May 4, 2022 – Star Wars

Happy Star Wars Day and May the fourth be with you!
Originally, George Lucas wanted to make an adaptation of Flash Gordon, but when he couldn’t obtain the rights he decided to develop his own story. He was inspired by the science fiction writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. After he finished filming American Graffiti in 1973, he wrote up a synopsis for his space opera. United Artists, Universal Studios and Disney all passed on the film, but 20th Century Fox decided to invest in it. I’d say that was a pretty smart investment!
When he was casting for the movie, Lucas auditioned thousands of actors. He was looking for unknown faces that he had never worked with before. He brought in Harrison Ford (who he had worked with on American Graffiti) to feed lines to the auditioners. Lucas ended up liking Ford’s delivery of the lines so much that he decided to cast him in the part of Han Solo.
Star Wars is known for their cutting edge (for the time) special effects and sound effects. The first sound created for the move was the voice of Chewbacca, whose creation had been inspired by Lucas’ dog. His voice was created with recordings of a variety of different animals, including walruses, lions, bears, camels, tigers, rabbits, and badgers.
Initially, fewer than 40 movie theaters agreed to show Star Wars. But it quickly became a massive blockbuster hit and was expanded to a much wider release. It was the highest-grossing film of the time, earning a total of $775 million. Adjusted for inflation, the film is the second highest-grossing movie in North America. Learn more here.