J. Rinzler

An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of arguably the greatest and most cherished of all the Star Wars films, the most important motion picture sequel of all-time, and a movie that changed pop culture forever: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. J.W. Rinzler, author of the acclaimed The Making of Star Wars, once again uses his unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm archives, and their treasure trove of never-before-published photos, design sketches, paintings, production notes, interviews, anecdotes, and scripts, to take us back thirty years to relive the entire production process for one of the most anticipated movies ever produced - along the way unveiling stories as entertaining, enthralling and mind-boggling as the film itself. As a long-standing member of the Lucasfilm staff, J.W. Rinzler has enjoyed unparalleled co-operation and support from the original moviemakers, including both George Lucas and veteran director Irvin Kershner. The result is a truly definitive account that is destined to become a must-have for all true Star Wars fans and serious cinephiles. Jonathan Rinzler is a New York Times bestselling author and longtime editor at Lucasfilm Publishing.

George Lucas spent nearly ten years bringing his dream project to life: a ground-breaking space fantasy movie. It would be a swashbuckling sci-fi saga inspired by vintage Flash Gordon serials, classic American westerns, and mythological heroes. Its original title: The Star Wars. The rest is history. Yet its production is a story as entertaining and exciting as the film itself. Now, recounted in the words of those who were there, it is finally being told, for the first time. During the years 1975 to 1978, over fifty interviews were conducted with key members of the cast and crew. Remarkably these interviews have sat, undisturbed, in the Lucasfilm Archives for three decades. Until now. The interviews are fresh, candid and - above all - more accurate than many other reported accounts. George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, composer John Williams, legendary production designer John Barry, and a host of others share their fascinating tales of overcoming obstacles - storms, crises, technical limitations, high stress and bitter disappointment - while displaying real ingenuity, heroism and creativity. Using his unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm Archives and this trove of never-before-published 'lost' interviews, photographs, production notes, factoids and anecdotes, J. W. Rinzler hurtles readers back in time for a definitive look at the making of Star Wars. For the first time, it's all here: * The evolution of the now-classic story and characters - including 'Annikin Starkiller' and a 'huge green-skinned monster with no nose and large gills' named Han Solo * Excerpts from George Lucas's numerous, ever-morphing script drafts * The birth of Industrial Light & Magic, the special-effects company that revolutionised Hollywood film-making * The studio-hopping and budget battles that nearly derailed the entire project * The director's early casting saga * The gruelling, nearly catastrophic location shoot in Tunisia and the following breakneck dash to Elstree Studios in London Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of images spanning the creation of the film, The Making of Star Wars is a piece of cinema history. It is the true story of human endeavour and creativity that led to the production of one of the most outstanding and innovative movies of all time.

Just as Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi completed the most successful cinematic trilogy of its generation, perhaps of all time, this splendid thirtieth-anniversary tribute concludes New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler's trio of breathtaking books celebrating George Lucas's classic saga. Once again, the author's unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm Archives has yielded a mother lode of fascinating and often unexpected revelations from behind the scenes of a blockbuster in the making. Brimming with previously unpublished photos, concept artwork, script excerpts, storyboards, on-set interviews and present-day commentary, The Making of Return of the Jedi chronicles 'how George Lucas and his crew of extroverted artists, misfits and expert craftspeople roused themselves to great heights for a third time' to create the next unforgettable chapter in one of the most beloved stories in movie history. Get up close to the action and feel like a studio insider as: * George Lucas, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and director Richard Marquand huddle in a script conference to debate the destinies of iconic Star Wars characters * The artists and technicians at the ground-breaking Industrial Light & Magic facility surpass their own revolutionary innovations with boundary-pushing new visual effects * A crack team of sculptors, puppeteers, actors and 'monstermakers' brings Jabba the Hutt and his unsavoury cohorts to startling, slobbering life * Actors and crew race to the finish line at Elstree Studios, in a fiery desert and beneath the canopy of a dense redwood forest to provide answers to the questions that audiences had waited three years to find out: Is Darth Vader really Luke's father? Who is the mysterious 'other'? And who, or what, is the Emperor? Star Wars luminaries from both sides of the camera, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, director Richard Marquand, producer Howard Kazanjian, Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett and mastermind George Lucas, all weigh in with candid insights on everything from technical crises and character design, to the Ewoks and the ultimate challenge of bringing this phenomenal space fantasy to a dramatic close. A gloriously illustrated and painstakingly researched tribute to a truly spectacular movie, The Making of Return of the Jedi invites you to return to a galaxy ...far, far away.

In 1997, as George Lucas worked to complete the script for what would become Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, he enlisted the talents of some of the greatest storyboard artists of the modern era; Peter Chang, Benton Jew, Jay Shuster, Ian McCaig, Ryan Kaful, Terryl Whitlatch and Ed Natividad, to complete conceptual storyboards that would inform the development of the final shooting script, as well as the finished film. Working from Lucas's ideas for scenes and sequences, these artists produced beautiful drawings that helped lay the foundations for the worlds, characters, shots and sequences of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. For Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Lucas again turned to this approach, working with conceptual storyboard artists Warren Drummond, Kirk Henderson, and Ian McCaig (Episode II), and Iain McCaig and Derrick Thompson (Episode III) during preproduction to tease out story germs and inspire the screenwriting process. Together, these conceptual storyboards show early takes on favorite scenes, alternate, unused approaches to character designs and environments and entirely different approaches to key moments; more than 80 percent of these storyboards offer an intriguing `what if?` view on alternate directions the Prequel Trilogy could have taken; like silent comic books, they have an energy and rhythm all their own that is fascinating to explore. Now, for the first time, Lucasfilm has opened its archives to present the complete conceptual storyboards for Episodes I, II, and III. Starting with Episode I, Star Wars Storyboards: The Prequel Trilogy collects the conceptual storyboards for all three films together in one striking volume, along with relevant excerpts from early drafts and shooting scripts, to provide context for these pre-visual guides which are, in their own right, stunning, action-and-adventure-packed images.

Star Wars: The Blueprints brings together the original technical drawings from deep within the Lucasfilm Archives. Combined with commentary from J. W. Rinzler, the collection maps in precise, vivid, and intricate detail the genesis of one of the most enduring onscreen stories. Special features: more than 250 blueprints; more than 500 photographs and illustrations; and, ten gatefolds.

Comprehensive and definitive volume telling the complete story of how Alien was made, featuring new interviews with Ridley Scott and other production crew, and including many rarely-seen photos and illustrations from the Fox archives. In 1979 a movie legend was born, as Twentieth Century-Fox and director Ridley Scott unleashed Alien - and gave audiences around the world the scare of their lives. To celebrate the movie's fortieth anniversary, author J.W. Rinzler (The Making of Star Wars) tells the whole fascinating story of how Alien evolved from a simple idea in the mind of writer Dan O'Bannon into one of the most memorable sci-fi horror thrillers of all time. With brand new interviews with Ridley Scott and other key members of the original production crew, and featuring many never-before-seen photographs and artworks from the archives, The Making of Alien is the definitive work on this masterpiece of popular cinema.