The treatment was eventually picked up by 20th Century Fox head Alan Ladd Jr., who gave Lucas a preliminary deal in 1974 to eventually make the movie. Both studios passed, saying the far-flung sci-fi extravaganza was too confusing. In 1973, Lucas submitted a 13-page treatment of his story, originally titled “The Star Wars,” to Universal Studios and United Artists following the success of his movie American Graffiti (which was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and a Best Director nod for Lucas) the same year. George Lucas’s first draft of A New Hope was more than 200 pages long. Perhaps not coincidentally, the word Jedi is reported derived from the Japanese word Jidaigeki meaning “period dramas,” or the types of samurai films Japanese directors like Kurosawa would typically make (the kind of movies that clearly influenced Lucas). The fact that there was a princess trying to get through enemy lines was more of a coincidence than anything else.” Which, in the Star Wars case is the two droids, and that was the strongest influence. Take the two lowliest characters, as Kurosawa did, and tell the story from their point of view. “I decided that would be a nice way to tell the Star Wars story. Telling the story of a roguish general protecting a beautiful princess from an evil clan behind enemy lines, “the one thing I was really intrigued by was the fact that the story was told from the two lowest characters,” Lucas explained in an interview for The Criterion Collection’s release of the Kurosawa classic. Lucas struggled with just how to tell this massive sci-fi space opera on a personal and relatable scale, and he found the answer in director Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film The Hidden Fortress. George Lucas, Akira Kurosawa, and Steven Spielberg / John T. Akira Kurosawa was another major influence on Star Wars. According to Campbell, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” Lucas simply grafted these ideas onto his story, with Luke as the main hero. The book tracked common mythological motifs and argued that myths from around the world that have been passed down through generations-like Beowulf or King Arthur-share a basic structure. Though equally inspired by fairy tales, westerns, and 1930s sci-fi serials, George Lucas based the framework of the story for the original Star Wars (1977) around the theories of Joseph Campbell’s book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The original Star Wars concept was inspired by Joseph Campbell. Here are some fascinating facts about the Star Wars universe, any one of which makes a perfect response the next time someone says “May the 4th be with you.” 1. In honor of Star Wars Day on May 4, we’d like to add one more story into the mix. There have also been millions (if not billions) of words written about the films, from reviews to fan theories and beyond. In the nearly 50 years since Star Wars first entered the pop culture landscape, there have been multiple feature films released (with plenty more on the way), plus dozens of television series, novelizations, comic books, trading cards, video games, and theme park attractions-not to mention hundreds of toys and licensed merchandise sold (oh, the merchandise!), plus one awesomely terrible holiday special.
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