Behind Closed Doors (2016–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Star Wars - full transcript

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-It's one of the most
successful franchises

in movie history.

-"Star Wars"
was just a phenomenon.

It didn't fit into the mold

of what people understood
a movie to be.

-An indelible part
of popular culture.

-It was like,
"This is my new religion."

When I went in to see
"Star Wars,"

I walked in a Catholic.
I was an altar boy.

I walked out, I was a Jedi.

-Since its inception
as George Lucas'



audacious space fantasy
with a cast of unknowns...

-I wish I could say,
"I walked in, and he said,

'There's Luke Skywalker.'"

-How'd you get this role?
-Mafia.

It's a a lot about the Mafia.

-..."Star Wars"
defied the odds.

-Nobody really had seen
anything like it.

-And at the box office...
-The film is breaking

attendance records
all over the country.

-...it would
become a behemoth.

-The initial run of "Star Wars"

could never have been
predicted ever, ever.

-Now the inside story
of its cast and crew.

-The lovable Han Solo that
you've all been waiting for.



-You never know how people
are going to react to a movie.

It's always a surprise.

-The biggest difficulty of all
was just time.

All of the things
that we did were inventions.

-From the series'
iconic moments...

-So spoiler alert, Darth Vader
is Luke's father.

-That secret was shared
with nobody.

-...and most
controversial characters...

-Nobody really wanted
a Jar Jar Binks.

-...its triumphant return...

-Suddenly everyone was like,
"'Star Wars' is back!"

Like, they did it!
They didn't eff it up.

Like, "They made it amazing."

-...and heartbreaking loss.
-Actress and writer

Carrie Fisher
has died at age 60.

-Leia was everything to me
as a kid,

so to hear about Carrie,
it was really devastating.

-Now, more than 40 years
after its initial release,

"Star Wars" continues to
captivate the people of Earth

with tales of a galaxy
far, far away.

-You know, you're like,
"Take all my money.

Take my kid's college money.
Take any money I've ever made.

I'm going to steal money
and give it to you

because this is glorious."

♪

♪

-This is "Star Wars:
Behind Closed Doors."

Hello, and welcome
to "Behind Closed Doors."

I'm Natalie Morales.

Initially dismissed
as a space fantasy

that was destined
for the ash-heap of history,

the "Star Wars" franchise

still sits atop the pantheon
of Hollywood heavyweights.

Now it's easy to think
of Mark Hamill,

Carrie Fisher,
and Harrison Ford

in their respective roles
in "Star Wars."

But in 1975, during casting
for the original film,

the trio were relative unknowns.

Hamill's biggest role to date
was on the soap opera

"General Hospital."

Carrie Fisher,
the teenage daughter

of Debbie Reynolds
and Eddie Fisher,

had only minor roles
in two previous movies,

and Harrison Ford, he was
working primarily as a carpenter

before getting his chance
as Han Solo.

♪

-It's a ragtag kind of group
in the best way.

It's a really interesting cast,
but almost everybody

was auditioning
for "Star Wars" in the mid-'70s.

For Han Solo, you had
Burt Reynolds and Nick Nolte

and Kurt Russell
and Christopher Walken,

Al Pacino all trying
for this role

or at least being considered
by Lucas.

For Leia, you have Jodie Foster
being considered,

who at that time was just
coming off of "Taxi Driver,"

and had done
some Disney films.

This could have been
a very different looking movie.

-Robert Englund, for example,

who now is famous as Freddy
in lot of horror movies,

tried out, and he was a friend
of Mark Hamill's,

and he's the one who told Mark
about the audition

that got Mark to go there.

-The roles wind up being played
by these three kids with,

you know,
almost zero experience

that become these iconic

Mount Rushmore names
in our lives.

-How'd you get this role?
-Mafia.

It's a lot about the Mafia,
this film.

-No, no, no. How did you really
get this role?

-Well, George was
seeing everybody

that could walk into the office,

so I could do that,
and I tested for it,

and they mailed the test
over to George

who was scouting locations
in London, and I got it.

-I wish I could say,
"I walked in, and he said,

'There's Luke Skywalker.'"

I walked in.
George was having

joint interviews
with Brian De Palma...

-I'll bet.
-...who was casting "Carrie."

[ Laughter ]

Every 5 minutes,

there was another person
waiting just to talk.

I got five pages after that
initial meeting in the mail.

They said, "Memorize it.
Show up.

You're going to test
with this guy,"

and believe me, I said --

It was never that George Lucas
ever said,

"Well, this is what
we're going to do.

This is kind of a..."
He said, "Let's just do it."

♪

-The beauty of that original
cast of "Star Wars,"

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher,
Mark Hamill,

is that none of them were movie
stars at the time, you know,

and they were all doing this
thing that sounded ridiculous,

must have, on the surface of it.
Like, "What's it going to be?"

"It's going to be
a giant space thing."

"How are we going to do
the space stuff?"

"We haven't figured it out yet.
We'll get there."

"And there's a robot
and a giant dog, and --

I mean, is this a kid's picture?
What's going on here?"

-Rounding out the cast is
Oscar-winning actor

Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi,

7-foot-4 hospital orderly
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca,

and Anthony Daniels
as the neurotic robot butler,

C-3PO.

-Anthony Daniels was perfect
for C-3PO

because he brought the prissy.

Every movement,
every tilt of the head,

everyone knows that person.

He was uncomfortable.

You could tell
he was uncomfortable.

-I was kind of dragged
screaming to see George Lucas.

You know, screaming, "I wouldn't
play a robot if they paid me."

They didn't, and I did, so...

I didn't want to play a robot
because I was playing a human

being on stage at the time,
and then I met George Lucas.

He was just terrific,
a really lovely person

and full of enthusiasm
and excitement,

and when I read the script,

I did think it was
one of the best parts in it.

-But what if they leave us
behind?

Oh, I simply hate space travel.

-It may have been
a ragtag group before,

but that would all change
in May of 1977.

-A cowboy movie set in space,
that's "Star Wars."

It's old-fashioned
escapist entertainment

pure and simple with no moral,
no message.

-Lucas has let his boyhood
dreams romp

beyond the fences of reality.

Two hours of fun and fantasy
that flash by.

-If you don't know what
a 100-year-old Wookiee is --

he or it is seen here
on the left --

chances are you're
going to find out.

-The initial reaction
to "Star Wars"

on May 25, 1977, was incredible.

Chinese Theatre was mobbed.

It was a phenomenon just
through word of mouth alone.

You know, 20th Century Fox
hadn't done

a whole ton of advertising.

They didn't think this was going
to be their big summer hit,

and they were proved wrong.

-"Star Wars" definitely
caught people by surprise.

Nobody had any
expectations for it.

Nobody really had seen
anything like it.

-I think it immediately
captured

the public consciousness,
the zeitgeist.

There were hordes of people.

Everyone was saying,
"You have to see this movie."

-I have not seen,
with the exception of "Rocky,"

in the last few years, the kind
of audience participation

and audience reaction

for and to a film
that we have for "Star Wars."

-It's great to sit in a theater
and see people really enjoy

something like that.
-Have you done it?

Have you been?
-Yeah.

-Any of you, have you gone
to see it at the theater...

-Oh, yeah.
-...just anonymously,

just go in as a patron?

-It's easy to be anonymous
at this point, really.

Nobody recognizes us
when we go into a theater,

which is a pleasure.

-Nobody recognizes you?

-Just one guy who had
seen it 12 times.

-The largely unknown cast
become overnight sensations.

-The names of Mark Hamill,
Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford

became as important
to this young Catholic altar boy

as Jesus, Mary, Joseph.

Like, these names
were huge in my life.

-John Dykstra supervised

the groundbreaking
special effects in the film.

-I remember going
and seeing it,

and I'd seen the movie
in various states

over the course of time,

but when we saw it
in the theater, you know,

when we had the cast
and crew screening

and we saw the thing complete
with all the music,

the sound, and everything
that went with it,

we were all stunned.

-I really believe that
the timing of the "Star Wars"

release was a huge factor
in why it became so iconic.

-Yes, it had amazing
sound design,

amazing music, great characters,

a clear
black-and-white story line.

Good guys, bad guys,
all that was great,

but it was even more important
that it came out

in that late '70s era.

♪

The Vietnam War
wasn't that long ago.

People were depressed and sad
and disillusioned

about our country,
about the world.

The films that were coming out
were gritty and depressing,

and people needed an escape.

-Audiences fall in love
with the characters

of Han, Chewie, and Luke,

and for little girls,
Princess Leia is a game changer.

-She was a political activist.

She saved herself
on the Death Star.

She's a badass.

She was a brilliant,
strong female character

that could banter back and forth
with a man and hold her own,

you know, in a time
where women needed to see that.

-Princess Leia was the original
self-rescuing princess,

and she immediately influenced
an entire generation of girls

because she wasn't
waiting around to be saved.

She was going to save
her own butt,

and little girls fell in love
with Princess Leia,

and everyone wanted to be her.

-Carrie, did you
like playing --

is this...
This your first...

-Princess.
-...lead...

your first princess,
your first lead part.

-Yes, it is.
-Did you like doing it?

-A lot.
We had a lot of fun during it.

-Isn't it different
from anything

you're likely ever to do again?

Because isn't most of
the background put in afterwards

or all these process shots
and animation?

What did you play against
very often, you three?

Were you in blank studios

where they put
the background in later?

-Blue screen.
-Yeah.

-Blue screen, mostly,
but the thing --

-You mean a big,
blank blue screen behind you?

-Yeah, it looked like
a big movie screen

that was tinted blue.

The thing is, it wasn't
any more difficult

to imagine gigantic spaceships

coming through than it is
to drive in a mock-up car

where you're being pulled
by a truck and there's a --

where you're supposed to road,
and there's a camera crew

and somebody doing the crossword
in "Variety,"

bored, you know, so it's all
just using your imagination.

♪

-And George Lucas brought
forward something

that had never been done before,
and so all of a sudden

there is a film coming out
that everybody can see

and wants to see over
and over and over again,

and there is something about
"Star Wars" that's so profound.

The way that George Lucas
tapped into these

really deep,
deep spiritual concepts,

yet it was more of a fairy tale
to me than sci-fi.

-The 10 most important words
of "Star Wars"

are "A long time ago
in a galaxy far, far away."

There is no other franchise

that uses anything
like those words to say,

"Don't worry about it.

We are now far
from your time and your place.

This is not going to reference
any Earth-based politics,

at least not directly,"
and you could just relax.

It's a safe space for everyone.

-Since its initial release,
"Star Wars'"

hold over the pop
culture landscape

has become as seemingly infinite
as the universe

in which it takes place.

-The "Star Wars" universe

is not quite as big
as our universe,

like, the real one,
but it's still pretty big.

-Since it was first released,
"Star Wars"

has had massive impact
on our popular culture.

-The films alone have made
more than $9 billion

at the worldwide box office.

The franchise as a whole,
upwards of $30 billion

of "Star Wars"-related
merchandise

has been sold over the years.

-I think "Star Wars" is with us
forever like,

you know, herpes or cancer,
but in a good way.

Like, you just can't
get rid of it.

It's always going to be there.

Nobody is going to find a cure
for "Star Wars"

and stuff, and that's fine.

It's a disease I love to have.

-Now considered one of the most
iconic movies of all time,

it's hard to imagine
that production on the original

"Star Wars"
was problematic from the start.

-Disaster hits on the set
on day 1.

♪

♪

-The saga of good versus evil
in a galaxy far, far away

is the brainchild
of George Lucas,

a hot-rod-and-comic-book-
obsessed kid

from Modesto, California.

After briefly attending
Modesto Junior College,

Lucas enrolls at the University
of Southern California.

-A friend of mine said that
there was a film school here,

and I was a still photographer
at the time,

and I said, "Well, that sounds
like it's interesting,"

but I didn't know anything
about movies when I came here.

I just figured it would be
an interesting adventure

and a way of getting a degree,

and so when I got here,
I sort of discovered movies.

And, you know, about
the second week I was here,

it just sort of --

my whole life
got consumed by film.

♪

-He quickly makes friends
with a group of

up-and-coming filmmakers,
including Francis Ford Coppola,

future "Grease" director,
Randal Kleiser,

and Howard Kazanjian,

who would one day go on
to produce "Return of the Jedi"

and oversee production
for Lucasfilm.

-George back then was even
an innovator.

He was a rebel.

He was shooting out of the box.

-It didn't take me very long
to realize

that I had
a real knack for it.

♪

-♪ Doo, wop, wop

-A decade later, Lucas is
a young director

hot off the success
of "American Graffiti."

The 1973 film based
on the car culture

that Lucas loved as a teen
growing up in Modesto

makes stars out of Ron Howard
and Richard Dreyfuss,

and features
newcomer Harrison Ford

in a small but memorable role
as Bob Falfa.

-Hey, you're supposed to be
the fastest thing

in the valley, man,
but that can't be your car.

That must be your mama's car.

♪

-The success of
"American Graffiti"

turns the unknown Lucas into
a major Hollywood commodity.

-It was a fairly cheap movie
to make,

and it was a huge success,

and George became
the golden boy of the period

because he had made this
enormously successful movie.

It gave him a lot of credence
in Hollywood.

-George Lucas,

after the success
of "American Graffiti,"

was offered a number
of high-profile films to direct.

-Flash.
-What is it, Zarkov?

-I have sighted a spaceship.

It's one of Ming's ships
from Mongo.

-He wanted to actually remake
"Flash Gordon,"

but he couldn't get the rights.

So what did he do?

He sat down and he wrote his own
"Flash Gordon,"

which really turned out to be
"Star Wars."

-When George set out
to make the movie,

at least in conversations
that he had with me,

he talked about making a film

that was pure entertainment
like the two-reelers

that you used
to have in theaters,

and they all had fairly
well-defined personality traits.

You know, the good guys
were good guys,

and the bad guys were bad guys,

and he made a longer version
of something that's that simple.

♪

-But in Hollywood
in the early 1970s,

the studios are wary
of financing films

considered part
of an unpopular genre.

-I think another thing that's
easy to forget about "Star Wars"

is just how much it changed
our perception

of science fiction and fantasy
on the movie screen.

Prior to "Star Wars,"
I think science fiction

was very, very dry,

and there was a lot
of sci-fi out there

that didn't look terribly good.

-The kinds of films that were
that kind of a story,

that kind of a narrative
and set in space,

they tended to be underproduced,

meaning the spaceships
were a little cheesy,

and the characters
were a little over the top,

a little bit too big
if you want to call it that.

-He walks into the studios
with this idea --

an outlandish idea of
a space fantasy, a fairy tale,

and this is at a time
when other films were in vogue,

and he had a script

that he knew
what he wanted to make of it,

but I don't think it was
all available on the page.

The vernacular wasn't there.

The special effects he was
talking about, you could read,

but you didn't believe

that he was going
to be able to pull it off.

-Turned down by Universal
and Disney,

Lucas finds a sympathetic ear
in 20th Century Fox

president Alan Ladd Jr.

-I think it's just
good and evil.

The simplicity of
the whole story

is what really makes it work.

-Lucas met him and wisely
pitched it

to him in terms
of classic Hollywood movies.

So it was like, "Okay.
This is like 'Captain Blood.'

This is a pirate-like movie.

It's got influences from
"The Three Musketeers,"

you know, it's..."

He didn't mention the science
fiction or space once,

which was very wise,

because Laddie wouldn't
have understood that.

He really just sort of believed
in Lucas as a filmmaker,

and "Star Wars"
kind of accidentally

found its way to the screen.

♪

-Principal photography begins
in the Tunisian desert

in March of 1976.

From the start, the production
runs into challenges.

♪

-They filmed the Tatooine
scenes first,

and a vast storm
destroys the film set.

Destroys half of the droids
that they're trying to use

in these Tatooine scenes,
and they have to scramble back.

Everything goes wrong.

You know, Anthony Daniels,
playing C-3PO,

he can hardly stand up
in his costume.

R2-D2 doesn't really work,

and he still hasn't
figured out the script.

At this stage,
he doesn't even know whether

Obi-Wan is going to live or die.

He doesn't know what Luke's
last name is going to be.

It was either Starkiller
or Skywalker.

-There were two challenges
in making "Star Wars."

One was all of 20th Century Fox
was not behind the movie.

It was a lot of concern

whether or not the movie
could possibly make money.

Even though it was
a only moderate budget level

for the time,

there was still concern
about it,

so it didn't have
the full support.

The other challenges were they
were doing things

that had never been done before.

-20th Century Fox's
visual effects department

was gutted or virtually nil

by the time they decided
to pick up "Star Wars,"

and around 1975, when Lucas
wanted to make "Star Wars,"

and it was off and running,

they didn't have the facilities
for what he needed,

so he created
Industrial Light & Magic

with a man named John Dykstra,
a special effects coordinator,

and together, that team
really kind of revolutionized

what special effects were
going to be in the mid-'70s.

-Some of the first motion
control, incredible model work,

it was these -- meshed together
of different techniques

that had never been done before

and an unprecedented volume
of visual effects

to finish
in a short period of time.

-One of the things we had
to figure out

is how we were going to do
all of this photography

that we'd speculated
was necessary for the movie,

and we all got together
in this warehouse in Van Nuys

and started from scratch
to create the components

necessary to tell
that part of the story.

And that included building
the cameras,

building the miniatures
of the spaceships,

and then photographing them.

♪

-While the ILM team works
on the film's

special effects in California,

Lucas is busy shooting
the rest of the film in London.

-Even in London when
he was shooting it,

the crew thought
George was crazy.

They didn't understand
what he was doing.

Picture Chewbacca and Han Solo
in the Millennium Falcon cockpit

and Harrison Ford character
turns to Chewie

and says something,
and Chewie grunts.

What do you think the English
crew thought of George Lucas

and what was going on?

Well, they didn't think
very highly of him.

-They didn't take him as
seriously as he took this story,

and I think that was
a really big deal

because when you have something
that you really believe in,

and no one else does,

it takes a really strong will
to continue to get this made.

-Even the casting for evil
Empire's strong man

Darth Vader
brings its own complications.

Vader is portrayed on screen

by English bodybuilder
David Prowse.

Prowse, at 6'6",
is an imposing figure,

but many on set don't think his
voice sounds intimidating enough

to be used in the final edit.

-David wanted it to be used.

Pretty much everyone at the time
knew it wasn't going to be.

I'm told by people who worked
on the film that they called him

Darth Farmer
because of his rural accent.

If you see any of the
undubbed footage,

it doesn't seem quite right.

-You are part of the Rebel
Alliance and a traitor.

Take her away.

-Everything about it was
visually fascinating,

and I guess it might have --

Like, you know,
if you heard him be like,

[ British accent ]
"All right now, Princess Leia,"

you might be like,
"Oh, all right.

Well, all right. That's what
Darth Vader sounds like,"

and I'm sure we wouldn't
have known any different.

We would have been fine,

but 50 percent of Darth Vader
is the voice.

♪

-Accomplished stage actor
James Earl Jones is chosen

to overdub Prowse's lines.

-James Earl Jones comes
into the mix pretty late.

It was Fred Roos,
the casting director,

who kept pushing for Jones.

George Lucas was a little
concerned about the idea

of only putting one
black man in the film

and having him be the villain,
and Fred Roos says, "No, look.

I understand
the racial politics,

but don't worry about it.

He's just the best baritone
in the business."

-James Earl Jones has
a very commanding,

deep,
authoritative voice,

and it worked well
for Darth Vader.

-The guy Darth Vader
that you see on the screen...

-The body.

-...the body is David Prowse.
-Right.

-The voice is mine.

I think somebody else
did the breathing.

-Right.
-Lucas, I guess.

I don't know
who did the breathing.

-The man actually responsible

for Vader's iconic breathing,
sound designer Ben Burtt.

-For Darth Vader's mask,
they had a microphone

inside of a scuba suit.

[ Filtered breathing ]

And so they were able to --
inside the scuba mask,

they were able to get
that sound.

♪

-The sound in the movie,

every piece
of sound engineering,

whether it be the way
the lightsaber sounds...

[ Lightsaber whooshing ]

...or the sound of the
Millennium Falcon's engine...

[ Engine rumbling ]

...the soundscape for the film

was really unlike anything
we'd ever seen before.

-That "pew! pew! pew!" --
That's stuck in my head.

I will always hear that
if somebody pulls out

something
that looks like a laser gun.

I will always hear the "whomp"
with lightsabers.

-In the audio department,
you need a good score.

You need, like, music
to accompany this adventure

nobody's ever seen before,
so you can't do needle drop,

just play a bunch of songs
from the radio.

Instead you had to have a score
nobody ever heard before,

and who do you turn to but
the guy who had redefined

cinematic scoring only one year
prior by the time --

or maybe two by the time they
were in production --

John Williams.

This is the guy who sat
at a piano and was like...

[ Imitating "Jaws" theme ]

...and made a shark
out of two notes.

-The orchestra accompanies
almost all of the film.

It's rather like a cartoon
in that you may not

be aware of it all the time,

but music is accompanying
most of the gestures

and most of the action
all the time.

♪

-John Williams' score is hugely
important to "Star Wars."

Many fans call it the oxygen
of "Star Wars,"

but it powers the film
along at every stage,

and I really don't think
"Star Wars"

would be half the movie
it is without John Williams.

♪

-Lucas initially hires
British editor John Jympson

to cut the film,
but is unhappy with his work

and replaces him
with three new editors --

Richard Chew, Paul Hirsch,
and Marcia Lucas,

George's wife, who he met
while attending film school.

-Marcia had a big influence
on the movie

because she was
George's touchstone.

When she came and looked
at material

at the visual effects facility,
she had comments on it,

and George would consider
those very seriously

in terms of what it meant.

-She was very influential when
George was writing the scripts

because she'd read
the script and say,

"George, this is [bleep].

Go back and do it again."

She never told him what to do,
but she would say,

"This particular scene
isn't working,"

or "Why are you doing that?"

-Well, George and I
went over the film

frame by frame for months,

and during that time,
there were many reshoots

and things that we added.

The biggest and most surprising
change for me

was at the very end when we had
just about locked the picture,

George said, "I want to make
one more change,"

and I said, "What's that?"

And he said,
"I want to have Vader get away."

And I said, "Really?"

And he said, "Yeah,
I think it's important."

I said, "Well, won't that
sort of smack of sequelitis?"

And he said,
"Yeah, but I don't care."

So what they had filmed with
a camera on a circular track

that enabled the camera
to go completely upside down,

and the camera was spinning
so on film it would look

as if Vader was spinning,
and that was for

when he gets struck by a shot
from the Millennium Falcon,

and he goes rocketing off
into space.

[ Ships whirring ]

♪

And that was the thread on which
the sequel hung,

and it was a brilliant
suggestion,

and George knew better than
anyone how important that was.

♪

-"Star Wars"
is initially slated

to premiere
in December of 1976,

but because
of production delays,

the release date is pushed back
to May of 1977.

Neither the studio heads
nor Lucas

have high hopes for the film.

-On one of our discussions
on Saturday mornings,

George said to me,

"This picture is essentially
a Disney movie. It's for kids.

Since it's a Disney movie,
it'll probably make $16 million.

They all make $16 million,"
and that was what he expected.

He was wrong about that.

♪

♪

-On May 25, 1977,
more than 4 years

after he started writing
the first draft,

George Lucas' space epic,
"Star Wars,"

is released in theaters.

Its initial run
is on 32 screens.

-I don't really know how many
people outside of

George himself
really believed in it.

I think 20th Century Fox
kind of tolerated it,

but I think all of the people,
both at Fox and other studios,

expected it, if not to flop,

to just kind of,
like, come and go.

-Nobody had any idea

what this movie was
or what it would become.

They were behind
in their production.

It was riddled with issues
in regards to money.

The actors thought they were
just making

some weird space movie.

They had no idea
what was going to happen.

-I think probably
about 3 or 4 p.m.

on May 25th, people began to
realize that they had

something completely different
on their hands.

-I've seen "Star Wars"
26 times.

-Demand for "Star Wars"
is so high

that many theatergoers
wait in line

around the block
for hours to see it.

As a result, the film
is dubbed a blockbuster.

-It just kept growing.

They just kept having to add
more theaters.

They just kept having to,
you know, swallow more screens,

build to new theaters
because the demand was so high.

-So I was primed already
to see the flick,

and for a month, I had to --
Like, you couldn't escape it.

It was on the news.

-This is what just
about everybody

in the country
is in the mood for.

-They would always do news
reports of, like,

"This line is outside
of a movie theater

for a motion pictures called
'Star Wars,'"

you know, at a time
when nobody knew --

those two words roll off
your tongue now that --

Even children popping out
the womb are like, "Star Wars,"

but this was at a time
where they were still informing

the public of what this thing
was, and you'd see --

You could still see
that vintage footage of lines

around the block.

-"Star Wars" was in theaters
for over a year.

There were something like 50,

70 theaters
around the United States

where it played continuously
7 days a week for over a year.

We even issued special birthday
posters that said,

"Star Wars: One year old today,"
and that was just unheard of.

-You've got to remember, like,
"Star Wars" helped reinvent

how movies were reported on,
like the idea of box office.

They didn't really talk about
that, like, when "Citizen Kane"

or "Gone With the Wind"
were in theaters.

They weren't like, you know,
"Oh, the grosses are..."

Like, that was always a movie
biz type of thing in "Variety,"

but "Star Wars"

moved those figures
into the morning news report,

into the nightly news
because it was human interest

because people were
sitting around going,

"What? That movie in space
made how much money?"

-"Star Wars" has been a huge
success for 20th Century Fox,

$270 million at box offices

in just the United States
and Canada.

♪

-By the end of its
theatrical run,

"Star Wars"
has moved post "Jaws"

to become the highest-grossing
film of all time.

-I think the difference
between a film like "Star Wars"

and a film like "Jaws,"

and "Jaws" was absolutely
massive, and massive

in a way that nothing
had been before,

is that children were fascinated
with "Star Wars"

in a way that they weren't
quite with "Jaws."

I mean, it was a little scary,
"Jaws" was, whereas

this was, again, there's a dude
who has a walking dog

as his best friend, you know?

This is a movie
that is built for kids.

-"Star Wars"
was just a phenomenon.

It didn't fit into the mold

of what people understood
a movie to be.

The potential that it fulfilled
wasn't even imagined

before it came out.

The sheer numbers of people,

the sheer numbers of fans,
the sheer numbers of toys.

♪

-Modern-day film merchandising,

today a multi-billion dollar
industry,

takes off with "Star Wars."

-There are about 400,000 pieces
in here

in a 10,000-square-foot museum.

We also have an off-site
storage facility

that houses more stuff
than I want to think about.

-Steve Sansweet has the world's
largest collection

of "Star Wars"
memorabilia housed

in an enormous facility
dubbed Rancho Obi-Wan.

-"Star Wars" was really
the very first

successfully licensed
merchandised movie,

but unlike today
when toys are out 6 weeks

to a couple of months
before a movie comes out,

there were no toys
in advance of movies.

They had to be made
after a movie came out to see

whether they were successful,
and so people said,

"Eh, science fiction movie.
We're not going to do anything."

♪

-The demand for "Star Wars"
takes everyone by such surprise

that kids expecting "Star Wars"
toys for Christmas in 1977

are instead sent an early bird
certificate, an IOU in the mail.

-Basically an empty
cardboard box --

Well, it wasn't quite empty.

It had a cardboard stage
and some things to send away,

and you would be among the first

to get your first
four action figures

by sending the slip
of paper away,

and you'd get them beginning
in February of 1978.

♪

-Hoping to capitalize
on the success

of the "Star Wars" craze,
movie studios

churn out a slew of new science
fiction TV shows and movies.

-Hollywood has always been
predicated on, "What worked?

Do that again
until everyone hates it."

With "Star Wars,"
they were like,

"Well, there you go.
All 'Star Wars' did

was take our old movies
and cliff-hangers and serials

and reinvent them
for a generation,

so we'll just steal
'Star Wars' back and make,

you know, hey,
Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon

because those were
the characters that inspired

'Star Wars.'
Now we'll just make those,"

and the snake eats the tail

pretty damn
quickly in this town.

-The release of "Star Wars"

started a stampede of people
towards the sci-fi movie.

Its success was phenomenal,

and both TV and motion picture
writers and producers were all,

you know,
jumping on the bandwagon.

-Well, everybody wanted
to have the next "Star Wars."

That summer's James Bond movie,

"The Spy Who Loved Me"
in 1977 announces

that the next "James Bond" movie
would be "For Your Eyes Only."

It's not.
The next James Bond movie

in 1979 is "Moonraker,"

which is set in space
and which was meant

to capitalize on "Star Wars."

The "Star Trek" franchise
is reinvigorated.

♪

-Even "Star Wars" tries to make
the most of its own success.

Its now infamous holiday special
is released in November of 1978.

-So we were starving people,

you know,
on an island of no food.

We were thirsty in the desert.

We would take anything
that they gave us,

and then they gave us the
"Star Wars" Christmas special,

and then you found out
just how thirsty you were.

Princess Leia sang a song.

You know, they spent a little
too much time

with Chewie's family.

-[ Growling,
speaking Wookiee language ]

[ Growling continues ]

-You always thought as a kid,
like, "I want more Chewie,"

and then they showed you this
and you're like, "You know what?

I want less Chewie, way less."

-It was not that
well received,

one might imagine, given that
it's all about the celebration

of something called Life Day
which had never been

and was never again introduced
in the "Star Wars" universe.

It is a thing better remembered
than actually was,

and it's not even
remembered that well.

-George Lucas once told me that
in the days of videocassettes,

if he could go around the world
and smash every bootleg

videocassette of this show,
he would.

He was not very happy with it.

-Despite the less-than-stellar
reception

for the holiday special,
"Star Wars"

is a phenomenon showing
no signs of slowing down.

George Lucas, who had
so much trouble

getting the first film made,

ramps up production
on a sequel.

-Sequels are often looked at
as maybe just a cash grab,

a way to capitalize on
a previous film's success.

People will think,
"Oh, the sequel's not as good

as the original" --
That's the classic line.

Wasn't the case
with "The Empire Strikes Back."

♪

-Welcome back to "Star Wars:
Behind Closed Doors."

After the success of
the original "Star Wars" movie,

since retitled "Star Wars:
A New Hope,"

production was slated to begin
on a follow-up film.

However, there were two factors

that made putting a sequel
together more challenging.

Mark Hamill, who starred
as Luke Skywalker,

had been in a car accident

that had left him
with facial scarring,

and leading lady Carrie Fisher
had developed a problem

with drugs and alcohol.

At the time,
sequels in Hollywood

were also considered
a risky proposition.

How this new film, titled
"The Empire Strikes Back,"

would fare was anyone's guess.

-Before "Star Wars,"
movie sequels

were often just seen
as a thing you did

to get a fraction
of the previous audience.

It always expected
diminishing returns.

But "Star Wars" said,

"No. We're going to spend
more money on these than less.

We're going to invest
more in these, not less.

We're going to
make it bigger.

And we're going to connect
these stories,"

in a way that had never
really been done before.

-I can remember 3 years ago
with "Star Wars,"

when we were anticipating more
and more films to come,

of not a sequel
but a prequel or --

-It gets real confusing...
-...or some strangeness in --

-...after a while, doesn't it?

But basically this is
the second of three films

that tell one story,
and they were originally called

"The Adventures
of Luke Skywalker,"

and it just was too big
to get on the marquee.

-For "The Empire Strikes Back,"

Lucas hands
over directing duties

to veteran filmmaker
Irvin Kershner

and the script
to Lawrence Kasdan.

-George Lucas' direction
of "A New Hope"

was largely scraped together.

He was under the gun.

Irvin Kershner had the luxury
of knowing

he was stepping into a hit.

He knew what worked.
He knew what didn't.

He knew he could then
explore characters more.

-When we last saw Luke and Han,
what were they up to,

and now where do
we find them again?

-It was the conclusion
of one of the --

one of a significant battle
of the Rebels.

-And it ended in triumph.
-And it ended in triumph,

and we begin the second one

with yet another conflict
with the Empire,

but the story is really not
so much about those conflicts

in the second one
as it is about the characters.

-Is it a secret

which of the two of you
wins the love of Princess Leia?

-I think it's best to keep
as many surprises as possible.

It's like your sister
telling you

what you're getting
for Christmas.

You have to fake that surprise.

"Oh, boy! A new bike."

♪

-On May 21st, 1980, "The Empire
Strikes Back" lands in theaters.

It is an immediate hit.

-I think "Empire Strikes Back"
shifted everyone's views

of what sequels could be
because it continued a story

that everyone knew from heart,
because when "Star Wars"

came out, people
didn't just see it once.

They saw it 10 times, 20 times.

So when "Empire" came out,

everyone was so anxious
and excited

to see
what this was going to be.

-In the first few minutes
of the film,

Mark Hamill's injuries
from his car accident

are explained away
in a memorable subplot.

-He had been disfigured,
and his face did look different.

That is why in
"Empire Strikes Back"

it opens up with Mark
in the ice cavern being hit

by the wampa across the face.

-[ Roaring ]

-Tell you a secret,
sometimes we have movie stars

on this show
who in private

will admit they didn't
like the movie too much.

These guys watched that with --
You like this movie, don't you?

-Oh, I love it.
I love it.

-You said, what,
"Those cuts were so good"?

-Well, I mean the way the film
is put together, I really enjoy.

-Is this as good as the first?
-I'm mostly excited

because you see a real growth
in the characters.

I chose to play Luke
in the first one in a specific,

very innocent, very young style
so there would be a contrast,

and I really feel that
my character is paying off now.

-I think "Empire Strikes Back"
is able to find emotions

and gravitas
and a sense of depth

and epic quality
that the first film didn't have.

-"Empire Strikes Back" did
something that was unexpected.

It didn't stick with
all the same themes.

It wasn't a retread
of what had come before,

and it has an unconventionally
dark ending and a cliff-hanger,

and all of those things
were risks.

-If you're
a Billy Dee Williams fan,

you probably were a bit startled
about his latest movie role.

He's now Lando Carzillian --

Carzrillian -- Calz --

And he's a devilish
sort of fellow

in "The Empire Strikes Back,"
the new "Star Wars" movie.

Oh, I saw the movie last night.

-Right, Calrissian.
-Calrissian.

-Calrissian.
It's an Armenian name.

-It sounds like a kind of
a car salesman.

I've never --
And you really are like that.

You're so evil
and fabulous in the --

-Oh, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

He's not evil, no.
-No?

-Everybody says --
He's not evil.

He's just a guy
caught in a situation.

I mean, there's Darth Vader.

There's his best friend,
and there's his situation.

-In addition to more complex
characters and a strong story,

"The Empire Strikes Back"
also shocks audiences

with one of the biggest
movie moments ever.

-He told me you killed him.

-No, I am your father.

♪

-So spoiler alert, Darth Vader
is Luke's father.

I still feel like I have to say
that after all these years.

It's one of the great reveals
of cinematic history.

That whole theme of family,

and that whole theme
of fighting the darkness,

and to find out
that those two things are

so connected and interrelated

I think was just a huge mind
explosion for everyone.

-And George had to actually
test this with psychologists,

and say,
"What is the effect on children

going to be to reveal
that Darth Vader

is Luke Skywalker's father?"

And he wanted to make sure
he wasn't going to

damage kids forever, because
this is a traumatic, surprising,

almost twisted turn
that the film takes.

-Nobody saw it coming,
and it changed cinema history.

Like the original
twist ending, man,

probably can be attributed
to George Lucas,

at least the M. Night
Shyamalan-like twist ending.

I'm sure twist endings
had existed in movies

prior to George Lucas,
but he defined it.

Like, and so much so that
in any language in the world,

if you say, "I am your father,"
people are like...

Ah! [ Laughs ]

-The reveal is so closely
guarded during production

that even Paul Hirsch,
the film's editor,

isn't let in on the secret.

-"Empire Strikes Back"
was scheduled

to shoot
over the course of 16 weeks.

Actual production ran 29 weeks,

and all that time,
no one knew the secret

of Darth Vader
being Luke's father.

That secret was shared
with nobody.

I think obviously Larry Kasdan
and George

and probably Marcia knew,
but I didn't know,

and we only discovered it
in postproduction

when the line was recorded
and laid in.

-"The Empire Strikes Back"
ends its theatrical run

as the third-highest-grossing
movie

of all time, behind the first
"Star Wars" and "Jaws."

-Looking back on
the experience,

I felt like a flying saucer

had landed on the road
in front of me,

and the hatch popped open
and George stuck his head out,

and he said, "Hey.
You want to go for a ride?"

I said, "Sure,"
and I got on board

and I had the ride of my life,

and then eventually
the flying saucer landed again,

and he dropped me off,
and he said, "So long,"

and he took off,
and that was my experience

working on
the "Star Wars" movies.

-In 1982, production starts

on the third film
in the series,

the title apparently
still a work in progress.

-You have completed
principal photography.

Am I correct?
-Yeah, "Revenge of the Jedi."

-"Revenge of the Jedi," yes.
-Completed that.

-This is the Han Solo character
again, back to...

-Yes, the lovable Han Solo that
you've all been waiting for.

[ Laughs ]

-Since by nature Jedis
don't seek revenge,

the film's title is changed
to "Return of the Jedi,"

with Mark Hamill
and Carrie Fisher

reprising their roles
as Luke and Leia.

But for Fisher,
her long-time partying

catches up with her
during production.

-Can you give me the range
of drugs you took?

-Oh, no.

-Did you just take
prescriptives,

or did you take cocaine, or --
-Everything.

Everything.
-What does everything mean?

-I took -- Prescription drugs
were my preference.

I took hallucinogenics.
I took, you know, cocaine.

I took pretty much the gamut.

-I think the overnight success
for Carrie Fisher

probably had something to do
with what happened to her

in terms of drugs and alcohol.

I can't even imagine
what that must be like

to be that young
and that recognizable.

To know that no matter where
you go, you can never hide.

-When we started shooting,
she just wasn't looking great.

Her performances lacked.

Fortunately, Marcia Lucas
was in London at the time.

She and Carrie sat down,
and Marcia tore into her,

telling her that
she's screwing up the show,

and she looks terrible,

and she's going to look bad
on the screen,

and her performances are weak.

Whatever she said to Carrie,
Carrie snapped out of it.

-Fisher also lobbies for more
to do with her character,

but famously ends up
as Jabba the Hutt's slave

in a metal bikini.

-The metal bikini is
so significant

to the "Star Wars" world.

It's almost a joke
at this point,

and I think it really
harkens back

to a very different time
in science fiction

that maybe we're trying
to get away from

a little bit at this point,
but it's still kind of iconic.

-The metal bikini Carrie Fisher
wore in "Return of the Jedi,"

there are a few sides

to the way people think
about the metal bikini.

I don't want to say
it's controversial,

but obviously Jabba
put her in it to diminish her.

There was a chain attached to it
for goodness sake,

and it sexualized her.

But at the same time, that's
the outfit she was wearing

when she killed Jabba the Hutt
and when she took control,

used her chains of oppression
to strangle a slug,

a giant, gross slug, so it has
that empowering moment.

-While not as groundbreaking
as the original "Star Wars"

or as dark as
"The Empire Strikes Back,"

"Return of the Jedi"
is perhaps best remembered

for its introduction
of a group of furry warriors

to the "Star Wars" universe
known as the Ewoks.

-I think people hate the Ewoks
because they feel

like it softened up "Star Wars."

You know, like you had
this building kind of,

for lack of a better word,
earnestness, seriousness.

There was a war
in the stars, man.

Like, this is the Rebels
versus the Empire,

and these Imperials,

like, they dress
like modern day Nazis.

Like, this is important,

and then in third movie,
they're like,

"The little bears
are going to help.

It's a teddy bear
picnic, everybody,

and they're going to help
beat the bad guys,"

you know, and some cats
went along with that.

The kids in the audience,
they were like, "Yay!"

But then those of us who were,
like, had hit puberty,

were like,
"Oh, man. Bears?"

♪

-This was George Lucas' idea

to have a non-technological
species

overcome the Empire,

which was
strictly technological,

and the Ewoks managed to do it
with logs and rocks.

-The problem is, is that
they're kind of silly,

and there's kind of no way
for them to be,

like, kind of dashing
and rogue-ish and heroic

when you can kind of see
the little rubber toes

on their feet when they run.

-I think "Return of the Jedi"
is a bold film.

I think it gets
unfairly maligned.

I think in hindsight people
think the Ewoks are kiddie fare,

but I think what George
was doing with that

in creating a villain worse
than Darth Vader

in the form of the Emperor
and doing it believably,

and also taking
the greatest villain

in cinematic history
and humanizing him --

those are things
he didn't have to do.

He could have done something
much simpler

and made his investment back,

but George committed to fresh,
bold storytelling,

and he put it all
on the line with that.

-I think "Jedi" fulfills
what the first two set up.

I mean, this is one of the most
elaborate setups

in movie history

because "Jedi"
is the big finish,

and just everything
is crammed into 2 hours.

-The Ewoks aside,
"Return of the Jedi"

is another massive success...

-It was better
than the other two.

-I liked it. Yeah, it was good.
-It was great.

-Answered all the
hidden questions.

-...and for the time,
a fitting end

to the "Star Wars" trilogy.

-George Lucas went from being
very bullish, I think,

in the early '80s, and saying,
"I was going to make 12 films,"

and then downgraded it to nine
and then rounded it out

after 'Return of the Jedi'
with three,

because he had spent
so much of his time and life

invested in "Star Wars"

that maybe there was
nothing left to pull from.

-For Lucas, the end of the saga
also coincides

with the end of an era
in his personal life.

-In 1983,
when "Return of the Jedi"

was released,

it was just months before
when George announced

that he was getting a divorce
from Marcia.

Marcia was leaving him,
not George leaving Marcia,

and George was heartbroken.

You didn't see it unless
you were very close to him.

I knew something was wrong
prior to the announcement,

but I couldn't put two
and two together.

-When I heard that George
and Marcia

were getting divorced,
it was crushing news.

I really felt terrible.

They were a lovely couple.

They were very hospitable to me
and generous to me and my wife,

and they couldn't
have been kinder.

I wish they could have
worked it out.

-I never thought in 100 years

that George and Marcia
would break up,

but it affected him,
and he also said at that time,

"There won't be
another Star Wars

or another film from me
for at least 10 years."

-After this film, George wants
to take a break.

I don't know that George wants
to do nine "Star Wars" films.

-The fans knew it.

The fans knew that
"Return of the Jedi"

was possibly
the end of "Star Wars."

♪

♪

-After the release of
"Return of the Jedi,"

George Lucas is at a crossroads
in his life personally

and professionally.

His 14-year marriage to wife
Marcia ends in divorce,

and after more than a decade
of devoting his creative force

entirely to "Star Wars,"

Lucas decides it's time
to hang up his lightsaber

to focus on other projects.

♪

-George Lucas' relationship
with "Star Wars"

kind of ebbs
and flows over the years,

and by the time he had finished
that first cycle

with "Return of the Jedi,"

I think he was
just exhausted by it,

he was just hoping
that there would be

other things in his life
he'd get to do.

-However, Lucas isn't
entirely done

with "Star Wars,"
at least not yet.

The year after
"Return of the Jedi,"

the first of two
made-for-TV movies

chronicling the adventures
of the Ewoks is released,

the story written by Lucas.

A follow-up comes out
a year later,

but for fans craving more
"Star Wars,"

these films do little to satisfy
their collective appetite.

-The period of time after
"Return of the Jedi"

was sort of a sad time
for "Star Wars" fans.

We still had
some action figures.

We had the two Ewok films,

but there wasn't a promise
of a lot more.

We knew we could tell stories on
our own with our action figures

or in video games,

but there was really no hope
for new feature films.

-Lucas obviously produces a lot
of major movies in the '80s,

and he works with a lot
of his filmmaker friends,

and Lucas remains a major force
in filmmaking.

He produces
the "Indiana Jones" films,

and he produces
a lot of fantasy films.

He's still there.
He's just tired of "Star Wars,"

but "Star Wars" never goes away.

"Star Wars" is always ready
to be watched again.

-As VCRs explode in popularity,

the trilogy proves to be just
as successful at video stores

as it was at the box office.

-Prior to home video, you'd see
a movie in a movie theater,

and then years later you
would see a cut-up version of it

on the "ABC Sunday Night Movie"
or something like that.

We had no cable TV.

There was obviously no streaming
or anything,

so when the video store
comes along and says,

"Hey, now you can watch
'Star Wars' anytime you want,"

naturally a movie
that has repeat playability,

that was going to go through
the roof, man,

and it created
and cemented a fandom.

-I was working in a video store
in the mid-'80s,

and I can tell you
that those three movies,

when they were on VHS,
they were always out.

There was not a family
that didn't rent them.

-While the trilogy is
a mega-hit on video,

the absence of new movies leaves
a Star Destroyer-sized hole

at the box office,

but in 1987, theatergoers hoping
for more "Star Wars"

are finally treated
to a replacement --

sort of.

-"Spaceballs," the movie.

-"Spaceballs,"

a parody film directed
and produced by Mel Brooks,

is released in June,

featuring slightly
odd-looking versions

of their "Star Wars"
counterparts.

-"Spaceballs"
is an absolute classic.

I think for a few years

I watched it just as much
as the "Star Wars" films.

It also made fun of "Alien"
and other great hits,

but at its core
it was making fun of "Star Wars"

and the merchandising
of "Star Wars."

-Merchandising!
Merchandising!

Where the real money
from the movie is made.

-"Spaceballs" is the right
movie at the right time.

It is a great, big space satire,

and it is a big,
funny summer movie.

-"Spaceballs" is
a commercial success,

but as iconic as its characters
become in their own right,

Dark Helmet just isn't
a replacement for Darth Vader.

-You could feel as a kid
that "Star Wars"

was on the down.

It was a true dark time.

It felt like there was
nothing left.

-I remember going into school
in high school

and seeing a friend
with Timothy Zahn's

"Heir to the Empire,"
and I grabbed it.

I said, "What the hell
are you reading?"

I had to --
I couldn't believe it.

It was this hardcover book.

-And, you know, you start
to see new lines of toys

come out by the mid-'90s,

and there's this sense
of a groundswell

of "Star Wars" fandom
building up again.

You know, all these people
who were kids in the '70s

and '80s,
they're ready for more.

♪

-In 1994, Kevin Smith releases
his first film, "Clerks,"

which features
this very notable,

specific "Star Wars" reference.

-The first Death Star was manned
by the Imperial Army.

The only people on board
were Stormtroopers,

dignitaries, Imperials.

-Basically.
-Like, I was talking about

"Star Wars"
at a time when "Star Wars"

had gone a little bit quiet

and people thought
they were done,

and so it was, for me, like,

"Let's keep
the conversation alive

because I love
these movies and stuff,

and I can go deep cuts reference
on this stuff."

So, you know, when I put it into
"Clerks," it was like,

"I wonder how many people
are going to get this joke?"

-My friend here is trying
to convince me

that any independent contractors

who were working on
the uncompleted Death Star

were innocent victims when it
was destroyed by the Rebels.

-Comedy comes
from the relatable

and shared experience,

and "Star Wars"
is such a shared experience.

-"Clerks" showcased my ability
to have a conversation

about something
that I loved growing up,

and my desire to see
other people talk about it.

Like, "Come on. Let's all
talk about 'Star Wars' again."

What I discovered was, like,
"Star Wars" had never gone away.

It just wasn't that active
at that point.

-Not active yet,
but a year earlier,

more than a decade after
"Return of the Jedi,"

George Lucas does return
from his self-imposed

"Star Wars" exile
to make an announcement

many fans had hoped for
but thought they'd never hear.

-Then all of a sudden,
the old man announces, like,

"We're doing the prequels.
Remember those nine movies

I promised?
I'm doing the first three."

And our minds shattered.

We were like, "What? What?!

You're going to tell the story
of how we got to

Han, Luke, and Leia,
little Darth Vader?

Oh, my God,"
and we were beyond excited, man.

♪

-In anticipation
of the new movies,

Lucas releases special editions
of the original "Star Wars"

trilogy in movie theaters
and on VHS in 1997.

-It opened today,
and by 9 this morning,

moviegoers here in New York

were already lined up
around the block.

So just what's so special
about this special edition?

-We replaced 375 shots
just in "Star Wars,"

so the film is actually
much better now than it was

when it was originally released.

It's not that I was making
technological updates

on the film.

What I was really doing
is finishing the story.

-But they were also
pretty controversial.

Not everyone wanted to see Jabba
the Hutt in the first film.

Not everyone wanted to see
Greedo shoot first.

You know, there was a lot of
minor things, color correction

and little kind of visual shots

that most people can't even
tell the difference

but which, you know,
satisfied George,

but some of the larger
creative decisions that he made

in those films really rankled
a lot of fans

who just wanted the versions
that they grew up with.

-Despite the criticism,

the rereleases of the original
trilogy are massive hits.

-In cities across the country,

people have been lining up
by the thousands to get tickets,

even if the only ones left now
are for a 3 a.m. viewing.

-So for the first time,
a whole new generation

of children
could experience "Star Wars"

as it was meant to be seen
on the big screen.

Parents could now take
their children

to duplicate the nostalgia

and hopefully get them
ingrained in it like they were,

and it was a reason
to go back to the cinema.

-There had never been
a rerelease of movies

that had been as successful
as the 20th-anniversary

release of "Star Wars,"
"Empire Strikes Back,"

and "Return of the Jedi,"

and, in fact, they had to push
back the opening

of "Return of the Jedi"
Special Edition

because "The Empire Strikes
Back" Special Edition

did so well in the theaters,

and "Star Wars"
was still playing.

-The original "Star Wars" film

cost about $12 million
to produce in 1977.

If you combine box office
receipts and merchandising

revenues to date,
the "Star Wars" trilogy

has generated
an estimated $4 billion.

George Lucas has already
begun work on a new series

of "Star Wars" prequels.

The first one
is due out in 1999.

♪

-When "Return of the Jedi"
ended,

and the evil Empire
is defeated,

and the Rebels win,

people thought that was it
for "Star Wars."

People always hoped
that there would be more.

Fans wondered, "How would
these stories continue,

and how did these stories
really begin?"

♪

♪

-There had been whispers
behind closed doors

about the continuation
of the "Star Wars" saga

since before the release of
"Return of the Jedi."

In 1993, rumor became reality.

George Lucas announced
that there would indeed

be three prequels to
the original "Star Wars" films,

but it wasn't until
the fall of 1998

that fans finally got a glimpse
of "The Phantom Menace,"

the first new "Star Wars" film
in more than 15 years.

-In November of 1998,

a teaser poster is released

that shows young Jake Lloyd
walking,

and there's a shadow
of Darth Vader against a wall.

It's extraordinary.

I remember walking past
that poster in movie theaters,

and people stopping
and staring at it.

♪

-I bought tickets to films
just to see the teaser trailer

for "The Phantom Menace."

I stayed and watched movies,

but I did hear that
a lot of my friends walked out.

But I went to the theater
a lot that year

just so I could watch it
over and over again.

-When the trailer
for "The Phantom Menace" broke,

it was attached to a film called
"Wing Commander,"

which is awful,

but "Wing Commander" was number
three at the box office

because people would pay
to go see

the "Phantom Menace" trailer
and then leave.

-We got to talk about this new
"Star Wars" movie,

"The Phantom Menace."

Is it fair to say this is
the most anticipated film

in movie history?

-Everybody wanted a new
"Star Wars" film.

Everybody wanted "Star Wars."

You know, it's like
there was an ache,

and the fans went crazy.

-Yeah! Whoo!

-I think a lot of people,
myself included, "Star Wars"

was a little bit
before our time,

so getting to have
"The Phantom Menace,"

getting to have an entire
new trilogy in our lifetime

as part of our culture
was really important

and significant
to a lot of people.

They were stoked.

♪

-There was this excitement,
this fever,

and I was excited, too.

I was at UCLA at the time
studying mathematics,

and you can imagine
among the math department,

they were very excited
about "Star Wars."

-After long, long waits
in every kind of weather,

they bought tickets to
"Episode I: The Phantom Menace."

-On May 19th, 1999,
"The Phantom Menace"

is released on
3,000 screens nationwide,

almost 100 times more than
the original "Star Wars."

-The release of
"The Phantom Menace" in 1999

was one of the biggest
media events in movie history.

-The hype surrounding
"The Phantom Menace"

is so palpable that filmmaker
Kyle Newman uses it

as the primary plot point
in his 2009 film "Fanboys,"

about a group of friends
traveling cross-country to grant

their friend's dying wish
of seeing "The Phantom Menace."

-There was this buzz in the air
in 1999

that "The Phantom Menace"

was going to be
the second coming.

-Oh, you never know how people
are going to react to a movie.

You know, you do your best job.

You try to make it
as entertaining

and as exciting as possible,

and then you just go
to the theater,

and it's always a surprise.

-Audiences turn out to see
the movie in droves,

but the general reception
is perhaps

not what George Lucas
had anticipated.

-The series looks tired.

It looks drained of its
original exuberance

and its bursts of imagination.

-I remember, God, my heart
was pounding going in there,

pounding in a different way
when I left.

-So-so.

-There's no denying that it was
a very divisive film

for the fan community.

There are the people that are
firmly entrenched in the idea

that "Star Wars"
should age with me.

I'm now 28 years old.

I want a movie told to me
like "The Matrix."

I want it to have grown up
with me.

I want a cinematic style
that is synonymous

with where I am
at as a moviegoer.

And I look at that as somewhat
of a selfish thing,

whereas George was saying,
"You know what?

I'm still making a movie
for 8-year-olds.

I'm still making a movie
for the kid in me."

-How have your kids --

How has their input contributed
to these movies?

I understand that a whole
species of characters

was named by your son.
Is that right?

-Well, when my son
was 2 or 2 1/2,

he would see tractors and trucks
and say, "Gunga, gunga."

You know, that's what he called
big things,

and so I liked that so much,
I named this whole race Gungas,

and my 8-year-old daughter
loves to name characters,

and I have so many characters
to name that, you know,

I let her sit there and come up
with names for characters.

-There's things in that movie
that are beautiful.

There's things in that movie
that nobody had ever done before

because George Lucas is always
about pushing that envelope,

but there's parts of that story
that kind of just don't make

any sense,
and the character set --

Nobody really wanted
a Jar Jar Binks.

-One of the stars is a pure
animated creature named Jar Jar.

Is that right?
-Right.

-Tell me about this guy.
I had a hard time

understanding him, by the way.

-Yeah, he's --
well, I did that --

It was controversial,
in that --

The same thing happened
with Yoda.

When "Empire Strikes Back"
came out,

nobody could understand Yoda.

Now everybody understands Yoda.
I think --

-Do I have to see this a few
times before I understand

what Jar Jar says
at the beginning of the movie?

-Well, it's not meant to be
that way.

-Jar Jar Binks, the first
all-CGI character in film,

is supposed to be comic relief,

but becomes the target
of many fans' ire.

-Although Jar Jar Binks
was the first all-CGI character,

at the end of the day,
it could be a hand puppet.

What's the character doing,
and what's the story line,

and do you care about
that character or not?

And...no.

Or does that character
annoy you to no ends?

Yes.

-Some audience members are also
critical of other characters

for what they perceive to be
offensive racial stereotypes.

-I think the racial undertones
in "Phantom Menace"

were kind of problematic.

I think everyone agrees on that,
and it's just confusing, too,

because when you're dealing with
an entire universe of aliens,

why do they have to be
based on anything

we already have in this world?

Why can't we find different ways
to characterize them?

-They did it with Jar Jar Binks
to a certain degree,

and the Gungans, his species,

they kind of had
a Jamaican sort of accent,

and then if you go
to the Neimoidians,

I think those were
the most questionable

as far as the way
they brought in

kind of Asian stereotypes
for them.

-I remember when Watto
came on screen

and being very uncomfortable
and thinking,

"Did no one watch
this and edit it?

Listen to this!
This is the most

stereotypical-sounding
character."

-But it wasn't a guy
going like,

"Hey, man, let me do this."

He was honoring his cinema
history and movies

he had seen as a kid
and whatnot,

just, you know,
maybe not tone-deaf

but tone-hard-of-hearing
in that one.

-I'm speculating, but I think
when Marcia left George,

George became
a different person.

He didn't have the sounding
board he had for many decades.

He didn't have someone to look
at his script

and tell him it's not working.

Would you have said to George,
"This isn't working"

for "Episode I"?

"Something's wrong here, George.

You better go back and think
about this particular scene"?

Not in 100 years.

-People were fighting
their hunger and satisfaction

with their being more
"Star Wars"

with the realization
that the "Star Wars"

they got wasn't that great,

so people went five
and six times to kind of say,

"Is it really
what I think it is?

I'm not sure. I got to go
see it again just to make sure."

-Despite the negative reaction
to some of the characters,

"Episode I" does introduce
one of the series'

most iconic villains --

Darth Maul, the double-bladed-
lightsaber-wielding Sith.

[ Lightsaber whooshing ]

♪

"The Phantom Menace"
is a mega box office hit

and becomes one of the highest
grossing films of all time.

The second and third films
in the trilogy,

"Attack of the Clones"
and "Revenge of the Sith,"

are released in 2002
and 2005 respectively.

They're also hits, but to many
the prequels fail to capture

the magic
of the original trilogy.

-My main problem
with the prequels was the story.

I felt it was --
They were too political,

and it was about administrative
issues and things,

and I wanted that good versus
evil, good guys and bad guys,

and let's see that right away.

What's the main conflict?
Just sort of basic things.

I felt like "Star Wars" --
Maybe it got so big

that they forgot
to tell the central story,

and they did
all the other stuff.

-The fans weren't happy because
they were expecting George Lucas

to do more of the same,
and that's what they wanted,

and so I think that that was
a really pivotal point

in which the fans
and George Lucas hit an impasse.

♪

-Even though there was less
than a stellar reaction

to the "Star Wars" prequels,

the films do garner
a whole new generation of fans.

[ Excited chatter ]

-"The Phantom Menace"
and the following films

were their introduction
to "Star Wars,"

so you have those kids who are
now adults who love Jar Jar

and are confused why anybody
wouldn't like this clumsy,

silly character.

-From George Lucas'
point of view,

"Revenge of the Sith"
ended the saga.

It told a complete story
from "Episode I" to "VI"

about the rise,
fall, and redemption

of Anakin Skywalker
and Darth Vader.

So from a storytelling point
of view, in many ways,

"Star Wars" was done.

However, now people had a taste
for more "Star Wars" films,

and we wanted to see more.

-Three years after
"Revenge of the Sith,"

"The Clone Wars,"
an animated movie

and subsequent series
based on the years

between "Episode II"
and "III" is released.

-"Star Wars: The Clone Wars"

was the first animated series
Lucasfilm had done

since the '80s and kind of --

I don't want to say it's an
apology for the prequels,

but it filled in a lot of gaps.

-It also introduces
Ahsoka Tano,

Anakin Skywalker's
apprentice, or Padawan.

-Not only did the "Star Wars"
universe

find out that Anakin Skywalker
had a Padawan,

but that Padawan was
a 14-year-old girl,

and her name was Ahsoka Tano,

and Ahsoka
was the first female Jedi

that was a lead character
in the "Star Wars" university.

Being the voice of Ahsoka
was really a responsibility,

and it was a responsibility

to an entire new generation
of fangirls,

and I made it my mission
to bring "Star Wars"

to fangirls and show that
"Star Wars" is for everyone.

♪

-With his beloved franchise
once again on firm footing,

George Lucas looks ahead
to the future of "Star Wars,"

a future that, surprising to
many, doesn't include him.

♪

-Disney's announcement
Tuesday that it is buying

Lucasfilm
for more than $4 billion

is a huge deal online.

-The day that
it was announced

Disney was buying Lucasfilm
was a shock.

I still remember
October 30th, 2012.

It's like, I don't know why
that's an important date

in my mind,
but it changed a lot.

-For me as a fan,

I couldn't imagine George Lucas
not being involved,

but also as a fan
and as a friend,

I knew that ultimately maybe
that would make him happier.

He wanted to make the movies
his way.

No matter what he did,
the fans would reel against him

and at some point when that
which you created,

your child, your children,

every time you give something
forward and people are like,

"That's not right.
That's not right.

That's not right,"
he couldn't take it anymore.

-After 35 years, George Lucas
hands control of the "Star Wars"

franchise over to Disney.

-The idea of Disney owning
something like "Star Wars"

opened up a lot
of new possibilities

but I think also made people
a little bit nervous.

Like, were they going to make it
too childish?

But it was also kind of neat
because we're like,

"Oh, now there's going
to be a lot more

'Star Wars' stuff happening."

-The franchise was suddenly
invigorated again

because the prequels had left a
mixed taste in people's mouths,

and under this new stewardship,

they felt like maybe
there would be storytellers

that would come in that
would "get it back on track."

-Unlike the prequels,
which took 16 years

to come to the big screen,

fans wouldn't have to wait
long for Disney

to start getting a return
on its investment.

-"Star Wars: Episode VII."

We have a title --
"The Force Awakens."

-Ooh.
-Okay.

-When "The Force Awakens"
was announced,

I think people
got really excited again

because it was like
a fresh slate.

Like, we got to do this whole
trilogy thing all over again,

and it was not going
back into the past.

It was actually moving things
forward,

and so that meant we got to see
some of our favorite characters

from the original
trilogy come back.

-When a photo of the initial
table read is released

showing Mark Hamill,
Carrie Fisher,

and Harrison Ford,

the Internet goes crazy.

-Oh, it was absolutely
according to strategy.

They knew what buttons to press,
not only Disney,

but behind the scenes
director J.J. Abrams.

-J.J. is so smart.

He put out a picture
of everybody,

and they're sitting here,

you know, coming around for
a reading of "Force Awakens."

Once we saw that they got the
soup just right where it's like,

"Now, this tastes like
'Star Wars,' man,"

they were off and running.

-I think having new characters
in these films,

like Rey and Finn and even on
some level BB-8, right,

where you have these brand-new
versions of "Star Wars"

characters that fans
are going to love,

but they're being ushered in
by the older characters,

it kind of gives fans
the okay to like them,

if that makes sense.

You didn't have that
in the prequels.

-You see that trailer,
and you see Han and Chewie

on the Millennium Falcon
for the first time,

like, since your childhood,
and Han says,

"Chewie, we're home," you know,
you're like, "Take all my money!

Take my kids' college money!
Take any money I've ever made!

I'm going to steal money
and give it to you

because this is glorious.
This is the fountain of youth!"

So if you were old like me,
and you were like,

"Ah,"
you know, bam,

you're pretty sold.
-All right.

So you have not yet seen
"Star Wars," right?

-Yes, I have.
-You did?

-When did you see it?
-I saw it.

-When did you see it?
-Just a couple days ago.

-And?
-And?

-It's really, really --
People are going to be happy.

[ Clamoring ]

-On December 18th, 2015,
"The Force Awakens"

opens to massive critical
and financial success.

-When "The Force Awakens"
came out,

it was a monster blockbuster,
just record-shattering success,

and suddenly everyone was like,
"'Star Wars' is back!

Like, they did it!
They didn't eff it up.

Like, they made it amazing,

and we love
these new characters,

and we got to see
our favorites,"

and it just really

touched people
in a really wonderful way.

-For me, you know,
to see Rey --

You know, Rey was also
a game changer

in the "Star Wars" universe,

to see that the new lead
of a "Star Wars" franchise

was this female character.

-The Force is strong.

In fact, it's the strongest
its ever been.

After just 3 weeks in theaters,
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

is the new all-time champ

at the North American
box office.

-Well, the box office
was through the roof.

It's the number one domestic
of all time.

It's number three worldwide
of all time.

It was exactly
the mega blockbuster

that Disney was hoping for
and that fans were hoping for.

-Unlike "Star Wars"
under George Lucas,

Disney had much more ambitious
plans for the film franchise.

Just 6 months after "The Force
Awakens'" theatrical run ends,

"Rogue One," the first planned
"Star Wars" stand-alone film,

directed by Gareth Edwards,
is released,

filling in the backstory

on how the plans
to the Death Star wound up

in the hands of the Rebels
in "A New Hope."

It also marks the return of
Darth Vader to the big screen.

After decades of being primarily

used as a commercial pitch man
for batteries...

-If only you knew the power
of the dark side...

Ah!

[ Squeaking ]

[ Filtered breathing ]

-...and cars...

♪

...the makers of "Rogue One"

are keen to restore
the galaxy's greatest villain

to his former glory.

-When we were working
on "Rogue One,"

one of the things
that we thought about a lot

was the character of Vader

and how we wanted
to present him,

and Gareth and I,
in talking about it,

had this feeling
that over the years,

Vader had been allowed
to become less scary.

He started appearing
in children's books.

He started appearing, you know,
on cereal boxes.

[ Phone rings ]

-Hello?
-And this terrifying

Dark Lord of the Sith
that we all grew up with had

somehow become this almost
kind of avuncular figure

that wasn't necessarily
terrifying to be around,

and so we wanted to try and find
a way to make him scary again.

And it's one of my favorite
scenes in "Rogue One"

is when he's just
kind of straight-up murdering

every Rebel in the room.

-Ah!
-Get down!

-[ Groans ]
-[ Shouts ]

♪

-So I was glad that
in "Rogue One,"

we were able to make him a truly
terrifying character again.

♪

-"Rogue One" is another hit
for Disney,

but just 2 weeks after
its release in December of 2016,

the "Star Wars" family
experiences

an unimaginable loss.

-She was a force all her own.

Actress and writer
Carrie Fisher,

who rose to fame
as Princess Leia

in one of the biggest
blockbuster series of all time,

"Star Wars,"
has died at age 60.

-It's indescribable
when you grow up

watching a woman like that.

You know, the first protagonist
that you see

that gives you strength,

and then, you know,
she was a part of our lives,

and not only from
when I was child,

but also on a personal level,

and hearing of her death felt
not only like we were losing,

you know, someone that we love
as a human being

but also losing all the stories

that she had left
inside to tell.

It was so utterly heartbreaking.

-I just thought it was
very sad.

She was a lovely person
and always a lot of fun.

It's funny, when we started
working on

"Empire Strikes Back,"

I showed up in London, and I
bought a cashmere argyle vest,

and Carrie was wearing
the exact same vest,

and we looked at each other,
and we started to laugh.

She was a wonderful person.

It was very sad
that she died so young.

♪

♪

-Welcome back to
"Behind Closed Doors."

Before her untimely death
at age 60 in December of 2016,

Carrie Fisher had finished
filming her scenes

for the sequel
to "The Force Awakens."

A year later, the highly
anticipated "The Last Jedi,"

"Episode VIII," for those
keeping score at home,

is released in theaters.

-Out in force,
we're with the first "Star Wars"

fans to see "The Last Jedi."
[ Cheering ]

-Response to "The Last Jedi"
was across the spectrum,

and people seemed to love it
or hate it,

and I think after
"The Force Awakens,"

fans had certain expectations of
how story lines would play out,

and when it didn't go the way
they thought it would,

they just kind of reacted
to the film negatively.

-I think "The Last Jedi"
is a very different-feeling film

from any of others
and the TV shows

and the books and the comics.

There's a lot of humor in it.

There's a lot of side story,

and I think that a lot of people
want things to be the same.

-"Last Jedi" tends
to really divide

the "Star Wars" audience,
more so than the Ewoks

ever divided
the "Star Wars" audience,

and that's because Rian felt,
as the filmmaker of "Star Wars,"

that in order for the saga
to move forward,

one day you have to tell a story
don't involve a Skywalker,

so in order to fix it,
he had to break it first, right?

So the idea is,
you watch "Last Jedi,"

and it's like everything
you know to be true is wrong,

and everything that you thought
was this is that now.

We're going to flip all of this
on its script, and this guy,

who was your hero
of those first three movies,

he wants nothing
to do with this.

[ Beeping ]
-I know.

You can't get any respect.

♪

-A small but vocal group
of fans

are so incensed by the direction
of "The Last Jedi"

that they harass director
Rian Johnson

and star Kelly Marie Tran
on the Internet.

-I have said a lot
in recent years

that "Star Wars" on the Internet

can be some of the most
vitriolic and difficult fans

of any fandom
that I've ever come across,

and I'm not sure why that is,
but they really go after people

who don't fit what they think
is the norm

for a "Star Wars" character
or a "Star Wars" story line,

which is ridiculous
because it's science fiction.

-There's always going to be
a small subset of fans

who want things
a very certain way,

and any time there's change,
they'll resist it.

And I think it's important
as "Star Wars" fans

to remember they're still
part of that community.

They're still part of our
community as "Star Wars" fans.

We can't just pick and choose
who are "Star Wars" fans,

but attacking actors
who are just there to do a job

doesn't really serve anybody.

♪

-In 2018, Disney rolls out
the second stand-alone

"Star Wars" film, "Solo,"

which tells
the story of young Han.

The movie brings in
almost $400 million

at the worldwide box office,

but because of its sky-high
budget and expectations,

it is the first film
in the franchise

considered to be a flop.

-I don't think there's
anything wrong with "Solo."

I just think they chose to lead
with a character

that we all know
to be Harrison Ford,

and Harrison Ford
is still alive,

and you're asking somebody
to shoulder the responsibility

of be the young Harrison Ford

from everyone's
magical childhood,

and I just think most people
are like, "Yeah, no,

that ain't Solo to me.
The kid's good.

Don't get me wrong, but, like,
that ain't Harrison Ford.

You got anything else?"

-I think at this point,
we are hitting a little bit

of "Star Wars" saturation.

I think some people
will disagree

and say more "Star Wars"
is always better,

but at the same time, it doesn't
have that same sense of like,

"Oh, my gosh, a new 'Star Wars'
movie is coming out!"

Like, it's like, "Okay.

Every year a new 'Star Wars'
film is coming out."

-George always said
one of the challenges,

one of the fun things
with this was

that if you didn't release
the picture right away,

the fans would think about it.

The fans would talk about it.

There was great anticipation.

There were stories.
What is the title going to be?

Who's going to be in it?

Is Darth Vader going to die?

Is one of the actors
going to disappear?

Anticipation, and that's what
drove people to the box office.

-After the lackluster
box office returns for "Solo,"

other stand-alone "Star Wars"
films in development

are shelved, at least for now.

-I think the key
to "Star Wars'" longevity

is going to be careful
manicuring of the brand.

You know, I think that perhaps
"Solo" has taught us

that maybe we don't need
one of these every year,

that we have to build
an anticipation

for what "Star Wars" is.

-The saga is finishing
with "Episode IX,"

but we have more movies,
more TV series,

areas in Disney parks,
and it's a lot,

but I think fandom
will continue to grow.

Kids will continue
to get into it,

and "Star Wars" will never die.

-More than 4 decades after
capturing the imagination

of moviegoers
with its iconic characters

and groundbreaking
special effects,

"Star Wars'" popularity endures
with fans all over the world.

-I've got, you know, R2-D2 and,
of course, everyone's favorite.

-[ Chattering ]

-I think the most
prevailing theme

that really resonates
with people about "Star Wars"

is that fight against light
and dark, that good and evil,

that the resistance
taking on the galactic Empire,

like, the little guy fighting
the big guy, David and Goliath,

and it sticks with us even now.

-Part of its lasting legacy --
inspiring legions of fans

to take it
and make it their own.

-"Star Wars"
has become sort of a vessel

for fans to express themselves

through things that they're
already interested in.

So if you're a "Star Wars" fan,
and you're a moviemaker,

you make "Star Wars" movies.

If you're a "Star Wars" fan,

and you're into
fight choreography,

you'll practice
your mad lightsaber skills.

"Star Wars" allows people
to take their interests

and express them
in different ways.

-Without fans, there would be
no "Star Wars,"

and it definitely wouldn't live
for 4 decades and more

without that passion
and excitement,

that people take "Star Wars"

and then express
how much they love it

in whatever they do
in real life,

and whether that's crafts --

I wrote the "Star Wars
Craft Book"

mainly because I wanted kids
to have an outlet

of making
Admiral Sackbar puppets.

But crafts have gone
to another level.

There are people that are makers
and crafters

that make their own R2-D2 units.

So there's astromech clubs.

There's R2 Builders,
and those things are expensive,

those R2s, the actual-size,

working R2-D2s,
they're like little muscle cars.

They take forever to make.

-I helped to build a fully
working R2-D2,

and it was incredible.

I mean, I actually made, like,

the fiber-optic display
on R2-D2,

so the colors would sort of,
you know, move,

and it was really exciting.

Why is it so important to build
this robot from a movie

that came out years ago?

I don't -- It just is,
because it's part of us.

It's part of childhoods,
and it's part

of every generation's childhood,

which is the amazing
thing to me.

There are a lot of things
that were really important

to one generation's childhood,

but then, you know,
they move on.

There's more stuff.
Not "Star Wars."

It keeps going.

♪

-I think "Star Wars"

is the greatest franchise
of all time.

I expect to see "Star Wars"
enduring on toy shelves.

I expect to see "Star Wars"

dominating science fiction
aisles in every bookstore.

I expect to see "Star Wars"
being a dominant force

in television,

and "Star Wars"
on the big screen

being the innovator
that it needs to be.

"Star Wars" is the movie that
everyone needs to look up to

and say,
"I want to do that."

-"Star Wars" isn't going
anywhere, and not just because

Disney wants to get
all of these things out.

I think it's not going anywhere

because it still appeals
to us deep down.

It still appeals
to the little kid in all of us

who wants to be a hero.

♪