The Empire Strikes Backis an undoubted masterpiece, but George Lucas was actually fined nearly $250,000 for the movie. Even George Lucas didn’t really expectStar Warsto be anywhere near as big as it was destined to become; feedback was mixed at an early screening ofA New Hope, withSteven Spielberg one of the few predicting success. Lucas predicted the movie would gross $15-20 million at the box office, and Spielberg predicted $50-60 million. In reality,the movie made $775.8 Million- over $3 billion adjusted for inflation.
Naturally, this meant sequels were inevitable. Lucas aimed to financeThe Empire Strikes Backhimself, with $33 million from loans and the previous movie’s earnings. The movie released in 1980, and Lucas recovered his original investment within just three months of its release. This was in spite of a surprising twist - becauseone controversial decision cost Lucas almost $250,000 in fines.
George Lucas Broke Guild Rules With The Star Wars Movies - & There Were Consequences
We’re all familiar with the traditional opening crawls ofStar Wars, which give you a quick introduction before dropping you into the action. If you’ve seen any other movies from the 1970s and early 1980s, though, you’ll realize that was unusual for its time;movies usually opened with credits for actors and directors, rather than putting those at the end. This was in accordance with Writers' Guild and Directors' Guild rules of the day.
The Empire Strikes Back Causes Massive Problems For The Star Wars Timeline (But I Still Love It Anyway)
The Empire Strikes Back is easily the best movie in the Star Wars franchise, but it has one major continuity problem that fans often overlook.
The guilds had given Lucas a pass forA New Hope, because nobody had expected it to be a hit. In the wake ofA New Hope’s success, though, every eye was onThe Empire Strikes Back- where the opening simply mentioned “Lucasfilm,” leaving a nod to director Irvin Kershner until the end credits (Kershner didn’t mind).The guilds imposed a fine on both Lucas and Kershner, but Lucas paid them all before ripping up his membership cards.
Lucas didn’t mind leaving the unions. “I’ve never made a picture in Hollywood,” he told theNew York Timesback in 1981. “Now I’ll never have to.” This did, however, cause him some issues when it came to choosing a director forReturn of the Jedi(orRevenge of the Jedi, as it was originally titled). He opted for Richard Marquand, a British director who wasn’t part of any American unions and who was therefore unaffected by the controversies afterThe Empire Strikes Back.
