‘Star Wars,’ beyond the film

The ‘Star Wars’ saga has created a frenzy among fans, as well as its own collection of merchandise.

Date published: 5/26/2005

By JAKE COYLE

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

NEW YORK—Like the all-powerful tractor beam of the Death Star, “Star Wars” has exerted an inexorable force in popular culture.

When “Star Wars” premièred to the public at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood on May 25, 1977, a great line of people formed—despite mild expectations for the peculiar sci–fi epic.

“I could not believe my eyes. There were lines around the block,” remembers Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the first trilogy.

George Lucas himself recently said at the annual Star Wars convention: “The whole phenomenon began with the fans.”

Now “Episode III—Revenge of the Sith” neatly wraps up the back stories of Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and the rest.

“Star Wars” remains a singular movie-going experience that has not only inspired women to glue buns to the sides of their heads, but changed the business of Hollywood forever—merchandising, in particular.

After United Artists and Universal passed, Lucas ended up at 20th Century Fox, which made the movie for $11 million. Since then, the first five “Star Wars” films have grossed more than $3.4 billion worldwide at the box office. (In comparison, the three “Lord of the Rings” movies have reaped some $2.8 billion.)

In negotiations, Lucas persuaded Fox to give him the merchandising rights, which at the time weren’t considered a principle revenue stream. So far, Lucasfilm has raked in more than $9 billion from merchandise.

Soon, Warner Bros. saw the potential for merchandising and bought DC Comics, which owned superheroes such as Batman and Superman. Now, the potential toys and other knockoffs are a central consideration to any blockbuster.

Before “Jaws” in 1975 and then “Star Wars,” the summer was Hollywood’s slow season—an almost unfathomable thought nowadays. This summer’s slate includes “Batman Begins,” “Fantastic Four,” “War of the Worlds” and “Madagascar.”

Expect toys. Lots of them.

Many of those movies could not be made without high-tech digital effects. Everyone knows that Lucas revolutionized movies with his effects house, Industrial Light & Magic, which has long been the industry standard for making spaceships fly, dinosaurs walk and Arnold Schwarzenegger terminate.

But toys and special effects alone don’t explain the kind of fan dedication that would make a Deadhead blush.

“I think it has mythical basis,” says Andrew Gordon, an English professor at the University of Florida who in 1978 was one of the first to read “Star Wars” as a modern myth. “[Lucas] has deliberately attempted to tap into the kinds of deep stories that can resonate in a culture, with archetypal characters and conflict of good and evil.”

Gordon cites how lines like “may the force be with you” have seeped into our culture, the universal story of Luke’s rite of passage and that the first trilogy began “in medias res”—the Greek tradition of beginning an epic in the middle of things.

“It’s rare,” he says. “What’s rarer, though, is George Lucas’ ambition. Hollywood movies tend to be isolated events. But to attempt to weave together a story this complex over such a long period of time, that’s very rare.”

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Date published: 5/26/2005