Hollywood Tales

“Even [George] Lucas’s friends were dismayed, watching the first Star Wars rough cut. Granted, there were no opticals, no music, and most of the special effects were missing — Lucas had spliced in black-and-white World War II gun-camera footage to stand for the X-fighter action. The room was silent when it was over. Lucas was worried only kids would want to see it. Marcia [his wife] began to cry. De Palma was merciless, out of control: ‘What’s this Farts of Others? And the crawl at the beginning looks like it was written on a driveway. It goes on forever. It’s gibberish. The first act, where are we? Who are those fuzzy guys? Who are these guys dress up like the Tin Men from Oz? What kind of move are you making here?’ Only Spielberg understood it, calling Ladd Jr. later that night and predicting an enormous hit. He named the highest figure he could imagine — $35 million in rentals.”

 — from “What Happens Next: A History of American Screenwriting,” by Marc Norman

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