The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Enhanced Edition)
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Starship concept by Johnston (no. 10), late 1977.
Starship concept by Johnston (no. 61), late 1977.
Starfighter concept by Johnston (no. 32), December 1977.
Meanwhile in England, Robert Watts (driving) and Norman Reynolds (who took the pictures) were testing hovercraft as possible snow battle vehicles.
Both hovercraft, however, moved too slowly to become serious candidates.
EMPEROR DEVELOPMENT
“The introduction of the Emperor is a major plot development. He may be the one who is saved for the end. When you get rid of the Emperor, the whole thing is over. The final episode is the restoration of the Republic. We ignored him in the first film; we vaguely mentioned him a few times. We have to begin to deal with him on a more concrete level this time.
“The question is how quickly do we dole out things about the Emperor? He’s not as dramatic as Vader, but is more sinister. Vader is just one of his lap dogs. Do we show the Emperor this time or wait until the next one where we finally confront him? How about if we don’t see his face? He’s just a hooded figure, reminiscent of Ben. In the end, the Emperor does exactly what Ben did; he can also transform himself. As Ben becomes the personification of the good side of the Force, the Emperor is the bad. Another way to treat the Emperor would be as a bureaucrat, Nixon-ian in his outlook, a Wizard of Oz type.”
THE GAMBLER DEVELOPMENT
“He’s a slick, riverboat gambler type of dude. Han Solo is a rather crude, rough and tumble kind of guy; this guy will be a very slicked down, elegant, James Bond–type. He’s much more of a con man, which puts him more in the Mr. Spock style of thinking, being smart, cool, and taking tremendous chances. An emotional Spock, someone who uses his wits rather than his brawn. He could be a gambler friend of Han Solo’s. They’re both underworld characters.
“This guy will have some kind of relationship with the Empire. He’ll be pro Empire, but he thinks he’s smarter than the Empire. He doesn’t really care about the Rebellion, but, in the end, he realizes that he must join the Rebellion and that the Empire is terrible.
“Maybe he could look human but not really be human. He’s possibly a clone. We talked earlier about the Clone Wars. The Princess doesn’t trust him because of that; Leia might refer to him in a derogatory way. If we set him up as a clone, maybe in one of the other Episodes, we can have him run across a clan of them who are all exactly like him. We won’t go into the whole mythology of where they came from or whether the clones were good or bad. We’ll assume that they were slightly weird in their own way and were partly responsible for the war. We’ll assume that on these planets of clones, there are many countries, say about 700 countries and he’s from one of the ruling clone clans.
“I see him as a Rudolph Valentino character, 1930s hair, slicked back. Wears white sport coats, white carnations, always wheeling and dealing like a gambler. Sly. Make him almost too perfect looking. We assume that in the cloning process, they manipulated genes and improved on the original.”
C-3PO AND FRIENDS DEVELOPMENT
“Another idea that didn’t work in earlier scripts is to have something happen to Threepio; he gets completely blown apart and we put all the pieces in a box and carry them around for a while in the movie. You’ll still have the same sympathy and feeling for him, so it would be interesting to have all this sympathy for a cardboard carton. We might be able to tie it in with Vader. Have Vader take his heart and smash it or turn it into an alarm clock or something. Let’s try and find an appropriate place for him to be broken into a lot of pieces. Should not be in first half of the movie.
“It’d be good if the Wookiee is Threepio’s protector. We all like the Wookiee and we all like Threepio, and we know they hate each other, so it’s nice that the Wookiee cares about him. Also he’s the only one strong enough to carry the bag of parts around. It’s also a good joke because Chewbacca is the last person Threepio would like to have putting him back together again. Suddenly Threepio says, ‘What are you doing?’ He starts babbling on and the Wookiee disconnects the head again to shut him up.
“We might have Threepio apologize to Artoo and the Wookiee in the end. He then turns to the Wookiee and includes him, saying, ‘You’re not so bad.’ ”
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK TREATMENT BY GEORGE LUCAS, NOVEMBER 28, 1977—SUMMARY
While riding a “large snow lizard (Taun Taun),” Luke tells Han that he is going to check out a “glint on the next ridge.” Next in the nine-page typed treatment, Luke is bashed in the face by a snow monster. A prisoner in the ice cave, he is affected by a talisman that hangs around his neck, which was given to Luke by Obi-Wan Kenobi; talking to himself, “He feels he must go to the planet described on Ben’s talisman.” Han returns to the Rebel hangar in a “beautiful but eerie snow cave” and tells Leia that “he must pay an old debt or he will be hunted down.”
Luke “uses the Force to escape” from the ice monster’s cave and makes it back to the Rebel base by himself. He then explains to the others, before going to the medical center, that the ice monsters pose a very real threat. Not long afterward, snow creatures attack the base—and Chewbacca valiantly fights off the first wave.
The monsters succeed, however, in cutting the power, and the Rebels are in danger of dying from the cold. Then a water main breaks, “freezing troops like statues.” The ice creatures attack again—and when Luke tries to use the Force, he fails and almost causes Han’s death. Luke is humiliated. Han forgives him, but then the Empire attacks. “The great snow battle of Hoth is fought by armored landspeeders (helicopter-like) and giant mechanical horses (tanks). The huge lumbering walking machines carry Imperial troops.” The Empire targets the Rebels’ generator.
Two influences on Empire were the 1930s and ’40s Flash Gordon comic strip and Howard Hawks’s The Thing from Another World (1951).
Following the story conference, the first page of Lucas’s handwritten treatment for The Empire Strikes Back, November 28, 1977.
The first Lucasfilm Thanksgiving turkey for employees, friends, and family (Tom Jung’s original artwork for the Star Wars poster hangs over the fireplace at Park House, 1977).
Vader lands and “oversees the battle.” Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO escape in the Millennium Falcon, pursued by Star Destroyers. Because Luke was wounded in the snow battle, he passes out in his X-wing on the way to the planet described in the talisman. R2-D2 pilots the plane to a crash landing in the swamp, which awakens Luke. Although they fail at first, Han and company make the jump to hyperspace after he and Chewie effect emergency repairs.
On a mysterious planet, Luke meets “Minch Yoda” and gives him food. The creature eventually claims to be a Jedi Master, the teacher of Ben Kenobi. Meanwhile, when Han and the Falcon come out of hyperspace, the Empire is waiting for them—somehow the Imperials have managed to locate the Rebel rendezvous point. Han takes them into an asteroid field and hides the Falcon in an asteroid cave. Back on the bog planet, Yoda lifts the X-wing out of the swamp to prove his powers. Not long afterward, “Minch uses Luke’s laser sword to kill a monster that attacks them.” Luke “practices with the sword and seeker balls, defending himself against a dozen laser beams …”
Luke on two-legged lizard concept by McQuarrie (no. 42), December 1977.
More inspiration came from Wizards (1977), whose poster featured a two-legged creature painted by William Stout.
Lizard concept by Johnston (no. 48), late 1977 (the riders are Imperial troopers).
Lizard concept by Johnston (no. 47), late 1977 (the riders are Imperial troopers).
The Falcon heads for a planet Han says will be safe while C-3PO and Chewie play a game and “comment on the strange relationship between Han and Leia. Chewbacca is out of sorts about the whole thing—jealousy. Han and Leia are seen in the next room, talking and playing around like young lovers in a city park.”
Han and Leia arrive on a gaseous planet and land in the ruins of an old floating city. They come out of the Falcon only to real
ize that no one is there. It’s desolate. Leia makes a comment about Han’s friend needing more help than they do. Suddenly, they are attacked by a group of strange, alien creatures. Chewie lets out a yell, and they fight their way back to the ship and take off.
On the bog planet, Ben appears as a ghost and “talks to Luke about the Force and what his training means to him.” Meanwhile, Han heads for another floating city where they meet Lando. C-3PO is blown to pieces by stormtroopers without the others noticing. Cutting back to Luke, he has a dream about Darth Vader, and Ben tells him it is time to leave the planet.
Leia doesn’t trust Lando, and things are fishy in the floating city. “City guards bring in a box full of Threepio parts. They say he must have bumped into a power field or something.” Lando invites them to dinner, but when the door swings open to the dining room, “it reveals Darth Vader!” They are held prisoner in their living quarters; as Chewbacca tries to rebuild C-3PO, Vader enters “and tells them he’s not really interested in them, but is using them to get Luke.”
Luke lands at the ruins of first cloud … Luke is attacked by the aliens. He doesn’t fight back but boldly approaches the largest alien, apparently the leader of the band. The other aliens are puzzled by this bravado and back off. Luke and the chief alien fight with ax-like weapons and Luke wins, but spares the chief’s life. Luke and the alien become friends and the young Jedi explains that he is looking for friends and shows them evidence from the earlier battle. The alien chief tells Luke about the other city and says he will take him there. Luke arrives at the cloud city, riding a large manta-like flying creature with several of the aliens.
The city goes on the alert. Luke and his new friends are greeted by Lando. R2-D2 tries to warn Luke, “but Luke doesn’t seem to care. He simply tells the little droid, ‘Don’t worry, my little friend. I know what’s going on, but it’s the only way.’ ”
Han, Leia, and company manage to break out of their quarters and meet Luke. Just before he enters the area where Vader is waiting, they warn him. But Luke tells Leia he knows it’s a trap and that she and the others should escape in the Falcon while there’s still time. Lando says he’ll help Han and the others, as he’s had enough of Vader. “At that moment they are surrounded by Imperial stormtroopers.” The alien chief gives them the peace sign and approaches, but is shot down. Chaos ensues, during which the troopers and aliens fight; Han, Lando, and the others flee; and Luke “unleashes the full force of his training on the troopers.”
Vader appears in the midst of the battle and confronts Luke: the two verbally assess each other’s powers … Vader and Luke are fighting with laser swords … In this battle, both Luke and Vader use their ESP powers. Lightning bolts flash about the room, and they pick up objects with their powers and throw them at each other.
They end up in a reactor room with a giant propeller that threatens to “mince” both of them. Vader has the upper hand. Meanwhile, the Falcon takes off with its passengers, “but is stopped by the large blast-shield door that crashes down in front of the Falcon. It looks like they are lost …
“Vader pleads with Luke to join him … For some reason, Vader is reluctant to kill Luke and would rather turn him to the Dark Side of the Force. Vader finally swings his death blow, but Luke jumps off of the narrow ledge and falls down the endless shaft.” Luke dangles above the exit port of the city. Han blasts his way through the shield door; they spot Luke and escape Vader’s Star Destroyer. In the end, Han has to leave “to pay an old debt.”
The Falcon is parked on a landing platform in a beautiful jungle garden. Han, Chewie, and Lando are getting ready to leave. The Wookiee hugs Luke, Leia, and Threepio, who is quite flustered and tells the Wookiee to be careful, then thanks him for helping to put him back together. Artoo beeps his thanks, also. Han gives Leia a long kiss; Luke hugs his old friend. Han and group enter the Falcon and it takes off over the flower-covered jungle. It is sunset. Twin suns [are] low on the horizon as the Falcon becomes a tiny speck, then disappears behind the silhouetted group of Luke, Leia, and the robots.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Concept sketches by McQuarrie.
Final Empire logo by McQuarrie. The final logo incorporating Darth Vader was approved by Lucas for much of the crew gear.
In addition to McQuarrie, several companies were hired to design marketing logos for The Empire Strikes Back.
* * *
THE GATHERING FORCE
DECEMBER 1977 TO JULY 1978
CHAPTER TWO
“George hired me as CEO to start his company, which had about three people at the time,” says Charlie Weber, who transitioned from consultant to president of Lucasfilm in late 1977.
“Weber was hired to be the CEO for Lucasfilm because the licensing income was burgeoning,” says accountant Richard Tong. “Charlie had a great financial background, so he was hired after interviewing with several other candidates.”
“Charlie seemed like a solid guy,” Lucas says. “Even though he was more in the stock market and real estate, he did know how to put things together; he knew the legal problems, all the rules, and all the people you needed in order to build a working company.”
“George had an excellent outside accountant in Richard Tong, but we didn’t have an accounting firm,” says Weber, “we didn’t have any of those things, so we really had to set that all up from scratch. It was basically a tiny mom-and-pop company with huge potential resources.”
Indeed, the company was still in the planning stages of its merchandising. It had made a deal with toy company Kenner, but, during the holiday season of 1977, fans had very little to buy (which opened the door for many merchandise bootleggers). The stopgap measure was to sell coupons in the form of empty boxes that purchasers could redeem for four action figures the following year.
“We started in a trailer across the street from the Universal lot,” says Weber. “Soon one trailer grew to nine trailers and we ran the company out of those trailers for the first 18 months. George had his ambition to make this into a successful company and to finance our own films. He wanted a quality-control commando force, but he didn’t want a huge overhead.”
The budget for Empire, however, was starting to increase, growing from $8 to $10 million at this time. “I’m willing to take the risk,” Lucas says, “because I started with nothing. Five years ago I had nothing.”
Forging forward, Lucas used his earnings from Star Wars as collateral to borrow the millions that would be necessary to make Empire, keeping about $50,000 a year for living expenses. The film’s financial bonanza also meant more money for all the actors. Guinness had already been well compensated, but Lucas gave him another quarter of a net point. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford had worked on salary for very, very little, but Lucas also gave each of them a quarter of one net point.
According to several reports, Guinness wound up with around $2,880,000. The three other principals received about $320,000. Lucas gave bonuses to many others. Joe Johnston received one-tenth of 1 percent (which resulted in $131,037 as of 1983). Those who worked on the set earned a minimum of one-twentieth of 1 percent or about $64,000. Some employees in the Lucasfilm office earned one two-hundredth of 1 percent or $6,400.
“I became more financially independent,” Carrie Fisher says. “It made me more conspicuous. It changed my name from Carrie ‘Debbie Reynolds’s daughter’ Fisher to Carrie ‘Star Wars’ Fisher. I don’t think I’ll have to change my middle name again.”
“I worked for peanuts in the first one,” says Harrison Ford, “but I knew it would be smart to be in that picture. I’m a lucky guy. It changed my life. I’m the kind of person who thinks he’s rich if he just got a check in the mail for $5,000, but my accountant doesn’t think of me as rich.”
“The biggest change came after American Graffiti,” Lucas says. “Because then suddenly I was taken seriously and I was somebody. I think Star Wars only strengthened that. Obviously now when I go into a studio, the studio heads are much nicer to me than they were before. But the people in San Anselmo, where I live, couldn’t care less. I’m a minor celebrity just because I made that movie, but otherwise it’s business as usual. In LA, they have a tendency to hype everything and people get very excited and they have parties and they do a lot of stuff that just builds up egos.”
“George Lucas is supposedly a very wealthy man, but he’s not out buying Gucci shoes,” Hamill says. “His lifestyle is simple from what I can see. Maybe he has a whole room full of jeans and sweatshirts now. But I just don’t see him or Gary going berserk with riches. They’re men who like to make films.”
After giving away about 25 percent of his profits, Lucas did buy an old Ferrari for himself and embarked on a few home-improvement projects. “On a personal level, it doesn’t mean much of a change,” he says. “I’d been very poor up until four years ago, but I was very happy before. I mean, it’s great not to have debts over your head all the time and be able to go out to a movie whenever you want.”