George Lucas
Page 55
29. Creating an Empire.
30. Ibid.
31. MOIJ, 12.
32. George Lucas, acceptance speech for the AFI Life Achievement Award, 2005.
33. Leo Janos, “Steven Spielberg: L’Enfant Directeur,” Cosmopolitan, June 1980.
34. Joseph McBride, Steven Spielberg: A Biography, 2nd ed. (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2010), 62, 66.
35. Ibid., 137–38.
36. Pollock, Skywalking, 62, 63.
37. Creating an Empire.
38. Pollock, Skywalking, 65.
39. Ibid., 65, 63.
40. Gene D. Phillips and Rodney Hill, eds., Francis Ford Coppola: Interviews (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004), 13.
41. Biskind, Easy Riders, 94.
42. Flying Solo.
43. Baxter, George Lucas, 84–85.
44. COGL, 31.
45. See George Lucas, Filmmaker, Zoetrope/Lucasfilm, 1968.
46. COGL, 28.
47. Michael Goodwin and Naomi Wise, On the Edge: The Life and Times of Francis Coppola (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989), 87.
48. Cowie, Coppola, 53.
49. Biskind, Easy Riders, 208.
50. Baxter, George Lucas, 87–88.
51. John F. Kearney, “For Film Director Hollywood Out, Stinson Beach Is In,” Daily Independent Journal (San Rafael, Calif.), February 14, 1967.
52. John Korty, author interview.
53. Kearney, “For Film Director.”
54. COGL, 31.
55. Cowie, Coppola, 55.
56. COGL, 31.
57. Cowie, Coppola, 39.
58. Pollock, Skywalking, 88.
59. COGL, 34–35.
60. Francis Ford Coppola, interview of John Milius, April 8, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZswrVALi2M.
61. Phillips and Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, 95.
62. “A Brief History of Zoetrope Films,” Zoetrope.com, http://www.zoetrope.com/zoe_films.cgi?page=history.
63. Phillips and Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, 15.
64. Cowie, Coppola, 45.
65. Peter Hartlaub, “In a Valley Not Far, Far Away,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 27, 2007.
66. Pollock, Skywalking, 83.
67. Creating an Empire.
68. Cowie, Coppola, 56.
69. Louise Sweeney, “A Coppola Objective: An ‘All-Consuming’ Film,” Christian Science Monitor, August 30, 1969.
70. Biskind, Easy Riders, 92.
71. Hartlaub, “In a Valley Not Far, Far Away.”
72. Hogg, “Assembly Required.”
73. Sweeney, “A Coppola Objective.”
74. Biskind, Easy Riders, 258.
75. Phillips and Hill, Francis Ford Coppola, 16.
76. “A Legacy of Filmmakers,” bonus disc, THX 1138.
77. Mel Gussow, “Movies Leaving ‘Hollywood’ Behind: Studio System Passé; Film Forges Ahead,” New York Times, May 27, 1970.
78. John Patterson, “American Zoetrope: In a Galaxy Not from Hollywood…,” The Guardian, November 17, 2011.
79. “Indies—Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas on Set of Rain People,” King Rose Archives, ca. 1968, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhfY4LVpevI.
80. Creating an Empire.
81. Biskind, Easy Riders, 98.
82. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
83. See Biskind, Easy Riders, 92; Goodwin and Wise, On the Edge, 96; and Cowie, Coppola, 56.
84. Pollock, Skywalking, 89.
85. Gerald Nachman, “Coppola of Zoetrope—Older, Wiser and Poorer,” Los Angeles Times, November 7, 1971.
86. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.” See also COGL, 36.
87. COGL, 36.
88. Gussow, “Movies Leaving ‘Hollywood’ Behind.”
89. John Leighty, “Hippie Capitalist Makes Films in SF,” Fresno Bee, April 10, 1970.
90. Sweeney, “A Coppola Objective.”
91. Nachman, “Coppola of Zoetrope.”
92. Cowie, Coppola, 57; Gussow, “Movies Leaving ‘Hollywood’ Behind.”
93. Cowie, Coppola, 57.
94. Nachman, “Coppola of Zoetrope.”
95. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
96. Kline, GL Interviews, 7.
97. Sweeney, “A Coppola Objective.”
98. Gussow, “Movies Leaving ‘Hollywood’ Behind.”
99. Leighty, “Hippie Capitalist Makes Films in SF.”
100. Trevor Hogg, “Hot Rods & Droids: A George Lucas Profile,” Flickering Myth website, June 8, 2011, http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2011/06/hot-rods-droids-george-lucas-profile.html.
101. Kline, GL Interviews, 146.
102. Sweeney, “A Coppola Objective.”
103. “Movies Leaving ‘Hollywood’ Behind.”
104. COGL, 38.
105. George Lucas, commentary track for THX 1138.
106. Christine Richert, “Modestan’s Movie Will Open,” Modesto Bee and News-Herald, June 1, 1971.
107. Kline, GL Interviews, 4.
108. George Lucas, commentary track for THX 1138.
109. “THX 1138—Made in San Francisco,” American Cinematographer, October 1971.
110. Kline, GL Interviews, 12.
111. George Lucas, commentary track for THX 1138.
112. Pollock, Skywalking, 90.
113. Kline, GL Interviews, 12.
114. George Lucas, commentary track for THX 1138.
115. COGL, 37.
116. COGL, 36.
117. “Hollywood,” The Times (San Mateo, Calif.), January 24, 1970.
118. Pollock, Skywalking, 92.
119. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
120. Kline, GL Interviews, 12.
121. Leighty, “Hippie Capitalist Makes Films in SF.”
122. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
123. Ibid.
124. Ibid.
125. Ibid.
126. Biskind, Easy Riders, 235.
127. Goodwin and Wise, On the Edge, 106.
128. Biskind, Easy Riders, 98–99.
129. Ibid., 98.
130. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
131. George Lucas, commentary track, THX 1138.
132. Creating an Empire.
133. Biskind, Easy Riders, 100.
134. Ibid., 99.
135. COGL, 46.
136. Creating an Empire.
137. Francis Ford Coppola interviewed on The Howard Stern Show, June 8, 2009.
138. Biskind, Easy Riders, 93.
139. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.” There is a great deal of confusion among nearly everyone involved regarding the timeline relevant to screenings of THX, the demise of Zoetrope, and Coppola’s involvement with The Godfather. Most versions of the story have Coppola agreeing to direct The Godfather only after the events of “Black Thursday.” That meeting happened in November, however, while Coppola accepted the directing job in September. Some versions of events move Black Thursday to May or June; but Lucas insists the meeting took place in November. Most versions of the story also recall Lucas editing THX when Coppola received the call, which could not have happened after Black Thursday, as the film had been taken away from him. Deferring to Lucas’s memory, then, means Coppola accepted The Godfather two months before the events of Black Thursday, depriving most storytellers of the triumphant exclamation point to the story.
140. Biskind, Easy Riders, 101.
141. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
142. Kline, GL Interviews, 4.
143. Nachman, “Coppola of Zoetrope.”
144. Biskind, Easy Riders, 101.
145. Creating an Empire.
146. George Lucas: Maker of Films, 1971.
147. “Airport ‘Junk’—Lancaster,” The Gazette (Montreal), March 8, 1971.
148. Nachman, “Coppola of Zoetrope.”
149. George Lucas: Maker of Films.
150. Kline, GL Interviews, 37.
151. Creating an Empire.
152. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
153. Biskind, Easy Riders, 99.
154. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
155. Kline, GL Interviews, 6.
156. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
157. Cowie, Coppola, 61.
158. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
159. Biskind, Easy Riders, 102.
160. “George Lucas at 70: The Star Wars Creator on Filmmaking,” The Telegraph (London), http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/star-wars/10828279/George-Lucas-at-70-the-Star-Wars-creator-on-filmmaking.html.
161. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
162. Pollock, Skywalking, 100.
163. Biskind, Easy Riders, 102.
164. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
165. Biskind, Easy Riders, 102.
166. Kenneth Turan, “Film: THX 1138,” Washington Post, April 17, 1971.
167. Roger Ebert, review of THX 1138, 1971, http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/thx-1138-2004.
168. Roger Greenspun, “Film: Lucas’s ‘THX 1138’: Love Is Punishable Crime in Future,” New York Times, March 12, 1971.
169. Vincent Canby, “Wanda’s a Wow, So’s THX,” New York Times, March 21, 1971.
170. “Review: ‘THX 1138,’” Variety, March 16, 1971.
171. Pollock, Skywalking, 96.
172. Biskind, Easy Riders, 235.
173. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
174. Biskind, Easy Riders, 235.
175. Ibid.
Chapter 5: American Graffiti
1. Garry Jenkins, Empire Building: The Remarkable Real Life Story of Star Wars (Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel, 1999), 24.
2. Ibid., 25.
3. Ibid., 22, 26.
4. Gary Arnold, “Chalking ‘Graffiti’ Up to Experience,” Washington Post, May 26, 1974.
5. David Sheff, “George Lucas,” Rolling Stone, November 5–December 10, 1987.
6. Kline, GL Interviews, 42.
7. Jenkins, Empire Building, 28.
8. Chris Taylor, “‘Star Wars’ Producer Blasts ‘Star Wars’ Myths,” Mashable.com, September 27, 2014, http://mashable.com/2014/09/27/star-wars-myths-gary-kurtz/.
9. Ken Plume, “An Interview with Gary Kurtz,” IGN, November 11, 2002, http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/11/an-interview-with-gary-kurtz.
10. Kline, GL Interviews, 38.
11. Biskind, Easy Riders, 235.
12. Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, directed by Kevin Burns, bonus disc, The Star Wars Trilogy, DVD boxed set (Nicasio, Calif.: Lucasfilm, 2004).
13. Kline, GL Interviews, 38.
14. Chris Murphy and Ken White, “George Lucas Interviewed,” Modesto View, June 1, 2012.
15. MOSW, 4.
16. American Film Institute video, “George Lucas on American Graffiti,” October 30, 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvmFpj2Bgyc.
17. “GL: A Life Making Movies.”
18. George Stevens Jr., Conversations at the American Film Institute with the Great Moviemakers: The Next Generation, from the 1950s to Hollywood Today (New York: Vintage, 2014), 301.
19. Pollock, Skywalking, 102.
20. Ibid.
21. Philip Horne, “‘The Godfather’: ‘Nobody Enjoyed One Day of It,’” The Telegraph (London), September 22, 2009.
22. MOSW, 5.
23. Susy Vader, “Charlie Chaplin Stole the Show at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival,” Australian Women’s Weekly, June 23, 1971. It has often been reported that Lucas served as a cameraman on Gimme Shelter for filmmakers Albert and David Maysles—and even filmed the fatal stabbing of Meredith Hunter. Lucas, with typical aplomb, says he simply doesn’t remember shooting anything for the film.
24. Pollock, Skywalking, 103.
25. MOSW, 5.
26. Baxter, George Lucas, 117.
27. Ibid., 116, 117.
28. Stevens, Conversations with the Great Moviemakers, 301.
29. Ibid.
30. Creating an Empire.
31. Jenkins, Empire Building, 31.
32. “GL: A Life Making Movies.”
33. Ibid.
34. Kline, GL Interviews, 26.
35. “GL: A Life Making Movies.”
36. Paul Scanlon, “The Force behind George Lucas,” Rolling Stone, August 25, 1977.
37. Pollock, Skywalking, 31.
38. Biskind, Easy Riders, 236.
39. Ibid.
40. Gary Arnold, “Cruising through ‘American Graffiti’: Hot Rods, Good Times and Longings,” Washington Post, August 31, 1973.
41. The percentage of net varies from story to story. Ultimately, Lucas and Coppola both recall having to split forty points between them.
42. Pollock, Skywalking, 107.
43. COGL, 54.
44. Pat Perry, “San Rafael Is Site for Movie of 1962 Teens,” Daily Independent Journal (San Rafael, Calif.), June 14, 1972.
45. Pollock, Skywalking, 108.
46. Creating an Empire.
47. Judy Klemesrud, “‘Graffiti’ Is the Story of His Life,” New York Times, October 7, 1973.
48. COGL, 56.
49. Creating an Empire.
50. Ibid.
51. Baxter, George Lucas, 32.
52. Ibid.
53. “Cindy Williams Interview: Film-Television Star to Appear at Nov. 2 Screening of ‘American Graffiti’ in Omaha,” Leo Adam Biga’s blog, October 25, 2012, http://leoadambiga.com/2012/10/25/cindy-williams-interview-film-television-star-to-appear-at-nov-2-screening-of-american-graffiti-in-omaha/. Used with permission of author-journalist-blogger Leo Adam Biga.
54. COGL, 6.
55. MOIJ, 14.
56. The story, however, wasn’t Spielberg’s; it was by science fiction writer Philip Wylie.
57. MOIJ, 14.
58. MOIJ, 14.
59. Kline, GL Interviews, 18.
60. George Lucas on American Graffiti, American Film Institute video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvmFpj2Bgyc.
61. Klemesrud, “‘Graffiti’ Is the Story of His Life.”
62. Ibid.
63. Creating an Empire.
64. COGL, 62.
65. Baxter, George Lucas, 127.
66. Kline, GL Interviews, 16.
67. Creating an Empire.
68. Kline, GL Interviews, 16.
69. Klemesrud, “‘Graffiti’ Is the Story of His Life.”
70. Arnold, Once Upon a Galaxy.
71. Kline, GL Interviews, 16, 41.
72. Biskind, Easy Riders, 237.
73. Creating an Empire.
74. COGL, 64.
75. “George Lucas: A Galaxy Far, Far Away,” Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, mini-documentary, Shout Factory, 2004.
76. COGL, 64.
77. See “Shooting Schedule, American Graffiti as Shot,” COGL, 74–75.
78. Paul Rowlands, “Candy Clark Talks about American Graffiti,” Money Into Light website, April 28, 2012, http://www.money-into-light.com/2012/04/candy-clark-talks-to-paul-rowlands.html.
79. MOSW, 7.
80. Biskind, Easy Riders, 237.
81. Biographical information from David M. Herszenhorn, “Wolfman Jack, Raspy Voice of the Radio, Is Dead at 57,” New York Times, July 2, 1995; Richard Harrington, “Leader of the Pack: Deejay Wolfman Jack, the Voice of a Generation,” Washington Post, July 3, 1995; and XERB1090 website, http://www.xerbradio.com.
82. Kline, GL Interviews, 29, 39.
83. Ibid., 22–23.
84. Klemesrud, “‘Graffiti’ Is the Story of His Life.”
85. Baxter, George Lucas, 128.
86. COGL, 66.
87. Hogg, “Assembly Required.”
88. Kline, GL Interviews, 21.
89. Ibid., 29.
90. COGL, 69.
91. COGL, 69.
92. Pollock, Skywalking, 118.
93. Biskind, Easy Riders, 243.
94. COGL, 6, 70.
95. Biskind, Easy Riders, 243.
96. Creating an Empire.
97. Biskind, Easy Riders, 243.
98. Ibid., 244.<
br />
99. See Lillian Ross, “Some Figures on a Fantasy,” The New Yorker, November 8, 1982.
100. Biskind, Easy Riders, 244.
101. COGL, 71.
102. Biskind, Easy Riders, 244.
103. Pollock, Skywalking, 120.
104. Kline, GL Interviews, 43.
105. “A Legacy of Filmmakers.”
106. Kline, GL Interviews, 77.
107. “Wendy Lucas Comments on American Graffiti, the State Theatre, Modesto, May 31, 2008,” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvEwUOR0kkE.
108. Kline, GL Interviews, 77–78.
109. Ibid., 77.
110. Pollock, Skywalking, 123.
111. Jay Cocks, “Cinema: Fabulous ’50s,” Time, August 20, 1973.
112. Gary Arnold, “Cruising through ‘American Graffiti’: Hot Rods, Good Times and Longings,” Washington Post, August 31, 1973.
113. Charles Champlin, “A New Generation Looks Back in ‘Graffiti,’” Los Angeles Times, July 29, 1973.
114. Stephen Farber, “‘Graffiti’ Ranks with ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’” New York Times, August 5, 1973.
115. Kline, GL Interviews, 21.
116. Peter Hartlaub, “The Chronicle Panned It: ‘American Graffiti,’” SF Gate, February 4, 2015.
117. Ibid.
118. See Gene Siskel, “Graffiti—How Many Golden Oldies Can You Handle?” Chicago Tribune, August 24, 1973.
119. Farber, “‘Graffiti’ Ranks with ‘Bonnie and Clyde’”; Klemesrud, “‘Graffiti’ Is the Story of His Life.”
120. Cocks, “Cinema: Fabulous ’50s.”
121. Arnold, Once Upon a Galaxy.
122. Klemesrud, “‘Graffiti’ Is the Story of His Life.”
123. Ibid.
124. Ibid.; Paul Gardner, “‘Graffiti’ Reflects Its Director’s Youth,” New York Times, September 19, 1973.
125. Creating an Empire.
126. While negotiating for clearance rights for the film, Lucas had tried to get Universal to include money to clear the songs for a sound track album at the same time. Had Universal secured the sound track rights at that time, it would have saved the studio the millions it later paid to secure sound track rights after the movie was a success.
127. Biskind, Easy Riders, 237.
128. Ibid., 320.
129. Pollock, Skywalking, 128.
130. Biskind, Easy Riders, 319.
131. Creating an Empire.
132. COGL, 82.
133. See MOSW, 14.
134. Kline, GL Interviews, 32.
Chapter 6: Bleeding on the Page
1. Larry Sturhahn, “The Making of American Graffiti,” Filmmakers Newsletter, March 1974.
2. MOSW, 14.