In September of 1977, however, Fox was content to watch its stock value double, and make as good a deal as possible with Lucasfilm for the sequel. Unlike the extremely protracted, multiyear negotiations for Star Wars, Lucas was able to dictate his terms quickly. What gave Lucas important leverage, in addition to the success of the first film, was that he was going to finance Chapter II with his own money.
“The idea of a filmmaker owning his own film and thereby controlling how it was exploited was a dream of filmmakers since the industry started,” says Tom Pollock. “And so the only question was just how it would get financed. A lot of thought went into that. We owed Fox the first negotiation and the first refusal, so we figured out what we wanted the contract to be, arranged for the financing [through Bank of America], and then presented it to Fox and said, ‘We’re ready to go.’ They were very anxious to have a sequel and basically it was not a long negotiation. They said yes very quickly.”
“Fox saw that they had a hit, so they wanted to be very careful, because already we had started to complain,” Lippincott says. “George had complained in June about how, if they wanted to see another Star Wars movie, they had better start paying them, not talking. So they knew they better get their act together.”
“It made good sense,” says Alan Ladd Jr., or Laddie, the only studio executive who had backed the first film and whose annual salary therefore went from $182,885 to $563,000. “Because first of all, George had the capital to do it—and Fox did put up an advance against it, so he didn’t have to finance the whole thing out of his own pocket. And with the merchandising and all the ancillary markets coming into play, it was a very wise business decision on George’s part.”
“My understanding is that when George’s agent [Jeff Berg] came back for Star Wars II, he said, ‘Okay, one: The profit split is being revised,’ ” says Warren Hellman, one of the eleven members on Fox’s board of directors. “ ‘Two: You’re going to give the remaining licensing rights to us. And three: You’re still not getting any sequel rights.’ This I do remember: There was a great board meeting where management said, ‘We have to give George the rights to his characters.’ But we had a bunch of lawyers who said, ‘You can’t simply give away property rights!’ We voted and I think it was a six-to-five vote, because somebody had made the point that you can’t own his children.”
“Fox thought that we were using licensing money to finance the movie, but we weren’t because there was no licensing money,” Lucas says. “The board of directors misunderstood a lot of it and Laddie had to straighten them out and say, ‘You can either do this or not do this.’ It was really a matter of ‘very little is better than nothing.’
“The thing Fox did not expect was that I would pay for it and that was what shifted everything,” Lucas says. “I came in and said, ‘All you’re going to do is distribute,’ and it changed the whole nature of the deal—nobody had expected that. I think they were upset that I could do that, but I could because that was in the deal. It hadn’t been spelled out in the deal, but if you read the contract, then it was clear that I had the power to do it.”
Indeed, despite the licensing prospects on the horizon, merchandising was earning very little money at the time and Lucas had yet to receive much if any of the profits from Star Wars. Lucas could be confident that the coffers would be filled eventually, but financing the sequel was essentially a big risk—a risk that would increase day by day as production wore on.
To minimize some of the downside potential, in the same way Lucas had formed The Star Wars Corporation for the first film, he created another subsidiary for the sequel: The Chapter II Company. “It was established because you wanted to isolate the financial and operating risks of a new production, and to limit the potential liabilities that may arise out of a new production,” says Richard Tong, Lucasfilm’s treasurer.
The resultant 100-page contract between Fox and Chapter II was signed on September 21, 1977. In this agreement, the “negative cost” of the untitled sequel was fixed at $8 million. It also states that the “Producer [Chapter II] shall have ‘final cut’ of The Film.” The sharing of gross receipts would be: producer 52.5% and distributor 47.5% for the first $20 million; producer 70.5% and distributor 29.5% up to $60 million; beyond $100 million gross, the producer was guaranteed 77.5% and Fox 22.5%. All of which terms were much more favorable to Lucas than the profit sharing scenario had been for the first film.
The contract also stated that as of July 1, 1978, the management of licensing, marketing, and merchandise would revert to Black Falcon Ltd., a Lucasfilm subsidiary, in an “orderly transfer.” (Black Falcon would be incorporated on February 27, 1978.) As of that date, the split would be 80% for Lucasfilm, 20% for Fox; from April 1, 1981, that split would become 90–10.
In addition to giving Lucas final cut, the new contract made it very clear that the “distributor”—that is, the studio—would have no creative control over the filmmaking process. Lucas’s two films before Star Wars had been deformed by aggressive studios; Star Wars was simply finished too close to its release date for anyone to tinker with it. Now, except for having to obtain sign-off from Alan Ladd Jr., which was understood as a formality, Lucas and his collaborators had more freedom than ever before.
“Today the studios are not filmmakers,” Pollock says. “They may have been in the 1930s and ’40s when the Thalbergs and the Mayers were there, but studios haven’t been filmmakers for years. Basically studios finance movies, they market movies, they’re very canny and they can be very helpful about what movies they make. But they don’t actually make the movies and George certainly recognized that very early on.”
Lastly, the agreement set a principal photography start date for January 1979, with a release scheduled for May 1, 1980.
News of the deal inevitably leaked out to Variety, which reported, fairly accurately, that Fox’s distribution fee would be 27 percent of gross receipts. In Daily Variety, Fox chairman and chief executive Dennis Stanfill was quoted as saying that the studio would receive only a modest sum. The Chicago Tribune reported that Lucasfilm would get $2.74 out of every $4 ticket sold, and Twentieth Century–Fox just 68 cents, noting that with Star Wars, “Lucasfilm took in a measly 17 cents from that $4 ticket, while Twentieth Century grabbed $2.05 as a return on its investment and another $1.20 for distributing the film.”
Power was now in the hands of the artists, but, as preproduction revved into production, destiny had many reversals in store.
RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SONS
“The first thing I did was to arrange for studio space in England,” says Kurtz, “because there was tremendous pressure on to reserve time and space in London.”
Once again, Lucasfilm would occupy every possible inch of Elstree (EMI) Studios. During the fall of 1977, Kurtz also visited the production of Superman (1978) while it was on location in Canada, then again while cast and crew were doing studio work at Pinewood Studios in England, in order to line up previous Star Wars department heads and at least one newcomer.
“We tried to put together a crew quite a bit in advance,” he says. “From the first film, we knew the people that we wanted back and we were able to get almost all of them. That was the primary step.” Key members of the transatlantic team were production designer John Barry, art director Norman Reynolds, makeup artist Stuart Freeborn—and David Tomblin as first assistant director, replacing Tony Waye.
“At that time, John had been approached to be production designer,” says Robert Watts, who would return as associate producer. “But he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to do the job, because he had his own script which he was hoping to get financed. So it was agreed that he and I would do the recces [location scouts] together and then he would make his decision by the end of March next year.”
Back in Los Angeles, on September 14 and 21, McQuarrie met with Lucas at his Universal office, which resulted in a contract for the artist dated October 1. In addition to leaving the Galactica team, McQuarrie also turned
down an offer to work with Ralph Bakshi on his Lord of the Rings animated movie (1978). “It would have been a pleasure to do castles and forests but, after the sixth forest background from a different angle, it’s tedious. I’d rather plunge ahead to do concept work like I’m doing here.”
Four days later, working at his home on South Curson Street in Los Angeles, McQuarrie began sketches for the Wookiee planet, snow armor, and a castle. Lucas’s notes indicate that he had been thinking about the home of Darth Vader and his developing character: “Once you’ve embarked on the dark path it will dominate your destiny. Don’t choose the quick and easy successes. Vader had abandoned himself to forces which were carrying him away—forces of dark and destructive violence.”
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Concept artist and design consultant Ralph McQuarrie talks about his creative process. (Interview by Alan Arnold, 1978)
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“We worked quite a lot on the Wookiee planet, which was to be the home of Chewbacca,” says McQuarrie. “That was very interesting to me. We created this giant forest, Wookiee homes, accessories, the transportation, and the look of the surface of a planet where the Imperials have their base.”
“Chewbacca as young Wookiee” by McQuarrie (concept no. 5), November 27, 1977 (McQuarrie numbered sequentially most of his drawings).
“Beast of burden” concept by McQuarrie (no. 17), November 1977.
On their home planet, Wookiees with bantha-like creatures called whorrwaarrs (according to Lucas), by McQuarrie (no. 16), November 1977.
Another page of Lucas’s notes contains a list of planets for the sequel: “Wookiee planet Kasshook, Kazzook (Ganaararlacc)—huge trees; Gas planet (Hoth)—cities on piers, art deco, giant manta-like creatures in mist; Ice Planet, snow storms; Water planet (Acquis); a Dock/Desert (caves) planet; Garden planet (Besspin-Kaaleida); City Planet (ton-muund)—Death Star like, only bigger and can’t move; Grass Planet (ibbana); Bog Planet (Dagobah), fog-mist, swamp-jungle.”
“George said just off the top of his head, ‘I’d like to see a metal castle in the snow,’ ” McQuarrie says. “George was looking for a place to put Vader’s office.” In one entry, Lucas seems to have reconstructed how he arrived at the name Darth Vader—a combination of the words dark, death, invader. Among McQuarrie’s first sketches was also a creature called the Wuzzum or Yuzzum, a character for the Wookiee planet.
In November 1977, Lucas also hired back Joe Johnston, who would begin conceptual work in his home in LA. Johnston and McQuarrie were of course very important to Lucas because he wanted visual continuity from film to film.
“George knew at the outset that there was going to be a snow battle and he knew we were going to have armored speeders,” says Johnston. “But he hadn’t really decided on what kind of vehicles the Empire would have or how they were going to film it. At first they considered using existing military tanks, redressing them to look alien. I did a bunch of sketches using these tanks as a basis.”
“On this movie, we started designing before we had a finished script,” McQuarrie says. “We were working on instructions from George. It was all pretty mysterious at times. We didn’t know exactly what was going to be used or how.”
Meanwhile, Lucas played with the plot: “Streamline beginning—Leia to Vader to Luke. Streamline attack plot … Han thinks about Leia. Leia about Han … Threepio blown apart, transported in pieces to area where he can be reassembled. Han Solo, go on mission and never come back. End with Luke thinking about him … Luke develops Force, becomes powerful knight … Luke–R-2 worried about where going; Han and Leia find asteroid field … Luke falls into trap—Vader gets upper hand; Luke barely escapes. On new base … Act I: Love story; into large threat (Emperor).”
Lucas’s notes that led up to the name of his villain: “Dark” and “Death” became “Darth,” and “Invader” was shortened to “Vader”—Darth Vader.
Darth Vader outside his castle, by McQuarrie (no. 32), December 1977.
Castle exterior.
Vader inside his castle by McQuarrie (no. 33), December 1977.
“My big problem now is that I’ve got to try to get, in terms of my writing—I’ve got some real problems,” says Lucas in a transcript from September 1977. “I’ve got to hire a writer for the American Graffiti sequel, and I’ve got to hire a writer for the Star Wars sequel. I’ve got to get those things done because otherwise the films won’t be done on time and people get real angry and frustrated about their contracts. We’ve already got start dates and we’ve got to get the movie going. Graffiti is more of a problem than Star Wars cause it’s going right away …”
More concept sketches of Darth Vader’s castle by design consultant Ralph McQuarrie.
Concept sketch of Darth Vader’s castle by McQuarrie.
Concept sketch of Darth Vader’s castle by McQuarrie.
Concept sketch of Darth Vader’s castle by McQuarrie.
Many of Lucas’s notes also deal with the psychology of children, as he was very concerned about how they would perceive his new story. “Present [story] in a simple, homely way … This prevents even the smallest child from feeling compelled to act in specific ways and he is never made to feel inferior … Reassures, gives hope for the future, and holds out the promise of a happy ending … Discover identity and calling … Intimate that a rewarding, good life is within one’s reach despite adversity—but only if one does not shy away from the hazardous struggles without which one can never achieve true identity.
“Children are innocent and love justice. While most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy … Need symbolic images which reassure them that there is a happy ending, solution to the Oedipal problems … What the evildoer wishes to inflict on the hero should be the bad person’s fate.”
“I feel strongly about the role myths and fairy tales play in setting up young people for the way they’re supposed to conduct themselves in society,” says Lucas. “It’s the kind of thing Bruno Bettelheim [child psychologist and author] talks about, the importance of childhood. I realized before I did Star Wars that there was no contemporary fairy tale and that the number of parents who sit down and tell their children fairy tales is dwindling. As families begin to break up, kids are left more to the television and they don’t hear bedtime stories. As a result, people are learning their mythology from TV, which makes them very confused because it has no point of view, no sense of morality. Fairy tales, religion, all were designed to teach the right way to live and give a moral anchor.
“If I wasn’t a filmmaker, I think I might be a toymaker,” he adds. “I love making kids happy. Somebody’s got to do it. Your childhood is so long and I think kids need all the breaks they can get to make it bearable, because it goes on forever. Giving them something, especially a fantasy life, is an important thing. If we don’t take care of our kids, if we just ignore them and let them suffer through, we’re not going to be much of a civilization.”
Following instructions from Lucas, McQuarrie placed Vader’s castle amid boiling lava (no. 35), December 1977.
Vader castle concepts by McQuarrie (no. 36), December 1977.
Vader castle concepts by McQuarrie (no. 67), December 1977.
Darth Vader took center stage in McQuarrie’s cover Illustration for the book, which he worked on for several days: October 31 and November 4, 7, and 14, 1977 (the book would be published in March 1978).
Title page for the July 1977 manuscript of Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye; Lucas had met with Foster on October 13 and 20, 1976, to discuss the novel’s story (which included Yuzzum or Yuzzem).
MYSTERY ADS
“One of the first things that George had me do was make up a binder that had all the major theaters in the United States,” says Jane Bay. “I think there were about 25 of them and the studio would give us, every Monday morning, the weekend boxoffice figures. So we would track the grosses for the weekends and it was really a fascinating thing because the movie just kept going up and up
and up!”
Strangely, for a film doing so well, Variety’s announcement of the sequel appeared in only a small item on October 12, which noted that its start date was January 1979. Then again, Lucasfilm was only a mom-and-pop company and the industry knew very well that sequels rarely if ever did business anything like that of the original.
“I was the chief cook and bottle washer because we didn’t have a food service program,” says Bay. “We all brought our lunches or we’d go out to lunch, and every Friday we would have a potluck lunch and cook food together in this big Victorian kitchen on an old gas stove.”
The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Enhanced Edition) Page 4
