All tagged George Lucas

In A Galaxy Far, Far Away An Original Series There Once Was

In A Galaxy Far, Far Away An Original Series There Once Was

Tessa Sullivan

A long time ago, in what feels like 2023, like a galaxy far, far away… there existed a world before Star Wars… *cue Star Wars theme song*

The year was 1977. When I Need You was the #1 song on the pop charts. Carrie Fisher had only been in one movie, George Lucas had only directed one movie (that hadn’t been rejected by the studio), and the most anticipated movie of the month was not Star Wars. It was Smokey and the Bandit.

Then on the fateful day of May 25th, Star Wars (the New Hope was a later addition) premiered to a dainty few 32 theaters, the only ones who could be coerced into showing it.

Little did they know…

Star Wars' worldwide gross would be six times that of Smokey and the Bandit. The cantina song would enjoy two weeks at #1 on the pop charts. Harrison Ford would become such an overnight sensation that a crowd tore his shirt in half when he went to the record store. Francis Ford Coppola would telegram Lucas’ hotel asking for funding assistance to finish Apocalypse Now.

Effective Visuals - A History and A Future

Effective Visuals - A History and A Future

Tessa Sullivan

Special visual effects, or SFX, is a visual trickery created to look like something not immediately achieved within a singular live frame. If the trickery has done its job well, we don’t know anything about it. Did you realize that when we’re flying through the asteroid belt in The Empire Strikes Back that many of the asteroids were potatoes thrown in front of a blue screen to keep the budget low? No? I didn’t think so. SFX is movie magic at its most magical, but it did not poof from a cloud of smoke overnight to get to where it is today. The magic potion needed time to brew and develop from the day of its first ingredient…