A few new things I learned about Star Wars from the Life magazine entitled,
George Lucas and the Making of Star Wars that I thought was awesome and worth sharing.
The origins of R2-D2's name
"Since
America Graffiti's editor, Verna Fields was simultaneously editing Peter Bogdanovich's
Paper Moon, she delegated much of the work to her assistance, Marcia Lucas -- a fact that gave George more control than he would otherwise have had. The process also gave him a future character name: Sound editor Walter Murch referred to one of the film's elements, "reel 2, dialogue 2," as "R2-D2." Lucas liked how R2-D2 sounded and made a note of it."
The origins of Mace Windu's name
"Lucas had begun writing in early 1973 by jotting down the names of possible characters - including Emporer Ford Xerex II, Biggs, Owen, Valorum, and (yes) Luke Skywalker. Titled
The Journal of the Whills, the narrative began: 'This is the story of Mace Windy, a revered Jedi-Bendu of Opuchi, as related to us by CJ. Thorpe, padawan learner of the famed Jedi.'"
The reason for Luke Starkiller's family name change
"The name 'Skywalker,' incidentally, had overtaken Lucas's initial idea of 'Starkiller.' After the Charles Manson murders in Hollywood, Lucas didn't want any unseemly connotations."
Alex Guinness rolled around in the Tunisia desert sand for Star Wars
"Lucas envisioned what he called a 'used universe." ... Everything had to look like had been riveted together, assembled, rather than just a slick mono-shape. That meant greasy robots, weather-worn buildings, and battered spaceships like the cars Lucas had driven as a kid. ... Gamely, Guinness rolled in the sand to give his costume a weathered look."
De Palma rewrites the opening scrawl, and the Studio requests a voice over
"The film's problems began with the clunky, overly expository opening crawl, which Brian De Palma -- despite his dislike of the film -- offered to rewrite. Lucas agreed. Later, Fox would suggest having a narrator recite the words. Lucas refused. "They're going to have to learn to read sooner or later," he joked. "Maybe Star Wars will give them an incentive. Maybe we have a valuable tool here. maybe a whole generation will learn to read so that they can figure out what's going on in Star Wars."
The Microbiotic World of the Midicholoians (Lucas's idea for episodes 7-9)
"In 2012, Lucas sold the Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm to Disney for $2.2 billion in cash and $1.855 billion in stock. The first Star Wars film made without Lucas's direct involvement, The Force Awakens, was released in 2015. Though Lucas had hoped to continue the story of the midi-chlorians, taking the films into what he called "a microbiotic world," [That sounds original] Disney ignored his story treatment in favor of J.J. Abrams, who co-wrote and directed the film."
Lucas was consulted on The Rise of Skywalker
"[Lucas] was nominally consulted on the makings of The Rise of Skywalker. Said Abrams, who once again co-wrote and directed, 'We had conversations amongst ourselves, we meet with George Lucas before we started writing the script.'"
Also, Disco Elysium is a fantastic RPG! Actually, it plays more like a Choose Your Adventure book, where your decisions have consequences, some life-ending. The game's not afraid to end the story there and then. It's quite refreshing. I've played other story-rich games like it, but this is the first that feels truly unique. The art style is also amazing. Everything has a painterly concept art look. Even the graphics where you walk around look like concept art.
"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times." - Those Who Remain by G. Michael Hopf