no crowd-pleaser.

Whatever you want to call it, it’s a quality that seems to affect the people who work for him and audiences alike.

He says that all of his films are characterized by “a sort of effervescent giddiness”. “A Wookiee, of course,” she replied, and continued walking without further explanation.Įven back then it was pretty easy to see that this young and gifted crew was fired up by George Lucas’ peculiar vision and exceptional imagination. “What’s that?” I asked a passing technician. Several shots featured a hairy creature with enormous teeth apparently at the controls of a spacecraft. Later, I was peering at some storyboards – sequential pen-and-ink illustrations – of a planned space battle scene.

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