The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Enhanced Edition)

by Rinzler, J. W.

  Immediately following the preview, some ILMers flew down to attend the Academy Awards at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on April 11, where E.T. was up for several awards. Dennis Muren won an Oscar, with Carlo Rambaldi and Kenneth Smith, for Best Visual Effects; Ben Burtt won, with Charles L. Campbell, for Best Sound Effects Editing; and John Williams didn’t have to travel far to accept his award for Best Original Score. That same day a week of work began on Jedi’s 70mm six-track Dolby optical track, the earlier striping problems having been solved.

  “The first 20 or so reels fresh off the assembly line were not done correctly,” Kazanjian would say. “I had them all destroyed. Deluxe, who provided the stock, was extremely good about it, because they really believed in Tom Holman and my drive to perfection; they never charged us for this error. We learned that too much magnetic tape, or too thin a layer, or even too wide a strip, would ruin the print.”

  The last two locked reels were sent to LA on April 12. Two days later, two-track printing of the master optical began. The next day Lucas approved the last shot of Jabba’s palace and, the day after, the fourth iteration of the film’s opening shot. He then hopped on a plane to Sri Lanka, joining Spielberg on a two-week location shoot for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the first leg of that film’s principal photography.

  “I can see from everything that’s happened recently why George might want to drop out,” says Ralston. “He must be totally fried. And now he’s getting dragged into Indiana Jones because they’re having problems. Yes, they are. I can see him just kicking all the way as they drag him over to England. He’s trapped, in a lot of ways.”

  Lucas’s outward journey was only his latest involvement with the film; its script already reflected to some degree his darker mood. “The story in Temple of Doom was indicative of the way I was feeling at that point,” he would emphasize many times to the press.

  Kazanjian sent a telex to Spielberg, Frank Marshall, Robert Watts, and Kathleen Kennedy, wishing them well on their Indy sequel: “From the desert to the sea, to all of southeast Asia, our thoughts are with you on this historic day. May the crack of the whip and the force of the heavens be with you.”

  Early poster concept drawing by Tom Jung.

  From before the title change from “Revenge” to “Return,” more poster concepts by Tom Jung.

  From after the title change from “Revenge” to “Return,” poster concepts by John Alvin.

  Early concepts for a Revenge of the Jedi poster, “B, C, D, and E” by Drew Struzan, with a note (below) from Sid Ganis to Sue (last name unknown) explaining that he was “developing this.… per GWL”—that is, George Walton Lucas. Concept “B” would win out.

  PHILOSOPHY POINTS

  While Lucas was away, Ganis and Kazanjian met with Norman Levy at Fox to kick off the Jedi marketing campaign, April 15 being its official start. “It was a good, solid, uplifting event,” Ganis wrote in a memo. “We left them with a feeling of hope, solidarity, and excitement,” adding later: “But just as there’d been some anxiety that the first sequel would disappoint, there always remains the possibility that a backlash against the film could develop to some degree if we put out too much publicity.”

  Nevertheless, Ganis and Fox had budgeted approximately $11 million for newspaper ads for the first 12 weeks, and nearly $4 million on TV promotion, along with another $2.5 million for pre-release newspaper ads. Additional media would include radio, magazines, and billboards.

  An article in Electronic Media Weekly noted that Lucasfilm had lined up deals with Coca-Cola and Burger King, which would mount a joint promotion offering four collectible soft drink glasses. Procter & Gamble would offer a set of Jedi posters; Pepperidge Farms was doing a new line of cookies in the shape of Jedi characters; American Telecommunications, a telephone in the shape of Vader; and 200 shopping malls were installing a Jedi Adventure Center to promote the film.

  About 100 companies were now licensed, which added up to about $250 million worth of merchandising. Merchandisers, however, were not enthusiastic about Ewoks, due to a saturated teddy bear market that included Winnie the Pooh, Paddington Bear, and others. A few Jedi characters would in fact be held back in merchandising—Jabba, Ewoks, and Boushh—until after the May 25 release date. Some spin-off books would go on sale May 18, as would the soundtrack. A limited number of Revenge of the Jedi posters, printed before the name change, had already become valuable commodities, going almost overnight from $9.95 to about $100, then $400.

  Blind bidding began in late April, a process during which theaters would try to book Jedi into certain states. Details from the bid solicitation letter spelled out the terms: For a 15-week engagement, theaters would receive a 90/10 split, with distributor and producer in the driver’s seat. That 90 percent, however, could be reduced “over a reasonable house allowance,” with the theater gradually receiving more of the box-office take during the film’s run up to 35 percent.

  Although the final budget for Jedi hadn’t yet been calculated, internal projections estimated that the second sequel would have to make at least $115 million to break even. Only 2 films had done so well in 1981 (one of them was Raiders); in 1982, 4 films had made that much, out of approximately 146 released that year. In 1983, not a single film had achieved that box-office number.

  The cover of the large format Marvel Comics Jedi special, which somehow went on sale in a few comic book stores prematurely, giving away the film’s story and plot twists.

  A Johnston board dated February 9, 1982, of the droids’ approach to Jabba’s palace, JP-1, was designed to be part matte painting. The droids’ trek up the road went through several iterations and, following the film’s preview at the Northpoint theater, this shot and its accompanying matte painting, were eliminated as redundant, given the revised shot and its matte painting designed to work with the live-action shot in Death Valley.

  Pangrazio works on the matte paintings for the early approach shot

  Another view of the palace, also by Pangrazio.

  Final frame.

  A matte painting by Pangrazio shows the Falcon and X-wing parked on Tatooine in relation to Luke’s cave.

  The droids were then matted in from the Death Valley shoot, but the shot was cut following the Northpoint preview, along with lightsaber-building scene.

  THE TEMPLAR

  A happy production note read, “The opticals for Jedi are now complete.” The 39 matte painting elements were also finished as of April 23. The mono mix began a few days later, and Lucas returned home on April 30—only to be greeted by another mini disaster.

  Lucasfilm had contracted with Marvel to create a one-issue large-format comic book adaptation—not to be released before May 24. But it was discovered that the book had gone on sale prematurely in certain comic book shops in the Chicago area, a few midwestern cities, and, possibly, on the East Coast. Retailers were asked to remove the issue—which told the whole story—from their shelves. “It’s a little late now,” said Carl Bonasera, owner of the Amazing Fantasy comic shop in Chicago. “We sold almost all the books we have … We ordered 450. I think we have about 10 or 20 left.”

  Sid Ganis issued a statement saying, “We’re confident that we have a great picture. It would’ve been nice if that hadn’t happened. Next time we’ll do it differently.”

  Lucas was interviewed at this time by both Time and Rolling Stone magazines, and wasn’t feeling as optimistic about the film’s chances in general, his hidden depression perhaps clouding his perspective: “What if we have finally got to the end of this shaggy dog story and everybody says, ‘That’s it?’ ” he said to Time. “Technically and logistically, this was the hardest of the three films to make and all I see is the mistakes and the stuff that doesn’t work. The sacrifice I’ve made for Star Wars may be greater than I wanted. It’s an interesting choice I made and now I’m burned out. The fact is I was burned out a couple of years ago and I’ve been going on momentum ever since.”

  Paul Scanlon wrote in Rolling Sto
ne: “We sat in George Lucas’s spacious, quiet office behind his home in San Anselmo and talked while he slowly and thoughtfully ate his breakfast: an Egg McMuffin and a glass of milk. He mentioned offhandedly that he’d lost some weight during the hectic final months of postproduction work on Jedi. In fact, he looked like a stiff breeze might blow him across the bay to San Francisco.”

  “That dumb screenplay I first wrote 10 years ago is at least finished,” Lucas told Scanlon. “I was always contemplating rewriting the story, making it into more, because it was originally written as just a simple thing. It wasn’t meant to be the giant phenomenon it turned out to be. You say, ‘Well, now is this gonna live up to the phenomenon?’ But I ultimately decided to stick with it and say: ‘Look, that was the way it was written 10 years ago and this is where I was coming from. If it’s not good enough, then tough luck.’ ”

  A preview at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the LA press garnered reactions that echoed, to some degree, Lucas’s own ambivalence. “From this corner of the theater, the reaction to Jedi is at best termed mixed,” LA Times writer Deborah Caulfield reported.

  “The screening left a lot of people feeling that volume three just isn’t as good as the first two films,” Dateline Hollywood noted. Said one insider, “Considering it was an Academy screening, everybody was really up for the movie. But the response was surprisingly quiet. At the end, the applause was polite, but that was about it. And I think a lot of people were walking out of there saying, ‘Thank God that trilogy’s finally over—now maybe Lucas can move on to something else.’ ”

  Following the screening, Marquand returned to the fold, gamely talking to the press for two full days, while Jim Bloom also returned and defended the film: “That was a Hollywood industry audience and they are by far the most critical of a picture like this. They’ve always been jealous of the Lucasfilm operation and George’s been most vocal against the Hollywood establishment. They don’t come into a movie with the innocence and expectations of a teenager. They come in saying, ‘Let’s see if they can do it again.’ ”

  Final Style-“A” one-sheet poster with airbrush art by Tim Reamer.

  Concept art for the lightsaber poster by Alvin. “They tried a bunch of different executions of the hands, but George was unhappy with them,” Roffman would say. “He said, ‘Everybody’s holding the lightsaber wrong.’ Finally [Terry Chostner] photographed George’s hands holding the lightsaber and that’s what made it into the final poster” (the hands ended up being a composite of Lucas’s and a friend of Tim Reamer, who designed the final poster).

  A FILM WITH BENEFITS

  As release day drew near, a disturbing rumor circulated in Hollywood: Due to a labor dispute, the talk of the town was that the projection union was going to engage in physical violence and sabotage United Artists Theaters in LA, which would damage those showing Jedi. Calls to key players followed.

  Fox sent out a warning to theaters, with all Jedi prints, noting that Lucasfilm had found a way to individually code each copy with a hidden identification number. “If an unauthorized copy of any print is made, the print from which it originated can be identified.” More than ever before, piracy was an ongoing concern.

  Technicians completed the 70mm striping and sound on May 10, as Lucas flew to London, back to Elstree Studios, for more Temple of Doom principal photography. Now in New York, Marquand met with more major print and media press. On May 21, to escape the publicity blitz and to keep up a tradition for each of his film’s releases, Lucas traveled to Hawaii for two weeks, as benefit premieres were held across the United States. Their goal was to raise funds to “combat childhood-related diseases and the problems of economically disadvantaged young people.”

  At the Oakland Theater in California, a special preview was held for ailing children. Alicia Christensen, a children’s hospital volunteer, had written to Lucasfilm two years before asking if patients could be considered in any of the company’s charitable efforts. Word had come back that a benefit preview would be arranged. With the coordinating efforts of Comics & Comix, a Berkeley-based comic book store, volunteers organized a gala. Donated limos chauffeured the children to Jedi, including Dante Love, an eight-year-old with heart disease, and Latsha Peale, also eight, severely burned.

  A six-year-old boy suffering from terminal cancer wanted to see Jedi as his last wish. His parents contacted Lucasfilm. Spokeswoman Annie Baradini said the family’s request “really touched everyone; everybody’s eyes were filled with tears.” Nearly comatose, the child sat propped up in his bed at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Fontana, California. “The excitement of seeing the movie produced enough adrenaline to keep him going,” hospital spokeswoman Martha Borgerding said. He died less than two days later.

  Sneak previews were also held on May 22 and 23 at San Francisco’s Coronet Theater, while the London premiere gala took place at the Odeon. Carrie Fisher worked tirelessly, doing a huge amount of publicity in L.A. and New York. The benefit premiere in New York was thrown at a Broadway movie house, where Fisher was tardy. “I’m late, I’m late,” she said as she rushed in. Arriving even later, Hamill paused under the marquee to pose for photographers and wave to his fans. “ ‘Luke, may the Force be with you!’ ” a woman shouted.

  Kazanjian’s first child, Peter, had been born while he was working in Tunisia on Raiders. A week before Jedi came out, his second son, Noah, was born. “Fortunately, when Noah was born, I was in L.A. working in the labs nearly 24 hours a day, getting the print ready, but I was home.”

  A letter from Marquand to the Jedi crew, expressing his thanks, May 6, 1983.

  A poster concept by an unknown artist.

  JOY OF THE JEDI

  MAY 1983 TO SEPTEMBER 1987

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  On its opening day, Wednesday, May 25, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi wouldn’t face much competition in movie houses. Studios had backed off, giving the colossus a large berth. Space Hunter, in 3-D, had bowed on May 20, but any significant adversaries wouldn’t appear until War Games and Psycho II came out on June 3, and Man with Two Brains on June 10; while Superman III and Octopussy weren’t scheduled to hit theaters until almost a full month later.

  For the few days before the release, the country and the media went into a kind of Jedi hysteria. Across the United States, lines formed, excitement crescendoed, and kids jumped up and down in anticipation—after three years of waiting, they would finally see the conclusion of the Star Wars trilogy.

  Advance showings of Return of the Jedi had been hot ticket items. One woman at Twentieth Century–Fox had been offered a man of her choice for a “lustful evening” in exchange for her screening pass. She declined. In Washington, DC, for an evening show at the Circle MacArthur cinema, its 24-seat balcony was reserved for the House Ways and Means Committee. In every theater about to project Jedi, phones were ringing off the hook with people wanting to know about showtimes, advance ticket sales, and potential line lengths. Most theaters had scheduled showings around the clock.

  In Atlanta, Georgia, 1,000 people queued up for the Wednesday premiere at Phipps Plaza. Engineer Dennis Coughlin had taken the day off so he and his wife could take their children—Spencer, seven, and Kevin, four—who had seen Empire about 10 times. “They’ve been counting the days,” says their mother. Several of the grown-ups in line were from Hitachi America Limited and refused to be named because they were skipping out from work.

  In Baltimore, Maryland, Thomas Monteleoni, a local science-fiction writer, took his 12-year-old son out of school for the first showing. “You know who to cheer for,” notes Mark Fessmire, a seminary student. “It’s not a downer or depressing,” adds Gordy Duncan, an intern at Grace Fellowship Church. At another movie house, Donna Lettow, a sophomore at Loyola College, came to see the 11 AM screening, saying, “I rushed through a philosophy exam that I had this morning.”

  People stood in line at the Sack Charles theater in Boston’s West End; the scene was the same at G
eneral Cinemas, Chestnut Hill, and seven other suburban Massachusetts theaters. “Unless you’re in line to see this movie, you’re in the wrong place,” says 15-year-old Andrew Capobianco. People had begun lining up at 9 PM on Tuesday, and by 9:40 AM Wednesday there were more than 900 in front.

  A crowd of 700 people waited outside, braving 100-degree weather in Scottsdale, Arizona. At 6 AM, fans had arrived wrapped in blankets to stand in line at the Cielo Vista Cinema in cold El Paso, Texas. “Is Christ coming?” one woman asked a friend as they walked past. An excited Jennifer Cole, nine years old, danced in and out of the line. The first showing was at 10:45 AM and each of the 11 showings had sold out at $4.50 per ticket.

  At the Avco Center Cinema in Westwood, LA, manager Albert Szabo was preparing for the onslaught. “George Lucas is in the mold of Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, Adolph Zukor, Darryl F. Zanuck, the great pioneers of the industry,” he says. “No one tells George Lucas what to do or how to do it. He is the epitome of America and the free mind working, and we’re getting better entertainment for it.” As the mob formed outside, doorman Bill Crowell admitted, “I’m kind of scared in a way.”